Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Fifty And Ten Years After: The 1967 And 2007 Sox Teams

This year, the Red Sox organization gets to celebrate two championships from the past—the 50th anniversary of the 1967 'Impossible Dream' AL Pennant winners and the 10th anniversary 2007 World Series champs. It's not a stretch to say that 'Red Sox Nation' as it exists today was born during that magical 1967 season. It was the first time in over two decades that fans truly felt that The Carmine Hose could win. And, the team had lovable characters: Carl 'Yaz' Yastrzemski (actually, beloved, but not lovable); George 'Boomer' Scott, Ken 'Hawk' Harrelson, Rico Petrocelli, Jim Lonborg and Tony Conigliaro. By contrast, the 2007 champs were almost clinical in their style. They led wire-to-wire and mowed down opponents with a cold efficiency that almost seemed too easy. Don't get us wrong, 2007 had its characters, too (Curt Schilling, Kevin Youkilis, Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz), but it was a different vibe. Fans—after expiating the ghosts of the past in 2004—were kind of blasé about it all. Two anniversaries—two quite different sets of players. Enjoy the celebrations!