Turn Back The Clock: October 16th, 2003-The Rivalry Lives!

Before getting into today’s Turn Back The Clock, I need to take a minute to wish my little son Braden, a very happy 5th birthday. He’s very fortunate to be able to share his birthday on the same day as today’s Turn Back The Clock event, along with having the same birthday and place of birth as Washington Nationals’ outfielder Bryce Harper. Happy Birthday son!

2003 was a magical season in many aspects, and the American League Championship Series for the New York Yankees was no different. The only time during the series in which the same team won back-to-back games, was when the Yankees handled business in Games Two and Three. Other than that, the Bombers and Boston Red Sox traded blows, and victories throughout the series, leading up to the decisive seventh and final game.

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Game Seven was supposed to have been a classic pitcher’s duel, between two of the greatest ever to take the mound. Pedro Martinez for the Red Sox, and Roger Clemens for the Yankees. Unfortunately for New York, Pedro did his job, and the Rocket sputtered. Clemens didn’t even make it out of the fourth inning, after Boston put four on the board against him, thanks to a Trot Nixon homer, some shoddy defense on the part of the Yankees, and a double by Jason Varitek. Two innings later, a Kevin Millar bomb sent the Rocket to the showers, and the Yankees reeling. It appeared the Curse of the Bambino would finally come to an end, and that the American League pennant would be headed to Beantown.

Yankees’ skipper Joe Torre did something that was unexpected, even to the player involved. He brought in Mike Mussina to relieve Clemens. Moose had previously been told he wouldn’t be brought in during the middle of an inning, but that’s exactly what happened. Mussina kept the Yankees’ deficit at four runs, tossing three scoreless innings of relief, as the Yankees were able to only get one run back on a Jason Giambi home run. Felix Heredia came on and relieved Mussina in the 7th, as the Yankees trailed late, 4-1, and Pedro was on cruise control. Jeff Nelson finished the inning, coming on for Heredia.

The Yankees broke through in the bottom half of the seventh, as Giambi hit his second solo shot of the game, cutting the Red Sox lead in half, at 4-2. With the Yankees’ bullpen wiped out, Joe Torre had to get creative to keep his team in the game and the series. After retiring the first hitting of the inning, Torre replaced Nelson with David Wells. Boomer, as he was affectionately known, was welcomed with a thud, as David Ortiz went yard to increase the Red Sox lead to 5-2. The Yankees were down to single-digit outs.

In one of the most questioned innings in baseball history, the Yankees, their aura, and mystique, make another appearance in The House That Ruth Built. After Nick Johnson started off the bottom of the eighth inning by popping out to Nomar Garciaparra, Derek Jeter got the Yankees’ rally going with a double. Bernie Williams drove him home with an RBI-single, making the score Red Sox 5, Yankees 3.

Red Sox manager Grady Little basically lost his job this inning, after visiting Martinez on the mound, having his bullpen ready, sticking with his ace. After convincing Little that he was good to go, Pedro allowed a Hideki Matsui double, which moved Williams to third base. The wheels completely came off for Little, Martinez, and the Red Sox, all while Boston had relievers warmed up and ready to go in the Sox bullpen.

Yankees’ catcher Jorge Posada, put the finishing touches on Pedro Martinez, and brought the Bombers all the way back, as he doubled to center field, driving in both Williams and Matsui, tying the game at 5 apiece. Little had finally seen enough, and gave Martinez the hook, but the momentum has shifted. Alan Embree came on, faced one hitter in Giambi, got him to fly to center, and was replaced by Mike Timlin. A flurry of moves transpired, as Ruben Sierra replaced Enrique Wilson as the Yankees hitter. Timlin intentionally walked Sierra, who was replaced by pinch runner Aaron Boone, who would stay in and take over at third base. Karim Garcia walked, and Alfonso Soriano continued his putrid 2003 postseason, and forced Garcia out at second on a ground out to finally end the bleeding for Boston.

Torre then replaced Boomer Wells with the Sandman, Mariano Rivera in the ninth inning. In the longest relief appearance of his career as the closer, Rivera shut down the Red Sox for not one, not two, but three consecutive frames, pushing the game to the bottom of the 11th inning. Grady Little knew his bullpen was thin as the game continued on, and he replaced Timlin in the 10th with knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, whom he figured could go several innings if needed, as the game moved to multiple extra frames. Wakefield worked the 10th without issue, and came back out for the 11th.

Leading off for the Yankees in the 11th inning, was pinch runner and defensive replacement at third base, Aaron Boone. Boone had been acquired earlier in the season from the Cincinnati Reds to strengthen the hot corner production. Boone had struggled throughout the postseason, and had been relegated to bench duty for Joe Torre. What was interesting, is that Boone’s brother, then-Seattle Mariners second baseman Bret Boone was working the game for Fox Sports that night.

On the very first pitch of the inning, Boone, who had been told by Torre prior to the at-bat, to just try and put something back up the middle, drove a hanging knuckleball into the left field stands, for a pennant-winning home run, and to ensure his place in Yankees’ postseason history. As a result of the mismanagement of Martinez, Grady Little was shown the door, and would land in Los Angeles as manager, only to be replaced by…Joe Torre after the 2007 season.

The Yankees advanced to the 2003 World Series, and laid down to the Florida Marlins in six games. It was one of the most disappointing World Series performances in Yankees’ history, and marked the final time Joe Torre would see the Fall Classic as skipper of the Bombers. It also marked the final time the team would play in the World Series until returning during the 2009 season, two years AFTER Joe Torre was replaced by Joe Girardi.

It was on this day, October 16th, 2003, six years before my little boy came into the world, that Aaron Boone put the Yankees on his back and carried them around the basepaths and into the 2003 World Series.

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Turn Back The Clock: October 16th, 2003-The Rivalry Lives On!

By Billy Brost | Oct 16, 2014