When the Boston Red Sox broke The Curse Of The Bambino, the last out wore Ruth's number!
Boston went into the 2004 World Series after coming back from three games to zero in the ALCS against the Yankees. But in the Fall Classic, there was still the matter of the St. Louis Cardinals. No one would remember the comeback unless Boston won it all!
Now for the batter in question. It's Edgar Renteria. But Edgar was hardly a pushover for Boston in that tilt. In fact, even when all the other players would fail on the Cardinals, it was Edgar that seemed to come through.
In game one, Renteria made his presence felt. St. Louis fell behind early, but by the fourth they were back in the game. They trailed 7-2 going in to the inning, but right there in Boston, reality seemed to strike the Sox! #3 was still around Boston, even after 1918. Only he was on the other team!
Renteria walked with two down, but three runs in to make it a 7-5 ballgame. Larry Walker followed with a single and the tying run was now on first. Bronson Arroyo got Boston out of that sticky situation with no further damage.
But in the top of the sixth, the Cardinals would not be denied. With two down, a man on, and St. Louis still trailing 7-5, it was Edgar with a double to close the gap to a run. When Larry Walker followed with a double of his own, the game was tied! What a comeback! Right there in Boston. You know, where they are used to coming so close yet coming up short at this point?
But in the bottom of the seventh, Boston struck back with two runs of their own in this slugfest. Surely now it was over, right?
Again, Edgar would have something to say about that. In the top of the eighth with two on and one out, our boy was at the plate. He singled to left. Manny Ramirez, the Boston left fielder made an error that allowed a runner to score. When Manny made another error on Walker's fly, the game was tied again, 9-9!
The Red Sox would ultimately win the game in the bottom of the frame on a two-run home run by Mark Bellhorn. But what a wild opening act!
With the Red Sox up 6-1 in game two, Edgar led off the top of the eighth against Mike Timlin and drew a walk. With one out, Albert Pujols singled Renteria to third. A fly ball cashed him in. It was 6-2 Boston. That was all for St. Louis, however.
In game three, with Boston ahead 1-0 in the bottom of the third, Jeff Suppan, the starter, surprised everyone by hitting a leadoff single. Edgar Renteria hit a double. The go-ahead run was in scoring position against Pedro Martinez, no less! But Walker hit into a double-play, with Suppan erased at home. Pujols grounded out.
But where Renteria was needed was in the top of the ninth. Leading off with St. Louis trailing 4-0, he fanned. However, it was Larry Walker going yard next. Had Renteria been on base, the lead would have been cut in half with nobody out. Instead, it was 4-1, Boston and one out. When the next two men went down, St. Louis had lost again and trailed three games to none in the 2004 Fall Classic.
In game four, Boston shot out of the gate an lead 3-0 early. In the bottom of the fifth, with one out, Edgar hit a double. A wild pitch moved him to third. St. Louis ultimately stranded him there. The chances were slipping away for the Cards to make a Series out of this!
With two out in the bottom of the seventh, Renteria singled with two down. But the next batter, John Mabry fanned to end the inning. Boston still led, 3-0.
In the bottom of the eighth, Reggie Sanders drew a walk for St. Louis with one out. Sanders, the speedster, swiped second for good measure. But Hector Luna fanned and Larry Walker popped to short. Boston was three outs away from their first World Series triumph since 1918.
The Cards had held the Red Sox scoreless since the top of the third. But with no runs themselves in the game through eighth, St. Louis were looking at a three-run deficit in the bottom of the ninth.
But Pujols led off with a single. Scott Rolen flied out to right. Jim Edmonds fanned. Renteria was the batter. On the first pitch to him by Boston reliever Keith Foulke, Pujols took advantage of a free pass and took second without any Red Sox trying to do a thing about it.
But on the next pitch, Edgar Renteria hit a comebacker that Foulke fielder and tossed to first for the final out of the 2004 World Series. Boston had finally done it!
Renteria, #3 on St. Louis represented a lot for Boston. In addition to being the same number of Babe Ruth, he was also on the very team that beat Boston in 1946 and 1967. St. Louis would also face Boston in the 2013 World Series. This was the right team for Boston to end the curse against.
The Boston Red Sox had been oh-so-close so many times before. They lost seven game World Series in 1946, 1967, 1975 and finally, 1986. This was them finally getting it done. And hearing the name Babe Ruth over and over again had to make the stigma that much more painful. But when Renteria was retired at first, Red Sox fans could say, "Oh, Ruth? He wore #3. He once played for Boston. Renteria? Oh, he wore #3, was the last out when we finally got the job done back in '04!"
A fitting end to the Red Sox most memorable triumph to date!
Enders, Eric. 100 years of the World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Golenbock, Peter. Fenway: An Unexpurgated History of the Boston Red Sox. Chicago, IL: Triumph Books, 2005.
