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Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 80 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
Special Topics
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Red Sox vs. Yankees
| On September 1, 2001, Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina came within one strike of throwing the first perfect game in the 89-year history of Fenway Park. Which Red Sox batter broke up the perfect game bid? | Red Sox vs. Yankees: Rivalry
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Carl Everett. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, Red Sox center fielder Carl Everett lashed a clean single into left field, thereby breaking up Mussina's bid for a perfect game. It was the only hit for the Red Sox. The Yankees won the game 1-0.
| On May 28, 2000, which Red Sox batter broke a 0-0 tie in the ninth inning when he blasted a 92 mile-per-hour pitch, thrown by Yankees ace (and former Red Sox superstar) Roger Clemens, into Yankee Stadium's right field stands? | Red Sox vs. Yankees: Rivalry
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Trot Nixon. This was a vintage pitcher's duel between Red Sox ace Pedro Martinez and Roger Clemens. In the top of the ninth inning, Trot Nixon hammered Clemens' pitch into the right field stands, giving the Sox a 2-0 lead. It was all they needed. Martinez shut out the Yanks in the bottom of the ninth, earning victory in which he struck out 13 batters.
| During Game 5 of the 1999 American League Championship Series (ALCS) at Fenway Park, which Yankees relief pitcher got two Red Sox batters out with the bases loaded in the eighth inning to ensure a Yankees victory? | Red Sox vs. Yankees: Rivalry
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Ramiro Mendoza. In the eighth inning, Yankees reliever Ramiro Mendoza struck out Sox catcher Scott Hatteberg, and then induced Sox right fielder Trot Nixon to hit a fly ball that was caught by the Yankees third baseman. Mendoza also pitched the ninth inning, during which he retired three Red Sox batters in order. The Yankees eventually won the game 6-1, and the ALCS 4 games to 1. Ironically, Mendoza was released by the Yankees in December 2002, and signed with the Red Sox later that same month.
| On September 10, 1999, Red Sox ace Pedro Martinez tossed a one-hitter against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees' one hit came as the result of a home run hit in the second inning by whom? | Red Sox vs. Yankees: Rivalry
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Chili Davis. Chili Davis' second inning home run was all the offense the Yankees got that night. Pedro Martinez struck out 17 Yankees batters in the nine innings he pitched. Twelve of the last fifteen Yankees went down via the strikeout.
| On October 2, 1978, Yankees infielder Bucky Dent hit a towering fly ball out of Fenway Park, putting the Yankees ahead for good in a game that ensured the Yankees went to the 1978 American League playoffs. Which Red Sox pitcher threw the pitch that Dent hit out of Fenway Park? | Red Sox vs. Yankees: Rivalry
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Mike Torrez. In a television interview twenty years later, Mike Torrez said he threw a slider to Dent "just a little too perfectly..." right into Dent's strike zone, instead of just outside where he intended to throw it. The light-hitting Dent blasted Torrez' pitch all the way over Fenway's "Green Monster..." and the rest is history.
Four game series, played September 7-10, 1978. During the "Boston Massacre," the four game series played at Fenway Park from September 7-11, 1978, the Yankees outscored the Red Sox 42-9. The series completely reversed the fortunes of both teams. The Red Sox, who had led the Yankees by as many as 14½ games in July, saw their "September swoon" accelerate; the Yankees eventually overtook the Red Sox in a one-game playoff highlighted by Bucky Dent's home run.
| Which relief pitcher began his major league career with the Red Sox during the "Impossible Dream" season of 1967, and later played for the Yankees from 1972 to 1978? | Red Sox vs. Yankees: Rivalry
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Sparky Lyle. Sparky Lyle, who played a key role in the Red Sox winning the American League pennant in 1967, is sometimes credited with being the first true "closer" in baseball. His primary pitches were a sinking fastball and a sharply breaking "slider."
