Rube Foster

Wikipedpa - "Andrew 'Rube' Foster (September 17, 1879 – December 9, 1930) was an American baseball player, manager, and pioneer executive in the Negro leagues. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981. Foster, considered by historians to have been perhaps the best African-American pitcher of the first decade of the 1900s, also founded and managed the Chicago American Giants, one of the most successful black baseball teams of the pre-integration era. Most notably, he organized the Negro National League, the first long-lasting professional league for African-American ballplayers, which operated from 1920 to 1931. He is known as the 'father of Black Baseball'."
Wikipedia
SABR: Rube Foster
Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
Negro League Store
One For The Road: Remembering Rube Foster
YouTube: Baseball Hall of Fame - Biographies: Rube Foster

The 30, Week 17: The Big Red Ones

"The hottest team in baseball is missing its best player, has the most maddening manager, and has a venerable broadcaster about to make good on an ill-advised bet. It's Week 17 of The 30, and we're on Red Alert."
Grantland

Tim Peeler - "1968"

Was the Year Denny
went ITZ
like nobody this side of the century
with a curve that tumbled like an alcoholic bronc buster
and the blazing chance of his fast one challenging,
coming up Kaline, Northrup, and Cash
going deep on the other end,
and happy Mickey southpaw
attending in the gut shadow
of Cobb's old stadium to a Gibson-Cardinal series,
while the world went to hell in a body bag
on the six o'clock news.


Touching All the Bases

Roger Maris's Misunderstood Quest to Break the Home Run Record - Allen Barra

"Fifty summers ago, Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle were chasing Babe Ruth's record of 60 home runs in a single season, and the country was enthralled. (The overwhelming number of Yankee fans were rooting for Mickey.) It's possible that Americans will never again be as focused on any sporting accomplishment as we were that year. And perhaps because of the intense interest in the season, numerous misconceptions have grown up around the race to 61."
The Atlantic, July 11, 2011
amazon: 1961*: The Inside Story of the Maris-Mantle Home Run Chase
amazon: The Brothers K

2010 November: Roger Maris
2011 December: 61*

The Echoing Green

"At 3:58 p.m. on October 3, 1951, Bobby Thomson hit a home run off Ralph Branca. The ball sailed over the left field wall and into history. The Giants won the pennant. That moment—the Shot Heard Round the World—reverberated from the West Wing of the White House to the Sing Sing death house to the Polo Grounds clubhouse, where hitter and pitcher forever turned into hero and goat. It was also in that centerfield block of concrete that, after the home run, a Giant coach tucked away a Wollensak telescope. The Echoing Green places that revelation at the heart of a larger story, re-creating in extravagant detail and illuminating as never before the impact of both a moment and a long-guarded secret on the lives of Bobby Thomson and Ralph Branca."
amazon: The Echoing Green
amazon: A Moment in Time
amazon: Miracle Ball
Did the NY Giants Steal the Signs for Thomson’s Shot Heard Round the World?
WSJ: Was the '51 Giants Comeback a Miracle, Or Did They Simply Steal the Pennant?
Stolen Signs and the Shot Heard ‘Round the World
Google
YouTube: "The Giants Win the Pennant!" (The Echoing Green)

2010 August: Shot Heard 'round the World
2011 April: Pafko at the Wall: A Novella

The 100 Worst Baseball Players Of All Time: A Celebration

"This is a celebration. I realize that sounds strange—compiling a list of the worst of something doesn't seem like a joyous occasion. But by worst 100 baseball players I don't just mean the objective worst, the statistical worst, the most physically discomforting to watch. I mean the players whose failure was enduring, endearing, perplexing,and spectacular. It's easy to identify bad players—sabermetrics has made a truly effective science of it—and it's easy to name cup-of-coffee guys who never had the ability, physical or mental, to stick in the major leagues. But a list like that might mean leaving out guys like Jose Lima, Ray Oyler, or the Rev. Aloysius Stanislaus Travers. In other words, while Rafael Belliard does appear below, nobody wants to read about 100 versions of him." July 13 2011
Eric Nusbaum (Part 1), (Part 2)

