Ranking the Yankees' Rivalries

How does the Yankees' rivalry with those pesky Blue Jays, resuming tonight at The Stadium, compare to the others?

I used a not-exactly-scientific way of measuring the Yankees' relationships with the other teams in Major League Baseball. I weighted it for regular-season matchups, postseason matchups, intensity, and how recent it all was. (Example: A nasty regular-season matchup in 2015 is worth more than one in 1950, but the 1950 World Series is worth more than any regular-season matchup.)

Here's what I came up with. You can probably guess who comes in 1st, but you may be very surprised at who comes in 2nd:

39. Seattle Pilots, 1969-only: They existed for only one season, before becoming the Milwaukee Brewers, and both teams were far out of their respective Divisional races. The only significance to their games was Pilot pitcher, former Yankee, Jim Bouton including their mention in his book Ball Four.

38. Boston Braves, 1903-1952: The Yankees (as the New York Highlanders) debuted in 1903, and 1952 was the Braves' last season in Boston. They've played each other in 4 World Series, 2 in Milwaukee, 2 in Atlanta. The closest they came to playing each other in a World Series was in 1948, when the Yankees finished 1 game out and the Braves won the Pennant. But the only times they ever played each other was in spring training. At least the next team on the list has played the Yankees in the regular season, however rarely.

37. Colorado Rockies, 1997-only: The Rockies entered the National League in 1993, but Interleague play has only been possible since 1997, and they've never faced the Yankees in a World Series.

36. Montreal Expos, 1997-2004: Not much between them, although Les Expos were the opponent in David Cone's 1999 perfect game.

35. Washington Nationals, 2005-current: The Ex-pos have, on occasion -- June 2006 comes to mind -- given the Yankees a little trouble. But, at the rate they're going, they won't be facing the Yankees (or anyone else) in a World Series anytime soon.

34. Kansas City Athletics, 1955-1967: After moving to the Great Plains from Philadelphia, the A's took the place of a Yankee farm team, the Kansas City Blues, but the transactions between the teams made it look like the Yankees were still treating Kansas City as a farm club.

New owner Charles O. Finley stopped that in 1960, and his actions thereafter, before moving the team to Oakland, made it look like beating the Yankees was more important than building a winning team. It was the first time Charlie O made a fool of himself in baseball, but it wouldn't be the last.

33. Houston Astros, 1997-current: Switching to the American League after being in the NL since 1962, the Interleague games between the Astros and the Yankees were all but meaningless. However, the Astros' revival this season added a little "juice" to their games, regardless of whether they were played at Minute Maid Park or the new Yankee Stadium. And it is still very possible that they will play each other in this season's Playoffs.

32. San Francisco Giants, 1962-current: The former local rival played the Yankees in the 1962 World Series, the 1st ever to go to a Game 7 and end 1-0. (It's also happened in 1991.) But only a few Interleague games have been played since, despite both teams making the Playoffs in 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2010 and 2012.

31. San Diego Padres, 1997-current: A few regular-season games, plus the 1998 World Series, which was a Yankee sweep, but Games 1, 3 and 4 were close. Game 1 was controversial, and Game 3 was a classic.

30. St. Louis Browns, 1903-1953: The team that became the Baltimore Orioles nearly beat the Yankees out for the Pennant in 1922, and did beat them out for the Pennant in 1944. But they didn't have very many other good seasons, lost the only World Series they would ever have to the Cardinals (ironically, their tenants at Sportsman's Park), and went to their grave with the permanent label of "legendary losers."

29. Washington Senators, 1903-1971: Another bunch of "legendary losers," or perhaps they could be called "lovable losers," that no longer exist. They beat the Yankees out for the Pennant in 1924 and 1933 (and also won in 1925, when the Yankees were well out of the race), and were, along with the Yankees, among the teams that battled to the wire in 1945, losing out to Detroit.

After that, though, their most notable moments against the Yankees were Mickey Mantle's "tape measure home run" in 1953, and the last game the Senators ever played, where a fan riot ruined a 7-5 Senator lead with 1 out to go, and resulted in a forfeit to the Yankees.

28. Arizona Diamondbacks, 1998-current: Aside from a few stray regular-season games, it's all about the 2001 World Series, an epic that the Yankees couldn't quite win. At the time, I was drained, and couldn't feel bad about the particular opponent. Indeed, I was glad to see some longtime veterans finally get their ring. But so many of them have since been exposed as steroid cheats, so this one hurts more now than it did at the time.

27. Miami Marlins, 1997-current: The Yankees' 1st Interleague series ever was against the team then known as the Florida Marlins, and we lost it. More importantly, there was the 2003 World Series. It burned me up then. Knowing Ivan Rodriguez was a steroid cheat and that Josh Beckett is a monumental jackass, like the 2001 Series loss, this one burns me up more now.

26. Chicago Cubs, 1932-current: Two World Series sweeps, in 1932 and 1938, plus a few regular-season Interleague games. That 1932 Series was nasty, because of how the Cubs treated former Yankee shortstop Mark Koenig, leading to Babe Ruth's gestures that have gone down in history as his "Called Shot." But it's hard to get worked up about this pairing: Since 1945, the Yankees have won 26 Pennants, the Cubs none.

25. Philadelphia Phillies, 1950-current: Aside from a few regular-season games, it's just the 1950 and 2009 World Series, both Yankee wins that were closer than they appear at first glance.

24. Atlanta Braves, 1996-current: Their presence in the NL East makes them a regular opponent for the Yankees, but it's the 1996 World Series that's remembered -- and, to a lesser extent, the 1999 edition.

