 New York Yankees  Boston Red Sox | |
| Location | Northeastern United States |
|---|---|
| First meeting | May 7, 1903[1] Huntington Avenue Grounds,Boston,Massachusetts Americans 6, Highlanders 2[a] |
| Latest meeting | October 2, 2025[4] Yankees 4, Red Sox 0 Yankee Stadium,New York,New York |
| Next meeting | April 21, 2026 Fenway Park,Boston,Massachusetts, |
| Stadiums | Yankees:Yankee Stadium Red Sox:Fenway Park |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 2,327 |
| All-time series | Yankees, 1,263–1,050–14 (.546)[1] |
| Regular season series | Yankees, 1,249–1,037–14 (.546)[1] |
| Postseason results | Yankees, 14–13 (.519)[5] |
| Largest victory | |
| Longest win streak | |
| Current win streak | Yankees, 2[10] |
| Post-season history | |
| |
TheYankees–Red Sox rivalry is aMajor League Baseball (MLB)rivalry between theNew York Yankees and theBoston Red Sox. Both teams have competed in MLB'sAmerican League (AL) for over 120seasons, and have developed what is considered by many to be the fiercest rivalry in American sports.[11][12][13][14] Coined "The Rivalry" by some,[15][16][17] the 1919 sale of star Red Sox playerBabe Ruth to the Yankees popularized one of the most well-known aspects of the rivalry: a superstition known as the "Curse of the Bambino", attributed to Boston’s 86-yearWorld Series drought which began upon Ruth’s sale to New York.[18][11] Much like theMets–Yankees rivalry, the Yankees have often been portrayed as the dominantheel, whereas the Red Sox have garnered a long-standing reputation for being an unfavoredunderdog, most notably during media coverage of the2004 American League Championship Series (ALCS). Where they overcame a 3-0 deficit in theseries to win the pennant and sweep the2004 World Series.
The rivalry is often a heated subject of conversation, especially in the home region of both teams, theNortheastern United States.[19] Until 2014,[20] everyMLB postseason featured one or both teams beginning with the inception of thewild card format and resultant additionalDivision Series in 1995, when both teams were assigned to the American League’sEast Division. The Red Sox and the Yankees have faced each other three times in the ALCS, with the Yankees winning twice, in1999 and2003, and the Red Sox winning in2004.[21][22] The two teams have also met once in theAmerican League Division Series (ALDS), in2018, with Boston winning 3–1, a series which included a 16–1 Red Sox win in Game 3 atYankee Stadium, the largest margin of defeat in a postseason game in the Yankees' history. The Red Sox also beat the Yankees in the2021 American League Wild Card Game.
In addition, the teams have twice met in the last regular-season series to decide the AL pennant, in1904 (when the Red Sox, then known as the Americans, won) and1949 (when the Yankees won).[22]
The Yankees and the Red Sox finished tied for first in1978; subsequently, the Yankees won a high-profiletie-breaker game for the division title.[23] The first-place tie came after the Red Sox had a 14-game lead over the Yankees more than halfway through the season.[24] Similarly, in the 2004 ALCS, the Yankees ultimately lost a best-of-seven series after leading 3–0.[25] The Red Sox comeback was the only time in American baseball history that a team has come back from a 3–0 deficit to win a series.[26] The Red Sox went on to win theWorld Series, ending the 86-year-old curse.[27]
This match-up is regarded by some sports journalists as the greatest rivalry in sports.[11][12][28][29] Games between the two teams often generate considerable interest and receive extensive media coverage, including being broadcast on national television.[30][31] National carriers of Major League Baseball coverage, includingFox/FS1,ESPN, andMLB Network carry most of the games in the rivalry across the nation, regardless of team standings or playoff implications.[32] Yankees–Red Sox games are some of the most-watched MLB games each season.[33] Outside of baseball, the rivalry has led to violence between fans,[34][35] along with attention from politicians and other athletes.[36][37]
Boston andNew York City have shared a rivalry as cities since before theAmerican Revolution.[38] For more than a century after its founding, Boston was arguably the educational, cultural, artistic, and economic power in the United States.[38][39] Its location as a close American port to Europe and its concentration of elite schools and manufacturing hubs helped maintain this position for several decades. During this time period, New York was often looked down upon as the upstart, over-populated, dirty cousin to aristocratic and clean Boston.[38]
In the 19th century, however, New York's economic power outpaced Boston's, fueled by possession of the terminus of theErie Canal, which spurred massive growth in the manufacturing, shipping, insurance and financial services businesses.[40] Another factor was its more rapid population expansion compared to that of Boston, driven by the growth of these industries, by New York's popularity as animmigrationport of entry, and enhanced by a larger population base, even prior to the construction of the Canal – on the eve of the Revolution, New York, with 30,000 people, had nearly twice the population of Boston, with about 16,000.[38] By the start of the 20th century the original dynamic, centered on Boston, had completely shifted as New York, particularlyWall Street, became the financial center of both the United States and the world.[38][41]
The cities even played two different versions of early baseball. The "Massachusetts Game," as it was called, was played on a field with four bases and with home plate in the middle; whereas, the "New York Game," popularized by theNew York Knickerbocker Club, was played on a diamond with three bases. The "New York Game" spread throughout the nation after theAmerican Civil War and became the foundation for the modern game of baseball.[38][42]
The Red Sox were one of the most successful teams in baseball from 1901 to 1918.[43] They won the inaugural World Series in1903 (as the Boston Americans; the team changed its name to Red Sox in 1908) and four more between1912 and1918.[43] The Yankees were founded in 1903 after franchise rights were purchased from the defunctBaltimore Orioles[44] (as the New York Highlanders, in reference to playing games in theWashington Heights neighborhood ofManhattan.)[45][46] The two teams had their first meeting in Boston on May 7, 1903. The game was marked by a fight when Boston pitcherGeorge Winter was knocked down.[46] Boston would eventually go on to win thepennant and the inaugural1903 World Series. The 1904 season featured the teams facing each other on opening day.[47][48] Later in the season, the Highlanders, led by pitcherJack Chesbro in his record-setting 41 game-winning season, met the Boston Americans in the season's final game to decide the American League pennant winner. Chesbro threw awild pitch in the top of the ninth inning, allowing the winning run to score from third base, and Boston won the game, and the pennant.[49][50] TheNew York Giants, who had already clinched theNational League pennant,[51] refused to play in the1904 World Series because of a perception of the "Junior Circuit" as being inferior (and because of alleged animosity between American League founder and first president,Ban Johnson, and the hierarchy of the Giants, ownerJohn T. Brush and his team'sHall of Famecoach,player-managerJohn McGraw); thus, there was no World Series that year.[52] Not until2004 would the Red Sox again defeat the Yankees in a title-deciding game.[53]
On April 11, 1912, the Highlanders debuted theirpinstripes in a game against Boston, by then known as the Red Sox.[54] Nine days later, Boston openedFenway Park with a game against the Highlanders, who had left their home field ofHilltop Park to play in the newly rebuiltPolo Grounds; soon thereafter, in 1913, the team dropped the nickname Highlanders in favor of Yankees.[55]
Six years later, theChicago Cubs scored two runs off of Babe Ruth in game 4 of theSeries, snapping his then record World Series scoreless inning streak at29+2⁄3 innings.[56] The Red Sox won the game, 3–2, and went on to capture their fifth Series title, their third in four years, and fourth in seven years.[56]
The Yankees would however receive one notable moment of glory against the Red Sox during this era. On April 24, 1917, Yankees pitcherGeorge Mogridge threw ano-hitter at Fenway Park, the first in the ballpark's history and first inYankees history.[57]
In 1916,Broadway producerHarry Frazee purchased the Red Sox, on credit, for $500,000. Frazee lost his patience with Ruth despite the latter's success with the Red Sox, as Ruth had threatened to hold out for a larger contract and become a distraction. After the Red Sox finished sixth in the American League in 1919, Frazee, needing money to finance a Broadway musical, often said to beNo, No Nanette (the success of that 1925 play is actually what paid off the loan). However, Ruth was sold to the Yankees in 1919, and "No, No Nanette" was produced by Frazee in 1925.[18] Frazee received $125,000 and a loan of $300,000 – secured on Fenway Park – for Ruth,[18] despite Ruth having set the record for home runs with 29 in 1919.[58] This began a series of deals with the Yankees that resulted in a long period of mediocrity for the Red Sox while the Yankees began their dynasty.[59]
Ruth's arrival in New York simultaneously launched the Yankees dynasty while ravaging the Red Sox. While the Red Sox' five World Series titles were a record at the time, 1918 would be the team's last championship for 86 years. The Yankees then created the greatest dynasty and team in baseball history. Meanwhile, Ruth's home run-hitting prowess anchored the Yankees line-up, which became known as "Murderers' Row" in the late 1920s. The Yankees reached the World Series seven times during Ruth's New York years, winning four. This abrupt reversal of fortunes for the Red Sox marked the beginning of the supposed "Curse of the Bambino."[13] But it was not the Ruth deal alone that reversed the fortunes of both clubs.[59] Frazee also sold many other players to the Yankees.[60]
