Koji's Dream

Did it really happen? Or was it just a dream? Did the Boston RedSox win their third World Series Championship in the last decade?

Last night, when I gave Susan her meds after midnight, she asked me who had won, and I told her that the Sox had won the Series again. She said to me, "Everybody helped." I told her she was right; last night it had been Victorino and Drew who had the big hits, after not doing much of anything during the first five games. "No", she said, not the players, everybody you sent the email to. "Everybody pulled for the Sox and helped them win." And she was right again. Everybody on the email list, including all our friends who are Yankee fans, helped out, and pushed this 2013 season over the top. So thank you Danny; and thank you, G-Man; and thank you one and all. It was a big day around the Bergs' household: First, Susan came home, and then, once she was comfortably back in her own surroundings, the Red Sox completed their improbable worst to first odyssey, knocking out the previously unhittable Wacha, and beating the Cardinals convincingly, 6-1, to take Game Six and the 2013 championship.

It was another night with big hits. Victorino had the biggest, almost a replay of his ALCS Game Six Grand Slam. Drew finally found his stroke, and put one in the bullpen. John Lackey changed his Boston legacy forever, and became the first guy to pitch World Series clinchers for two different teams. And the bullpen lived up to its reputation: Tazawa snuffed the Cards' seventh inning rally with the bases loaded; Workman and Uehara were so dominant that no drama developed in the eighth or ninth. Both innings seemed to go by in a flash, until Koji got the final strikeout.

And in a post-season of memorable moments, I was really moved by the fans last night. In the ninth inning, we had this 38 year old journeyman on the mound, a guy who was our third choice for closer this season, a guy who had played baseball in relative obscurity for a long time. And there he was, in the final inning of the final game of the World Series, about to close the series for the winning team, with almost forty thousand rabid fans chanting his name: "Koji! Koji! Koji!" How great was that?

A colleague emailed the other day and asked, if the Sox win, who deserves the MVP? Lester or Ortiz? I voted with the majority and told him Ortiz. Lester had been fabulous throughout the post-season, and Boston would never had been on the cusp of another title without Jon Lester's performance -- beating the Cardinals' ace in two head-to-head games. Still, it had to be Ortiz, because his hitting had been historic. Any time a player gets compared to Gehrig or Ruth, you know something special has happened. .688 batting average; .760 on base percentage; and an OPS of just under two -- 1.948. And not only that, but he continually had huge hits when they were needed most: the Grand Slam in Game Two of the ALCS was the biggest, of course; without that hit, I doubt they would have made it to the series; the two-run homer off Wacha in Game Two; the double in the first inning of Game Five. And when was the last time we saw a player, any player, gather his teammates in the dugout like Ortiz did in Game Four? One inning later, Gomes hit his three-run homer, and all the momentum swung over to Boston from that point on.

Certainly among RedSox Nation, players who are instrumental in the team's success are forever remembered. Dave Roberts is the best example of that - the entire Nation loves him for a single stolen base. JD Drew, who had a mediocre career in Fenway's right field, will always be remembered for his ALCS grand slam. So this year, we can add Shane Victorino and Mike Napoli and Jonny Gomes to that list. Shane especially. He played gold glove defense all year, but his bat was relatively quiet. But two enormous post-season hits will make it impossible for fans to forget him. And Lackey too, who really hadn't justified the big contract he got, finally earned his dough with a great post-season performance.

When he was interviewed after the game, the always humble Uehara said that he felt like he was in a dream. I think we all feel that way. For years, RedSox fans came to each April with high expectations, yet found themselves disappointed in the end.  Four Game Seven losses between '46 and '86; Bucky Dent in '78; Pedro's meltdown in '03. This year, however, fans had no expectations after the disasters of 2011 and 2012. And now to think that the season ended with the Sox winning their third title in a decade -- it doesn't quite seem real. But dream or not, this post-season has washed away all the disappointments of the eighty-six year drought. All of that seems like it happened in another lifetime. Or maybe all of that was just a bad dream; maybe we've only been awake since 2004.

One final note; 2013 was special for a personal reason; it was the first time the boys and I had been together to watch the Sox play in the World Series.  Let's hope we get to do that again; and can do it without any busted ribs. How does the fall of 2014 sound? Is it too early to think about next year? And do I have to go without shaving all of next summer? Go Sox!!!