All language subtitles for The.Comeback.2004.Boston.Red.Sox.S01E01.1080p.WEB.H264-GloriousMongoose

Fenway Park is eerily silent.

The Yankees... are...

nine outs and one win away from
another World Series appearance.

Just about everybody has left.

Too bad they didn't take
the Yankee bats with them.

High drive to deep right center.

Back by the triangle.

It's gone.

And the Yankees lead it 19-8.

Stop the bleeding.

Stop the bleeding is
right. Might need a tourniquet.

The Boston Red Sox are about to get
their asses kicked one more time.

The Yankees
have pounded their way

to a three-games-to-none
lead in this ALCS.

You're about to get swept.

No team in
baseball history has ever come

from a three-nothing
deficit to win a series,

so the Red Sox'll
have to beat history.

Really? We're just gonna be another in
the long line of teams that fall short?

Eighty-six years since
the Red Sox's last world championship.

All the
odds are against you, bro.

But this team ain't scared.

We're coming back.

That one is
back, and it may never come down!

This is 86 years of pain and
heartache for Red Sox fans.

Could have some
trouble here this afternoon.

Something that people call the
fiercest rivalry in all of sports.

Wasn't just the fanbases hated each other.
These teams really hated each other.

You can have Alex Rodriguez
or you can have Manny and Nomar.

Am I pissed? Am I still mad?

We got a deal.

Those were the most intense
games I've ever been a part of.

Play by Damon!

Schilling strikes him out.

Those two years, '03 and
'04, nothing like it.

Just tip my hat and call
the Yankees my daddy.

This is personal.

Big Papi! Big Papi!

We were like this one family.

Yeah!

I think this
is a lot more serious.

- The ball gets loose.
- Can you believe it?

Holy smokin' lizards.

I tip my hat to
all the people in New England.

The greatest
sports fans on Earth.

There it goes!
A long drive, if it stays fair.

Home run!

For the Red Sox, it
would be the fulfillment of a dream.

Boston is specifically and
uniquely personal. You know?

Everything's personal.

Yankees suck!
Yankees suck! Yankees suck!

What do you do if, uh, it's a
Yankee ball that comes over?

Over the... Over the
Green Monster here?

Oh, we're throwing it back
if we can. We're gonna try.

How uncomfortable do you think it'll
get in Fenway wearing that jersey?

Everybody's been really friendly.
'Cause I got the kid with me.

If it wasn't for the kid, I'd
probably get my ♪♪♪ kicked.

The rivalry
with Yankees, Red Sox,

the Yanks felt, "We're
a big deal to you,

but you're not that big a deal
to us. You haven't beat us."

It started with Ruth.
The Curse of the Bambino.

The rookie
named George Herman Ruth

is already Boston's leading
pitcher and World Series whiz.

They were the dominant team,
they win 5 of the first 15 World Series

ever played.

The New York team wins nothing.

And then in 1919,

the ownership sells him
for cash to New York.

Since 1918, you see,

the beloved Red Sox have
not won a World Series.

A curse, legend
says, inflicted on the Sox

when they traded away Babe Ruth.

The Yankees win 26 World Series
after Ruth is turned over there.

Yes, sir,
the Bombers did it again.

Five World Series in a row.

They made baseball history.

What a team!

Showtime
for Mr. October.

In full Reggie vision.

When you put the pinstripes on,

you're not just putting
a baseball uniform on.

You're wearing tradition,
and you're wearing pride.

Yankees-Red Sox has always been
called the greatest rivalry in sports.

Okay, let's be honest.

It was as one-sided as any
competition could ever be.

The Yankees are
champions of baseball!

This was a beatdown.

World champions!
Team of the decade!

Most successful
franchise of the century.

The Red Sox, they lost the
World Series seventh game

four times during this period.

I been a Red Sox
fan my whole fucking life.

'46, we lost that in seven.

'67, absolutely terrible loss.

Scott strikes out.
They're the new World Champions.

'75...

There it goes.
A long drive, if it stays fair.

Home run!

And I kid you not...

Cincinnati has won...

we blow Game 7.

Beating the Boston Red Sox.

Two out, two on,
two-nothing Boston, top of the seventh.

1978...

Red Sox-Yankees,
one game playoff at Fenway.

Pinstriper Bucky Dent
hits a three-run homer.

- It's gonna be out of here!
- Bucky fucking Dent.

Yankees win the pennant
and go on to win the World Series.

The Curse. It's fucking crazy.

It's terrible.

Welcome back
to Shea Stadium in New York.

1986, don't piss me off. I
don't want to get into this.

Both teams would be
a deserving World Champion.

But for the Red Sox, if
they should win tonight,

it would be the
fulfillment of a dream.

Roger Clemens is attempting
to clinch it for Boston tonight.

I started my
career here in Boston.

Got him.

Got him.

Got him on the corner. Four
strikeouts for Roger Clemens.

Game 6, I'm on fire.

Roger Clemens
has not allowed a hit.

After I came out of the
game, I was back in the locker room,

I've never seen a World Series
trophy, and it was there.

The, uh, champagne
was there uncorked.

The lockers had the
plastic in front of 'em.

You know, you just figure it was
gonna happen. I go, "We're winning."

They are ahead by
two runs in the bottom of the tenth

with two outs and nobody
on base in Game 6.

That thing's over.

Ninety-nine out of a hundred, 999
out of a thousand, that game's over.

Lined into left field.

Base hit for Carter, and
the Mets are still alive.

Curveball, and that's
gonna be hit to center.

And that's gonna be hit
into center field, base hit.

Here comes Carter to score.

And the tying run is at
third in Kevin Mitchell.

And it's gonna go
to the backstop.

Here comes Mitchell to
score the tying run.

And Ray Knight is
at second base.

A little roller up along first.

Behind the bag! It
gets through Buckner!

Here comes Knight,
and the Mets win it!

To this moment, that game is still...
It's Boston sports' Kennedy assassination.

Near misses.
Take you to the edge. Boom.

Lucy pulls the football away.

Here we are, here, and
we... we tolerate this,

and it's part of our passion.

We had the fans, we had the tradition,
we had the stories, we had the ballpark.

