The Red Sox won the World Series in 2013. That was awesome. As fans, we were graced with the good fortune of a third title in a decade, and some simply magical heroics to get there. The regular season, however, also had some of the most epic moments I can remember as a Red Sox fan. Below, in no particular order, are some of the best moments of the regular season, with accompanying Baseball-Reference links. Hopefully 2014 will provide as many excellent moments, and be just as fun for us, the fans.

David Ortiz is a bad, bad man

With the summer beginning in earnest in early June, the Red Sox were a cool 13 games over .500 and already off to a season that would greatly exceed expectations. On June 6th, the Red Sox squared off with the Rangers in a rubber match to decide the series just two days after the Sox beat the Rangers 17-5. In the bottom of the 9th, with the score tied 3-3 after pretty good outings from Jon Lester and Derek Holland, Jonny Gomes led off with a rocket off the monster for a double. I was at this game, and I remember remarking to the guy I was with that “Jonny Gomes had the ugliest swing in baseball” but somehow, if anyone was going to break this game open, it would be him. After this, Ron Washington made the decision to walk Pedroia to get to David Ortiz. Insulted at the very thought of having the batter ahead of him get intentionally walked, Ortiz launched the first pitch he saw into the Red Sox bullpen.

The look of disgust as he drops the bat is really what gets me. David Ortiz is indeed a bad, bad man. Here’s a look from another angle.

Xander Bogaerts hits his first Major League homer.. against the Yankees

The Yankees bit was simply icing on the cake for what was a truly special moment. Working the count to 3-1, Xander took the next pitch deep to left, driving in Jackie Bradley Jr. to give the Red Sox a 12-3 lead, with the Red Sox taking the best of four series against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. As a fun bonus, Xander had another RBI in the game on a groundout, which also scored Jackie Bradley Jr.

Lester Outduels Scherzer

In a series that many thought, as this point in the season, would serve as a preview of the ALCS (in retrospect, pretty damn close) the Red Sox squeaked out a close one with Lester pitching 7 innings of one run ball.  Scherzer did not pitch quite as well, tossing 7 innings of two run ball, as he chased win number 20 on the season (which would not come against the Red Sox). A resurgent Will Middlebrooks, returning from a stint in AAA, would seal Scherzer’s fate in the 5th inning with a 2 RBI single, and a trio of Red Sox relievers followed by Koji Uehara shut the door in the 8th and 9th innings. In one of the most pivotal points in the game, the bottom of the 8th, with no outs and the 2012 AL MVP Miguel Cabrera at the plate, the rookie Brandon Workman would force a fly ball to right. This would prove a preview of the ALCS, where three games were decided by a single run.

Koji Uehara Retires 37 Straight

Not all that much to say here, the 2013 ALCS MVP was excellent during the season and postseason, and was yet another successful free agent addition for the 2013 team. It was only fitting that the season would end with this:

An Improbable Walk-Off Against Seattle

On a night when the Red Sox had no answer for Felix Hernandez, who gave up 1 run in 7 innings pitched, the Red Sox scored six runs in the bottom of the 9th inning  to beat the Mariners 8-7. A very weird night, where Henry Blanco hit a grand slam off of a woeful Ryan Dempster, got even stranger when the umpires forced Mariners manager, Robby Thompson, to bring in the lefty Oliver Perez after he first tapped his left arm. Thompson had actually intended to go to a righty, Yoervis Medina, to face Shane Victorino, but was instead stuck with Perez. The bases were loaded at this point, and Victorino singled to right field to make it a 5-7 game. The game would end after more Boston hits, culminating in a Daniel Nava singled to win the game, 8-7.

Jonny Gomes Unassisted Double Play

The night before the 6 run 9th inning, the Red Sox were in the middle of a closer game against the Mariners. After Seattle tied up the game at 4 in the top of the 8th, neither team could score again until the game went into the 15th inning. After two singles to put runners on first and second with only one out, Jonny Gomes made a spectacular double play to send the game into the bottom of the 15th, where the Sox won on a Stephen Drew single to score Pedroia.

