It's hard to be a Boston Red Sox fan right now.
The team sits at the bottom of the American League East division with a 54-55 record after losing two of the first three games in its series against the Kansas City Royals, who own the third-worst record in the AL. The Royals beat the Red Sox on Saturday night with a walk-off home run by Nick Pratto.
In these moments it's often good to think of happier times, and few moments in Red Sox history bring more joy to Boston fans than the 2004 American League Championship Series.
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Everyone knows the story: The Red Sox fell behind 0-3 to the rival Yankees but won the series by becoming the first team to overcome an 0-3 hole in a best-of-7 matchup. Boston went on to beat the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series to end the 86-year title drought.
A lot has been said about that dramatic ALCS, and it was the subject of a recent episode of Derek Jeter's new documentary titled "The Captain".
It's obvious that epic 2004 collapse to the Red Sox remains a great source of pain and frustration for Jeter to this day.
Check out his reaction in the video below:
The 2004 ALCS was absolutely a turning point for both franchises.
The Red Sox have won four World Series championships (2004, 2007, 2013 and 2018) since that triumph over the Yankees. Boston also has a 16-3 record in World Series games since 2004. Only one other team has won more than two titles during that span -- the San Francisco Giants with three (2010, 2012 and 2014). The Yankees have won one World Series (2009) in that time.
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Unfortunately, the Red Sox and Yankees did not meet in the playoffs for the rest of Jeter's career. He retired after the 2014 season.