23. Pittsburgh Pirates, 1927-current: Regular-season matchups have rarely happened since Interleague play began, but there are 2 World Series between them: The Yankee sweep of 1927, and the seesaw battle of 1960 won by Bill Mazeroski's Game 7 walkoff home run. That one Yankee loss, though over half a century ago now, places this rivalry ahead of the one with the Braves.

22. Chicago White Sox, 1903-current: Despite being one of the Yankees' oldest opponents -- only Boston, Cleveland and Detroit have played the Yankees as long in their current city -- there haven't been many big games between them. Both teams were good in 1906, 1919-20, and 1957-64 during the days of the single-division AL.

But with the ChiSox having been in the AL West from 1969 to 1993, and in the AL Central ever since, regular-season games between them have meant little. Despite both teams making the Playoffs in 2000 and 2005, the strike short-circuiting that possibility in 1994, and near-misses in 1977 and 1993, they've never faced each other in the Playoffs -- among AL teams, that also true only for Houston, Toronto and Tampa Bay.

21. Milwaukee Braves, 1957-58: Two World Series matchups, both went 7 games, both thrilling, each won one. But the Braves' tenure in Milwaukee was short-lived.

20. Texas Rangers, 1972-current: Being in separate Divisions has kept their regular-season games relatively stress-free. The 1996 AL Division Series was tough. The 1998 and 1999 ALDS were not. The Yanks won them all. But the Rangers won the 2010 AL Championship Series, thanks to Joe Girardi's idiotic move of letting Boone Logan face Josh Hamilton with men on base.

19. Minnesota Twins, 1961-current: It was the Twins that dethroned the Yankee Dynasty in 1965, but the Yanks were out of that race early, so it doesn't stand out as much as it could. Four ALDS matchups have resulted in just 3 games won by the Twins.

18. Philadelphia Athletics, 1903-54: Before 1927, this rivalry was occasionally interesting, but didn't justify the geographic proximity. From 1927 to 1932, the Yanks and A's may have had more talent between them than any 2 AL teams have ever had. After 1932, though, the A's were rarely a factor, due to Connie Mack's desperate need for cash and then his advancing senility.

17. Cincinnati Reds, 1939-current: A few Interleague games, and 3 World Series, all mismatches. The Yankees swept in 1939, won in 5 in 1961, and got swept in 1976. Actually, those Series had some close games, but that's not how it looks to posterity.

16. Milwaukee Brewers, 1970-current: Their move to the AL Central in 1994, and then their move to the NL in 1998, pretty much ended what was a good AL East matchup. Good or bad, the Brewers always seemed to give the Yankees trouble. From 1978 to 1988, it was a good rivalry with some interesting games, including the strike-forced to-the-limit ALDS of 1981.

15. Oakland Athletics, 1968-current: The A's and Yanks won half of all the AL Pennants from 1972 to 2003, yet have only faced each other 3 times in the postseason. The Yanks have won them all: The 1981 ALCS and the 2000 and 2001 ALDS.

Had the A's stayed in Philadelphia, which is twice as close to New York as Boston or Baltimore, and thus been placed in the AL East, who knows how big this rivalry would have been.

14. Tampa Bay Rays, 1998-current: It seems ridiculous that a team that's played 30 fewer seasons than the A's would have a bigger rivalry with the Yanks, but it's true. And it's all down to one man: Joe Maddon. The fact that this dirty manager of a dirty team is no longer there will probably be, along with the bad stadium in a bad location and hardly any fans showing up, what dooms this team to having to move within 5 years.

13. Seattle Mariners, 1977-current: From the Yankees' 1st trip to the Pacific Northwest (not counting the ill-fated 1969 Pilots, of course), this team has been a pain in the Yankees' necks. Frequently, trips to the Pacific Coast would help derail the Yankees' chances in the 1980s, as the M's, the A's and the Angels shut the Yankees down. Retroactively, I call these "Borg trips," because it seemed like the Yankees would lose seven of nine.

Never were the Mariners more a pain than in 1995, but the Yankees got them back in 2000 and 2001. They haven't been much of a threat since, despite the uncrowned "King" Felix Hernandez and the switch of Robinson Cano.

12. Los Angeles Dodgers, 1963-current: The Yankees and the Dodgers have both reached the postseason 13 times since the Bums' move west, but they've only faced each other in 4 World Series, the Dodgers winning in 1963 and 1981, the Yankees winning in dramatic fashion in 1977 and 1978. Had the Dodgers stayed in Brooklyn, and everything else remained the same, they would easily be Number 2 on this list. Alas, the West Coast edition of the Dodgers isn't even ahead of the East Coast edition.

11. Kansas City Royals, 1969-current: Aside from the 1983 Pine Tar Game, the regular-season games between these teams haven't amounted to much. But those ALCS tilts of 1976 to 1980, hoo, boy. Maybe this is the season the Yankees finally get revenge for 1980, which the Royals thought was revenge for 1976, '77 and '78.

10. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 1961-current: Being in different Divisions since 1969 shouldn't have resulted in big regular-season games, although they always seem to give the Yankees trouble, especially in Anaheim. The Angels beat the Yankees in the 2002 and 2005 ALDS, because their pitching shut the Yankees down -- not that the Yankees made it all that hard. But in the 2009 ALCS, the Yankees did hit, and beat the Angels for the Pennant. Another Playoff matchup between them is possible this season.

9. St. Louis Cardinals, 1926-current: The Cards are 2nd only to the Yanks in winning World Series, 27 to 11. So it makes sense that they've faced each other a few times. Five, in fact: The Cards winning in 1926, 1942 and 1964; the Yanks in 1928 and 1943. Since 1964, there were divisional close calls in 1974 and 1981, and both teams have reached the postseason in 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2011, but they've never faced each other in October again.

