RED SOX HISTORY

The Boston Red Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Boston, Massachusetts. They are one of five teams that play in the in the American League East Division. The Boston Red Sox were founded in 1893, as the Toledo, Ohio franchise in the minor Western League. The team moved to Boston when the Western League became the American League in 1900. The name Red Sox, chosen by owner John I. Taylor in 1907, is based on an obsolete form of socks, as in the red footwear worn by the team. The Boston Red Sox won the first ever World Series, which began in 1903 and have been known as the Boston Americans (1901), as well as the Boston Somersets (1902). The Red Sox were owned by Joseph Lannin from 1913 to 1916 and it was he who signed Babe Ruth, commonly seen as the best player in baseball history. Babe Ruth joined the Boston Red Sox in 1914, when he was nineteen years of age. Babe Ruth would later go onto be seen as the best player in baseball history, while playing for the Yankees he became the greatest power hitter the game has ever known. In 1919, while playing for the Red Sox, Ruth posted 29 home runs, 114 RBIs, 103 runs, and a .657 slugging percentage while posting an 8-5 pitching record and a 2.98 ERA, stunning the baseball world. His home run count was more than the total output of 10 of the other 15 teams. He led the Boston Red Sox to two World Series titles in 1916 and 1918. After trading Babe Ruth "the great Bambino," to the New York Yankees, it is often said that the team went down hill from there and have not been able to pick a championship since 1918. Some say it is the "Curse of the Bambino," the sale of Babe Ruth, but the real reason has been their historical weakness in pitching, and some poor luck. Another great player is pitcher Cy Young. Cy Young One of baseball’s greatest pitchers, set several major-league career records that still stand, including the most wins, most innings pitched, and most complete games. Young, who played with the Red Sox from 1901 to 1908, won 511 games during his 22-year career. In 1956 Major League Baseball established the Cy Young Memorial Award, which is given annually to each league’s best pitcher. The Red Sox are the first team to have back-to-back batting champion and ERA champions in the same years. Nomar Garciaparra and Pedro Martinez pulled the "double-double" in 1999-2000. Some Hall of Famers includes Luis Aparicio, Lou Boudreau, Jesse Burkett, Orlando Cepeda, Jack Chesbro, Jimmy Collins, Joe Cronin, Bobby Doerr, Rick Ferrell, Carlton Fisk and Jimmie Foxx. The Boston Red Sox have won five World Series in, 1903, 1912,1915, 1916, and 1918, they have been American League Champions ten times, have won the Division Championships five times (1975(AL East), 1986(AL East), 1988(AL East), 1990(AL East), and 1995(AL East)) and have been Wild Card three times (1998, 1999, 2003(AL)). The Red Sox uniform color consists of red, white, navy Blue and scarlet; the logo design is two hanging red socks. The Boston Red Sox play in Fenway Park (1912- present), which has a seating capacity of 33,871 and is located in Boston, Massachusetts. The Red Sox moved on to the 2004 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, a team that had posted the best record in the major leagues and the team that had defeated the Red Sox in the 1946 and 1967 World Series. Game 1 set a new record for the highest scoring World Series opening game (breaking the previous record set in 1932). The Sox defeated the Cardinals twice in Boston and twice in St. Louis to sweep the World Series, making this their first and last Series win since 1918. In an altogether appropriate end to the "Curse of the Bambino," the final out of the game was made on Cardinals shortstop Edgar Rentería, who wore Babe Ruth's old uniform number, 3.