Before the 2002 season, a new ownership group purchased the Red Sox. Contract extension negotiations between Garciaparra's agent (Arn Tellem) and Red Sox brass went on during the offseason, but an agreement could not be reached. Though the sides agreed on a four-year, $60 million deal, the sticking point was the $8 million signing bonus Garciaparra requested. Garciaparra entered the 2003 season without a new pact. In 2003, Garciaparra had another productive All-Star season. On April 20, he hit a walk-off home run to give the Red Sox a 6–5 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. He batted .319 over the season's first half, earning yet another All-Star selection, but a late season slump caused him to finish at .301. His 28 home runs were the most he had hit in a single season since 1998, and he drove in 105 runs. He appeared in 156 games again, tying his career high from the previous year. The Red Sox returned to MLB's postseason for the first time since 1999, largely due to a potent lineup that featured Garciaparra, Manny Ramirez, and David Ortiz. Additionally, new stars and cult heroes, led by Kevin Millar, began to emerge in Boston. Unfortunately, Garciaparra's September slump (he batted .170 during the month) followed him into the postseason. While he hit .300 in the 2003 American League Division Series against the Oakland Athletics, he did not drive in a run. The Red Sox won the series in 5 games to face the rival Yankees in the ALCS, where Garciaparra fared even worse. In the tense 7-game series, Garciaparra batted only .241 with just 1 RBI and an uncharacteristic 8 strikeouts. However, he did record a memorable hit in Game 6, tripling and scoring on an error in the top of the 7th inning. At the time, Boston was down 6–4 and facing elimination, but the hit started a rally that saw the Red Sox come back and win 9–6 to force a fateful Game 7. However, the Red Sox lost that game and the series on Aaron Boone's infamous extra inning walk-off home run.