Red Sox-Yankees Doesn’t Mean What it Once Did

The Red Sox are playing the Yankees for the right to be first in the A.L. East. Sounds familiar right?

Wrong.

The Yankees-Red Sox rivalry is dead…well at least compared to what it once was.  Growing up, (I’m 25) it was always the Sox chasing the Yanks for first and games in June had my attention like the ALCS in October. Now, I’m a crazed fan and it still doesn’t have that allure.

Maybe it’s the winning, maybe it was the losing both clubs have done while trying to rebuild. Personally, I think it’s a direct reflection of what baseball is now. It’s simply a niche sport.

No longer America’s pastime. We no longer ignore the Patriots or NFL for September baseball games in a pennant race. We dread the dog days of summer (most people anyways) rather than enjoying the purity of only having baseball to watch. Instead, as a nation, we count down to fantasy football drafts and our winter sports starting once again.

I think that sucks.

Baseball does need to make its changes. The game no longer needs to take four hours…it should take no more than three. The commissioner’s office and his lackey’s need to get out of the glory days of this sport. It’s not the 90’s and early 2000’s when Pedro throwing Don Zimmer to the ground was acceptable. It’s not the time when Jason Varitek laid out A-Rod and started the whole thing. (See below to reminisce).

However, it is exciting that both the Yankees and Red Sox are back on top fighting for the top spot in the division. The Yanks have a young core that they have rebuilt to combat Mookie Betts and company for the Sox. These teams might never truly “hate” each other like the old days, but this summer could be the spark for an all new Yankees-Red Sox rivalry.

If only baseball would wake up and fix its issues.

Now, like I said…look down to reminisce.

Written by: Jared Scali (@Jscalradio18)