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Red Sox: Top 10 most important home runs in team history

By Drew Athans

BOSTON, MA - OCTOBER 10: David Ortiz #34 of the Boston Red Sox bats during the final at bat of his career during the eighth inning of game three of the American League Division Series against the Cleveland Indians on October 10, 2016 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - OCTOBER 10: David Ortiz #34 of the Boston Red Sox bats during the final at bat of his career during the eighth inning of game three of the American League Division Series against the Cleveland Indians on October 10, 2016 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) /
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CLEVELAND – OCTOBER 16: J.D. Drew of the Boston Red Sox bats the game against the Cleveland Indians at Jacobs Field in Cleveland, Ohio on October 16, 2007. The Indians defeated the Red Sox 7-3. (Photo by John Reid III/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
CLEVELAND – OCTOBER 16: J.D. Drew of the Boston Red Sox bats the game against the Cleveland Indians at Jacobs Field in Cleveland, Ohio on October 16, 2007. The Indians defeated the Red Sox 7-3. (Photo by John Reid III/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /

JD Drew’s Grand Slam

The 2007 team tends to be the most overlooked of the four Red Sox World Series winners of the twenty-first century, but those of us who remember watching them that season know that they were a great regular season team who overcame a lot in the ALCS.

It wasn’t quite as dire as being down three games to none in 2004, but the 2007 Red Sox had their own difficult hill to climb. Down three games to one to the Cleveland Indians after four games, the Red Sox routed the Tribe in Game Five before heading back to Fenway Park for the final two games of the series.

Facing Fausto Carmona (as he was called back then) who had gone 19-8 in the regular season and got the no decision in Game Two, the Red Sox still faced a tall task. They shifted the momentum permanently in their favor in the first inning when JD Drew stepped up to the plate. With the bases loaded and two outs, he crushed a ball to dead center field for a grand slam and a 4-0 lead that felt ten times as big.

That opened the floodgates and the Red Sox went on to win the game 12-2 and the following night 11-2 to complete their comeback and win the pennant. They’d go on to sweep the Colorado Rockies in the World Series, mirroring 2004 by surviving a rugged LCS before dominating in the World Series.

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