Rod Carew

Wikipedia - "Rodney Cline 'Rod' Carew (born October 1, 1945) is a former Major League Baseball first baseman, second baseman and coach. He played from 1967 to 1985 for the Minnesota Twins and the California Angels and was elected to the All-Star game every season except his last. In 1991, Carew was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. While Carew was never a home run threat (hitting fewer than 100 career home runs), he made a career out of being a consistent contact hitter. He threw right-handed and batted left-handed."
Wikipedia, Baseball Reference
Rod Carew
Rod Carew and the Plight of the Singles Hitter
A baseball card mystery: Rod Carew
Rod Carew’s Seven Steals of Home in 1969
YouTube: Baseball Hall of Fame - Biographies: Rod Carew, Rod Carew Profile - 1977

1908 World Series

Frank Chance and Hugh Jennings
Wikipedia - "The 1908 World Series matched the defending champion Chicago Cubs against the Detroit Tigers in a rematch of the 1907 Series. In this first-ever rematch of this young event, the Cubs won in five games for their second consecutive title. The 1908 World Series is significant for being the last World Championship the Cubs have won to date. The Cubs would go on to appear in seven World Series in the years 1910, 1918, 1929, 1932, 1935, 1938, and 1945, losing each time. The Cubs had one of baseball's most dominant teams in the early 1900s. This was the year of the infamous 'Merkle's Boner' play that allowed the Chicago Cubs to reach the World Series after beating the New York Giants in a one-game 'playoff', actually the makeup game for the tie that the Merkle play had caused."
Wikipedia
W - Merkle's Boner
W - Fred Merkle
The 1906 – 1908 Chicago Cubs – The Golden Age of Chicago Baseball
1908: the Cubs Win the World Series
Chicago Cubs History
How long ago was 1908?

Don Waldo - "A Mile in My Shoes: Joe Jackson"

I had a uniform that was dirty but a conscience that was clean.
I never laid eyes on a one of them but knew them all by name.
I never spoke to them directly but heard what they were asking.
I told them to go to hell, but they said I was already there.
I asked to sit this one out but was told I would never stand.
I never asked for nothing, but they gave it to me anyways.
I tried to tell them what was going down, but they knew what was up.
I always played to win but somehow managed to lose.
I never learned to read or write, but my signed confession still damns me.
I was owed a living wage, but he’s paying me beyond the grave.
History has called me out, but His is the only call that matters.


Spitball: The Literary Baseball Magazine

The 30, Week 16: Opposites Attract

"Eight weeks ago, the Pittsburgh Pirates appeared on their way to their 20th straight sub-.500 season; now they're dreaming of a deep playoff run. Seven weeks ago, the Detroit Tigers were playing so poorly that some critics were calling for Jim Leyland's head; now they're poised to defend their AL Central crown. Three weeks ago, the Oakland A's seemed destined for another season of irrelevance; now they're baseball's Cardiac Kids, pulling off more miraculous wins than anyone. Eight days till the trade deadline, and baseball's balance of power is shifting. It's Week 16 of The 30."
Grantland

56 Game Hitting Steak by Joe DiMaggio

"On May 15, 1941, it began. On that day, Joltin' Joe DiMaggio went one-for-four with a run batted in against Eddie Smith and the Chicago White Sox. From that fateful day until July 16, fifty-six games later, DiMaggio hit safely in every game, setting a brand new record that still stands as one of the greatest achievements in baseball history. While DiMaggio was no stranger to being the star of an always impressive Yankee team, 1941 was even more special than usual."
Baseball Almanac
SI: The Streak
SABR: More Thoughts on DiMaggio’s 56-Game Hitting Streak
W - Hitting streak
amazon: 56: Joe DiMaggio and the Last Magic Number in Sports
Kostya Kennedy on Joe DiMaggio’s 56-Game Hitting Streak and Baseball in the Summer of 1941
MLB: DiMaggio's hitting streak baseball's Holy Grail (Video)

Clearing the Bases: The Greatest Baseball Debates of the Last Century

"Barra's primary intent with his latest book is to spark intelligent, well-reasoned debate about some of the most contentious, if essentially insignificant, issues in pro sports. ... Barra writes for thinking people, not simply by slaughtering baseball's sacred cows, but by demonstrating to the reader that anything less would be dishonest. Barra rips Babe Ruth's record to pieces, demonstrating at once that Ruth was a tremendous hitter, but that the accepted account of him as savior and 'lively ball' progenitor of baseball is 'an American creation myth.' He uses a dazzling array of statistical comparisons among second basemen to vividly illustrate that the most popular argument against Jackie Robinson's inclusion in the Hall of Fame that he wouldn't be there if he had been white is nothing but racist rhetoric."
amazon