Robert W. Creamer reported that "[the] loan was made and relations between the two clubs continued to be cordial, with Frazee sending player after player to the Yankees over the next few seasons for more and more cash. This was no accident. Frazee and Yankees ownerTillinghast L'Hommedieu Huston were friends, and American League president Ban Johnson's attempts to drive Frazee out of the game had caused the five teams loyal to Johnson to make no deals with the Red Sox as long as Frazee owned the club, leaving only the Yankees and White Sox as trading partners. When the White Sox' reputation was destroyed in theBlack Sox Scandal, Frazee's only option for trades was to deal with the Yankees. The Red Sox soon became a baseball disaster area, finishing dead last nine times in eleven seasons."[61]
Among others,Wally Schang,Everett Scott,Carl Mays,Waite Hoyt,Joe Bush andSam Jones went from the Sox to the Yankees in the next one to three years,[62] along withEd Barrow, the former Red Sox manager who became the Yankees' general manager and empire-builder for the first quarter-century of the Yankees' dynasty.[59][62][63] Scott, a former Red Sox team captain, actually took the reins asYankees captain from Ruth when he arrived; in doing so, he became the only player in history to be named captain for both teams.[64]
From 1920 through 2003, the Yankees won 26 World Series championships and 39 pennants, compared to only four pennants for the Red Sox. In every year that the Red Sox won the pennant – 1946,1967,1975 and1986 – they lost the World Series 4–3, leaving them with no World Series titles.[65] During this time, the Red Sox finished second in the standings to the Yankees on twelve occasions – in1938,1939,1941,1942,1949,1977,1978, and every year from1998 to2003.[66][67] During the 84-year period, the Yankees finished with a better regular-season record than the Red Sox 66 times,[66] leading one sportswriter to quip that the Yankees' rivalry with the Red Sox was much like the rivalry "between a hammer and a nail."[68] The Yankees finished second in the standings to the Red Sox twice, in1986 and1995.[67]
Just two years after Ruth's sale, he went on to have a record setting season, one of the greatest in major league history for a batter.[69] This propelled the Yankees to win their first pennant and face theircross-town rival.[70][71] Ruth got hurt during the Series, and the Yankees eventually dropped the last three games, losing the Series 5–3 to the Giants in the last ever best-of-nine Series.[70] Both the Yankees and Giants would play in the1922 World Series as well, a series that would be the Yankees' last in the two teams' shared stadium at the Polo Grounds, as the Giants served the Yankees an eviction notice after the 1921 season.[72][73]
The Yankees moved across theHarlem River to the Bronx intoYankee Stadium. On April 18, 1923, the Yankees opened their new home against the Red Sox.[69] Over 74,200 people watched the Yankees defeat the Red Sox, 4–1, in the first game played at the stadium.[69] Babe Ruth hit the new stadium's first home run, christening the stadium as "The House that Ruth Built."[69] Ruth would finish the year with a .393batting average and the Yankees won their firstWorld Series that year. Of the 24 players on the Yankees, 11 previously played for the Red Sox.[74]
Several lesser known moments in the rivalry occurred during the 1930s. PitcherRed Ruffing was traded in 1930 from the Red Sox to the Yankees.[75] Ruffing, who had limited success with the Red Sox, would go on to a Hall of Fame career with the Yankees winning six World Series.[76] On May 30, 1938, before 83,533 spectators at Yankee Stadium, Yankees outfielderJake Powell and Red Sox player-managerJoe Cronin fought on the field and beneath the stands.[77] Both players were fined and suspended for 10 games.[78] The Yankees and Red Sox would finish first and second in the League respectively that year as well as the following. The Yankees went on to sweep the Chicago Cubs in theWorld Series and theCincinnati Reds in theWorld Series a year later.[79][80]
The rivalry intensified in 1941 whenTed Williams of the Red Sox batted .406, becoming the last player to bat over .400 in a season.[59] Despite his accomplishment, Williams lost theAL MVP race to the Yankees'Joe DiMaggio,[59] who in the same season set the record for a hitting streak, with56 straight games with a hit.[81] Williams later reminisced about his rivalry with DiMaggio saying "DiMaggio was the greatest all-around player I ever saw. His career cannot be summed up in numbers and awards. It might sound corny, but he had a profound and lasting impact on the country."[82] Both teams almost swapped the two players. In 1947, Boston Red Sox ownerTom Yawkey and Yankees GMLarry MacPhail were rumored to have verbally agreed to trade DiMaggio for Williams, but MacPhail refused to includeYogi Berra and the deal fell through.[83] Joe DiMaggio's younger brotherDom would play for the Red Sox his entire career during the 1940s.[84]
The Red Sox won 15 games in a row in 1946.[85][86] They were unstoppable and were in first place all but two days in the season, and would play in their first World Series game since 1918, having finished ahead of the Yankees in the American League for the first time since selling Babe Ruth.[86] Since the Red Sox last pennant in 1918, the Yankees had won 14 pennants and 10 World Series.[87] Boston would eventually lose theSeries 4–3 to theSt. Louis Cardinals.[88]
Former Yankees managerJoe McCarthy came out of retirement after a feud with Yankees ownership to sign with the Red Sox as their manager in 1948.[89] Both the Yankees and the Red Sox were involved in a tight pennant race with theCleveland Indians until the final weekend. The Red Sox eliminated the Yankees in the final series at Fenway Park, overcoming four DiMaggio hits in the final game to tie Cleveland for the pennant.[90][91] The situation forced the first-everone-game playoff in AL history, which the Indians won 8–3 at Fenway Park[92] and preventing the first all-Boston World Series,[92] as the Indians went on to defeat theBoston Braves in theSeries.[93]
A year later, the Red Sox entered the final series of the season at Yankee Stadium needing only one win over the Yankees to advance to the World Series.[94] The Sox lost 5–3 on the last day of the season after falling 5–4 the previous day, resulting in the Yankees winning the AL pennant.[95] The Yankees went on to defeat theBrooklyn Dodgers in the1949 World Series for their 12th championship.[96]
The 1951 season opened up at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees defeated the Red Sox in public address (PA) announcerBob Sheppard first game. Sheppard would go on to serve PA duties at Yankee Stadium for another 56 years. On September 28 of that year, Yankees pitcherAllie Reynolds pitched a no-hitter against the Red Sox.[97][98] A year later, Red Sox outfielderJimmy Piersall and Yankees second basemanBilly Martin exchanged insults before a game in Boston, and ended up fighting in the tunnel under the stands. The fight was eventually broken up by Yankees coachesBill Dickey and Oscar Melillo, and Boston starting pitcherEllis Kinder. Piersall changed out of his bloody shirt and promptly fought with teammate Maury McDermott. The Red Sox won 5–2 with Piersall sitting the game out.[99]
The Yankees won five consecutive World Series titles from 1949 to 1953, breaking their previous streak of four straight titles from 1936 to 1939.[65] They would also go on to win 14 AL pennants in 16 years from 1949 to 1964.[65]
The 1961 season saw the chase of Babe Ruth's 1927 single season home run record byRoger Maris andMickey Mantle.[100] Both Maris and Mantle would continue to reach the home run record until Mantle got injured late in the season, leaving Maris to reach the record.[100] On the last day of the season, Maris broke the record with his 61st home run of the year off Red Sox pitcherTracy Stallard at Yankee Stadium.[101][102] Former Hall of Fame shortstop for the Yankees,Phil Rizzuto, called the shot in what was one of his first games as an announcer.[103] The Yankees won the game 1–0 to win their 26th American League pennant and then to win their 19th World Series title.[104]
The next year, the Red Sox had been in the middle of a streak of eight straight losing seasons. The team was so bad, that after a 13–3 loss to the Yankees on July 26, Red Sox aceGene Conley got off the bus and attempted to leave the country and go to Israel. Conley was denied his request because he did not have a passport. Nonetheless, Conley stayed away from the team for three days.[105][106]
In 1967, Red Sox pitcherBilly Rohr came within a single strike of a no-hitter at Yankee Stadium.[107]Elston Howard hit a two-out, two-strike single in the ninth to break the no-hit bid.[107] Rohr completed the one-hitter, but ultimately finished his career with only two wins, both coming against the Yankees.[107] Later that year, Red Sox third basemanJoe Foy hit a grand slam during the first game of a two-game series. In the second game, Yankees pitcherThad Tillotson threw two brushback pitches at Foy before beaning him in the batting helmet. In the next inning, Red Sox pitcherJim Lonborg beaned Tillotson. Both pitchers yelled at each other, and then a brawl ensued. During the fight, Red Sox outfielderReggie Smith picked up and body-slammed Tillotson to the ground.[108] Two months later, both teams were involved in the longest game ever played (by innings) at Yankee Stadium.[109] New York recorded a 20-inning 4–3 victory over Boston.[109] Earlier that year on August 3, the Yankees traded Howard to the Red Sox to help bolster their team during the pennant race.[110] When Howard returned to Yankee Stadium in a Red Sox uniform, the Yankees fans gave him a standing ovation.[111] Boston would be led by Hall of FamerCarl Yastrzemski's historic season winning the battingtriple crown,[112] leading the Red Sox to the pennant in what was a dream year for the Sox.[113] Howard's contribution would be instrumental in the1967 World Series, but he and Yastrzemski would lose toBob Gibson and theSt. Louis Cardinals four games to three.[113]