Mariano Rivera Blows His Last Save Opportunity Against the Red Sox

Coming into a 7-8 slugfest, Mariano Rivera intended to seal a Yankee win in a best of four series at Yankee Stadium. 2013 would serve to be the Mariano Rivera farewell tour as teams paid tribute to the baseball legend’s final year. The Red Sox would be no different, although in his final game at Fenway in late September he received a bit of a roast rather than the praise given by other teams. He would not pitch in that game, as the Red Sox won 9-2, but he did pitch earlier in September in a one run game at Yankee Stadium. Given the one run lead to work with,  Rivera got two quick outs from Ortiz and Nava before allowing a single to Mike Napoli. In his most significant moment of 2013, Quentin Berry came in as a pinch runner for Napoli and stole second base, advancing to third on a bouncing throw. Berry would then score on a single from Stephen Drew to complete the blown save. The Red Sox would win, 9-8 in 10 innings and eventually take 3 of 4 games in the series, a rare occurrence in the Bronx.

Mariano Rivera Receives a Standing Ovation from the Fenway Faithful

This isn’t exactly a Red Sox moment, but in what would prove to be Rivera’s final appearance at Fenway, he received a standing ovation from the crowd, and that — to me at least — is special.

Daniel Nava Gives Boston Something to Cheer About

Nava was a standout all season long, providing 1.8 fWAR in a platoon with Jonny Gomes. He got a criminally small amount of World Series playing time (despite Gomes hitting rather infrequently, although his 3 run homerun in game 5 was nothing short of clutch), but he was an integral member of the 2013 team. On April 20th, at the Sox’ first game back at Fenway after the Boston Marathon bombings, a game which David Ortiz started with a rousing “This is Our Fucking City,” Daniel Nava would come up big with a 3 run homerun to give the Sox a 4-2 lead over the Royals.

Mike Carp Solidifies the AL East Lead

After going into a late-season slump, the Rays found themselves 9.5 games back of first place, with hopes of winning the East all but lost. They did, however, bring a 3-3 tie into extra innings against the Red Sox on September 11th after a fairly solid Alex Cobb start. In the top of the 10th inning Joel Peralta and Roberto Hernandez would allow the Red Sox to load the bases, until Mike Carp managed to put one over the center field fence at the Trop, leaving the only work left for Junichi Tazawa to finish the job in the bottom of the 10th.

Jonny Gomes is Good at Pinch Hitting

Gomes’ heroics can be chalked up to intangibles, but to give the guy credit, he was an excellent platoon man for the Red Sox in 2013, providing 1.0 fWAR while standing in for Daniel Nava against lefties. He had multiple excellent pinch hit moments, such as a walk off against the Padres on July 3rd, and somehow provided the spark the Sox needed to win Game 5 of the World Series. He also introduced us to the helmet punt…

… and also provided us with fun moments with Jamie Erdahl …

…and Jenny Dell.

I probably left some things out, as there were so many great moments in 2013, but the above stood out to me as some of the best the year had to offer. Did I leave something pivotal out? Let me know, @ntenczar on Twitter.

I grabbed the GIFs from a combination of Over the Monster, NESN, and Fangraphs, so thanks to those guys for the good work they do.

The Red Sox offense continues to roll, as they’ve now scored 19 runs in the first two games of this division series.

The Sox instantly put the pressure on David Price, scoring 2 runs in the first inning. Jacoby Ellsbury blooped a single into right field. Ellsbury would follow-up with a stolen base. The release by Jose Molina was quick, but the throw sailed into the outfield allowing Ellsbury to advance to third. Two batters later, Dustin Pedroia would drive home Ellsbury with a sacrifice fly to center, putting the Sox up 1-0. The next batter would be David Ortiz, who would take a hanging cutter into the bullpen to extend the lead to 2-0.

