Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Red Sox, Yankees Ready to Rumble Again in Playoffs
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 7 years ago on
October 4, 2018

Share

NEW YORK — Fans have been waiting for another one of these rumbles: baseball’s most-bitter rivals set to tangle again, this time as 100-win heavyweights in the playoffs.
Munson vs. Fisk, Pedro vs. Popeye , A-Rod vs. Varitek (shown) and earlier this year Brock Holt vs. Tyler Austin.

The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees back at each other in the postseason for the first time in 14 years.
“We’re a team that can play with anybody, and we’re not afraid to go in there,” Yankees center fielder Aaron Hicks said after a 7-2 wild-card win over Oakland sent New York to a best-of-five AL Division Series that starts Friday in Fenway Park.
Yankees fans were chanting “We want Boston!” during the late innings. The Red Sox tweeted “We want New York” after the final out in the Bronx.
“I think they’re ready and relish the opportunity to go up against the game’s best this year,” Yankees rookie manager Aaron Boone said of his players.
That is the same Aaron Boone whose 11th-inning homer in Game 7 of the 2003 AL Championship Series beat the Red Sox. A year later Boston overcame the Yankees and became the first major league team to bounce back from a 3-0 postseason deficit. The Red Sox went on to win their first World Series since 1918, but Boone’s drive off Tim Wakefield has not been forgotten or forgiven.

Boston Set a Club Record With 108 Wins

Boston was 10-9 against the Yankees this year and set a club record with 108 wins under new manager Alex Cora, boosted by MVP candidate Mookie Betts, slugger J.D. Martinez and ace Chris Sale. New York finished eight games back and became the first team since the 2001 Athletics to reach triple digits in wins and fail to finish first.

“It’s Yankees-Red Sox. That’s what everybody wants. That’s what they got.”David Price, Red Sox star pitcher
New York also set the major league mark for home runs, powered by the likes of Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton.
These teams also have a history of hitting each other.
Back on April 11, Austin charged the mound at Fenway after Red Sox reliever Joe Kelly threw at him twice, hitting Austin in the side with the second pitch. Boston players were livid Austin slid spikes-first into shortstop Brock Holt earlier in the game. A bench-clearing brawl led to suspensions and fines, but Auston won’t be around for a rematch — he was dealt to Minnesota in July.
“It’s Yankees-Red Sox. That’s what everybody wants. That’s what they got,” Red Sox star pitcher David Price said then.

A Long History of Bad Blood

Just another in a long history of bad blood between rivals a little more than 200 miles apart.
Boston player-manager Joe Cronin and New York outfielder Jake Powell fought on the field and beneath the Yankee Stadium stands in 1938, and Jimmy Piersall of the Red Sox and Billy Martin of the Yankees brawled beneath Fenway Park’s stands in 1952.
A fight broke out in 1967 at Yankee Stadium after New York’s Thad Tillotson hit Joe Foy with a pitch and Boston’s Jim Lonborg hit Tillotson — who after the scrap hit Dick Howser with a pitch.
In 1973, Thurman Munson crashed into catcher Carlton Fisk at Fenway after Gene Michael missed a bunt, and the All-Stars fought. Then at Yankee Stadium in 1976, New York’s Lou Piniella charged into Fisk at the plate, and Boston pitcher Bill Lee was body-slammed during the fighting and wound up with a broken collarbone:

A notorious brawl took place during Game 3 of the 2003 AL Championship series, when Red Sox ace Pedro Martinez threw 72-year-old Don Zimmer to the ground.
Zimmer, a former Boston manager and then a Yankees coach, ran across the infield and lunged at Martinez during the fighting.
Then the following July, Boston’s Bronson Arroyo hit New York’s Alex Rodriguez with a pitch, A-Rod stared at the pitch as he walked toward first, catcher Jason Varitek got between them and pushed the AL MVP, leading to dugouts and bullpens emptying.

The Rivals Met Again in the 2004 ALCS

That October the rivals met again in the 2004 ALCS. The Yankees took a 3-0 lead and were one inning from reaching the World Series when Mariano Rivera walked Kevin Millar and pinch-runner Dave Roberts — now the Los Angeles Dodgers manager — stole second. Bill Mueller hit a tying single and the Red Sox won 6-4 in 12 innings when David Ortiz hit a game-ending, two-run homer at 1:22 a.m.

“All empires fall sooner or later.”Larry Lucchino, Red Sox president
Boston won 5-4 the next day on Ortiz’s RBI single in the 14th inning, won Game 6 in New York 4-2 behind Curt Schilling and his bloody sock, then blew out the Yankees 10-3 in the finale.
“All empires fall sooner or later,” Red Sox president Larry Lucchino said. Boston swept St. Louis in the World Series, swept Colorado four years later and beat the Cardinals in a six-game series in 2013. Over that same span, the Yankees have won just one title, in 2009.
Fast forward to this week, with the teams ready to meet again. “It’s going to be intense,” New York pitcher CC Sabathia said.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Louisiana’s Ten Commandments Law Struck Down by US Appeals Court

