Sports rivalries add the spice and competitiveness that make fans love the sport. Which teams have had the best rivalries in the league’s history.
3. Cubs vs. Cardinals
Chicago and St. Louis have two of the most devoted fan bases in the league. The rivalry has been fueled by their proximity in location, team success, and memorable players moving between the teams.
Certainly the Cubs sweeping the Cards in the 2020 NLDS is a recent touchtone for both franchises. It continued a change in their power struggle. The Cubs making the playoffs a fourth straight season including the world series win 2016.
The confliction between the two has lasted a long time. In 1964, fuel was added to the fire when Lou Brock was sent to the Cardinals leading to a hall of fame career in the Gateway to the West.
And of course there was the great home run chase of 1998 between the Cards’ Mark McGwire (70) and the Cubs Sammy Sosa (66)
2. Dodgers vs. Giants
This rivalry has been active for nearly a century when both the Dodgers and Giants called New York their home. The two kept it alive moving to California in 1958.
The rivalry has had some special moments. Some that come to mind are Bobby Thompson’s “Shot Heard ‘Round the World,” one of the game’s most famous home runs ever
There was Joe Morgan’s ninth inning homer in the season’s last game that knocked the 1993 Dodgers out of a post season spot.
Juan Marichal’s attack on John Roseboro with a bat in 1965 can’t go unmentioned when talking about the two.
And there was this:
That's the call that ends the great battle between the Dodgers and Giants this season? That's BAD pic.twitter.com/NVw8bhiFIR
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) October 15, 2021
1. Yankees vs. Red Sox
The two have one of the most storied rivalries in baseball history, if not all major sports. It escalated in 1918 when Boston sold Babe Ruth to New York, turning into the “Curse of the Bambino.”
With so many moments to choose from, the two most memorable have to be Yankee shortstop Bucky Dent’s homer in the 1978 one game playoff at Fenway after The Red Sox enjoyed a huge lead all summer.
And of course Boston’s win in the 2004 ALCS. Eventually leading to the Red Sox world series win, thus ending the Bamino’s curse. For a cherry on top, Boston became the first team to ever come back down 3-0. Led by David Ortiz. A series that inclued Curt Schilling’s “Bloody Sock Game.”
With just a few days until Spring Training starts off, it will be fun to see how these rivalries pan out, and if we get any more moments to remember for decades.