Everything except
the championships.

What has plagued the Red
Sox is not the supernatural.

It's the super obvious.

The Red Sox were a country club. They
weren't trying to win hard enough.

There was a feeling that the Red
Sox lacked a killer instinct.

They didn't have the killer instinct
to acquire players that they needed.

They didn't do the things that
you have to do to be a champion.

So it's a big deal... in 2001
when they're up for sale.

Here they come.
Here they come. Get on it.

It's a pleasure for me to
welcome John Henry and Tom Werner

and their team to their soon-to-be
home here at Fenway Park.

John Henry's group comes in,

and now it's like, "We're
just trying to win."

"What we were, we
will never be again."

That is the demarcating line.

This was going to have
meaning for your life, your legacy.

This seemed like an
epic quest, so to speak,

that the Red Sox had, for decades,
been losing to the Yankees.

And I was determined
to make changes.

The prior ownership just didn't really
focus on what does it take to win.

You know, paying attention to
what is, rather than hunches.

And paying attention
to the data, analytics.

So we needed a general
manager to run the team

in a way that
addressed those issues.

Baseball players
are a collection of traits.

They have foot speed, they have
ability to throw and field.

They have ability to
hit, hit with power.

What are these things worth?

Billy Beane looks at
the market and says,

"Well, some of these traits are
radically, radically overvalued."

"The market for just an
ability to get on base,

like walking a lot,
dramatically undervalued."

"Go buy that."

So it seems to me that
he is far more valuable,

if I listen to you, than
any player playing the game.

You put your finger on it. And
you know who figured that out?

The man who just bought the
Boston Red Sox, John Henry.

I thought Billy was far and away the
best general manager in baseball.

He gets on base. He's got
about a .380, .385 on base,

and, listen, that's
all you're looking for.

2002, I was the general
manager of the Oakland A's.

Then the next thing you
know, the Red Sox are calling

for permission to speak to you.

It seemed like a
great situation.

I knew John Henry.

And they had Theo
as an assistant GM.

So I sort of had a... I had a
built-in, you know, right-hand guy.

I was 28 years old,

and I'd only had one
year as an assistant GM.

This was a pretty ancient organization,
and it hadn't really been modernized.

We need to build this thing
from the bottom up. You know?

This is a new era of the Red Sox.
What better guy than... than Billy?

He was sort of the poster child

for this, like, next wave
of baseball thinking.

Eventually, we made a
deal. We opened champagne.

For 24 hours, me and Theo
are just going to town.

I mean, we're... we're
gonna reinvent the wheel.

I mean, we're going everything.
'Cause Theo's got this energy.

All of a sudden, it got into the night, I
must've been working 72 hours, no sleep,

and then it just kinda dawned on
me. The reality is, like, you know,

"Holy cow, I'm gonna be three
time zones away from my daughter."

You know? She was 12.

And it was really gonna
impact my personal life.

I called John Henry. I said, "Hey,
listen, I... I can't take this job."

He kinda didn't say
anything for a minute.

There's that little awkward silence
on the other end of the phone.

I said, "Theo's the smartest guy
in the room. You should hire Theo."

"He's got the edge, he's
got the leadership quality."

"He's also got...
He's from there."

I grew up about
a mile from Fenway Park.

I got my picture taken with
cardboard cutouts of Jim Rice

and Wade Boggs in the concourse.

Total dork move.

So I was Red Sox obsessed,
huge baseball fan.

Behind the bag!
It gets through Buckner!

And I'd spent my whole
life being a Red Sox fan,

and I thought I understood
some of the big factors at play

that kept the Sox from
realizing their potential.

Every organization that I
know has a general manager.

And this organization will...
will have a general manager.

Larry Lucchino
called me into the office

and the message
was basically like,

"Yeah, we've talked, and we just want
you to do it. We think you're ready."

I didn't feel mature enough
or emotionally ready for the job.

But I'm not stupid. Like,
"You're not turning this down."

We are here today to
make a... a very happy announcement.

And that is that Theo Epstein has
been named as the new, and youngest,

and number eleven general manager
of the, uh... of the Boston Red Sox.

Without further
ado, Theo Epstein.

- Good luck, man.
- Thank you.

Relative youth and relative
inexperience is only dangerous,

uh, when the person in question
thinks that he has all the answers.

I'm not s-standing here today

thinking or saying that I
have all the answers. I don't.

That said, I think our
short-term goal, make no mistake,

is to win, and win
a World Series.

Theo's like, you
know, 12 years old.

I mean, 28, whatever he
was, but this is nuts.

So you popped
the champagne for Billy.

Did you pop the
champagne for Theo?

No.

At 28, he's the
youngest GM in baseball history.

The old owners
would've never hired Theo Epstein.

Now he has the
mother of all jobs.

As a matter of fact,

some may say he had to ask his
mother if he could accept the job.

When it happened, it was,
like, jaw on the floor. Like...

Theo Epstein went from being, you know,
Theo Epstein, kid that I grew up with,

played high school baseball with, to
like a one-word name. Like, "Theo."

- Whose autograph did you just get?
- Um, she got Theo Epstein.

Oh, yeah? Let me see that.

You gotta remember, like,
I hadn't led anything in my life.

I hadn't managed a lemonade
stand. Like, nothing.

No business school,
no... no nothing.

The public narrative's gonna be,

"Who the fuck is this
kid to get this job?"

And I didn't want to fight that.

Like, "Whatever, let people
say whatever they want."

"We have a shit
ton of work to do."

And so our intense focus was on,
"How do we turn this organization around?"

"How do we change
who the Red Sox are?"

The Sox had a Hall
of Fame nucleus.

You had Pedro
Martínez on the mound,

one of the best pitchers
in baseball history.

Swing and a
miss! He struck him out!

Pedro
Martínez with 17 strikeouts.

- Man.
- You talk about domination.

I was the ace. I was the one
that... that needed to take charge

and be that leader for
the rest of the team.

But, uh, it... it bothered
me to always finish second.

Good enough to be second.

And... And that... that... that...
that wasn't playing well with me.

You had Jason.

Jason Varitek.

I wouldn't say I
didn't believe in The Curse.

