Yankees–Red Sox rivalry
Major League Baseball rivalry / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Yankees–Red Sox rivalry is a Major League Baseball (MLB) rivalry between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. Both teams have competed in MLB's American League (AL) for over 120 seasons and have since developed what is arguably the fiercest rivalry in all of American sports.[9][10][11][12] In 1919, Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sold star player Babe Ruth to the Yankees, which was followed by an 86-year period in which the Red Sox did not win a World Series.[13] This led to the popularization of a superstition known as the "Curse of the Bambino," which was one of the most well-known aspects of the rivalry.[9]
Location | Northeastern United States |
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First meeting | May 7, 1903[1] Huntington Avenue Grounds, Boston, Massachusetts Americans 6, Highlanders 2[lower-alpha 1] |
Latest meeting | July 7, 2024[1] Red Sox 3, Yankees 0 Yankee Stadium, New York, New York |
Next meeting | July 26, 2024 Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts |
Statistics | |
Meetings total | 2,304 |
All-time series | Yankees, 1,252–1,038–14 (.546)[1] |
Regular season series | Yankees, 1,240–1,026–14 (.547)[1] |
Postseason results | Tie, 12–12 (.500)[4] |
Largest victory | |
Longest win streak | |
Current win streak | Red Sox, 1[1] |
Post-season history | |
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The rivalry is often a heated subject of conversation, especially in the home region of both teams, the Northeastern United States.[14] Until the 2014 season,[15] every season's postseason had featured one or both of the AL East rivals since the inception of the wild card format and the resultant additional Division Series in 1995; they have faced each other in the AL Championship Series (ALCS) three times. The Yankees won twice, in 1999 and 2003; while the Red Sox won in 2004.[16][17] The two teams have also met once in the AL Division Series (ALDS), in 2018, with Boston winning 3–1, a series which included a 16–1 Red Sox win in Game 3 at Yankee Stadium, the most lopsided postseason loss for the Yankees in their history. The Red Sox also beat the Yankees in the 2021 American League Wild Card Game.
In addition, the teams have twice met in the last regular-season series to decide the AL pennant, in 1904 (when the Red Sox, then known as the Americans, won) and 1949 (when the Yankees won).[17]
The Yankees and the Red Sox finished tied for first in 1978; subsequently, the Yankees won a high-profile tie-breaker game for the division title.[18] The first-place tie came after the Red Sox had a 14-game lead over the Yankees more than halfway through the season.[19] Similarly, in the 2004 ALCS, the Yankees ultimately lost a best-of-seven series after leading 3–0.[20] The Red Sox comeback was the only time in American baseball history that a team has come back from a 3–0 deficit to win a series.[21] The Red Sox went on to win the World Series, ending the 86-year-old curse.[22]
This match-up is regarded by some sports journalists as the greatest rivalry in sports.[9][10][23][24] Games between the two teams often generate considerable interest and receive extensive media coverage, including being broadcast on national television.[25][26] National carriers of Major League Baseball coverage, including Fox/FS1, ESPN, and MLB Network carry most of the games in the rivalry across the nation, regardless of team standings or playoff implications.[27] Yankees–Red Sox games are some of the most-watched MLB games each season.[28] Outside of baseball, the rivalry has led to violence between fans,[29][30] along with attention from politicians and other athletes.[31][32]