The Yankees-Red Sox rivalry is back: The Red Sox perspective

I can only speak from a Red Sox fan’s perspective, but it’s been a little while since I’ve really cared about the Red Sox/Yankees rivalry in more than just a token way. Obviously, there’s always going to be some animosity towards the team in the Bronx. Being born in Boston, it’s basically part of my DNA, and we’re raised to always at least give bit of a side-eye towards anything pinstripes-related.

That being said, the timelines of the two franchises for the better part of the last 10-15 years haven’t really lined up, and the rivalry has been on the back-burner, simply trying to keep temperature rather than really heating up. In fact, at least for a few years, the Rays unexpectedly took the mantle as the most hated American League East rival for the Red Sox, though, that period has subsided in a big way.

With the Yankees “rebuild” being accelerated in somewhat unexpected fashion and the Red Sox being firmly in the middle of a strong World Series window, the best rivalry in sports is back in the form that it should be, heating all the way up and boiling over. The world order is back to normal and, frankly, it feels amazing to be a part of this once again.

From a pure baseball perspective, in terms of the talent on the rosters, it’s not hard to see why the rivalry is back. These are two of the very best teams in baseball, and it’s not just that they’ll be competing for division titles but they have a similar makeup as they do so. Both squads are led by first-year managers. Both sides have electric aces. Both teams are led by young superstars in right field. Both teams have young shortstops experiencing breakouts and becoming true superstars. Both front offices improved their rosters by adding arguably the two best sluggers in the game. In this new baseball world with an eroding middle class and superteams vs. tanking teams, the Red Sox and Yankees are each firmly in the first tier, and they both figure to be for a long time.

Being a fan of the Red Sox, there’s an added new wrinkle to this newest edition of the rivalry that makes it even sweeter. It seems, at least for now, that the two sides have changed their positions in the standing of this matchup. Obviously, the Yankees had the upper hand for the vast majority of the history between these two sides, what with the Red Sox going a better part of a century without a championship and all that. Now, though, Boston seemingly has the upper-hand coming off two straight division titles and being more firmly established in their current window than the Yankees.

For the first time that I can remember, it feels as if the Red Sox are the old guard (despite being led by a core of young position players including a 25-year-old superstar who looks poised for a potential MVP run this season) while the Yankees are the new, up-and-coming franchise. It’s a strange and new feeling, and frankly it’s a fun one to embrace.

Neutral fans always have a natural tendency to side towards the team perceived to be the up-and-comer and the challenger, and it led to what was really the boiling point for Red Sox fans over the last year or so. Most of the 2017 divisional race, while certainly fun and closely contested, didn’t quite feel like the rivalry was back. It was more of your typical battle between two outstanding teams than something on a higher plane of existence where this matchup always has potential to be.

As the season went on, however, and the playoffs started to get going, there were stories about how likable the Yankees were becoming, and that’s where Red Sox fans started to feel the hatred again. The worst part is that those stories weren’t even really wrong. Guys like Didi Gregorius, Aaron Judge, Luis Severino, and Aaron Hicks, among others, should be some of my favorite players in the game. The Yankees have always had ostensibly likable players on their roster, though. What’s kept them from being truly likable is that they’re Yankees! Even though they surprisingly stayed in contention until the ALCS last year as a “rebuilding” team, the uniforms haven’t changed. Yankees can’t be likable, especially when the Red Sox never got that tag with the ball of joy that is Mookie Betts roaming their outfield. It’s just not fair, dammit.

So, between the positive stories on the other side and Yankee fans getting their mojo back after last season’s postseason run, the feeling in Boston about the rivalry was as passionate as ever, and it came to a head in the two teams’ first meeting of 2018. The fight between Joe Kelly and Tyler Austin was the highlight, of course, but even before that the buildup to the series was unlike anything we’ve seen possibly since 2004. April series just aren’t supposed to really be on the radar, particularly with the Celtics and Bruins in the postseason and the Patriots preparing for the NFL draft. Sox/Yanks dominated the sports news cycle, though, and more than anything that was the biggest sign this rivalry is back to the status it deserves.

After the fireworks that ensued once the two sides actually got on the field, we are guaranteed an even bigger buildup for this upcoming matchup between the two sides. The fan bases are going to be loud and chirping at each other all game, and whichever side is in first place on any given day is going to be sure to let the other one know about it. Standings in the beginning of May don’t really mean anything, unless of course you’re rubbing it in the face of your biggest rival.

People always say you don’t really know how much you’ll miss something until it’s gone, but in this case we didn’t really know how much we missed it until it came back. I, and seemingly most Red Sox and Yankees fans, were content to let the bygone days of the matchup be gone and go about our lives without this particular excitement. The rivalry came roaring back in overwhelming fashion, though, and it appears it should be back for a long, long time. And I’m again realizing that I wouldn’t have it any other way.