Ballgame
over! The Yankees win!

We hadn't won. The only way to
make it go away is to finally win.

You had Manny Ramirez.

And he drives one
deep and far to center field.

Wells looking up.
It is well gone!

A solo home run
for Manny Ramirez!

You had Nomar Garciaparra.

When I see, like,
kids wearing a number five jersey,

I get such a kick out of it.

I couldn't believe somebody's gonna
buy a shirt with my name on it.

And in Boston he's so popular.
He's got the name, Nomar.

- Nomar!
- Nomar, he's one of my favorite players.

But baseball
is not like basketball.

It's not one or two star players,
and that's enough to win.

You need 25 guys.

Just using on-base percentage back then
was like a huge competitive advantage.

"Does this guy get on base?" That's
the stuff we were focused on.

We signed Bill Mueller
to a two-year deal.

And we traded for Jeremy Giambi.

Todd Walker hit
second that year.

And then Ortiz, obviously, was
sort of the capstone of that.

Trailing 3-2,
they've tied it at three.

Here it goes!

Way back! Number
one for David Ortiz!

Everything began very well.

I was supposed to be the everyday
first baseman over in Minnesota

until I broke my wrist.

I was out for a long time.

Then they don't play me.

I don't get it. It was terrible.

But I'm a warrior, man, and I...
I know what I... what I can do.

I remember going into this
one restaurant in the Dominican.

Pedro is sitting down with our agent, who
was the agent for him and for me also.

Pedro asked me how
things were doing.

And I told him, "Oh, the
Twins just released me."

He went like, "What?"

"Are they crazy?"

I said, "I'm going to get
you to Boston right now."

"You watch, I'm gonna
make a phone call."

Yeah, the Boston Red Sox still
owe me some money as a scout.

There are literally 12
people in the organization

who've taken credit
for signing David.

But finally, we got it done

and signed him for one
year for $1.25 million.

Give me some of the
sticky-icky-icky-icky.

There was just available talent
if you're willing to, you know,

overlook, um, aesthetics.

Hit on the
ground sharply beyond third,

gonna roll down the left
field line toward the corner.

Burrell picks it off the cutout,
gonna have a play at second.

Millar is out at second base.

He slid short of the bag...

I didn't have a
tool in the toolbox.

I couldn't run.

Couldn't throw.

Couldn't field. I
didn't have power.

And I was just a dude
that loved baseball.

Big smile...

I loved being at
the field. I really did.

Tip of the cap to the fans.

I love the competition,
I love the camaraderie,

and I love to rack.

Millar is one of those
guys that they all love in the clubhouse.

In '02, the Marlins, they
sell my contract to Japan,

the Chunichi Dragons.

I have no idea what's going on.

We sign this deal,

my wife and I go down
to a local tattoo parlor

in Beaumont, Texas.

Why not go get a tattoo with my
name in Japanese on her back?

So we did that.

Might have had a couple
cocktails to celebrate.

We were stunned. Why
are they releasing him?

Millar keeps on raking it.

He was a super popular
teammate, an emerging leader.

Perfect fit for our clubhouse.

And a guy who could rake.

But there was this understanding

that if a team was
selling a player to Japan,

you didn't get in
the way of that.

My dad's advice to me when I
got the job was, "Be bold."

And that... I know it sounds corny,
but that was resonating in my head.

We're like, you know...

We haven't won the
World Series in a long time.

We really need good hitters.

Um, especially guys with,
you know, good personalities.

We just said, like, "Fuck it."

"We're gonna claim... We're
gonna claim this guy."

It's hard to underscore just
how against the establishment it was

for us to claim him back then.

That was unheard of.

And Theo got a lot
of heat for that.

The Chunichi
Dragons were pissed off.

The Florida Marlins
were pissed off.

And Kevin Millar was kind
of excited, but confused,

and didn't know what
the hell was going on.

It got done,

and I agreed to a two-year,
$5.6-million deal with the Red Sox.

And that night, after,
I got in my truck

and drove straight from Beaumont,
Texas, to Fort Myers, Florida.

It feels great.

When I got to the locker room
this morning and put on the...

basically not jersey, put on a
T-shirt, uh, it was wonderful.

You're doing the right
thing. You're here early,

as are... seems like all the
first basemen are here early.

Yeah, it's like
a little tryout over here.

Lots to be said about who's
gonna play first base.

But, I mean, um, you know,
you got the DH, you got, uh...

We play outfield. So it's
just gonna be a lot of fun.

You're bringing in five
to six non-tendered players.

Theo's already getting heat.
Like, "Who are these guys?"

Mueller, Millar, Ortiz, Giambi.

Who are these
guys? Remember the movie?

"Who are those guys?"

I don't know who these
guys are, Millar, Mueller.

This guy, Millar, they talked
about for, like, two months. He...

"Please don't go to Japan."

I mean, who is this guy?

We ended up having like
five guys for three spots,

depending how you look at it.
That was part of our strategy.

It was hard on Grady.

I was familiar with Theo.

This guy was very impressive,
but it was all a business.

It was all about
dollars and cents.

I wasn't a... a lot into
the analytics just yet.

It's like when my wife
and I go to the beach...

and we see this lady walk in
front of us with a bikini on.

She shows me a lot, but she
don't show me everything.

And that's the way... about
the way I felt about analytics.

I was always kind of operating from my
gut and my own personal experiences,

and I don't think that's
really what he wanted.

This was a really good team.

There was a game plan, paying
attention to important data.

But could never understand much
of Grady's managerial philosophy

when it came to strategy.

He was just
like one of these characters

out of some sort
of baseball movie.

My perception of Grady Little

was that, at some point, he
was gonna make a huge mistake.

I guess I wasn't
their cup of tea.

Opening day for
Boston, albeit on the road.

Showtime, showtime.

We'll get it on.

Starting on
opening day in Tampa Bay...

The Devil Rays carry this
one into the bottom of the ninth inning,

trailing the Red Sox, 4-1.

We got smoked.

Grady Little
heading to the mound.

Here's the pitch.

Swing and a fly ball
to right field, deep.

Back goes Nixon, back to the
warning track at the fence.

It's gone!

