After 86 years of chasing a World Series title and turning three generations of fans into doomsayers, the Boston Red Sox did not care how orderly everything unfolded while winning it. The Red Sox, baseball's happy hobos, only cared that they had finally won it.
The unkempt and unbelievable Red Sox notched the sweet victory that had eluded them since 1918 by burying the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-0, and sweeping the World Series in four games.
There is finally joy, everlasting joy, for the wary fans who wondered if this season would end as miserably as all the rest.
Sure, there were pockmarks that covered this series. Sure, the Cardinals seemed as if they started snoozing after the first game. But the Red Sox were concerned with achieving history, not doing it in classic fashion with a taut, seven-game drama.
For Boston, this series was a masterpiece.
"Someone told me that this would be bigger than the [US] Revolution," John Henry, the Red Sox principal owner, said. "Is that true?"
Boston's World Series title is forever, an heirloom, something to hold and treasure. For too many aching seasons, from Babe to Bucky to Buckner to Boone, the Red Sox watched the Yankees win, spray the champagne and have a parade.
Not anymore. Book the parade in Boston this time.
"No more of those Yankee Stadium 1918 chants," Derek Lowe said. "Finally."
Lowe, who probably threw his final pitches as a member of the Red Sox, continued his postseason renaissance by tossing seven scoreless innings.
After being banished to the bullpen, Lowe wound up winning the clincher by stifling the Cardinals on three hits. He also won the decisive game in the American League Championship Series and the clincher in the Division Series. It was a nifty potential epitaph for the soon-to-be free agent.
The tremendous trio of Lowe, Curt Schilling and Pedro Martinez combined to overwhelm St. Louis. The Cardinals managed three runs and 13 hits over the last three games, looking more confused with each game and never figuring out any of the starters.
Also See Story:
Boston Red Sox reclaim World Series
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency as well as long-term residency in Taiwan has decreased, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday, adding that the reduction of Chinese spouses staying or living in Taiwan is only one facet reflecting the general decrease in the number of people willing to get married in Taiwan. The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency last year was 7,123, down by 2,931, or 29.15 percent, from the previous year. The same census showed that the number of Chinese spouses applying for long-term residency and receiving approval last year stood at 2,973, down 1,520,