The 2007 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2007 season. The 103rd edition of the World Series,[2] it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion Colorado Rockies and the American League (AL) champion Boston Red Sox; the Red Sox swept the Rockies in four games. It was the Rockies' only appearance in a World Series. The Red Sox's victory was their second World Series championship in four seasons and their seventh overall; it also marked the third sweep in four years by the AL champions. The series began on Wednesday, October 24 and ended on Sunday, October 28.
Terry Francona became the second Red Sox manager to win two World Series titles, following Bill Carrigan, who won the 1915 and 1916 World Series. Including the last three games of the AL Championship Series, the Red Sox outscored their opposition 59–15 over their final seven games. Francona also became the first manager to win his first 8 World Series games. The Rockies, meanwhile, became the first NL team to get swept in a World Series after sweeping the League Championship Series, and just the second team ever to suffer such a fate, following the Oakland Athletics in 1990. This fate would again be suffered by the 2012 Detroit Tigers, being swept by the San Francisco Giants in the World Series after sweeping the New York Yankees in the ALCS. As of 2023, this remains the most recent time an American League team has swept a National League team in the World Series.
This was the fourth time since the beginning of interleague play in 1997 that a World Series matchup would be a rematch from the regular season. The Rockies beat the Red Sox 2-1 in a three game series at Fenway Park from June 12–14.
The Rockies entered the Series having won 21 of their last 22 games, going back to the end of the regular season, including sweeps of the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS and the division rival Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLCS. They also beat the San Diego Padres in the NL Wild Card tie-breaker. The Red Sox swept the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the ALDS and defeated the Cleveland Indians in the ALCS after trailing three games to one, taking the final three contests by a combined score of 30–5. Neither participating team was in the previous year's postseason. The Rockies' eight-day layoff was the longest in MLB postseason history, caused by their sweep in the NLCS, the ALCS going seven games, and scheduling by MLB.
Per the 2006 Collective Bargaining Agreement,[3] the Red Sox had home-field advantage in the World Series following the American League's 5–4 win in the 2007 All-Star Game. The first two games took place in Boston, with games 3 and 4 in Denver.
Ticket controversy
The countdown page seen by many people attempting to buy World Series tickets: when the countdown completed it would either load a page to select seats or just restart the countdown.
On October 17, 2007, a week before the first game of the World Series, the Colorado Rockies announced that tickets would be made available to the general public via online sales only, despite prior arrangements to sell the tickets at local retail outlets.[4] Five days later, California-based ticket vendor Paciolan, Inc., the sole contractor authorized by the Colorado Rockies to distribute tickets, was forced to suspend sales after less than an hour due to an exorbitant number of purchase attempts.[5]
The Rockies organization said that they were the victims of a denial-of-service attack.[6] The FBI started its own investigation into these claims.[7] Ticket sales resumed the next day, with all three home games selling out within 2+1⁄2 hours.
The Red Sox also relied primarily on online sales to sell the game tickets, although some Fenway Park tickets were sold on the phone and at the box office. The Sox held a random drawing for the right to buy post season tickets on October 15, and winners bought tickets at a private online sale. Street prices were lower in Boston this time than in 2004: the average price, according to StubHub, was about $1500 in 2007, down about $300 from three years previously.[8] Some Sox fans found that it was cheaper to travel to Denver to see World Series games than to pay the street price for Boston game tickets.[9]
The Red Sox cruised to a blowout win in Game1 behind ALCS MVP Josh Beckett, who struck out nine batters, including the first four he faced, over seven innings en route to his fourth win of the 2007 postseason. Mike Timlin and Éric Gagné pitched a perfect eighth and ninth, respectively.
The Rockies got on the board in the second when Garrett Atkins doubled with one out off Beckett and scored on Troy Tulowitzki's double one out later, but the Red Sox got that run back off of Francis when Youkilis walked with two outs and scored on Ortiz's double. In the fourth, the Red Sox loaded the bases with two outs on a single, double, and intentional walk when Varitek's two-run double put them up 6–1.
