Round One: The Yankees Beat the Red Sox in the 1999 ALCS

The New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox four games to one in the 1999 ALCS, the first time the two rivals had ever met in the postseason. Bernie Williams won Game 1 with a walk-off homer in the 10th, Orlando Hernandez took series MVP, and the Yanks clinched their 36th pennant at Fenway on October 18, 1999.

Eighty years of hating each other, and it took until 1999 for these two to finally meet in October. When they did, it went about how the previous 80 years had gone.

Finally, October

The 1999 Yankees were the defending champs, and they'd swept Texas in the ALDS. Boston had gotten there the hard way, coming back from 0-2 down to beat Cleveland, and they had the one thing that scared me: Pedro Martinez, who'd just gone 23-4 with a 2.07 ERA and 313 strikeouts and won the Cy Young unanimously.

The Yankees also had Roger Clemens, who'd spent 13 years in Boston before the Red Sox let him walk. The club had traded for him that February. You can guess how Fenway felt about that.

Game 1: Bernie Walks It Off

It started badly. Derek Jeter's wild throw fed a two-run Boston first inning, and Jose Offerman's infield single made it 3-0 in the second off El Duque. Scott Brosius got two back right away with a homer off surprise starter Kent Mercker, and Jeter made up for his throw with a game-tying single off Derek Lowe in the seventh.

Then came the first blown call of the series. Offerman led off the 10th with a single against Mariano Rivera, and John Valentin grounded to Brosius, who flipped to Chuck Knoblauch at second. Knoblauch dropped it. Umpire Rick Reed called Offerman out anyway, and Brian Daubach hit into an inning-ending double play.

I thought he had possession before he dropped the ball. After we went in and looked at the tape, we decided that wasn't the case.

(Nice of him to check.)

Bernie Williams led off the bottom of the 10th against Rod Beck, took the second pitch, and hit it over the wall in dead center. Yankees 4, Red Sox 3.

Game 2: Paulie in the Seventh

David Cone struck out nine over seven innings, but Nomar Garciaparra's two-run homer in the fifth put Boston up 2-1, erasing a Tino Martinez solo shot. In the seventh, Ricky Ledee walked, moved up on a bunt and scored on Knoblauch's double, which also chased Ramon Martinez. Paul O'Neill singled off Rheal Cormier to bring Knoblauch home. Mo got the save. Yankees 3-2, and the series headed to Fenway with the Yanks up two games.

Game 3: Pedro vs. Clemens (Sort Of)

This was the one everybody wanted, and it turned out to be a mismatch.

Offerman tripled on Clemens's second pitch. Valentin homered over the Monster. Clemens didn't make it out of the third inning, and he walked off charged with five runs in two-plus innings while Fenway enjoyed every second of it. Valentin finished with five RBI. Red Sox 13, Yankees 1.

Pedro, meanwhile, threw seven shutout innings, allowed two hits and struck out 12. I've tried to find something nice to say about the Yankees' at-bats that night. There isn't anything.

It was the only game the Yankees lost that entire October.

Game 4: The Phantom Tag and the Bottles

Darryl Strawberry homered off the Pesky Pole in the first, and Andy Pettitte gave up just two earned runs over 7 1/3 innings. The Yanks led 3-2 in the bottom of the eighth when Offerman, on first with one out, ran into the series' second famous blown call. Valentin grounded to Knoblauch, who swiped at Offerman and missed him clean. Umpire Tim Tschida called him out anyway and Knoblauch threw to first for the double play. Tschida later admitted he got it wrong.

The Yankees put up six in the ninth, capped by Ledee's pinch-hit grand slam off Beck. 9-2.

In the bottom half, Dale Scott called Garciaparra out on a bang-bang play at first. Jimy Williams came out, threw his hat and got ejected, and the Fenway crowd started throwing bottles onto the field. Tino and the rest of the Yankees ducked into the dugout until things calmed down. (Fenway didn't take this series well.)

Game 5: El Duque Closes It

Knoblauch led off Game 5 with a single, and Jeter hit a Mercker pitch over the wall in center. 2-0 after one. El Duque carried a shutout into the eighth, and Jason Varitek's homer was all Boston got. Yankees 6, Red Sox 1. Pennant No. 36.

Hernandez won series MVP with a 1.80 ERA and 13 strikeouts over 15 innings in two starts. Five days later he won Game 1 of the 1999 World Series in Atlanta, and the Yanks swept the Braves for title No. 25.

What It Started

Nobody knew it in 1999, but this was the opening act. Four years later they met again, and Aaron Boone ended it in the 11th inning of Game 7. The year after that, Boston did the thing I'm not going to talk about here.

But the first time they met in October, the Red Sox got Pedro's one great night and the Yankees got everything else.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won the 1999 ALCS between the Yankees and Red Sox?

The Yankees won four games to one. They took Games 1 and 2 at Yankee Stadium, lost Game 3 at Fenway, then won Games 4 and 5 in Boston, clinching the pennant with a 6-1 win on October 18, 1999.

Was the 1999 ALCS the first time the Yankees and Red Sox met in the playoffs?

Yes. Despite a rivalry dating back to the early 1900s, the 1999 ALCS was the first postseason series between the two clubs. They met again in the 2003 and 2004 ALCS.

Who was the MVP of the 1999 ALCS?

Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez. He started Games 1 and 5 and posted a 1.80 ERA with 13 strikeouts over 15 innings.

What happened when Pedro Martinez faced Roger Clemens in the 1999 ALCS?

Pedro won easily. In Game 3 at Fenway on October 16, 1999, he threw seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out 12, while Clemens gave up five runs and didn't make it out of the third. Boston won 13-1, the Yankees' only loss of the 1999 postseason.