Top 4 Greatest Rivalries In Baseball
In a baseball scoreboards feature, we take a look at the 4 baseball rivalries that have truly got the fans and the players going!
Every team in each sport has at least one rival that can be termed as their true nemesis. In fact, sports would otherwise be extremely dull were it not for these rivalries. Team rivalries are perhaps most common among teams at the college level; and the rivalries in college football are legendary. However, stringent rivalries exist in almost all sports at the professional level as well. Baseball is one such sport, in which there are some rivalries that are so strong that they are almost bordering on hatred and can, perhaps, be potentially termed as a blood feud. Here is a list of the top greatest rivalries in baseball:
The Dodgers and the Giants – there is no rivalry in baseball that could be greater than that of the Dodgers and the Giants. These two teams have been at each others throats from around the 19th century, and hate each other on principle. The baseball scoreboards show that since the 19th century, these two teams have played a staggering 2,100 games out of which the Dodgers have won the most games. Each of their games has at least one incident in which the players mouth off to each other. Some of their signature moments include the famous “Shot Heard Round The World” in 1951 and Jackie Robinson’s decision to retire rather than be traded to the Giants in 1956.
Yankees and the Red Sox – their rivalry began with the trade of Babe Ruth in 1916, when the famous Red Sox curse was triggered. The Red Sox failed to win any title from 1918 to 2004, while the Yankees amassed a total of 26 titles during that period which only added fuel to the rivalry. There have been many episodes of on field violence when these two team play each other, the most famous of which is Pedro Martinez’s tackle hit of Don Zimmer and all those fights that Carlton Fisk was a part of.
Cardinals and the Cubs – it is the Yankees and the Red Sox rivalry all over again, except with a Midwestern twist to it. The Lou Brock trade and McGwire and Sosa home run chase of 1998 are two of the greatest moments of rivalry between the two teams.
Phillies and the Mets – although this rivalry has existed for quite a very long time, it took a while for it to gain the status of a “blood feud”. The blood feud began only in the last 5 decades or so, as because before this, the Pirates were the Phillies’ traditional rivals. Things started to heat up between the Phillies and the Mets in 1980 when Met Tug McGraw, the then-Phillie and a former Met, told the entire audiences at Phillies’ World Series win parade to (quote) “take this championship and shove it!”
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