8. New York Giants, 1921-1951: As with the Dodgers, the Yankees faced the Giants much more often as a "Subway Series" than as a post-1957 Coast-to-Coast matchup. The Yankees' 1st 2 World Series were against the Giants in 1921 and '22, and the Giants won both. But the Yankees won in 1923, and have been New York's most successful baseball team ever since, also beating the Giants in 1936, '37 and '51.

7. Toronto Blue Jays, 1977-current: Even when bad, the Jays have played the Yankees hard, hence my constant reference to them as "those pesky Blue Jays." But they were mostly the "Blow Jays" until finally winning the World Series in 1992 and '93. The Jays had to beat the Yanks out for the AL East title in 1985 and '93, and also vied with the Yanks for the Division title in '87 and '88 (neither team ended up winning it either time).

Before last season, a lot of people predicted the Jays would make the Playoffs or even win the AL East, due to their hitting and their pitching acquisitions. Those people looked really stupid within a month. It turned out, they were a year off, as the Division will come down to the Yanks and Jays, who face each other 7 times out of their last 24 (or, in the Jays' case, 7 of their last 23). And, since whichever team doesn't win the Division is likely to get one of the AL Wild Card berths, they could face each other again in the Playoffs.

6. Brooklyn Dodgers, 1941-1956: When the words "Subway Series" are used, this is the pairing that most often comes up. They played each other in October 7 times in 16 seasons -- and if you take out the 3 seasons with the most wartime player depletion, and add the seasons in which the Dodgers just missed the Pennant, there were 13 season where they came close to facing each other 11 times.

In 1947, 1952, 1955 and 1956, it went the full 7 games. But only in 1955 did the Dodgers win the whole thing -- against the Yankees or anyone else.

5. Detroit Tigers, 1903-current: This one is ranked so high due to being weighted toward recent postseason matchups. They locked horns in Pennant battles in the regular season in 1926, '34, '35, '36, '40, '44, '45, '50 and '61; and in AL East battles in 1972, '87 and '88, before the Tigers were bumped over to the AL Central in 1998. It took until 2006, the teams' 104th joint season, before they played each other in the postseason, and the Tigers have won all 3 times: The 2006 and 2011 ALDS, and the 2012 ALCS.

4. Baltimore Orioles, 1954-current: With the move of the A's after the 1954 season (the only one in which they were in Philly and the Browns/O's were in Baltimore), the O's are the Yankees' closest AL opponents in terms of distance, a little closer from the southwest than the Red Sox are from the northeast.

The O's made a Pennant run of it in 1960 and '64 before they started winning and the Yankees stopped. The Yankees got good again, and there were tight Division battles in 1974, '75, '77, '80, '81, '96, '97 and 2012. (Had 1994 not been cut short by the strike, that might have been another one.) But only in 1996 and 2012 have they met in the postseason, the former controversial due to Game 1 and then a laugher the rest of the way, the latter a tough one that the Yankees didn't win so much as survive.

3. New York Mets, 1997-current: I was at the 1st-ever Yanks-Mets regular-season game, at the old Yankee Stadium on June 16, 1997. It didn't go so well: Dave Mlicki shut the Yanks down, Andy Pettitte had nothing, and the Mets won, 6-0.

For the most part, though, the Yanks have dominated in the regular season, and the 2000 World Series was one of those Fall Classics whose individual games suggested closeness, but the result (Yanks in 5) did not. Now, the Mets look like they're going to win the NL East, while the Yanks have a tough battle on their hands. Remember: It's not a Subway Series unless it's a World Series.

2. Cleveland Indians, 1903-current: Surprise! Actually, 2nd and 3rd were very close, and the Mets would probably be 2nd if the Yankees had shown up in the 2007 ALDS. (Or those Lake Erie midges hadn't.) But no team was a more frequent down-to-the-wire competitor for the Yankees in the single-division era than the Tribe.

Their 1960-1993 absence from any Pennant race was abysmal, but they were, along with the Yankees, the best team overall in the AL from 1994 to 2001, and that included the 1997 ALDS which the Indians won, and the 1998 ALCS that the Yanks took.

1. Boston Red Sox, 1903-current: The only surprise with the team at Number 1 is how far back it goes, to 1904 and the "Boston Americans" beating the "New York Highlanders" out by 1 game, essentially by 1 wild pitch.

The references are legendary: Babe Ruth, Harry Frazee, DiMaggio vs. Williams, Rizzuto vs. Pesky, 1949, 1967, Guidry vs. Rice, the Boston Massacre, Bucky Dent, Goose vs. Yaz, Mattingly vs. Boggs (ah, but which one won a Pennant as a Yankee?), Derek vs. Nomar, Roger vs. Pedro, Aaron Boone, Curt Schilling, Big Papi, A-Rod, The Slap, Johnny Damon (for both sides), steroids.

It is the ugliest rivalry in North American sports, making Ohio State vs. Michigan, Duke vs. North Carolina, Kentucky vs. Louisville, Texas vs. Texas A&M, Rangers vs. Islanders or Devils, even Canadiens vs. Maple Leafs look tame by comparison. Evil Empire? The Yankees are the empire, the Sox are the evil.

New York's Top 25 City Rivalries

A little over 3 years ago, on February 7, 2012, I posted New York's rivalry relationships with various sports cities.

