The Los Angeles Dodgers will take on the San Francisco Giants in what could be the most epic playoff battle in postseason history. The rivalry dates back to 1889 when the Dodgers played in Brooklyn while the Giants were at the Polo Grounds in Manhatten.
The two teams were bitter against each other not only because of location but because the Giants fans were upper-class elite. In contrast, the Dodgers fans were often blue-collar and working-class atmosphere.
A personal feud between Dodgers owner Charles Ebbets and Giants manager John McGraw heated the battle, causing incidents on both sides in the early 1900s. Players on either team were involved in on and off-the-field situations, which inflamed fans to despise each other.
Fatal cases have occurred between fans in 1938 and 2003. A Giants fan Mark Antenorcruz was shot and killed in the Los Angeles Dodgers parking lot following a dispute over the teams.
In 2011, Bryan Stow was left handicapped after fighting with Dodgers fans in a Los Angeles parking lot. Stow has shown some improvement but will never be the same.
San Francisco Giants fan, Bryan Stow, who was attacked at Dodger Stadium.
In 2013, Dodgers fan Jonathan Denver was stabbed to death six blocks from Oracle Park. He was found wearing Dodgers gear after a night game. Nobody was charged as it was unknown if the attacker (Michael Montgomery) was using self-defense. Also, there was insufficient evidence to criminally charge Montgomery.
Once, Dodgers manager Joe Torre described how he felt threatened as a fan growing up in Brooklyn and wasn't a fan of the Giants.
"As a kid growing up, you didn't like them," Torre said on WFAN radio in New York before the hiring was announced. "As a player, to me, the Dodgers were the Yankees of the National League because ... you either loved them or you hated them."
The two teams moved after the 1957 season when Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley decided to move to Los Angeles. O'Malley convinced Giants owner Horace Stoneham to do the same to keep the teams embroiled in competition.
The move didn't end the disdain for each other. In 1965, Juan Marichal hit Dodgers catcher John Roseboro in the head with a bat.
The entanglement all started when Marichal buzzed hitter Maury Wills with a pitch. Sandy Koufax retaliated with a fastball over Willie Mays' head. Marichal went after Ron Fairly with an inside fastball that sent him sprawling. Home plate umpire Shag Crawford then issued a warning to both teams.
In response, Roseboro didn't want Marichal to get away with being the last player to retaliate. When Marichal was up in the bottom of the third, an inside pitch from Koufax was dropped by Roseboro. He got behind Marichal to pick the ball up and threw it hard behind Marichal's ear and close to his face.
Marichal then turned to Roseboro as expletives were exchanged. As Roseboro stepped toward Marichal, who raised his bat and slammed it into Roseboro's head. Marichal explained what transpired and why he hit Roseboro in the head.
Roseboro-Marichal Incident
"I was afraid he was going to hit me with his mask, so I hit him with my bat," Marichal said in an apology issued the next day.
Each team's bench cleared, and fights ensued. In the end, Marichal was ejected and suspended for eight games. He missed ten in total due to double-headers and was fined $1,750 ($15,00 today). Roseboro left the game to get stitched up (14 stitches) and miss the next two contests.
In 2014, Madison Bumgarner and Yasiel Puig got in an exchange after Puig flipped his bat when he hit a home run off Bumgarner. Then, Max Muncy hit a homer off Bumgarner that landed in McCovey Cove. Muncy watched it fly off the bat, and Bumgarner yelled insults. Muncy retorted: "If you don't like it, you can go get it out of the ocean!".
Iconic players have retired instead of continuing to play baseball on the other team. Jackie Robinson retired after being traded in 1956 to the Giants. Willie Mays refused to sign with the Dodgers after the 1972 season and was traded to the Mets.
As for the team series and its, 131 year history will be the first time the Giants and Dodgers meet in the postseason. The overall head-to-head battle while in New York lent itself to the Giants 721-670-17 throughout 68-years. However, the tables have turned since the move to California. The Dodgers have a 675-647 lead. Since 2010, the series has been very close as the Giants have a 109-106 victory edge. This season, San Francisco leads 10-9 in games played.
There have many playoff races decided by the fortunate or misfortunate events by either team. In 1951, Bobby Thompson hit the pennant-winning home run off Ralph Branca in the 'Shot Heard Round the World'.
In 1982, Joe Morgan hit a three-run homer knocking out the Dodgers from playoff contention after eliminating the Giants just a few games prior.
Los Angeles returned the favor when Mike Piazza and crew destroyed San Francisco 12-1 on the season's final day. The loss allowed the Braves to enter the playoffs and eliminated the 103-win Giants.
In 2001, San Francisco finished two games behind Arizona even though Barry Bonds hit 73 home runs. This is mainly due to Los Angeles taking two of three games against the Giants in the season's final series.
Looking at both teams heading into the playoffs, more than wins and losses barely keep these teams apart. For instance, the graph below demonstrates how close they are, courtesy of MLB.com.
The first game between these two historic teams begins on Friday at Oracle Park at 6:37 p.m. Game 2 will start at 6:07 p.m. on Saturday. Monday, the series will resume in Los Angeles.
Logan Webb will receive the start, while Kevin Gausman will start in the second game. Walker Buehler will battle Webb and face the Giants for the seventh time this season.
