Americas favorite professional past time sport is Major League Baseball. The two most popular teams in Major League Baseball are the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. These two teams are the highest paid team, in both the National and American league. The Yankees are the highest paid franchise and the Red Sox are the second. Both of these teams have great legends behind them. The talent between the players are a lot alike but yet very different too. The legends have followed them through the years and because of that they have created more fans to take part in the love of the game.
These two teams have one of the oldest and fiercest rivalries in any American professional sport. The history of the Boston Red Sox take place back in the late 1800’s and the first twenty years of the next century. Back in those days the Red Sox were the best in the league. They use to be called, the Boston Americans due to the location of the closest port to Europe. They also have won five World Series in the years between 1913 through 1918. In 1919, after their win the owner began to sell his players. One of the many players that was sold to the New York Yankees was the one and only Babe Ruth.
After the Babe was sold, the Boston Red Sox had begun a losing streak that would last for the next eighty six years. The fans started calling the long, lengthy slump, The Slump of the Bambino. Shortly thereafter, the fans of the Red Sox began to despise the Yankees. After the long agonizing slump they managed to come out on top in 2004, winning the World Series against the Saint Louis Cardinals. They finally broke the Curse of the Bambino, and won the World Series again in 2007. The year winning talent of the Boston Red Sox consisted of their captain, Jason Varitek.
Varitek is a remarkable defensive player. He is very difficult to steal second base, unless you have amazing speed. What he lacks offensively he exceeds in defense. He does not have an over powering hitting game. He is a switch hitter to as well. Jonathan Papelbon, is their ninth inning closing pitcher. He is the youth of the closing pitchers in the American League. His best pitch is the fastball inside. With good winning combinations of the offense and defense anything is possible. The Red Sox fans are very dedicated crowd of people. The say and do anything to support their team.
They began a chant called “1918,” to remind them of their last World Series. They also introduced the Boston Red Sox Nation to America. The actual players take part in supporting them, Curt Schillings, their ace pitcher at the time, wore a “Yankee Haters” hat to an ice hockey game. The Red Sox over the years have become jealous of the New York Yankees due to their multiple World Series. It is upsetting to know that someone has created a negative logo to enhance the Red Sox popularity. All I can say is “Welcome to America”. However, the New York Yankees, like the Red Sox, had a different name to as well.
They were called the Baltimore Orioles in 1901, and then in 1903 they soon became the New York Highlanders. They too were name after their location. Unlike the Red Sox, the Yankees got their first World Series in 1934 and continued to produce a whopping 26 World Series up until 2000. In the 2001, they entered their slump too. There was no explanation for it. They just had to rebuild their team. The team was a combination of veterans and rookies. The combination of the two no matter how hard they tried just did not produce any World Series.
Over the past few years they have made some great improvements. They began making some great trades, changes in the management and putting together a phenomenal line up. This season could be the end to to their eight year losing streak. Just like the Red Sox catcher, Jorge Posada, is an average catcher defensively. What Posada lacks defensively he makes up in offense. He is definitely easier to steal second off of and his at bats are amazing. He too is a switch hitter. Their closing pitcher, Mariano Riveria, is a veteran and still manages to bang out a lot of closes with his infamous cutter fastballs.
Alex Rodriguez, is their third baseman, and he has managed to be the youngest batter ever to hit five hundred home runs. In comparison to Ted Williams, from the Red Sox, he was an outfielder for them in 1939. These two players are very similar both have played for eighteen years or more and have reach the home run mark. But A-Rod is still continuing his career where Ted Williams retired after twenty one amazing years of playing. Williams ended his career with five hundred and twenty one home runs in 1960. The Yankees fans, just like the Red Sox fans, honor and respect their teams.
The franchise of the Yankees have done right by their fans by bringing home twenty six World Series. The Yankee fans take great pride in all the victories that the men in pinstripes have produced in the past decades. They have had to endure the good, the bad and the ugly times together, like all other fans have with their teams. The Yankee fans are less worried about what the Red Sox Nation are doing to get players. Unlike the New York Yankees, the Red Sox Nation worry more about what the New York Yankees management are doing to get players.
The rivalry of the two teams are older than most of us here today. It is the way the teams and fans present themselves that help the reputation of the franchise. A lot of people look as winning and losing a top priority but to some fans and teams it is the pride and dignity that becomes just as important. These two teams both have a lot of similar characteristics and talents. However, the differences is what makes the rivalry between these two teams so one of the best rivalries in Americas’ favorite past time sport.
