Dodgers Giants Rivalry

Dodgers Giants Rivalry History

The Dodgers-Giants rivalry is one of the most long-standing and storied rivalries in the history of baseball.

The feud between the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers began when both clubs were based in New York City, with the Dodgers playing at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn and the Giants playing at the Polo Grounds in Manhattan. After the 1957 season, Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley decided to move the team to Los Angeles for financial reasons, among others. Along the way, he managed to convince Giants owner Horace Stoneham (who was considering moving his team to Minnesota) to preserve the rivalry by bringing his team to California as well. New York baseball fans were stunned and heartbroken by the move. Given that the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco have long been competitors in economic, cultural, and political arenas, the new venue in California became fertile ground for its transplantation.

Unlike many other historic baseball match-ups in which one team remains dominant for most of their history, the Dodgers-Giants rivalry has exhibited a persistent balance in the respective successes of the two teams. Each team's ability to have endured for over a century, leap across an entire continent, as well as the rivalry's growth from a cross-city to a cross-state engagement, have led to the rivalry being considered one of the greatest in sports history.

Origins and early years

In the 1880s, New York City played host to a number of professional baseball clubs in the National League and the American Association. By 1889, each league had but one representative in New York - the Giants and the Dodgers - and the teams met in an early version of the World's Championship Series in which the Giants defeated the Dodgers 6 games to 3. In 1890, the Dodgers switched to the National League and the rivalry was officially underway.

A long and balanced history

Since 1901, the Dodgers and Giants have played more head-to-head games than any other two teams in Major League Baseball. In their 2,122 meetings (seasons 1901 through 2007), the Giants have won 1,063 games and the Dodgers have won 1,046. The St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Chicago Cubs (in games versus each other) are very close behind in head-to-head tallies from 1901 onwards. In total (1890-2007), they have played 2283 games against each other.

2005's results continued to reflect the balance as the Giants won the season series between the two teams 10 games to 9. The Dodgers broke that trend in 2006, however, winning the season series 13 games to 6. They then proceeded to win the 2007 season series 10 games to and 8.

If ranked by the number of all-time MLB wins by franchise, the Giants (10,158 wins) and the Dodgers (9,851 wins) are number 1 and 3, respectively, number 2 being the Chicago Cubs (9,955 wins). What is notable about the rivalry is not only the balance between the teams but also how both have often played meaningful games late in the year. Since 1951, the Dodgers and Giants have finished 1-2 11 times, and in 3 other years were within several games of both first place and each other. Just as important is the role one team has played as spoiler to the other in the years when they were not directly competing in a pennant race.

The New York Giants won the 68 year series against the Brooklyn Dodgers, 722 to 671. But since relocating to the West Coast in 1958, the Dodgers are ahead in the 836 games played between the two teams as of 2007, 450 to 423.

Pennant race drama

* One of the most famous pennant races in history is that of 1951. The Dodgers held a 13 1/2 game lead over the Giants as late as August 11th, when their manager Chuck Dressen famously declared "The Giants is dead!" Led by rookie Willie Mays, however, the Giants charged through August and September to catch and pass the Dodgers; the Dodgers rallied to win the final game of the season and the season ended with the two teams tied and the pennant to be decided by a 3 game playoff. The Giants won the first game, the Dodgers the second, and the tie-breaking playoff was won by the Giants with a dramatic ninth-inning home run by Bobby Thomson, a play known as the Shot Heard 'Round the World.

