Israel Matzav

The first time since 1918?

When John Lackey takes the mound for the Red Sox tonight, he will have the chance to do something that no Red Sox pitcher has done since Carl Mays in 1918: Clinch a Red Sox World Series win at Fenway Park (Hat Tip: NY Nana).

The last time the Boston Red Sox clinched a championship at Fenway Park, they used carrier pigeons to deliver inning-by-inning updates to soldiers at a fort 40 miles away. The World Series was a September event, with games played in the light of day and lasting less than two hours. And their best young player was a 23-year-old hurler named George Herman Ruth. The year was 1918.

Ninety-five years later, after a wait long enough to create the Curse of the Bambino, lament it for decades, break it and almost forget about it, the city of Boston will have a chance to witness the Red Sox celebrate a title on Massachusetts soil once again.

By beating the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-1, in Game 5 of the World Series on Monday night at Busch Stadium, the Red Sox took a 3-2 series lead. A win in either Game 6 or Game 7 would clinch the series. A loss in both would go down as a collapse.

It will be sheer ecstasy or stunned agony, with little room for anything in between. The only certainty is bedlam.

...

Ninety-five years ago, a pitcher named Carl Mays stood on the mound at Fenway Park with two outs in the ninth inning and got Les Mann of the Chicago Cubs to ground out to second base to end the World Series.

On Wednesday or Thursday, if the Red Sox can take the lead and preserve it, that moment will likely belong to Uehara, and it will be seen far and wide. No pigeons required.

Two things that are unmentioned here. First, the Red Sox have had two other opportunities to clinch the Series at Fenway since 1918. In 1967, they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals at Fenway and in 1975 they lost to the Cincinnati Reds. Second, in both those Series, the Sox won Game 6. Game 6 in 1975 was the epic game in which Carlton Fisk waved his home run inside the left field foul poll. Will Fisk be there tonight?

Read the whole thing.

Labels: Boston Red Sox, World Series

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:39 PM