As part of our celebration of America 250, MLB's content team has created 25 top 10 lists that capture the plays, people, rituals and moments that made baseball America’s game. We’ll be revealing five lists per week over the course of five weeks.
1. George vs. Billy
The Yankees Boss and his manager had quite a history
Owner George Steinbrenner and player/manager Billy Martin were two of the sport’s biggest personalities on its biggest stage. Martin started his first stint as the skipper in 1975, winning the AL pennant in ’76 and the World Series in ’77. But Martin’s fan-favorite fire also led to myriad incidents and mudslinging. All told, Steinbrenner hired and fired Martin as Yankees skipper five times.
2. Pedro Martínez vs. the Yankees
Pedro relished The Rivalry, except for when he called the Yanks his “daddy”
Martínez had some of his best years in Boston, including plenty of bouts with the Yankees. He had a respectable 3.20 ERA in 32 career regular-season games against the Bronx Bombers, though the Yanks got to him with a 5.08 ERA in eight postseason games. The 1999 one-hit complete game, the 2003 ALCS brawl and rival “Who’s your daddy?” chants will live on in infamy.
3. Earl Weaver vs. Umpires
Not only a Hall of Fame skipper, but a HoF hothead, too
Weaver is the winningest manager in Orioles history. His 17 years in Baltimore led him to Cooperstown, but beyond his strategic chops, he had a way with the ejection. He was tossed 96 times in his career in a proportionately small 2,541 games (about one ejection every 26 games). A 1980 mic’d up moment with Bill Haller was one of his best tirades, but you can pick your own favorite -- there are plenty to choose from.
4. Nolan Ryan vs. Robin Ventura
“Don’t mess with Texas”
At 46 years old, Ryan still wasn’t one to be trifled with. On Aug. 4, 1993, he plunked Robin Ventura -- 20 years his junior -- causing Ventura to charge the mound. The Express immediately put Ventura in a headlock and delivered a few blows before the Rangers and White Sox had an all-out scuffle. “No-lan” chants rang through the stadium afterward. The battle became a lasting image of Ryan’s Hall of Fame tenure.
5. Tommy Lasorda vs. Mascots
Lasorda had it out for opposing entertainers
Lasorda won two World Series with the Dodgers amid a Hall of Fame resume, but he had few rivalries as notable as the ones he had with opposing mascots. From the Expos’ Youppi and his dugout heckling, to the San Diego Chicken stomping a Dodgers hat, and -- most of all -- the Phillie Phanatic’s antics, Lasorda had beef. He had multiple run-ins with the Phanatic and even chastised the mascot on local radio.
6. Chipper Jones vs. the Mets
"Larry" dominated his rivals
Jones caused plenty of nightmares for Mets fans over his Hall of Fame career, perhaps never more than in his 1999 MVP season. He posted a 1.510 OPS and seven home runs against the rival New York squad, including four blasts in a late-season series. He then had trash talk for the Mets’ faithful, which led to fans (and Mike Piazza) chanting his real name, “Larry,” over the years.
7. Lou Piniella vs. the bases
Piniella's famous ejection still lives on
Lou Piniella won the 1990 World Series as the Reds’ manager. One of his five ejections that season was thanks to an iconic rant following a close call on an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play. He pulled first base out of the ground and threw it twice in rage. Perhaps Piniella’s ire toward bases started 20 years earlier, when he was put out at all four bases in a single game on April 16, 1970 (his Royals still won).
8. Dusty vs. Tony
Baker and La Russa had a decades-long rivalry
Baker’s and La Russa’s relationship in baseball spanned more than 50 years, from their brief time as teammates to Baker playing under La Russa with the A’s. They then managed against each other more than 200 times. There was plenty of fire, including in the 2002 NLCS when Baker’s Giants beat La Russa’s Cardinals -- or when Baker moved on to the Cards’ archrival Cubs thereafter.
9. Joe DiMaggio vs. Ted Williams
Joltin’ Joe and Teddy Ballgame respected each other’s greatness
DiMaggio and Williams had Hall of Fame careers for iconic rival franchises at the same time. Debates have raged over which player was better. DiMaggio won three MVPs and nine World Series, had the 56-game hit streak and was considered a better all-around player. Williams may be the best pure hitter ever, a two-time MVP who may well be the last to ever bat .400 in a season.
10. Sammy Sosa vs. Mark McGwire
The great home run chase of 1998
Playing for the rival Cubs and Cardinals, Sosa and McGwire had one of the greatest individual rivalries in a season, chasing Roger Maris’ record of 61 homers in one year. McGwire led early, Sosa hit 20 dingers in June and McGwire finally won on Sept. 8 -- against the Cubs. He finished with 70 blasts to Sosa’s 66, though Sosa won the NL MVP, and his Cubs outpaced the Cards for a Wild Card bid.