Red Sox and Yankees: Rethinking the Rivalry

Rivalries are everywhere in sports. Fans and media are quick to blow the significance of "rivalry" games way out of proportion. Another Red Sox/Yankees series began Monday and although it comprises just three games of a 162-game season, it is nothing short of playoff intensity for fans at Fenway Park.

I have been a part of this rivalry for most of my life. I was born in 1981 in Massachusetts and was a Red Sox fan by age 5. I have a collection of Red Sox ticket stubs from as far back as 1988 and have seen them play in six cities — Boston, New York, Toronto, Oakland, Baltimore, and Philadelphia. Having said that, I should be as excited as anyone about the Yankees coming to town.

I hate the Yankees with every fiber of my being, but the rivalry is starting to get ridiculous. The press likes to say that the rivalry is 88-years-old — since the Babe Ruth sale. But that's not true. The Yankees have been the gold standard for professional sports franchises for 90 years. The Red Sox have only been to five World Series since 1918 — winning one. That's not a rivalry. The Yankees have 26 titles and are a threat for another every year.

Maybe the genesis of this rivalry can be traced back to the Babe, but it only surfaces for short periods of time. In 1978, the two teams finished the regular season tied for first place, resulting in a one-game playoff for the division. A Bucky "Bleeping" Dent home run led the Yankees to the playoffs over the Red Sox. I wasn't even alive for that game, but I must have heard the story 500 times by my 8th birthday.

1978 was a great year for the rivalry. Unfortunately, the Red Sox didn't make the playoffs until eight years later. The Yankees have only had two playoff droughts of more than eight seasons since their first World Series appearance in 1921 — 12 years from 1964-76 and 14 years from 1981-95. But an eight-year absence isn't too bad for the Sox. Boston missed the playoffs 28 straight years from 1918 to 1946, and didn't make it again until 1967. That's two World Series appearances in 49 years compared to 29 for New York over that same span.

It's not exactly breaking news that the Yankees and Red Sox have much different histories. But where was the rivalry? If this is the most storied rivalry in all of baseball, where was it from 1918 to 1967? The Yankees won the pennant 29 times in 49 years compared to two for the Sox. Boston finished in second place only six other times. That means that in 49 seasons, the Boston Red Sox finished in third place or worse 41 times. The Yankees: only 13.

The Red Sox have been to three World Series since then. The Yankees have been to three of the last six.

How can teams with such different pasts have such a heated rivalry?

Recent events have helped. The two teams have met up in the ALCS three times in the last seven years, twice going to Game 7. They also play 19 times every year in the regular season thanks to unbalanced scheduling.

There have also been battles for players, with the Yankees always winning. Alex Rodriguez was supposed to be the Red Sox shortstop. Instead, he plays third base for the Yankees. Jose Contreres was also going to sign with Sox before receiving a higher offer from Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. Others include Mike Mussina and Jason Giambi, not to mention New York's recent acquisition of Johnny Damon.

These failed Red Sox acquisitions who ended up in pinstripes made the fans hate the "Evil Empire" even more. But I can pinpoint the exact moment the rivalry ignited again. It was Game 3 of the 1999 ALCS. Pedro Martinez vs. The Rocket. I was at Fenway Park for that game and the Sox shellacked ol' Roger. It was the only game Boston would win in the series, but the atmosphere in Boston and at Fenway Park has not been the same since.

Back then, I never missed a Pedro Martinez start. I believed then and believe now that Pedro is the best pitcher of my lifetime and among the top-five of all time. It warms my heart to think about the games he pitched against the Yankees. He owned them. And it kills me that he couldn't finish the job in 2003 and that Curt Schilling gets the credit for 2004. It could not have happened without Pedro.

Regardless, it was that October Game 7 years ago that launched the rivalry again. The Sox have finished in second place behind the Yankees every year since then. That is the main reason for the rivalry's resurgence. Both teams have been in contention every year for eight consecutive seasons. The rivalry has not had a chance to fizzle like it did in the past. It keeps growing. Perhaps it has even outgrown itself.

It's great for Boston sports. Fenway Park has the second longest consecutive sellout streak of all-time, and it gets extended every night. Experts on television talk like it's always been like this. That is absurd. The New England Sports Network, or NESN, shows classic Sox games regularly on its station. These games show an entirely different Fenway Park. There are empty seats everywhere during important games from winning seasons. NESN also shows a commercial featuring a game in 1999 and there's almost no one there.

There's a reason that they never put seats on the Green Monster before 2003. The Sox weren't selling out games as it was. Certainly, they didn't need more empty seats.

Now there's not an empty seat in the house and fans have more trouble getting tickets than ever before. It's these fair-weather fans that perpetuate the rivalry. I find it hard to believe that any of those fans hated the Yankees before the Derek Jeter era.

Growing up, I hated the Knicks more than the Yankees and I probably hated the Lakers more than either of them. Now everyone just hates the Yankees.

And so do I. I attended the first game between the two teams this season. On May 1st, the Yanks made their first trip to Boston and I was there to see it — and to boo the living hell out of Johnny Damon. But 10 years ago, a cold, rainy May 1st game against any team would have been half empty at Fenway. Not anymore. It's a circus from Opening Day these days.

Now a May game against the Yankees brings ESPN, Ben Affleck, Governor Mitt Romney, and all sorts of others to tiny, old, uncomfortable Fenway Park. It seems to me that sports fans outside of Boston and New York must be sick and tired of it.

As for me, I'm somewhere in between. I'm more disturbed by the way the whole thing plays out. I don't like the ESPN coverage that treats every game like the Super Bowl. I don't like the guys in Boston who wear shirts that say "Jeter Sucks A Rod" or "R. Kelly Banged Sheff's Wife." I am a baseball fan and these guys are not. These are the people who like the rivalry more than the sport. They would rather the Sox win one game against the Yanks than 10 against the Devil Rays. I believe some of them hate the Yankees more than they like the Red Sox.

Perhaps the recent influx of fans and the inflated rivalry are functions of the Sox success. Maybe the fact that the Sox have been competitive for eight straight seasons is the reason for both the rivalry and the sellouts.

I don't believe that. I believe the fans are a function of the rivalry. I believe the Red Sox' success is, as well. The organization is in a constant "arms race" with New York. I can't say I blame them considering it is the rivalry that brought the fans out in record numbers.

The 1999 ALCS made it clear that the rivalry could be used to garner intense year-round support for the Red Sox in Boston — the kind there is now. The 1999 Red Sox roster had very few stars on it. The team overachieved with guys like Troy O'Leary, Darren Lewis, and Jose Offerman. The Sox record was worse in 2000 than it was in 1999, and worse in 2001 than 2000. It took the major signings of Manny Ramirez, Johnny Damon, and Curt Schilling to get the Sox back to a World Series-caliber team. And it never would have happened without the Yankees.

I just hope all the fans continue to support my beloved Red Sox long after the days of Jason Varitek and David Ortiz. I wonder what Fenway will look like in 10 years. If the 2015 Red Sox lose 90 games, who will sit in the Green Monster? Who will sing "Sweet Caroline" in the middle of the eighth inning? Will "Fever Pitch 2" be the lowest-grossing Drew Barrymore movie since "Home Fries?"

I don't have the answers, but I know that there are Red Sox and Yankees fans who agree with me. The rivalry is not bigger than game. It is just a part of it.