In 1973, the American League adopted thedesignated hitter rule.[114] On April 6, opening the season at Fenway Park,Ron Blomberg of the Yankees became the firstdesignated hitter in Major League history.[115][116] Red Sox pitcherLuis Tiant walked Blomberg in his first plate appearance of the game.[116] Later that year at Fenway Park, with the score tied 2–2 in the top of the ninth, Yankees catcherThurman Munson attempted to score from third base on a missed bunt byGene Michael.[117] He crashed into Red Sox catcherCarlton Fisk resulting in a fight with Munson punching Fisk in the face.[118] The rivalry intensified in the 1970s with the fans too, as just a year later in 1974 at Fenway Park, Yankees first basemanChris Chambliss was struck in the right arm with a dart thrown from the stands after hitting an RBI ground-rule double.[119] Two years later, Yankees outfielderLou Piniella would crash into Fisk feet first in an attempt to score in the sixth inning of a game at Yankee Stadium.[117] The two benches cleared while Piniella and Fisk brawled at home plate.[120] After the fight apparently died down and order appeared to be restored, Sox pitcherBill Lee and Yankees third basemanGraig Nettles and center fielderMickey Rivers began to exchange words, resulting in another fight. Lee suffered a separated left shoulder from the tilt and missed the next 51 games of the 1976 season. He would continue to pitch until 1982. The 1976 season saw the Yankees win the pennant, but lose to theBig Red Machine in the1976 World Series,[121] just like the Red Sox had done a year prior in the1975 World Series in which Carlton Fisk hit his famous home run off of the left field foul pole at Fenway Park.[122]
After the Yankees' loss to the Reds, ownerGeorge Steinbrenner committed to sign marquee free agentReggie Jackson to help win a championship.[123][124] The Yankees, Red Sox, and Baltimore Orioles would battle each other the entire year in the division race.[125][126] The Yankees would win the division for the second year in a row, while the Orioles and Red Sox finished tied for second,2+1⁄2 games behind the Yankees.[126] Jackson's entry onto the Yankees initially had caused a lot of friction on them. In the middle game of what would prove to be a three-game series sweep by the Red Sox at Fenway Park, Yankees manager Billy Martin pulled Reggie Jackson off the field in mid-inning for failing to hustle on a ball hit to the outfield. The extremely angry and highly animated Martin had to be restrained by coaches Yogi Berra and Elston Howard from getting into a fistfight with Jackson in the dugout during the nationally televised game. Eventually, emotions calmed down for the season and the Yankees came together to recapture the pennant and defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers in the1977 World Series, their first since1962.[127]
In 1978, the Red Sox, led byJim Rice,Carl Yastrzemski,Fred Lynn and catcherCarlton Fisk, and managed by future Yankees coachDon Zimmer,[128][129] were looking good for the World Series for the second time in the decade. They led the Yankees in the standings by 14 games in mid-July, with less than three months to go in the regular season.[130] The Yankees turned their season around just as the Red Sox started to collapse.[131] By September 7, the Yankees had whittled down the 14-game deficit to only four games, just in time for a four-game series at Fenway Park in Boston.[132] The Yankees won all four games in the series by a combined score of 42–9.[133] This series became known as the "Boston Massacre".[132] On September 16, the Yankees held a3+1⁄2-game lead over the Red Sox, but the Sox won 12 of their next 14 games to overcome that deficit and finish in a first-place tie with the Yankees.[134] Atie-breaker game was scheduled in Boston to determine who would win the AL East pennant for 1978.[23]
Boston pitted former Yankees pitcherMike Torrez against the Yankees'Cy Young Award winner,Ron Guidry, who took a 24–3 record into the game.[135] The Sox were beating Guidry 2–0 in the top of the seventh inning when light-hitting Yankees shortstopBucky Dent hit a two-out, three-run home run over Fenway Park'sGreen Monster to take a 3–2 lead.[23][136] It was only his fifth home run of the season.[137] The Yankees later led 5–2 and held on to win 5–4 when Yastrzemski popped out with runners on first and third, ending the Red Sox' season.[138] Yankees closerGoose Gossage notched his 27th save of the season. Gossage would later comment years later about how he was spat on at Fenway Park and had beer thrown in his face. "There is no rivalry in sports that rivals the Yankees – Red Sox...that playoff game in '78–it felt like the playoffs and World Series were exhibition games after that."[139] The headline inThe Boston Globe the next day summed it all up: "Destiny 5, Red Sox 4."[140] New York went on to defeat theKansas City Royals in theALCS and theLos Angeles Dodgers in theWorld Series for their second straight championship.[141][142]
The 1980s is the only decade in which neither the Yankees nor the Red Sox won a World Series.[143] Although both teams went to a World Series during that decade, the Red Sox were not serious contenders in the Yankees' playoff years (1980 and1981),[142] but the Yankees seriously contended in the Red Sox' playoff years (1986 and1988).[142]
The Yankees lost the World Series in1981, while the Red Sox loss came in1986. Both times, the teams lost after being up 2–0 in their respective World Series. For the Yankees, the loss in 1981 marked the beginning of the team's demise and downfall in the 1980s and early 1990s.[144][145][146] Despite the lack of championships, the rivalry between the teams did have some memorable highlights. Yankees left-handerDave Righetti threw a no-hitter against the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium.[147] One of the game's greatest hitters,Wade Boggs, struck out to end the game.[147]
On October 4, 1986, Righetti once again made history against the Red Sox when he saved both games of a doubleheader against them, finishing the season with 46 saves,[148] and breaking the major league record shared byDan Quisenberry andBruce Sutter.[149] The record would stand untilBobby Thigpen saved 57 games for theChicago White Sox in 1990,[150] which would also be Righetti's last season with the Yankees. Righetti retained the single-season record for left-handers until 1993, whenRandy Myers saved 53 games for the Chicago Cubs; Righetti still owns the AL record for left-handers.
Righetti's teammate, first baseman and defending American League MVPDon Mattingly, came into the last game batting .352, second in the league to Boston's Wade Boggs. With Boggs sitting out the game, Mattingly needed to go 6 for 6 to win the batting title. Although Mattingly would hit a home run in his first at bat and a double later on, he fell short and Boggs won the batting title. Mattingly would be named most outstanding player that year by the press, but fell short to Boggs' teammateRoger Clemens in the AL MVP voting.
Despite Righetti's pitching on the last day of the season, the Red Sox still won the division and marched on in the playoffs. The Red Sox faced the Yankees'cross-town rivals, theNew York Mets, in the World Series.The New York Times called the series a "painful series".[151]Newsday called it "woeful days for Yankee fans".[152]Mike Lupica of theNew York Daily News called the series "the World Series that is the Yankee nightmare".[153] BothNewsday andThe Boston Globe said there were Mets T-shirts saying "Steinbrenner's nightmare,"[152][154] referring to Yankees ownerGeorge Steinbrenner. John Powers of theGlobe quoted Claire Smith, who covered the Yankees for theHartford Courant, as having said "this really is the World Series of the nightmares".[155]
In Game 6 of the World Series, Boston (leading the series 3–2) took a 5–3 lead in the top of the 10th inning. In the bottom half of the inning, Red Sox relieverCalvin Schiraldi retired the first two batters, putting the team within one out of winning the World Series. The Mets, however, scored three runs, tying the game on a wild pitch fromBob Stanley and winning it when Boston first basemanBill Buckner allowed a ground ball hit by the Mets'Mookie Wilson to roll through his legs, scoringRay Knight from second base. In Game 7, the Red Sox took an early 3–0 lead, only to lose 8–5. The collapses in the last two games prompted a series of articles byGeorge Vecsey ofThe New York Times fueling speculation that the Red Sox were "cursed".[156][157][158][159]
The 1987 season saw rivalry at the end of the season, as on September 29, Yankees' first basemanDon Mattingly set an MLB record by hitting his sixth grand slam home-run of the season against the Red Sox.[160] The competitiveness of the teams continued the following year. Co-captainsRon Guidry andWillie Randolph had led the Yankees to first place two weeks after the All-Star break.[161] On July 28, the Yankees fell out of first place,[161][162][163] and the Red Sox won their second division title in three years.[164] Boston went on to face theOakland Athletics in the1988 American League Championship Series, but would end up getting swept.[165]
In the early to mid-1990s, the two teams were seldom equally good. The Yankees had the worst record in the American League when the Red Sox won their division title in 1990.[166] In 1992, both teams finished at or near the bottom of the AL East.[167]
In 1990,Boston Globe columnistDan Shaughnessy wrote a book titledThe Curse of the Bambino, criticizing the Red Sox for the sale of Babe Ruth, and publicized the curse.[18][157][168] When the Red Sox were at Yankee Stadium during a weekend in September 1990, Yankees fans started to chant "1918!" to taunt the Red Sox, reminding them of the last time they won a World Series.[169] Each time the Red Sox were at Yankee Stadium afterward, demeaning chants of "1918!" echoed through the stadium.[170] Yankees fans also taunted the Red Sox with signs saying "1918!", "CURSE OF THE BAMBINO", pictures of Babe Ruth, and wearing "1918!" T-shirts each time they were at the Stadium.[170][171] Other teams would not pick up the "1918!" chant; it was only at Yankee Stadium where the chants of "1918!" were heard.[170]
