Cleveland baseball fans remember those October nights in 2007 when the city felt ready to celebrate its first World Series appearance since 1997.
The Indians had built a 3-1 lead over Boston in the American League Championship Series.
Victory seemed within reach.
But heartbreak followed instead.
The Red Sox completed one of baseball’s most stunning comebacks, outscoring Cleveland 30-5 over the final three games to steal the series.
C.C. Sabathia recently reflected on that painful collapse during an appearance on the Carlos Baerga Show.
“I always say, had I pitched the way I did down the stretch in ’08 or even in ’09, if I pitched like that in ’07, we had the best team in the American league. And I think we had the best team in the league. If you think about it, if we get past Boston, I know Colorado was hot and they were young, but there’s no way that we lose to Colorado in the World Series. Being up 3-1 to Boston with a bunch of guys that had never been there before. It was a tough situation. I always just think about what could have been,” Sabathia said.
"I always just think about what could have been."@CC_Sabathia discusses the Tribe's heartbreaking loss in the 2007 ALCS. #GuardsBall
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— Carlos Baerga Show (@BaergaShow) August 22, 2025
The series started poorly for Cleveland’s ace.
Sabathia allowed eight runs in just over four innings during Game 1’s 10-3 loss.
Cleveland recovered to win three straight games before Boston’s historic rally began.
Sabathia improved in Game 5, but Boston had found their rhythm.
The Red Sox dominated the remaining contests to claim the pennant and eventually win the World Series.
The what-ifs still linger for Sabathia, who won the AL Cy Young Award that season.
He bounced back with dominant years in 2008 and 2009.
Cleveland traded him to Milwaukee in July 2008, and by December, he had signed a seven-year, $161 million contract with the Yankees.
That deal made him the highest-paid pitcher in baseball history at the time.
He finally captured his World Series ring with New York in 2009.
The 2007 Indians remain a painful reminder of how quickly October dreams can vanish.
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