A significant part of what helped Major League Baseball become America’s Game, and then later remain one of the country’s most beloved sports despite the NFL and NBA’s emergence, was the anger and hatred that came with rivalries. Negativity sells, and there’s a reason why national TV broadcasts so often feature the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, or the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs.
Sports fans have likely heard their favorite athletes say, “They don’t like us, and we don’t like them.” It’s an age-old principle that SMU tight end RJ Maryland said about TCU fans earlier this year, only weeks after Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold referenced the same point when discussing the Green Bay Packers.
As for Major League Baseball? Oddsmakers listed the Los Angeles Dodgers as the favorites to sign Red Sox third baseman Alex Bregman, who opted out of his contract earlier this month. Although the Dodgers and Red Sox might not be rivals, the Dodgers had a feud with Bregman’s former club, the Houston Astros, following the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal. When Houston defeated Los Angeles in the 2017 World Series, it certainly didn’t hurt that Bregman and the Astros knew what pitches were coming and took full advantage.
Nearly a decade later, there’s a possibility that Bregman winds up with the Dodgers, and it’d prove that in the end, rivalries and feuds in baseball are long gone.
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Baseball rivalries no longer mean anything, and Alex Bregman is living proof
In fairness, any thoughts of a legitimate Dodgers and Astros essentially ended after Dodgers pitcher Joe Kelly threw at Bregman and Houston shortstop Carlos Correa in 2020, months after Major League Baseball released the findings of an investigation into Houston’s sign-stealing scandal. The benches cleared later in the game, Kelly was suspended for eight games, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts earned a one-game ban, and that was that.
The Dodgers and Astros cleared the benches after Joe Kelly struck out and exchanged words with Carlos Correa. pic.twitter.com/Z2l2A1sMG6
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 29, 2020
In years past, bad blood might have lingered for years. But in the current climate, rivalries mean nothing. In fact, Dodgers reliever Pedro Báez signed a two-year deal with that same Astros organization in January 2021. Báez had the opportunity to cash in with a team that, arguably in part because they stole signs, defeated his club in the World Series just a few seasons earlier, and he wisely took the opportunity.
Let’s take the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, for example. Outside of this past AL Wild Card Series, when was the last time that a Yankees-Red Sox series carried the emotional magnitude and gravitas that we were accustomed to for decades? We’re a long way removed from Yankees rookie first baseman Shelley Duncan writing “Red Sox Suck” when signing an autograph for a young Boston fan in 2007.
Rivalries don’t matter anymore because we’ve conditioned ourselves not to hate a team or its players unless they’re overly dominant or it’s been proven they’ve cheated in some capacity. Red Sox fans despised Alex Rodriguez, a known PED user, during his time with the Yankees. The only negative emotions they have about Aaron Judge probably come when he sends a ball over the Green Monster. In our opinion, the mix of fantasy sports and legalized gambling certainly didn’t help, either. How can a Mets fan root against Kyle Schwarber if he bet on the over, and Schwarber is on a hot streak?
If there’s any upside to rivalries dying, it’s that we hear fewer stories about violence in a stadium. Yes, there is the unfortunate, occasional video of two intoxicated fans being held back from slugging one another. However, the days of families actively avoiding sitting in the Yankee Stadium bleachers have gradually slowed to a halt.
To be clear, rivalries still matter in some North American sports. A glance at social media shows that Ohio State and Michigan alumni are quite excited for Saturday’s game in Ann Arbor. But the keyword there is alumni. Even with the transfer portal, that game still means something to players from both teams, and that’s despite Michigan still needing help to reach the College Football Playoffs. Why should a Cubs fan in their mid-20s care about a September series against the Cardinals if neither team is in the playoff hunt? That we even need to ask such a question is all the proof that you need.