page_title: Yankees–Red Sox rivalry
section_title: 1999 ALCS: First postseason meeting
hierarchical_section_title: Yankees–Red Sox rivalry / 1996–2003: Yankees dominance and first postseason meetings / Late 1990s: Yankees dynasty / 1999 ALCS: First postseason meeting
caption_attribution_description: Long-time Boston Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martínez returns to Fenway Park in 2010
context_page_description: The Yankees–Red Sox rivalry is a Major League Baseball rivalry between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. Both teams have competed in MLB's American League for over 100 seasons and have since developed one of the fiercest rivalries in American sports. 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. 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.
  The rivalry is often a heated subject of conversation, especially in the home region of both teams, the Northeastern United States.
  Until the 2014 season, 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; they have faced each other in the AL Championship Series three times. The Yankees won twice, in 1999 and 2003; while the Red Sox won in 2004.
context_section_description: In 1999, the Yankees and Red Sox faced each other for the first time in the ALCS. The Yankees were the defending World Series champions, while Boston had not appeared in the ALCS since 1990. The Yankees won Game 1 on a 10th-inning walk-off home run by Bernie Williams off Boston reliever Rod Beck. Intensity built up due to this historic, first-ever postseason meeting between the two longtime rivals. The Yankees would win the first two games at home with 7th-inning comebacks.
  The lone bright spot for the Red Sox came in Game 3 at Fenway Park, in what had been a much anticipated pitching match-up of former Red Sox star Roger Clemens, who was now with the Yankees, and Boston ace Pedro Martínez. Martínez struck out twelve and did not allow a run through seven innings of work; Clemens was hit hard, giving up five earned runs and only lasting two innings of a 13–1 Red Sox victory. The Yankees rebounded to win Games 4 and 5, clinching the American League pennant and advancing to the World Series, where they swept the Atlanta Braves. The loss to Pedro Martínez was the Yankees' only postseason loss, as the team went 11–1.
  The following year at Fenway Park, the Yankees beat the Red Sox, 22–1, handing Boston its most lopsided home loss ever. The Yankees scored 16 total runs in the 8th and 9th innings. The Yankees lost 15 of their final 18 games that season and finished with a record of 87–74, but the Red Sox failed to catch up and finished 2.5 games out of first to lose another division title to the Yankees. Despite having the lowest winning percentage of any postseason qualifier in 2000, the Yankees won their third consecutive World Series and 26th overall, in the first Subway Series since 1956, over their cross-town rivals, the New York Mets, in 5 games.
  A year later, David Cone, one of the key players in the then-most recent Yankees dynasty, started for the Red Sox against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium to the sound of a standing ovation despite playing for the arch-rivals.  Cone would later take part in another notable game later that year when he went up against newly acquired Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina. Mussina had come within one strike of pitching a perfect game against the Red Sox at Fenway Park. Carl Everett's 9th-inning single was the only baserunner allowed by Mussina in a 1–0 Yankees win. Coincidentally, David Cone was the last Yankees pitcher to throw a perfect game, in 1999.
  On September 10, the two teams had a game against each other rained out. The next day, the country saw one of its biggest tragedies bring both sides together. Following the terrorist attacks on New York City's Twin World Trade Center Towers (which ironically involved two passenger jets departing from Boston), Boston fans displayed signs saying "Boston Loves New York" in a rare moment of peace between the two sides of the rivalry. On September 23, the Yankees' home field hosted a memorial service titled, "Prayer for America". The warm feeling of solidarity would once again be short-lived as just prior to the 2003 season, Red Sox President Larry Lucchino labeled New York Yankees the "Evil Empire" after Cuban free agent José Contreras opted to sign with the Yankees instead of the Red Sox. The new ownership group had made it their personal mission to win a championship.
caption: Pedro Martínez faced Roger Clemens in the 1999 ALCS. Earlier that season, Martínez had struck out the most Yankees (17) ever in a game.
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