Baseball rivalries of a certain kind may erupt at any time. A hard slide at second base, a player taking his time admiring a huge home run, or a team battling it out throughout the course of a game or season are all examples of things that may ratchet up the tension.
Any next showdown might erupt into an all-out brawl if things go out of hand. Then there are the conflicts that arise from a lack of choice. Two teams grow to be dominant at the same time, and they are forced to compete for dominance year in and year out. Condescension grows out of familiarity.
Some rivalries developed for historical reasons. For some, it was because of where they lived, while for others, because it was a game between two of baseball’s greatest teams at the time. It doesn’t matter what the cause is, they still despise one other. Take a look at the top three MLB rivalries of all time.
Chicago Cubs vs Chicago White Sox
Having both Cubs and White Sox as hometown teams makes the rivalry even more intense. The Cubs and White Sox have long been bitter rivals in Chicago, thanks to the city’s vast and enthusiastic baseball fan base, which has long split the Windy City into two opposing groups.
Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants
The rivalry between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants is one of the oldest in Major League Baseball. The rivalry between Los Angeles and San Francisco dates back to 1889, when the two cities met in the World Series. When they first met, both teams were from upstate New York, but they relocated to California together in 1958.
New York Yankees vs Boston Red Sox
There is no greater rivalry in professional baseball than the New York Yankees vs Boston Red Sox. When the Red Sox transferred Babe Ruth to the Yankees, it sparked one of the most intense, but revered, rivalries in baseball history.
