The Boston Red Sox celebrated the 20th anniversary of the 2004 World Series by participating in a three-part Netflix series called "The Comeback."
The name of the documentary series comes from Boston's 0-3 comeback over their arch rival New York Yankees in the ALCS that year. Dan Shaughnessy of The Boston Globe revealed the series was supposed to feature even more of a Yankees focus, and it doesn't because of peak New York arrogance.
In his 2024 World Series preview, Shaughnessy reported that the initial idea for Netflix's baseball documentary was supposed to be called "Superpowers," and feature the height of the Red Sox/Yankees rivalry in the 2003-04 seasons. New York declined to participate by saying, "we don't have rivals."
That may have been a valid statement 20 years ago, but the Yankees' unchecked superiority over the rest of MLB has come crashing down in the new millennium. New York won 26 World Series between 1923-2000, but have won only once in the 23 years since. The Yankees are in the middle of their best chance at a title since 2003 when they lost to the Marlins — or in 2004 when they were just one game from the Fall Classic before the Red Sox stepped in.
For Red Sox fans, "The Comeback" is a worthy way to mark the 20th anniversary of the 2004 World Series champions. https://t.co/d4xrgZb7GI
— masslivesports (@masslivesports) October 25, 2024
Yankees refused to participate in rivalry docuseries with the Red Sox
Joe Torre was the only member of the 2004 Yankees squad to interview for "The Comeback." New York got its own, brief moment in the sun with a one-episode appearance in a new Amazon Prime docuseries called "Game 7," which profiles win-or-go-home games across multiple sports. The Yankees' episode centers on Aaron Boone's walk-off homer that sent his squad to the 2003 World Series.
The Red Sox/Yankees rivalry is the best in baseball, if not professional sports, regardless of whether the Yankees organization will admit it. A docuseries of the 2003-04 seasons could've been great if New York could put aside its pride for long enough to accept the proposal. In fairness, Boston was the only one of the two teams that secured a title in either of those years, so the series would've been a better watch for Sox fans, anyway.