Yankees-Red Sox rivalry comes back in big way...big like Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton

American League baseball fans saw something Wednesday night that they haven't seen in a while, and speaking as a New York Yankees fan, it felt good. I'm talking the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry; which came back in not one, but two bench-clearing incidents.

Things got testy in the third inning after Tyler Austin's Yankees spikes clipped Brock Holt's Red Sox leg on a controversial slide into second base. Holt took issue with the minimal contact and they exchanged words before being separated and both benches emptying onto the field. 

But it was four innings later, with the Yankees leading 10-6, when Red Sox reliever Joe Kelly shooed Austin from the plate with a retaliatory 97 mph fastball aimed at his knees that things got interesting. Two pitches later Kelly plunked Austin on the elbow. A pissed off Austin slammed his bat on the plate after the intentional throw and took a step towards Kelly.

"Come on," screamed Kelly ... and it was like old rivalry days again.

WATCH: The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees got into a crazy bench-clearing brawl pic.twitter.com/Il4CMtc1DL

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) April 12, 2018

Austin, after getting in a few wild punches, found himself being protected by Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton while Kelly slinked out of the pileup with ripped buttons and scratches on his neck. The two Yankees giants stood above the fray, literally and figuratively, as they sorted out and guided both teams into their respective dugouts ... Judge with a little smile on his face.

“I felt that was a good slide,” Austin said to a disagreeing Holt after they tangled at second base. While they were staring and jawing, out came both teams, including the bullpens with Yankees reliever Tommy Kahnle leading the pack. 

Here's Tyler Austin's slide from earlier. Spikes come up a bit, but he hardly made contact with Holt. He slides through the base. His job is to break up the play. He did his job and he didn't hurt anyone. No malintent there.#Yankees #RedSoxpic.twitter.com/E5c6FwqpBe

— Gary Phillips (@GaryHPhillips) April 12, 2018

Neither brouhaha was up to the drama of Pedro Martinez shoving Don Zimmer to the ground back in the 2003 ALCS, but it's a reminder of how much these two teams really despise each other.

The funniest part? The look on the Red Sox players faces as they watched Judge and Stanton — all 13' 2" of them — wading through the scrum of the tussling players. Like giants among men.

It seems like decades since such fervor filled Fenway Park. Even the "YANKEES SUCK" chant from the Sox faithful sounded heartfelt last night. And that's a good thing.

Aaron Judge has birthday bash and crash during Fenway Park debut

Aaron Judge sure knows how to celebrate his birthday and the rest of the league might be glad it only comes once a year.

In his debut at Fenway Park on Wednesday night, the hulking 25-year-old rightfielder a hit a two-run homer and made a remarkable catch while falling into the stands to help back up starter Luis Severino's three-hit, six-strikeout gem during the Yankees 3-1 victory over the Red Sox.

In the second inning, Judge got a fastball from last season's AL Cy Young award winner Rick Porcello and went the opposite way over the short wall in right for his seventh homer of the season.

Then, in the third, Xander Bogaerts hit a fly ball toward the short wall along the right-field foul line. Judge extended his arm to make the catch before hitting the wall and plunging head-first into the stands.

Aaron Judge plays hard! pic.twitter.com/6cjF8OX75T

— Baseball Bros (@BaseballBros) April 27, 2017

Initially, it was ruled no catch as Judge lost the ball on the transfer before emerging from the seats. But the Yankees challenged the call, which was overturned following a replay review.

The real loser on the play... those poor first row seats.

Red Sox dump 'offensive,' 'racially insensitive' David Ortiz bobblehead giveaway just hours before game

The Red Sox canceled a David Ortiz bobblehead giveaway at Fenway Park five hours before their game against the Yankees on Tuesday night because the figurines were considered "offensive" and "racially offensive" by the team’s president.

Batting next in the #SoxPromos lineup: The Papi Bobblehead! 💪
Be there this Tuesday: https://t.co/uQuufOJ7ez pic.twitter.com/ayeZvGw9Ym

— Boston Red Sox (@RedSox) August 7, 2016

The bobblehead was a likeness of Ortiz holding a microphone, a tribute to the emotional speech he made at Fenway five days after the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013 where he famously proclaimed, "This is our f-ucking city."

"It was an inaccurate portrayal of David,”  Sam Kennedy said after approving of the giveaways months earlier. “It doesn’t really look like David. Number two, I personally thought it seemed to be an offensive portrayal of him and racially insensitive.

"If I was feeling this way, certainly other people would," Kennedy added. "So we pulled the plug."

Kennedy said the 15,000 bobbleheads would be returned to the manufacturer, BDA Inc., of Woodville, Wash., and a new model shipped out. Now all ticketed fans for Tuesday’s game will receive the new bobbleheads in the mail, not just the first 15,000.

“Everybody will receive one,” Kennedy said.

