For nearly a century, the Yankees took top billing from the Red Sox. Then David Ortiz showed up. Now, as he plays his final series against the Yanks, we revisit his impact against his rival.
IT WAS THE era of The Superpowers, Boston and New York, when the entire baseball world watched. From 2003 to 2007, the Red Sox and Yankees played 94 times, including 14 epic playoff games. The Yankees won 49 times, the Red Sox 45. They met in consecutive classics in the 2003 and 2004 American League Championship Series, each losing a series they probably should have won, with the Red Sox doing the impossible, coming back from a 3-0 deficit in 2004.