Red Sox magic Number - 46

With the win over the Twins last night coupled with the Yankees loss - the Red Sox magic number now stands at 46.

In science the number 46 is probably mainly associated with the number of human chromosomes. Many Patriots and football fans in general associate 46 with the great 46 defense the Chicago Bears used with beat New England in Super Bowl XX. However when I think of 46 and football - I think of John Lynch but that's because of personal surname bias.

Before Jonathan Papelbon - the Red Sox all-time saves leader was Bob Stanley who wore - you guessed it - number 46.

The number 46 seems to be a little cursed in terms of the Red Sox. Bob Stanley had a very successful career with the Red Sox. He's a nice guy and still lives in the area. You would think he'd be more embraced by Red Sox Nation but he's not. He's viewed with indifference (at best). Since the Steamer retired the number 46 has been worn by 18 different players - mostly for a single year or less. It's like the number 46 is the Harry Potter equivalent of the Defense Against the Dark Arts teaching position. It's understandable why both Jacoby Ellsbury and Josh Reddick switched out from number 46 to uniform numbers more suiting.

Perhaps the Red Sox issues with the number 46 stem from the 1946 Red Sox who lost the World Series 4 games to 3 to the St. Louis Cardinals. That was Ted Williams only World Series and his batting just .200 always seem to haunt him. Just like the number 46 haunts the Red Sox.