On June 6, 1990, before a Yankees–Red Sox game at Fenway Park, the Yankees fired Bucky Dent as their manager, making Fenway Park the scene of his worst moment as manager, although he had his greatest moment as a player there.[172]Red Sox fans felt retribution as Dent was fired on their field,[172][173] while players on the Yankees, including former Red Sox catcherRick Cerone and Mattingly felt Dent was used as a scapegoat.[174][175][172] Dan Shaughnessy criticized Steinbrenner for firing Dent in Boston and said he should "have waited until the Yankees got to Baltimore" to fire Dent.[176] He said that "if Dent had been fired in Seattle or Milwaukee, this would have been just another event in an endless line of George's jettisons. But it happened in Boston and the nightly news had its hook."[176] He also said that "the firing was only special because...it's the first time a Yankees manager...was purged on the ancient Indian burial grounds of the Back Bay."[176] However, Yankees television analystTony Kubek blasted at Steinbrenner for the firing in a harsh, angry way.[177] At the beginning of the broadcast of the game onMSG Network, he said to Yankees television play-by-play announcerDewayne Staats, "George Steinbrenner...mishandled this. You don't take a Bucky Dent (at) the site of one of the greatest home runs in Yankee history and fire him and make it a media circus for the Boston Red Sox."[177] He then stared defiantly on camera and said to Steinbrenner, "You don't do it by telephone, either, George. You do it face to face, eyeball to eyeball...If you really are a winner, you should not have handled this like a loser."[177] He then said, angrily, "George, you're a bully and a coward."[178] He then said that "What all this does, it just wrecks George Steinbrenner's credibility with his players, with the front office and in baseball more than it already is–if that's possible. It was just mishandled."[177] The firing of Dent shook New York to its core and the Yankees flagship radio station then,WABC, which also criticized the firing, ran editorials demanding that Steinbrenner sell the team.[179][180][174]
The 1993 season saw long-time Red Sox fan favorite Wade Boggs defect to the Yankees after eleven seasons with Boston.[148] Later in September 1993, the Yankees defeated Boston at Yankee Stadium via a last-moment reprieve. Trailing 3–1,Mike Stanley's apparent fly out with two outs in the ninth was nullified by a fan running onto the field prior to the pitch being thrown. The umpire had called time and when play resumed, Stanley singled. The Yankees would rally to score three runs and win on a Mattingly single.[181]
The Yankees' 1980s demise and downfall continued into the early 1990s and was at its frustrating peak in 1994, when they finished with the best record in the American League in a season that was prematurely halted by the1994–95 Major League Baseball strike,[182][183][184][185] which left New York sports fans disappointed that Mattingly had not played in a postseason despite being poised to do so that year.[186][187] At that time, he led active players in both games played and at-bats without participating in a postseason game.[183][186][188] Throughout October, the news media added to the embarrassment when they often made references to dates that games in theWorld Series would have been played.[189] That year, the Yankees and Red Sox would have finished the season against each other at Fenway Park.[190][191] Both managers,Buck Showalter of the Yankees andButch Hobson of the Red Sox, who made their managerial debuts against each other,[192] were fired as a result of or during the strike.[183][190][193]
The strike was the harbinger of the 1995 season for the Yankees.[188] Although the Red Sox jumped out to a fast start and finished the season in first place, the Yankees were not serious contenders for the division title.[188] With the Yankees clinching the inaugural American League Wild Card on the last day of the season, the Yankees and Red Sox reached the post-season in the same season for the first time.[194][195][196] Before the postseason began, Mattingly contemplated about the first-ever playoff series in the rivalry, saying, "That would be pretty cool. It wouldn't hurt the rivalry any. There'd be a few deaths...just kidding".[197] Both teams lost in separateALDS series, with the Red Sox being swept by theCleveland Indians and the Yankees losing in five games to theSeattle Mariners.[197] For the Yankees, the loss led to another post-strike fallout: both Showalter and general managerGene Michael were fired as a result of the loss.[146][193][183] Similarly, the firing of Michael as Yankees manager and the loss in the 1981 World Series were fallouts from thestrike that year.[144][198] In fact, the 1981 strike was antecedence to the Yankees' demise and downfall of the 1980s and 1990s and the strike in 1994 was part of that demise.[144][145]
A year after captain Don Mattingly's retirement in 1995, the Yankees won the1996 World Series. It was their first in 18 years and the first of former Red Sox player Wade Boggs' career.[199] Boggs celebrated the victory with a memorable moment of jumping on the horse of aNYPD officer during the celebration.[199]
The Yankees had one of the greatest seasons in baseball history in 1998. The Yankees won a then-AL record 114 games and the season culminated in a win over theSan Diego Padres in the1998 World Series.[200] The Red Sox, too, made the playoffs in 1998, but as a Wild Card, they did not seriously contend for the division title.[195] They lost theirALDS.[195]
About four months after victory, the Yankees traded fan favoriteDavid Wells to theToronto Blue Jays for Roger Clemens, a fan favorite with the Red Sox between 1984 and 1996.[200] Clemens was coming off two consecutive season with the Blue Jays where he had won both the pitchingtriple crown and theCy Young Award in both 1997 and 1998.[195]
Once the 1999 season started, a moment of peace occurred between the fans. Yankees managerJoe Torre returned to Fenway Park for his first game following a battle withprostate cancer.[201][202] While the managers were exchanging lineup cards, the Boston crowd gave Torre a long standing ovation, to which he tipped his cap.[203] Good relations were seen during theAll-Star Game at Fenway Park.[204] Yankees manager Joe Torre, manager for the American League team, replaced starting shortstopNomar Garciaparra of the Red Sox withDerek Jeter. Garciaparra received a standing ovation from the fans after Jeter came in to replace him (they also embraced each other at this time).[204] Later in the game, when he came to bat, Jeter gave Garciaparra a tribute by mimicking his batting stance.[204]Nine years later, in a similar fashion, Red Sox managerTerry Francona managed the American League team at the All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium, in the stadium's final season.
On September 10, 1999,Chili Davis' second-inning home run was the only hit by the Yankees againstPedro Martínez, who struck out 17 Yankees – the most strikeouts against a Yankees team ever in a nine inning game.[205] Martínez retired the last 22 batters after giving up the home run, including striking out eight of the final nine batters.[206] The teams finished first and second in their division and both made the playoffs in the same season. This led to the very first post-season meeting in the longtime rivalry.[195]
In 1999, the Yankees and Red Sox faced each other for the first time in theALCS. The Yankees were the defending World Series champions, while Boston had not appeared in the ALCS since1990. The Yankees won Game 1 on a 10th-inning walk-off home run byBernie Williams off Boston relieverRod Beck.[207] Intensity built up due to this historic, first-ever postseason meeting between the two longtime rivals. The Yankees would win the first two games at home with 7th-inning comebacks.
The lone bright spot for the Red Sox came in Game 3 at Fenway Park, in what had been a much anticipated pitching match-up of former Red Sox star Roger Clemens, who was now with the Yankees, and Boston ace Pedro Martínez.[208] Martínez struck out twelve and did not allow a run through seven innings of work; Clemens was hit hard, giving up five earned runs and only lasting two innings of a 13–1 Red Sox victory.[208] The Yankees rebounded to win Games 4 and 5, clinching the American League pennant and advancing to theWorld Series, where they swept theAtlanta Braves.[209] The loss to Pedro Martínez was the Yankees' only postseason loss, as the team went 11–1.
The following year at Fenway Park, the Yankees beat the Red Sox, 22–1, handing Boston its most lopsided home loss ever.[210] The Yankees scored 16 total runs in the 8th and 9th innings.[210] The Yankees lost 15 of their final 18 games that season and finished with a record of 87–74, but the Red Sox failed to catch up and finished 2.5 games out of first to lose another division title to the Yankees.[211] Despite having the lowest winning percentage of any postseason qualifier in 2000, the Yankees won their third consecutive World Series and 26th overall, in the firstSubway Series since 1956, over theircross-town rivals, the New York Mets, in 5 games.[211][212]
A year later,David Cone, one of the key players in the then-most recent Yankees dynasty, started for the Red Sox against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium to the sound of a standing ovation despite playing for the arch-rivals.[213] Cone would later take part in another notable game later that year when he went up against newly acquired Yankees pitcherMike Mussina.[214] Mussina had come within one strike of pitching aperfect game against the Red Sox at Fenway Park.[213][214]Carl Everett's 9th-inning single was the only baserunner allowed by Mussina in a 1–0 Yankees win.[213] Coincidentally, David Cone was the last Yankees pitcher to throw a perfect game, in 1999.
On September 10, the two teams had a game against each other rained out.[215] The next day, the country saw one of its biggest tragedies bring both sides together. Followingthe terrorist attacks on New York City's Twin World Trade Center Towers (which ironically involved two passenger jets departing from Boston), Boston fans displayed signs saying "Boston Loves New York" in a rare moment of peace between the two sides of the rivalry.[216] On September 23, the Yankees' home field hosted a memorial service titled, "Prayer for America". The warm feeling of solidarity would once again be short-lived as just prior to the 2003 season, Red Sox PresidentLarry Lucchino labeled New York Yankees the "Evil Empire" after Cuban free agentJosé Contreras opted to sign with the Yankees instead of the Red Sox.[217][218] The new ownership group had made it their personal mission to win a championship.