* In 1959, the Giants led the Dodgers by 3 games as late as September 6th. A late year three game sweep of the Giants provided both their elimination and allowed the Dodgers to catch the Braves who they defeated 2 games to none in a 3 game playoff enroute to winning the World Series. This inaugurated the tight pennant races between the two teams in the 1960s, where the Giants and Dodgers finished no further than 4 games apart from each other and first place 4 times through 1966. In 1965, the Giants went on a 14 game winning streak in early September to take 4 1/2 game lead, but the Dodgers responded with a 13 game winning streak and won 15 of their final 16 games to beat out the Giants by 2 games. In 1966, a 3-way race between the Dodgers, Giants, and Pirates came down to the last day of the season. The Dodgers went into the second game of a doubleheader with the Phillies ahead of the Giants by one game. Had the Dodgers lost, the Giants would have been 1/2 game out and would have had to fly to Cincinnati to make up a game that was rained out earlier in the season. Then if the Giants won that game, they would have met the Dodgers in a playoff. But the Dodgers won the second game in Philadelphia to win the N.L. Pennant by 1 1/2 games. In 1971, the Dodgers rallied from a 6 1/2 game September deficit to get within 1 game of the N.L. Western Division leading Giants with one game to play. But while the Dodgers were defeating the Astros, the Giants beat the Padres to win the division.

* The closest finish came in 1962, when the Dodgers, battling injuries and a hitting slump, blew a late lead and the two teams were tied atop the National League after the final day of the season as they were in 1951. In the three game playoff, the Giants again took two out of three, with the deciding blow being 4 runs by the Giants in the ninth inning (as the visiting team this time) to take the series and the pennant. This would prove to be the last best-of-3 tiebreaker, as both leagues now use a single-game tiebreaking format. As with 1951, that playoff win turned out to be the Giants' high water-mark of the season, as they lost the World Series to the Yankees on both occasions.

* The Dodgers brutally returned the favor in 2004. After virtually every other reliever in the Giants bullpen had attempted to preserve a 3-0 lead going into the bottom of the ninth, several walks and an error set the stage for Steve Finley's dramatic grand slam off of Wayne Franklin, which clinched the division title for the Dodgers. Even with the Wild Card still up for grabs, this proved disastrous for the Giants as despite ace Jason Schmidt's fine performance in a 10-0 rout over the Dodgers the following day, an Astros win during the game eliminated the Giants entirely from playoff contention. Had the Giants maintained their lead in the previous game and Schmidt performed similarly, the Giants would have forced a one game playoff in San Francisco between the Giants and Dodgers for the division crown.

Pennant Busters

When not tied for first during the last few days of the season, both teams have a long and storied history of eliminating their rival from playoff contention.

* In 1934, Giants manager Bill Terry was asked his opinion of various teams for the new season including the Brooklyn Dodgers. His response of "Are they still in the league?" was to prove provocative. While the Dodgers struggled, with 2 games left to play the Giants found themselves tied with the St. Louis Cardinals atop the National League and facing the sixth-place Dodgers for a 2 game series in Brooklyn. Despite winning 14 of 22 from the Dodgers that year, the Giants lost those last two to the "Flatbush spoilers" and the pennant to the Cardinals.

* In 1980 the Dodgers blew an 8th inning lead at San Francisco in the last game of the second-to-last series of the year. This loss dropped the Dodgers 3 games behind the Astros and cost them the chance to win the division outright when they swept the Houston Astros in the final 3 games of the year. Instead, they were forced to play the Astros in a one game playoff - which they lost.

* In 1982, the Dodgers and Giants were tied for 2nd, one game behind the Braves as they faced each other in the final 3 games of the year. The Dodgers won the first two games 4-0 and 15-4 to eliminate the Giants, then the Giants then knocked the Dodgers out of the pennant race on the season's last day on an 8th inning 3 run homer by Joe Morgan, winning the game 5-3. Thus, the Braves finished 1st by one game.

* The Giants did it again in 1991, as the Dodgers finished one game behind the Braves after dropping two of three in San Francisco over the final weekend. Trevor Wilson tossed a complete game shutout on the day in which the Dodgers were eliminated.

