The Red Sox and Yankees rivalry spans generations.
Each team has had their fair share of memorable moments and heartbreakers.
With the Red Sox and Yankees meeting on Tuesday for the AL Wild Card game, more memorable moments are sure to follow. The rivalry is one of the most storied in all of professional sports.
The animosity between the two clubs and their fanbases is unlike anything we’ll ever experience as sports fans. From Boston fans yelling “Yankees Suck” to Yankees fans singing “New York, New York” after each victory, each team has their traditions.
We’ll break down three of the most memorable postseason moments or series through the years between these clubs, detailing everything that happened and going through the history between these two clubs.
2003 ALCS
The 2003 ALCS was a historic series for many reasons.
We saw tensions boil over a few times. We got two pitching matchups between Roger Clemens and Pedro Martinez, and a walk-off home run by Aaron Boone that lives long in Yankees lore.
It looked as if the Red Sox were finally going to get over the hump and break the “Curse of the Bambino”, which of course came about after Boston sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees.
Boston came into the Bronx Zoo and took Game 1 from their rivals. The Yankees battled back to even the series, setting up Game 3 between Pedro and The Rocket.
An epic pitcher’s duel ensued in Game 3, with the benches clearing a couple times and Don Zimmer being thrown to the ground after charging Martinez. The Yankees won Game 3 and went ahead 2-1, with Zimmer issuing an emotional apology the next day.
The series returned to New York with the Yanks ahead 3-2. Boston came from behind to win Game 6 and set up another historic matchup between Pedro and Clemens. But Game 7 was anything but a pitcher’s duel.
The Sox jumped out to 4-0 lead and knocked Clemens out of the game early. Martinez, on the other hand, was in control, allowing just two runs over seven innings.
With a 5-2 lead in the eighth, Martinez returned to the mound. But the Yankees began to chip away, cutting the deficit to 5-3.
Martinez was at 115 pitches and got a visit from manager Grady Little, who elected to leave his starter in the game. The Yankees subsequently tied it on Jorge Posada’s bloop single.
The game went into extras, and Aaron Boone, who had just entered the game, led off the bottom of the 11th after three scoreless innings from Mariano Rivera. And on the first pitch, Boone took Tim Wakefield deep on the first pitch and forever etching himself in Yankees history and becoming another symbol of Red Sox futility in the process, earning an F-bomb in between his first and last name as a nickname by Sox fans.
1978 Tiebreaker
The Red Sox got off to a hot start in ‘78, opening up a 14-game lead by July 20. But things weren’t running too smoothly in New York.
The Yankees were playing well, but way behind their Boston rivals. Not to mention, they burned through three managers that season, firing Billy Martin after a 52-42 start, having Dick Howser for just one game after Martin’s firing, then turning things over to Bob Lemon.
Under Lemon, the Yanks got hot while the Sox started to slide. In September, the Yankees took control of the AL East, but Boston rallied for eight straight wins to force a tiebreaker game.
That game started well for the Red Sox. They jumped out to a 2-0 lead and took it into the seventh. But that’s when another symbol of Red Sox heartache was born. Bucky Dent fouled off several pitches from Sox pitcher Mike Torrez before finally taking him deep for a three-run shot that put the Yankees ahead. New York won 5-4, and Dent, just as Boone later would, earned an F-bomb in his name from Boston fans.
2004 ALCS
The 2004 ALCS, like it’s predecessor in 2003, was historic, but for different reasons.
The Yankees and Red Sox battled it out all year in the AL East, with New York taking the division by three games and Boston earning a Wild Card.
It all came to a head in the ALCS, and it started badly for Boston. Curt Schilling injured his ankle and was rocked for six runs over three innings as the Sox lost Game 1. Pedro Martinez took the mound for Game 2 and kept Boston in the game, but with help from the crowd chanting “Who’s your daddy?”, the Yankees pulled away and headed to Boston up 2-0.
Game 3 was a blowout in favor of the Yankees. 19-8 was the final. New York was on the cusp of their seventh pennant in nine years. The Red Sox would have to mount a major comeback.
Game 4 was back and forth, but the Yankees took a 4-3 lead into the ninth and went to Mariano Rivera in the bottom half to try and finish off a sweep.
Rivera’s first assignment was Kevin Millar, who he walked. Millar was replaced by Dave Roberts, who looked primed to steal second, but almost got nabbed on a pickoff attempt by Rivera.
But Roberts managed to steal second on Rivera’s first pitch to Bill Mueller, who subsequently got a base hit to score Roberts and tie the game.
The game went on into the wee hours of the morning. David Ortiz stepped to the plate with a runner on in the bottom of the 14th.
Ortiz blasted a pitch from Paul Quantrill into the stands for a walk-off home run, saving the day for the Red Sox and keeping their season alive.
Ortiz found himself in the same position in Game 5. After Boston had completed another comeback to tie the game, Ortiz hit a bullet up the middle to send the Sox to their second consecutive walk-off win and force a Game 6.
Game 6 was a test for Curt Schilling. Still laboring from his ankle injury, he received a last minute operation from team doctor Bill Morgan. Sure enough, Schilling went out and dominated. And while the Yankees rallied to get back into the game, the momentum turned after Alex Rodriguez was called out when he slapped Bronson Arroyo’s glove off of his hand in an attempt to reach base.
Boston won 4-2 and busted out early in Game 7. A grand slam by Johnny Damon put the game out of reach early and Boston never looked back, winning 10-3 and completing the most stunning comeback in postseason history.
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