A three-run walk-off home run,

and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays
have shocked the Red Sox

in the opening game of the
season. The Devil Rays win it...

The Red Sox do not have it.

Do you honestly think
the Red Sox can catch the Yankees?

It's two weeks into the season!

We lose, but... we
understood what we needed to do.

Do you want to win a division? You
want to get to the World Series?

You kinda put the
Yankees on that pedestal,

'cause if you wanted to win, you're
gonna have to go through New York.

Four games
currently separate these two,

but could it be déjà
vu all over again?

The Bo-Sox looking to avoid becoming
the first Major League team in history

to finish second to the same
opponent six straight years.

We came in to
play the Yankees in Fenway.

And the Yankees win the game.

They crushed us.

So the next morning, I passed
this gentleman on the street,

he says, "Hang in there, Grady.
We'll get 'em next year."

And we got 145 games
left in the season.

You like the
way the lineup looks?

Sometimes I felt like they
were a little bit too negative.

You don't exist in
opposition to the Yankees.

It's like, you're trying
to build a foundation,

and trying to build a relentless
lineup to win a World Series.

We're live. Millar, you're live.

You're live!

That season, the Red Sox started
with Jeremy Giambi as the DH.

They liked the fact
that he walked a lot.

David Ortiz is the
pinch hitter here for Giambi.

It was late April.
We had a 14-inning game in Anaheim.

Drives one
deep into left center.

Garret Anderson way back
there. This ball is gone!

And Papi hit one to left center,

game-winning home run.

When you go oppo in
Anaheim at night...

it's cool, thick air, and it's
a long way to hit a baseball.

It's like, "That's not normal."

Like, that's... Not
everybody can do that.

I'll never forget. On
the plane, he wanted to be traded.

He wanted to be traded because
he wasn't playing every day.

Definitely, I was focused on
getting the opportunity to play.

'Cause I know what I
was capable of doing.

I just don't want to go
through the same thing

that I was going in Minnesota.

The power that
this young man Ortiz had

was head and shoulders
above Giambi.

Giambi had a great knowledge
of the strike zone.

But there was a gap. David
was looking different.

The one thing that I
can tell you about my boy Theo

is that I called his
ass out into his office

like a month and a half
after the season began.

And I told him, "You
either trade me,

release me, or play me."

Did he tell you about that?

Like, he didn't demand to be
traded or anything like that.

But he just said,
like, he needs to play.

We went to New York,

and they gave me the green
light to play every day.

And I was feeling comfortable.

I was feeling good.

Ortiz, a big
hulking lefty hitter.

More of a line drive hitter.

And the breaking ball
is in for a strike.

He was still Ortiz in
May, but I tell you what.

By July, mm, Papi was his name.

Here's the 1-2.
There's a fly ball to right field.

Way back there! And there
it goes, a home run.

Way back in the bleachers.

It was a fucking
bomb, all right?

It was a fucking monster bomb.

Here comes the
two-one. There's a high pop-up.

Into right field.

Back near the wall.
That's more than a pop-up.

That's a home run
for David Ortiz.

The ball just kept going
and going and going.

I'm Papi, man. What...
What is wrong with you?

Ortiz became a killer.

The Red Sox hit
seven homers on the day,

the most ever surrendered
by the Yankees in one game.

They beat up on us. Took no mercy,
and, uh, the good part about it

is we start at zero-zero
in the morning.

The Red Sox begin the day
trailing the Yankees by three games

in the American League East.

Their hitting has been
nothing short of impressive.

Roger Clemens now makes
his way out to the hill.

The Red Sox
didn't want to sign me back.

"Wished me well" in the
twilight of my career.

It was a damn long twilight.

In New York,

it's get to the World Series
and win the World Series,

or it's a failure.

The Red Sox, they had a great
lineup, a powerful lineup.

Kevin Millar...

And these guys had a
campfire going on the plate.

I mean, their arms were
in the strike zone.

They... They weren't moving.

Regardless, yeah,
I pitch inside.

And mentally, I'm gonna
fucking crush you.

Millar, a very good hitter,
playing first and DH and thriving.

The 0-1. Hit him!

He drills me, up and in.

I don't know where it hit
him. I guess on the arm or the hand.

I get drilled by Clemens.

Pedro Martínez comes over to me
and he's like, "Who do you want?"

I was like...

"Man, that's a weird question."

Who is Pedro
Martínez gonna drill?

Jeter?

It was Soriano.

Great.

Retaliation.

Do not hit my players.

Let's go, Yankees!

And the pitch is...

I don't know if it hit
him or hit his bat.

It popped in the air and
fell behind the plate.

Soriano just
leaned into a fastball.

The main object was Jeter.

It hit him.

So Pedro's gonna
come inside today.

Pedro's gotten two Yankee hands
at the beginning of this game.

Send them both in the
same ambulance to the hospital.

I was pretty much the shield
for, uh, every one of my players.

Unless you rein Pedro in,

we could have some trouble
here this afternoon.

Remember.

Remember.

If you do one to
me, remember it.

You know, he
tried to intimidate.

And that was Pedro's way.

His one target,
really, was Posada.

I think Pedro knew Jorge well enough
to know that it can get under his skin.

Bases loaded, one out.

At third is the winning run.

Hit on the ground to second, fumbled,
and the winning run is gonna score!

And the Yankees can
claim the victory.

Ballgame over. Yankees win.

The Yankees win!

The Red Sox lost 2-1,

so the Yankee lead
right now is four games.

The Curse of the
Bambino since 1918.

Existing, uh, Boston fans, they don't know
what it's like to be on a winning club.

We're different here. We know what
it's like, you know what I'm saying?

Twenty-six world
titles to prove it.

The Bo-Sox
will either make up ground

or bury themselves even further.

That Curse was just lingering.

And every article, it had, "The
Red Sox haven't won in 85 years."

They know that they finished
in second place the last five years.

They're currently in
second place again.

The Yankees know how to
win. They expect to win.

Of course, the media,
they frustrate you sometimes

with the silly questions
and the same questions

and their beliefs about
curses and stuff like that.

You still haven't
accomplished what you want to?