They put the game out of reach with seven runs in the fifth. Julio Lugo hit a leadoff single off of reliever Franklin Morales before Jacoby Ellsbury bunted into a forceout at second. After Pedroia popped out, a balk moved Ellsbury to second before he scored on Youkilis's double. Ortiz's double and Ramirez's single scored a run each. The Red Sox loaded the bases on a double and walk before Drew's single scored another run. Ryan Speier relieved Morales and walked all three batters he faced to force in three more Boston runs. Matt Herges relieved Speier and got Youkilis to fly out to right to end the inning.
Though Herges and two relievers held Boston scoreless for the rest of the game, the Red Sox finished with 13 runs, the most ever in a World Series Game1, and tied another record with nine extra base hits. The last 11 of the Red Sox runs came with two outs.
Curt Schilling pitched and won Game 2, allowing only one run in five innings.
Game 2
October 25, 2007 8:00pm (EDT) at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts 51°F (11°C), partly cloudy
The ceremonial first pitch was thrown by Andrew Madden, a 13-year-old heart transplant recipient, accompanied by Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame member Dwight Evans.[15] After the debacle of Game1, Colorado appeared to return to form, scoring quickly on a groundout by Todd Helton with runners on second and third in the first. However, this would be the only time the Rockies ever led in the series as postseason veteran Curt Schilling (5+1⁄3 IP, one run, four hits) and Boston's bullpen (Okajima, 2+1⁄3 IP; Papelbon, 1+1⁄3 IP) allowed no other runs in the contest. The Red Sox tied the game in the fourth off of Ubaldo Jimenez on Jason Varitek's sacrifice fly with runners on second and third, then took the lead next inning on Mike Lowell's RBI double with runners on first and second. Matt Holliday had four of Colorado's five hits in Game2, including a base hit off Papelbon with two outs in the eighth. Before throwing another pitch, Papelbon caught Holliday leaning too far off first base and picked him off—Papelbon's first career pickoff.
Daisuke Matsuzaka became the first Japanese player to start and win a World Series game.
This was the first World Series game ever played in Colorado. At 4 hours 19 minutes, it became the longest nine-inning game in World Series history. Game3 was also the 600th World Series game ever played. Starting pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched five innings of scoreless ball and left in the sixth with no runs allowed. The Red Sox struck first with a six-run third inning. Rookie Jacoby Ellsbury hit a leadoff double, moved to third on Dustin Pedroia's single, and scored on David Ortiz's double. After Manny Ramirez was intentionally walked, Mike Lowell's single scored two more runs. J. D. Drew popped out before Ramirez was thrown out at home on Jason Varitek's single with Lowell advancing to third. After Julio Lugo walked to load the bases, Matsuzaka hit a two-run single for his first base hit and RBI in the Major Leagues. Ellsbury capped the scoring with his second double of the inning to knock Colorado starter Josh Fogg out of the game. The Rockies' bats came to life in the sixth and seventh innings against a normally-solid but now-shaky Boston bullpen. After Matsuzaka walked two straight in the sixth with one out, reliever Javier López allowed back-to-back RBI singles to Brad Hawpe and Yorvit Torrealba. Mike Timlin allowed two straight leadoff singles in the seventh before NLCS MVP Matt Holliday brought the Rockies to within one run with a three-run home run off Hideki Okajima. Brian Fuentes gave back those runs in the eighth by walking Lugo with one out and allowing a subsequent single to Coco Crisp before Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia, who had four and three hits, respectively, on the night (the first time in World Series history two rookies had at least three hits in a game) hit back-to-back RBI doubles, raising Boston's lead to 9–5. Jonathan Papelbon came on for a four-out save, getting Holliday to fly out on one pitch, leaving runners on first and second. Jason Varitek would tack on Boston's tenth run in the top of the ninth off of LaTroy Hawkins with a sacrifice fly, scoring Mike Lowell who, not generally considered a stolen base threat, had just stolen third base—the first time a Red Sox baserunner stole third base in the World Series since 1975—after hitting a leadoff single and moving to second on a sacrifice bunt. Papelbon came back out in the bottom of the ninth to complete the save, getting the first two outs before surrendering a two-out triple to Brad Hawpe, then finishing the game with a groundout from Yorvit Torrealba. The Red Sox took Game3 by a final score of 10–5.
