Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS provided an unexpected twist in the rivalry between the Red Sox and Yankees

That’s what I remember about covering that series from the other side of the rivalry as a reporter for the Bergen (NJ) Record. And as I neared the end of the third and final episode of the thrilling Netflix documentary released last week, “The Comeback: the 2004 Boston Red Sox,” what I remember most is that sense of dread in New York.

Because it was so foreign.

And because it felt so certain.

So while the Red Sox rightly and wonderfully celebrate the curse-breaking series of twenty years ago, while fans enjoy the three-hour remembrance produced by brothers Colin and Nick Barnicle, lifelong Red Sox fans themselves, that series left a lasting impact on the Yankees. , too. It remains one of the greatest stories in sports and leaves a lasting impression on reporters who also covered it, even on reporters (hand-raised) who had just come off the New York Giants beat for three seasons to re-enter the baseball world. Some memories:

The shroud that hung over Yankee Stadium on Wednesday evening, October 20, was palpable. From 3-0 to a tie after three games apiece, the Yankees were shaken to their core. No matter what spectacle they attempted—bringing out Bucky Dent to throw out the first pitch, having Yogi Berra there to catch it, making sure the game was played on Mickey Mantle’s birthday, playing Yankeeographies on an endless scoreboard run—it overwhelming sense of inevitable failure permeated everything with pinstripes.

And worse, the Yankees were stuck with Kevin Brown as their Game 7 starter. Brown has not been a favorite of manager Joe Torre since he broke his hand in a fit of anger after a start in early September. Brown had lasted just two innings in Game 3, striking out 29 on 59 pitches. But the Yankees had no choice but to hold their noses and send him there.

He was blamed for the loss, gone after 1⅓ innings and five earned runs.

But he wasn’t the only one who failed: Yankee hitters held their bats so tightly that they couldn’t buy a hit. Alex Rodriguez hit 1 for his last 17. Gary Sheffield 2 for his last 17. Both terrorized the Sox through the first three games, but it was Johnny Damon, hitting .103 in the first six, who delivered two home runs in Game 7, including the second-inning grand slam that sealed the Yankees’ fate. Never seen a closer team.

Of all the players who didn’t perform for the Yankees, none was more shocking than Mariano Rivera. As good as the Hall of Fame closer seemed from a distance, he was even better in person. Beating Rivera was like getting an extra inning to write your game story because he so rarely blew a save.

Before Rivera allowed Dave Roberts’ stolen base in Game 4, which set the stage for David Ortiz’s 12th-inning walkoff homer (side note: the game wouldn’t be the same with today’s pickoff rules), Rivera had 30′ postseason saves with an ERA of 0.75. since 1996. He was automatic and showed equally in Games 1 and 2. He made both saves and played 1⅓ innings each. In Game 2, he struck out Damon with a runner on third base in the eighth and fooled Ortiz Kevin Millar with his cut fastball in the ninth.

But Rivera blew saves in Games 4 and 5.

Somewhat forgotten is that he did it all in the midst of personal tragedy, having returned from his native Panama just in time for the series, where he attended the funeral of his wife’s cousin and her teenage son. They died in a freak electrical accident in a swimming pool at Rivera’s home. As Rivera told my colleague Bob Klapisch at the time: “It’s been tough for me. Sometimes you don’t understand why these things happen, so keep the faith and pray. But it has been tough for me and my family.”

Rivera was always like that: frank and responsible, but also human and open. My personal memory of the oh-so-crowded environment of Fenway’s visiting clubhouse was of him asking to place a hand on my stomach when he discovered I was pregnant, and saying a little prayer for a daughter to be born the following May.

Torre was a four-time World Series champion with the Yankees, but that 2004 collapse was his last best chance. And it included some questionable decisions, including not attempting to bunt against the sick and immobile Curt Schilling in Game 6. Torre seemed skeptical about Schilling’s injury, then said, “We’re not necessarily going to believe that there’s there’s a lot wrong with him. for that matter.” He would have been wise to force Schilling to prove it.

And while Torre’s quick Game 7 hook of Brown is hard to argue with, replacing him with Javier Vazquez to face Damon with the bases loaded ignored the fact that Damon had hit two home runs off Vazquez on June 29 and that Vazquez had allowed 33 home runs in the regular season, the most of any Yankee pitcher.

The documentary did an excellent job of recounting the bizarre search for A-Rod and how the Sox lost him to the Yankees, with insight into the resulting awkwardness it caused Nomar Garciaparra. But it’s hard to overstate how awkward it was in New York, with Rodriguez and Derek Jeter, former friends gone icy.

A-Rod, so desperate to be liked, lost Jeter’s trust when he suggested in a magazine story that Jeter didn’t bear the burden of carrying the Yankees and never really needed to take charge. That they would become teammates, and that Rodriguez, the superior defensive shortstop, was forced to play third while Jeter stayed close behind made for tenuous rest at best. And then Rodriguez did his part to blow up the series with his stupid punch Bronson Arroyo in Game 6, his ALCS MVP-worthy stats were forgotten and a new story began, one in which he would struggle so much that Torre dropped him to eighth in the batting order in the 2006 playoffs.

As the Yankees look to get back into the World Series this year and face the Dodgers, it’s hard not to wonder if manager Aaron Boone would ever have sat in that seat if he didn’t have a connection with those exciting Red Sox-Yankees series. In the 2003 ALCS, he hit the walkoff homer in Game 7. And in January 2004, he blew out his knee in a pickup basketball game, opening at third base for Rodriguez.

An unforgettable series from both sides and two epic years of rivalry.

Tara Sullivan is a Globe columnist. She can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her @Globe_Tara.