Today, with the New York Red Bulls playing D.C. United, I decided to revisit it. The Red Bulls are the only Tri-State Area team whose biggest rivalry is with a Washington team. The Red Bulls won, 2-0, and the "D.C. Scum" fans are now slinking their way back down I-95, or the Amtrak Northeast Corridor.

When you take out a team's rivalry with another team in the same sport in the Area, it works out like this:

Boston/New England: Yankees vs. Red Sox, Jets vs. Patriots, Knicks vs. Celtics, Rangers vs. Bruins, New York City F.C. vs. Revolution.

Philadelphia: Mets vs. Phillies, Giants vs. Eagles, Nets vs. 76ers (beause of the Julius Erving situation), Islanders vs. Flyers, Devils vs. Flyers.

Washington: Red Bulls vs. D.C. United.

Today, I heard from a New England Revolution fan from Rhode Island that, despite the New York/New England nastiness in other sports, and with a berth in the MLS Cup Final on the line, Revs fans were treated well at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey last fall; but that was not the case with NYCFC's recent home debut, a game against the Revs, whom they'd oviously never played before. Maybe it was the spirit of Yanks vs. Sox, having seeped into the corridors of the new Yankee Stadium, and remaining, hovering over the neighborhood from when the Yanks played across 161st Street at the old Stadium. Or maybe "Man City NYC" fans are just pricks, thinking their connection to defending Premier League Champions Manchester City and their looser association with the Yankees makes them entitled to win. (Little tip: It doesn't).

*

As I did 3 years ago, I'll be looking at only those cities that have teams in at least 3 out of the 4 major league sports, or 2 if those 2 are MLB and the NFL. Where there's a matchup between the Red Bulls (not yet NYCFC) and a local MLS team, I'll include that.

25. New York vs. Tampa Bay. All 4 sports? No: The NBA has never gone to Tampa Bay, and the Orlando Magic's new Amway Arena is 85 miles from downtown Tampa and 107 miles from the Rays' Tropicana Field.

History? Not much, unless you count the recent AL East contests between the Yanks and Rays. But neither the Giants nor the Jets care much about the Buccaneers, or vice versa. Nor do the Lightning have a contentious relationship with any of our local hockey teams. Cosmos vs. Rowdies wasn't much of a rivalry in the Seventies and Eighties, and a Rowdies revival didn't last long enough to get much rivalry momentum with the Red Bulls.

Each city's local media playing it up? Hardly. A particularly nasty, rivalry-causing moment? Not even close, not even an infamous home plate collision in spring training 2008 that, as Bull Durham's Nuke LaLoosh would say, announced the Rays' presence with authority.

24. New York vs. Phoenix. All 4 sports? Check -- but not, as yet, MLS. History? Check: The Yankees had that highly emotional 2001 World Series with the Diamondbacks, and the Mets played the D-backs in the 1999 Playoffs. Bbut Giants-Cardinals, Knicks-Suns and Coyotes vs. any of the 3 NYTSA NHL teams hasn't been much.

Each city's local media playing it up? No. A particularly nasty, rivalry-causing moment? No, not even any event of the '01 Series.

23. New York vs. San Diego. All 4 sports? No: They had a team in the World Hockey Association from 1974 to '77, but never in the NHL, and the Clippers moved up Interstate 5 to Los Angeles in 1984 (possibly the dumbest sports franchise move ever).

History? Not much: The Padres played the Yankees in the 1998 World Series, but I challenge any Padres fan and any Met fan to mention a memorable game between the teams. (Actually, my 1st visit to Shea Stadium was a Mets-Padres game, but it wasn't especially memorable.) The Jets and Chargers were both original AFL teams, but by the time the Jets got good in the late Sixties, the Chargers were on their way down. A couple of postseason matchups hasn't helped -- or hurt, depending on how you look at it.

Each city's local media playing it up? Not by a longshot. A particularly nasty, rivalry-causing moment? There was the Iceball Incident at Giants Stadium right before Christmas 1995, but since the home team was the Giants, not the Jets, and the only way the Giants could play the Chargers in the postseason is in the Super Bowl, there was no way the incident could start a rivalry.

22. New York vs. Minneapolis. All 4 sports? Check: Yankees vs. Twins, Giants vs. Vikings, Knicks and Nets vs. Timberwolves, and the Minnesota Wild against our 3 teams. History? Check: The Yanks and Twins have played each other in 4 Playoff series, all since 2003; the Giants and Vikings have had some Playoff games, including the 2000 NFC Championship Game that ended 41-0 to the G-Men; and the Knicks lost 2 NBA Finals in the early Fifties to the Minneapolis Lakers, who moved to Los Angeles in 1960. Minnesota United is considered a favorite for future MLS expansion, but no announcement has been made yet.

Each city's local media playing it up? Not really: Minnesotans would rather beat Wisconsin teams like the Green Bay Packers, the Milwaukee Bucks, or the University of Wisconsin. A particularly nasty, rivalry-causing moment? Not that I can recall.

21. New York vs. Kansas City. All 4 sports? No: K.C. hasn't had an NBA team since 1985, and only had an NHL team from 1974 to '76, before the Scouts moved to Denver to become the original Colorado Rockies, and then moved to New Jersey in 1982 to become the Devils.

History? Distant: The Yankees and Royals played each other in 4 Playoff series, and the Jets and Chiefs were both original AFL teams. Joe Namath's last postseason game was a 1969 loss to the Chiefs. Red Bulls vs. Sporting Kansas City (formerly the Kansas City Wizards) has had some good games, but it's not really a rivalry.

There has been something of the bizarre in that history: The Yanks-Royals Pine Tar Game of 1983, and Bernard King's horrible knee injury at Kemper Arena in 1985, in one of the Kansas City Kings' last games before moving to Sacramento. 