Oh, you wanna pull
that out, huh? Uh...

Somebody had to put
a face on the quotes.

In Boston, you're
constantly watching the star,

and the star in Boston, actually,
in a lot of ways, was Nomar.

They could always
find Nomar with a microphone.

But Nomar didn't really like it.

What was our record against
the Yankees last year?

- Ten to nine.
- Ten to nine?

So we were pretty
much even, right?

We really don't have
to worry about them.

We really gotta worry
about the other, you know,

teams in the league, because
we're pretty much even.

You think about it, we're pretty
much even with the Yankees.

So why am I conc... You know what?
I don't concern myself with them.

So... anything else?

When you have silence

or you have a bunch of
introverted players,

inevitably what happens

is that vacuum gets filled
with negative narratives,

and so thank God
for Kevin Millar.

Whoa, yeah!

He never has an
unspoken thought.

It's the Sox. We're going four
in a row. Right off the bat.

They're getting ready to
lose six, the Mariners.

Lost 2 out of 3 in Toronto,
getting ready to lose 4 to the Sox.

I remember calling these media
guys, I'm like, "Hey, bro."

"Y'all need to get over here. You
guys are miserable in Boston."

"The media is miserable."

"We're not the team in 1918."

"We don't even know what's
going on. We're ball players."

Like, "You guys
need to cowboy up."

And I remember somebody coming over to me,
and he goes, "What does 'cowboy up' mean?"

I'm like, "I don't know, man."

He borrowed it. You know,
that's definitely a... a rodeo term.

If you get thrown to the dirt, you
know, you... you... you get up.

You get up. You get back
on the horse, and you go.

What does "cowboy
up" mean? Do you know?

Uh, I don't have the foggiest,
but it's catching on good,

so I think everybody's
gonna use the term.

We embraced it.

Frigging cowboy up, son.

There's a method
to Millar's madness.

After the "cowboy
up" thing started,

the only thing that
mattered was those 25 guys.

What didn't matter anymore
was the Curse of the Bambino.

Like, we'd come into town, we'd
hit like ten homers in a series.

be
way out of here!

We'd hit 15 doubles.
We'd score a... a shitload of runs.

We went on to set the all-time
record for slugging percentage,

all-time record for total
bases. Like, we fucking raked.

You combine that type of relentless
lineup with a very shaky bullpen,

and it made for
incredible drama.

We had a
horrible bullpen in 2003.

We signed a... a bunch of guys,

thinking we could, like,
mix and match them.

And, um, it went off
the rails immediately.

We had some
pieces in that bullpen,

but none of them were,
like, the closer.

That's not a good thing.

Our bullpen
would, like, blow saves.

Into center
field, and it's a base hit.

He will score the go-ahead run.

We'd come back and win the game.

Deep to left, way back!

Meanwhile, we'd make three errors the
first night, four errors the second.

We couldn't throw the ball
around the infield some nights.

Like, we were very defensively
challenged at times.

There were all these comebacks,
all these late inning swings.

And meanwhile, you've
got this group of guys

that, like, love each
other, having a ton of fun,

going out all the time together.

That's what you call
Johnny Nitro right there.

- Is the "Nitro" back?
- You should have seen those cards.

Nitro has been my nickname
for a long time now.

Help me out here.

We're going to Baltimore,

and we show up to this... bar.

Uh, and they're checking
IDs and the guy's like,

"What team do you play for
now?" And I was like, "Boston."

He goes, "We never see
Boston guys out, ever."

I was like, "Well,
times are changing."

Come on, man!

Back in the older days, you'd
get maybe ten guys to go.

Then all of a sudden, we started
averaging 17 to dinner, then 19.

Then by the end of it, we
were getting everybody to go.

And so, I mean, those are
the times that you bond.

It's the airplane
rides, it's the dinners.

Waiting for your bluffs to come
through. You got one, you got two.

You've got... You've gotta
use them sometime, huh?

Instead of, like, defining ourselves
vis-à-vis the Yankees artificially

and, like, trying to copy them
and trying to compete with them,

it started to happen organically

that we regained our identity
in opposition to them.

They threw it back.

They were so buttoned up.

Boom!

We were not buttoned up at all.

Kentucky Fried Chicken,
how can I help you?

Papi and I, still to this
day, we see each other,

it's "Boom, boom, boom-boom,
boom-boom, boom, boom, hey!"

I mean, the Manny was, "Hey!"

I mean, there was all these
massive personalities.

Man, we gonna get the edge...

We used to hug and laugh and...
and act like we didn't give a shit.

But we really did

because we were serious
about the business.

Yankees win!

The Yankees win!

The Yankees have all
their ducks in a row.

They're getting healthy,
they're hitting better,

the starting pitching
has been terrific.

So right now, everything is
pointing in the Yankees' direction.

The Yankees won
the division that year.

But we were the competition.

We had to show them
that we got thunder too.

Yet another chapter
in the story of the 2003 Red Sox

as they clinch the
American League wild card.

To all these fans, it
is time to cowboy up.

It just shows
the true character of this team.

We've... We've fought the whole
year to get to this point.

This is the whole team
effort, all 25 of us.

Our doggone team,

when it turned the month of September,
we started playing... we started...

- You're getting drunk!
- Live TV, ladies and gentlemen.

You can't be dry!

You have to check this.
I didn't witness this in person.

After they were qualified
for the playoffs,

some of the craziness
started to come out.

The legend of... of guys going
down to the baseball tavern

and standing on the bar,
and partying with the fans.

I don't recall.

I don't remember right offhand.

Yeah, I don't even
remember that.

Coolest thing I think that's
ever been done, to this day.

I don't think there's a team that's
done anything cooler than we did.

We clinched,

and we went full
spikes, full uni.

Click, click, click,
click, click, click.

Running down the street
with about 16, 17 of us,

across the street,

and jump into a bar that
they had to close the doors

because all of the
fans were coming in.

Went behind the bar,

started passing out
free beers to everybody.

We are just literally just
firing beers everywhere.

And then somebody had a phone,

and they're like, "Dude, the bus
is leaving in like 35 minutes."

"You derelicts gotta get back."

And that's us. I mean, just
the... just a bunch of goofballs.