Ok I can see why they cancelled Ortiz bobblehead night pic.twitter.com/3E9AtWgxOy

— Connor #2019Champs (@connortheOGfam) August 9, 2016

Before the game, Ortiz said he was unaware of the situation.

“That’s supposed to be me?” he said after looking at a photo of the bobblehead with the odd white lips.

Ortiz went on to say he agreed with the team’s decision.

Michael Kay says tipsy Red Sox fan thought Yankees announcer was Curt Schilling

It sounds like Yankees bases weren't the only things left loaded at Fenway Park during Monday night's punchless 4-3 loss to the Red Sox.

Longtime New York Yankees play-by-play announcer Michael Kay says he encountered a tipsy Boston fan who insisted the YES Network announcer was former Red Sox pitcher and censored ESPN analyst Curt Schilling.

Kay tweeted about the boozy encounter: "Somewhat inebriated Red Sox fan came up to me demanding I autograph his ticket. 'come on Curt. You're my favorite.' Thought I was Schilling."

Somewhat inebriated Red Sox fan came up to me demanding I autograph his ticket. "come on Curt. You're my favorite." Thought I was Schilling.

— Michael Kay (@RealMichaelKay) September 1, 2015

But the similarities between the two men are noticeable — especially through beer goggles.

And some of Kay's Twitter followers pointed that out:

@RealMichaelKay @ihateprospects you both have enormous (enawmous) heads

— Judge BROsner (@JudgeBrosner) September 1, 2015

Is that a Sharpie stain on your sock?

Rusney Castillo forgets how many outs there are, and throws ball to fan in stands (VIDEO)

Rusney Castillo's heart was in the right place, but the Red Sox right fielder's brain seemed to be somewhere else when he made a grab in right field and tossed the souvenir ball to a fan in the stands Wednesday night.

Too bad it was only the second out and there was an Indians runner on base.

The brain-freeze occured in the seventh inning of Boston's 6-4 win over Cleveland when Jose Ramirez popped up a fly ball to Castillo. The Red Sox fielder reeled in the ball and then flicked it into the Fenway stands to some fans waiting with their gloves outstretched — which would've been a cool gesture if the inning had been over. 

Abraham Almonte tagged up at first and casually strolled over to third on what was officially ruled as a throwing error on Castillo.

But since Castillo willingly threw the ball away, was it really an error?

Jason Kipnis struck out in the next at-bat — so no damage was done.

But at least the ball has a nice little story behind it now.

Fan with Yankees hat catches ball at Fenway Park, quickly takes it off to avoid wrath of Sox fans (VIDEO)

Wearing a Yankees baseball cap to Fenway Park (even if it's a game between the Indians and Red Sox) is reason enough for razzing from the home crowd. 

But when you snag a foul ball and show it off to the thousends of Sox faithful sitting right next to you, there's a chance you might be in for a long night of verbal abuse.

So after this Yankees fan got over the excitement of catching this ball, he did the smart thing and quickly removed the hat as a show of remorse.

That red USA shirt probably helped him blend in a little better too.

Red Sox fan who was hit in the face by shattered bat at Fenway Park leaves hospital: Report

The Massachusetts woman who was seriously hurt when a broken bat flew into the stands at Fenway Park last week has been released from a hospital.

Officials at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston say that Tonya Carpenter was discharged and transferred to a rehabilitation center.

Doctors describe Carpenter's recovery as "excellent" and say she's getting stronger every day.

The 44-year-old Red Sox fan from the town of Paxton, suffered what police initially said were life-threatening injuries during the June 5 game between the Boston Red Sox and Oakland Athletics. She was struck in the head in the second inning when the bat of Oakland's Brett Lawrie shattered and shards of wood flew into the seats along the third-base line where she was seated.

The game was halted for a few minutes while she was rushed out of the stadium, then resumed. 

After the game, Lawrie sent her a note and flowers in the hospital. Those same flowers reportedly accompanied her to the rehab center.

Organizers say they've received donations for Carpenter, who works for a construction company, from Red Sox and Yankees fans, alike, and even some from overseas.

Major League Baseball is now reviewing fan safety at stadiums. 

Pat Venditte makes MLB debut by getting outs using both arms

Switch-pitcher Pat Venditte made his long-awaited big-league debut at Fenway Park Friday night since beginning his long journey in the minors in 2008.

And the Oakland Athletics reliever was the first pitcher in 20 years to throw with both hands in the same game.

The ambidextrous hurler entered in the seventh inning— with the organist playing Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now" — and retired Brock Holt with his left arm and then, after allowing a single to Hanley Ramirez, got Mike Napoli to hit into a double play with his right.



Things got comical when the 29-year-old switch-pitcher faced switch-hitter Blake Swihart in the eighth and the glove and helmet chess match began.

