The Bitter Rivals Thread

[KenFougere]

....it keeps on going and going and ...

Originally posted by DownUnderDodger
Obviously I am not way up there with most of you as far as the history of the game is concerned, however from what I have read there is no doubt that no other rivalry can match the Red Sox - Yankee history. Interestingly, during yesterday's telecast of the Giants/Dodgers game the same question was asked in the fans survey and the result (over 17,000 responses) was overwhelming to the BoSox/Yankees with more than 62% of the vote. Second was Giants/Dodgers and third was Cubs/Cards.

RB

It's passed on from generation to generation. My grandfather and father talked endlessly about it. Now my 6-year-old son knows ALL about too! It makes every season special...
It's taken on a life of it's own.......

...... ...... :gt.....

[DownUnderDodger]

It's passed on from generation to generation. My grandfather and father talked endlessly about it. Now my 6-year-old son knows ALL about too! It makes every season special...

I am sure if I lived in USA I would be glued to baseball and have a much greater knowledge of the game and its history. That is why I love accessing :atthepc this forum - people like yourself who have had the game passed down thru generations continue to enlighten me!!

RB

[KenFougere]

Re: Yankees--Dodgers

Originally posted by YankeeMan
I know they don't play every year but I wonder why the Yankees-Dodgers rivalry is hardly ever mentioned among the "great rivalries."

It's probably not mentioned because there's not many people alive anymore who actually saw them play when the Dodgers were in Brooklyn.
For example, I don't consider the Red Sox-Braves a rivalry at all...

[yellowdog]

The only thing I like as much as baseball is talking about baseball. That's the great thing about this forum for those of us who don't have spouses or friends who share or understand our enthusiasm.

[Perseas]

Re: Re: #1 Rivalry -- Red Sox v. Yankees

Originally posted by razors

Originally posted by YankeeMan
But hey, what franchise, in any sport, compares with the Yanks?

i think it would depend on the criteria used - e.g. fan base (amount vs. intensity), titles, name recognition, revenue, blah, blah...

manchester united for sure...

...and maybe:

arsenal
barcelona
real madrid
juventus

amd i think the green bay packers have a fairly successful and storied history...

razors

Thank god someone popped out of the US borders to look further ahead. I only like to watch international soccer games (and I come from a country where 90% of sports news is domestic and international soccer) but you guys have to admit that most of the teams that razors stated have a huge amount of fans worldwide. It is a fact thaat 96% of Man United fans have never been to Old Trafford (because it's thousands of miles away from where they live or come from). Barcelona has a 95000 seat stadium (Camp Nou) and in every home match they issue only 10000 tickets, because they have 80000 season ticket members and around 1500 member clubs worldwide, almost the same as Real Madrid. I myself am a member of the Juverntus fan club in Athens, Greece. So l would advise a little caution when referring to the rest of the world. And besides that you should know that outsside the American continent, the most popular sports league is the NBA.

I apologise if the posting looks offensive it's just that

[aroundthehorn]

Re: Re: This is a great forum

Originally posted by KenFougere
Well, ATH, glad you like it!....
Now, what do you think is "the best" baseball rivalry?....

Yankees - RedSox is the best, I hope to someday witness 1 page of a yearly chapter of this historic novel in my days roaming the earth. It will come to me.

2nd in line is to me, Cubs-Cardinals, the electricity "buzz", and intense what I would call love/hate to beat the other team is prevalent when these 2 hook up.

The Sosa-McGwire home run race was just dessert for this storied rivalry. It's going to be fun to see Matt Morris v. Wood/Clement/ or Prior this year a few times.

Then, Dodger/Giants.

[Sandman]

Mets-Braves is very heated. That belongs in th top 5, I'd say.

[Steffo]

You cannot forget the classic Devil Rays-White Sox matchups....

Actually, I think there are few classic rivalries these days besides the RedSox/Yankees, Cubs/Cards, Dodgers/Giants, and Mets/Braves.

I think the A's have a rivalry but I can't think it.

[bezdomny]

I'm certain that was a joke.

