2003 ALCS recap

The Yankees and Red Sox rivalry was back, and it was on fire.

Emotions reached their boiling point in Game 3 at Fenway Park, where Pedro Martinez and Roger Clemens, two of the greatest right-handers in modern history, started and were both accused of throwing at hitters. For Clemens, it was believed to be his farewell in front of his former fans in Boston, as he had announced his (first) retirement that summer. An inning after Martinez hit Karim Garcia with a pitch and then gestured threateningly at Yankees catcher Jorge Posada, Clemens threw up-and-in to Manny Ramirez, who proceeded to charge the mound and trigger a bench-clearing incident.

During the melee, Yankees bench coach Don Zimmer, then 72, charged after Martinez, who stepped aside, grabbed Zimmer's head and heaved him onto the ground head first. Later there was a scuffle in the Yankees' bullpen, where a Red Sox groundskeeper scuffled with reliever Jeff Nelson. The Yankees won the game, safely exited the park and both teams alternated wins until the series reached Game 7.

It was Clemens vs. Martinez again at Yankee Stadium. And this time it was not about tempers, but about strategy and a highlight for the ages.

Red Sox manager Grady Little stayed with Martinez in the eighth inning -- a controversial move -- with Boston ahead, 5-2. After a subsequent double by Derek Jeter and single by Bernie Williams, Little went to the mound, but opted to keep his starter in instead of having left-handed reliever Alan Embree pitch to left-handed-hitting Hideki Matsui. Martinez then allowed a double to Matsui, followed by a bloop double from Jorge Posada, ultimately forcing extra innings.

While ALCS MVP Mariano Rivera was putting up three consecutive scoreless innings of relief for New York, the Red Sox bullpen gave in. Tim Wakefield -- who had been the winning pitcher in Games 1 and 4 for Boston and pitched a scoreless 10th inning in Game 7 -- threw the first pitch of the bottom of the 11th to Aaron Boone, and the ball disappeared into the left-field seats and into rivalry lore, sending the Yankees back to the World Series.

Path to the ALCS
ALDS: New York over Minnesota (3 games to 1); Boston over Oakland (3 games to 2)

Managers: Joe Torre, NYY; Grady Little, BOS

MVP: Mariano Rivera