For the third time in the last 10 years the Boston Red Sox won the World Series, beating the St. Louis Cardinals in 6 games by a score of 6-1. But, for the first time in 95 years, the Red Sox could celebrate the championship at home, in Fenway Park. The 2004 and 2007 titles were in 4 game sweeps against the Cardinals and the Colorado Rockies respectively, but they finished off those series on the road.
Boston starting pitcher John Lackey shut out the Cardinals for the first 6 innings, before leaving in the 7th inning with 2 outs, and 6-1 lead. Lackey also started and won the final game for the Anaheim Angels’ only World Series Championship, in 2002 as a rookie. The Red Sox scored 3 in the 3rd inning and 3 in the 4th inning. Right fielder Shane Victorino drove in 4 runs in Game 6.
The World Series Most Valuable Player was an easy choice, with David Ortiz batting .688, and slugging 1.188. He basically carried the team with his hitting. No other Red Sox player hit more than .250, or slugged more than .333. Ortiz was a one-man hitting machine, but it was enough. Boston manager John Farrell became the 4th first year Red Sox manager to win the World Series.
This was a striking rebound for the Red Sox after their 2012 season. Last season they were 69-93, had the 3rd worst record in the American League, and finished last in the American League East. The one-year Bobby Valentine experiment ended the day after the last game of the season. Valentine was fired after just 10 months on the job. The Red Sox apparently made the right move by hiring Farrell as manager before the 2013 season.
The baseball season has now ended. However, professional basketball just started their regular season yesterday, hockey has been going on for almost a month, and football is right in the middle of their season. So there is more than enough sports to keep me busy. The next postseason will be the college football bowl games in December and January, then the National Football League (NFL) playoffs in January and ending with the Super Bowl in early February.
Congratulations to the Boston Red Sox, World Series Champions! After waiting 86 years to win a World Series, since Babe Ruth won as a Red Sox in 1918, to winning their 3rd title since 2004.
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Sports With Frank Thomas