Don't know if that's what...
how the Yankees celebrate,

but that's how we did.

Bases loaded,
one-two pitch. Strike three called!

And I gotta believe
they're celebrating in New York.

This is a series Yankee fans
want, the series Boston fans want.

What's up, man? Kevin.
Good to meet you.

Have to tell you, to be honest,

anything with Boston,
I can't deal with, man.

Hey, honestly, is it
Sox Nation this year?

- I hope not.
- Between us, though? A little bit?

I was hoping it would never
happen in my lifetime.

When you're at the top of the mountain,
people are looking to knock you off.

Anytime a team
comes in to play us,

they're always gonna put
on their Sunday best.

In Oakland, I
grabbed the clippers.

Shaved everybody's head.

Let's go, Nixon!

And now we're
rolling into Yankee Stadium

looking like a bunch of sperms at
that time, I'll be honest with you.

A bunch... About 25 sperms
just bobbing our heads.

Now, Grady, goddamn!

He said it, and we all did it.

But you're a rock star, bro.

Man, I remember when
I had hair like that.

You gotta have guys out
there that loosen you up

and, uh, make you laugh, you know,
even when you don't wanna laugh.

Show you the fat guy
stretch right here.

Mirabelli, Trot Nixon.

I was the loud, funny guy.

Oh, my God!

Salad! Mix in a salad, please!

You kinda gotta get dudes
to buy into your bullshit.

And it starts with trust.

We're a... Hey! We're a
close-knit team now, guys.

Come on over here, Sox!

I remember Torre looking over, and
we're stretching right by the cages.

We have cut-off shirts, heads
are shaved, no hats are on.

We're spitting tobacco.

We got handlebars.

And the Yankees are
clean-shaven, good-looking, rich,

with a lot of rings.

Cowboy up!

Sox!

This is the Sox!
This is the Sox!

The house that Ruth
built, Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.

Tim Wakefield will be floating
that knuckleball here tonight

in the Bronx.

Now with his catcher,
Mirabelli, behind the plate.

His knuckleball
is nasty all game.

Every time I caught a ball,
it was a small victory.

I would imagine, guys, it's
a surprise somewhat for Wakefield

where the ball ends up
after he lets it go.

He threw a pitch
that if he doesn't have it,

then he doesn't have a whole lot
of other things to fall back on.

Look at these guys
diving out of the way of strikes.

They had a long,
grinding type of lineup.

But Wake dominated that lineup.

And the Red
Sox have taken Game 1.

Tim Wakefield going six-plus innings,
allowing two runs on two hits.

Got off to a great start,
won Game 1. Wake was awesome.

Game 2, Pettitte turned
it around and dominated.

Pettitte out of
the stretch, here's the pitch.

Swung on and missed,
strike three.

A strong start from Pettitte.

It ends a 6-2 final
here at Yankee Stadium.

This series is
tied up at a game apiece.

Games 3, 4, and 5
now shift to Boston.

It's Pedro Martínez against the
former Red Sox Roger Clemens.

Derek, how fun is it to be
out there with 56,000 people chanting,

"We want Pedro"?

Yeah, it's... 56,000
people aren't facing him.

So...

But it's fun. I mean, the
fans make the atmosphere.

ALCS Game 3, folks.
Pedro versus Clemens.

Red Sox, Yankees, folks.

We come home to Game 3,
and it was absolute circus.

Pedro versus Clemens was billed

as, like, the game of
the century by The Globe.

The feel around the ballpark that day
was different than almost any other.

Yankees suck. Let's go.

It was on fire.

Yankees suck!
Yankees suck! Yankees suck!

- Boo!
- Yeah, Red Sox, baby!

Anybody selling one ticket?
I'm looking for one ticket.

With this lineup and this balance
that we present to the Rocket,

one through nine,

and you got Pedro Martínez,
who loves the center stage,

you tell me where the money's going
at... at... the Mirage and the Bellagio.

You got to be going with the Sox!

You got to be
going with the Sox!

This is the Sox Nation,
2003, and screw that curse!

I had pitched
in plenty of big games

leading up there over my career.

And I'd stayed away
from the noise.

But here at Fenway, they're on
top of you. You can hear 'em.

Roger!

Roger!

Roger Clemens back
on the mound at Fenway Park,

where it all started for him
many, many, many years ago.

Now here he is having won 310...

But still, when you get to the
main mound and it's game on,

you know, it was, you
know, all business.

Here's the stretch.
The pitch, splitter.

Strike three called
on the inside corner.

And a high slider swung on
and missed. He struck him out.

Roger's throwing
the ball very, very well.

The Yankees
into the fourth inning.

Pedro Martínez trots
out to the mound.

I'm here to pick
up my teammates, my fan base,

show the world what
Boston is all about.

That's what made baseball
interesting to me.

It was just the...
Ah, that edge!

Have that competitive edge.

We're seeing a
lot of off-speed pitches

thrown early in this game by
Pedro Martínez for some reason.

And a curve inside.

So Posada draws a lead-off walk
seeing nothing but curveballs.

Pedro Martínez is not looking
like himself out there right now.

I was all beat up,

and it's the first
time, probably I...

I'll admit to it.

Uh, I didn't have my stuff.

They were making it tough on me.

Nobody on, left-handed hitter.

And he rips one down the
right field line, deep.

That one's gonna go over
the head of Trot Nixon.

And it bounces up
into the seats.

And Matsui has put
the Yankees ahead 3-2.

I'm already in trouble. I'm
already bleeding in the fourth inning.

So I wanna get out of it.

You know, a lot of times, you
go out there without your best stuff,

you're in trouble.

But he is so competitive that he
finds a way to get the job done.

Right-fielder, number 28.

It's 3-2 here
in the top of the fourth.

And Garcia, who knocked in their first
run with a base hit, will be the batter.

That one's over his
head. Garcia didn't like it.

And Garcia is not happy, and
Varitek's talking to him.

I'm not 100%.

And I'm trying to make a
statement with that fastball.

And I just yanked it.

Mmm, pure and
simple, I yanked it.

It shouldn't be a warning.

Pedro Martínez should
be out of the ballgame.

