2007 Boston Red Sox: Pounding the Competition

January 10th, 2016
By SLB
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Unlike their championship drought from 1918 to 2004, the Boston Red Sox wouldn’t have to wait nearly as long to capture their 2^nd World Series championship in the 21^st Century as the 2007 edition of the team proved to be a powerful juggernaut. Again under the guidance of manager Terry Francona, the Red Sox had a 96-66 record in the 2007 regular season, finishing 2 games ahead of their bitter rivals the New York Yankees to claim the American League East. The Red Sox went 51-30 at home and 45-36 on the road.

Some roster changes were made prior to the season. Relief pitcher Keith Foulke struggled often in 2006, battling injuries in the process. Foulke would retire from baseball on February 16, 2007. Outfielder Gabe Kapler retired from the game of baseball on December 12, 2006 to pursue his dream of managing a team, which he would do for Boston’s Single A affiliate team, the Greenville Drive.

Looking to replicate what he did in 2004, designated hitter David Ortiz, referred to as “Big Papi” by Red Sox fans, led the charge on offense as he batted .332 and clobbered 35 home runs, recording 117 RBI’s off 182 hits and 52 doubles. Third baseman Mike Lowell had the best season of his career in 2007, batting .324 with 21 home runs and 120 RBI’s off 191 hits and 37 doubles. Second baseman Dustin Pedroia batted .317 with 165 hits and 39 doubles. Left fielder Manny Ramirez batted .296 with 20 home runs and 88 RBI’s off 143 hits and 33 doubles.

First baseman Kevin Youkilis batted .288 with 16 home runs and 83 RBI’s off 152 hits and 35 doubles. Right fielder J.D. Drew batted .270 with 11 home runs off 126 hits and had 30 doubles and 4 triples. Shortstop Julio Lugo had 135 hits, 36 doubles and 33 stolen bases. Center fielder Coco Crisp had 141 hits, 28 doubles, 7 triples and 28 stolen bases. Catcher Jason Varitek had 17 home runs off 111 hits.

It was announced on November 16, 2006 that the Red Sox were competing for the rights to negotiate a contract with Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka, and having the winning bid of $51.1 Million, the Red Sox signed Matsuzaka on December 13. Matsuzaka would go 15-12 in 2007, recording 201 strikeouts and 1 complete game. Josh Beckett was the ace of Boston’s starting rotation, though, as he went 20-7 with 194 strikeouts, posting a 3.27 ERA and 1 complete game. Knuckleball specialist Tim Wakefield went 17-12 with 110 strikeouts. Curt Schilling went 9-8 with 101 strikeouts, and posted a 3.87 ERA, 1 complete game and 1 shutout.

The Red Sox also had a steady and consistent bullpen as closer Jonathan Papelbon had 37 saves along with 87 strikeouts and a 1.85 ERA. Relief pitcher Hideki Okajima pitched 69 innings out of the bullpen and had 5 saves along with a 2.22 ERA. Mike Timlin had a 3.42 ERA, Javier Lopez had a 3.10 ERA and Manny Delcarmen, an ideal choice for a setup man, had a 2.05 ERA.

The Boston Red Sox would face the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the American League Division Series, and the Red Sox got off to a great start by shutting out the Angels 4-0 in Game 1 at Fenway Park on October 3. In the bottom of the 1^st inning Youkilis hit a solo home run, and then Ortiz went deep for a 2-run home run in the bottom of the 3^rd inning. Mike Lowell followed Ortiz with an RBI single. Josh Beckett pitched a complete game gem, giving up only 4 hits and recording 8 strikeouts.

The Red Sox would win again in Game 2 on October 5 by the score of 6-3. J.D. Drew had a 2-run single in the bottom of the 1^st inning. In the top of the 2^nd inning catcher Jeff Mathis had an RBI ground-out to put the Angels on the board, and then center fielder Chone Figgins and shortstop Orlando Cabrera had RBI doubles. In the bottom of the 5^th inning Mike Lowell had a sacrifice fly, and then Manny Ramirez had a walk off 3-run home run in the bottom of the 9^th inning to give Boston the win.

The Red Sox then won Game 3 in Anaheim 9-1, completing the series sweep on October 7. Curt Schilling pitched 7 innings and gave up 6 hits and 1 walk while recording 4 strikeouts. In the top of the 4^th inning Ortiz and Ramirez hit back-to-back solo home runs, and then the Red Sox broke the game open in the top of the 8^th inning. Pedroia had an RBI double, and Youkilis followed with a sacrifice fly, and Lowell would have an RBI double. Drew grounded into a fielder’s choice to score outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, then after Varitek had an RBI double, Crisp had a 2-run single.

Advancing to the American League Championship Series, the Red Sox faced the Cleveland Indians, and in Game 1 at Fenway Park on October 12, the Red Sox pounded the Indians 10-3. Designated hitter Travis Hafner hit a solo home run to give Cleveland an early lead in the top of the 1^st inning, but Manny Ramirez responded for Boston with an RBI single in the bottom of the 1^st inning.

