Enjoy a trip down the memory lane as Red Sox and Yankees try to add a new chapter to their rivalry on Tuesday night on ESPN. (2:11).
The history of the most famous rivalry in baseball is about to get another chapter. The 2021 American League Wild Card Game will see the Boston Red Sox meet the New York Yankees at Fenway Park on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET). ET on ESPN), it got us thinking about our favorite Red Sox-Yankees moments -- whether they're behind-the scenes stories or moments that impacted us as sports enthusiasts, forever. These are just a few.
Buster Olney: I have lost my memories and scar tissue. Now, we need to talk about the horrible, terrible day that the Yankees and Red Sox met in a one-game playoff. Oct. 2, 1978. I was 14.
Randolph Center is the home of my family's dairy farm. It has 400 people living there and 1,000 cows. But, for the record, I wasn't a Red Sox fan. When I was eight years old, I had read a book on Sandy Koufax. I also played Little League with a team called The Dodgers. The Dodgers of Steve Garvey and Davey Lopes, along with Dusty Baker, became my team, although probably to an unhealthy extent. My worst disagreement with my beloved, loving mother was over my senior year yearbook photo. I lost, but I won: me in a Dodgers cap, a Lakers Tshirt, and standing next to one our Jersey cows. She had hoped for better off her offspring, but she was wrong.
Tim Kurkjian: I hate your guts! I was working with Aaron Boone on Monday Night Baseball for ESPN many decades ago. I took the Ice Bucket Challenge and then challenged Boonie. He was given 24 hours to have a bucket of water poured on his head. We were driving through Boston. He stopped at the hotel bar around noon to ask the young bartender whether he would mind dumping a bucket of ice on his head. The young bartender replied, "Yes, I would." "I'm a Red Sox fan. You're Aaron Boone. I hate your guts." Boonie was then drenched with ice water.
In 1974, the Dodgers lost their World Series title. Reggie Jackson destroyed them in 1977 when they overcame Cincinnati Reds and reached the World Series. Five homers were scored in the World Series and three more in the thrilling Game 6. I wept with the Yankees' last out and was completely invested in their defeat. The Red Sox were my surrogate, and they took a huge lead in the American League East in 1978. They led for as much as 14 games before falling apart. In September, the Yankees caught up to them and passed them.
The Red Sox won the playoff after a resounding victory at the end. It was scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. ET. The school bus usually bounced up Crocker Road and brought me home around 3:15, so it was possible that I would miss a few games. My mom suggested that I skip school so I could watch the game. My mom agreed to let me skip school if I worked on the woodpile for the first half of my day.
Howard Bryant is the premonition. A favorite Sox-Yankees moment of mine was Game 7 ALCS at Yankee Stadium in 2003. Willie Randolph hits fungoes to infield pregame. In 1978, Willie Randolph was the Yankees' second baseman. New York had a 14-game lead and won. "What do you think?" I ask him. "This Red Sox team really is the best." Willie said to me, "Yeah, they are." "You know what?" They may even be slightly better than us... But I've been here a long while, and every time they've needed to defeat us, we have. Tonight is no different." Roger Clemens is beaten by the Sox, and he's out before they even start. They are up 4-0. They are up 5-2. Pedro Martinez is on the mound. It's finally happening. Aaron Boone's home run scored the Yankees victory in 11. The Sox bus leaves the stadium at midnight. George Steinbrenner, wearing dark glasses, sings to it, saying, "We won again!" A tearful Theo Epstein had stated, "They won. They are very proud. Next year, we'll win it." Everyone heard the same facial reaction: Yes.
Carl Yastrzemski hit a homer to right field in the bottom of the second inning. It became evident that Ron Guidry, the Yankees' dominant starter that year, was not the same and maybe even a little tired. Just a few minutes after Yaz returned to Red Sox's happy dugout, Ed shouted frantically.
"Buster!" He yelled out from the barn, "Buster!"
About 30 milkers from our herd had crossed a fence at the northeast corner of our property's 108-acres. They went over a hill to reach a neighboring pasture. Debbie, a cow that our mother mistook for her umbilical cord at birth, had a spiked tail and a thick hide. This made her a fence-busting mutant.
