After they staved off a sweep in Game 4 of the World Series, the New York Yankees had a golden chance to clear their name as 21st-century playoff chokers.
In 2004, one of the most memorable comebacks in baseball history was pulled off against them — during the heat of the teams' bitter rivalry, no less. The Boston Red Sox's resurgence after going 0-3 against New York in the ALCS 20 years ago eventually led to their first World Series victory in 86 years and a new era of success for the organization.
The Yankees could've broken out after their 11-4 rout of the Los Angeles Dodgers in World Series Game 4, although it would've been exceedingly difficult because they would've had to win four straight games. They had the superior rotation, their bullpen was less tired, and their sluggers had awoken. They stayed locked in well into Game 5 — Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisholm collected back-to-back homers in the first inning, Alex Verdugo clocked an RBI in the next and Giancarlo Stanton blasted another home run in the third frame.
The game began with hope for New York fans, but it was shattered soon after. A series of defensive miscues led to a five-run inning for the Dodgers, which tied the game and set LA's superior bullpen up to take the win. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts turned to Walker Buehler to finish the game, and he did so with a commanding performance. He sat all three batters he faced in quick succession to end the Yankees' comeback attempt and leave the 2004 Red Sox as the comeback kings.
The Yankees couldn't finish their chance to steal the most memorable comeback in baseball history from the 2004 Red Sox
"We had to rewrite history, and I didn't want history to be rewritten again in the World Series."
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) October 31, 2024
20 years after Dave Roberts and the Red Sox came back from down 3-0 against the Yankees, he was determined for it to not happen again. pic.twitter.com/FcVrspgJdM
Roberts, arguably the catalyst of Boston's comeback two decades ago, drew comparisons to the Red Sox as soon as his squad collected the 3-0 lead. After his World Series win, MLB Network questioned Roberts about being on the other side of a 0-3 advantage, and he admitted he didn't want to see history repeat itself in the Yankees' favor on an even bigger stage.
"I didn't want that to bleed into our guys, I just wanted to kinda keep the focus and stay hungry," the skipper said. "Because those Yankees a little too excited and lax and taking it for granted that it'd never been done in history. We had to rewrite history, and I didn't want history to be rewritten again in the World Series."
Roberts helped save the Red Sox when they were moments from defeat in the 2004 ALCS and he preserved their comeback as one of the most legendary in MLB history. Surely the Yankees would've loved to reclaim that title for themselves, especially because it would've been a fitting 20th-anniversary celebration in their eyes.