Teamwork, fun pivotal to success

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Less than 24 hours after the Boston Red Sox won their first World Series since 1918, former and current Maine coaches and athletes reacted to the team’s historic season.

BOB KELLEY, who retired after 32 years as the baseball coach at Bangor High School in 2000, said he wasn’t sure what to do Thursday in the wake of the Boston Red Sox’ first World Series championship in 86 years.

“I don’t know how to act today. They’ve been right there before but didn’t pull it off,” said Kelley referring to the seventh-game losses suffered by the Red Sox in 1946, ’67, ’75 and ’86.

“I just feel happy for the older fans. They’ve been through all the bad times, all the tough breaks,” Kelley said. “In the other years, it has all seemed to go against the Red Sox in the clutch. This year, everything dropped into place. And the Red Sox pitching came through unbelievably.”

Kelley said the turning point came in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series when pinch-runner Dave Roberts stole second with no outs in the ninth inning. The Red Sox trailed by one and Bill Mueller then drove Roberts home with a base hit.

The Sox went on to win that game and the next three to become the first team in major league history to overcome a 3-0 deficit. They parlayed that momentum into a four-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series.

“The Yankees knew he was going to steal and he still stole the base. That turned the whole thing around. Once they got their momentum going, it’s awfully hard to stop it,” said Kelley. “The Red Sox did a great job lining up their specialists to do certain things for them, Roberts as a pinch-runner and [first baseman Doug] Mientkiewicz and [right fielder Gabe] Kapler as defensive replacements.”

Pointing out that the Red Sox scored first in all four World Series games, Kelley said “it means so much to get off to a good start.”

Former University of Maine center fielder and All-American MARK SWEENEY of Holliston, Mass., who hit .266 with nine homers and 40 RBIs in 177 at-bats for the Colorado Rockies this season, said the Red Sox title “was a great thing for a great sports town.

“They jelled. The whole team caught fire together at the right time,” said Sweeney. “I knew they would win a title eventually. They obviously have a lot of talent. They had some dominant pitching performances. Look at the way [Curt] Schilling, Pedro [Martinez] and [Derek] Lowe pitched. And they improved their defense [by obtaining shortstop Orlando Cabrera and Mientkiewicz] after we played them.”

Former Husson College baseball coach JOHN KOLASINSKI, now head coach at Siena Heights University in Adrian, Mich., traveled to St. Louis with assistant and former Husson left fielder Tony Laprino for Game 3 and observed that the Red Sox fans in St. Louis had an unusual “air of confidence.

“If you had a Red Sox hat on, they would wink and high-five you. They had no doubt the Red Sox were going to win the Series and they only led 2-0 [in the series] at the time. One guy was upset because he had tickets to Game 5 and he didn’t think there was going to be a Game 5,” said Kolasinski.

Kolasinski, a Winsted, Conn., native, said during Boston’s eight-game post-season winning streak, “not one person let them down.”

He also credited the Boston management for building a strong pitching staff and first-year manager Terry Francona for his handling of the team.

“I was amazed. He [Francona] had everything planned out and he stuck to it. Everybody did their jobs when they had to,” said Kolasinski.

The triumph provides a huge sense of relief for Red Sox fans, he added.

“Bucky Dent doesn’t matter any more,” said Kolasinski, referring to Dent’s three-run homer that beat the Red Sox in an American League playoff game in 1978.

Kolasinski has one regret?

“We’re out here while everyone is celebrating back there,” said Kolasinski.

CHARLIE ESHBACH, president and general manager of the Red Sox’ AA affiliate, the Portland Sea Dogs, said he has been a Red Sox fan since he was a youngster and always had faith they eventually would win a World Series.

“Now that is has happened, it feels very special,” said Eshbach. “It has been a long time coming.”

Eshbach said Johnny Damon’s grand slam in Game 7 of the ALCS firmed up his belief that a World Series championship was attainable.

What made it possible?

“It’s a team. They were the definition of a team. Everyone contributed, they all played their roles and they all played together. And in this age of pro sports, that’s rare,” said Eshbach.

University of Maine hockey right wing JOHN RONAN, a senior from South Boston, joked that it will “probably take 20 years to sink in.”

He said it was obvious the Red Sox had “a lot of heart.

“These guys showed up at the ballpark every day and had fun. You’ve got grown men getting paid, essentially, to play a kids’ game. They kept the fun in it and it was fun watching them,” said Ronan.

Ronan said the courage of Schilling, who won critical games against New York and St. Louis despite a sutured ankle that will require surgery, was “incredible.

“That’s going to be one of those stories that’s going to be around forever, the way he battled through it,” said Ronan. “It’s a Bobby Baun type of story.”

Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Baun scored a game-winning goal while playing on a broken leg in the 1964 Stanley Cup finals.

UMaine hockey center BEN MURPHY, a native of North Andover, Mass., called the Red Sox’ accomplishment “huge” and said Red Sox fans “finally have something to cheer about.”

What fueled the Sox?

“They enjoy the game so much. After last year’s heartbreaking loss [to New York in Game 7 of the ALCS], they could have folded it in. But they just came back, had fun again this year and it fell into place for them,” said Murphy.

“Anyone who understands baseball, knows that it’s still a game of streaks, individually and collectively,” said Maine Baseball Hall of Famer MERRILL “RED” WILSON of Holden while celebrating his 55th wedding anniversary at Miller’s Restaurant. “The best thing about the series is that the best, or that the two best teams in the game, met in the series, with all due respect to the Yankees and their traditions.”

Katherine Cassidy also contributed to this story.