NEW YORK YANKEES-BOSTON RED SOX RIVALRY
Ask any baseball fan about the greatest game or the greatest player ever and there is a chance they might give a wrong answer. But ask him about the greatest rivalry of all time, and there is absolutely no chance that he would fumble. The answer would most certainly be Red Sox vs. New York Yankees. This is not the case with just big fans of baseball; almost everyone who has ever lived in the United States knows there is stiff competition between the baseball teams from Boston and New York City. But it is unlikely that everyone would be aware of the root causes of this rivalry.
Though they know it has something to do with baseball's greatest player ever, Babe Ruth, but what exactly happened back in 1920 is something very few modern baseball-lovers have tried to discover. Boston residents would certainly not like to find out the truth, as it might give them a good reason to hate Harry Frazee, the man responsible for series of losses encountered by Boston Red Sox since 1918.
But it is important to know what exactly was that one thing that gave birth to this rivalry. This is because on the surface, Red Sox is no match for the America's strongest baseball team, Yankees. As TIM SULLIVAN of The Cincinnati Enquirer (1999) writes, "The Red Sox are to the Yankees what anguish is to achievement; what disappointment is to dominance; what bugs are to windshields."
The enduring rivalry between these teams began in 1920 when Harry Frazee, the 'unlucky' owner of Red Sox, sold Babe Ruth to New York Yankees for $100,000. This was a huge amount, which Harry Frazee wanted to utilize to fund his theatrical venture. This was the biggest managerial blunder of all times in the baseball's long exciting history. Frazee would have never taken this step if he knew that his team would never again win World Series while the New York Yankees would win 24 championships. Babe Ruth must have advised Harry Frazee against this decision because upon his refusal to comply, he responded with ferocious hitting in next season. He broke his own record by scoring 59 home runs in 1921 and 60 in 1927. This kind of response by Babe Ruth initiated the greatest baseball rivalry and balance of power shifted in favor of New York Yankees for an indefinite period. This is now known as the Curse of the Bambino that has badly affected the Red Sox performance and fans are keenly awaiting a strong comeback 84 years after the team won its last major championship.
Since that fateful Bambino trade, New York Yankees has maintained its domination in the field of baseball. Not only do they play skillfully, they also have the right attitude towards the game. Apart from that they have the psychological edge over Red Sox that is backed by a wonderful record. A rivalry, which was initiated by Babe Ruth, was gave an enduring touch by other great players including Bucky Dent whose home run hit in 1978 occupies a major place in the successful history of Yankees.
BOB HERTZEL (1993) comments on the rivalry between two teams and explains how it intensified over the years:
Its roots are entrenched in the history of baseball, all the way back to the day the Boston Red Sox sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees, creating a rivalry that has endured for 70 years. It grew in the 1940s as the DiMaggio brothers competed against one another and as Joe D. And Ted Williams became the game's most prominent players. The rivalry reached a climax in 1941 when Williams hit.406 and DiMaggio batted safely in 56 consecutive games. In the 1950s they fought on. The intensity was best captured, perhaps, on the night of Sept. 28, 1951, when Allie Reynolds was pitching a no-hitter against Boston and needed to retire Williams for the final out. He got Williams to hit a foul pop that was dropped by Yankee catcher Yogi Berra. Given a reprieve, everyone assumed Williams would get a hit but, instead, he gave Berra a second chance at a foul pop and this time Berra put a stranglehold not only on the baseball but on the Yankees' domination of the Red Sox."
This strong rivalry has led to undesirable fan behavior on the field. Players often face problems from the fans of the rival team as Don Zimmer recalls. Zimmer now a major part of Yankees was the coach of Red Sox when Buck...
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