The 2004 Red Sox and the Greatest Comeback in Postseason History

No team in Major League Baseball history had ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a best-of-seven series. The 2004 Boston Red Sox did it against the New York Yankees, in the American League Championship Series, in the rivalry that defined both franchises.

The first three games were not competitive. The Yankees won Game 1 at Yankee Stadium 10-7. They won Game 2, 3-1. They won Game 3 at Fenway Park 19-8, collecting 22 hits. The Red Sox were humiliated. The 86-year drought, the Curse of the Bambino, the decades of heartbreak, all of it appeared to be culminating in the most painful ending yet.

Game 4 was October 17 at Fenway Park. The Yankees led 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth inning. Mariano Rivera, the greatest closer in baseball history, was on the mound. Rivera had saved the first two games of the series. Kevin Millar, who had told reporters before the game, "Don't let us win tonight," drew a five-pitch walk. Manager Terry Francona sent Dave Roberts in to pinch-run.

Everyone in the stadium, including Rivera and catcher Jorge Posada, knew Roberts was going to steal. Rivera threw over to first base multiple times. Roberts went on the first pitch to Bill Mueller. Posada's throw to Derek Jeter was nearly perfect. Roberts's hand touched second base a fraction of a second before Jeter's tag reached his arm. Mueller singled up the middle. Roberts scored. The game was tied.

David Ortiz hit a walk-off home run in the 12th inning at 1:22 AM. The Red Sox had won Game 4.

Game 5 went 14 innings. The Red Sox trailed again late. Ortiz drove in the winning run again, this time with a single in the 14th. The game lasted nearly six hours.

Game 6 moved back to Yankee Stadium. Curt Schilling started on a sutured ankle tendon, blood visibly seeping through his sock. He threw seven innings of one-run ball. The Red Sox won 4-2. The series was tied.

Game 7 was an anticlimax. Johnny Damon hit a grand slam in the second inning. The Red Sox won 10-3. At 12:01 AM on October 21, Ruben Sierra grounded to second baseman Pokey Reese, who threw to first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz. The Red Sox had their pennant. The comeback was complete.

Four days later, the Red Sox swept the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series, winning their first championship since 1918. The Curse of the Bambino was over.

Ortiz was named ALCS MVP. The spikes Roberts wore that night are on display at the Baseball Hall of Fame. The 2004 ALCS is the subject of the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary Four Days in October and a 2024 Netflix documentary titled The Comeback: 2004 Boston Red Sox.

The Red Sox have won four World Series since 2004. The curse, whatever it was, has not returned.