I just got an e-newsletter from MLB.com titled “Biggest Interleague Rivalries” and it got me to thinking about if there are any actual “rivalries” that exist.
I went to the Cleveland-San Francisco game last night. Other than Omar Vizquel being back in Cleveland for the first time in forever, I could have cared less about the Giants. People cheered Omar on Tuesday more than they cheered total on Wednesday, I think. The game was a real yawn fest.
I can see having AL/NL rivalries in places like NY, Chicago and LA where your schoolmates might be fans of the “opposite” team. But do these other AL/NL “rivalries” really exist?
Apparently this weekend is the “battle of Ohio.” Yawn. There’s no Reds fans for miles around here. Perhaps if I grew up in Columbus and had to make the choice of which Ohio team I wanted to cheer for, it’d be more important. But as it stands, I think I’d cheer for the Reds over any other NL team - as long as they weren’t meeting us in the World Series.
I see Oakland and Philadelphia are listed as “big rivals.” Is that true? Is Philly still “shocked” over the loss of their A’s (to KC) more than 50 years ago?
Tell me about your AL/NL rivalries, if they exist at all.
The Colorado Rockies just played the Kansas City Royals, who are not only the closest AL team geographically to Denver, they are the closest team period, by a long shot. Nobody from either city could care less. Attendance was down for the series.
I would say now that the Dodgers/Angels matchup is a true rivalry. It used to be that the Freeway Series, particularly when it was only during the pre-season, was nothing but a big party. No one took it seriously, everyone rooted for both teams, big deal.
But that has definitely changed in the last few years. Ever since the 2002 World Series, Angels fans have gotten much more uppity. Then when the “LA” Angels controversy came about, things started to get ugly. Now, I see fights at Dodgers/Angels games. The fans are pretty nasty to each other. Last year was fun early on when SI predicted the Dodgers and Angels to meet in the World Series. I wore an Angels t-shirt during Halloween last year because it was the scariest costume I could think of.
As for the actual teams playing, I’m not sure it’s a huge rivalry yet. The Angels have pretty much owned the Dodgers in interleague play of late. Then again, everyone seems to own the Dodgers in interleague play. Nevertheless, I will be at Chavez Ravine on Sunday hoping to bring my boys a victory. Angels suck!!!
Cards and Tigers clashed in the World Series a couple times. They are playing in a series now and the World Series have been mentioned several times. I do not know if it translates to the players, but I doubt it.
A’s-Giants is a great rivalry. Now if we could just get rid of the ridiculous fans who show up wearing both A’s and Giants gear it would be great. C’mon people, pick a team!
The Crosstown Classic is a huge draw for both Chicago teams every year, regardless of their standings. Considering the amount of beer consumed at a game it’s a wonder most of the fans survive the encounter.
At least you guys have good public transportation in Chicago. I was very disturbed after going to the Dodgers/Cubs series a couple of weeks ago to watch a bunch of drunk fans stumbling back to their cars, including a couple of guys who were urinating onto the parking lot concrete.
Reds/Indians? Really? Do you live near the Ohio border? Are you a Reds fan?
I’m just curious. I grew up in and live in the Cleveland area and I never gave a second thought to the Reds until the Ohio Lottery started telling me there was an Ohio Lottery Cup/Battle of Ohio.
I’m interested in knowing how folks near the middle of the state feel, though (where Cleveland/Cincy fandom is less clear cut).
I definitely appreciate the city boundary rivalries. But that’s just a tiny portion of the entire interleague schedule.
Well, I live very near and work in Cincinnati, so I have a Reds bias. It’s always been the “Battle Of Ohio” around here since I’ve lived in the area and been a fan, which dates back to 1993 when I moved out here after getting out of the Army.
The interleague play between these teams draw huge crowds at GABP, many of whom are Indians fans, so I assumed the “rivalry” (if there can really be one in interleague play) was mutual.
The Cardinals and Royals have had a pretty good rivalry going ever since the 1985 World Series. Despite the fact that the Royals are almost always an inferior team, they play above their level every time they meet the Cardinals.
I should note that the rivalry seems to be more energetic in KC than it is in StL, however.
IF they both didn’t suck so bad I think Orioles-Nationals could become a good one. For some reason a large portion of Baltimorians have some kind of “inferiority complex” thing about Washington D.C. Most Districtites are either neutral towards, or even mildly supportive of Balitmore teams. Hell, I’m as big a D.C. homer as there is, but the O’s are still my baseball team because growing up they were the local team. I would probably list the Ravens as my second favorite team, but few Ravens fans would even admit to watching a Redskins game.
There are big ads in today’s paper promoting the “Battle of Ohio.” Everybody I know is indifferent to this. They want the Indians to win, of course, but don’t really care if the Reds lose, if that makes sense. Nobody harbors any grievance or animosity toward the Reds or is aware of a “rivalry.”
I wish MLB would ditch the Battle of Ohio and make the Pirates and Indians an interleague rivalry. I bet there’s more rivalry between Pittsburgh and Cleveland than Cleveland and Cincy anyway.
Mets / Yankees is a real rivalry. Many, many years ago, the two teams would have a exhibition game for the “Mayor’s Trophy”. It was the only time the teams would meet, and it was serious business, at least for George Steinbrenner. George doesn’t like to lose ever, but it was especially loathsome to him when the Yankees would lose to the Red Sox or the Mets (who they only met in pre-season and exhibition). In later years, losing to the (Devil) Rays also would also raise George’s blood pressure, as Mr. Steinbrenner felt that Tampa is a Yankees town (and judging by the amount of Yankee gear seen at the games, he’s probably right).
Interleague play is the greatest travesty in the MLB. Worse than the DH, worse than the wildcard, worse than proposed instant replay.
You’ve pointed out one (but not the only) reason: outside three or four cities, nobody cares. The Red Sox’ rival is supposed to be Atlanta? Really? Because the Braves played in Boston 60 years and two cities ago? Or is it because the cities of Boston and Atlanta have such a storied rivalry? I’d rather play those 6-8 games against teams in our division where it actually matters.
Let Chicago, LA, New York have their annual cross-town exhibition games like they used to. That was fun. But don’t force real, meaningless games on the rest of us. Keep the leagues separate!
It’s not cool anywhere I happen to be walking where it’s dark and I can’t tell which direction the splatter is going. It’s especially not cool when I’m certain that at least one of the urinators in question was leaning against a car that didn’t belong to him.
