# What broke the Curse of the Bambino? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 25, 2004, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-broke-the-curse-of-the-bambino/271075 "2004-10-25T17:20:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Miabella](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ccd318/32.png) [@Miabella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miabella)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-broke-the-curse-of-the-bambino/271075/21 "2004-10-26T12:32:16Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Excuse me while you New Englanders celebrate. I’m a Cardinal fan. > > I would think that after the ALCS you of all people would realize that it takes 4 wins to earn a Championship. > > I’ll be happy to revisit this thread after one team is holding the trophy. Not before. **kunilou** , believe me, Sox fans are NOT celebrating. We are nervous wrecks! Can’t eat, can’t sleep, beside ourselves with anxiety. I don’t think this is over by any means. ---
**Author:** ![Debaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-broke-the-curse-of-the-bambino/271075/22 "2004-10-26T13:17:34Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > Ahh, but the coyote DID catch the road runner once, and Voyager DID find it’s way home. Case in point: the Sox will win. By catch him, I mean really catch him. And eat him. End of show. And Voyager did find it’s way home, but that was the end of the series. After that, there isn’t anything to talk about. Boston winning the world series makes them just another boring team. End of the show. They had a good run, but that’s it. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-broke-the-curse-of-the-bambino/271075/23 "2004-10-26T15:08:54Z")
> [@Debaser](#): > > Boston winning the world series makes them just another boring team. End of the show. They had a good run, but that’s it. 😕 It makes them the World Series champs. I bet most Red Sox fans would could consider that a nice trade-off for becoming a “boring” team. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-broke-the-curse-of-the-bambino/271075/24 "2004-10-28T17:58:41Z")
You know, earlier this year there was a miniseries called Kingdom Hospital. One episode centered on this retired firstbaseman whose error caused his team to lose the World Series in '86. During the present-day scenes, his team was playing the Cardinals. I wonder if the Cubs will win the World Series were Stephen King to make a miniseries featuring a fan who caught a foul ball in 2003 trying to commit suicide. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-broke-the-curse-of-the-bambino/271075/25 "2004-10-28T18:30:46Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > I wonder if the Cubs will win the World Series were Stephen King to make a miniseries featuring a fan who caught a foul ball in 2003 trying to commit suicide. I was also going to attribute the curse breaking the Stephen King, since he’s been following them around all season to write a book about the Red Sox. I wonder if he’s available to write an article about me buying a lottery ticket. I think the lunar eclipse helped out, as well. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-broke-the-curse-of-the-bambino/271075/26 "2004-10-28T20:25:25Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Excuse me while you New Englanders celebrate. I’m a Cardinal fan. > > I would think that after the ALCS you of all people would realize that it takes 4 wins to earn a Championship. > > I’ll be happy to revisit this thread after one team is holding the trophy. Not before. So? Coming in soon? BTW, I didn’t open a beer until Foulke tossed the ball to Mientkiewicz. No premature celebration in my house! ---
**Author:** ![Adversary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/919ad9/32.png) [@Adversary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Adversary)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-broke-the-curse-of-the-bambino/271075/27 "2004-10-28T21:23:09Z")
Trading Garciaparra broke the curse. Either that or it removed the cancer in the clubhouse. 🙂 This is according to many Boston area sportswriters. ---
**Author:** ![bughunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@bughunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bughunter)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-broke-the-curse-of-the-bambino/271075/28 "2004-10-28T21:35:47Z")
No. You’re all wrong. It was Curt Schilling’s sheer determination that broke the curse. The man kept playing with a disclocated tendon _that had to be stitched to his skin in the dugout, during the game_, not once, but _twice_. Sheer guts and determination. That, and the fact that this was the one year that I, a lifelong Red Sox fan, would not be able to watch the playoffs or World Series because the wife and I just brought home a newborn son to care for, and, frankly, that’s about the only thing that would make me forget about watching the series, especially one that the Red Sox were playing in. ---