Each city's local media playing it up? Not on our side, and it's been so long since their side had a chance that I can't really be sure. A particularly nasty, rivalry-causing moment? Not exactly: The Yanks-Royals matchups of 1976, '77, '78 and '80 had plenty of them, but that's over 30 years ago, and Jets-Chiefs hasn't been a real rivalry in over 40 years.

20. New York vs. Seattle. All 4 sports? No: Seattle lost the NBA's SuperSonics recently, and hasn't had a major league hockey team since 1924. History? Not much: The Yanks and Mariners have had 3 Playoff series, all memorable, but Jets-Seahawks hasn't been much, except for a phantom touchdown given to Vinny Testaverde in 1998, and I defy anyone in either city to remember a Knicks-Sonics game. The old Cosmos vs. the old Sounders was usually a good matchup, but the Red Bulls vs. the new Sounders hasn't meant much.

Each city's local media playing it up? No. A particularly nasty, rivalry-causing moment? No, as wild as that 1995 Yanks-M's Playoff series was, it wasn't angry.

19. New York vs. Houston. All 4 sports? No: No NHL team, and they lost their WHA team in 1978. History? Some: The Mets and Astros had an epic NLCS in 1986, and the Knicks had a surreal NBA Finals with the Rockets in 1994. But neither the Giants nor the Jets had much feeling toward the Oilers, and don't now vs. the Texans. Red Bulls vs. Dynamo doesn't mean much.

Each city's local media playing it up? No. A particularly nasty, rivalry-causing moment? No: Even that '86 NLCS, while intense, wasn't acrimonious.

18. New York vs. St. Louis. All 4 sports? No, except for a few months: The NBA's Hawks moved to Atlanta in 1968, after the Blues' 1st season of play.

History? Check: The Yankees have played the Cardinals in 5 World Series (although none since 1964, despite several close calls since 1985), and the Mets and Cards had a brief rivalry in the Seventies that got nasty in 1985 and '87 and revived again in the 2006 NLCS. But the geographic structure of the Stanley Cup Playoffs means a matchup between the Blues and a NYTSA team can only happen in the Finals, and while the Giants and the Rams had the Flipper Anderson Game in the 1989 NFC Divisional Playoffs, that was when the Rams were still in Los Angeles.

Each city's local media playing it up? No. A particularly nasty, rivalry-causing moment? Maybe there's a 100-year-old Yankee Fan who remembers the 1926 and '28 World Series and the 1922 Pennant race with the St. Louis Browns (who became the Baltimore Orioles in 1954), who could tell us, but I doubt it.
17. New York vs. Milwaukee -- which includes Green Bay. All 4 sports? No: Milwaukee has never had an NHL or even a WHA team. No MLS team, either.

History: Check: The Giants and Packers have played each other in 6 NFL or NFC Championship Games, and played again in the Playoffs as recently as January 2012. The Yankees played the Braves in the 1957 and '58 World Series, the Yanks and Brewers played in the strike-forced 1981 AL East Division Series, the Mets and Brewers had that run for the Wild Card in 2008, and the Knicks and Bucks had some memorable games in the early Seventies.

Each city's local media playing it up? Not really: Wisconsin teams would rather beat teams from Illinois or Minnesota. A particularly nasty, rivalry-causing moment? Not that I can think of, although some of those Giants-Packers title games were rough, made rougher by the weather.
16. New York vs. Denver. All 4 sports? Check: Mets vs. Colorado Rockies, Jets vs. Broncos, Knicks and Nets vs. Nuggets, and the Colorado Avalanche have played the Devils, if not yet the Rangers or Islanders, in a memorable matchup. And the Rapids make it 5 sports.

History? Check: The Devils losing the 2001 Stanley Cup Finals to the Avs, the Jets leading the Broncos at halftime of the 1998 AFC Championship Game before losing, the Nets and Nugs playing the last ABA Finals in 1976, and the Rockies opening Coors Field against the Mets in 1995. Each city's local media playing it up? Not really. A particularly nasty, rivalry-causing moment? No.

15. New York vs. Toronto. All 4 sports? No: While Canada does have its own professional football league, its teams do not play NFL teams. History: Check: Yankees vs. Blue Jays has sometimes been a good AL East matchup. Rangers (and to a much lesser degree Devils) vs. Maple Leafs in the Playoffs. While Knicks vs. Raptors hasn't been much, it's worth nothing that the first game in NBA history, on November 1, 1946, was between the Knicks and the Toronto Huskies at Maple Leaf Gardens -- the Knicks won, and the Huskies folded after that first season. Toronto F.C. hasn't bothered the Red Bulls much, nor did the NASL's Blizzard or Metros mean much to the old Cosmos.

Each city's local media playing it up? Only if it's hockey. A particularly nasty, rivalry-causing moment? The Leafs have never had such a moment against a NYTSA team, and while Jays fans still hate the Yankees and cite the Dave Winfield seagull incident of 1983 and the Alex Rodriguez "Ha!" incident of 2007, the fact that the Jays have mostly been crap since the 1994 strike has rendered this rivalry mostly dormant.

14. New York vs. Pittsburgh. All 4 sports? No, except for the very beginning of the NBA and briefly in the ABA, Pittsburgh has never had a major league basketball team. Nor do they have an MLS team.

History: Some: The Pirates had pretty good rivalries with the baseball Giants early in the 20th Century and with the Mets in the early Seventies and again in the early Nineties, and have faced the Yankees in 2 World Series; and the Penguins have faced all 3 area hockey teams in the Playoffs. But the Steelers haven't had many memorable games with either the Jets or the Giants. An exception is the 2010 (actually, January 2011) AFC Championship Game, where the Jets didn't show up in the 1st half, and a 2nd-half comeback was too little, too late.