Yankee Stadium

Wikipedia - "Yankee Stadium was a stadium located in The South Bronx in New York City, New York. It was the home ballpark of the New York Yankees, one of the city's Major League Baseball franchises, from 1923 to 1973 and from 1976 to 2008. The stadium hosted 6,581 Yankees regular season home games during its 85-year history. It was also the former home of the New York Giants football team. The stadium's nickname, 'The House That Ruth Built', is derived from Babe Ruth, the iconic baseball superstar whose prime years coincided with the stadium's opening and the beginning of the Yankees' winning history."
Wikipedia
Yankee Stadium History
Home of the New York Yankees
The Original Yankee Stadium – Photographs and Memories
Old Yankee Stadium Pics
ballparksofbaseball
Baseball Pilgrimages
W - List of events at Yankee Stadium (1923)

YouTube: Old Yankee Stadium - Legacy of Yankee Stadium Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Disenfranchise Mode: The Exhausting, Infuriating, Totally Addictive Baseball Simulation Game That Imitates Life Too Well

"... The world that Chris and I shared was centered around a game called Out of the Park Baseball, or OOTP. In simple terms, OOTP is a simulation game—a computerized descendant of Strat-O-Matic. Imagine a highly complex, supercharged version of the Franchise Mode you'd find in a sports video game and take away the pixelated players moving about the field. What you have left is an insanely powerful, super-complex text-based approximation of baseball management. OOTP allows you to set lineups, make trades, and sign free agents. It also allows you to set ticket prices, allot a specialized country-by-country budget for international scouting, and take part in your very own Rule 5 draft."
Deadspin
Out of the Park Baseball 13
Out of the Park Baseball: A Review of an Out of this World Baseball Simulation
Take Control of the National Pastime with Out of the Park Baseball 13
Prospectus Review
W - Out of the Park Baseball
OOTPMODS Launches!

2011 May: The Universal Baseball Association, Inc., J. Henry Waugh, Prop. - Robert Coover

John MacLean - "Why I No Longer Go"

To tear the old place down was the last straw,
But they had long since changed the game for me.
I didn’t spend enough to pay my share
Of salary and profit for the club,

And, so, somehow, membership was revoked.

I had for years parked on the South Bronx streets,
And bought a hero sandwich up the block,
And sat with homemade scorecard through all nine,
Without the need to buy a bobble head.

But worst of all, I still contributed
To silence that once hung across the park,
A hammock on those lazy summer days,
When you’re content to let the whole world slip.

Then came fake bugles, mechanical cheers,
Loud music danced to by Cotton-eyed Joe.
You couldn’t hear the elevated train
For all the noise the cartoon subway made.

Forget the bat’s crack or the leather’s pop.
They couldn’t trust that I would stay awake,
And so they filled the once expectant space
Between the innings with crowd pleasing din

The way they do it in the minor leagues.



Spitball: The Literary Baseball Magazine

Bobby Grich

Wikipedia - "Robert Anthony 'Bobby' Grich (born January 15, 1949 in Muskegon, Michigan) is an American former professional baseball second baseman who played for the Baltimore Orioles (1970–1976) and California Angels (1977–1986) of Major League Baseball. He currently works in the Angels' front office. As a player, Grich won four consecutive Gold Glove Awards and made the American League All-Star squad six times. In 1973, the Orioles traded Davey Johnson to the Braves in order to make room for Grich at second base."
Wikipedia, Baseball Reference
Hardball Times - Cooperstown Confidential: Stories of Bobby Grich
Bobby Grich: A Baseball Hall of Famer by Anyone's Standards, Neglected by Voters
Put Them in the Hall of Fame: Part 6, Bobby Grich
Ex-Angel Grich is a no-brainer Hall of Famer
Some Players With A Good Sabermetric Case For The Hall Of Fame

