2. The 2004 ALCS
If you don’t know how it happened by now, I don’t know what you’ve been paying attention to over the last 13 years. The Red Sox are down 0-3 to the Yankees in Game 4 and trail 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth; Kevin Millar walks to put the tying run on, Dave Roberts pinch runs and steals second, then Bill Mueller singles to bring him in. That inning set the stage for Ortiz’s coming out party as the greatest clutch hitter in baseball history.
Game 4 – Ortiz came up with Manny Ramirez on first and a chance to extend the series. He would promptly send a ball over the bullpens in right field (he did that a lot), sending fans home with the hope that their team could come back.
Game 5
– “Later that night,” Ortiz would hit a home run in the bottom of the eighth to bring the Red Sox within one of the Yankees. After they tied it in the ninth, he had another chance to play hero in the 14th – delivering a two-out single to drive home
and send the series to six.
Game 7 – The Red Sox would win Game 7 10-3 to solidify the greatest comeback in sports history, but it was Ortiz that got the rout started with a key homer early in the game. Up 1-0, he delivered a solo home run to extend the Red Sox lead, silence the Yankee Stadium crowd, and instill more doubt in the minds of the Yankees players.
His clutch performance earned him ALCS MVP honors and more importantly, helped the Red Sox end the proverbial “curse.”