Each city's local media playing it up? No. A particularly nasty, rivalry-causing moment? No, although if the Pirates had been able to keep it going after Bill Mazeroski's home run won the 1960 World Series, maybe that would have been one.

13. New York vs. Atlanta. All 4 sports? No: Both the Yankees and the Mets have had big moments against the Braves, but neither the Giants nor the Jets care about the Falcons, neither the Knicks nor the Nets care about the Hawks, and Atlanta recently lost an NHL team for the 2nd time in 31 years. They are scheduled to debut in MLS in 2017.

History? Hardly any outside of 1996 to 2001 baseball. Each city's local media playing it up? See the previous answer. A particularly nasty, rivalry-causing moment? No, mainly because Mets-Braves was already nasty, and Yanks-Braves had already happened once, before John Rocker started flapping his gums about the Mets, and about New York in general.

12. New York vs. Cincinnati. All 4 sports? No: Cincy only briefly had a team in the World Hockey Association, never the NHL, and has been without an NBA team since 1972. No MLS team, either: As with Cleveland, Cincinnati has to tilt toward the Columbus Crew.

History: The Mets and Reds had a rough-and-tumble (literally) NLCS in 1973, and the Yanks and Reds have faced each other in 3 World Series, but the Jets and Bengals have only faced each other in 2 Playoff games, with the Jets winning both.

Each city's local media playing it up? No. A particularly nasty, rivalry-causing moment? Yes: Pete Rose sliding hard into Bud Harrelson in Game 3 of the 1973 NLCS, and then trying to beat him up. Met fans have hated Rose ever since. There was also a play in the 1961 World Series where the Reds' Frank Robinson slid hard into 2nd base and knocked down Bobby Richardson, and the Yanks didn't like that, but the Yanks won the Series in 5 games, and they didn't face each other again for 15 years.

That was in 1976, and the Reds swept the Yanks. In the final game, Thurman Munson collected a hit in his 6th straight Series at-bat to tie a record, but Johnny Bench homered to put the game away, and Reds manager Sparky Anderson said, "Don't ever embarrass anybody by comparing them to Johnny Bench." Thurman really bristled at that, but the Reds, despite having some good seasons since, have only won 1 Pennant since, and it was in a year (1990) when the Yankees were awful. Both teams have made the Playoffs a few times since, but no close calls for a World Series since '76.

11. New York vs. Baltimore -- which does not include Washington, or vice versa. All 4 sports? No: While Yankees-Orioles has been a good matchup at times, and Ravens-Jets might become one someday, it's been a long time since the Colts had those epoch-defining title games against the Giants (12/28/1958) and the Jets (1/12/1969). The Bullets moved to the Washington area in 1973 and Baltimore has never returned to the NBA, and except for a brief spell in the WHA the Harbor City has never had a major league hockey team. Nor do they have an MLS team, although there was briefly a rumor that D.C. United would move there.

History? The Colts beat the Giants in the 1958 and 1959 NFL Championship Games, and the Jets beat them in Super Bowl III; while the Yankees and Orioles had Pennant races involving each other (sometimes another team) in 1960, '74, '75, '76, '77, '80, '96, '97 and 2012, including '96 when they faced each other in the ALCS.

Each city's local media playing it up? No: Baltimore cares about this a whole lot more than New York does. A particularly nasty, rivalry-causing moment? Not really, although Oriole fans hated the Yankees long before the Jeffrey Maier Game.

10. New York vs. Washington. All 4 sports? Yes, plus MLS. But there's rivalry, and then there's rivalry. Red Bulls vs. D.C. United is intense, but that's it for this "rivalry." While Yankees vs. Senators was a good one in the Twenties and Thirties, Mets vs. Nationals hasn't taken off yet. Giants vs. Redskins has produced some good games, but neither team considers the other a major rival. Knicks vs. Bullets/Wizards was a lot better when the Bullets were in Baltimore; since the 1973 move, it's been a rare season when both teams were good at the same time. And while all 3 hockey teams have had Playoff series against the Capitals, never has it been particularly intense.

History? Not much. Each city's local media playing it up? No. A particularly nasty, rivalry-causing moment? No.

9. New York vs. San Francisco -- which includes Oakland and San Jose. All 4 sports? Check: Yankees vs. Athletics, Mets vs. Giants, Giants vs. 49ers, Jets vs. Raiders, Knicks vs. Warriors, and NYTSA hockey vs. Sharks. The San Jose Earthquakes make it 5, although the Red Bulls haven't had much of a rivalry.

History? Check: Baseball Playoffs in both leagues, football Playoffs in both the NFL/NFC and the AFL/AFC, and a Knicks-Warriors rivalry that goes back to when the Warriors were in Philadelphia (although, since 1962, they could only play in the NBA Playoffs in the Finals, which has never happened).

Each city's local media playing it up? Not much, although when the Mets played the baseball Giants, there were the inevitable references to the Giants having once been in New York. A particularly nasty, rivalry-causing moment? Not really, although the Jets and Raiders, from the 1968 season (Heidi Bowl and AFL Championship Game) through the Eighties, used to hate each other, but the Raiders have been mostly down in the dumps the last 10 years or so.

8. New York vs. Dallas. All 4 sports? Check: Yankees vs. Texas Rangers, Giants vs. Cowboys, Knicks vs. Mavericks, and Dallas has the NHL's Stars. F.C. Dallas makes it 5, but they haven't had memorable tussles with the Red Bulls.

