Over the last half-century or so, a handful of Red Sox teams have resonated with the fan base like no other.
The 1967 Red Sox were the Impossible Dream team, improbably capturing the American League pennant and coming within a game of winning the World Series. That team specialized in miraculous comebacks and rode great seasons from Carl Yastrzemski and Jim Lonborg to capture the region's everlasting affection and, quite possibly, turned around the franchise's fortunes with its first Series appearance in 21 years.
The 2004 Sox will go down as the most loved team in franchise history -- not just for coming back from an 0-3 deficit against the rival Yankees, but also, for securing the first title in 86 years.
But in some ways, the 2013 Red Sox are as beloved as any team. In a year in which the city of Boston and the region, in general, were rocked by a terrorist attack and traumatized by a week-long manhunt for the perpetrators, the Sox served as a distraction at times, but also, represented the area's resilience. When they beat the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series that October, it felt like a season-long redemption had been earned.
This weekend, that team is being honored on its 10-year anniversary, in conjunction with Patriots Day Monday. The Boston Marathon is again the backdrop, and the 2013 squad is in the spotlight, recognized for its role in proving a tonic from the trauma.
Dustin Pedroia was involved, in one way or another in all four of the championships the Red Sox have won this century. He was in the Instructional League as a recently drafted player in 2004, played central roles in 2007 and 2013, and though injured, was in uniform and in the dugout in 2013.
For Pedroia, the 2013 team will always be unique.
"It was more than baseball that year,'' said Pedroia on the field before Sunday's pre-game ceremonies. "We were playing for more and we knew it. The way we won, the way we played, I think was different. Every game, we played hard. We played the right way and I think everyone appreciated it - not just here, but around the country. It's very rare that the entire country was rooting for a Boston team. And it seemed like, from what went on earlier in the year with the bombings and everything, everybody was pulling for us.''
Pedroia said the team felt as though it was on a mission in spring training, having suffered the indignity of a last-place finish the year before. But when the attack took place at the finish line, the team became doubly motivated, and even more connected to Boston and the region.
"Being here my whole career, it was different that year,'' Pedroia told BostonSportsJournal.com. "Most years, you go into the grocery store, and half the time they're yelling at you. That year, I know we didn't have many losing streaks, but if I ran into a fan, they were encouraging all the time, positive. It was special. When you win the World Series, you love everything, but that year was different.''
Forget the salaries of the players involved, or perhaps the gulf that now exists between fans and highly-paid professional athletes. That year saw the team and the fan base form a bond that was mutually supportive. The players fed off the fans' energy, and the fans were lifted and, in a good way, distracted by the team's play on the field.
Somehow, a baseball team became a salve for the wounds left behind the bombings.
"We were already a close-knit team, but after (Patriots Day) it was obvious that we were playing for something more,'' said Pedroia. "We knew we had the team to do it, but after that, it was more. It was like we felt a responsibility (to the fans).''
"The events on April 15th that year galvanized the unity on the team,'' said former manager John Farrell. "When you look back, the energy and the emotion that that team played with throughout the course of the year, no doubt they fed on the energy that was in the ballpark and their relationship with the fans. I don't think there's any team over 162 games that can maintain that energy and we were able to do it because of what was happening here. There was a reminder, every night, in the ballpark.''
The 2013 Red Sox adopted a personality of its own. They grew beards to foster togetherness. And quietly, without much attention, they visited hospitals, cheered up sick and injured children, and connected in a way few teams have.
"There were so many interactions between the players and fans that allowed people to get closer than maybe in a normal year,'' said Farrell.
There was, of course, nothing normal about the 2013 season, or, for that matter, the 2013 Red Sox.
It was a time when the team met the moment. And now, a decade later, the connection has been renewed this weekend, with joyous celebrations and somber remembrances.
The bond remains unbroken and lives on, between a town and a team, one that stands as a memory for a year that, in good ways and bad, remains literally unforgettable.
