Mookie Betts got asked if Red Sox-Yankees or Dodgers-Giants was the better MLB rivalry
Thanks to the infamous trade, Mookie Betts is one of the rare MLB players who can say they’ve experienced both Red Sox–Yankees and Dodgers–Giants rivalries in the high stakes of the postseason.
After the Dodgers clinched the NLDS in a down-to-the-wire Game 5 in San Francisco, Betts was asked which rivalry was better. His answer was diplomatic but clearer than 20/20 vision:
Max Scherzer cornering Mookie on how the Red Sox - Yankees rivalry compares to Dodgers - Giants is wonderful pic.twitter.com/3LfROntt9J
— Joon Lee (@joonlee) October 15, 2021
As someone who lived in Boston and Los Angeles, I’ve seen both rivalries get heated. But in my personal experience, Red Sox-Yankees, especially in the early 2000s, is unparalleled. Throughout the history, fans from each side have thrown everything from batteries to beer onto the field and the opposing team’s players. The 86-year Curse of the Bambino and the existence of Alex Rodriguez only added extra fuel to the east-coast rivalry fire.
In terms of playoff meetings, the Red Sox and Yankees have the Dodgers and Giants beat by a mile. The east coast rivals have met in the postseason five times since the 1999 ALCS, with iconic performances from Pedro Martinez, Aaron Boone, and David Ortiz, to name a few. In 2004, the Red Sox came back from being down three games to none, to win the ALCS and then the World Series. No team had ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a postseason series, and no team has replicated the feat since.
The Dodgers and Giants’ rivalry predates the Sox and Yankees’ by default, as the National League is decades older than the American League. In 1904, the then-New York Giants actually refused to play the Red Sox in the World Series, and as such, there was no Fall Classic that year. However, despite many pennant and division races, the two Cali teams have met in the postseason exactly once, in this week’s NLDS.
Will the Red Sox and Dodgers see each other in the World Series?
If the Red Sox beat the Astros in the ALCS and the Dodgers beat the Braves in the NLCS, Betts will have to face his former team. Most Red Sox fans would hate to root against Betts, who is not only still popular with many fans – when he’s not facing the Sox – but also having a scorching-hot postseason. In Game 5 of the NLDS, he became the first player in Dodgers franchise history to go 4-for-4 in a must-win postseason game.
Ultimately, the rivalries are essentially a ‘to each their own’ situation. But for Red Sox fans who miss Betts, it’s nice to hear that he still has love for Boston.