The Red Sox continued to push the throttle throughout the early part game. David Ross led off the third inning with a high fly ball off the green monster, followed by a 100 foot double by Jacoby Ellsbury on a bloop that sailed just over the head of Evan Longoria, who was playing in. David Ross would hustle around to score on the play, making it 3-0. After Shane Victorino singled on a ground ball through 5.5 hole on the left side of the infield, Dustin Pedroia would drive home Ellsbury on a ground out. Pedroia was credited with the RBI only because Victorino took out Zobrist at second base. The score was now 4-0 in favor of Boston.

Mike Napoli would lead off the 4th inning with a walk after Price was unable to locate his fastball outside. The Rays’ trend of shoddy defense would continue as Ben Zobrist airmailed a throw on what should have been a routine double play hit by Jonny Gomes. Stephen Drew would make the Rays pay for the error with an RBI triple, coincidentally misplayed by David DeJesus.

Through the 4 innings, everything was going perfectly. The offense had scored 5 runs against the Rays’ ace and John Lackey was on a roll, having struck out 5. A James Loney 2 run double would dampen the mood, but only temporarily, as Dustin Pedroia would drive home Jacoby Ellsbury with an RBI double to get back a run. The score was now 6-3, and David Price was seemingly on the ropes. John Lackey would begin the 6th, but would be pulled in favor of Craig Breslow after allowing Yunel Escobar to drive home Desmond Jennings, making the score 6-4. Breslow would retire pinch hitters Matt Joyce and Sean Rodriguez.

Meanwhile, David Price surprisingly came out for the 6th inning. The 6th inning was the worst offensive inning of the night for Boston, as they were retired 1-2-3, seeing only 8 pitches, 5 of which came during Ross’ at bat with 2 outs.

Breslow stayed in for the bottom of the 7th. After getting Wil Myers to ground out, Breslow would fall into trouble. Breslow hit James Loney with a fastball and walked Evan Longoria on 7 pitches. With the tying run on base, Farrell stayed with Breslow to face Ben Zobrist, who had struck out twice looking on inside fastballs by John Lackey. Farrell’s trust in Breslow would be rewarded, as Pedroia helped turn a great 6-4-3 double play to get out of the jam.

Price came out for the 7th inning and continued to mow down Boston hitters. After 5 innings of struggling, Price seemed to have finally found out groove. Price struck out Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia in his 1-2-3 inning.

Red Sox fans were expecting Koji Uehara to come on for the 6 out save, but instead we were greeted with Junichi Tazawa. After Delmon Young singled off of Tazawa’s 2nd consecutive curveball, fans were beginning to clamor for Koji. But, Tazawa was able to induce a double play ball to get out of the jam.

David Price surprisingly came out for the 8th inning to face David Ortiz. Price’s velocity was down in the 92-93 MPH range by this point. Ortiz would make Joe Maddon regret this decision, as he launched a bomb deep into the left field seats. The barely fair home run traveled 387 home feet (per @ESPNStatsInfo). Koji Uehara came on for the bottom of the 9th and was a swing and a miss away from completing an immaculate inning. Uehara struck out Matt Joyce and Jose Lobaton on three pitches and got Wil Myers to ground out, locking up the win.

NOTES

• Price wasn’t as bad as his line suggests. Jacoby Ellsbury’s first 2 hits were a product of BABIP luck. Stephen Drew’s triple should’ve been held to a double but was badly misplayed by David DeJesus. This wasn’t vintage David Price by any means, but he didn’t deserve the 7 earned runs he was charged with.

• David Ortiz had the first two home run postseason game of his career. Just another great postseason milestone for a great player with a great postseason legacy.

• John Lackey ran into a bump while he was making his way through the Rays’ lineup for the third time. This was not something Lackey was used to throughout the season, as hitters only hit .237/.288/.377 off him the third time through the lineup. This is a strange split, considering that teams hit .286/.327/.490 off him the second time through. This could be something to watch in later starts.