But I think that, over the years ahead, Tampa-Boston could evolve into a great rivalry. Nothing remotely close to the NY-Boston rivalry, of course, but when the Rays get good, I think it will be a rivalry.

Early days yet, but these two teams sure hate each other passionately. And when I go to Rays-Red Red Sox games, there's a lot more tension in the air than when I go to Rays-Yankees games.

In any event, the Red Sox are the team I seem to most enjoy watching the Rays play and, on happy occasions, defeat.

[KenFougere]

I Agree!

Originally posted by bezdomny
I'm certain that was a joke.

But I think that, over the years ahead, Tampa-Boston could evolve into a great rivalry. Nothing remotely close to the NY-Boston rivalry, of course, but when the Rays get good, I think it will be a rivalry.

Early days yet, but these two teams sure hate each other passionately. And when I go to Rays-Red Red Sox games, there's a lot more tension in the air than when I go to Rays-Yankees games.

In any event, the Red Sox are the team I seem to most enjoy watching the Rays play and, on happy occasions, defeat.

You're absolutely right. These last couple of years have had their share of bench-clearing brawls, bean-balls and ejections. I remember Pedro being in the middle of it too. It's going to get worse with Lou P. as the manager. He won't back down from anybody.


{to Yankeeman: Speaking of Lou, that was the luckiest stab at a ball (in the sun) that he never even saw!
Do you know what game I'm talking about?}........:grouchy

[bezdomny]

Yep. As of some point last year, the Rays and BoSox led the majors in terms of the two teams who HBP each other the most. I don't know if they finished the season that way, but it wouldn't surprise me, given that Pedro is the active career leader in HBP and the Rays young pitching is prone to it as well.

Here in the Tampa Bay area, there are a lot of relocated Yankees fans, so when you go to a Rays-Yankees game people have a hard time rooting against the team from "back home." But although there are some former Bostonians here as well, they are fewer. And of course, the relocated New Yorkers are used to hating the Red Sox anyway. So I think most Rays fans see the BoSox as the most targetable rival for the Tampa Bay franchise as it seeks to find an identity within the American League.

[BigFan14]

I can't remember who coined the phrase

"A rivalry can only exist when two teams have a chance of beating each other on a consistent basis"

to that light, while the red sox and yankees may go head to head during the season, the redsox have rarely been able to beat the Yankees to gain the first place position.

I think it is called a rivalry for lack of any other word, but the Red Sox can not beat and have not beaten the Yankees therefore, I do not consider this a rivalry

Since the last time Sox won a WS they have won 4 AL Pennants
The Yankees have won 38

an the WS...well we know that record.

[bezdomny]

I have to agree with Ken. After all, the Red Sox have made it past the Yankees to reach the World Series on several occasions. In fact, the last four times the Sox have reached the Fall Classic, they've gone all the way to Game 7 before being heartbroken.

It's the Cardinals (twice), Reds and Mets who have wrenched the glory away from the Red Sox in the end, not the Yankees.

[Sandman]

Originally posted by bezdomny
I have to agree with Ken. After all, the Red Sox have made it past the Yankees to reach the World Series on several occasions. In fact, the last four times the Sox have reached the Fall Classic, they've gone all the way to Game 7 before being heartbroken.

It's the Cardinals (twice), Reds and Mets who have wrenched the glory away from the Red Sox in the end, not the Yankees.

As DarkDragon said in the early part of this thread:
Consider this: the Red Sox haven't won a World Series since 1918, that's 85 years. During that time, 26 WS have been won by the Yankees, that's more than a third of the years the Red Sox have been in drought. During that time, the Yankees have also won 38 pennants, preventing the Red Sox from reaching the WS nearly half of all of those years. Suppose the Yankees did not exist, how many of those pennants would the Sox have won? Quite a few, I suspect, by nothing more than probability. And out of those WS appearances, how many victories do you suppose they would have? At least a few, after all, even a blind mouse occasionally finds a piece of cheese.

[Sandman]

I meant to say that in response to:
It's the Cardinals (twice), Reds and Mets who have wrenched the glory away from the Red Sox in the end, not the Yankees.