Has someone mentioned the 2011 Texas Rangers? Game 6 of the World Series, they had the Cardinals down to their last strike not once, but twice.
It's really hard to choke on defense, but Nelson Cruz managed it. Up by 2 runs, with 2 outs in the 9th, runners on 1st and 2nd, including the lead-footed Lance Berkman at 1st. David Freese hits a line drive towards the right field wall.
- If Cruz catches the ball, the game is over and they win the World Series
- If Cruz turns around to play it off the wall, he keeps the tying run at 3rd, still with 2 outs and a ~70% chance to win
Instead, he manages to do the one thing that would give up the lead: flails embarrassingly at the ball, lets it bounce off the wall and roll 20 feet past him, allowing Berkman to score from 1st and tie the game.
Gotta sa
Thats why teams have defensive replacements or should at least.
They blew a 12 game lead in late August! If that’s not choking, I don’t know what is? My Sox friends were so upset they celebrated when Munson died in plane crash in 79, real classy...
The pattern is obvious. The Red Sox have a good run once every turn of the century. Then the Yankees take the 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s,60s, 70s and 90s.
I worked with a Red Sox fan who was rubbing it in all year long. The first 4 of those 7 games the Yanks pasted the Sox like 42 to 9 . We worked in the computer room. I filled out like 200 tab cards. Put em in his coat pockets, his briefcase his sleeves of his jacket, his desk drawers, etc, etc. He spoke with a heavy Irish accent...he was like "my God, they kept coming out every where, falling out on the bus"....ahhhh, THAT was fun.they played the Yankees 7 times during the Yankees comeback and got scorched by a combined score of about 118 to 1. Red Sox fans were dying.