History? Some: The Giants and Cowboys have had some great games, the Yanks and baseball Rangers have had 4 Playoff series, and the Devils and Stars faced off in a 6-game Stanley Cup Finals that felt like 9 games. Each city's local media playing it up? Not really. A particularly nasty, rivalry-causing moment? No, it's more like the Cowboys pounding the Giants all through the Seventies and early Eighties that did it, although Derian "Hatchetman" Hatcher's blindside elbow on Petr Sykora in Game 6 of the 2000 Finals didn't help.

7. New York vs. Detroit. All 4 sports? Check: Yankees vs. Tigers, Giants (and to a much lesser degree Jets) vs. Lions, Knicks vs. Pistons, Rangers (and to a lesser degree Devils) vs. Red Wings.  As yet, there is no MLS team in Detroit.

History? Check: The Yanks and Tigers have been playing each other since 1903 (including the 2006, '12 and '13 Playoffs -- the Tigers winning all 3), the Rangers and Wings since 1926 (including the 1937 and 1950 Finals, plus the Devils and Wings in 1995), the Giants and Lions since 1934 (including the 1935 NFL Championship Game), and the Knicks and Pistons since 1958.

Each city's local media playing it up? Somewhat. A particularly nasty, rivalry-causing moment? There really hasn't been one, although in 1959, one of the famous fights at Madison Square Garden involved not boxing, but Wings' legend Gordie Howe performing plastic surgery on Ranger goon Lou Fontinato's face, using his knuckles as a scalpel. But the teams haven't faced each other in the Playoffs since (and since 1983 can only face each other in the Finals). Devils-Wings '95 lasted 4 games, and both teams moved on, and have no special feeling against each other.

6. New York vs. Cleveland. All 4 sports? No: The NHL only spent the 1976-77 and 1977-78 seasons in Cleveland, but there is Yankees vs. Indians, Giants and Jets vs. Browns, and Knicks vs. Cavaliers. Also, no MLS: Cleveland native Drew Carey bought into the Seattle Sounders because the Cleveland area had no suitable stadium -- the old Municipal Stadium was scheduled to be demolished to make way for the new Browns stadium, and they didn't want to use the Indians' ballpark -- and he figured, if he had to go as far as Columbus, he might as well find the best available flying-distance opportunity.

History? Check: Indians fans consider the Yankees, not the much-closer Tigers or White Sox, to be their big rivals; the Giants and Browns battled each other (and the Eagles) for NFL East supremacy in the Fifties and Sixties; the Jets had a memorable Playoff loss to the Browns in the 1986 season that ended the dream of a Giants-Jets Super Bowl; and the Knicks had some good games with the Cavs in the early Nineties before injuries broke the Cavs up -- since then, the Knicks vs. LeBron James games (back on now) have been shows, but haven't been consequential.

Each city's local media playing it up? Check. A particularly nasty, rivalry-causing moment? Two ugly, if unintentional, ones between the Yankees and Indians, both of which (literally) hurt the Tribe: 1920, Carl Mays beans Ray Chapman, who dies as a result; 1957, Gil McDougald hits a line drive right back at Herb Score, who pitches again but is never the same. But both of those are so long ago that they really don't figure into the Yanks-Indians rivalry. The Indians held "Hate the Yankees Hanky Night" in 1977, but it was really in the 1997 and '98 Playoffs that it got restarted, partly thanks to Jaret Wright (who later pitched for the Yanks) talking big and brushing back, and then there was the Bug Game in the 2007 Playoffs.

5. New York vs. Miami. All 4 sports? Check: The Mets and Marlins are in the same division, and the Yanks and Marlins have played each other in a World Series; the Jets and Dolphins are in the same division, the Knicks and Heat have had acrimonious Playoff contests, and while the Florida Panthers (based in Sunrise, 15 miles from downtown Fort Lauderdale and 33 miles from downtown Miami) haven't had much postseason luck, they have played both the Rangers and the Devils in the Playoffs (winning a grand total of 1 game against them). It will be 5 not long from now: The Miami Fusion didn't last long in MLS, but David Beckham's expansion team begins play in 2017.

History? Not really: The Dolphins only started in 1966, while the the oldest of the other 3 teams, the Heat, is only 27 years old. Each city's local media playing it up? No: New York vs. Miami in sports matters much more to Miami than to New York. A particularly nasty, rivalry-causing moment? Yes: Pat Riley leaving his post as head coach of the Knicks, to become head coach and general manager of the Heat, in 1995 -- informing the Knicks via fax! This sparked a nasty series of events that culminated in a 1997 Playoff brawl, in which new Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy almost got trampled. It is well ahead of Dan Marino's fake spike and LeBron James spurning New York (and Cleveland, and Chicago) for Miami, although those are also worth mentioning.

4. New York vs. Chicago. All 4 sports? Check: Yankees vs. White Sox, Mets vs. Cubs, Giants vs. Bears, Knicks vs. Bulls, and Blackhawks vs. our 3 teams. While it's been a quiet matchup, Red Bulls vs. Fire makes it 5 -- and in the NASL, Cosmos vs. Sting was a good one.

History? Check: The Yankees and White Sox have been playing for 112 seasons, the Yanks and Cubs played 2 World Series against each other in the Thirties, the baseball Giants and the Cubs had a truly noxious hatred for each other in the early 20th Century, and the Mets and Cubs (or at least their fans) have hated each other since 1969. The Giants and Bears played each other in 5 NFL Championship Games, and had a notable Playoff game in early 1986. Knicks vs. Bulls was the NBA Eastern Conference matchup in the Nineties.

