In his book “To Hate Like This Is To Be Happy Forever” -- which is ostensibly about the Duke-North Carolina college basketball rivalry but is really about all rivalries -- the writer Will Blythe explains that what makes a true rival is not the differences between their fans, but their similarities: Rival teams’ fans tend to be, on the whole, most similar to each other. Our rivals are those who most remind us of ourselves. Neither side will ever want to admit it, but Red Sox and Yankees fans are probably a lot more similar to each other than Red Sox and, say, Diamondbacks fans are.
Thus, it is Rivalry Weekend presented by Booking.com, a full slate of series in which teams face their prime Interleague nemeses and other regional rivals, the teams they’re always aware of throughout the season but unable to ignore this weekend. All these games will be fun -- they certainly will set up bragging rights for the rest of the season -- but a select few are particularly compelling in a purely baseball sense: They’re battles among some of the most fascinating teams in Major League Baseball, ones in particularly pivotal moments of the season, ones that would be a big deal even if they weren’t between rivals. But that they are makes them that much more exciting.
Here are the top five to look forward to this weekend.
1. Yankees at Mets
OK fine, maybe there’s some East Coast Bias here. I hear you, I get it, we’re all used to it. But this one sure feels like it could be a huge moment for both teams. The Yankees have Carlos Rodón back and have Gerrit Cole coming back soon to a team that has looked excellent so far -- but not as excellent as the Rays, who have ridden a blisteringly hot start to pass the Yanks for first place in the AL East.
Meanwhile, the Mets have endured just about as tumultuous a start as a team could have, especially a team that was built to win this year just as much as the Yankees were. The Mets have been better in May, but the way their season began put them in a considerable hole. Their schedule eases up after this Yankees series, and a good showing against their hated rivals could propel them into turning their season around. Or it could dig the hole deeper.
2. Padres at Mariners
Two of the more vocal and dedicated West Coast fanbases meet in what’s not necessarily a rivalry series, per se -- though the matchup comes with an official trophy -- but one between franchises that share considerable similarities. The Mariners came into the year as many observers’ preseason favorite in the American League but got off to a wobbly start, albeit one that hasn’t set them too far back in the currently listless AL West.
The NL West, with the Dodgers always looming, certainly can’t be called listless, which makes the Padres’ ascent to the division lead that much more impressive, even if it was short lived. All told: Wouldn’t this be a highly entertaining World Series matchup?
3. Reds at Guardians
This Ohio Cup battle features two teams that sat two games over .500, through Tuesday. Yet in an odd twist, that record put the Guardians at the top of the AL Central, while the Reds sat last in the NL Central.
That speaks to their respective divisions, of course, but also how compact the standings are in both, and how important each of these games therefore are. And, of course, it’s always fun when Terry Francona returns to face the team he took to the World Series … and came oh so close to winning it with.
4. Phillies at Pirates
If I’d have told you before Opening Day that one of these teams would have a winning record midway through May, I doubt you would have guessed the right one. The Phillies have stabilized quite a bit since replacing their manager Rob Thomson with Don Mattingly last month, but while they’ve moved into third place in the NL East, they’re still under .500 and they’re still 10 full games behind the Braves.
Meanwhile, the Pirates are off to a terrific start, though it can be difficult to tell while looking at the NL Central standings, where they’re jockeying for position with a whole bunch of other teams off to strong starts. Both these teams, all told, look structurally sound and may well be battling each other for a Wild Card spot come fall. That may make this series even more important, considering an eventual tiebreaker could be at stake. Yet another reason the Pirates will be happy to have Paul Skenes lined up to take the hill Sunday.
5. Red Sox at Braves
The Red Sox haven’t quite enjoyed the same success since firing their manager as the Phillies have, and they’re just as far out of first place. Considering the competitiveness of the AL East -- and that you should probably expect the Blue Jays and the Orioles, both very desperate teams, to do whatever it takes to turn their own seasons around -- the Red Sox have to feel like the clock is starting to tick pretty loudly at this point.
Which makes it a terrible time to face the Braves, who have the best record in baseball. Some regression from the Braves should be expected at some point, though they’ve built up a big enough division lead to withstand it. There’s little reason to think that’ll happen in time for Boston, which will face them again before the end of the month at Fenway Park. If the Red Sox are going to turn it around, they’ll have to go through the toughest possible obstacle at this moment.