Game 3 of the 2003 ALCS between the Red Sox and Yankees spiraled into chaos during the fourth inning. After Posada drew a walk and Nick Johnson doubled, Matsui drove in another run, roughing up Pedro Martinez early. With no outs and first base open, Pedro threw a pitch near Karim Garcia, who already had an RBI earlier. Tensions rose as Garcia took offense, and the two exchanged stares. Pedro eventually induced a double play, but Garcia slid hard into second and started jawing again. That set off a chain reaction.
Pedro started yelling from the mound. Posada chirped back. Pedro pointed at his head twice, which he later claimed meant “think,” but at the time looked like a threat. Posada interpreted it as “you’re next,” and things escalated. Manny Ramirez came up next and reacted to a high pitch like he’d been targeted. The benches cleared. In the middle of the scrum, 72-year-old Don Zimmer charged at Pedro. Pedro stepped aside, grabbed Zimmer by the head, and tossed him to the ground. Players and officials rushed to separate them. Even David Ortiz looked stunned.
Zimmer ended up with cuts but walked off with help. Pedro didn’t deny he threw him down. The umpires discussed, but no one got ejected. The game continued after tensions cooled. Later, there was another dust-up in the bullpen, still no ejections. It was one of the wildest moments in the rivalry’s history, remembered mostly for Pedro’s toss of Zimmer and the raw emotion on both sides.