The Comeback: 2004 Boston Red Sox Mini-series Review

The Comeback: 2004 Boston Red Sox (2024)

Watch The Comeback: 2004 Boston Red Sox on Netflix
Starring: Pedro Martinez, David Ortiz, Kevin Millar, Terry Francona, Theo Epstein
Rated: TV-MA
Watch the trailer

Plot
The 2004 Red Sox team broke an 86-year drought, overcame a 3-0 series deficit, and won the franchise's first World Series title since 1918. A historic comeback by the team that lifted one of baseball's longest curses.

Verdict
If you even remotely like baseball, you'll enjoy this. Any sports fan should be able to appreciate the feat, but outside of that the significance will likely be lost. Winning the world series is one thing, but to break the Red Sox curse of the Bambino, to defeat your arch rivals, and to do that after facing the brink of elimination is unlike any other kind of victory. The Red Sox defied the odds and what seemed not just improbable, but impossible.
It depends.

Review
Coincidentally, I recently read the book Francona: The Red Sox Years, Tito's recollection of his time in Boston when they won this World Series. This mini-series covers the same time period from the perspective of the players, reporters, and front office. 

A big part of episode one is the Yankees and Red Sox rivalry that reached a boiling point in 2003 when the Yankees beat the Red Sox in the championship series. In episode two, both teams retool for the next season. The Yankees lost the World Series in 2003 and that made Steinbrenner mad. The Red Sox lost to the Yankees and that made them mad.  

The 2004 season is tough as the Sox just aren't performing. It's a situation where you question the young front office, the manager, and the group of players assembled. A turning point in the season occurs against the Yankees where a fight breaks out. Soon after the Red Sox turn the season around.

The Red Sox are facing the Yankees in the championship series again, just like 2003. The Yankees win three games in the best of seven series, and no team has ever come back from that deficit. That's where the Red Sox defy all expectations.

It's fun to see the personalities behind the game and their thoughts on what helped them win and bond as a team. The was a huge moment in baseball, and it's fun to see the players involved revisit the moment.