September 28, 2011: This was one of the most remarkable days in the history of regular season baseball. The New York Yankees have won the American League East, with help from the Boston Red Sox, who went 7-20 in September, a month they began by leading the Division by 1 game and the Wild Card by 9.
But the Baltimore Orioles come from 3-2 down in the bottom of the 9th at Camden Yards, as Robert Andino singles off Jonathan Papelbon to give the O's a 4-3 win. This gives the Yankees the Division title.
The Sox can still win the Wild Card, but the Rays complete a sweep of the Yankees, coming from 7-0 down to win 8-7 in the 12th inning on Evan Longoria's 2nd home run of the game.
Ordinarily, this would be a great embarrassment for Yankee Fans. But they end up having a good laugh: The Sox become the 1st team ever to miss the postseason completely after having a 9-game lead for any berth in September. The Sox may have won the World Series twice in the 8 years following, but this night adds to their long list of chokes.
In the preseason, predictions were made that the Red Sox would not only win the World Series, but be one of the great teams of all time. One ESPN writer, who didn't put his name on his claim, said that the 2011 Red Sox would be the greatest team since the 1927 Yankees. But they lost 18 of their last 24, so the comparison brought up was to the 1978 Red Sox.
Apparently, the steroids weren't working anymore. Maybe that's why they started using Apple Watches.
During games when they were not scheduled to pitch, Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and John Lackey were not in the dugout with the rest of their teammates. Instead, they reportedly sat in the clubhouse, played video games, ate fast-food fried chicken and drank beer. This was technically allowed under team rules, but it certainly violated some of "the unwritten rules of baseball."
This was a far cry from Red Sox legend Wade Boggs eating chicken before the game, because he thought it helped him hit better. This habit was reflected in both the pitchers' weight gain and their results late in the season. Across September, Beckett, Lester and Lackey combined for a 2-7 record and a 6.45 ERA. This failure to impose discipline cost Terry Francona, at this point the only manager since Ed Barrow in 1918 to manage the Sox to a World Championship, his job.
The Atlanta Braves also choke, having led the St. Louis Cardinals by 10 1/2 games for the NL Wild Card on August 25, but going 11-20 since, while the Cards went 23-9. On the final day, the Cards beat the Houston Astros 8-0 at Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park) in Houston, as Chris Carpenter pitches a 2-hit shutout, while the Braves lose to the Phillies, 4-3 at Turner Field in Atlanta, on a Hunter Pence RBI single in the top of the 13th inning. The Braves are out.
Also on this day, the Florida Marlins play their last game under that name, and their last game at the Miami Dolphins' stadium, now named Hard Rock Stadium. They lose 3-1 to the Washington Nationals, ending 19 years of play in the suburb of Miami Gardens. The next season, they will be named the Miami Marlins, and move to the new, garish, retractable-roof Marlins Park, now named LoanDepot Park, built on the Little Havana site of the Orange Bowl.
It is also the last game for Ivan Rodriguez, playing out the string for the Marlins, whom he and his steroids helped win the 2003 World Series.
In other MLB games played on September 28, 2011, a Wednesday:
* The New York Mets beat the Cincinnati Reds, 3-0 at Citi Field. Miguel Batista pitched a 2-hit shutout. Mike Baxter hit a home run, the 1st of his major league career. He would hit only 3 more.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians, 5-4 at Comerica Park in Detroit.
* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Chicago White Sox, 3-2 at U.S. Cellular Field (now Rate Field) in Chicago.
* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 7-3 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee.
* The Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Royals, 1-0 at Target Field in Minneapolis. Carl Pavano pitched a 5-hit shutout. Seriously: Carl Pavano.
* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 7-5 at Chase Field in PHoenix.
* The San Diego Padres beat the Chicago Cubs, 9-2 at Petco Park in San Diego.
* The Texas Rangers beat the Los Angeles Angels, 3-1 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.
* The Colorado Rockies beat the San Francisco Giants, 6-3 at AT&T Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco.
* And the Oakland Athletics beat the Seattle Mariners, 2-0 at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle.
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