**Author:** ![DadWagonDriver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/edb3f5/32.png) [@DadWagonDriver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DadWagonDriver)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-broke-the-curse-of-the-bambino/271075/29 "2004-10-28T22:09:58Z")
Bud Selig broke the curse with calls to the Yanks and the Cards. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-broke-the-curse-of-the-bambino/271075/30 "2004-10-28T22:15:25Z")
Not getting the big unit broke the curse. But the dead girl brings a new one. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-broke-the-curse-of-the-bambino/271075/31 "2004-10-28T22:20:28Z")
> [@mchapman](#): > > Trading Garciaparra broke the curse. The Ewing effect. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-broke-the-curse-of-the-bambino/271075/32 "2004-10-29T02:22:30Z")
Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. First off, as a Cardinals fan I congratulate the Red Sox and welcome our New England overloads. It was the Ted Williams Tunnel that broke the curse. Only a project so big, so massive, dedicated to the greatest Red Sox player ever could undo the curse of the Bambino. I know the TWT opened in 1995, but that just shows how powerful the curse was, and how long it took to change the cosmic karma. ---
**Author:** ![Exgineer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Exgineer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exgineer)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-broke-the-curse-of-the-bambino/271075/33 "2004-10-29T13:33:41Z")
**bughunter** nailed it. It’s all about Curt Schilling’s red sock. ---
**Author:** ![Miabella](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ccd318/32.png) [@Miabella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miabella)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-broke-the-curse-of-the-bambino/271075/34 "2004-10-29T15:08:09Z")
> [@World Eater](#): > > But the dead girl brings a new one. Please don’t use that tragedy as some sort of side-show touche. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-broke-the-curse-of-the-bambino/271075/35 "2004-10-29T16:08:05Z")
More mundanely, I’d attribute the turnaround to Gary Sheffield. After the Yanks went up 3-0, he gave a newspaper interview in which he said the Red Sox weren’t a real team, just a bunch of characters. A copy of that article was left in every Boston player’s locker. They’ve won every game since. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-broke-the-curse-of-the-bambino/271075/36 "2004-10-29T16:57:18Z")
That might have helped with the turnaround but it didn’t break something as old and ingrained as the curse. I think Curt’s actual Red Sock did help. You really can’t discount the kid who lives in the babe’s house getting hit in the face with a homer, though. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-broke-the-curse-of-the-bambino/271075/37 "2004-10-29T17:38:52Z")
I think it was good pitching, timely and steady hitting, a front office that got the right group of players and was committed to do what it took, and a manager that knew how to use his resources. I’d tend to favor the front office factor, as the Sox have had all the other factors in recent years. But if I had to pick a moment that elevated this year’s team there are two that come to mind. First, Veritek getting in A-Rod’s face after he was hit by a pitch from Arroyo. Second, Dave Roberts stealing second against the Yanks in the ALCS game 4. ---
**Author:** ![Exgineer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Exgineer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exgineer)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-broke-the-curse-of-the-bambino/271075/38 "2004-10-29T18:05:00Z")
I think what was different this year than in other years was their attitude. In the past the fans and the team both had expectations of failure based on the “curse” nonsense. Not this year. Sure, the fans were still braced for a letdown, but the team just went out and played baseball. Look at Schilling - “I’m here to bring a World Series to Boston.” More to the point, look at Damon. I’ve been impressed by his workmanlike approach to the game: maximum effort without the baggage. In the field - catch the ball, throw it in, resume position, next batter. At the plate - strike out, shrug, sit down or hit a dinger, round the bases, sit down. It’s like watching a master artisan at his craft; he saves the emotion for after the game. Damn, that felt good didn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-broke-the-curse-of-the-bambino/271075/39 "2004-10-29T18:39:56Z")
> [@Tentacle Monster](#): > > Jimmy Buffett. Huh? I missed this. What contribution did my man Jimmy make to contribute to the Red Sox? Jimmy played a concert at Jacobs Field in Cleveland in 1995 or '96 and promised he’d be back to play another one immediately after the World Series if the if the Indians won it. Sad to say, he hasn’t played at Jacobs Field ever since. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-broke-the-curse-of-the-bambino/271075/40 "2004-10-29T18:44:05Z")
Buffett (and Springsteen) played concerts in Fenway this year. The Coral Reefers were there in early Sept. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-broke-the-curse-of-the-bambino/271075.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-broke-the-curse-of-the-bambino/271075.md?page=3)