Major League Baseball changed itsscheduling format beginning in 2001, further intensifying division matchups throughout the league.[219] The new "unbalanced schedule" allowed for additional games in each season between divisional rivals, replacing additional series with teams outside the division.[220] Due to the change, the Red Sox and Yankees now played each other 18–19 times each season.[14][221] The scheduling drew criticism both when it was enacted and after the fact, with some analysts even positing the unbalanced schedulehurt intra-divisional play.[222]
In 2002, the Red Sox asked the Yankees for permission to interview one of George Steinbrenner's assistants, former Yankees general managerGene Michael, for their vacant general manager position, but Steinbrenner denied their request.[223][224][225] Boston Red Sox then hiredTheo Epstein, a protégé of Red Sox President and CEOLarry Lucchino, as general manager, and at 28 years old, he was the youngest general manager in baseball history.[226][227]
_cropped.jpg)
Both teams would face off in the ALCS once again in 2003.[228][229] Entering the series, the Red Sox were the favorites to reach the2003 World Series andThe New York Times had endorsed a showdown between the Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs, the latter of whom had not been to the World Series since1945 and had not won a championship since1908.[171][230]
Due to the unbalanced schedule, when Boston forced the ALCS to a full seven games, the seventh game set a major league record for the rivalry between the two teams: it marked the first time two major league teams have played more than 25 games against each other over the course of a single season.[231][232]
In the top of the fourth inning of Game 3 of theALCS at Fenway Park, Red Sox starting pitcher Pedro Martínez hit Yankees batterKarim García, prompting an argument between the two players, which ended with both teams clearing the benches but no punches being thrown.[233] In the bottom half of the inning, a pitch from Roger Clemens toManny Ramírez was high and inside, and a brawl ensued. Ramírez swore at Clemens for the pitch. Yankees bench coach Don Zimmer, then 72 years old, and who had been the manager of the "doomed" 1978 Boston Red Sox, charged at Martínez; the pitcher grabbed Zimmer by the head and swung him to the ground.[233] Later, midway through the ninth inning, García and Yankees pitcherJeff Nelson fought with a Fenway Park groundskeeper, Paul Williams, in the bullpen.[234] TwoBoston Police officers issued a report saying Nelson and García engaged in "an unprovoked attack" on Williams and summonses would be sought for the two New York Yankees for assault and battery.[235] After reviewing the incident,MLB CommissionerBud Selig said he was "very disappointed" by the behavior of the participants and fined Martínez $50,000, Ramírez $25,000, García $10,000, and Zimmer $5,000.[235]
In Game 7 at Yankee Stadium, the Red Sox held a 5–2 lead through seven and a half innings due to an ineffective start by Roger Clemens,[236] but the Yankees remained in the game because of three shutout innings of relief byMike Mussina in his first career relief appearance.[237] After Boston Red Sox starter Pedro Martínez gave up a run in the eighth, managerGrady Little visited the mound but elected to leave a tiring Martínez to complete the inning. Martínez then gave up a ground-rule double toHideki Matsui, and Yankees catcherJorge Posada blooped a double into center field that drove in two runners and tied the game.[238] The game went into extra innings and in the bottom of the eleventh inning, leadoff hitterAaron Boone, grandson ofRay Boone, a (retired) longtime scout with the Red Sox,[238] hit a solo home run off ofTim Wakefield to left field, ending the game and the series, giving the Yankees their 39th American League pennant.[238] The Long Island, New York, newspaperNewsday went to the press before the game was over, and thinking Boston would win the game, editorialized as to what was wrong with the Yankees, and why they had lost the ALCS to the Red Sox.[239] In a postgame interview, Red Sox first baseman Kevin Millar described the emotions in the Red Sox locker room: "It was like we were all back in high school, like we'd all just gotten beat in the state playoffs, and everyone was going to graduate.... When you're a teenager and you lose the big football game, that's when you see guys cry uncontrollably. You don't [usually] see that much at this level."[240] The Yankees would lose the World Series that year to the Florida Marlins in six games.
Two days later, the Red Sox fired Grady Little.[241] People blamed him for the Game 7 loss, claiming he left Martínez in for too long.[241]
In an effort to build up their lineup, the Red Sox set up a potential deal that would sendTexas Rangers SS and reigning AL MVPAlex Rodriguez to Boston andManny Ramírez and other players to Texas.[242] The deal eventually fell through after Rodriguez indicated he would not go against theMLBPA, which opposed a proposed renegotiation that would have potentially reduced Rodríguez's earnings in the later years of his contract.[243] A freak off-season basketball injury to Aaron Boone, just months removed from his historic home run, had Yankees management looking at possible options to replace him.[244] Despite being courted by Boston for nearly three months, Rodriguez was traded to New York.[245]
That year, the Red Sox won an eventful season series against the Yankees, 11–8. A 13-inning comeback win for the Yankees on July 1 was punctuated by a catch from Jeter, who ran and dove into the stands at full speed and came out with facial lacerations whenTrot Nixon hit a pop up in an area deep behind third base.[246] On July 24,Jason Varitek shoved his glove into the face of Rodriguez after Rodriguez was hit by a pitch fromBronson Arroyo, causing a bench-clearing brawl.[247] Though he was ejected (along with Rodriguez) from the game following the incident, the moment sparked Boston to an 11–10 come-from-behind victory.[248][249] After a 6–4 loss on September 24 in which he gave up 5 runs,Pedro Martínez told media "I just tip my hat and call the Yankees my daddy".[250] This would lead Yankees fans to taunt Pedro with "who's your Daddy" chants for the remainder of his career.[251] The Red Sox finished second to the Yankees in the AL East for the seventh straight season.[252] Both teams would advance to theALCS for the second straight year.[253]
After the melodrama of the 2003 ALCS, a rematch in 2004 was hotly anticipated.[254][255] Yankees GMBrian Cashman said "I think Boston...really are...a mirror image of us in terms of...aggressiveness and desire to win".[256] Yankees pitcherMike Mussina summarized the buildup: "This is what everyone was hoping for...it's a rematch of last year, with the best two teams in the American League".[257]
The Yankees won the first three games of the series, including a 19–8 rout in Game 3.[258][259] No team in the history of baseball had ever won a best-of-seven series after being down 3–0. Entering the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 4 at Fenway Park, Yankees relieverMariano Rivera was attempting to close out a 4–3 lead.[260] But after a lead-off walk toKevin Millar, pinch-runnerDave Roberts stole second and came around to score on an RBI single byBill Mueller.[260] Boston won the game in the bottom of the 12th inning on a home run byDavid Ortiz.[260] Game 5 featured another extra-inning Boston comeback, as the Red Sox tied the game in the 8th inning and won it in the 14th on a single hit by Ortiz that drove in Damon from second. In Game 6, Curt Schilling, who tore a tendon sheath in his right ankle during theALDS againstAnaheim, pitched seven innings of one-run ball. Schilling's tendon had been sutured to his ankle to relieve the discomfort and was given local anesthetic and painkillers for the game. During the game, his sock started to absorb the blood from his freshly sutured ankle, and "the bloody sock" instantly became an indelible image of the dramatic series. A controversial call was made when Alex Rodriguez was called out after he intentionally slapped the ball out of Arroyo's hand while running to first base. Boston held on to win the contest, 4–2. They then completed their historic comeback with a blowout win in Game 7 by a score of 10–3.[21] The New York Yankees blowing the 3–0 lead has been considered the biggest collapse in the history of baseball.[261]
The Red Sox would go on to win their first World Series championship in 86 years, completing a four-game sweep of theSt. Louis Cardinals in the2004 World Series.[27][262]
At Yankee Stadium on April 3, 2005, the teams' first meeting since the 2004 ALCS, Yankees fans started new taunts, saying "The Curse of 1918 is finally over (86 years). Let the new curse 2090 begin."[263][264] They also projected the next Red Sox championship with signs saying "1918-2004-2090."[265] A week later, the Red Sox received theirWorld Series rings at Fenway Park before they played the Yankees.[262][266] All of the Yankees went to the top step of the dugout to applaud their rivals' accomplishment.[267][268] During the announcement of the lineups, Red Sox fans reciprocated by giving Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, who had struggled against the Red Sox in the previous year's ALCS, a loudstanding ovation,[269] despite their booing ofAlex Rodriguez.[269] Rivera laughed and tipped his cap.[269] In New York, theYES Network, the Yankees television network, declined to broadcast it.[270] Instead, a fixed camera shot was focused tightly on correspondentKimberly Jones as she described in general terms the events surrounding her; afterwards, YES was criticized for the move.[270] The Red Sox won the game 8–1.[266]
The Red Sox acquired starting pitcherJosh Beckett, who pitched a complete-game shutout for theFlorida Marlins against the Yankees to end the 2003 World Series, in the 2005–2006 offseason.[271] The Yankees would follow with their own off-season acquisition of former Red Sox outfielderJohnny Damon, a fan-favorite during his four years in Boston.[272][273] Damon returned to Fenway Park the following May to a mix of cheers and boos as he tipped his helmet to the fans.[274][275]
The Yankees completed a five-game sweep of the Red Sox at Fenway Park, evoking memories of 1978's "Boston Massacre". The Yankees pushed their division lead from1+1⁄2 games up to6+1⁄2 games over the second place Sox.Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy dubbed it the "Son of Massacre."[276] The second game of the series, which the Yankees won 14–11, took four hours and 45 minutes to complete, making it the longest nine-inning game in MLB history.[277] Months after the Yankees loss in the2006 ALDS and Torre's decision to drop a struggling Alex Rodriguez to 8th in the lineup, Rodriguez in an interview withSports Illustrated, claimed that he had preferred to go to the Red Sox before being traded to the Yankees.[278] The incident would be one of contention between Torre and Rodriguez as noted in Torre's book,The Yankee Years.[279]