There was no debate or discussion about what to do next. I needed to go get the cows and use a bucket of grains to lure them back onto our land. But I wasn't sure if it would take me an innings, five innings, or the entire game. I ran up the hill on angry tears, cursing Debbie and Debbie's mother, who had made Debbie a monster fence-buster, always looking for greener grass. And, of course cursing the Yankees.
Joon Lee: Heartbreak and joy Joon Lee: I can remember feeling mixed emotions after Aaron Boone's 2003 home run. But I was eager to see what the Red Sox would do next. They beat the Yankees in 2004, and I was able to watch them win the World Series from my kitchen's small TV. School was closed across the city on the day of the parade to allow us to watch the duck boats float by. Without the pain of '03, and the joy of '04 I don't know if I would be typing these words today in anticipation of covering the 2021 AL Wild Card Game, the game that ignited my passion for sports.
However, the cow retrieval took only an hour and I was back on the couch watching the game in sixth inning just in time for Boston to add a run and take a 2-0 advantage. In the seventh inning, Bucky Dent's hands became choking from the Mickey Rivers bat. Dent raised the ball towards left and stared up at the lazy fly. Yastrzemski then folded his arms in disbelief as he watched the ball fall into the net at the top of Green Monster's Green Monster.
Over the stunned silence of six-state fans, you could hear the Yankees' cheers over the silence. The New England refrain "Bucky F---ing Dent" was born.
Reggie Jackson, yes, he again, hit a home run in the eighth inning. The Red Sox trailed 5-4 heading into the ninth. There would be many moments that would help to differentiate the two teams. After Jerry Remy hit a single to right-field with a runner at the first, Yankees right-fielder Lou Piniella, briefly blinded by the late afternoon, early-fall sunlight, reached out and grabbed the ball on a bounce. (Luck?) Smarts? Both? As he reached second base, Rick Burleson of Boston slammed on his brakes. This is classic conservatism for a Red Sox team that relies on the home run. Burleson would end up at third base when Yaz came out to play to end the game.
Matt Marrone, the police horse: I was born and raised in Bronx so being a Yankees supporter is in my blood. However, I was unusual in some ways. I loved Little League and used a Jim Rice model glove. I also enjoyed going to Fenway Park and being a big Wade Boggs fan. So, I was thrilled when Chicken Man signed as a free agent with the Yankees. My favorite team added another Red Sox player -- a great tradition that began with... you know who? -- but it was also a man I had rooted for, even as a rival player. Four years later, I am standing in the loge section of the Yankee Stadium shouting at my father. My college freshman has just witnessed my team win the World Series live. Wade Boggs was riding a police horse through the stadium! The Stadium was shaking. Boggs finally got off the horse and stood on home plate, giving the crowd a salute. I was delighted for Boggs, the future Hall of Famer. It was even better that he wasn’t in Boston.
I can recall going silently through my barn chores that night, afraid of what seemed certain. After beating the Red Sox in the playoff game, the Yankees won the American League Championship Series and faced the Kansas City Royals again in the World Series.
The Dodgers won both the first and second games of 1978 World Series. Game 2 saw Bob Welch throw a fastball past Reggie Jackson. I also doubled my wagers with Donnie Russell, Randolph Union High School Yankees fans. The Yankees would win, and Reggie played a key role. He obstructed a throw with his hip, and should have been called for interference. But dumb umps missed that call. The Yankees won Game 3, 4, and 5. In Game 6, Reggie scored a home run off Welch. I was devastated. Reggie and the Yankees made it very difficult for me to not cry. The New York Times appointed me as the beat reporter for the Yankees in 1998. I had been a Dodgers fan ten years before. It was a quick transition that shocked me. Since then, I have rooted for good stories and good things to happen to people.
When I was first working in spring training for the Yankees, Reggie was standing near a batting cage. I walked over to him and started a conversation about Derek Jeter, their young shortstop. It was all very professional. Reggie and me talked, but there was a stream of thoughts running through my head as we spoke. Reggie Jackson is amazing to me. It is unbelievable to me how much Reggie Jackson tortured my teenage years. He used to make me hate him.
Reggie was a great guy, friendly, and he enjoyed talking about the sport that he loved. It is the sport we love. Even when it breaks us hearts.
