“The evil empire extends its tentacles even into Latin America,”Larry Lucchino, 2002.
The Red Sox-Yankees rivalry had cooled in the years before Tom, John, and Larry took control at Fenway. Lucchino's remark came as a result of the Red Sox losing out on Cuban free agent José Contreras. The phrase first appeared earlier that year in a Denver Post headline and the "evil empire" moniker has taken on a life of its own.
It remains the most memorable quote from a series that also brought us "Bucky F. Dent," chants of “Reggie Sucks,” Pedro's 2004 admission of the Yankees' paternity ("What can I say? I tip my cap and call the Yankees my Daddy.") and Kevin Millar's famous first words before Game 4 against New York in 2004: “Don't let us win today. We got Petey tomorrow and Schill in game six...in game seven, anything can happen.”
And it did.
Davis, Jim Globe Staff
