Baseball, “America’s past-time”, originated sometime before the Civil War from a British game called “Rounders”.  Since then, it has developed into one of the largest sports in the nation.  Baseball is growing rapidly and exponentially. Last year, 16 countries played in the World Baseball Classic, the largest international baseball tournament.  In 1936, there was just one Little League baseball league, but as of last year, there are now more than 7,000 leagues across the nation, with almost two and a half million boy and girl participants.  There are also countless numbers of travel baseball teams which are more competitive and geared towards people looking to play baseball in high school, college, or even professionally.

My favorite professional baseball team has, and always will be, the Boston Red Sox.  I fell in love with the team at a young age, and ever since, I’ve cheered for the “Crimson Hose”. The midnight navy and red colors, the giant “Green Monster” just beyond the outfield grass, the sight of David Ortiz crushing a ball over the fence and into the stands – these are just some of the many reasons why I simply adore the team and its superstar players.

Since being founded in 1901, the Red Sox have been the World Series champions eight times – putting them in third place for World Series championships, just behind the St. Louis Cardinals and the New York Yankees. What is even more remarkable is that they did this without winning a World Series from 1918 to 2004 – 86 years!  This era was known as the “Bambino Curse,” and it resulted from trading away a player that happened to be the “Magnificent” Babe Ruth.

Babe Ruth was an idol for many, and after he left the Red Sox, he went on to win four World Series with the New York Yankees.  Ruth broke and secured many records such as: highest career slugging average with .690, highest career OPS with 1.164, highest career OPS+ with 206, and, more notably, his long-time record of career homeruns with 714 which stood for almost 53 years until it was broken by the Atlanta Braves’ Hank Aaron.  2004 marked a new beginning for the Boston Red Sox, and since this World Series winning year, the Red Sox have won more games than they have lost every year previous to last year.  They’ve also won three World Series Championships.

One of these championships came from this year. The year 2013 was quite a year for the Boston Red Sox.  They tied for first place in win percentage with an incredible 97 wins and just 65 losses.  Throughout the regular season, the Red Sox had the most runs scored (853), the highest on base percentage (.349), the highest slugging percentage (.446), and the second highest batting average (.277).  They also started a new trend for the Boston players – the beard.  Since spring training, the Red Sox started growing out their beards, and other than a select few players, they all have their own unique set of facial hair – some even have nicknames such as: “The Saltine”, “The Tease”, and “The Siesta”.  This has sprouted a new slogan, “Fear the Beards”, and the Red Sox fans are all for it.  Many fans have begun growing beards themselves, and others have bought fake ones or painted them on in support of the Red Sox.  They even had a station set up at Fenway where you could pay for a face paint of the Red Sox player’s beard of your choice.

Another factor of the Red Sox’s sensational season has definitely been the addition of several new players to the starting lineup like Mike Napoli, Shane Victorino, and Jonny Gomes.

As a whole, this entire team has surprised the fanbase, and they reversed their horrible season of last year (in which they had one of their worst win percentages ever and finished last in their division) into one of their best seasons ever with a World Series Championship to show for it.

In 1901, one of the best teams in Major League history was created.  There have been many ups and downs for the Sox, but throughout it all, they never fail to amaze their fans Whether it be a massive comeback, like when the Red Sox came back and beat the Yankees in the ALCS in 2004 after starting off by losing the first three games, or an astonishing record, like when David Ortiz broke the franchise record for most home runs in the regular season with 54 home runs in the year 2006, the Red Sox are one of the most talented teams in all of baseball, and never in my life will I root against the Boston Red Sox.

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“Little League Around the World.” Little League – Baseball. Active, n.d. Web. 28 Oct 2013. http://www.littleleague.org/learn/about/historyandmission/aroundtheworld.htm.

“Pools and Venues.” World Baseball Classic. MLB.com, n.d. Web. 28 Oct 2013. http://web.worldbaseballclassic.com/wbc/2013/pools_and_venues/.

“2004 League Championship Series.” Baseball Reference. USA TODAY Sports Digital Properties, n.d. Web. 28 Oct 2013. <http://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/2004_ALCS.shtml>.