Woman seriously injured by shard of broken bat at Fenway Park (VIDEO)

A woman suffered life-threatening injuries after she was struck in the face by the shard from a broken bat that flew into the stands in front of horrified fans during the Red Sox-Athletics game at Fenway Park on Friday night, officials said.

With the Red Sox leading 1-0 in the second inning, Oakland batter Brett Lawrie hit a ball and shattered his bat, leaving only the handle in his hands while the barrel of it shot into the crowd like a missile. It struck the woman, who was sitting with a man and her son near the visitors’ dugout on the third base side. Her screams could immediately be heard by fans and even those listening to the game on the radio.

Paramedics and police rushed to the seats as the game was stopped and stunned fans covered their mouths in horror at the bloody scene. The woman was stretchered away out of the park wailing in pain.

A Boston police officer scooped up the young boy who was with her and shielded his eyes from the terrible scene while players from both teams stood silently outside their dugouts and peered into the stands. Red Sox president Larry Lucchino was seen down on the field with the emergency workers.

The incident occurred around 7:40 p.m. as the woman sat in the second row at the ballpark, between home plate and the visitors dugout, just beyond the protective screen that shields the plate area, according to police and witnesses.

The woman, who was not identified, was taken to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, said Boston police Officer Rachel McGuire, a department spokeswoman. There was no word on her condition late Friday night.

Lawrie said after the game that he did not initially realize the severity of the woman’s injuries because he was running to first base when the bat sailed into the stands. He glanced back briefly toward the stands while running out his hit.

“Then in between innings is when things kind of got serious and I realized there was a bit of an issue,” Lawrie said. “Hopefully everything is OK and she’s doing all right.. . . That was just unfortunate right there, no doubt.”

Everything that followed didn't seem as important during the Red Sox 4-2 victory.

"Any time anybody's taken off the field on a stretcher you have your fingers crossed," Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. "You realize that that's a lot more important than a baseball game."

Red Sox fans chant for Derek Jeter at Fenway (VIDEO)

There wasn't any chance Derek Jeter was going to play at Fenway Park Friday night— after he asked for a day off for the first time in his 20 year career — but Red Sox fans still honored the Yankees' captain by chanting his name during the game.

The retiring Jeter said he was so emotionally spent from Thursday's heartwarming and exciting Yankee Stadium farewell the night before that he couldn't muster enough energy to play.

Still, that didn't stop Red Sox fans from showing their rival of two decades a little love in the middle of Jose Pirela's at-bat in the third inning while Jeter took it in while riding the pine:

Red Sox fans cheering Jeter and the Royals celebrating a post season berth?

Welcome to Bizarro World.

Red Sox fan takes out entire row of people going for foul ball (VIDEO)

A desperate Red Sox fan dived across the other fans in his row and was still unable to make the grab on Yoenis Cespedes' foul ball Friday night at Fenway.

While the enthusiastic man was willing to sacrifice staining his plaid shorts and taking out a few of the people around him for the sake of a prized souvenir, he might want to show a little consideration for his fellow fans the next time he's in a crowd.

And, as any Bugs Bunny fan knows, this is the proper etiquette:

David Ortiz and Albert Pujols have adorable battle at first base (VIDEO)

When you think of David Ortiz and Albert Pujols, the first things that comes to mind are probably home runs and championships.

The last thing you would think of is the two future Hall of Famers fighting each other at first base.

And you would be right … sort of.

On Wednesday night, the two sluggers had a playful battle with each other while meeting up at the corner a couple of times.

After David Ortiz slid back into the first base bag, Pujols rapped him on the head with his glove. So Ortiz responded the only way possible: with a soothing back massage. 

The boys have another play date set up for Thursday afternoon, so expect more antics at Fenway.

Jackie Bradley Jr. throws a baseball over the outfield wall ... from home plate (VIDEO)

Red Sox outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. is known as an excellent fielder but wanted to show everyone that he has a pretty good arm as well.

During Saturdays' batting practice, the Boston centerfielder took a short hop behind home plate and threw a ball over the Fenway Park center-field wall just to prove it.

That's a heave of about 400 feet from the plate as the crow flies — or as a Big Papi home run sails.

Don't believe it? Well check out the video below:

Jackie Bradley Jr. goes airborne to make amazing catch (VIDEO)

Jackie Bradley Jr. made a spectacular diving catch in right-center field to rob Tyler Flowers of an extra-base hit Wednesday night.

The Red Sox outfielder used his Superman-like skills to perfection as he went airborne and laid out for the grab against the White Sox batter.

And the citizens of Fenway were forever grateful. 

Smiling Red Sox ballgirl makes sensational catch of line-drive foul ball (VIDEO)

This fearless Red Sox ballgirl sacrificed her body for the sake of the Fenway Park fans during Thursday night's game against the Indians.

As she reached up to snag a hard line drive hit foul by Michael Brantley, she kicked over her seat, slipped over the wall and still managed to make the grab.

