The most lopsided rivalries in MLB history
Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig (right) runs to third base, past New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter. (Photo by Chris Williams/Icon Sportswire)
March 3rd, 2020
Major League Baseball holds some of the greatest rivalries in all of sports. Yankees versus Red Sox and Cubs versus Cardinals immediately come to mind. But there are some baseball rivalries that have been more one-sided.
Let's rank the top five most lopsided MLB rivalries.
5. San Diego Padres vs. Atlanta Braves
Baseball fans of a certain age can recall the no-holds-barred brawl that took place between the Atlanta Braves and the San Diego Padres on Aug. 12, 1984. The Braves won that game, 5-3, one of 357 times they’ve beaten the Padres to date, compared to just 253 losses (.563 winning percentage, regular season only). However, San Diego won the only playoff series between these two clubs in the 1998 National League Championship Series.
4. Baltimore Orioles vs. New York Yankees
The Yankees have had the Orioles’ number, with 607 regular-season wins since 1954 (the O’s were as the St. Louis Browns from 1902 to 1953) and 497 losses (.553 win percentage). Baltimore has lost both previous postseason meetings with the Bombers, the more notable of the two being the 1996 American League Championship Series, which was marred by fan interference in Game 1. The Yankees also beat the Orioles in the 2012 American League Division Series. The O’s are just 16-41 against New York over the last three seasons.
Other notable moments in this rivalry include a wild brawl in May of 1998, and Mike Mussina’s decision to walk from Baltimore to New York in free agency in 2001.
3. Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Philadelphia Phillies
The Dodgers and Phillies have met 2,109 times since 1884, and the Boys in Blue have emerged victorious 1,174 times (.560 win percentage). For Phils fans, moments like L.A.’s controversial Game 4 victory in the 1977 NLCS reign supreme prior to 2008, when Philadelphia won its first World Series in nearly 30 years. Matt Stairs was among the heroes in a memorable NLCS victory over the Dodgers.
2. Atlanta Braves vs. New York Mets
The Braves have typically had their way with the Mets since the New York club’s founding in 1962 and have a .545 winning percentage over 859 regular-season meetings.
The rivalry reached a fever pitch in the late 1990s, as the Braves were re-aligned to the NL East in 1995. Atlanta won 11 straight division titles and kept the Mets under its thumb for most of that time. Playing at home provided little solace for the Mets during this era, as Braves legend Chipper Jones burned them so often there he named one of his sons Shea after New York’s former ballpark.
When the two clubs met in the 1999 NLCS, the Braves emerged the winners in six games. The Mets won the only other postseason series between these two clubs, the 1969 NLCS, en route to their miraculous World Series victory.
1. Los Angeles Dodgers vs. New York Yankees
The regular-season series between the Dodgers and Yankees is knotted up at eight wins apiece, but most of the history between these two clubs lays in the 11 World Series matchups they shared.
The Yankees hold a 8-3 edge in that department and won the first five World Series the two clubs competed in. It wasn’t until 1955 that the Brooklyn Dodgers finally beat their rivals from the Bronx. However, when they met again in 1956, the Yankees’ Don Larsen threw a perfect Game 5 as part of the Bombers’ 4-3 series victory.
Since their move to L.A., the Dodgers have taken two World Series at the Yankees’ expense (1963 and 1981), while New York took two of their own (1977 and 1978).
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