Inside the secret world of Dominican baseball

"'The gringos may have invented the game,' a grinning teenage boy boasts to the camera in Spanish, as he’s sprawled out with a couple of buddies on their bunk beds in a spartan cinder-block dormitory. 'But we’re better at it.' I had a brief moment of nationalist reaction to this statement, which comes about midway through 'Ballplayer: Pelotero,' a gripping documentary that takes us inside the largely closed world of youth baseball training and recruitment in the Dominican Republic. But you can’t say the kid is wrong, objectively speaking."
Salon
Ballplayer: Pelotero (Video)
MySpace: Ballplayer: Pelotero (Video)
NYT - The Dominican Pipeline (Video)
PBS: Dominican Baseball Players (Video)
ESPN: It's hard to argue with the Dominican baseball system
TIME - Baseball Dreams: Striking Out in the Dominican Republic
NYT: Less Demand for Dominicans as M.L.B. Scrutiny Increases, Dominicans Try Shots to Boost Rising Players
ESPN - OTL: Reforming Baseball In The Dominican Republic (Video)
Salon - “Sugar”: Best baseball movie ever
Netflix: Sugar

The Boys of Summer - Roger Kahn

Wikipedia - "The Boys of Summer is a widely-acclaimed book written by Roger Kahn. After recounting his childhood in Brooklyn, the author relates some history of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team up to their victory in the 1955 World Series. He then tracks the lives of the players over the subsequent years as they aged. The book takes its name from a verse by Dylan Thomas. ... The next section details the lives of the players from the glory days, but in middle age. Different chapters are devoted to different players (Clem Labine, George Shuba, Carl Erskine, Andy Pafko, Joe Black, Preacher Roe, Pee Wee Reese, Carl Furillo, Gil Hodges, Roy Campanella, Duke Snider, Jackie Robinson and Billy Cox)."
Wikipedia
amazon: The Boys of Summer , Memories of Summer: When Baseball Was an Art and Writing About it a Game
The "Boys of Summer" revisited 26 years later
NYT: Writing Baseball
NYT: Where Are They All Now?

2011 July: 1955 World Series

The 30, Week 15: Never Say Die

"Eleven years ago this month, Ben Sheets was a phenom. A first-round pick for the Brewers, he'd made it to the big leagues in less than two years. Went 10-5 with a 3.69 ERA in his first 16 major league starts, at the height of the steroids era. Made the All-Star game as a rookie. At 6-foot-1, 220 pounds, he was a specimen, with the kind of sturdy build that suggested plenty of 220-inning seasons and All-Star Games to come."
Grantland

Rob Vogt - "The Path to the Dugout"

Right-handers are power pitchers.
They come from Texas, raised on beef
and christened with names like Nolan and Roger.

Left-handers are crafty southpaws.
No one knows exactly where they come from,
but they do strange things in the clubhouse,
like reading books in front of their lockers.

Right-handers pitch until their arms fall off,
or until they can no longer make it out of the seventh inning
without assistance from a sub-species known as a relief pitcher.

Left-handers pitch into their early forties,
or until they are offered jobs in the broadcast booth.

Right-handers throw 95-mph fastballs
at disrespectful, plate-hugging batters,
the baseballs connecting with a painful thud,
their seams leaving tiny, red bite marks
on hitters’ barely-covered flesh.

Left-handers nibble around the plate,
Lulling batters to sleep,
luring umpires into expanded strike zones.

Right-handers storm off the mound
at the end of an inning, pumping their fists –
cursing,
spitting,
glaring.

Left-handers curlicue called strike threes
around the outside corner and walk off the field quietly,
their eyes focused on the path to the dugout
and nothing more.


Spitball: The Literary Baseball Magazine

The Old Pacific Coast League: 1946

Oakland Oaks 1946
"This old film lay dormant on a shelf in the closet of a television studio for several decades until recently rediscovered by Alan O'Connor and Bill Shubb. It was originally produced by the Pacific Coast League at the beginning of the 1946 season to promote the post-war resurgence of the league. It contains an introduction by league president Clarence H. 'Pants' Rowland and some of the only known color footage still in existence showing each of the teams in the league working out at their spring training camps. Close-ups of the managers and players of the Oakland Oaks, San Francisco Seals, Sacramento Solons, Los Angeles Angels, Hollywood Stars, San Diego Padres, Portland Beavers, and Seattle Rainiers in action and in color."
YouTube: The Old Pacific Coast League: 1946 Promotional Film

NINE: A Journal of Baseball History & Culture

Radio, Chicago White Sox game, 1912
"NINE: A Journal of Baseball History & Culture seeks to promote the study of all historical aspects of baseball and centers on the cultural implications of the game wherever in the world baseball is played. The journal reflects an eclectic approach and does not foster a particular ideological bias. For more information about the journal, including submission guidelines, subscription information, and the current table of contents, please follow this link."
NINE: A Journal of Baseball History & Culture
Project MUSE