You see Don
Zimmer yelling at Martínez.

Nobody wants to hit you.

I can get you out.

I don't need to hit you.

Karim Garcia, that's not
the guy I'm gonna go after

to load the bases
with nobody out.

Garcia was hit by the pitch.

Double play ball.

They got 'em both. A
run scores, it's 4-2.

And Garcia is furious.

After he's... he... he went over

to... to try to take
out the second baseman,

I got... I got upset.

Martínez now pointing.
That's the wrong thing to do.

And that's when
Posada popped up.

- Posada's pointing at Martínez.
- He's yelling at Pedro.

Yankees suck!

Posada just...
mentioned my mom in a bad way.

And when I looked at him, I told
him, "You better remember that."

With two outs, usually
I'll come sit on the dugout,

getting ready to go back out.

Normally, guys, our everyday
players, won't sit next to me.

But I'll have a guy that got hit, and
I can tell he's wanting to talk to me.

He's sitting next to
me. I go, "What's up?"

And they're kinda mumbling.

I said, "You got a problem
with this guy out there?"

He goes, "Yeah, that's
the third time he got me."

I said, "Well, I'll handle it."

The entire level of intensity
has been raised another notch

as Clemens goes back to work.

Manny knew he was gonna... he was
gonna eat one before it was over.

- Now Ramirez.
- That ball's not even close.

You talk about
looking for a reason.

Absolutely.

When the dugouts emptied,

and I just happened to look
left, and I see Zimmer.

You know, he wasn't gonna
have a fight go on over there,

and he was gonna be over here.

As simple as that.

I see him kinda coming over.

But I'm thinking he's
probably gonna approach me

and talk to me about something.

Just go, "What?"

"What?"

That's when I heard pretty
much exactly what Posada said.

But from Zimmer's mouth.

He bull rushed me and...
and... and he threw a jab.

Oh my goodness.

Don Zimmer and Pedro Martínez.

It was just natural instincts.

We're trying to
be as fair as we can up here,

but it's very difficult to
be fair in this situation.

Martínez has incited so much.

That was absolutely awful.

It was, uh, unfortunate.

But that's it. That's
part of the game too.

That's part of the game.

I can't put all the
blame on Pedro Martínez on that.

I feel for Don Zimmer, but he
came out and had the left hand up.

It was a horrible visual, and it
certainly ratcheted things up,

uh, in a big way.

And the New York
Yankees have taken Game 3.

And this will definitely go down
as an intense and memorable day

in the long, serious rivalry
between the Red Sox and the Yankees.

Yankees suck! Yankees suck!

We're down one game to two,

and, uh, I think we've, uh...

we've upgraded it from
a battle to a war.

Red Sox even the series tonight.

Tim Wakefield with both
wins, Game 1 and Game 4.

The Yankees have
taken a 3-2 lead in the series.

The Red Sox come
from behind to tie the series up

at three games apiece.
Game 7 is tomorrow night.

Pedro Martínez, dead or alive!

Preferably dead.

Ever since 1918.

They ain't won a World Series
since, and they ain't gonna.

You know, the place on 161st Street
and River Avenue, it intimidated.

Asshole! Asshole!

You'll hear, like, "F
you, you piece of..."

You turn around, it's like
an eight, nine-year-old kid.

And his dad's like,
"Yeah, fuck you!"

Asshole! Asshole!

It was a tough place to win.

It's a battle
between hope and expectation.

The people throughout
New England,

we have hope that the Red Sox
will finally defeat the Yankees.

Pinstripers, they expect to win.

Well, what a perfect
way to finish off this ALCS.

Pedro Martínez, with all that he
brings with him from Saturday's start,

coming here to the Bronx to try to
get the Red Sox past the Yankees

and into the World Series.

On the other side,
you've got Roger Clemens,

who made his name with
the Boston Red Sox,

trying to stop them in their tracks and
get the Yankees to the Fall Classic.

Roger Clemens was one of
the first people I got to meet

when I signed with the Red Sox.

I need to hunt what I
need to hunt up there.

Hunt for that fastball,
and don't miss it.

Nixon into right center
field. Did he get enough?

Yes, he did. The Red
Sox strike first.

Trot Nixon, I threw him
everything, he hit it out.

It's Game 7.

Roger Clemens has started
the game, he had nothing.

Guys are hitting homers.

Millar hits one to left field.

We are in the
greatest game ever.

Turned this thing into the
greatest rivalry going in sports.

Salaries, monies,

carsies, rims and tiresies,

suit and ties,
hundred-dollar bills

mean nothing at that moment

because it was about trying
to break this so-called curse.

The question was, "Did we have the
balls to beat the Yankees one time?"

They got
Pedro Martínez pitching.

He was lights-out.

New York had it with me, and
I'd had it with New York.

Pedro! Pedro! Pedro!

Another 3-2 pitch.

Another strikeout for
Martínez, four on the night.

Into right center field.

Damon back, the track, the wall.

It is gone for another Giambi home run.

It's 4-2 in the seventh.

The seventh
was very taxing for him.

He had to work real hard
to get out of that inning.

Another hit.

The tying runs are on in
the seventh for New York.

And now it's Soriano with
runners at first and second,

4-2 Boston, bottom
of the seventh.

For the fourth time tonight,
Soriano has struck out.

It's the
playoffs, and Pedro's going,

and there's that
95-pitch indicator.

Like most pitchers,

he wasn't quite as good
third time through the order,

he wasn't quite as
good after 95 pitches.

In the course of my
discussions with Grady,

I just say, like, "Pedro
gives us 95 great pitches."

You know, "Who are
we gonna turn to?"

Did Theo
talk to you before the game

about, you know, "After 95
pitches, we should take Pedro out"?

No, they never talked
to me about anything.

We all knew, like, Pedro,
once he went to the sky...

that's
it, he's done.

I was finished after seven.

I was told I was finished.

And then Grady asked
me for Nick Johnson.

And then, the rest of the
bullpen will be behind me.

What was the
conversation with Pedro?

What do you say to him?

Being 20-something years ago,
I cannot remember exactly.

Bottom of the
eighth, 5-2 Boston.

We're shocked when Pedro
went back out there.