Crowd safe. Sox win. Good night in Boston.

Pierzynski gets walk-off triple after two Rays outfielders collide (VIDEO)

It was a Friday night of Red Sox and Rays players constantly clashing at home plate, but the game was decided after two Tampa Bay players collided with each other in centerfield.

A.J. Pierzynski won the contentious game with a triple as Boston beat Tampa Bay, 3-2, in 10 innings at Fenway Park. The fifth straight win for the Red Sox was even sweeter for the home team after manager John Farrell, two of his coaches, and starting pitcher Brandon Workman were ejected.

Juan Carlos Ovideo started the 10th for Tampa Bay and hit Jonny Gomes with a pitch with one out. Pierzynski then lined a long shot toward the triangle in center field.

With the Rays playing deep, center fielder Desmond Jennings and right fielder Wil Myers converged and collided. As the ball rolled away, Gomes raced around the bases. He scored while raising his helmet high, then flipped it into the air.

It was the second walkoff win in as many nights for the Red Sox and the first walkoff hit for Pierzynski since 2009. 

Woman falls down elevator shaft at Fenway Park: Report

Boston fire officials say a 22-year-old woman fell down an elevator shaft at Fenway Park after the Tigers-Red Sox game Friday night.

Firefighters say they responded to the elevator at Gate B at about 11:15 p.m. after the doors on the fourth floor somehow opened and the woman apparently fell into the shaft and landed on the roof of the elevator stopped at the second floor. 

Firefighters and Boston EMS rescued the woman from inside the elevator and transported her to the hospital.

The victim’s condition is not known.

Fire officials say a state elevator inspector was called to the scene of the aging stadium and a state elevator inspector and Boston Police are investigating.

In the game, the Red Sox lost to the Detroit Tigers 1-0 after a rain delay.

Fiery Red Sox fans call Jacoby Ellsbury a 'trader' on Twitter

Red Sox fans are fired up upon hearing the shocking news that Jacoby Ellsbury is becoming a New York Yankee — and have put their money where their tweets are.

While some angry Red Sox fans spent Tuesday on Twitter calling Jacoby Ellsbury a "trader" — and not a "traitor" — for agreeing to a seven-year, $153-million, others were threatening to turn into pyromaniacs.

Dozens upon dozens of people said they wanted to burn their Ellsbury jerseys — many saying that he broke their hearts for deciding to don pinstripes, especially after winning a 2013 World Series with them.

Ellsbury's first trip back to Fenway Park next season should be a hot ticket.

Im gonna miss you but you will forever be remembered as a trader @JacobyEllsbury pic.twitter.com/HHiv2d5cOn
— Joe Skibinski (@JoeySkibinski) December 4, 2013

I don't even know what to think about Ellsbury leaving :( my heart is broken. I should just burn my jersey now. @JacobyEllsbury #madatyou
— Sassy Kassy (@Kassarole_Yumm) December 4, 2013

Seriously @JacobyEllsbury, seriously? Now I have to burn my shirt. Thanks. Traitor.
— Britt (@ItsBKbitchhhh) December 4, 2013

Red Sox fans should have a party and burn everything Jacoby ellsbury related. Ultimate slap in the face
— Derek Adams (@dadamslv) December 4, 2013

Bud Selig to present Mariano Rivera with Historic Achievement Award before Game 2

Recently retired New York Yankees relief pitcher Mariano Rivera will receive the Commissioner's Historic Achievement Award before Game 2 of the World Series between the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals, Major League Baseball announced.

All season long opposing teams paid tribute to the future Hall of Famer with gifts and ceremonies. Now MLB commissioner Bud Selig will hand Rivera this honor before Thursday night's game at Fenway Park.

The 43-year-old Rivera, who retired this year after 19 seasons, will get the award at a 7 p.m. press conference. Rivera, who will be accompanied by his wife, Clara, and three sons will then be honored on the field as part of the pregame ceremonies.

Rivera, baseball's all-time saves leader with 652, recorded 44 saves with a 2.11 ERA in 64 games in his final season. Thursday night will mark the first time MLB has given the award, which was created to recognize contributions of historical significance in MLB, since Ken Griffey Jr. received it in 2011.

Past recipients are Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Ichiro Suzuki, Roberto Clemente, Rickey Henderson, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Tony Gwynn, Cal Ripken Jr. and Rachel Robinson.

Even die-hard Sox fans will be glad to see the deserving Mo get this award during their World Series.

Even Jets fans might agree with the name change on this Tom Brady jersey (PHOTO)

This Patriots jersey was spotted a Fenway Park concession stand right after Tom Brady engineered a miraculous fourth-quarter comeback victory at Gillette Stadium Sunday night. It's hard to argue with the name replacing "Brady" on the back of old No.12 — even if the last second win came at the expense of the Saints.