The Boston Red Sox are a Major League Baseball franchise. They are competing in the Eastern Division of the American League. Opened on April 20, 1912, their home stadium, Fenway Park, is the oldest major league ballpark still in operation.. The Red Sox has the honor of winning the first World Series as the Boston Americans in 1903 against the Pittsburgh Pirates. After an 86-year interval, they were able to record their most recent World Series championship win in 2004.
The two clubs "enjoy" one of the longest-standing rivalries in North American sports.
The minor Western League declared its equality with the National League under Ban Johnson in 1900. It was the only major league then. The name of the league was changed to the American League by Johnson. Initially the team was competing in the streets. However, the upstart placed franchises in two of the largest and most important National League cities, Philadelphia and Boston.
The Americans participated in the first modern World Series in 1903. They were successful in beating the favored Pittsburgh Pirates, winning five games to three. The Americans, aided by the modified chants of "Tessie" by the Royal Rooters fan club and by its stronger pitching staff, managed to overcome the odds, winning the first ever World Series.
The Red Sox logo used in 1908, when they were simply known as "Boston".The 1904 club was almost as good as the previous team.But the Americans found themselves in a tight pennant race through the last games of the season due to the surprise emergence of the New York Highlanders. In order to win the pennant, the Highlanders needed to win both games.
The Americans lost 100 games in the 1906 season. But the newly renamed Red Sox was able to improve immediately with the help of several new star players. By 1909, Red Sox worked their way to third place and the legendary center fielder Tris Speaker had become a fixture in the Boston outfield. However, the Red Sox would not win the pennant again until their 105-win 1912 season.
Joseph Lannin was the owner of the Red Sox from 1913 to 1916. He was successful in signing Babe Ruth who was soon the best-known and one of the best players ever. The Red Sox propelled to the World Series again with another 101 wins in 1915. They were able to beat the Philadelphia Phillies four games to one. The 1916 team repeated the pennant. The Red Sox won the World Series once again. They defeated the Brooklyn Robins this time. By 1918, the team found itself at the top of the heap again, led by Babe Ruth to a World Series championship over the Chicago Cubs.
When Boston could not win for a few decades and New York achieved great success, the sale of Babe Ruth came to be viewed as the beginning of the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry. It is described as the "Greatest Rivalry on Earth". Frazee continued to sell many of his star players after the sale of Ruth to the Yankees.
The Red Sox didn't reach the postseason for the next seven years after the 1978 playoff game. During that period, they finished no higher than third place in their division.
In the 1986 World Series the Red Sox played the New York Mets. The Red Sox won the first two games in Shea Stadium, but lost the next two at Fenway, knotting the series at 2 games apiece. After Bruce Hurst recorded his second victory of the series in game 5; the Red Sox returned to Flushing Meadows looking to garner their first championship in 68 years. However, Game Six marked the most devastating losses in club history. Roger Clemens was curiously lifted from the game with a 3-2 lead after pitching seven strong innings.
The Red Sox were able to return to the postseason in 1988. With the club in fourth place early in the 1988 season, manager John McNamara was fired. He was replaced by Joe Morgan. Immediately the club won 12 games in a row, and 19 of 20 overall. They soured up to the AL East title in what would be referred to as Morgan's Magic.
In 1990, the Red Sox would again win the division and face the Athletics in the ALCS. However, the A's swept the Series in four.
In 2000, the Red Sox failed to take advantage of Nomar Garciaparra's career year and Pedro Martinez's historic season. Other standouts included reliever Derek Lowe and outfielders Carl Everett and Dante Bichette, but the rest of the team was weak, and the Red Sox stumbled to an 85-77 record.
GM Theo Epstein's first major step toward restocking the team for 2007 was to pursue one of the most anticipated acquisitions in recent history. The Red Sox had won the bid for the rights to negotiate a major league contract with Japanese superstar pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka. Coming into the 2007 season the red sox have still yet to name a closer. The favorite to win the position right now is Joel Pi?eiro.
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