The greatest rivalry in all of baseball and possibly all of sports is the rivalry between the Red Sox and Yankees. Due to their close proximity and the ever infamous selling of Babe Ruth to the Yankees, these two foes have produced some of baseballs greatest games and some of the best fights the sports world has seen. In 1916, Harry Frazee purchased the Red Sox for $500,000. In 1919, a year after being removed as World Series Champions, Harry Frazee sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees for $125,000 and a $300,000 loan, which he secured on Fenway Park. The Red Sox began to turn losing into an art form as they found ways to lose in the big games and not win a World Series for another 86 years, the Curse of the Great Bambino. On the other side however, the Yankees won 26 World Series and 39 pennants from 1920 to 2003. In the 1949 season, the Red Sox found themselves up one game on the Yankees heading into the final two games of the season. These two games were against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees won both game and coincidentally won the World Series.
In 1978, the Red Sox had a 14 1/2 game lead on the Yankees with three months to go in the season. Just as the Yankees got hot, the Red Sox slumped and found themselves with identical records to closer out the season. Therefore, these two foes had to play a one game playoff at Fenway Park to determine who would make the playoffs. The Sox held a 2-0 lead going into the seventh with two out until Bucky Dent hit a three run home run to give the Yankees the lead. The Yankees won the game 5-4 and went on to win the World Series.
In 2003, the Yankees and Red Sox squared off in the ALCS. The rivalry heated up as players on both sides were hit at the plate and a high pitch brushed Manny Ramirez off the plate and the benches cleared and a brawl ensued. Don Zimmer charged Pedro Martinez who tossed him to the ground. The series went to game 7, where the Sox placed their ace Pedro on the mound while the Yankees put their man Roger Clemens, the former Red Sox, on the hill. The Sox held a 5-2 lead going into the 8th inning. Finally, so many of us Red Sox fans thought. But the Yankees began a one out rally and the Yankees got three straight hits to cut the lead to 5-3 with men on second and third. In one of the most scrutinized managerial decisions ever, Grady Little decided to stick with his ace and keep Pedro in the game. The next batter, Jorge Posada, hit a double and the Yankees tied the score. The final blow to Sox fans came in the 11th when Yankees' Aaron Boone hit a walk off home run to give the Yankees the win and the Pennant.
The Red Sox would finally get their revenge the next year as the two met once again in the ALCS. During the 2004 regular season a brawl between these two teams erupted. Sox pitcher Bronson Arroyo hit Yankee third baseman Alex Rodriguez with a pitch inside. A-rod stared down Arroyo as he walked toward first and Sox catcher Jason Varitek stepped in. The two began to argue and then Varitek popped him in the face. This started a benches clearing brawl that saw Sox outfielder Gabe Kapler and the Yankees Tanyon Sturze in a brawl in which the Sox David Ortiz and Trot Nixon joined in. Sturze's was bleeding from the left ear when all was said and done. This would ignite the rivalry more as the two would meet in an October Classic. The Yankees took the first three games of the series, the third games score being 19-8, needed one more win to take the series. It looked hopeless for many Sox fans, but their patience would be worthwhile as the Red Sox made the greatest comeback in all of sports history.
Entering the bottom of the ninth in game four, the Yankees sent their ace closer Mariano Rivera to the mound. Rivera walked the first batter and the Sox sent in pinch runner Dave Roberts. Roberts stole second and came around to score on an RBI single by Bill Mueller. In the bottom of the 12th, David Ortiz blasted a walk off home run and kept the Sox hopes alive. The Sox won game 5 in dramatic fashion as well as they tied the game in the 8th and won yet again on the back of Ortiz who blooped a single in the bottom of the 14th. Game six saw the Sox game one pitcher Curt Schilling step onto the mound with the now legendary "bloody sock." Schilling pitched seven innings of one hit ball and led the Sox into game 7. Amazing, was the only thing i could think as I was watching something truly historic. The Sox completed the sweep with a blowout in game 7 and went on to win their first World Series title in 86 years.
We Sox fans could finally rejoice as the Curse of the Bambino had finally been broken. This however would not stop the rivalry. In 2005 Yankee outfielder Gary Sheffield got in an altercation with a fan in rightfield. In 2007 the Sox finished first in the division, ending the Yankees reign of 9 years of finishing first.
The Red Sox and Yankees are the two greatest baseball franchises in baseball history. These two have had the greatest games and fights the baseball world has ever seen and continue to have the best rivalry to this day. Here's to hoping we will see more of these fights and epic games and that the Sox will win all of em'.
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