History of the Greatest Rivalry in Baseball: Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees

The Red Sox and Yankees have one of the fiercest and most storied rivalries in all of sports dating back to the early 1900s.

The Early Days

The MLB as we know it was founded in 1903 after the National League Agreement was signed. The National League (NL) and the newly founded American League (AL) signed the agreement which recognized each other as equal partners and subsequently created the World Series.

In the first ever edition of the World Series in 1903, the Boston Red Sox (the Boston Americans until 1908) defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-3 in a best-of-nine series. Boston lost three of the first four games, but tailed off four consecutive wins on the back of their pitcher, Cy Young.

After changing their name to the Red Sox, Boston won four more World Series' (1912, 1915, 1916, 1918). The legendary Babe Ruth played for the Sox during their last three World Series titles, winning all three of the games that he pitched with a 0.87 ERA.

The New York Yankees were founded in 1903 when the NL and AL merged, but would not win a World Series until after the infamous move that sparked the rivalry between the two franchises.

The Curse of the Bambino

106 years ago, on December 26, 1919, The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees would strike a deal that drastically altered the outcomes of the both franchises. Immediately igniting a rivalry that has lasted over a century.

The Red Sox made an immediately regrettable decision to sell American baseball hero, sports and culture icon, and national treasure, Babe Ruth, to the New York Yankees.

Ruth and the Red Sox finished sixth in the AL in 1919, but Ruth was aware of his value and asked for double his $27,000 contract. The Red Sox were unwilling to pay him what he desired so when the Yankees came knocking, they were unable to say no to the $100,000 offer that New York laid on the table.

Known as "The Great Bambino," Ruth was the undisputed greatest baseball player of his time. What was unknown at the time was how consequential the deal would be for both ball clubs.

The Sox would be immediately transported into an era of slim hopes and disappointment after winning five of the first 15 World Series. For the Yankees on the other hand, it wielded a prosperous era and one of the most dominant runs in American sports history.

After winning three World Series' with Boston, Babe Ruth would go on to win four with New York - including the franchises first in 1923. Ruth would have seven hits in 19 at-bats, hit three home runs, and score eight times in the 1923 series which drove the dagger that much deeper into Boston's chest.

Even after Ruth left the team, the Yankees would win another 22 World Series before the close of the century.

As high as New York climbed, Boston fell that much deeper.

In 1946 the Sox would make their way back to the World Series for the first time, but would fall 4-3 to the St. Louis Cardinals. Nothing went Boston's way after the sale of The Great Bambino, and fans would turn to witchcraft as an explanation.

The Red Sox would lose in their only other appearances in the World Series in the 20th century (1967, 1975, and 1986). The speculation around a curse placed on the team grew and was eventually coined as the "Curse of the Bambino."

In the the 1986 World Series, the Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner saw a ground ball roll right between his legs that cost his team Game 6, and eventually the entire series. Fans were devasted and believed that only supernatural powers - or a curse - could be the cause of such a devastating error.

That is when Boston would do everything in it's power to 'reverse the curse,' and even attempted to unearth a piano the Babe Ruth allegedly threw into a pond after a party in 1918.

Reversing the Curse (2004)

After the turn of the century, New York and Boston both fielded excellent teams, and would meet in the 2003 American League Championship Series (ALCS). It was the best chance Boston had to reverse the curse since 1986, but Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera and the Yanks would hold off the Sox in Game 7 to advance to the World Series.

That would not be it for the teams however, and they would meet again in the ALCS the following year in 2004.

Boston would fall to New York in the first three games of the series and find themselves in a deep hole with the curse looming above their heads. The Sox did not give up and David Ortiz would hit a walk-off home run in the 12th inning of Game 4 to extend the series. Ortiz was the hero again in Game 5 with a walk-off single in the 14th inning this time.

Game 6 was then the infamous 'bloody sock' game from Curt Schilling, who pitched through an ankle injury which bled through his sock. The blood turned his white sock to red, and he was able to will his team to a victory - tying the series at three games a piece.

With a curse to break in Game 7, the Red Sox would defeat the Yankees 10-3. After winning four consecutive games to beat their arch rivals, Boston would reach their first World Series since 1986. This was the first time an MLB team had ever won a 7-game series after going down 3-0.

The 2004 ALCS had it all, and Boston was riding high entering the World Series.

The Red Sox would end up sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals in four games to win their first World Series, and finally lift the curse that loomed over them for 86 years.

Where it stands

Ever since the 2004 ALCS, the Red Sox have had the advantage over the Yankees in the Postseason. Boston is 3-2 in playoff series' against the Yankees, and have an 8-5 record against them in those games. Boston has also won four World Series' (2004, 2007, 2013, 2018) to the Yankees' one (2009).

Enroute to their 2018 World Series, the Sox triumphed over the Yanks in the ALDS. They won that series three games to one.

The Curse of the Bambino is now a thing of the past, but Boston and New York's rivalry is still as heated as ever.

In October of 2025, New York earned the latest victory, defeating Boston in the Wild Card round of the 2025 MLB Playoffs. The series was tied 1-1, but the Yankees and rookie pitcher Cam Schlittler had 12 strikeouts in Game 3, and shutout the Sox 4-0.

The Yankees are looking to go back to the World Series series this year after falling to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2024.

Red Sox vs. Yankees: By the Numbers

All-time Regular Season Record: Yankees 1,249 - Red Sox 1,049

All-Time Playoff Record Yankees, 14-13

All-Time Playoff Series Record: Yankees, 4-3

World Series Victories: Yankees, 27 (1st) - Red Sox, 9 (tied-3rd)

Red Sox Largest Victory: 17-1 (May 28, 2005), 19-3 (July 25, 2019)

Yankees Largest Victory: 22-1 (June 19, 2000)

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