I’m not sure if Major League Baseball schedules a rivalries weekend every year, but every time they do, it must be fun for fans. Of the 15 three-game series being played this weekend, 10 feature teams from the same city/metro area or the same state. Let’s look at how the first day of rivalries weekend went.
By definition, rivalries weekend means mostly interleague play. With just a few exceptions, it isn’t about playing division foes or even league opponents. Of course, every game counts in the final league standings, but even so rivalries weekend gives teams a chance to also play for local bragging rights.
The rivalries matchups this weekend include the familiar Yankees‒Mets and Cubs‒White Sox showdowns plus eight other series: Dodgers‒Angels, Royals‒Cardinals, Marlin‒Rays, Reds‒Guardians, Orioles‒Nationals, Giants‒Athletics, Phillies‒Pirates, and Astros‒Rangers. As for the remaining five MLB series, the schedulers did the best they could, but they don’t seem like true “bragging rights” contests to me:
Red Sox‒Braves
Brewers‒Twins
Blue Jays‒Tigers
Diamondbacks‒Rockies
Padres‒Mariners
That’s especially true for the San Diego‒Seattle series. Sports writers and commentators have been trying to promote a rivalry between the two cities dating back to when the Seahawks played in the AFC West and took on the then San Diego Chargers twice a year. It hasn’t worked. Those games didn’t have the same intensity and importance as the two Seahawks‒Raiders grudge matches every football season. The same is true for baseball. San Diego and Seattle, beautiful cities with almost unlimited outdoor activities, are unlikely to ever be competitors unless it comes to battling for tourist visits despite having challenged airports.
The numbers are in for the first night of rivalries weekend. Of the 10 rivalry games, home teams won five of them. That’s a bit under the league average for exploiting home field advantage, but it’s a small sample size. Average attendance was 30,720. The five non-rivalry games (or possible future rivalry games if MLB has its way) actually did better in attendance, averaging 33,108 fans with the visitors winning three of them. The attendance differential is partly explained by two of the rivalry game venues: Tampa Bay and Sacramento. Both cities have stadium issues, and together they only attracted about 27,000 fans. Omit those two games and the rivalry contests averaged just under 35,000 fans and thus outdrew the non-rivalry games. Not bad for a Friday in mid-May.
Let’s hope for some more good games today as teams and their fans battle it out for local bragging rights.
Mud Bay Blog 