MLBClassics. "2004 World Series, Game 4: Red Sox at Cardinals." Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 18 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Jul 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WIclwwPjm4>
Boston went into the 2004 World Series after coming back from three games to zero in the ALCS against the Yankees. But in the Fall Classic, there was still the matter of the St. Louis Cardinals. No one would remember the comeback unless Boston won it all!
Now for the batter in question. It's Edgar Renteria. But Edgar was hardly a pushover for Boston in that tilt. In fact, even when all the other players would fail on the Cardinals, it was Edgar that seemed to come through.
In game one, Renteria made his presence felt. St. Louis fell behind early, but by the fourth they were back in the game. They trailed 7-2 going in to the inning, but right there in Boston, reality seemed to strike the Sox! #3 was still around Boston, even after 1918. Only he was on the other team!
Renteria walked with two down, but three runs in to make it a 7-5 ballgame. Larry Walker followed with a single and the tying run was now on first. Bronson Arroyo got Boston out of that sticky situation with no further damage.
But in the top of the sixth, the Cardinals would not be denied. With two down, a man on, and St. Louis still trailing 7-5, it was Edgar with a double to close the gap to a run. When Larry Walker followed with a double of his own, the game was tied! What a comeback! Right there in Boston. You know, where they are used to coming so close yet coming up short at this point?
But in the bottom of the seventh, Boston struck back with two runs of their own in this slugfest. Surely now it was over, right?
Again, Edgar would have something to say about that. In the top of the eighth with two on and one out, our boy was at the plate. He singled to left. Manny Ramirez, the Boston left fielder made an error that allowed a runner to score. When Manny made another error on Walker's fly, the game was tied again, 9-9!
The Red Sox would ultimately win the game in the bottom of the frame on a two-run home run by Mark Bellhorn. But what a wild opening act!
With the Red Sox up 6-1 in game two, Edgar led off the top of the eighth against Mike Timlin and drew a walk. With one out, Albert Pujols singled Renteria to third. A fly ball cashed him in. It was 6-2 Boston. That was all for St. Louis, however.
In game three, with Boston ahead 1-0 in the bottom of the third, Jeff Suppan, the starter, surprised everyone by hitting a leadoff single. Edgar Renteria hit a double. The go-ahead run was in scoring position against Pedro Martinez, no less! But Walker hit into a double-play, with Suppan erased at home. Pujols grounded out.
But where Renteria was needed was in the top of the ninth. Leading off with St. Louis trailing 4-0, he fanned. However, it was Larry Walker going yard next. Had Renteria been on base, the lead would have been cut in half with nobody out. Instead, it was 4-1, Boston and one out. When the next two men went down, St. Louis had lost again and trailed three games to none in the 2004 Fall Classic.
In game four, Boston shot out of the gate an lead 3-0 early. In the bottom of the fifth, with one out, Edgar hit a double. A wild pitch moved him to third. St. Louis ultimately stranded him there. The chances were slipping away for the Cards to make a Series out of this!
With two out in the bottom of the seventh, Renteria singled with two down. But the next batter, John Mabry fanned to end the inning. Boston still led, 3-0.
In the bottom of the eighth, Reggie Sanders drew a walk for St. Louis with one out. Sanders, the speedster, swiped second for good measure. But Hector Luna fanned and Larry Walker popped to short. Boston was three outs away from their first World Series triumph since 1918.
The Cards had held the Red Sox scoreless since the top of the third. But with no runs themselves in the game through eighth, St. Louis were looking at a three-run deficit in the bottom of the ninth.
But Pujols led off with a single. Scott Rolen flied out to right. Jim Edmonds fanned. Renteria was the batter. On the first pitch to him by Boston reliever Keith Foulke, Pujols took advantage of a free pass and took second without any Red Sox trying to do a thing about it.
But on the next pitch, Edgar Renteria hit a comebacker that Foulke fielder and tossed to first for the final out of the 2004 World Series. Boston had finally done it!
Renteria, #3 on St. Louis represented a lot for Boston. In addition to being the same number of Babe Ruth, he was also on the very team that beat Boston in 1946 and 1967. St. Louis would also face Boston in the 2013 World Series. This was the right team for Boston to end the curse against.
The Boston Red Sox had been oh-so-close so many times before. They lost seven game World Series in 1946, 1967, 1975 and finally, 1986. This was them finally getting it done. And hearing the name Babe Ruth over and over again had to make the stigma that much more painful. But when Renteria was retired at first, Red Sox fans could say, "Oh, Ruth? He wore #3. He once played for Boston. Renteria? Oh, he wore #3, was the last out when we finally got the job done back in '04!"
A fitting end to the Red Sox most memorable triumph to date!
References
Enders, Eric. 100 years of the World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Golenbock, Peter. Fenway: An Unexpurgated History of the Boston Red Sox. Chicago, IL: Triumph Books, 2005.
MLBClassics. "2004 World Series, Game 4: Red Sox at Cardinals." Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 18 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Jul 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WIclwwPjm4>
Retrosheet. Web. 21 Jul. 2014. <www.retrosheet.org>
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 21 Jul. 2014.
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