3) 2003: Aaron Boone extends Red Sox “Curse”
Just when it seemed like the Boston Red Sox would finally beat the New York Yankees, the “Curse of the Bambino,” or rather Grady Little’s managing, struck again in full force.
The Red Sox and Yankees split the first six games of the 2003 ALCS, forcing a deciding Game 7 in Yankee Stadium. The pitching matchup would be a duel between two Cy Young Award winners: Pedro Martinez for Boston and Roger Clemens for New York.
Boston struck first, as Trot Nixon hit a two-run home run off Clemens in the top half of the second inning. The Red Sox got another run in the inning when Yankees’ third baseman Enrique Wilson committed an error throwing to first base. In the fourth, Kevin Millar touched Clemens for another home run to left field to give Boston a 4-0 lead.
Jason Giambi got the Yankees back in the game, hitting two home runs off Martinez to cut the deficit to 4-2. In the eighth inning, however, David Ortiz sent the first pitch from reliever David Wells into the right field bleachers, giving Boston a 5-2 lead with just six outs to go for the team to make their first World Series appearance since 1986.
Red Sox manager Little sent Martinez back out for the bottom of the eighth, a decision that would come to haunt him. Martinez gave up a one-out double to Derek Jeter, who came in to score on a RBI single by Bernie Williams. With left-handed hitter Hideki Matsui due up and lefty reliever Alan Embree ready in the bullpen, Little went out to the mound but again didn’t take Martinez out. Matsui subsequently hit a ground rule double, while Jorge Posada flared a bloop double to center to score Williams and Matsui and tie the game at five.
The Yankees would bring in closer Mariano Rivera, who pitched three scoreless innings as the game remained tied going to the 11th. The Red Sox, meanwhile, brought in from the bullpen knuckleballer Tim Wakefield. Aaron Boone, who had come in as a pinch-runner in the eighth and took Wilson’s place at third, would lead off the inning for New York.
Boone represented Cincinnati in the All-Star Game that season, hitting .273 with 18 home runs and 65 RBI for the Reds. He was traded to New York at the July 31 trading deadline in exchange for pitchers Brandon Claussen and Charlie Manning. In 54 games with the Yankees, he hit six home runs while his average dropped to .254. He had just two hits in 16 at-bats in the ALCS.
That October night, however, Boone was about to etch himself into Yankees lore. With his brother Bret watching from the FOX broadcast booth, Boone hit the first pitch he saw from Wakefield into the left field bleachers for a walk-off, series-winning home run.
The Yankees would lose the World Series to the Florida Marlins, with Boone hitting just .143. He would never play for the Yankees again, being released the next year after tearing his ACL playing basketball in the offseason. Boone made his return to the Yankees in a different capacity in 2018, however, being hired as manager.
For the Red Sox, 2003 was just the latest in a string of heartbreaking losses, often at the hands of the rival Yankees. Little was fired after the season and replaced by Terry Francona. The next year, however, it would be Boston getting the better of New York.