The date was July 31, 1997. The place was Kansas City. The score was Red Sox 1 and the Royals 0 in the bottom of the tenth inning. The Royals were up to bat. And with two outs, our hero, Heathcliff Slocumb, is called to the pitcher’s mound. He fights hard. He makes 33 pitches. And he then something happens that will change the course of Red Sox history for decades.

He blows the save. The Red Sox lose 1-2

Ok, now we don’t know for sure that if he had won that game. But he ended that night 0-5 and at the last moment before the trade deadline, was traded to the Mariners.

Why was this so important to Red Sox history? Because in return for Heathcliff, the Red Sox got Derek Lowe and Jason Varitek. Both would go on to have a stunning career for the Red Sox. Both were integral parts to the world championship in 2004 (incidentally, Lowe was the AL’s starting pitcher in the All star game that year). Lowe was the winning pitcher in the must win Game 7 of the ALCS against the Yankees and then Lowe pitched seven shutout innings in game 4 of the World Series to complete the sweep against the Cardinals.

Varitek was perhaps even more consequential, as he was the guiding force behind the plate for almost all of that postseason’s games.

Lowe and Varitek will never pay for a drink in Boston again. And it wouldn’t have happened without Heathcliff.