The Red Sox will look for the sweep on Monday at Tampa where they’ll throw out Clay Buchholz against Alex Cobb. Buchholz only has 1 postseason start on his resume, game 3 of the 2009 ALDS where he faced off against Scott . Buchholz worked 5 innings against the Angels, striking out 3, walking 1, and allowing 2 runs. Bard was relieved by Daniel Bard and Billy Wagner.

If you watched August 5th’s Astros-Sox game, you will probably agree with the statement that Mike Napoli sucks. You watched him whiff a couple times at high fastballs instead of letting them go for a walk, effectively ending the inning for the Red Sox and allowing the Astros to head into the 9th with a 2-0 lead intact. Furthermore, you might be a bit angry
that John Lackey had left the game after 6 IP, with 10K and only those two earned runs (one of which given up on a suicide squeeze as the Astros continued to cash in on playing small ball), and the Red Sox had given him no run support at all. Emotions were running high after last night’s loss (hell, I expected yet another sweep of the Astros) because, of course, these are your 2013 Boston Red Sox, who are now expected to make a great run at the AL East title and perhaps even a pennant and the World Series.

Let’s think back to March for a minute though. Back then, the expectations for the Red Sox were bleak, but realistic. If you followed the team back then, you understood that the expectations were something like a 75-80 win year, missing the playoffs because of a good division led by the Blue Jays after all their free agent signings (hah!), and mostly banking on young prospects like Jackie Bradley Jr. and Xander Bogaerts to get ready to dominate the major leagues by 2015. The line was essentially: 2015 or bust, that’s when the Red Sox will be contenders again.

Here we are though, and the date is August 6th. We’ve made it into the dog days of summer and the Red Sox are very much to our surprise and delight contenders in the AL East, with a half game lead over the Rays and 93.9% chance of making the playoffs according to Baseball Prospectus. We’ve been here before though, and we watched when Papelbon blew a save against the Orioles on September 28th, 2011. This was a season where we expected to make the playoffs, and by a fairly wide margin. The Red Sox’ playoff odds going into September 2011 were something on the order of 99+%, and they proceeded to go 7 and 20 in September and miss the playoffs. As Red Sox fans, we’re used to being wary about our expectations, as teams in the past have had a tendency to let them down. The 2004 team had really crushed our expectations after a 19-8 loss to the Yankees in game 4 of the ALCS, only to pick them right back up again after what was arguably the greatest comeback in the history of professional sports. Imagine if the Sox had lost that World Series to the Cardinals though. Our expectations, after having been crushed, then picked right back up, would have been absolutely annihilated. The team of destiny, after having defeated the Evil Empire in the greatest of comebacks, losing the World Series?

The point I’m trying to make here though, is that as Sox fans we have some work to do in managing our expectations. It wasn’t unreasonable to expect the 2011 Red Sox to make the playoffs, but it is unreasonable to expect Mike Napoli to strike out less than 30% of the time. The Mike Napoli that we signed this offseason struck out 30% of the time in 2012, and provided the Rangers with 2.0 WAR (according to Fangraphs). So far in 2013, Napoli has provided 2.1 WAR for the Sox, and his K% is hovering around 33.6%. We’re getting exactly the production we expected for the $13MM the Front Office thinks Napoli is worth. He’s having approximately the same year he had for the Rangers in 2012, with some exceptions: he isn’t walking quite as much, he’s struck out more, and his ISO is down to .195 from the .241 it was last year. Despite these exceptions, his OPS, wOBA, batting average, and wRC among other statistics are pretty much exactly where they were last year. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the Mike Napoli the Red Sox paid for in the offseason. Despite a few admittedly frustrating outings of late and the fact that Napoli may be chasing the all-time record for Ks in a season, he’s producing exactly as we should have expected, and there’s still time for him to even exceed expectations. Mike Napoli’s going to be just fine this season, he’s just probably going to strike out a few more times.