Crosstown rivalry

Crosstown rivalry is the battle of geographic neighbours. They can represent not only one city but the neighbouring states or cities. Some started as World Series competitions, and later, the fans applied the nickname to the regular season. Let’s scan through the six greatest MLB crosstown rivalries and understand the main principles of this sport notion.

Citrus Series

This series underlines the crosstown rivalry between Tampa and Miami, Rays and Marlins. 270 miles divide these teams from each other. They play in different leagues (The Rays are the representative of the American League, and the Marlins are in the National), so they play twice per season. Rays is currently leading in the Florida derby. Interestingly, the ticket for this game is usually a dollar cheaper than any other event at Miami Baseball Stadium.

Beltway Series

This series represents another battle between AL and NL teams, which are the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals, correspondingly. It is one of the closest derbies in the list because the teams divide only 34 miles and 40 minutes of commuting on the bus. They meet twice per season like other interleague pairs. Due to this factor, the games collect sold-outs on the stadiums. Of course, the fans wait for their teams to fight in the World Series. However, the Nationals didn’t reach the decisive stage.

Ohio Cup

This nickname hides the competition in the central US – Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Guardians. The first team is a member of the National League, and the latter is from America. They meet only in the regular season twice per season. Both teams have seven overall World Series titles but didn’t meet each other there. Reds have 5 titles, and Guardians have only two. The interleague games suspended the tradition of friendly games between them in Columbus.

Bay Bridge Series

The battles between Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants started in 1989. This series is first in our article, where both teams are divisional rivals. They play 4 matches in season. Both teams met in playoffs only four matches, with a recent series in 1989. Besides, both teams were affected by the Loma Prieta earthquake, which moved the game 3 of the playoff minutes before the game started. The teams have the tie in MLB championships.

I-70

This rivalry connects the St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Royals. Royals beat their opponents in the 1985 World Series, so these teams are great rivals for each other. The competition got its name based on the highway connecting the cities.

Subway Series

This competition between New York Yankees and Mets got its name because the fans and teams periodically used underground transport to attend the games. This series is unique because the Mets launched the Subway Series with the Giants. The Yankees inherited the crosstown rivalry when the Giants relocated to San Francisco. The fans still keep an interest in the confrontation.

Thus, you have a wide choice of games between geographical neighbours to visit. You can save money if you want to see the game in travel as the tickets are cheaper. But buy the tickets in advance because the high interest often generates the sold-outs.