Even though the Red Sox haven’t had a lack of talent, far from it. The greatest hitter of all time, Ted Williams, played for the Sox for decades, and he was the last player to ever bat over .400; he batted .406 in 1941. No one else has come close in 62 years of baseball. Johnny Pesky, Carl Yastrzemski, Rico Petrocelli; all legends of Red Sox baseball. Who can forget Carlton Fisk and the 1975 World Series. It was Game 6, at Fenway Park, bottom of the 12th inning, the game tied at 6 runs. Fisk stepped to the plate, and turned on the second offering from Cincinnati Reds pitcher Pat Darcy. There was no question about the height. There was no question about the distance. But was it fair? Fisk danced on an imaginary pogo stick down the first baseline while begging the ball to stay fair by waving his arms toward fair territory. The crowd went wild when the ball caromed off of the left field foul pole to give the Sox a 7-6 win, evening the World Series at three games apiece. Even with these heroics, the Red Sox still lost the Series to the Reds.
And then there was Buckner. In a play that makes even the most diehard fans cringe at the memory. Bill Buckner lets a routine groundball through his legs, allowing the winning run for the New York Mets to score and once again steal certain victory, this time in Game 7. Never had a World Series loss been as devastating as that one had been. Never had the Red Sox been as close to victory as they had been in that game. It was a game that still haunts fans, young and old, to this day. One must wonder, what was the cause? Were the Red Sox just unlucky? Did they have bad players or bad management? Or was it the Curse at work?
Skip ahead through Red Sox history and you arrive in 2003. It was a year to remember, as most players on the team had career years, and the team itself broke every Major League offensive record. They never gave up, and were on the heels of the first place Yankees all season. After making it into the playoffs as the Wildcard team, and coming back in the series against the Oakland As, the Red Sox looked unbeatable. And the series against the Yankees was a nail-biter, as dramatic as any series ever played before the two teams. But again, the Red Sox would loose, not only in the post-season, but against the much hated Yankees. History had repeated itself yet again.
So what is the cause of all these heartbreaking losses? Bad management, poor players, an inability to rise above the pressure? Or are greater forces at work? Does a curse hang over Fenway Park, and all teams destined to play there? Or is it that the Red Sox, having lived under the prospect of a curse, given in and believe it, when no curse may exist? Only time, and the faith of the Red Sox Nation, will tell…
