Best of the Decade: Best MLB Game

Gold Medal: Yankees vs. Diamondbacks, Game 7 – 2001

Not only was it the best MLB game of the decade, you can make a case that it’s one of the best baseball games EVER. Game 7 of the 2001 World Series pitted Curt Schilling and Roger Clemens -- two future Hall of Famers -- against each other. With the Yankees carrying a 2-1 lead thanks to an Alfonso Soriano homer, Mariano Rivera was just three outs away from giving the Yankees their fourth consecutive title. But key hits from Mark Grace and Tony Womack, as well as an error from Rivera, tied the game at 2-2. A few batters later, Luis Gonzalez knocked in the game-winning hit, ending the series in memorable fashion.

Silver Medal: Red Sox vs. Yankees, Game 7 – 2003

Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS was defined as much by Boston’s failure as much as it was the Yankees’ win. With the Red Sox up 5-3 in the eighth inning, Grady Little went out to the mound to talk to Pedro Martinez, who was noticeably laboring. In a decision that had many Sox fans screaming at their televisions, Little let Pedro stay in the game. The Yankees then tied the score on a double and won it in the eleventh on a walk-off home run from Aaron Boone, who slammed it off Time Wakefield in the 11th inning. The Yanks had bested the Sox, again, and Little was fired in the offseason.

Bronze Medal: Mariners vs. Indians – 2001

The Seattle Mariners had one of the best regular seasons ever in 2001, tying an MLB record with 116 victories. They might have wound up with 117 had they held on to a 14-2 lead over the Cleveland Indians in a game in August. Remarkably, with most of their big guns sitting, the Indians scored three in the 7th, four in the 8th and five in the 9th to tie the game at 14. In the 9th inning, all five of their runs came with two outs, and they tied the game on a bases-clearing triple from Omar Vizquel. In the 11th, Jolbert Cabrera slapped a broken-bat hit into the outfield, scoring Kenny Lofton and sending the fans at Jacobs Field into a frenzy. It was the largest single-game comeback in MLB history.

Notable runner-ups:

Padres vs. Rockies – 2007

Marlins vs. Cubs, Game 6 – 2003

Yankees vs. Red Sox, Game 4, 5, 6 & 7 – 2004

Cardinals vs. Mets, Game 7 – 2006

Braves vs. Astros, Game 4 – 2005