Ramirez would be walked in the bottom of the 3^rd with the bases loaded to score Julio Lugo, and then Mike Lowell had a ground rule 2-run double. Jason Varitek then had an RBI groundout. Right fielder Bobby Kielty then had a 2-run single in the bottom of the 5^th inning, and Varitek followed with an RBI double. After Indians second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera had an RBI single in the top of the 6^th inning, Ramirez drew another bases loaded walk in the bottom of the 6^th to score Dustin Pedroia, and Lowell followed with a sacrifice fly.

The Indians came back in Game 2 on October 13 to pound the Red Sox 13-6, and while the game would stay tied at 6-6 from the top of the 6^th inning until the top of the 11^th inning, the Indians broke through with an RBI single from pinch-hitting designated hitter, and former Red Sox, Trot Nixon. A wild pitch would be thrown during catcher Victor Martinez’s at-bat to score Cabrera, which would be followed by an RBI single by first baseman Ryan Garko and an RBI double by shortstop Jhonny Peralta. Right fielder Franklin Gutierrez then smacked a 3-run home run to finish the scoring.

Games 3 and 4 would put Boston in a 3 games to 1 series hole as the Cleveland won both games 4-2 and 7-3 respectively. In the bottom of the 2^nd inning on October 15 at Jacobs Field, Left fielder Kenny Lofton hit a 2-run home run, and then in the bottom of the 5^th, Cabrera’s RBI single and Hafner’s RBI groundout secured Cleveland’s Game 3 win. In the bottom of the 5^th inning on October 16, third baseman Casey Blake hit a solo home run, Cabrera had an infield RBI single, Martinez had an RBI single, Peralta belted a 3-run home run, and then Blake came back to get an RBI single.

Boston took a much needed 7-1 victory in Game 5 on October 18 as Josh Beckett pitched 8 innings and gave up 5 hits, 1 walk and 1 run, but recorded 11 strikeouts. Youkilis hit a solo home run in the top of the 1^st, Ramirez had an RBI single in the top of the 3^rd, and then Youkilis returned to hit an RBI triple in the top of the 7^th. Ortiz followed with a sacrifice fly. A passed ball during Dustin Pedroia’s at-bat in the top of the 8^th inning scored J.D. Drew, and Youkilis followed with a bases loaded walk to score Coco Crisp. Ortiz would then get another sacrifice fly.

Returning to Fenway Park in Boston for Game 6 on October 20, the Red Sox pounded the Indians 12-2. Drew obliterated a grand slam home run in the bottom of the 1^st inning, and after a Victor Martinez solo home run in the top of the 2^nd, Drew came back in the bottom of the 3^rd with an RBI single. Playing center field, Jacoby Ellsbury had an RBI single, Julio Lugo had a 2-run double and Kevin Youkilis had a 2-run single. After a Jhonny Peralta sacrifice fly in the top of the 7^th, Ramirez had a sacrifice fly and Lowell had an RBI single in the bottom of the 8^th.

The Red Sox would pound the Indians again in the deciding Game 7 on October 21 11-2. Dustin Pedroia blasted a 2-run home run in the bottom of the 7^th inning, and then the bottom of the 8^th ended Cleveland’s hopes of a championship. Drew had an RBI single, Pedroia came back with a 3-run double and Youkilis belted a 2-run home run.

The Boston Red Sox faced the National League Champion Colorado Rockies in the 2007 World Series, and the Red Sox would sweep the Rockies in 4 games convincingly. In Game 1 on October 24 the Red Sox pounded the Rockies 13-1. Josh Beckett pitched 7 innings and gave up 1 walk and 1 run while recording 6 strikeouts. The bottom of the 5^th inning was key for the Red Sox as Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz had back-to-back RBI doubles. Manny Ramirez had an RBI single, J.D. Drew had an infield RBI single, and bases loaded walks drawn by Julio Lugo, Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Perdroia finished the scoring.

In Game 2 on October 25 the Red Sox narrowly beat the Rockies 2-1. After Colorado first baseman Todd Helton had an infield RBI single in the bottom of the 1^st inning, Jason Varitek had a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 4^th, and Mike Lowell followed in the bottom of the 5^th with an RBI double.

The series shifted to Coors Field in Denver for Game 3 on October 27, and the Red Sox would win again by the score of 10-5. David Ortiz had an RBI single in the top of the 3^rd inning, which would be followed by a 2-run single by Mike Lowell, a 2-run single by starting pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka, and an RBI double by Jacoby Ellsbury. Ellsbury came back with another RBI double in the bottom of the 8^th, and Pedroia followed with a 2-run double.

The Red Sox completed the 4-game sweep on October 28with a 4-3 win. David Ortiz had an RBI single in the top of the 1^st inning and Jason Varitek had an RBI single in the top of the 5^th inning. After Mike Lowell hit a solo home run in the top of the 7^th, Rockies right fielder Brad Hawpe hit his own solo home run in the bottom of the 7^th. Bobby Kielty then responded with his own solo home run in the top of the 8^th, and then Rockies third baseman Garrett Atkins hit a 2-run home run in the bottom of the 8^th.

However, the Rockies wouldn’t be able to tie the game as closer Jonathan Papelbon pitched 1.2 innings to secure his 4^th save of the postseason and Boston’s 2^nd World Series title in 4 years. Mike Lowell would be named the World Series Most Valuable Player.