MLB playoffs: 10 best moments from Red Sox-Yankees rivalry - ESPN

It started with Babe Ruth. Or maybe with Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams. It increased in ferocity with Thurman Munson and Carlton Fisk and reached its apex with Derek Jeter and David Ortiz. The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox have long been adversaries, although the rivalry has admittedly cooled off from that pinnacle of animosity 21 years ago.

For the sixth time, the Yankees and Red Sox are meeting in the postseason as they square off in the wild-card series, a best-of-three with all games at Yankee Stadium. The Red Sox won the season series, 9 to 4, but the Yankees have been on a roll since mid-August. As the series kicks off, let's look at the 10 times when the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry was at its hottest.

What happened: The Yankees beat the Red Sox in the 2003 ALCS, winning Game 7 on Aaron Boone's walk-off home run in the 11th inning.

Before we get to Game 7, let's backtrack a moment. By 2003, the Red Sox and Yankees played 19 regular-season games a year in MLB's unbalanced schedule — and each one felt like its own little mini war. It's difficult to describe the emotions of these games in this era — not just from the players, but the desperation among Red Sox fans intertwined with the winning arrogance of Yankees fans.

Game 3 was a Martinez-Clemens showdown at Fenway Park. In the fourth inning, Pedro Martinez threw a pitch behind Karim Garcia's head. In the bottom of the inning, Roger Clemens threw up-and-in to Manny Ramirez, which set off a benches-clearing brawl and featured the ignominious moment when Martinez grabbed 72-year-old Yankees coach Don Zimmer by the head and tossed him to the ground. In the ninth inning, a Fenway groundskeeper got into a scuffle in the bullpen with Garcia and Yankees reliever Jeff