They need not have worried. The unmistakable thud of the ball pounding into the glove was all it took for 95 years of anguish to disappear and trigger one of the wildest parties seen in New England.
"I knew this was going to be a special year," said Boston slugger David Ortiz, the outstanding player of a best-of-seven series won 4-2 by the Red Sox.
"When we started rolling, nobody ever stopped the train."
The St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Matt Carpenter was the last man standing between the Red Sox and the championship but when he swung and missed at a fastball from Boston closing pitcher Koji Uehara that catcher Davis Ross caught, it was over.
For the first time since 1918, the Red Sox had sealed a World Series in their beloved Fenway Park home after the 2004 and 2007 titles were both secured on the road.
