October 10, 2004

Highlights of the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry

Some of the highlights in the rivalry between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees:

Jan. 3, 1920-- Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sells Babe Ruth to the Yankees, two years after Ruth helped Boston win its last World Series title.

May 30, 1938-- Red Sox player-manager Joe Cronin and New York outfielder Jake Powell fight on the field and beneath the stands before a Yankee Stadium record crowd of 83,533. Both are fined and suspended for 10 days.

1941-- Ted Williams bats .406 for the Red Sox, the last .400 season in the major leagues. But Joe DiMaggio's record 56-game hitting streak carries him past Williams for the AL MVP Award. The Yankees win their fifth World Series title in six years.

Oct. 1-2, 1949-- An epic pennant race between the teams comes down to the last weekend of the season, when New York beats Boston at Yankee Stadium on the final two days to win the AL by one game. The Yankees go on to the first of a record five consecutive World Series championships.

May 24, 1952-- Jimmy Piersall and New York's Billy Martin exchange punches in the tunnel beneath the stands at Fenway Park.

June 21, 1967-- Another fight, this one in the Bronx, after Thad Tillotson hit Boston's Joe Foy with a pitch and Jim Lonborg plunked Tillotson.

Aug. 1, 1973-- Thurman Munson crashes into Boston's Carlton Fisk at home plate, sparking a brawl between the two feisty catchers at Fenway Park.

May 20, 1976-- Lou Piniella barrels into Fisk at the plate in Yankee Stadium, and Red Sox pitcher Bill Lee cracks his collarbone in the subsequent fight.

Oct. 2, 1978-- Light-hitting shortstop Bucky Dent's pop fly clears the Green Monster, sending the Yankees to a comeback victory in a one-game playoff for the AL East crown after they trailed Boston by 14 games on July 19.

Oct. 16, 1999-- Pedro Martinez and the Red Sox rout their former ace, Roger Clemens, 13-1 at Fenway Park to win Game 3 of the AL championship series. New York won the series 4-1.

Oct. 11, 2003-- Yankees bench coach and former Red Sox manager Don Zimmer lunges at Martinez, who throws the 73-year-old coach to the ground during a brawl in Game 3 of the ALCS. Later in the game, New York reliever Jeff Nelson and right fielder Karim Garcia get into a fight with a Fenway Park groundskeeper after he cheered for Boston in the Yankees' bullpen.

Oct. 16, 2003-- The Yankees rally to tie Game 7 of the ALCS after Red Sox manager Grady Little decides not to remove a tiring Martinez in the eighth inning. Slumping third baseman Aaron Boone homers off Tim Wakefield in the 11th to send the Yankees to the World Series.

Dec. 18, 2003-- The Red Sox fail to complete a trade with Texas for star shortstop Alex Rodriguez after the players' union vetoes a proposal to restructure his record $252 million, 10-year contract.

Feb. 16, 2004-- After Boone injures his left knee playing pickup basketball on Jan. 16, the Yankees trade Alfonso Soriano to Texas for Rodriguez, who is shifted to third base.

July 24, 2004-- Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek and Rodriguez exchange heated words after A-Rod is hit by a pitch. Varitek shoves Rodriguez in the face, inciting a brawl at Fenway, and the inspired Red Sox rally to win the game on Bill Mueller's ninth-inning homer off Mariano Rivera. It was at least the seventh time the teams have brawled in their long-running feud.

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Two people electrocuted at Rivera's Panama home

PANAMA CITY, Panama -- New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera was headed back to Panama on Sunday, a day after two of his wife's relatives were electrocuted while cleaning the pool at his home.

Victor Dario Avila, a cousin of Rivera's wife, Clara, and his 14-year-old son were killed Saturday, Rivera's cousin, Irma Rivera, told The Associated Press.

The teenager, also named Victor Dario Avila, apparently touched an electrical wire while cleaning the pool in Puerto Caimito, 40 miles east of Panama City. His father died trying to save him, Irma Rivera said.

It was not immediately clear when Rivera would return to New York, where the Yankees open the AL championship series Tuesday night against the Boston Red Sox.

Yankees manager Joe Torre was expected to address the matter during Monday's workout at Yankee Stadium. New York advanced by beating Minnesota 6-5 in 11 innings Saturday, with Rivera getting the win.

Avila was a fisherman who also cleaned and maintained Rivera's home. Clara Rivera was traveling to Panama following the accident, family members said.

``Everyone is sad,'' Irma Rivera said. ``Victor was a good man.''

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