* The Dodgers responded in kind in 1993, with two Mike Piazza home runs and a dominant complete-game performance by Kevin Gross kept the 103-win Giants out of the playoffs in what many consider the last true pennant race (before implementation of the wildcard) in a 12-1 walloping on the final day of the season. True to the balanced spirit of the rivalry, despite winning the first 3 games of that 4 game series in Los Angeles the Giants were unable to sweep the Dodgers at their home park in a four game series for the first time since 1923, and the Braves won the division by one game. .

* In 1997, a late September two-game sweep of the Dodgers at Candlestick highlighted by Barry Bonds' infamous twirl after a home run in the first game and Brian Johnson's home run in the bottom of the 12th in the second tied the Giants with the Dodgers for first place and eventually propelled them into the playoffs. The impact on both organizations was significant; Fred Claire, who was then general manager of the Dodgers, said "those two days have stayed with me for the last 10 years," and Los Angeles Times sports columnist Bill Plaschke argued that "it led to an organizational upheaval...(from which) (i)t has taken the Dodgers nearly a decade to recover." In contrast, the Giants' run from 1997 through 2003 produced the most playoff appearances in that stretch for the franchise since the 1930s.

* The Dodgers have done their best to return the favor, however. In 2001, the Giants finished two games behind the Diamondbacks as the Dodgers took two of the final three games of the year in San Francisco, despite Barry Bonds record of 73 home runs in the season. In the first game of the series, Bonds hit his record breaking 71st home run of the season off Chan Ho Park, but the Dodgers won the game, thereby enabling Arizona to clinch the division title.

Interestingly, Piazza's 1993 heroics occurred on October 3, a date which until then had featured two pennant-clinching victories over the Dodgers (1951 and 1962) and one dramatic elimination of their arch-foe (1982). The one game playoff between the two teams in 2004 would have also been played on the third.

All of these events and their associated quirks and symbols are relished by the fans of these two teams.

Championship rivalries

Ardent fans of each club would be likely to consider the other as their "most hated" rival, enjoying the other team's misfortune almost as much as their own team's success (see Schadenfreude). A typical Giants fan would just as soon ask "Did the Dodgers lose?" as they would "Did the Giants win?" and vice versa. This view is supported by the consistently solid attendance figures for Giants-versus-Dodgers games at both home fields, and increased media coverage as well. A good example of this is that during the final 3 game Dodger-vs-Giants series in 1991, the Giants drew over 150,000 fans. The attendance for these 3 games represented almost 1/10th of their total fans (1.7 million) for the entire 81 game home schedule, and prompted at least one reporter on ESPN to wonder if the euphoria in the Bay Area following the games reflected a delusion that the Giants had won the World Series rather than simply knocking the Dodgers out.

Giants Fans coined the phrase "Beat L.A.", and during games played against each other, Giants fans will chant it throughout the game. During games in Los Angeles, Dodger fans will chant "Giants suck" and "Barry sucks" when the Giants are in town, in reference to Giants outfielder Barry Bonds, often regardless of whether or not Bonds is at bat or involved in a defensive play. A recent expression of the these feelings was the 2007 All-Star Game in San Francisco, where the three Dodgers All-Stars (pitcher Brad Penny, catcher Russell Martin and closer Takashi Saito) were roundly booed by partisan fans throughout the festivities.

The rivalry extends beyond the fans to the players. Jackie Robinson retired after he was traded to the Giants from the Dodgers in December of 1956. According to his teammate Tommy Lasorda, he did so because he had come to hate the Giants after ten years in Dodger Blue. Nonetheless, in a gesture that transcends this heated rivalry, Robinson's retired blue Dodger numeral '42' hangs in the Giants' home ballpark, AT&T Park, just as it does at all other MLB ballparks in remembrance of Robinson on breaking the color barrier on baseball. Like Robinson, Willie Mays refused to sign with the Dodgers after the 1972 season, and was traded to the New York Mets.

Both teams play in the National League Western Division, and due to the weighted schedule, play 19 head-to-head games each year. This is comparable to the 22 games each year that they faced each other in New York and Brooklyn.