The Blackhawks have less of a connection, but there was a 1971 Playoff series that featured Pete Stemkowski's triple-overtime goal giving the Rangers a win in Game 6, before the Hawks won Game 7. And the Devils had to win at Chicago on the last day of the 1988 regular season to make the Playoffs, which they did on John MacLean's overtime goal.

Each city's local media playing it up? Check: The words "Second City" will be used by both sides, by New York to piss Chicago off, and by Chicago to suggest that, like Avis used to do with Hertz, being Number 2 means you try harder. A particularly nasty, rivalry-causing moment? Take your pick: The Fred Merkle Game between the Giants and Cubs in 1908, the Mark Koenig "Squeeze the Eagle" incident that led to Babe Ruth's called shot in the '32 World Series, the Giants changing their footwear to get better traction on the frozen Polo Grounds field in the 1934 NFL Championship Game (a.k.a. the Sneaker Game), the Yankees using sparklers to counter Bill Veeck's fireworks-shooting "exploding scoreboard" in 1960, the Mets-Cubs "Black Cat Game" symbolizing the Cubs' "September Swoon" and the Mets' "Miracle" in 1969, any number of moments in the Knicks-Bulls games of the Nineties.

3. New York vs. Philadelphia. All 4 sports? Check: Mets vs. Phillies (and formerly Yankees vs. Athletics), Giants vs. Eagles, Knicks (and to a much lesser degree Nets) vs. 76ers, and all 3 hockey teams have had nasty matchups with the Flyers. The Union have built up a nice little derby with the Red Bulls, making it 5 sports.

History? Check: The Phils short-circuiting a promised Mets dynasty in 2007 and '08, Chuck Bednarik vs. Frank Gifford in 1960, "the Miracle of the Meadowlands" in 1978, Wilt Chamberlain dropping 100 on the Knicks in 1962, the Nets having to sell Julius Erving just to get into the NBA in 1976, all those Rangers-Flyers fights in the Seventies and Eighties, Bobby Nystrom (and Leon Stickle, if you ask Flyer fans) beating the Flyers in 1980, Claude Lemieux vs. Ron Hextall in 1995, Scott Stevens vs. Eric Lindros, 2000. Each city's local media playing it up? Check. A particularly nasty, rivalry-causing moment? Check, plus.

2. New York vs. Los Angeles -- which includes Anaheim. All 4 sports? Not anymore: In January 1995, L.A. went from having 2 NFL teams to having none. But there is still Yankees vs. Angels and Mets vs. Dodgers, Knicks vs. Lakers, and our 3 hockey teams vs. their 2. The L.A. Galaxy make it 5: The 1st game in MLS history was Gals vs. MetroStars at the Rose Bowl in 1996 -- and it ended very badly for the team that became the Red Bulls in 2005.

History? Check: The Dodgers moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles in 1958, and that, coupled with the New York Giants baseball team's move to San Francisco, resulted in the expansion of the National League and the creation of the Mets. The Mets and Dodgers have played each other in 2 Playoff series, while the Yanks and Dodgers have played each other in 4 World Series after the move (but none in the last 30 years). The Giants had some Playoff games with the Rams when they were in L.A. (both in their Coliseum and Anaheim eras, including the Flipper Anderson Game), and the Jets played the L.A. edition of Duh Raiduhs in the postseason. The Knicks and Lakers played each other in the 1970, '72 and '73 NBA Finals. The Kings played the Rangers in 2 postseason series and the Islanders in 1, before realignment made that possible only in the Stanley Cup Finals. That's now happened in 2012 against the Devils and 2014 against the Rangers, with the Kings diving, slashing and whining their way to winning both. And the Anaheim Ducks (then "the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim") played the Devils in the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals.

Each city's local media playing it up? You bet, especially since there are still people who remember the 1957 O'Malley backstab. A particularly nasty, rivalry-causing moment? See the previous answer.

You knew this had to be Number 1:

1. New York vs. Boston. All 4 sports? Check: Yankees vs. Red Sox, Jets (and to a much lesser degree Giants) vs. Patriots, Knicks vs. Celtics, Rangers (and to a lesser degree Devils) vs. Bruins. The Revolution vs. the Red Bulls makes it 5.

History? Check: All that Yanks-Sox history, the 1912 World Series (Giants vs. Red Sox), the 1986 World Series (Mets vs. Red Sox), Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick, Belichick vs. Rex Ryan, 2 Giants-Patriots Super Bowls, Red Holzman's Knicks vs. Tom Heinsohn's Celtics in the Seventies, numerous Stanley Cup Playoff series running the gamut from Ching Johnson vs. Eddie Shore in 1929 to Isles vs. the Lunch Pail Athletic Club in the early Eighties, to "Have another doughnut" in 1988.

Each city's local media playing it up? Check: The metro areas' newspapers, particularly the tabloid -- the Daily News and the Post here, the Herald there -- seem to take particular joy in sticking it to each other. A particularly nasty, rivalry-causing moment? Check, and then some.

Actually, the greatest rivalry of all is... the New York Tri-State Area against itself. Yankees vs. baseball Giants. Yankees vs. Dodgers. Yankees vs. Mets. Rangers vs. Islanders. Rangers vs. Devils. And, every once in a while, Giants vs. Jets. Already, before they've faced each other on the pitch, there is significant online banter between fans of the Red Bulls and NYCFC, with fans of the new Cosmos (the CosFauxs) trying to worm their way in from their Hofstra hidey-hole. Who knows, maybe someday, Knicks vs. Nets will mean something.