During the third inning of a 2007 game at Fenway Park, Ramírez,J. D. Drew,Mike Lowell, andJason Varitek hit four consecutive home runs off Yankees pitcherChase Wright, powering a comeback from a three-run deficit and completing a three-game sweep of the Yankees at Fenway Park for the first time since 1990.[280] By May, after long speculation about what team he would play for after retirement, Roger Clemens chose to return to the Yankees as opposed to the Red Sox (where he started his career) or theHouston Astros (his hometown and last team he played for).[281] Clemens helped the Yankees overcome a14+1⁄2-game deficit in the standings in late May[282] to roar back to reach the playoffs again, however, this was not enough to win the division. On September 28, Boston won the AL East after a win against theMinnesota Twins and a loss by the Yankees against theBaltimore Orioles. This was the first AL East Championship for the Red Sox since 1995, ending the Yankees' nine-year reign in the division.[283]
The Red Sox went on to sweep theColorado Rockies in theWorld Series. Series MVP Mike Lowell remarks, upon receiving his trophy, that "the Red Sox are expected to win." Controversy erupted during the eighth inning of the final game when Alex Rodriguez's agentScott Boras announced that Rodriguez had decided to opt out of his contract, in what was seen by many as an attempt by Boras to overshadow the series.[284][285]
The 2007–08 off-season showed a war of words between management of both teams. Boston GMTheo Epstein called Yankees pitcherMike Mussina a "bad apple" for complaining about the Yankees' 2004 trip to Japan as the Red Sox were gearing up for their own trip there. Epstein claimed that Mussina had used it as a crutch during the season. Mussina retorted back saying "Yea, we used it as a crutch to win the division!"[286] Later that month,Hank Steinbrenner, who had taken a bigger role with the Yankees operation from his father George, responded in a feisty manner to the popularity ofRed Sox Nation inThe New York Times supplementalPlay Magazine:"'Red Sox Nation?' What a bunch of (expletive) that is. That was a creation of the Red Sox andESPN, which is filled with Red Sox fans. Go anywhere in America and you won't see Red Sox hats and jackets, you'll see Yankee hats and jackets. This is a Yankee country. We're going to put the Yankees back on top and restore the universe to order." In response, Red Sox principal ownerJohn W. Henry inducted Hank Steinbrenner into Red Sox Nation. Steinbrenner went on to praise Henry's handling of the Red Sox and said they would always be competitive under him.[287][288]
In the 2008–09 off-season, first basemanMark Teixeira signed an eight year, $180 million contract with the Yankees.[289] Tony Massarotti ofThe Boston Globe summed up his feelings by calling it a "kick in the pants".[290][291]
In August 2009, the Yankees defeated the Red Sox, 20–11, in which the total runs scored (31) was the most combined runs scored in a game in the history of the rivalry.[292]
Both teams made the playoffs in 2009. During theALDS, the Yankees defeated the Minnesota Twins to face the Los Angeles Angels who had knocked out the Red Sox. The Yankees beat the Angels and went on defeat thePhiladelphia Phillies in the2009 World Series, 4–2, to win their 27th World Series title in their first year in the new Yankee Stadium. Former Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martínez was the losing pitcher for the Phillies in the deciding Game 6.[293]
In the final series of the 2010 season at Fenway Park, the Red Sox, struggling to get out of third place for much of the season, played the role of spoiler, knocking the Yankees out of first place in the American League East, relegating them to the wild-card for 2010.[294]
In 2011, the Red Sox went 12–6 against the Yankees,[295] including beating Yankees aceCC Sabathia four times during the season and sweeping two three-game series atYankee Stadium, the first two series of three games of more where the Yankees have been swept at home since it opened in 2009.[296][297] Critics and writers forecasted overwhelmingly that the Red Sox would win the2011 World Series.[298] The Red Sox spent a great deal to build the team in the off-season, and were about to sell at least two Red Sox asMost Valuable Player candidates by mid season. Following a disastrous first month, the Red Sox climbed in the standings.[299] The Yankees claimed the AL East crown after the Red Sox's September struggles left them battling for the wild-card with the Rays,[300] with whom they went into the season's final game tied.[301] On September 28, the Tampa Bay Rays staged a dramatic comeback from 7–0 to win 8–7 over the Yankees in the 12th inning.[302] Only three minutes earlier, Red Sox closerJonathan Papelbon blew a 3–2 lead over the Orioles in the bottom of the 9th inning, handing a 4–3 walk-off victory to the Orioles.[303][304] The Rays claimed the AL Wild Card and eliminated the Red Sox from the postseason.[302] It marked the first time in baseball history that a 9-game lead had been blown in September, becoming the worst collapse in baseball history.[303][305][306] Dan Shaughnessy ofThe Boston Globe said that "the greatest choke in baseball history...feels like revenge for2004 and2007."
The Red Sox hired outspoken managerBobby Valentine, who had previously lost to the Yankees in the2000 World Series during his tenure with theNew York Mets, to take Francona's place. After his signing, Valentine immediately inserted himself into the rivalry when he said he hated the Yankees.[307]
On the series of April 20–22, 2012, the Red Sox celebrated the 100th anniversary of Fenway Park against the Yankees, who they played to open up the park.[308][309] Both teams wore their 1912 uniforms on April 20, which the Yankees won 6–2.[310] The Yankees came back from down, 9–0, to win, 15–9, the next day, the largest deficit they have ever overcome. They won the season series 13–5, their best record against the Red Sox since 2001, when they also went 13–5 against them, and swept the final three-game series of the season at Yankee Stadium to clinch the AL East while the Red Sox finished last in the division for the first time since 1992 with their worst record since 1965. Valentine was fired soon after. Later in 2012, the Yankees acquired 2004 ALCS Game 7 winnerDerek Lowe. He was the latest member of the 2004 team to later play for the Yankees. After the 2012 season,Kevin Youkilis, who the Red Sox traded to theChicago White Sox earlier in the season, signed with the Yankees as a free agent. He had previously clashed withJoba Chamberlain when he was with Boston.
On April 16, 2013, the Yankees showed support to the victims of theBoston Marathon bombing, which occurred the day before, by holding a moment of silence prior to their game against theArizona Diamondbacks. Following the third inning, the team further paid tribute by playing "Sweet Caroline", which is known as Fenway Park's traditional song, over the Yankee Stadium's loudspeakers.[311] At the end of the year, the Red Sox took the regular season series over the Yankees 13–6.[312] The Red Sox finished the season with the best record in the American League and went on to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals in the2013 World Series to win their eighth World Series title,[313] while the Yankees failed to make the playoffs.[314] In 2014 the Yankees acquiredStephen Drew in exchange forKelly Johnson in the first trade between the two teams since 1997.[315] Both teams missed the playoffs in 2014, which was the first time in the wild card era.[316]
To start the2015 edition of the rivalry, the first game at Yankee Stadium on April 10 went into extra innings ended up being one of the longest games ever played – at 6 hours and 49 minutes – going 19 innings, with the Yankees tying the game three times in the bottom of the 9th, 14th, and 16th. The Red Sox won the game, 6–5.[317] The Yankees won the 2015 season series 11–8, including going 7–2 at Fenway Park. Towards the end of the2016 season in September, the Yankees headed to Fenway Park trailing the first place Red Sox by only four games.[318] The Yankees ended up getting swept and blew late-inning leads in three of the four games, including giving up five runs in the ninth inning of the first game. The sweep has been dubbed "Boston Massacre II" in reference to the 1978 four-game sweep of the Red Sox by the Yankees at Fenway.[319]
On September 28, Yankees first baseman and former Red Sox draft pickMark Teixeira hit the final home run of his career, which was a walk-off grand slam off Boston Red Sox pitcherJoe Kelly. It was the first game-ending home run Teixeira had ever hit in a regular-season game.[320] It was also the first – and as of 2018, the only – walk-off grand slam hit by any player at the newYankee Stadium.[321]
In 2017, the Red Sox won the division by two games, forcing the Yankees into the Wild Card Game.[322][323] However, both teams lost in the postseason to the eventual World Series championHouston Astros.
For the third time in the history of the rivalry (the previous two were 1930 and 1992),[192] both teams had new managers to start the 2018 season. The Yankees hiredAaron Boone and the Red Sox hiredAlex Cora, both former players of their respective teams.[324][325] During an early-season game, a brawl erupted between both benches after Yankees first basemanTyler Austin charged Red Sox pitcherJoe Kelly for throwing at him twice in response to Austin's slide at second base earlier in the game.[326] It became a trending topic on Twitter and the MLB's YouTube channel video of the incident became one of the most viewed, and social media commentators saw the brawl as a spark of a reignited rivalry between the two teams. By the end of the 2018 regular season, both teams qualified for the postseason and both reached the 100-win mark. It was the first time that both teams won at least 100 games in the same season and, along with theHouston Astros, the first time the American League had three 100-game winners.[327] Following the Yankees' victory in theAL Wild Card Game, the two faced each other in the2018 ALDS. The Red Sox won the series 3–1, taking Games 3 and 4 in Yankee Stadium by a combined score of 20–4. Just like in the April brawl, this series became a Twitter trending topic.
In May 2018, MLB announced that the teams would play a two-game series during the2019 season atLondon Stadium, in the first of a two-year deal to play regular-season games at the venue.[328] The2019 MLB London Series was the first time that the two sides have played each other in regular season play outside of either New York or Boston, and was also the first MLB regular-season games were played in Europe.[329] The Yankees won both games in an offense heavy showing in which both teams combined for 50 runs scored in just 18 innings. The Yankees also won four of the five remaining series, pushing the Sox out of contention.
Due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, the2020 season was shortened to 60 games and ten meetings between the rivals, with the Yankees winning nine out of the ten games. The Yankees would finish the season 33–27, good for second place in the AL East, qualifying for the postseason, where they would eventually lose to theTampa Bay Rays in the American League Division Series.
