The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees have one of the most storied rivalries in baseball and, arguably, all of American professional sports.
But a recent column from the Los Angeles Times disputes this. Writer Bill Shaikin claims the "best rivalry" title now belongs to the Dodgers and Padres. Unfortunately, he might be right, and there's one clear reason why.
"Rivalries — at least the few that attract national interest — are born in October," Shaikin wrote. The Red Sox and Yankees last met in the postseason in 2021, and Boston fans remember the matchup fondly. But from before then to now, New York is still a perennial playoff contender, and it's recently left the lowly Red Sox in the dust for no reason other than money.
Red Sox owner John Henry's drastic change in budget has been well documented since Boston neglected to extend Mookie Betts. Soon after the Betts deal, Fenway Sports Group's portfolio began rapidly expanding, and it hasn't slowed since. Meanwhile, the Yankees have remained a financial juggernaut among big-market teams.
New York has signed and extended multiple once-in-a-generation players as the Sox watched theirs walk. Their aggressive spending and pursuit of top free agents keep them in the postseason while Boston rots in the American League East's basement so the Red Sox can be a constant stream of profit for their ownership.
LA Times suggests the Dodgers-Padres rivalry is now better than Red Sox-Yankees, and it may be correct
Column: Baseball's best rivalry is no longer Yankees-Red Sox. It's Dodgers vs. Padres.
— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) November 1, 2024
https://t.co/PGk0Li2RVB
The Dodgers are still the frontrunners and most frequent National League West champions, but the Padres have emerged as worthy contenders in recent years. San Diego has made the playoffs every other year since 2020, but even its regular season games against LA are high-energy. The two squads dish out major contracts and their inter-state beef created an impeccable atmosphere during the NLDS.
The Padres eliminated the Dodgers in the 2022 NLDS and LA got its revenge two years later. That's another secret to a rivalry — balance. The Red Sox and Yankees can't possibly be good rivals if one is always in the playoffs and one isn't and one always out-spends and out-maneuvers the other.
Baseball is better when Boston and New York don't like each other — and they still don't, but their games don't have the same level of urgency or significance when one side is always better. Any dissolution of the rivalry that's occurred is on Henry, and the Red Sox front office can fix it with a huge offseason.
If the young and inexperienced Red Sox want to compete with the slugging veteran Yankees, ownership needs to prove it this offseason. Not next year when more top prospects break camp, not two years from now when they have more big league experience, the Red Sox need to try now.