The Red Sox continued to set World Series records during Game3:
Ellsbury (four hits) and Pedroia (three) combined to score three runs and drive in four, while being the first rookies to bat 1–2 in a World Series lineup.
Ellsbury became the third rookie in Series history with four hits in a game, joining Freddie Lindstrom of the New York Giants (Game5, 1924) and Joe Garagiola of the Cardinals (Game4, 1946).
Matsuzaka became the first Japanese pitcher to start and win a World Series game. The only pitchers in Red Sox history, other than Matsuzaka, to have two RBI and be the winning pitcher were Babe Ruth in 1918 and Cy Young in 1903.
The Red Sox' 16 doubles tied a World Series record, set by the 1982 Champion Cardinals. The Red Sox would break the record in Game4, finishing with 18.
Terry Francona became the first manager since Bill Carrigan to win two World Series titles with the Red Sox.
Game 4
October 28, 2007 6:00pm (MDT) at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado 63°F (17°C), Clear
The Red Sox struck early. Rookie Jacoby Ellsbury began the first inning with a double and was advanced by Dustin Pedroia with a groundout, followed by an RBI single from David Ortiz. In the seventh inning, series MVPMike Lowell hit a home run to give Boston a 3–0 lead and knock starter Aaron Cook out of the game. Lowell also hit a leadoff double in the fifth and scored on Jason Varitek's single. The Colorado offense answered when left fielder Brad Hawpe hit a home run off of a Manny Delcarmen fastball, bringing the Rockies within two. Relief pitcher Brian Fuentes gave back that run abruptly, allowing Boston pinch-hitter Bobby Kielty to hit a ball into the left field stands on the first pitch of the inning, extending the Red Sox lead to 4–1. In the bottom of the inning Boston pitcher Hideki Okajima allowed a one-out single to Todd Helton followed by a Garrett Atkins two-run home run, bringing the Rockies within one. Jonathan Papelbon relieved Okajima and earned his third save of the series. At 12:06a.m. EDT on Monday, October 29, Papelbon struck out Colorado pinch hitterSeth Smith for the final out of the 2007 season. Boston had won its second World Series title in four years and seventh all-time.
There was controversy in the top of the eighth when Fox's broadcast announced that Alex Rodriguez would be opting out of his contract with the Yankees to become a free agent.[16] Commissioner Bud Selig made it clear during the World Series that an embargo had been placed on all Major League Baseball stories until the sport's top event had come to an end. Rodriguez and his agent Scott Boras would later apologize for the incident.[17]
The Rockies became the third team in Series history (the 1937 Yankees and 1966 Orioles were the others) not to commit an error in a World Series of any length.
The Red Sox World Series win in 2007 continued the success of Boston-area teams in recent years.[72] The Celtics won their 17th championship, their first championship since 1986, the last time the Red Sox lost in the World Series, 7+1⁄2 months later. Furthermore, the New England Patriots had victories in 2001, 2003, 2004, 2014, 2016 and 2018, the Boston Bruins in 2011, and the Red Sox three years earlier in 2004 and six years later in 2013 and five years after that in 2018.
Broadcasting
The World Series was televised by Fox in the United States, with Joe Buck and Tim McCarver as booth announcers. The starting time for each television broadcast was 8:00 pm EDT (6:00 pm MDT). The series broke with the recent tradition of starting the World Series on a Saturday, as Major League Baseball had become convinced that weekend games drew lower television ratings. Prior to this season, every World Series since 1985 had opened on a Saturday, with the exception of the 1990 World Series. This was the first World Series to start on a Wednesday since 1968.
On radio, the Series was broadcast nationally by ESPN Radio, with Jon Miller and Joe Morgan announcing. Locally, Joe Castiglione and Glenn Geffner called the Series for the Red Sox on WRKO in Boston, while Jack Corrigan and Jeff Kingery called it for the Rockies on KOA in Denver. Per contractual obligation, the non-flagship stations on the teams' radio networks carried the ESPN Radio broadcasts.
