First Pitch: What makes Yankees-Red Sox the best rivalry in baseball?
By Mark Powell
Two of the most storied franchises in all of sports, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, face off for the first time this season over the weekend. So, what’s the secret to the longevity of the greatest rivalry in baseball, and possibly sports?
The easy answer to that question is to look at the geographical ties. Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium are separated by just over three hours driving time. New York/New Jersey teams are often rivals with their Boston/New England counterparts. What makes Yankees-Red Sox so special?
It’s the history. The lore. The Bambino.
Seriously, this level of hatred all dates back to one man. Hint: That man is not Babe Ruth. Rather, despite five World Series titles to their name at the time — and a baseball record near-30 inning scoreless streak in the Fall Classic for then-pitcher Ruth — Boston owner Harry Frazee traded the future Hall of Famer to the Yankees for just under $500,000.
There’s some debate over what Frazee did with that money, though some suggest he used it to fund a broadway play. I’m sure “No, No Nanette” was wonderful, though.
But that’s not all! Frazee would sell six more players to New York in short order due to money problems, and even allowed former Red Sox World Series-winning manager Ed Barrow to join the Yankees front office. It was a mutiny.
MLB preview: History fuels the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry
What followed can only be described as either the purest form of baseball karma or a shot of unadulterated sadness, depending on which side you’re on.
From 1920 until 2003, the Yankees won 26 World Series and 39 pennants. The Red Sox…well, things didn’t go according to plan. Four pennants, no World Series titles and way too much frustration for one fan base to handle. You’ve heard the story by now.
86 years of waiting built an overwhelming level of angst in Boston. Eventually, hating one singular rival was easier than fixing their own inefficiencies. Frustration works in mysterious ways.
The Yankees surely participated in this tomfoolery, but the Red Sox carried the water. Playing little brother in oh so many battles and consistently falling short is exhausting. Whether it be on the field, at the trade deadline, at winter meetings or even in the press, it seemed like the Yankees always had Boston’s number.
Come 2004, that all changed.
The bloody sock, a Dave Roberts steal and some David Ortiz heroics, along with everything else that had to go right to overcome a previously insurmountable 0-3 deficit, did, in a sure reflection of the baseball Gods evening the score.
86 years of misery cannot be undone by a singular World Series run, or even four including 2004, but it’s a start. The Yankees, without a World Series in the last decade-plus, have gotten a taste of what Red Sox fans felt for exactly eight-times that amount.
No history book can be summed up in less than 500 words, but this origin story, along with the decades filled with borderline mythological tendencies to follow, makes Yankees-Red Sox….what it is. A rivalry that transcends sports and culture, for all the obvious reasons and, frankly, some indescribable acts of jealousy in a play even Frazee couldn’t write.
But you’ve heard enough from me. No, the only way to move this discussion forward is from the fans themselves. Adam Weinrib and Sean Penney do us a solid in the slides ahead: