By now the cliche is being embroidered on pillows:
From "worst" to "first"
 |
| Mike Napoli, infielder |
 |
| Jarrod Saltalamacchia, catcher |
2013 was supposed to be a rebuilding year, and no one really expected much.
 |
| David Ross, catcher |
But against the odds, the Red Sox not only became a cohesive team,
but
also one to be reckoned with.
 |
| Jonny Gomes, outfielder |
This was not a roster of super heroes, but
a bunch of scrappy talented players—some very young, some approaching
that "past their prime" benchmark—whose combined talents, experience and
energy came together in a fashion that was postively alchemical.
 |
| John Lackey, pitcher |
Even their new manager, the protective and mannerly John Farrell—baseball's equivalent of the fatherly Claude Julien, for those who know a little about Boston Hockey—had some history he wanted to shake, after a not so wonderful tenure with his previous team.
 |
| Jon Lester, pitcher |
But despite their different skill sets and impediments they all had something in common: a love of the game, a quirky commaraderie that had everyone but Farrell looking like an extra on Duck Dynasty, and a desire to prove all the nay-sayers wrong. And prove it, they did.
 |
| Stephen Drew, infielder |
Despite loading the bases at least twice during Game 6, the Cardinals were left stranded where they stood as Red Sox starting pitcher, John Lackey,
closed one inning after another. Holding the Cardinals to one run, he was rightly hailed as a hero as he stepped off the mound for the last time in the middle of the 7th inning.
 |
| Shane Victorino, outfielder |
Making his way to the dugout, he had the class to tip his hat to the
appreciative crowd, knowing that some of them were the same fans who had
yelled cat-calls and boos at him only two seasons earlier.
 | ||||
| Koji Uehara, closer |
Boston is a sports town, no getting around it. Home of the Bruins, the Celtics, and the hapless Red Sox who either shoot themselves in the foot mid-season or march relentlessly to glory.
 |
| David Ortiz, D.H. |
This is a glory year.
And grabbing the brass ring on home soil makes the win even sweeter.
 |
| Dustin Pedroia, second baseman |
The most recent World Series wins came to them in Missouri (2004) and Colorado (2007).
 |
| Jacoby Ellsbury, outfielder |
The last time they won the Series in a home game was in 1918.
Needless to say, not one person who saw that game is here to talk about it.
 |
| John Farrell, manager |
But now, the citizens of Red Sox Nation have something to talk about.
 | ||
| "Boston Strong" |
Not only did our team win, they won at home.
Photos from USAToday, C.H. Monitor, Sports Illustrated, Naples Press, and CNN.
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