Yanks and Dodgers

Rivalries make the best story lines in any sport, Lakers - Celtics, Oliers - Flames, Leafs - Habs,
Steelers - Browns, and Yanks - Boston.
Heck, rivalries seem to define some sports because what do you remember, Pedro Martinez
fighting with Yanks coach Don Zimmer, or the game he pitched ?

What do you remember about any of these rivalries, usually the moments, individual
performances, but many times it's the pure hate between both teams. I mean look at the Tiger
Cats and the Argonauts, most of these players get changed each year, but the rivalry is so
intense every time they meet. Fights in the stands, fights on the field, snowballs rain down in
winter, beer cans in summer, insults at any time.

The New York Yankees for decades were the Kings of the game, they had the stars, they had
the money, and the won all the Series, while their poor NL cousins the Brooklyn Dodgers were
referred to as Dem Bums, even by their faithful fans. It was always " Wait till next Year !! "

Dom Camilli once said " I'd rather beast the Yankees than kiss my wife, okay you get the picture, these team hated each other.

The Yankees played in upper Manhatten, while the Brooklyn Dodgers played in the rougher area of the boroughs, in little Brooklyn, so you already had a city divided along baseball lines. To make matters worse you also had the New York Giants who played in the Polo Grounds, but we'll stick to the Yanks/Dodgers for now, adding a third rival is a bit much.

Just look at the stadiums, Yankee Stadium was majestic, it soared, dignitaries wanted to be seen there, while the park in Brooklyn was built in area originally called "Pigtown", and was built by Charles Hercules Ebbetts on a fairly limited budget, but is was so close tot he players and had a certain charm that smaller parks always had. It suited the Dodgers, and their fans, and their players, rejects, washed up veterans, and the Yankees have always seemed to have royalty.
Ruth, DiMaggio, Gehrig, Mantle, Berra, and Maris...you just do not have the same litany of Dodgers greats.
Yes Duke Snider and Pee Wee Reese were good players, so was Jackie Robinson, and Roy Campenella but not as luminous as the Yankees were, so that fed the rivalry.

It did not the rivalry that when the Brooklyn's finally started getting to the World Series, there were the Yankees to beat them down again.

Until 1955, then everything changed, the Bums won, and it was next year, and here are a few of that 55' team,Reese, Snider, Camilli and Robinson.

The heroes from Flatbush won that one time, and then in 1959 moved to Los Angeles where they are stars in Hollywood, finally reaching some notoriety but losing the cross town rivalry with the Yankees.

So, what did the Dodgers do, well they started a new rivalry with the San Fransisco Giants.



Enjoy !