The History of the Red Sox Yankees Rivalry

The Yankees-Red Sox rivalry is one of the most talked about in baseball as we know it. The legendary rivalry dates back to 1919, when Harry Frazee, the Red Sox owner with a bit of financial trouble, sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees for $125,000.

Since the heart-breaking trade, the Red Sox fell below the ranks in baseball and were established as underdogs in the game- only reaching the World Series four more times before their 2004 win.

Before 2004, the Yankees quickly grew as the most successful team in baseball. Up until 2000, the Yankees had won 26 World Series titles, producing a myriad of Hall of Fame players, including Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio.

The Red Sox and Yankees faced each other often, strongly dividing fans with each face-off. The Red Sox fans blamed the Yankees for their failures, while Yankees fans reveled their successes in return.

After a dormant period, the Yankees and Red Sox rivalry heated back up in the late ‘90s as legends like Pedro Martinez and Nomar Garciaparra, made the game competitive again.

The competition reached a high in 2003 when the two teams played each other in the ALCS, playing seven games that ended with yet another devastating loss to the Yankees in a walk-off home run by their third baseman Aaron Boone during the eleventh inning.

In 2004, the teams met once more in the ACLS. While the Yankees took 3-0 wins in the first games, the Red Sox did the impossible and won the next four games, advancing to the World Series and becoming the first team in sports to win a seven-game series after first losing 3-0. During that 2004 World Series, the curse was finally broken by the Red Sox unbelievable upset.

Now competitively closer to their long-time Yankee rivals, in present day, the Red Sox - Yankees rivalry continues stronger than ever.

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