I am in full agreement that rivalries are the best part of sports. It is why the youth-travel-sports-pyramid-scheme is so hollow, with players traveling hours to play meaningless games against random collections of players.
Anyway, the SD/LA rivalry is fantastic right now (Machado as the heel is perfect casting). I was hoping Brewers/Cubs might get going with Counsel abandoning ship... maybe next year.
Finally, the reason the NHL playoffs are the best competition in sports is because the teams really, truly dislike each other as each series plays out.
Agreed. LAD-SDP is great theater right now. Would love to see Cubs-Brewers get there too. And as a Royals fan, I'd love for them to win with enough consistency to truly reignite the Yankee rivalry for a whole new generation.
Great history! I will point out that although it didn’t come close to affecting the division races year, at the time of the Pine Tar Bat Game, the Yankees and Royals were each two games back in their respective divisions. Steinbrenner specifically complained that, at the time of the league’s ruling, it was costing the Yankees a share of first place. The whole turn of events may be a footnote now, but the tightness of the races did heighten the magnitude at the time.
Thanks for reading, Brian. And you make a great point. Hindsight makes it tempting to downplay, but they definitely didn't know how things were going to play out in the moment.
I am also old enough to remember that period of rivalry. I still to this day pull for whomever the dirty Yankees are playing.
But we have the Braves & low life Phillies in a bitter rivalry now. There is no love lost on these two teams when they are playing. Great drama with each pitch and play.
The NL East has a nice little triangle rivalry thing going between the Braves, Phils, and Mets. At least, when the Mets decide they want to compete, which is hit and miss. Although I've noticed the other fanbases don't really care if the Mets are a serious obstacle or not, they still love to hate on them. And vice-versa, which is exactly how rivalries should be. Reminds me a little of what the Chiefs, Broncos, and Raiders had going on in the AFC West back in the day. I suppose it's still going on, but the Chiefs have been so dominant lately and the other two can't stop tripping over their own feet, so it takes a little bit of the shine off. The NL East looks good to go for years though, at least between Atlanta and Philly. We'll see if the Mets can crash the party.
I'm old enough (and I think you are too) to remember when Royals-Yankees *regular season* games felt big. Even in the late 80s, those games felt a little different in the stands than games against, say, Milwaukee. Of course, since the mid-90s, it's been about the same rivalry as a hammer and a nail.
I am in full agreement that rivalries are the best part of sports. It is why the youth-travel-sports-pyramid-scheme is so hollow, with players traveling hours to play meaningless games against random collections of players.
Anyway, the SD/LA rivalry is fantastic right now (Machado as the heel is perfect casting). I was hoping Brewers/Cubs might get going with Counsel abandoning ship... maybe next year.
Finally, the reason the NHL playoffs are the best competition in sports is because the teams really, truly dislike each other as each series plays out.
Agreed. LAD-SDP is great theater right now. Would love to see Cubs-Brewers get there too. And as a Royals fan, I'd love for them to win with enough consistency to truly reignite the Yankee rivalry for a whole new generation.
Great history! I will point out that although it didn’t come close to affecting the division races year, at the time of the Pine Tar Bat Game, the Yankees and Royals were each two games back in their respective divisions. Steinbrenner specifically complained that, at the time of the league’s ruling, it was costing the Yankees a share of first place. The whole turn of events may be a footnote now, but the tightness of the races did heighten the magnitude at the time.
Thanks for reading, Brian. And you make a great point. Hindsight makes it tempting to downplay, but they definitely didn't know how things were going to play out in the moment.
I am also old enough to remember that period of rivalry. I still to this day pull for whomever the dirty Yankees are playing.
But we have the Braves & low life Phillies in a bitter rivalry now. There is no love lost on these two teams when they are playing. Great drama with each pitch and play.
The NL East has a nice little triangle rivalry thing going between the Braves, Phils, and Mets. At least, when the Mets decide they want to compete, which is hit and miss. Although I've noticed the other fanbases don't really care if the Mets are a serious obstacle or not, they still love to hate on them. And vice-versa, which is exactly how rivalries should be. Reminds me a little of what the Chiefs, Broncos, and Raiders had going on in the AFC West back in the day. I suppose it's still going on, but the Chiefs have been so dominant lately and the other two can't stop tripping over their own feet, so it takes a little bit of the shine off. The NL East looks good to go for years though, at least between Atlanta and Philly. We'll see if the Mets can crash the party.
I'm old enough (and I think you are too) to remember when Royals-Yankees *regular season* games felt big. Even in the late 80s, those games felt a little different in the stands than games against, say, Milwaukee. Of course, since the mid-90s, it's been about the same rivalry as a hammer and a nail.
Yeah, I think that pretty much sums up most of the last 30 years for the Royals. Hard to inspire a rivalry when you're irrelevant.