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POSTGAME: J.D. Drew Comes Through -- Finally »
October 29, 2007
DENVER -- It was the top of the eighth inning when Bobby Kielty bounded off the Boston bench to pinch-hit for Red Sox reliever Mike Timlin.
"I went up there feeling like, if was going to get a World Series at-bat, I wanted to make a good swing," he said.
Kielty swung at the first pitch from Brian Fuentes and drilled it on a line over the left-field fence.
"It was a fastball," Kielty said. "I knew right away I'd hit it out. It was such a great moment.
"I felt, as I was going around the bases, like I was running on clouds. It was an amazing feeling. You think about being a kid, dreaming of doing something like that."
Kielty's season seemed like a nightmare in late July, when he was released by the Oakland A's. But, less than a week later, he was signed by the Red Sox, who sent him to Pawtucket for 12 days before bringing him to Boston on Aug. 18.
He played in 20 games down the stretch for the Sox -- starting six games in left field and five in right -- batting .231, with a homer and 9 RBI.
He hadn't played at all in the World Series until manager Terry Francona sent him up to pinch-hit Sunday night.
When Kielty, a switch-hitter who was batting right-handed against Fuentes, hit the ball out, it seemed like merely an insurance run for the Sox, increasing their lead to 4-1.
But, after Garrett Atkins hit a two-run homer for the Rockies in the bottom of the eighth, Kielty's blow turned out to be the winning run in the game that won the World Series for Boston.
"I was so excited, so fired up," Kielty said on the field during the Sox's post-game celebration -- one that included thousands of fans who stayed long after the final pitch to savor the joy of Boston's second World Series win in four years, after having gone 86 years without a championship until finally winning in 2004.
"It made me feel like I was a big part of this. How could there be a better moment? This is what you dream about your whole life.
"This season has been such a roller-coaster ride for me. At one point, this year was probably the worst in my life. Now, with one swing, it's going from being the worst to being the best."
Posted by Jim Donaldson 
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