On January 25, 2021, the Yankees sent relief pitcher and New York City nativeAdam Ottavino, prospect Frank German, and cash considerations to the Red Sox for a player to be named later and cash considerations. This was the first trade between the two teams since 2014 and third since 1997.[330] In 2021, the Red Sox acquired relieverGarrett Whitlock from the Yankees after they declined to protect him in the Rule 5 Draft.
The 2021 season series saw the Red Sox win the first seven meetings as they and theTampa Bay Rays battled for the AL East lead. The Yankees were in the mix for a Wild Card spot. However, New York won nine of the final twelve meetings as Boston fell several games behind Tampa Bay. This put the Yankees and Red Sox squarely in the Wild Card race. On the final day of the season, each team was 91–70 and could clinch a Wild Card spot with a win. New York defeated Tampa Bay, while Boston defeated theWashington Nationals, setting up a meeting in the Wild Card game at Fenway Park. On October 5, the Red Sox beat the Yankees in the2021 AL Wild Card Game, 6–2.[331]
The Red Sox and Yankees faced off in the2025 AL Wild Card Series. After the Red Sox won the first game, the Yankees won the final two games of the series.[10]
| Yankees vs. Red Sox Season-by-Season Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1900s (Red Sox, 76–73–4)
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1910s (Red Sox, 115–94–3)
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1920s (Yankees, 149–71–1)
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1930s (Yankees, 136–80–3)
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1940s (Yankees, 122–98–2)
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1950s (Yankees, 126–93–1)
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1960s (Yankees, 101–83)
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1970s (Red Sox, 89–79)
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1980s (Yankees, 63–60)
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1990s (Yankees, 68–61)
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2000s (Yankees, 104–90)
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2010s (Yankees, 100–91)
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2020s (Yankees, 48–43)
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Summary of Results
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
UsingFacebookLike button data, Ben Blatt of theHarvard College Sports Analysis Collective found in 2012 that Red Sox fans are east of theNew York State–Vermont/Massachusetts border, and Yankees fans are west. Blatt wrote, "I had thought that it was possible that Red Sox Nation might extend into northern New York or Yankees territory might extend into Vermont. This turned out not to be the case."Connecticut divides support between the two teams; he found that 56.6% of Facebook users inHartford, often cited as being on the border between the two teams' fans, supported the Yankees. While Blatt found that identifying an exact border within the state was impossible,Guilford andMiddletown are almost exactly divided, with 50.7% in each city supporting the Yankees.[332][333]
There have been occasions of arrests due to violence over the rivalry. In May 2008, a Yankees fan inNashua, New Hampshire, was arrested and charged with reckless second-degree murder outside a bar, which resulted from an argument over the rivalry.[35] Later in 2008, a man driving a car with New York license plates in Massachusetts was pulled from his car and savagely beaten because locals suspected the man of being a Yankees fan.[334] During the final series of the 2010 season,Boston Police arrested a Yankees fan for stabbing a Red Sox fan over an argument about the rivalry.[335]
Don Mattingly had appeared inpublic service announcements airing on theSpike TV network advocating fathers to spend time with their children as part of the "True Dads" campaign to encourage men to take an active role in their children's lives. Mattingly jokes at the end of the commercial about the impatience of one of the characters in the commercial by calling him a Red Sox fan.[336]
On April 13, 2008, rumors of a construction worker burying a Red Sox jersey in the concrete of the new Yankee Stadium were verified. The worker, identified as Gino Castignoli, buried a David Ortiz jersey in what would become a service corridor in the hopes of cursing the new stadium. After extracting the jersey from underneath two feet of concrete, Yankees' President Randy Levine indicated that the shirt would be donated to theJimmy Fund to be auctioned for the charity long associated with the Red Sox.[337] Whatever curse was intended failed to bear fruit with the Yankees winning the World Series in their first year at the new stadium.
On October 23, 2007, former New York City mayorRudolph Giuliani, who is a Yankees fan, said at a New Hampshire event for hispresidential campaign that he would support the Red Sox over theColorado Rockies in the2007 World Series, which started the following day; the Red Sox went on to sweep the Rockies in four games.[338][339] Giuliani justified his support of the Red Sox by proclaiming he was a fan of American League baseball. The following day, theNew York Post andNew York Daily News printed doctored photos of Giuliani as a Red Sox fan on their covers with the headlines "RED COAT"[339] and "TRAITOR!"[340] respectively.[341]Topps parodied this in a 2008 baseball card altered to depict Giuliani on the field with the Red Sox as the team celebrated their 2007 World Series championship.[342]
A month later, he was asked about his support for the Red Sox by one of the questioners in aRepublican Presidential Debate. In response to the mayor's answer, former Massachusetts governorMitt Romney, who was in office during the Red Sox 2004 win, claimed that all Americans are united in hatred of the Yankees.[36][343]
Giuliani's successor,Michael Bloomberg, was born and raised in Massachusetts and grew up a Red Sox fan, but later switched his allegiance to the Yankees after assuming office.[344] Bloomberg's successor,Bill de Blasio, who was born in New York City but primarily grew up inCambridge, Massachusetts, openly supported the Red Sox World Series run during his 2013 campaign, winning the general election by a huge margin.[345]
During the2010 special Senate election in Massachusetts,Martha Coakley, theDemocratic candidate andstate Attorney General, faced a mild backlash for deriding Curt Schilling as "another Yankee fan" on a local radio show, after Schilling endorsed Coakley's Republican opponent,state senatorScott Brown. Many critics alleged that Coakley's apparent unfamiliarity with Schilling demonstrated a lack of awareness toward her Massachusetts constituents. Schilling responded, "I've been called a lot of things...but never, I mean never, could anyone make the mistake of calling me a Yankee fan. Well, check that; if you didn't know what the hell is going on in your own state maybe you could."[346] Brown, who had polled as much as 30 points behind Coakley a month before the election, had seen a late surge in support prior to Coakley's comments and would eventually win a come from behind victory against her in the election.
In 2002, when theNFL'sNew England Patriots held their victory celebration after winning their first Super Bowl; linebackerLarry Izzo fired up the crowd, chanting "Yankees suck!"[347][348] The chant would become a fixture of Patriots Super Bowl victory rallies following their victories in Super BowlsXXXVIII in 2004 andXXXIX in 2005,[349] which were sandwiched around the Red Sox 2004 World Series win. Dan Shaughnessy wrote about the chant: "Can you imagine aGiants or aJets celebration in New York City in which a New York player would take the time to chant, 'Red Sox suck?'"[347] Shaughnessy opined that should such a thing occur, it would be more likely at a Jets celebration, as a Giants celebration, like those of the Mets and theRangers, would be more likely to feature such chants made in reference to thePhiladelphia teams, as one of the Giants' primaryrivalries is with thePhiladelphia Eagles.[347]
The rivalry was played out duringSuper Bowl XLII in February 2008, as it was a showdown between football teams from each metropolitan area, the New York Giants and the New England Patriots.[37][350] The Giants defeated the Patriots in what was considered one of the greatest upsets in Super Bowl history. After the game Giants fans chanted "18 and 1! 18 and 1!", reminiscent of the infamous "1918" chant, towards Patriots fans as they left the stadium. (Had they won the game, the Patriots would have become the first NFL team to ever finish with a 19–0 record, and only the second NFL team since the1972 Miami Dolphins to have a perfect season.) Giants fans called this revenge for the Red Sox comeback in 2004.[351] The Giants and Patriots faced off again inSuper Bowl XLVI;[352] with the Giants once again defeating the Patriots. Dan Shaughnessy's piece inThe Boston Globe on the Giants victory over the Patriots was headlined, "History Repeats."[353]
During the2008 NBA Finals between theBoston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers, movie directorSpike Lee, a season ticket holder of theNew York Knicks, wore a Yankees jersey and cap at Game 3 of the Finals in Los Angeles.[354] Lee sat behind the Boston bench while loudly cheering for theLakers, though he has a friendship withRay Allen of theCeltics.[354]
For the2010 NHL Winter Classic outdoor ice hockey game held at Fenway Park,Boston Bruins then-backup goaltenderTuukka Rask had artwork on his "special event" goalie mask's upper front area depicting a roaring bear with a ripped New York Yankees home "pinstripe" jersey falling from its lower jaw.[355]
In 2011,NBA starLeBron James worked a deal with Red Sox ownerJohn Henry to take partial ownership of Henry's soccer subsidiaryLiverpool Football Club of thePremier League. James was criticized in the New York media for spurning New York due to his being a purported Yankees fan.[356]
On June 27, 2011, the Yankees/Red Sox feud spilled into the world of professional wrestling when CM Punk was cutting a promo against Boston nativeJohn Cena. CM Punk went on to call John Cena a hypocrite for reasons that were unfolding in their respective storyline and said that John Cena had become the very thing he had despised in the wrestling business. He concluded this promo by calling Cena the "New York Yankees". Cena then punched Punk for comparing him to his home team's famed rivals.[Punk:] "What you've lost sight of is what you are, and what you are is what you hate. You're the 10-time WWE Champion! You're the man! You, like the Red Sox, like Boston, are no longer the underdog! You're a dynasty. You are what you hate. You have become the New York Yankees!" [John Cena immediately punches Punk, who scoots out of the ring, grabs the contract, and goes up the ramp. Points respectively to Vince McMahon and John Cena] "You're Steinbrenner, and you might as well be Jeter! Mr. 3000, I'm the underdog!"[citation needed]
As the owners of the Yankees are involved withMansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, owner ofManchester City F.C. throughCity Football Group, as being joint owners ofMajor League Soccer franchiseNew York City FC, and the Red Sox being sisters ofLiverpool F.C. through theirFenway Sports Group ownership, the2014 International Champions Cupsoccer game betweenEnglish clubs Manchester City and Liverpool at Yankee Stadium carried a new angle of the Yankees and Red Sox rivalry.[357] Liverpool defeated Manchester City on the day in a penalty shoot-out, after tying 0–0. Both teams have sincedeveloped their own rivalry in their home country, which also stems from theinter-city rivalry betweenManchester andLiverpool that originated in the 19th century through theIndustrial Revolution.
