More Like an Eighth-Inning Stretch

The series that produced the game that produced the decision that produced the reaction that turned Grady Little’s life upside down determined the 2003 American League championship.

The Boston Red Sox appeared on the verge of advancing to the World Series for the first time since 1986 when David Ortiz homered in the top of the eighth inning of Game 7 against the New York Yankees, extending their lead to 5-2.

Starter Pedro Martinez had been solid through seven innings, but he had thrown 101 pitches, and when he put on his jacket and hugged teammates in the dugout after the seventh, it seemed to indicate he would be replaced.

It was an easy assumption to make. That season opponents batted .370 against Martinez after he had thrown 100 pitches. And relievers Alan Embree, Mike Timlin and Scott Williamson had been excellent in the series, giving up one run and four hits and striking out 24 in 16 1/3 innings.

But Martinez trotted to the mound to begin the eighth. Trouble began after Nick Johnson popped up for the first out. Derek Jeter doubled and Bernie Williams singled, with Jeter scoring to cut the lead to two.

Little went to the mound. Embree and Timlin stopped throwing in the bullpen, anticipating that one of them would be summoned. Yet Little returned to the dugout, and the ball remained with Martinez.

After the game, Little described his conversation with his pitcher: “When I went to the mound to talk to him, he wanted to stay in there and get the job done. He’s the man we all wanted in there.”

Hideki Matsui doubled, sending Williams to third. The ball again remained with Martinez, but this time the numbers perhaps justified the decision. The batter, Jorge Posada, was batting .191 against Martinez with 29 strikeouts in 47 at-bats.

Martinez reached back and threw his 123rd -- and fastest -- pitch of the night, clocked at 95 mph. Posada hit a soft pop fly that dropped into center field, scoring Williams and Matsui. Finally, Little brought in Embree, who got Jason Giambi to fly out. Timlin came in next, and after two walks induced Karim Garcia to ground out.

The game went into extra innings, and the Yankees won in the 11th on Aaron Boone’s home run off Tim Wakefield. The Curse of the Bambino would live for one more year.

Little recently reflected on his decision, saying: “You think about a lot of things, what could have been. I’ve managed a lot of games, and the next day a lot of times I wake up and think about what I could have done differently to change the outcome of the game.

“This particular one, I wouldn’t have done anything different.”