The 2003 American League Championship Series was played between Major League Baseball teams the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees from 8 October to 16 October 2003.
This series delivered yet another blow to Red Sox fans' hopes of winning a World Series for the first time since 1918. The series seemed evenly matched, with the lead being held first by the Red Sox, then by the Yankees. The Sox forced the series to a full seven games, with the seventh game setting another major league record for the rivalry between the two teams: it marked the first time two major league teams have played more than 25 games against each other over the course of a single season. The Red Sox also set an ALCS record with 12 home runs in the series.
The Red Sox held a 5-2 lead in game 7, behind Sox ace Pedro Martinez. Sox manager Grady Little left Martinez in for the 8th inning, despite signs of Martinez tiring, and having two lights-out relievers - Scott Williamson and Mike Timlin - in the bullpen. Martinez collapsed, and the Yankees tied the game at 5-5. The Yankees then won it in the 11th inning behind a solo home run by Aaron Boone to advance to the World Series.
The loss was crushing for Red Sox fans, who widely blamed Little for leaving Martinez in when all indications suggested he should be removed. Little defended his move by saying that he felt a tired Martinez was a better option than anyone else on the team. Little was fired as Sox manager following the postseason.
Until the final game of the pennant race, baseball fans had been hoping for a World Series that would have truly written a page in the history of the game: a showdown between the Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs, one of only two major league teams to have played for a longer period of time without winning the World Series (the other is the Chicago White Sox). The Cubs had also reached the 2003 National League Championship Series, and they also battled a full seven games; but as with the Red Sox, they lost their pennant race, and the 2003 World Series was played between the Yankees and the Florida Marlins.
