Is Padres-Dodgers a rivalry? Not if you have to ask

The playoff matchup between the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers is a bitter rivalry. At least from one side of it.

The San Diego Padres are facing the Los Angeles Dodgers for the NLDS, and some consider the two teams ‘rivals.’ Not all agree. There’s no secret that most San Diego fans strongly dislike the Dodgers. However, the feeling isn’t mutual from Dodgers fans.

In a somewhat humorous column from Bill Plaschke of the San Diego Union-Tribune, he wrote, “The Padres fans see the Dodgers and immediately break into passionate boos. The Dodgers fans see the Padres and immediately think, hey, we should plan our next weekend trip to Del Mar!”

The Padres haven’t been as much of a threat in the past as they are now. The Dodgers, on the other hand, have consistently been one of the most well-rounded teams in the league. The dynamic has certainly shifted a bit this year but calling them rivals is a bit of an exaggeration.

San Diego and Los Angeles are undoubtedly competitive with each other, but there’s never really been a true sense of rivalry.

The Padres and the Dodgers aren’t necessarily ‘rivals’

The two are competitive in the NL West, and especially this season, the tension was stronger than usual. The Padres are a better team than they have been in the past, and that’s not going unnoticed. According to Steve Price of CBS8, former MLB outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr. stated, “[The Dodgers] know that this team is playing a little bit different than they were the last time they faced off and they know if they don’t come out and play their best baseball, they can get beat.”

Former Padres All-Star pitcher Randy Jones also acknowledged the positive shift in their performance and stated, “This is a Major League Baseball club, and they can contend, and it has the potential to win a World Series. You’d better pay attention because we’re not just a bump in the road. I mean, these guys can flat out play. You let your guard down and this Padres team will light your butt up.”

Though the Padres played better than usual and are certainly on the rise, they still finished second in the division standings 22 games behind the Dodgers. With that gap, there’s not necessarily a rivalry because it’s nearly impractical to think that San Diego could’ve ended up on top.

The Padres also hadn’t had a winning percentage above .500 since 2010 (excluding the partial season of 2020). They weren’t seen as a threat to the Dodgers for many good reasons.