The Red Sox finished as a wild-card team in the 2008 season, winning 95 games. They were defeated in the ALCS by the Tampa Bay Rays in seven games. The Red Sox again qualified as a 95-win wild-card team in 2009, but lost 3–0 to the Los Angeles Angels in the ALDS. In both 2010 and 2011, the Red Sox missed the postseason despite winning 89 and 90 games, respectively. The 2011 season saw the Red Sox hold a nine-game lead in the wild card heading to September, only to lose 13 of their final 20 games to miss the playoffs. This led to the dismissal of skipper Terry Francona.
Rockies
After making the World Series in 2007, the Rockies proceeded to appear in the playoffs only three times in the next 15 seasons. In 2009, the Rockies won a wild-card berth after winning 92 games, but in a rematch of the 2007 NLDS, the Rockies lost in four games to the Philadelphia Phillies. During that season, the Rockies fired Clint Hurdle and replaced him with Jim Tracy. The Rockies never finished higher than third place in the NL West between 2010 and 2017, though in the latter season, they returned to postseason play as a second wild-card team. There, the Rockies lost in the Wild Card Game to the Arizona Diamondbacks. The following season, the Rockies made consecutive postseason appearances for the first time in team history, winning the Wild Card Game against the Chicago Cubs, but losing in the NLDS to the Milwaukee Brewers 3–0.
After managing the Rockies, Hurdle was hired by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2011, and in 2013, ended a major North American professional sports record 20-year drought without a winning season. The Pirates proceeded to make the postseason three consecutive years under Hurdle, winning the 2013 National League Wild Card Game during that span.
The 1903 World Series was the first modern World Series to be played in Major League Baseball. It matched the American League (AL) champion Boston Americans against the National League (NL) champion Pittsburgh Pirates in a best-of-nine series, with Boston prevailing five games to three, winning the last four. The first three games were played in Boston, the next four in Allegheny, and the eighth (last) game in Boston.
The 2004 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2004 season. The 100th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Boston Red Sox and the National League (NL) champion St. Louis Cardinals; the Red Sox swept the Cardinals in four games. The series was played from October 23 to 27, 2004, at Fenway Park and Busch Memorial Stadium, broadcast on Fox, and watched by an average of just under 25.5 million viewers. The Red Sox's World Series championship was their first since 1918, ending the Curse of the Bambino.
The 1918 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1918 season. The 15th edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion Boston Red Sox against the National League champion Chicago Cubs. The Red Sox beat the Cubs four games to two. The Series victory for the Red Sox was their fifth in five tries, going back to 1903. The Red Sox scored only nine runs in the entire Series, the fewest runs by the winning team in World Series history. Along with the 1906 and 1907 World Series, the 1918 World Series is one of only three Fall Classics where neither team hit a home run.
The 1912 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1912 season. The ninth edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion Boston Red Sox and the National League champion New York Giants. The Red Sox won the Series four games to three.
The 1916 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1916 season. The 13th edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion Boston Red Sox against the National League champion Brooklyn Robins. The Red Sox won the Series four games to one, capturing their record-setting fourth World Series title. It was the first World Series meeting between the teams.
The 1915 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1915 season. The 12th edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion Boston Red Sox against the National League champion Philadelphia Phillies. The Red Sox won the Series four games to one. It was the last World Series to start on a Friday until the 2022 World Series.
Dustin Luis Pedroia is an American former professional baseball second baseman who played his entire Major League Baseball career for the Boston Red Sox, from 2006 to 2019. He was a four-time All-Star, and won the American League (AL) Rookie of the Year Award in 2007 and the AL Most Valuable Player and Silver Slugger Award in 2008. He has also received four Gold Glove Awards and was named AL Defensive Player of the Year in 2013.
Jacoby McCabe Ellsbury is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox from 2007 through 2013 and then played for the New York Yankees from 2014 to 2017. An enrolled member of the Colorado River Indian Tribes, Ellsbury is the first Native American of Navajo descent to play Major League Baseball.
The 2007 American League Championship Series (ALCS), the second round of the 2007 American League playoffs, began on October 12 and ended on October 21. It was a best-of-seven series, with the East Division champion Boston Red Sox facing the Central Division champion Cleveland Indians. The Red Sox came back from a 3–1 deficit to defeat the Indians 4–3, outscoring them 30–5 over the final three games of the Series.
The 2007 Boston Red Sox season was the 107th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. Managed by Terry Francona, the Red Sox finished first in the American League East with a record of 96 wins and 66 losses. In the postseason, the Red Sox first swept the American League West champion Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the ALDS. In the ALCS, the Red Sox defeated the American League Central champion Cleveland Indians in seven games, despite falling behind 3–1 in the series. Advancing to the World Series, the Red Sox swept the National League champion Colorado Rockies, to capture their second championship in four years.
The 1901 Boston Americans season was the first season for the professional baseball franchise that later became known as the Boston Red Sox, and the first season of play for the American League (AL). It resulted in the Americans finishing second in the AL with a record of 79 wins and 57 losses, four games behind the Chicago White Stockings. The team was managed by Jimmy Collins and played its home games at Huntington Avenue Grounds.
The 2007 American League Division Series (ALDS), the opening round of the 2007 American League playoffs, began on Wednesday, October 3 and ended on Monday, October 8. The 2007 AL Division Series consisted of three AL division champions and one wild card team, participating in two best-of-five series. They were:
The 1903 Boston Americans season was the third season for the professional baseball franchise that later became known as the Boston Red Sox. The Americans finished first in the American League (AL) with a record of 91 wins and 47 losses, 14+1⁄2 games ahead of the Philadelphia Athletics. Boston went on to participate in the first World Series held between the AL and National League (NL) champions. The Americans won the 1903 World Series in eight games over the Pittsburgh Pirates. The team was managed by Jimmy Collins and played its home games at Huntington Avenue Grounds.
The 1986 Boston Red Sox season was the 86th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished first in the American League East with a record of 95 wins and 66 losses. After defeating the California Angels in the ALCS, the Red Sox lost the World Series to the New York Mets in seven games.
The 2008 American League Championship Series (ALCS), the second round of the 2008 American League playoffs, was a best-of-seven series matching the two winners of the American League Division Series. The AL East Division champion Tampa Bay Rays, who had defeated the Chicago White Sox in the ALDS, were paired with the wild-card and defending world champion Boston Red Sox, who had defeated the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, in the ALDS. Tampa Bay held the home field advantage.
The 2008 American League Division Series (ALDS), the first round of the 2008 American League playoffs, consisted of two best-of-five series to determine the two participants in the 2008 American League Championship Series. They were:
The 2009 American League Division Series (ALDS) consisted of two concurrent best-of-five game series that determined the participating teams in the 2009 American League Championship Series. Three divisional winners and a "wild card" team played in the two series. The ALDS began on Wednesday, October 7, 2009, and ended on Sunday, October 11, 2009. The matchups were:
The 2013 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2013 season. The 109th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Boston Red Sox and the National League (NL) champion St. Louis Cardinals; the Red Sox won, 4 games to 2 to win their eighth championship. The Red Sox had home field advantage for the series, based on the AL's win in the 2013 MLB All-Star Game on July 16. This was the first World Series since 1999 to feature both number one seeds from the AL and NL. The Series started on October 23, ending with Game 6 on October 30.
The 2013 Boston Red Sox season was the 113th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. Under new manager John Farrell, the Red Sox finished first in the American League East with a record of 97 wins and 65 losses. In the postseason, the Red Sox first defeated the AL wild card Tampa Bay Rays in the ALDS. In the ALCS, the Red Sox defeated the American League Central champion Detroit Tigers in six games. Advancing to the World Series, the Red Sox defeated the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals in six games, to capture the franchise's eighth championship overall and third in ten years. The Red Sox became the second team to win the World Series the season after finishing last in their division; the first had been the 1991 Minnesota Twins.
The 2014 Boston Red Sox season was the 114th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished last in the five-team American League East with a record of 71 wins and 91 losses, 25 games behind the Baltimore Orioles. It was the second last-place finish for the team in three years, and they were the second defending World Series champions to finish last in their division, the first having been the 1998 Florida Marlins. They also became the first MLB team to finish last in one season, win the World Series the next, and finish last again the following season.
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