Revisiting Pedro Martinez Throwing Don Zimmer to the Ground in 2003 Red Sox-Yankees Brawl

Pedro Martinez threw Don Zimmer to the ground in a 2003 Red Sox-Yankees brawl.
Pedro Martinez threw Don Zimmer to the ground in a 2003 Red Sox-Yankees brawl. / Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images

The 2003 ALCS between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox is remembered for Aaron Boone's walk-off in Game 7 to send the Yankees to the World Series.

Yet one moment from Game 3 has gone down as one of the more infamous moments in the heated rivalry, too.

The game got intense when Pedro Martinez threw a pitch right at Karim Garcia in the top of the fourth inning. The bottom of the inning saw Manny Ramirez overreact to a pitch from Roger Clemens that was not close to hitting him. That led to the benches clearing and 72-year-old Yankees coach Don Zimmer charging at Martinez. The pitcher proceeded to throw the coach straight to the ground.

Baseball fights have been around since the game began, yet Martinez went way too far. There was a different feel to this fight once Zimmer was thrown down. Everyone seemed to stop and focus on what was important, which was the health of a 72-year-old who'd just crashed to the ground.

Zimmer did charge Martinez, but this was still obviously an ugly and dangerous sight. Martinez was lucky the coach did not get seriously injured. The Yankees went on to win the game and the series.

The Red Sox, meanwhile, had to wait one more year to get revenge in a proper manner.