George Sisler

Wikipedia - "George Harold Sisler (March 24, 1893 – March 26, 1973), nicknamed 'Gentleman George' and 'Gorgeous George,' was an American professional baseball player for 15 seasons, primarily as first baseman with the St. Louis Browns (now the Baltimore Orioles). From 1920 until 2004, Sisler held the Major League Baseball (MLB) record for most hits in a single season, a mark which stills stands for the 154-game season in which he played. His 1922 season — during which he batted .420, hit safely in a then-record 41 consecutive games, led the American League in hits (246), stolen bases (51), and triples (18), and was, by general consensus, the best fielding first baseman in the game — is considered by many historians to be among the best individual all-around single-season performances in baseball history."
Wikipedia, Baseball Reference
SABR: George Sisler
Baseball History: Did the American League Blunder?
questia: George Sisler, Manolin's age, and Hemingway's use of baseball
Seamheads: Who, You Ask, is George Sisler?
JockBio
amazon: The Sizzler: George Sisler, Baseball's Forgotten Great
Baseball Library
YouTube: 1939 Hall of Fame, Inside Sports

The 30, Week 14: Fear the Buccos

"Twenty years. It's been 20 long years since the Pittsburgh Pirates last had a winning season. Not winning as in a World Series, division title, or playoff berth. Winning as in an above-.500 season. When you're that bad for that long, your goals become more and more modest. A summer of not-too-stinky baseball, in which the Pirates are semi-competitive, the beer's cold, and PNC Park's views of downtown Pittsburgh are clear, would seem an appropriate target. Instead, the Buccos are red-hot, they're in first place at the All-Star break, they have a legitimate MVP candidate, and they're reportedly kicking the tires on Justin Freaking Upton. It's a mad, mad, mad, mad world. And it's Week 14 of The 30."
Grantland

Michael Ketchek

forsythia
the sound of a ball
striking a bat

__________


summer night radio
thru the dark static
a Pedro fastball


__________


Wiffle Ball -
a windblown home run
over the neighbor's Rambler


__________


dog days of summer
twenty-three games
out of first


____________


struck out
the long walk home
in the dusk



Baseball Haiku

Bless the All-Star Game

"I have only one request to make of my colleagues currently preparing to pretend Major League Baseball's All-Star Game, and the glorified carnival midway leading up to Tuesday's event, actually matters to anyone except whomever it is each participant has hired to keep track of his incentive bonuses. Please, all of you, don't tell me that it's really hot where you are. MLB put this year's game in Kansas City, the poster franchise for revenue sharing. Once upon a time, back when there was a reserve clause, the New York Yankees used to loot the Kansas City Athletics so badly that the Midwest team could never compete."
Grantland

Kansas City

"I used to love listening to Skip Prosser talk about Pittsburgh. Skip was a very successful college basketball coach at Xavier and Wake Forest -- he died when he was still the coach at Wake Forest five years ago this month. More than coaching, though, Skip was a great guy, and sometimes he would just talk about his hometown of Pittsburgh, and it was so great to hear. I remember he used to say all the time, 'Coming through the Fort Pitt Tunnel into downtown is the most beautiful thing in the world.' Then I would try to kid him. I’d ask him about Paris at night, Maui with the waves crashing in, the Grand Canyon at sunset, Darling Harbor in Sydney, the seventh hole at Pebble Beach or just a spot of beach looking out over the Mediterranean. He’d never even crack a smile."
Joe Blog

Gary Carter

Wikipedia - "Gary Edmund Carter (April 8, 1954 – February 16, 2012) was an American professional baseball catcher whose 21-year career was spent primarily with the Montreal Expos and New York Mets. Nicknamed 'Kid' for his youthful exuberance, Carter was named an All-Star 11 times, and was a member of one World Series championship team. Known throughout his career for his hard hitting as well has his excellent defense behind the plate, Carter made a major contribution to the Mets' World Series championship in 1986, including a 12th-inning single against the Houston Astros that won Game 5 of the NLCS and a 10th-inning single against the Boston Red Sox to start the fabled comeback rally in Game 6 of the World Series. He is one of only three people ever to be named captain of the Mets, and he had his number retired by the Expos."
Wikipedia, Baseball Reference
NYT: Gary Carter, Star Catcher Who Helped Mets to Series Title, Dies at 57
SI: Gary Carter, the light of the Mets
SI: Rare Photos of Gary Carter
SIVault: Gary Carter
MLB: Gary Carter (Video)
YouTube: Baseball Hall of Fame - Gary Carter 2003 Induction Tribute
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart: Moment of Zen - Tribute to Gary Carter (Video)