DON'T MISS

Voice of America Parent Terminates Over 600 More Staff in Likely Death Knell

DON'T MISS

Trump Administration Says It Is Suspending Enforcement of Biden-Era Farmworker Rule

DON'T MISS

Fresno County’s Ruth Fire Destroys Structure in Yokuts Valley

DON'T MISS

Ninth Circuit Strikes Down CA’s ‘One-Gun-Per-Month’ Law

DON'T MISS

USDA Develops Potential Plan to Vaccinate Poultry for Bird Flu

DON'T MISS

Trump Says He May Support Israel-Iran Ceasefire ‘Depending on Circumstances’

DON'T MISS

Fresno Now Has a Professional Shakespeare Co. Thanks to Measure P Sales Tax

DON'T MISS

Trump Says a Deal With Harvard Is Possible Over Next Week

DON'T MISS

Ohio Man Charged for Allegedly Threatening US Congressman Max Miller

UP NEXT

It’s Final. No Live Horse Racing at Big Fresno Fair in 2025

UP NEXT

Buss Family to Sell Lakers at $10 Billion Valuation, ESPN Says

UP NEXT

LA Dodgers Say They Denied ICE Agents Access to Stadium Parking Lot

UP NEXT

Canseco, Cheechoo to Sign Autographs When Chukchansi Cuts Ribbon on Top Golf

UP NEXT

Buss Family to Sell Lakers, Report Says

UP NEXT

JJ Spaun Turns a Free Fall into US Open Title at Rainy Oakmont

UP NEXT

Giants Get Slugger Rafael Devers in Blockbuster Deal With Red Sox

UP NEXT

Great News for Dodgers: Ohtani Returns to Mound Tonight

UP NEXT

Five Weeknight Dishes: Seven Ingredients or Fewer, Because Summer

UP NEXT

Caitlin Clark Returns and Leads Fever to Upset Win Over Unbeaten Liberty

Fresno County’s Ruth Fire Destroys Structure in Yokuts Valley

17 hours ago

Ninth Circuit Strikes Down CA’s ‘One-Gun-Per-Month’ Law

18 hours ago

USDA Develops Potential Plan to Vaccinate Poultry for Bird Flu

18 hours ago

Trump Says He May Support Israel-Iran Ceasefire ‘Depending on Circumstances’

18 hours ago

Fresno Now Has a Professional Shakespeare Co. Thanks to Measure P Sales Tax

18 hours ago

Trump Says a Deal With Harvard Is Possible Over Next Week

18 hours ago

Ohio Man Charged for Allegedly Threatening US Congressman Max Miller

18 hours ago

Town Hall Unveils New Season With Best-Selling Authors, ‘Jeopardy!’ Host, and More

19 hours ago

Trump Says His Spy Chief Gabbard Wrong on Iran’s Nuclear Program

20 hours ago

Fresno Police Investigate Fatal Shooting, Seek Public’s Help

20 hours ago

Louisiana’s Ten Commandments Law Struck Down by US Appeals Court

A federal appeals court on Friday blocked Louisiana from enforcing a law requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in all classrooms of ...

16 hours ago

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill leaves the U.S. Supreme Court after justices heard arguments in an appeal by President Joe Biden's administration of restrictions imposed by lower courts on its ability to encourage social media companies to remove content deemed misinformation, in Washington, U.S., March 18, 2024. (Reuters File)
16 hours ago

Louisiana’s Ten Commandments Law Struck Down by US Appeals Court

A view of the Voice of America (VOA) building, a day after more than 1,300 of the employees of the media broadcaster, which operates in almost 50 languages, were placed on leave in Washington, D.C., U.S. March 16, 2025. (Reuters File)
16 hours ago

Voice of America Parent Terminates Over 600 More Staff in Likely Death Knell

A farmworker repairs irrigation lines at a tomato farm in Woodland, California, U.S. May 30, 2025. (Reuters File)
17 hours ago

Trump Administration Says It Is Suspending Enforcement of Biden-Era Farmworker Rule

The Ruth Fire in Yokuts Valley has burned 14 acres, destroyed one structure on Friday, June 20, 2025,, and is 20% contained as firefighters continue battling the blaze in steep terrain. (CalFire)
17 hours ago

Fresno County’s Ruth Fire Destroys Structure in Yokuts Valley

A federal appeals court struck down California’s “one-gun-per-month” law Friday, June 20, 2025, in a 3-0 decision, ruling it unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. (Shutterstock)
18 hours ago

Ninth Circuit Strikes Down CA’s ‘One-Gun-Per-Month’ Law

Cage-Free chickens are shown inside a facility in Lakeside, California, U.S., April 19, 2022. Picture taken April 19, 2022. (Reuters File)
18 hours ago

USDA Develops Potential Plan to Vaccinate Poultry for Bird Flu

President Donald Trump disembarks Air Force One upon his arrival at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, New Jersey, U.S., June 20, 2025. (Reuters/Ken Cedeno)
18 hours ago

Trump Says He May Support Israel-Iran Ceasefire ‘Depending on Circumstances’

18 hours ago

Fresno Now Has a Professional Shakespeare Co. Thanks to Measure P Sales Tax

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend