Farewell to The Stadium

Well, this looks like it will be it for the Red Sox and Yankees at The Stadium. I'm not saying either of them is out of the playoff picture, but it remains extremely unlikely that both teams will jump Tampa Bay before the end of the season.

It's been a tremendous rivalry in a tremendous venue. From Babe Ruth christening the stadium, to Roger Marris' 61st and Craig Nettles taking a cheap shot on Bill Lee, there have been some great moments. But I'm only 22, so I want to take you through some of MY greatest Red Sox/Yankees memories in the house that Ruth built.

5. Sept. 10, 1999 - Pedro Martinez gives up a home run, but faces just one over the minimum in a complete game one-hitter. He also struck out 17 in what was the exclamation point in what should have been an MVP season.

4. May 28, 2000 - Pedro was on the mound again in this classic duel with Roger Clemens. Two of the greatest pitchers in their time delivered absolute gems in this game, with neither budging until young Trot Nixon broke the deadlock in the top of the 9th.

3. July 1, 2004 - Yeah the Sox lost this classic shootout in 13 innings, but wow, what a hell of a game it was. It had all the theatrics, Jeter in the stands, Nomar in the dugout (alone), Pokey Reese making an equally impressive (yet hardly recognized) catch as Jeter as he flew into the stands, a would-be game-winning homer by Manny and a walkoff hit by the Yankees. It was also a great Red Sox moment because it proved that Nomar had to go and the Sox needed to bond together. 

2. Game 7, 2003 ALCS - OK, they can't all be positive. This was our Bucky "f-ing" Dent moment. It happened though, and it was a legendary game that ended a legendary series. And it wasn't that bad in hindsight because...

1. Games 6 and 7, 2004 ALCS - The bloody sock, Mark Bellhorn's resurrection from the dead, Ortiz in the clutch again, Damon's 2 HRs, Keith Foulke sacrificing the rest of his career, the curse reversed. It's hard to beat this one.

Honorable mention

Sept. 18, 1993 - This one is personal for me because it's the moment when I realized I truly hated the Yankees (I was seven). Mike Stanley popped out to left for the final out of a Red Sox 3-1 win...but no! Turns out, a fan had run onto the field before the pitch was thrown and an umpire had called timeout. Stanley had a second chance, and the Yankees came back for a 4-3 win. The Yankees truly are the Devil.