In 2004, MLB postseason history changed forever.
Up to that point, no team had been able to force a Game 7 after losing the first three games of a best-of-seven matchup, let alone win it.
But the Boston Red Sox were destiny’s team that year.
The New York Yankees had won the first three games in convincing fashion: two in New York and one in Boston.
Enter Game 4.
The two squads were tied in the bottom of the 12th inning, but the Red Sox’s two best hitters were up: Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz.
Against new pitcher Paul Quantrill, Ramirez led things off with a single, and then Ortiz did this:
“@DavidOrtiz’s ALCS Game 4 walk-off home run on this date in 2004 sparked the greatest comeback in #postseason history,” MLB Vault tweeted.
.@DavidOrtiz’s ALCS Game 4 walk-off home run on this date in 2004 sparked the greatest comeback in #postseason history. pic.twitter.com/7ERJ2WdCs7
— MLB Vault (@MLBVault) October 17, 2023
A long drive to right field that left the park gave the Red Sox their first victory in the 2004 ALCS, on this day but 19 years ago.
That home run ended up sparking the greatest comeback in the history of American professional sports.
Boston went on to win the next three games: Game 5 actually was another walk-off event by Ortiz, this time with a single in the 14th inning.
The Red Sox went to the Big Apple still down 3-2, but took Game 6 with a 4-2 score and then blew out the Yankees 10-3 in the winner-take-all Game 7.
Boston then swept the St. Louis Cardinals to win its first World Series since 1918, and the whole city entered a state of frenzy that lasted for weeks.
To this date, fans of both teams still talk about the 2004 ALCS.
It’s one of those things that is hard to forget in a rivalry.
NEXT: David Ortiz Shares A Tribute To Former Red Sox Teammate