Rivalries between other New York sports teams and other Boston sports teams have been attributed to the Yankees–Red Sox rivalry. For example, some have pointed out the connections between this rivalry and those of theNew York Jets and the New England Patriots in the NFL and theNew York Knicks and the Boston Celtics in the NBA.[37]
Currently, theMLB on Fox studio team includesAlex Rodriguez andDerek Jeter (former Yankees players), as well asDavid Ortiz (former Red Sox player), which has led to some playful disrespect and pranks involving the rivalry.
Prior to the 2021MLB at Field of Dreams game, Rodriguez and Ortiz recreated the “have a catch” scene in which Ortiz refused to play catch with Rodriguez due to the rivalry.[358]
Following Game 1 of the2022 American League Division Series between the Yankees andCleveland Guardians, Rodriguez pranked Ortiz during the post-game coverage by tricking him into wearing a Yankees helmet rather than a Red Sox helmet.[359]
During Jeter’s debut as a member of the crew during the 2023 edition of theMLB London Series, Ortiz pranked him by gifting him a Red Sox jersey with his name and number on it, which Jeter promptly tossed upon realizing what it was.[360]
Following coverage of Game 2 the2023 American League Championship Series, the analysts discussed if theHouston Astros could rally from their 2–0 series deficit to theTexas Rangers, to which Jeter mentioned his team (which also included Rodriguez) blowing a 3–0 series lead against the Red Sox in the2004 American League Championship Series, which Ortiz (a member of the Red Sox) responded with “YOU DID?!” (Ortiz notably had two clutch walk-off hits in Games 4 and 5 and was named MVP of the series, and Rodriguez and Jeter were notably involved in a play late in Game 6 where Jeter was on first, and Rodriguez was at bat and hit a ground ball, then slapped it out of the first baseman’s glove in an effort to frame it as a throwing error and allow Jeter to score from first base on the “error” before the umpires conferred with at least one having noticed the slap after the first base umpire did not see it, ruled Rodriguez out for interference, and sent Jeter back to first base, leading to fans throwing debris on the field).[361]
The nature of the rivalry has led to games between the two teams being broadcast on national television.[31] Whenever the two teams play a weekend series, the Friday game is sometimes broadcast onMLB Network (often as part ofMLB Network Showcase) or livestreamed onApple TV+ (Friday Night Baseball), the Saturday game is broadcast on either Fox orFox Sports 1 (Fox Saturday Baseball in the afternoon,Baseball Night in America in the evening), and the Sunday game is broadcast on MLB Network in the afternoon orESPN as part ofSunday Night Baseball;NESN in the Boston market and theYES Network (orAmazon Prime Video in case of conflicts with theBrooklyn Nets and theNew York Liberty) in the New York City market always carry games not assigned on either Fox, FS1 (unless specified), or on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball.[32] Weekday games are generally broadcast on MLB Network, FS1 (occasionalMonday orThursday nights), Fox (Thursday nights during September), ESPN (mainly special weekday broadcasts), orTBS (MLB Tuesday as of 2022).[362][363] On September 22, 2022, a Yankees–Red Sox game was shown exclusively on alivestreaming platform for the first time, withApple TV+ handling the online-exclusive broadcast as part ofFriday Night Baseball.[364] In the past,NBC,ABC andCBS also carried nationally televised games involving the Yankees and the Red Sox regardless of how each team performed in a given season.
When the games are broadcast on Fox, Fox's former lead broadcast team ofJoe Buck andTim McCarver have called most of the games. Thus, the duo has called many significant moments in the rivalry.[365] In 2004, the first game of the season between the two teams, on Friday, April 16, was nationally broadcast on Fox, because it marked the first time the two teams were facing each other since the memorable2003 American League Championship Series.[366]Fox Sports President Ed Goren said of decision to have the game broadcast on Fox: "If were up to me, we'd take the whole series and come back a week later and carry all their games at Yankee Stadium...We started thinking about this at some point after the Yankees closed the deal withA-Rod...This is sort of a relaunch of the season in the middle of April. This is going to be an event."[366]Commissioner of BaseballBud Selig called the broadcast "an extension of the postseason brought into April."[366] This was the first over-the-air broadcast of a regular-season game in prime-time sinceMark McGwire hit his 62nd home run to break Roger Maris' record in 1998.[367] In October, when the two teams met in theALCS, Selig moved Game 5 of the series to primetime due to the rematch.[368]
The broadcasts of the games between the rivals have led to an increase in television ratings.[32][369][370] These games have had at least 50% higher ratings than all of the other games broadcast, sometimes almost twice as high than locally broadcast games.[31] In most cases, the most-watched MLB game on any network during a season is a game between the Yankees and the Red Sox.[33]
Since 2003, ratings for Yankees–Red Sox games on Fox have averaged 2.6 percent of homes–44 percent better than other weeks, while ESPN has averaged 3.96 million viewers for Yankees–Red Sox games on Sunday nights, compared to the average of 2.18 million for all other games.[32] Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS drew a 17.1 rating, the highest for a League Championship Series game since Game 6 of the1993 National League Championship Series.[370][371]
In 2004, the first game between the two teams drew a 3.6 national rating, and with an average audience of 5.3 million, it was the most-watched regular-season telecast since Mark McGwire's record-breaking home run game.[372] In 2003, Saturday games on Fox averaged a 2.5 rating; prime-time entertainment got a 3.3, but Goren said that he expected the game "will perform much higher than those (prime-time) figures" as a reason to have the game broadcast nationally.[373]
In 2011, the three-game series between the two teams on the weekend of August 5–7 drew large television viewers.[33][374] The August 5 game onMLB Network drew 563,000 viewers, making it the second-most watched game on the network, behindStephen Strasburg's debut.[33] In New York and Boston, it was blacked out because theYES Network had local rights in New York City andNESN in Boston.[375][376] The August 6 game on Fox was most-watched non-primetime regular season MLB telecast on the network in more than three years with 4.10 million viewers.[33] The last Fox non-primetime telecast to record higher numbers also was Boston vs. New York on July 5, 2008.[33] The Sunday game on ESPN drew 4.72 million viewers, making it the most-watched baseball game on ESPN since June 3, 2007, when both teams faced each other,[33][377] and the most-watched MLB broadcast of the 2011 regular season on any network.[378]
The2021 American League Wild Card Game between the Yankees and Red Sox averaged 7.7 million viewers and was the most watched MLB game onESPN since 1998.[379]
The Red Sox are being punished because they sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees in 1920 so owner Harry Frazee could finance a lightweight Broadway musical called 'No, No, Nanette.'
The 2004 Yankees...are the only baseball team in history to lead a postseason series 3–0 and not win it.
The '04 World Series never happened because John T. Brush, owner of the New York Giants, and his manager, John McGraw, despised AL President Ben Johnson.
This is the first Yankee team since 1910–1919 to go an entire decade without winning a World Series title.
At McGonnell's bar, the sporting center of New York City...on display for sale behind the bar were Mets/Sox T-shirts with "Steinbrenner's nightmare" stenciled on the backs, the creation of one of the bar's regulars.
Yankees fans had taunted the Red Sox all weekend with chants of '1918, 1918!' – the last time Boston won the World Series – and the Red Sox are not allowed by long-suffering New Englanders to forget the pain they have wrought with years of excruciating near misses.
Red Sox fan Dave Searls, who lives in Boston, MA and watched Dent manage his last game Tuesday night at Fenway Park, said, 'Hooray! All the pain and suffering he gets doesn't bother me. I find the Yankees to be mainly sad.'
Firing the manager is nothing new for George Steinbrenner, who made Bucky Dent the 18th victim in the 17 years he's owned the New York Yankees. But it has touched a nerve in New York, where just about everyone wants to have Steinbrenner fired. Even the team's media outlets have joined the bandwagon...The latest critic is hardly a likely one – Fred Weinhaus, general manager of WABC radio, the Yankees' flagship station. 'We're tired of what we have and we deserve better,' said Weinhaus, who has run editorials demanding that Steinbrenner either sell the team or bring in a knowledgeable baseball man and give him full power to run it.
In the lengthy and uncertain off-season, an unfair annointing was bestowed on the Yankees. To emphasize the sense of loss with no World Series, many columnists kept referring to the dates in October when the Yankees might have played in one of these games. This kind of reference occurred so often, fans may have gotten the idea the Yankees were a lock for the World Series. An unforeseen stumble on the way to the playoffs or in one of the newly expanded rounds of postseason play was out of the question.
'The strike cost me my job,' said Gene Michael, the Yankees' current general manager who was fired as their manager September 6, 1981 and replaced byBob Lemon. 'There's no doubt in my mind we would have won the division outright if it had not been for the strike. Once they split the season and designated us winners of the first half, we did not play the same.'
Today's game will be the 26th meeting of the season between the Red Sox and Yankees (New York leads 13–12), the most ever between two teams in one year.
Links to related articles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