Johnson pops up.

Garciaparra waits for it.

I got Nick Johnson
out. And I looked over,

kind of glimpsed
over to the dugout.

Nobody's coming out.

I'm thinking I'm coming out,

and the rest of the
bullpen is gonna... But no.

There is action for
the Red Sox in their bullpen

in case Martínez stumbles.

It's hard to speak
about being in the zone.

We were there. Alan
and I were there.

I turn to Alan, I
go, "Dude, you okay?"

He goes, "I'm all right. You?" I
said, "Yeah, I think I'm okay."

You know, and then we turn and
watch, you know, it all unfold.

The Red Sox,
five defensive outs away

from heading to
the World Series.

And with one out here in the
bottom of the eighth inning,

he works to Derek Jeter.

Jeter 0 for 3 in this game. He's
fouled out, grounded out, struck out.

Jeter flies into
right. Nixon back.

On the run, it's over his head.

Jeter will dig for second.

If you're a Yankee,

there is this idea

that it all dates back to Ruth.

The Yankees aren't finished yet.

Jeter trying to get something going in
the bottom of the eighth, with one out.

Here's Bernie Williams.

This is this wave of inevitability
that, "Here it starts, here it starts."

Into center field.
Damon will play it on a hop.

Jeter will come to the plate.

It's a two-run game.

This place is now gone.

It is rocking.

And Pedro's still on the mound.

Grady Little out of the dugout.

Are you asking
anything or telling him something

when you go to the mound?

Mostly you're asking.

You're not really telling
anything. I... I don't know.

He plain and simple
just asked me,

"Do you think you have enough
bullets to get Matsui?"

You don't... You don't
ask a wounded warrior.

Of course I'm gonna say yes.

Are you
looking at the pitch count?

No, I'm looking
at what he's got.

No pitch count?

I knew about where it was,

but I knew what he was... he
was showing on the mound too.

A lot of my... my
own gut feel, and...

He just saw what
probably nobody else was seeing.

That I had enough
left in the tank.

Uh, I didn't feel,
obviously, that way.

With 115 pitches on the night,

Grady Little is gonna
stick with his starter.

What were you thinking?

"What the fuck are we doing?"

So Grady Little is gonna
dance with the one that brung him.

Ripped into the
right field corner, fair.

Bernie Williams will dig.
It's a ground rule double.

But the tying runs are
at second and third,

with one out here in the eighth.

This is the
most blatant situation

for a second guess
in this series.

Whether to bring Embree in
to pitch to Matsui or not.

This one decision to
leave Pedro in there,

I got some bad results on.

But there's a lot of people
knew what to do after the fact.

I think I turned to
Larry just prior to that

and said, "Can we fire him now,

or do we have to wait
till the end of the game?"

One hundred nineteen pitches.

And he stays out for Posada.

That one at-bat
with Posada, I wanted.

That one, I wasn't
willing to give up.

This is mine. This is personal.

A flare into center field.

Out is Walker, won't get it.

The base running of Matsui,

he comes home.

Nobody covers second.

Tie game.

I mean, I was out there
to leave it all for the team,

and I did that.

Failure is part of the game.

I hated it, but I
had to live with it.

That's what
happens at Yankee games.

And it's always been
there with that team.

And now in a tie game,

the Yankees bring
in Mariano Rivera.

There's two for-sure
things in life, death and taxes.

You can add Mariano Rivera to
that. That's how good Mo was.

Good pitch.

In under the hands of
Garciaparra, one and two.

Mo is a bad man.

The best.

Impeccable command.

Garciaparra takes strike three,
and there's one out in the tenth.

It's at this point we're thinking
Mariano can go about eight innings.

His stuff that
night was different.

Strike one on Millar.

Knuckleballer Tim
Wakefield getting loose.

It's up to Millar and Rivera.

A popup.

Jeter...

Still tied 5-5.

We're in the bottom of the 10th
inning. It is midnight in the Bronx.

Tim Wakefield comes in.
They couldn't hit him.

To first.

Millar takes it,
steps for the out.

Wakey, every single
game, put on his spikes.

Every game.

If somebody called his name,

he wanted to make sure he was ready
to go out there and... and pitch.

Shallow left.
Manny Ramirez in.

Mueller out, and it's Ramirez.

He was gonna
be the MVP of that series.

Good chance he's
MVP of that series.

It was a huge
honor for me to... to be able

to... to throw my spikes on

and... and... and be
down in the bullpen,

put on that Red Sox uniform.

I'm proud of every one
of those guys in there.

The depth, the character, the
heart, the guts of our ball club.

I said, "Let's go, we gotta bear
down, and you gotta win tonight."

Well, we're tied at
five as we go to the bottom of the 11th.

Here's Aaron Boone to lead off.

Boone hits it to deep left!

That might send the
Yankees to the World Series.

Boone, a hero in Game 7.

Oh, Wakey.

I think the thought was like he
let the whole Red Sox Nation down.

That last pitch, you know?

Are you going to be remembered
for that the rest of your career?

Man, yeah, it was tough on him.

Oh, my God. I
got down to the clubhouse,

and it was one of the worst scenes,
you know, I'd seen in baseball.

Wake, it's not
your fault, brother.

Really?

Seriously.

- All right?
- All right.

You're just thinking,
you can't believe it's over

and these fuckers did it again.

Really?

We were just gonna be another in the
long line of teams that falls short

and lose... and
lose to the Yankees?

You know, we're...
we're brothers in here.

We're... We're, uh, family for...
It's going on nine months now.

And, you know, it hurts.
It really does. It hurts.

When it ended and it
ended in that way,

and Yankee Stadium
is erupting...

And just getting
destroyed by Yankee fans.

Asshole! Asshole!

I'll fucking kill you!

We got on the bus. We
got some middle fingers.

You love that rivalry,

but you wanna jump out there
and eat everybody's face off.

I was sitting over there
tonight, and like Derek told me,

the ghosts will show up eventually,
and... and they did, man.

Whoo!

It pissed you off.

Why am I not surprised?
Number one, baby!

1918!

This is Yankees-Sox.

And this is when the rivalry
started. It was gonna get real.