Th2005 Boston Red Sox is one of Netflix’s new October releases and chronicles the Red Sox’s 2004 World Series win and the end of the infamous Curse of the Bambino. When my aunt, grandmother, and father realized they had a brief appearance in The Comeback, they were delighted, as Bostonians and lifelong Red Sox fans. My dad’s side of the family has been in the Boston area since the late 1800s, so to say the Curse of the Bambino was personal to my family would be a massive understatement.
Although I was barely out of elementary school when the Boston Red Sox finally beat the curse, I remember the energy around that win well. My house was often a house divided, split between support for the Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, and Baltimore Orioles. No matter the team we were rooting for, though, one rule about baseball was very clear growing up: we did not like the Yankees. I didn’t yet understand the magnitude of that rivalry, but The Comeback, which could easily be considered one of Netflix’s best sports documentaries, is a wonderful exploration of that history.
The Curse Of The Bambino Was Very Real For Boston Fans
Boston’s 86-Year Battle To Defeat The Yankees Was No Small Matter
The Curse of the Bambino was said to have begun with the Boston Red Sox’s fateful decision to trade baseball legend Babe Ruth (whose nickname was the Bambino—among many others) to the Yankees. The trade took place between the end of 1919 and the beginning of 1920. This was a truly shocking move by the Red Sox and one that, even at the time, many felt made little sense.
With Babe Ruth on their team, the Red Sox brought home multiple World Series wins, in 1915, 1916, and 1918.
With Babe Ruth on their team, the Red Sox brought home multiple World Series wins, in 1915, 1916, and 1918. This was in addition to World Series wins by the Red Sox in 1903 and 1912, before Ruth joined the team in 1915. Given their track record with Ruth, it was a surprise that the Red Sox made this move.
The Curse was believed to have come along with this trade, which is why the curse was named for Ruth. After 1918, the Red Sox did not win another World Series until 2004 (which is the focus of The Comeback). The Yankees, on the other hand, have won a shocking 27 World Series titles, many of which spanned the very years the Red Sox had their 86-year drought. To make matters worse, the Red Sox frequently struggled to win against the Yankees, even in less important games than the likes of Game 7 in the American League Championship Series (ALCS).
| Most World Series Wins By Team | |
|---|---|
| New York Yankees | 27 World Series Titles |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 11 World Series Titles |
| Boston Red Sox | 9 World Series Titles |
| The Oakland Athletics | 9 World Series Titles |
| San Francisco Giants | 8 World Series Titles |
It’s important to note, not every Bostonian truly believed in this superstition. For some, the Curse of the Bambino was only brought up sarcastically following a loss to the Yankees. As my dad put it:
“The curse was not something I really believed, but it did seem impossible for the Red Sox to hold it together even in great years with great teams. So, I started to think it was possibly a thing.”
Given the curse went on for close to a century, it’s not all that difficult to imagine why Bostonians’ logic would shift. The brutal 2003 Red Sox loss to the Yankees, also depicted in The Comeback, cemented this even further.
The Red Sox went all the way to Game 7 of the ALCS that year and only needed one more win to secure a spot in the 2003 World Series and end the curse by beating the Yankees. This ended up being a disastrous game. After being projected to win by a very large margin, former Red Sox manager Grady Little failed to pull pitcher Pedro Martínez out of the game long after many felt he had tired out. Fans continue to blame Little for this loss, and he was fired after the game.
The year the Red Sox finally won the World Series after defeating the Yankees in the ALCS, the team made yet another controversial trade decision, this time with beloved player Nomar Garciaparra. For many Bostonians, this felt like history repeating itself in the worst way. My dad explained:
“Given that the ‘curse’ started with trading Babe Ruth, every time a great player was traded, like Nomar, it seemed like the same mistakes all over again.”
The Comeback also highlights this event in great detail and the distress that many on and off the team in Boston felt following this news.
This was in fact directly tied to the moment my family members appear on-screen in The Comeback, holding a sign that reads “Garciaparra for President.” In addition to that being a thrilling moment for my family that caught everyone by surprise, that sign represents the general sentiment regarding Garciaparra at the time, which had major implications for this trade. It seemed like the Red Sox had made a bad move, spelling trouble for the future, but obviously, the complete opposite proved true.
The Red Sox’s 2004 World Series Win Changed Boston Forever
The Curse Of The Bambino Was Officially Broken In 2004
The Red Sox finally beat the Yankees and won the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals in 2004. Like in 2003, the Red Sox faced the Yankees and took it all the way to Game 7. This time, though, they had learned from their mistakes of the previous year and took home the win. They also impressively managed a clean sweep versus the Cardinals, winning four World Series games back-to-back.
The Red Sox finally beat the Yankees and won the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals in 2004.
To say there was fanfare in Boston following these wins would be downplaying it significantly. The Comeback documents well how electric the feeling in the city was, with fans lining the streets to cheer on the Red Sox buses as they made their way home. Both my dad and my grandmother remember this momentous occasion well.
My dad called this “one of the most exciting sports moments in [his] life.” My grandmother likewise explained:
It was 20 years ago, and my memory is clear. I never saw so much excitement at Fenway. The memories still give me chills today. It was worth the wait.”
Like many in The Comeback, for my grandmother, it felt like a family win. In the docuseries, clips of gravestones covered with World Series champion memorabilia were shown alongside interviews with Bostonians who spoke of what this win meant to their family. For my grandmother, the win was equally profound. She said:
“The 2004 World Series was truly the best of times in Red Sox history. I was brought up all my life as part of Red Sox Nation. Both of my parents cheered them on years before I ever heard of Babe Ruth. The only song my dad knew how to play on the piano was ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame,’ which we sadly heard after every loss! My mother did get to celebrate, for which I was grateful.”
Based on my own family’s history, it’s impressive how well The Comeback captured the experience of both the Curse of the Bambino and the 2004 win. There have been other documentaries on this World Series over the years, including the well-known 2004 movie Reverse of the Curse of the Bambino. The Comeback: 2004 Boston Red Sox is truly a standout among the rest, though—and not just because my family makes an appearance.
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