This Is Baseball

     With the conclusion of the Boston Red Sox-New York Yankees and Houston Astros visiting the Dodgers in Los Angeles in a reprise of last season's World Series matchup, I had a though or two about what these rivalries meant. So I have done some research and I am ready to advance what rivalries really exist in my mind in professional sports. And in a nod to Rivalry Week, the brainchild of ESPN, I will highlight some of the more curious ones germane to baseball, leaving the other sports to later blogs.

     Let's start with Boston and New York. Two of the original 8 teams in the American League when I started following baseball. So who else survives from that era in the 1950's? The Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, Oakland A's, Baltimore Orioles, Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Indians. Except, in 1957, Minnesota was playing in Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C. and they were called the Senators. The A's were in Kansas City then, their first landing spot after leaving Philadelphia. Baltimore was 5 years removed from having left St. Louis, where they known as the Browns. Thus, when each of those 8 teams plays another of the original teams, I consider them to be long-standing rivals notwithstanding franchise relocation.

     There were also 8 teams in the National League at the time. San Francisco had just moved west from New York and the Dodgers gave up in Brooklyn, fleeing to greener pastures in Los Angeles. St. Louis, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Chicago have remained in their locales. The Braves have managed to migrate from Boston to Milwaukee and then on to Atlanta. They, too, are rivals of great duration.

     Expansion and further relocation has made new rivalries when the original teams come back to their old city to play. I found it cute that the Twins used to go to Washington to play the second incarnation of the Senators, before that franchise moved on to Texas. And when Washington visited or hosted the other 7 pre-existing A.L. members, it had a familiar ring to it. 

     Similarly, when Oakland returned to Kansas City to take on the Royals, there was a lineal tie. Plus, when Kansas City played the other 7 teams in the pre-expansion A.L., there was a familiarity with the scoreboard listings. 

     In the N.L., with expansion, the Dodgers and Giants coming in to play the Mets was the return of the historic franchises to their roots (especially when the Mets played in the Polo Grounds, the former home of the New York Giants).  Of course, the rivalry between the Giants and Dodgers has taken on a new dimension given the Northern and Southern California rivalries.

     Speaking of California teams, I get excited when there are the matchups involving the Angels, Dodgers, A's, Giants and Padres. There is a hint of territorial pride within the games as well as part of the N.L. West with the Dodgers, Padres and Giants. Throw in the Rockies and D-backs of the N.L. West and the Seattle Mariners, and there is a lot to battle in the West, especially with the teams all situated in the Cactus League in Arizona for pre-season baseball. Add in the other teams that play in Arizona for Spring Training, and you have built in rivalries based upon how many times a year they face each other.

     That logic applies to the Florida teams and the excitement that comes within the A.L. East, the N.L. East, and part of the N.L. Central divisions. When there are intra-division and inter-division games among the Florida-based teams, the passions run a little bit higher. Perhaps even higher between the Cardinals and Marlins, who share Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter or the Red Sox and Twins who have the same arrangement in Ft. Myers.

     Of course, there are signature games involving the two teams in New York, Chicago, Southern California, the Bay Area, the Washington Beltway, Ohio, Texas, Florida, Missouri, Pennsylvania, plus regional battles in the Midwest involving the Chicago teams, the Missouri teams and the Brewers, Twins and Tigers. The New York teams, the Bay Area teams, the Missouri teams have all met their local rival in a gripping World Series.

     In essence, there is a tie in between teams based on proximity, division or league. Additionally, World Series matchups of recent or even older vintage have resonance. Because the Yankees have had 40 appearances in the Fall Classic and won it 27 times, they have met up with the Dodgers, Giants, Cardinals, Braves, Reds, Cubs, Phillies and Pirates more than one time. Other teams who have met more than once in October include the Red Sox and Cardinals; the Cubs and Tigers; Tigers and Cardinals; Braves and Indians; Orioles and Pirates; Cubs and A's; Reds and A's; Dodgers and A's; Senators (Twins) and Giants; and A's and Cardinals. The Padres and Yankees have a rivalry borne out of the 1998 World Series. So does New York have one from 2001 with Arizona and 2003 with the Marlins. The Mets and Orioles, Red Sox, Royals and A's have battled for the big prize. With the few teams who have made the big games just once--namely the Angels, D-backs, Tampa Bay, Colorado and the Brewers, whose appearances made for special relationships with their opponents. Pity the Nationals and Mariners, for they have yet to appear in the World Series.

     Some of the most intense World Series since I started watching in 1957 are single matchups like the Yankees and Pirates in 1960 with Bill Mazeroski's walkout homer in Game 7 at long gone Forbes Field; the Dodgers and Twins in 1965; the Dodgers being swept in 1966 by the Orioles; 1969 between the Mets and Orioles; 1975's iconic Red Sox-Reds matchup with the Bernie Carbo and Carlton Fisk homers; and in 1986 where the Mets won based on a grounder booted by Red Sox 1B Bill Buckner. Added to that list are the last three 4-3 series--in 2014 between the Giants and Royals; 2016 with Cubs and Indians going extra innings in Game 7; and last year with the Astros winning in Los Angeles. 

     Such is the uniqueness of baseball. Every time a game is played, whether it is within a division, the league or an inter-league matchup, there is a piece of history or a connection involved. 

     I think I will go see who is on TV tonight. There must be something curious about the game's participants.

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