Elston Howard. Yankees catcher Elston Howard lined a single into right center field with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. It was the only hit the Yankees got in a 3-0 loss to the Red Sox.
| On April 14, 1967, at Yankee Stadium, Red Sox outfielder Carl Yastrzemski made a spectacular over-the-shoulder catch of a line drive to left field, thereby keeping Red Sox pitcher Bill Rohr's attempted no-hitter intact. Which Yankees batter hit that line drive? | Red Sox vs. Yankees: Rivalry
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Tom Tresh. With no outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, Tom Tresh's long fly ball into left center field should have resulted in an extra base hit. But Sox left fielder Carl Yastrzemski, running directly away from home plate and nearing the fence, made a leaping catch, and somersaulted after landing with the ball in his glove.
| On September 22, 1935, the largest crowd ever at Fenway Park saw the Yankees sweep a doubleheader from the Red Sox. On that date, how many fans were on hand to see those games? | Red Sox vs. Yankees: Rivalry
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47,627. In 1935, the seating capacity of Fenway Park was approximately 34,000 people. Incredibly, though, 47,627 fans were on hand on September 22, 1935 to see the Yankees beat the Red Sox 6-4 in the first game of a doubleheader, and 9-0 in the second game.
| Who managed the Yankees from 1931 through 1946, and then the Red Sox from 1948 through the early part of the 1950 season? | Red Sox vs. Yankees: Rivalry
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Joe McCarthy. From 1931 through 1946, Joe McCarthy led the Yankees to 9 American League and 8 World Series championships, before leaving New York in 1948 to manage the Red Sox. With the Red Sox, McCarthy compiled a 223-145 record, but didn't lead them to any league or World Series titles.
| From 1920 through the end of the 2002 major league baseball season, how many times did the Yankees finish ahead of the Red Sox in the American League or American League East divisional standings? | Red Sox vs. Yankees: Rivalry
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63. Talk about a turn-around in fortunes! From 1920 (Babe Ruth's first season with the Yankees) through the end of the 2002 season, the Yankees finished ahead of the Red Sox 62 times, and the Sox finished ahead of the Yanks only 18 times. During the same period, the Yankees won 26 World Series titles, and the Red Sox none.
| From 1901 through 1918, how many times did the Red Sox finish ahead of the New York franchise in the American League standings? | Red Sox vs. Yankees: Rivalry
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15. During the first two decades of major league baseball, no team was more dominant than the Boston Red Sox. From 1901 through 1918, the Red Sox finished ahead of the Highlanders/Yankees 15 times in 18 years, and won five World Series championships to the Yankees' none. The Highlanders began their stint in 1903, and became the Yankees in 1913.
Harry Frazee. Red Sox owner Harry Frazee, whose primary interest was producing and promoting Broadway shows, sold Babe Ruth's contract to Colonel Jacob Ruppert's New York Yankees for cash and a loan from Ruppert secured by the mortgage on Fenway Park. Frazee used the money to finance several new shows.
| On April 20, 1912, in the first game ever played at Fenway Park, the Red Sox defeated the New York Highlanders (as the Yankees were then named) 7-6 in 11 innings. Which Red Sox batter drove in the winning run? | Red Sox vs. Yankees: Rivalry
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Tris Speaker. The first-ever game at Fenway park, rain-delayed for two days, was played before approximately 27,000 fans. In the bottom of the 11th inning, Tris Speaker drove in the winning run.
Tris Speaker. These were all MVP winners. Speaker of the Red Sox won the Award first in 1912. Speaker batted .383 with 10 home runs, 222 hits, and stole 52 bases. He helped the Red Sox to a first place finish, 14 games ahead of 2nd place Washington. Boston went on to win the World Series 4-3-1 against the New York Giants. Among those listed, the Babe was the 2nd one to win the MVP in 1923, followed by Gehrig in 1927, and then Williams in 1946.
Left the Red Sox and eventually won a World Series with the Yankees. The Yankees acquired Sparky Lyle through a trade with Boston in 1972. He won two World Series with the Yankees, in 1977 and 1978. He also won a Cy Young Award with them as their closer in 1977. Wade Boggs came to the Yankees as a free agent after the 1992 season, and won the 1996 World Series with them. Roger Clemens left the Red Sox as a free agent after the 1996 season, was traded by the Blue Jays to the Yankees before the 1999 season, and won the World Series with them in 1999 and 2000. Clemens also won a Cy Young Award with the Yankees in 2001.
| In 1999, the Yankees and Red Sox finally played each other in the post season for the first time, in the American League Championship Series. Who was the MVP of that series? | Yankees - Red Sox: THE Rivalry
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Orlando Hernandez. El Duque Hernandez won the award for his two starts in the series, going 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA in 15 innings. He led the Yankees to a 4-1 series victory over the Red Sox. The only game won by Boston was won by Pedro Martinez, who had 12 strikeouts in 7 innings in game 3. The Yankees won game 1 with a walk off home run by Bernie Williams, in the bottom of the 10th inning off of Rod Beck. The Yankees went on to beat the Braves in the World Series.
