"Election between me & Osama Bin Laden, I wasn't gonna win" - Ex-Red Sox manager Grady Little on controversial 2003 ALCS decision that let Yankees win

Grady Little's decision to keep Pedro Martinez on the mound in Game 7 of the 2003 American League Championship Series may have extended the "Bambino curse" by a year. The ex-Red Sox manager revisited the game in "The Comeback," a Netflix documentary covering the 2004 Boston Red Sox World Series win and the lead-up to it.

The first part of the documentary focused entirely on the 2003 Red Sox under Little's leadership. The team was ousted in the ALCS decider by the New York Yankees. The second part started with the aftermath of the loss. The episode opens up with a conversation between Little and then-New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani in the Red Sox clubhouse about keeping Pedro Martinez on the mound.

In the eighth inning, Martinez had a three-run lead to defend. He gave up three straight hits to start the inning, with the last one being an RBI single from Bernie Williams that plated Derek Jeter. Hideki Matsui then hit a ground rule double on a 0-2 count that forced a mound visit from the Red Sox skipper.

Surprisingly, with relievers such as Alan Embree and Mike Timlin waiting in the bullpen, Little kept Martinez on the mound, who was already at a pitch count of 118. After five more pitches, he gave up a two-run single to Jorge Posada which tied the game.

The Red Sox closed out the inning but would eventually lose the game in the eleventh off an Aaron Boone home run that sent the Yankees to the World Series.

Little talked about his decision in the documentary.

"After we got beat in New York that day in 2003, if they would've had an election between me and Osama bin Laden, I was not gonna win," Little said.

Grady Little's decision led to his eventual firing

The backlash he received in the aftermath of the game was so bad that the Red Sox had no other choice but to refuse to renew Grady Little's contract for the 2004 season. It was also reported that he ignored the management's data analysis about Martinez dropping a lot of steam past 100 pitches.

Little's wrong gut feeling ended up being the last time someone talked about the "Bambino curse" as the Red Sox went on to lift the title the following year under the leadership of Terry Francona. Little went on to manage the LA Dodgers in 2006.