The Dodgers have won 9 pennants and 1 championship in Brooklyn, while winning 9 pennants and 5 championships in Los Angeles, the most recent World Series win in 1988. The Giants have won 14 pennants and 5 championships in New York and 3 pennants in San Francisco (the latest in 2002), but have failed to win a championship since their move to California in 1958, the 3rd longest current streak in baseball as of 2006, behind the Chicago Cubs (1908) and the Cleveland Indians (1948). More recently, the Giants advanced to the playoffs in 2002 and 2003 and the Dodgers advanced to the playoffs in 2004 and 2006.

Notorious incidents

Possibly the most notorious incident between these two clubs occurred August 22, 1965. In a game at Candlestick Park, Giants pitcher Juan Marichal had hit two Dodgers batters with brushback throws. When Marichal came up to bat later, Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax apparently had no interest in retaliation, but Marichal felt that Dodgers catcher Johnny Roseboro was interested, as he claimed Roseboro was returning Koufax's pitches dangerously close to Marichal's head. As Marichal and Roseboro began to argue, Marichal (#27) hit the Dodgers catcher on the head with his bat. A bench-clearing brawl ensued. Giants infielder Tito Fuentes (#26) also threatened to wield a bat, but did not use it. The fight was broken up by peacemakers Willie Mays of the Giants and Koufax of the Dodgers. Mays helped the badly bleeding (but not severely injured) Roseboro off the San Francisco field. Roseboro and Marichal eventually became close friends up until Roseboro's death in 2002.

In the 1981 season as a member of the Dodgers, Reggie Smith was taunted by Giants fan Michael Dooley, who then threw a batting helmet at him. Smith then jumped into the stands at Candlestick Park and started punching him. He was ejected from the game, and Dooley was arrested. Five months later, Smith joined the Giants as a free agent.

Giants fan Marc Antenorcruz was shot and killed by Dodger fan Pete Marron on September 19, 2003 in the parking lot of Dodger Stadium, following a Dodgers-Giants game where San Francisco clinched the National League West title, although gang affiliation was as much or more of a factor than their baseball loyalties. Marron was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to 50 years in prison. A second defendant, Manuel Hernandez, plead no contest to voluntary manslaughter and had his 15 year sentence suspended.

One of the most recent incidents was in 2004, when Giants players Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent fought, which was known as the “slug out in the dugout”. What happened was Kent was yelling at Mike Bell the Giants third basemen over a play at second. Bonds stood up for Bell. One thing led to another and the two where exchanging a lot of bad language and shoving each other. Eventually Busty Baker the Giants manager broke them up, while Kent yelled “I don’t want to be on this team anymore”. Bonds and Kent just saw it as another daily fight that went a little too far. But at the end of the season Kent signed with the Dodgers making the rivalry between the Giants and Dodgers a lot more personal.

Jim Caple Article about the Dodgers Giants Rivalry

Bobby Thomson and Ralph Branca are close friends. Juan Marichal placed a call to John Roseboro's deathbed to say he was praying for him this summer. And San Francisco's most notorious brawl this season was between Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent, not the Giants and the Dodgers.

But if the rivalry is no longer is as fierce as it once was, here we are again anyway, entering September's final two weeks with San Francisco and Los Angeles opening a four-game series at Dodger Stadium that will help determine which team goes to the postseason and which goes to the golf course. The Diamondbacks are solidly in first place in the National League West but the wild card remains up for grabs and the one-game gap between the Giants and Dodgers is so narrow you can barely see it through Eric Gagne's glasses.

Big rivals, big games

The Dodgers and Giants have battled in several races since they moved west in 1958:

2001
Giants finished 2 games behind Diamondbacks in NL West as Dodgers took 2 of 3 in final series.

2000
Dodgers finished second, but 11 games behind Giants.

1997
Giants finished 2 games up. Giants won both games played against each in September, including a 6-5, 12-inning win (Brian Johnson's homer won it).

