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Home > Departments > 2004 World Champions > Players > Pokey Reese |
Born: June 10, 1973; Columbia, SC Height: 5'11" Weight: 180 ![]()
When Pokey signed with the Red Sox, he was slated to be the second baseman, but Nomar Garciaparra opened the year on the disabled list, and Reese became the everyday shortstop. In the home opener, he laced a two-out, bases-loaded double to momentarily tie the game. It was a memorable first impression, and the first of many "Pokey, Pokey!" chants at Fenway Park. On May 8, Pokey hit an inside-the-park home run down the right field line at Fenway. It was his first round-tripper of the season and the first inside-the-parker of his career, and it gave the Sox a 2-1 lead. Later in the game he launched a second homer over the Green Monster, for the first multi-homer game of his career. When Nomar returned from the D.L. on June 9, Pokey moved to second base. The next day he had a season-high three hits, including a home run, and scored three runs. Reese had an RBI double against the Dodgers on June 13 that gave the Sox a 4-1 lead. Later in the game, he made the lead stand up with a flashy defensive play. With two on and two out in the seventh inning, Dave Roberts hit a line drive bound for right-center field that would have plated another run for Los Angeles. But Pokey leaped high in the air and twisted to make the catch that ended the inning. Pokey strained a ribcage muscle during batting practice in July and was on the disabled list until early September. By the time he returned, the Sox had traded for shortstop Orlando Cabrera and Mark Bellhorn was solid at second base, so Reese saw most of his late-season action as a defensive replacement at both middle infield positions. Reese appeared in all three Division Series games, but did not have any plate appearances. He entered Games 1 and 2 as a defensive replacement at second base. He came into Game 3 as a pinch-runner in the tenth inning, and scored the winning run on David Ortiz's walkoff home run. Pokey entered Game 4 of the ALCS to play second base in the tenth inning, after Dave Roberts had scored the tying run as a pinch-runner in the bottom of the ninth. He got one at-bat, as the game went into extra innings, but struck out. He also entered Game 6 as a pinch-runner in the ninth, and played second in the bottom of the inning. In Game 7, he came in to play second base in the ninth. He fielded a grounder off the bat of Ruben Sierra and flipped to first for the final out of the game, as the Red Sox completed their comeback over the Yankees. Pokey appeared in every World Series game, closing out all four in the field. ![]() Pokey's World Series ring was displayed at Fenway Park
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