It took almost a century, but fans finally get to celebrate at Fenway

The old ballpark was packed for a celebration nearly a century in the making.

Players danced around the infield with their families.

Fans remained in the stands, savoring a long-awaited moment generations of New Englanders had never been able to witness.

Turmoil to triumph. Worst to first. A clincher at Fenway Park.

David Ortiz and the Boston Red Sox, baseball's bearded wonders, capped their remarkable turnaround by beating the St. Louis Cardinals 6-1 in Game 6 on Wednesday night to win their third World Series championship in 10 seasons.

When it was over, Ortiz took a microphone on the field and addressed the city, just as he did a week after the Boston Marathon bombings in April.

"This is for you, Boston. You guys deserve it," the Series MVP said. "We've been through a lot this year and this is for all of you and all those families who struggled."

And the Red Sox didn't even have to fly the trophy home.

For the first time since Babe Ruth's team back in 1918, Boston won the title at Fenway.

The 101-year-old stadium, oldest in the majors, was packed with 38,447 singing, shouting fans anticipating a party building for more than nine decades.

"Maybe they won't have to go another 95 years," said John Farrell, a champion in his first season as Boston's manager.

Shane Victorino, symbolic of these resilient Sox, returned from a stiff back and got Boston rolling with a three-run double off the Green Monster against rookie sensation Michael Wacha.

John Lackey became the first pitcher to start and win a Series clincher for two different teams, allowing one run over 6 2/3 innings 11 years after his Game 7 victory as an Angels rookie in 2002.

With fans roaring on every pitch and cameras flashing, Koji Uehara struck out Matt Carpenter for the final out.

The Japanese pitcher jumped into the arms of catcher David Ross while Red Sox players rushed from the dugout and bullpen.

"We've dealt with a lot," infielder Dustin Pedroia said. "But our team really came together."

After a late-season collapse in 2011, the embarrassing revelations of a chicken-and-beer clubhouse culture that contributed to the ouster of manager Terry Francona, and the daily tumult of Bobby Valentine's one-year flop, these Red Sox grew on fans.

The only player remaining from the 2004 champs, Ortiz had himself a Ruthian World Series. He batted .688 (11 for 16) with two homers, six RBIs and eight walks - including four in the finale - for a .760 on-base percentage in 25 plate appearances, the second-highest in Series history.

"We have a lot of players with heart. We probably don't have the talent that we had in '07 and '04, but we have guys that are capable (of staying) focused and do the little things," Ortiz said.

Even slumping Stephen Drew delivered a big hit in Game 6, sending Wacha's first pitch of the fourth into the right-center bullpen for a 4-0 lead. By the time the inning was over, RBI singles by Mike Napoli and Shane Victorino had made it 6-0, and the Red Sox were on their way.

"Hey, I missed two games. It's time to shine," Victorino said.

The win capped an emotional season for the Red Sox, one heavy with the memory of the events that unfolded on Patriots Day, when three people were killed and more than 260 wounded in bombing attacks at the Boston Marathon.

The Red Sox wore "Boston Strong" logos on their left sleeves, erected a large emblem on the Green Monster and moved the logo into the center-field grass as a constant reminder.

"I think there's a civil responsibility that we have wearing this uniform, particularly here in Boston," Farrell said.

"And it became a connection initially, the way our guys reached out to individuals or to hospital visits, that kind of things. And it continued to build throughout the course of the season.

"I think our fans, they got to a point where they appreciated the way we played the game, how they cared for one another.

"In return they gave these guys an incredible amount of energy to thrive on in this ballpark."

(China Daily 11/01/2013 page24)