New York Yankees vs Boston Red Sox

Is Red Sox-Yankees the best rivalry in baseball history? Yes. Is it the best rivalry in sports of all-time? I think so. But because the rivalry was so one-sided from the 1920s to the late 1970s (aside from a few seasons of Ted Williams late-1940s teams), it s got to be the number one choice on this list. Of course the Red Sox sin of selling Babe Ruth to the Yankees adds an element that no other rivalry can contend with. But on the diamond, the Yankees and Red Sox have also provided some of the most dramatic and thrilling moments in baseball history. The 1949 AL pennant came down to a one-game Sox-Yanks showdown. The same was true three decades later when Bucky Dent made a name for himself. Still, it wasn t until the last 15 years that BOTH teams were consistently elite for an extended period of time. Beginning in the late 1990s, every regular season game took on a playoff feel, which multiplied exponentially in the 1999, 2003 and 2004 ALCS. The whole Evil Empire quote added some more fire, but the back-and-forth jockeying for free agents (or free-agents-to-be at the trade deadline) is what keeps the Red Sox-Yankee rivalry a 365-day-a-year spectacle. I m just glad Boston finally won themselves a few rings and ended that curse. That was getting pathetic.