1993
Giants won 103 games, 1 back of Atlanta. L.A. knocks out S.F. with 12-1 win on final day.

1991
Dodgers finished 1 back of Braves. Eliminated as Giants take two straight in final series.

1982
Both enter final weekend 1 game behind Atlanta. Dodgers eliminate Giants with two wins, then Giants beat Dodgers on final day (Joe Morgan's HR).

1971
Giants edge Dodgers by 1 game.

1966
Dodgers beat Giants by 1.5 games.

1965
Giants were 4 up with 12 to play ... Dodgers went 11-1, Giants 5-7 and L.A. won pennant by 2 games.

1962
Tied for pennant; Giants won 3-game playoff, 2 to 1 (scored 4 runs in ninth inning of Game 3 to win, 6-4).

1959
Giants led Dodgers by 3 games on Sept. 6, but Dodgers finished 15-5, including 3-game sweep of S.F., to win pennant.
-- ESPN.com

True, they're only playing for the wild card and that race probably will go down to San Francisco's season-ending series at home against Houston. But this is the last meeting of the year between the Dodgers and Giants, the aroma of Dodger Dogs fills the nostrils, Vin Scully's eloquent voice fills the airwaves, gas-hogging SUVs fill the parking lot and another chapter is about to unfold in baseball's most enduring rivalry.

Brooklyn and New York, or Los Angeles and San Francisco, the Giants-Dodgers rivalry is as dependable as a cold one and a bag of peanuts in the bleachers.

I can already hear the "Yankees Suck" chants from Boston and New Yorkers undoubtedly are already overloading my email account in protest. And I grant them, the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry is fiercer and more passionate, but the Giants-Dodgers rivalry is more consistent, and in some ways, even better.

In the Dodgers-Giants rivalry, one team doesn't feast at the expense of its rival. The Giants have won the pennant 17 times and the World Series five times while the Dodgers have been to the World Series 18 times and won it six times. They're as even as Betty and Veronica. On the other hand, since selling Babe Ruth to New York, the Red Sox have been to the World Series four times, winning none, while the Yankees have been to the series 38 times, winning 26. They're as even as the Quaid brothers.

The Giants and Dodgers also crush their rival's hopes with the remorseless regularity of an IRS audit. Since the 1951 season, the Giants and Dodgers have finished first and second nine times, and within a couple games of each other and first place two other times. Almost as importantly, the Giants and Dodgers have frequently played spoilers to each other. In 1982 and 1991, the Giants beat the Dodgers the final weekend to keep Los Angeles out of the playoffs. The Dodgers returned the favor in 1993 and again last year. Balkan nations don't even the score among themselves that often.

The Yankees and Red Sox, meanwhile, went from 1951-1976 without ever finishing within 10 games of each other in the same season one of the two teams won a title. That's a quarter-century without a September game between them that meant something to both teams. Granted, the Yankees and Red Sox have finished first and second in the AL East five times in the past seven seasons (and will do so a sixth time this year) but that's a little deceiving. Because both reached the playoffs in three of those years, one team's success usually didn't come at the direct expense of the other the way the Giants and Dodgers fortunes so often have.

In other words, when do Yankees fans ever moan about how the Red Sox ruined a season for them?

Boston fans, however, sell "Yankees Suck" T-shirts outside other sporting events and chant it when the Yankees aren't within a thousand miles of Fenway Park. Giants and Dodgers fans keep things in better perspective. They don't like each other but they don't turn their rivalry into a pathetic obsession.

So those fans will crowd Dodger Stadium this week and tune in to the Bay Area broadcasts, root for Barry Bonds and Shawn Green, second-guess Dusty Baker and Jim Tracy, hope the Astros don't sneak into the race, and keep alive a rivalry that extends back thousands of miles and several generations.

Remember: Jackie Robinson retired rather than wear a Giants uniform.