Last Updated: April 19th, 2024 by Jake Cain
Picture it: fall in New England, and Fenway’s stands are a sea of Red Sox red and Yankee blue—a classic showdown in the making. That’s the setting we found ourselves in during the 2003 ALCS, where every pitch was loaded with more drama than my aunt’s Thanksgiving dinner.
We’ve all seen the clip—a fastball from Pedro Martinez sails behind Karim Garcia’s head, and suddenly we’re in the middle of a baseball soap opera. McCarver and Buck are up in the booth, their voices sounding like disappointed parents watching their kids act like fools as the fight unfolds.
Fast-forward a few innings, and Don Zimmer, the Yankees’ bench coach with more baseball tales than a tavern on Lansdowne Street, is making a beeline for Pedro. Zimmer clearly lunges at Pedro and tries to grab/hit him. Pedro sidesteps and guides Zimmer to the Fenway lawn, and just like that, it’s the tussle heard ’round the world.
Now, let’s call a time-out and look at the replay above.
The media painted Pedro as the bad guy, but hold on—wasn’t it Zimmer who came out swinging, figuratively speaking? Being a baseball fan and something of an armchair umpire, I have to say, the guy was just reacting. Think about it: if someone heads your way with that look in their eye, aren’t you going to sidestep and protect yourself?
Baseball’s a game, sure, but it’s also a high-stakes gig where emotions run hotter than my grill on the Fourth of July. Zimmer had spunk—I’ll give him that—but on that day, Pedro was the matador to Zimmer’s bull. It was a snapshot, a moment out of time, and yeah, it looked bad for Pedro. But wasn’t he just caught in a rundown between self-defense and public perception?
After the game, Zimmer was patched up and chuckling, proving he’s tougher than a two-dollar steak and old-school cool. Pedro, meanwhile, was left to explain that this wasn’t a throwdown challenge but a reflex no different than dodging a runaway fastball.
How do you see it?