Undeniable Proof That The Babe Is A Sox Fan
Explain if you can:
-In game 6, Posada crushes a ball to right, a sure upper-decker if there ever was one. Suddenly a gust of wind knocks it back into the park. Later in the game, Mark Bellhorn pokes a fly to left that carries all the way out. He didn’t hit the ball half as hard as Posada did. What hand reached out and carried Bellhorn’s ball over the fence?
-The Red Sox get two huge calls in game 6, while on the road, and both on reversals. Umpires never reverse calls. Granted both calls were correct, but to get both of them while in Yankee Stadium is a miracle. The Sox certainly didn’t get the calls in 1999.
-How do you explain the incredible resurrection of 3 dead Red Sox players? Curt Schilling was done; the doctors said if this were the season he would be having surgery immediately. He was never supposed to pitch again this season, then he comes back and pitches brilliantly on one foot. Mark Bellhorn doesn’t hit at all for 5 games, so bad that he gets demoted in the order. He then wins game 6 with a home run. Johnny Damon has the worst possible series. He can’t even bunt, much less hit. Then, out of the blue, he’s driving in 6 runs in game 7.
-At the same time, how do you explain 3 Yankees who absolutely could not miss at the plate in the first 3 games suddenly not being able to hit at all. Rodriguez, Sheffield, and Matsui went a combined 23/41 (.561) with 18 RBI’s in the first 3 games. In the last 4 games, they went 8/53 (.151) with 2 RBI’s. How can that happen?
-In game 4 at precisely midnight, Dave Roberts steals second base which leads to the series-saving run. The Red Sox have never, ever, stolen bases, especially in the clutch. When he stole this base, I inexplicably leapt off the couch and was exclaiming, “The curse is ending! The Red Sox just stole a base! The curse must be ending!” There are the Sox, down 3-0 in the series and 3 outs away from losing game 4, facing the greatest closer of all time, and there I am exclaiming that the curse is ending. That’s how I know the forces are strong within me right now.
-Cairo’s double in game 5 bounces over the short Fenway fence by an inch, preventing a huge run from scoring.
-Babe. Bucky. Buckner. Boone. Who lost game 7? Brown. Who won game 6? Bellhorn.
-The bottom of the ninth inning of game 7 started at exactly midnight.
-The score of game 3 was 19-8, which is but a mere syllable away from saying “1918.” Not a fluke.
Give the Red Sox all the credit in the world, and also give credit to the higher forces that were at play here. The fact is that Babe Ruth was watching and affecting this series, just as he has done with every Red Sox postseason series. The difference this year is that The Babe is now a Sox fan. You see, The Babe has a bit of an ego. He likes the fact that he is the ultimate trump and turned the tables forever. He is proud to be The Man The Yankees Stole From The Red Sox. But along came a man named Alex Rodriguez, who threatens Babe’s reputation as the ultimate Yankee steal from the Sox. This does not make the Babe happy at all, and he has switched sides. At the same time, he looks at the Red Sox and sees a lot of himself. These are a bunch of happy-go-lucky, partying guys, just as The Babe was. Especially Ortiz. Like Babe, Oritz is a big, huge-swatting, good-times guy. The Babe empowered Ortiz, just as he did Schilling, Bellhorn, and Damon. He knocked down a Yankee homerun, carried a Sox homerun, and made sure the Sox got the calls. He led the score of game 3 to indicate the year he last led the Sox to victory, and again manifested himself through players whose names start with B. Babe is still here, still watching, still playing, but he is back on the Red Sox.
The Red Sox go to the World Series with the home-field advantage because the American League won the All-Star game. They won thanks to Manny Ramirez hitting a 3-run home run off of losing pitcher Roger Clemens. Game 7 will be at Fenway Park on Halloween.
Seth Wolfman
