Red Sox Notebook: Quotes, Tidbits As 2004 Anniversary Takes Final Bow
Some final thoughts on a historic anniversary
The 2024 season marked the 20th anniversary of arguably the most important season in Boston Red Sox history.
That ball club changed the course of the franchise, stunned the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series and defeated the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series to win their first title in 86 years.
NESN.com commemorated the anniversary with four oral histories focusing on some of the greatest turning points of the season for the Red Sox. You can catch up on those below.
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Despite all of the coverage surrounding the anniversary, there’s some news and notes that did not make the oral histories. So, along with a gathering of additional coverage, consider this a director’s cut with some extra tidbits on the 2004 Red Sox in this notebook:
New Curse?
Johnny Damon played one more season with Boston before departing in free agency to the Yankees after the 2005 season. He played four seasons with the club and never felt the need to “bash” them from their rivalry with the Red Sox.
“We know what the Yankees are all about,” Damon told NESN.com. “They’re all about winning. They’re all about championships. It’s never easy to go up against a powerhouse like the Yankees. There’s a reason they continue to go to the postseason.”
The Yankees last won the World Series in 2009 when Damon won his second ring. New York returned to the Fall Classic in 2024, only to watch the Los Angeles Dodgers take their championship dreams in five games.
The Red Sox broke the “Curse of the Bambino” in 2004. Now 20 years later, Damon joked that a new curse might be looming in baseball.
“They haven’t won since the year they got rid of me,” Damon said. “There’s another story — ‘The Curse of Johnny Damon.'”
Lights, Camera, Action
Netflix brought the story of the 2004 Red Sox back to life with a three-part docuseries. Several players shared their thoughts with NESN.com on the finished product and NESN.com’s Greg Dudek shared his takeaways from the three hours of new 2004 content.
Switch It Up
Jason Varitek switch-hit throughout his MLB career. The 2004 postseason had the Red Sox see him do something new: hit from the same side as the hand of the pitcher.
Varitek struggled against Yankees starter and MLB Hall of Famer Mike Mussina. Varitek hit just .171 off the right-hander in his career and went 0-for-2 against him in Game 1 of the 2004 ALCS. When Mussina got the ball in Game 5 at Fenway Park, the Red Sox catcher stepped up to the plate right-handed.
“Well, nobody was supposed to know but I think Tito went ahead and told the media beforehand,” Varitek told NESN.com in June. “I hadn’t hit Mussina well at all. I think I was probably 0-for-50. Desperate measures for desperate times. Let’s throw a monkey wrench in this. I think I ended up walking with the bases loaded, which ended up being good. I probably would’ve punched out left-handed. Later on, his arm slot dropped and I hit him better. Just try to make an adjustment to make a different moment. I came in like, ‘Tito, I’m gonna hit him right-handed.’ He’s like, ‘OK.’ I was hoping for it to be a surprise, but we let the cat out of the bag earlier.”
Varitek did not record a hit against Mussina that day, but he did draw a bases-loaded walk to bring in a run in the first inning as the Red Sox pulled off a second consecutive walk-off victory.
“Not Like Us”
The MLB on FOX pre- and postgame crew is a constant 2004 reminder anytime you turn on the broadcast. David Ortiz sits in between Yankees legends Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter.
FOX has aired highlights of the 2004 ALCS over and over since this crew came together, but the 20th anniversary year only heightened that in recognition of the championship as well as using it as context in the 2024 World Series.
The Yankees fell behind 3-0 to the Dodgers in the World Series. That sparked the the thought: Could the Yankees do what was done to them 20 years prior in the ALCS?
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New York won Game 4 before dropping the series, adding another moment for Ortiz to enjoy the defeat of his former rivals.
“You know, I was just trying to put a little pepper in it,” Ortiz told NESN.com. “It’s hard to come back, especially against a good team like the Dodgers.”
From “Lowe” Lights To The Finisher
Derek Lowe became a postseason hero for the Red Sox in 2004. That certainly seemed like a fantasy when that playoff run began.
Lowe moved to the bullpen after regular season struggles to the tune of a 5.42 ERA in 33 starts. He noted how he had an up-and-down season “to put it mildly,” before he saved his best outings for October.
“How I got that start, at the time I was a long reliever,” Lowe told NESN.com. “My job was to come up and mop up situations. Game 3 was a mop-up and (Tim Wakefield) said, ‘No, I’m going to do it.’ I still to this day don’t know why. That offer allowed me to start Game 4. I had such a bad year. I almost pitched that game selfish for me. I needed to at least show the people that I could at least somewhat pitch. It actually made it easier for me because I didn’t take the whole totality into account. I gotta go out there and at least have one good game going into free agency.”
That’s where Lowe hit a turning point to keep the Red Sox alive and thriving.
Lowe became the first player in MLB history to be the winning pitcher of all three clinching games of a playoff series for a championship team.