Pedro Martinez. Martinez had 17 strikeouts in the game, where he missed a perfect game, only because Chili Davis hit a home run off him. A few sportswriters who were there said it was one of the best pitched games they had ever seen. Martinez finshed the 1999 season with a 23-4 record, a 2.07 ERA and 313 strike outs.
Nomar Garciaparra. Garciaparra trailed Derek Jeter in the fan balloting by 30,000 votes with one week to go. When the final results were announced, Garciaparra had won by 20,000 votes. Apparently, a 25 year old Red Sox fan had developed a computer program to bypass Major League Baseball's 22 vote limit on it's web site. He recorded 40,000 votes for Garciaparra. But he was caught, and the votes were nullified. The NY mayor got involved, accusing Boston fans of stuffing the ballot boxes, since the game was to be played in Boston that year. MLB officials claimed that no internet votes were counted until the last week, and that's why Garciaparra suddenly shot to the top. Both he and Jeter played in the game. At the time that the votes were announced, the shortstops had almost identical numbers. Jeter was batting .377 with 14 homers and 58 RBI's. Garciaparra was at .366 with 14 homers and 57 RBI's. At the end of the season, Jeter had a .349 avg, 24 HR, 102 RBI. Garciaparra had a .357 avg, 27 HR, 103 RBI.
True. Before 1969, only one team from each league made it to the post season, when the first place finishers in each league played in the World Series. From 1969 to 1995, the Yankees and Red Sox were unable to both reach the playoffs because only one team from their division could qualify. But in 1995, both leagues expanded to 3 divisions, with the best second place team, or the wild card, also making the playoffs. In 1995, the Red Sox won the AL East, and the Yankees were the wild card. But the Red Sox lost to the Indians in the first round, and the Yankees lost to the Mariners. In 1998, the Yankees won the division, and the Red Sox were the wild card. The Yankees beat the Rangers in the first round, but the Red Sox lost to the Indians again. In 1999, they both repeated their places. The Yankees beat the Rangers again, and the Red Sox beat the Indians, so they finally played each other that year in the ALCS.
| In 1986, the AL batting race was between the two best hitters on the Yankees and Red Sox. Who won the batting title that year with an average of .357? | Yankees - Red Sox: THE Rivalry
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Wade Boggs. Going into the final weekend, the Red Sox' Wade Boggs led the Yankees' Don Mattingly by several percentage points. The two teams had a four game series scheduled in Boston to end the season. But Boggs had a nagging leg injury which forced him to sit out the weekend. Mattingly tried his hardest to catch Boggs, getting several hits in the 4 games, but he finished five points behind Boggs to finish with a .352 average. The Red Sox finished in first place that year, and went on to lose the World Series to the Mets in 7 games. Boggs finished his career with a .328 average, a certain Hall of Famer. Mattingly finished his career with a .307 average, but had to retire at the age of 34, because of a combination of a bad back, and wanting to be closer to his children as they grew up.
Dave Righetti. Dave Righetti, or Rags as he was sometimes called, threw his no-hitter on a very hot and sunny Fourth of July. The Yankees won it 4-0. The hitting star was Don Baylor, who homered in the game. The Yankees traded Baylor to the Red Sox a couple of years later. Wade Boggs struck out to end the game, and the Stadium crowd, which included me, went crazy. Righetti had some extra motivation for his no-hitter, because he had just been passed over for the AL All-Star team, even though he had a 9-1 record at the time. He finished the season at 14-8. In 1984, the Yankees made him their closer.
Carl Yastrzemski. Yaz got his 3,000th hit off of Yankee pitcher Jim Beattie, a single. Earlier that season, he had collected his 400th career home run. At the time, he was the only player in American League history to hit 400 homers and get 3,000 hits. He ended his career after the 1983 season, with a total of 3,419 hits and 452 home runs. His best season was in 1967, when he led the Red Sox "Impossible Dream" to the AL pennant, with a triple crown season. He led the AL that year with a .326 average, 44 home runs, and 121 RBI's. Boston lost the 1967 World Series in 7 games to the Cardinals.
