boston red sox: 2007 american league east division champs

We did it!!!!

For the first time since 1995, the Boston Red Sox have won their division. This means I got half of what I wanted - the New York Yankees are still in the playoffs, having won the wild card - but it's the half I wanted most.

In order for Boston to clinch the division last night, they had to win and the Yankees had to lose. After Boston won, every Red Sox fan switched over to the Yankees game and rooted for the Baltimore Orioles. At Fenway Park, the Yankees game went up on the video screen, and the crowd that had just seen the first half the equation stayed for part two. In a dramatic finish, the Yankees blew a late-inning three-run lead, and lost in extra innings. And Red Sox Nation exploded.

Because of the wild card - in existence since 1995 - both Boston and New York have been in the playoffs many times in the last 12 years, something that was previously impossible in this age-old rivalry.

Those years include Boston losing the American League pennant to the Yankees in the most heartbreaking loss in the history of heartbreak (2003), and Boston winning that same pennant in the biggest comeback in baseball history (2004), after which they went on to win their first World Series in 86 years.

So, many things have happened since 1995, but one thing hadn't: Boston had yet to win the division. The Yankees always finished on top. But not this year. This year the Red Sox had been in first place since mid-April, and in first place they remain.

For celebration photos, videos and general jubilation, make Joy of Sox your destination.

Hey, guess what? WE DID IT!

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