Leon Day

Wikipedia - "Leon Day (October 30, 1916 – March 13, 1995) was an American right-handed pitcher in the Negro leagues. He played for the Baltimore Black Sox, the Brooklyn & Newark Eagles, and the Baltimore Elite Giants. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1995."
Wikipedia
SABR: Leon Day
Negro League Baseball Players Association
The Negro Leagues in Brooklyn
Baseballb in Wartime
SABR: One Day at a Time

1949 All-Star Game

Wikipedia - "The 1949 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 16th annual midseason exhibition game between the all-stars of Major League Baseball's American and National Leagues. The American League continued its early dominance of the Midsummer Classic with an 11-7 win at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. The win moved the AL's all-time record in the game to 12-4. The starting pitchers were Mel Parnell of the Boston Red Sox for the AL and Warren Spahn of the Boston Braves for the NL. Detroit Tigers pitcher Virgil Trucks got the win, Brooklyn Dodger Don Newcombe took the loss, and Vic Raschi of the New York Yankees earned the save. The only home runs of the game were hit by future Hall of Famers Ralph Kiner and Stan Musial of the NL. The 1949 All-Star Game was the first to have African-Americans in the line-up. Jackie Robinson started for the National League at second base. Robinson's Brooklyn Dodgers teammates, catcher Roy Campanella and pitcher Don Newcombe also played for the NL. The Cleveland Indians' Larry Doby was a late-inning replacement for Joe DiMaggio in center field for the American League."
Wikipedia
Baseball Almanac
YouTube: Baseball all star game 1949, First African Americans in an All-Star game July 12 1949
LA Times: Don Newcombe remembers no longer being separate, but equal at All-Star game
Baseball Almanac 1949

Kevin Miller - "McNeil Island Penitentiary Closes"

The island boat sails
empty one way. For
years I told the kids
of our away games
against fed inmates,
the Native pitcher
with hand-carved knives
tattooed underside
his forearms, his stare
walleyed as search lights
when a kid sixteen
brushed him back. He eyed
me with unwieldy
daggers, safe behind
horizontal bars,
I squatted, signaled
for a curve. Bleacher
bums hooted, howled,
and bet cigarettes
on each pitch. One guy
yelled, He killed seven
guys, watch your back
at the plate. Hitters
joked about playing
the next game at our place.
We split the double
header, and ate lunch
At the big house.


Spitball: The Literary Baseball Magazine

The 30, Week 13: AL's Manifest Destiny

"One team has made two straight trips to the World Series. The other was the biggest spender in a wild offseason. After a brief fall from the top spot for one and a horrendous start for the other, the two best teams in the AL West are taking over. It's Week 13 of The 30."
Grantland

Yankees–Red Sox rivalry

Boston, Pedro Martinez. Yankee bench coach Don Zimmer, 62 year.
Wikipedia - "The Yankees–Red Sox rivalry is one of the oldest, most famous and fiercest rivalries in sports. For more than 100 years, Major League Baseball's Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees of the American League have been intense rivals. The rivalry is often a heated subject of conversation in the Northeastern United States. Since the inception of the wild card team and an added Division Series, every playoffs has featured one or both of the American League East rivals and they both have squared off in the American League Championship Series three times, with the Yankees winning twice in 1999 and 2003 and the Sox winning in 2004. In addition, the teams have twice met in the last regular-season series of a season to decide the league title, in 1904 (when the Red Sox won) and 1949 (when the Yankees won)."
Wikipedia
Red Sox Yankee Rivalry – The Greatest Rivalry in Baseball? (YouTube)
30 Most Intense Moments in the Yankees-Red Sox Rivalry
Red Sox Yankees Rivalry
Baseball's Greatest Rivalry: Red Sox vs. Yankees (Video)
YouTube: Boston Red Sox - New York Yankees Rivalry, Best Red Sox Brawls, Red Sox-Yankees Fight 1967