| In 1978, the Yankees and Red Sox finished the season in a tie for first place. On October 2, they had a one game playoff to decide which team would go to the playoffs. Who was the shortstop who hit a three run homer to lead his team to victory? | Yankees - Red Sox: THE Rivalry
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Bucky Dent. With the Yankees trailing 2-0 in the top of the 7th inning, Bucky Dent hit a surprising 3 run home run to put them into the lead. The Yankees eventually won the game 5-4, and the division. To get to that playoff game, the Yankees had to mount an incredible comeback during the summer, after trailing Boston by 14 games in late July. They eventually caught the Red Sox in a four game sweep in early September, known as the Boston Massacre. The Yankees beat the Dodgers in the 1978 World Series for the second straight year.
| During the 1970s, the two top catchers in the American League played for the Yankees and Red Sox. What were their names? | Yankees - Red Sox: THE Rivalry
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Thurman Munson and Carlton Fisk. All through the 70s, these two players were constantly compared to each other. Carlton Fisk played for the Red Sox from 1969 through 1980. In 1981, he left them as a free agent and went to the White Sox. He played for 13 more seasons with Chicago, retiring after the 1993 season. His best season in Boston was 1977, when he batted .315 with 26 homers and 102 RBI's. He hit 376 home runs in his career, good enough for election to the Hall of Fame. Thurman Munson played for the Yankees from 1969 until August of 1979, when he was tragically killed in a plane crash. His best season was in 1976, when he won the AL MVP Award by hitting .302 with 17 homers and 105 RBI's. He was named the Yankees' first captain since Lou Gehrig.
| Who homered off of Boston's Tracy Stallard in 1961, to set what was then the major league record for home runs in a season? | Yankees - Red Sox: THE Rivalry
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Roger Maris. Maris hit his 61st home run on October 1, 1961, in Yankee Stadium. It was on the last day of the season, right before the Yankees won the World Series in 5 games over the Cincinnati Reds. Even though it had since been passed by three other players, for the rest of the century, his 61 homers were still the American League record. Yankee and Red Sox fans are well known to have numerous derogatory chants, that they regularly use against the other team. "Nomar's better", by Red Sox fans, and "1918", by Yankee fans, are among the few that are fit to print here.
| Who managed the Yankees to 8 pennants and 7 World Series victories before retiring, only to unretire to go to the Red Sox, and almost manage them to a pennant? | Yankees - Red Sox: THE Rivalry
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Joe McCarthy. McCarthy resigned from NY in 1946 for ill health, then went to Boston in 1948. He led the Red Sox to a first place tie with Cleveland, but Boston lost the one game playoff. The Red Sox appeared in one World Series in the 40s in 1946. But they lost in 7 games to the St. Louis Cardinals.
| Which Red Sox left fielder hit .406 in 1941, and won the Triple Crown in 1947, yet missed out on the Most Valuable Player Award both years, which went to Joe DiMaggio instead? | Yankees - Red Sox: THE Rivalry
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Ted Williams. Even though Williams hit over .400 in 1941, DiMaggio won the MVP award largely because of his 56 game hitting streak that season. In 1947 the award was just as controversial. Williams and DiMaggio were the dominant players of their era. DiMaggio also won the MVP in 1939. Williams hit .344 with 521 homers and 1,839 RBI's for his career, in spite of missing 5 seasons because of two wars. He won the MVP in 1946 and 1949. Many people call Williams the greatest hitter who ever lived.
Joe and Dom DiMaggio. Joe played centerfield for the Yankees from 1936 through 1951, missing 3 years because of WWII. Dom played centerfield for the Red Sox from 1940 through 1953, also missing 3 years for WWII. Joe was a Hall of Famer, hitting .325 for his career with 361 home runs. Dom was also a great player, hitting .298 and stealing 100 bases in his career, which was a lot for that time. One time Dom made a great running catch on a long drive hit by Joe. That evening, they went to dinner together, and Joe wouldn't talk to Dom.
| In 1923, the Yankees finally moved out of the Polo Grounds, which they had shared with the Giants, and moved into the brand new Yankee Stadium. What player hit the first ever home run there? | Yankees - Red Sox: THE Rivalry
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Babe Ruth. He hit the home run on April 18, in a 4-1 win over the Red Sox. The Yankees would go on to win their first ever World Series that year 4-2 over the Giants. They featured several players that they had aquired from Boston. This was during a stretch from 1921 through 1932, when the Yankees finished in first place 7 times, while the Red Sox finished in last place 9 times. That Ruth sale was certainly a one-sided deal.
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