Pedro Martínez throws Don Zimmer to the ground, a breakdown

May 1, 2020 2.0M views 4:30
MLB 2020

What Happened

In the fourth inning of Game 3 of the 2003 American League Championship Series, tensions boil over between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. The series is tied at two games apiece and the stakes are high as these bitter rivals battle for a spot in the World Series. The Yankees' Jorge Posada leads off the inning with a walk against Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martínez. The two players have a history of bad blood and it's clear the animosity is still present. Martínez then surrenders a double to Nick Johnson, allowing Posada to score and putting the Yankees on the board. Hideki Matsui follows with an RBI single and the Yankees have taken a 3-0 lead. Martínez is visibly frustrated and when Karim García steps to the plate, the veteran right-hander appears to throw at him intentionally. García takes exception and the two players engage in a heated stare-down at the mound. Martínez is able to induce a double-play groundout from García, but the tension continues to escalate. When García slides hard into second base, Yankees catcher Jorge Posada takes offense and confronts Martínez. "You're next," Posada is said to have told the Red Sox ace, according to Martínez's later recollection. At this point, the situation boils over and chaos ensues. Veteran Red Sox slugger David Ortiz tries to hold back Posada, but the two teams spill onto the field as a full-fledged brawl breaks out. In the midst of the melee, the 72-year-old Don Zimmer, a Yankees coach, rushes towards Martínez and is promptly thrown to the ground by the dominant right-hander. "What happened? Pedro hated him," Zimmer later says, recounting the incident. Martínez explains that Zimmer had also made comments about his mother, prompting the aggressive response. The umpires ultimately decide not to eject any players and the game resumes. Tensions remain high and later in the game, another altercation breaks out in the bullpen, but again, no one is ejected. The dramatic events of this game would become a defining moment in the storied Yankees-Red Sox rivalry, with Martínez's handling of the 72-year-old Zimmer drawing widespread criticism and debate. The intensity and animosity between these two teams is on full display, setting the stage for an epic clash with a World Series berth on the line.

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the 2003 ALCS were tied at two Posada

gets walked him and Pedro never liked

each other and then Nick Johnson

invented the little thumb ring that

batters where he rips a double but