It is only fitting that this epic Red Sox season should come down to the final day. The daily saga of the defending World Champions has been a tale filled with unexpected highs and lows.
This story shouldn’t end before October.
There were celebrities all over Fenway before the series began. Robert Redford, Bill O’Reilly, Wade Boggs and some 200 media members clogged the infield warning track at Fenway Park before David Wells took his considerable frame out to the mound.
It was so bad, players had trouble getting out to the grass to throw their warm-up tosses. It was just too crowded.
The MVP race isn’t too crowded. It’s a two-horse race. While the Sox and Yankees squaring off,
David Ortiz and Alex Rodriguez were sharing the ultimate regular-season stage with a chance to win the league’s top player award.
Like the two teams they represent, Big Papi and A-Rod came into the weekend in a statistical dead heat. They were tied with 47 home runs. Ortiz had a considerable lead in RBIs, and A-Rod had a much better average.
Sox fans point to the incredible clutch numbers their designated hitter has put up this season. Entering the series, 19 of his homers came from the seventh inning on.
Yankee fans point to what their third baseman does when he’s not hitting. He plays third base, and a solid one at that. New Yorkers believe that’s enough to put him ahead of a guy who only hits.
“I have a limited opinion on this,” Red Sox Manager Terry Francona told the hordes of media on Friday. “I want our guy to win. It’s as simple as that.”
Shortly after that, Big Papi burst into the room. “Dude,” the player said to his manager, “you going to be talking all day?”
Knowing when to follow a cue, Francona immediately left the room. Ortiz, larger than life as always, took center stage.
“I’ve got to go hit,” said Ortiz, “and he’s sitting here blah blah blah.”
Someone then pointed out that Francona’s “blah blah blahs” were reasons why Ortiz should be the MVP.
“Oh, come back!” Ortiz shouted to his manager.
The MVP award really doesn’t matter much right now. Either man would give up his shot at the award to win it all later this month.
If the award is really given to the player with the highest value to his team, it should be Ortiz. How much does he mean to the Sox? Enough that Chien-Ming Wang walked him intentionally to pitch to Manny Ramirez on Friday night. Think about that.
In that sixth inning, Manny hit a single to load the bases. The Sox would add three runs before the inning was over.
It added up to a huge win, a win that pulled the Sox and Yankees into a tie again. Yesterday, the rivals played the 70th game against one another since the start of 2003. They say familiarity breeds contempt, but for the past three years it has bred some of the most exciting baseball we’ve ever seen.
Lewiston native Tom Caron is a NESN sports analyst for Red Sox and Bruins telecasts.
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