While most division matchups include at least a dormant rivalry of some sorts, there are a few meetings that feel like they should have a bit more vitriol behind them.
There’s no doubt that one of the most appealing and exciting parts about following sports of any kind is the existence of rivalries. Two sides with a history of not liking each other, needing to get past one another in order to reign supreme.
For Americans, the word rivalry is seemingly synonymous with the hatred present between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox or Ohio State and Michigan football – animosity that runs generations deep, often dividing families and communities on the edge of the teams’ geographical territories.
While rivalries to the degree of the Yankees-Red Sox matchup certainly don’t bloom overnight, rivalries often arise randomly when the paths of two teams cross in a major moment that has postseason or championship implications.
Considering this, it should come as no surprise that most rivalries originate within a givin division of a sports league. With frequent and often intense competition taking place between teams that are within the same division, it’s all the more likely that some of those games will be incredibly important at some point.
With that being said, most divisional matchups within North American professional sports contain at least somewhat of a rivalry, owing to the probability that any given two teams will probably battle it out for a division title or postseason appearance at some point.
But not all of these rivalries are created equal – especially in the world of baseball, where the sport’s oldest and most historic rivalries often take precedent, even when one or both of the teams isn’t fully competitive.
Although fans will always gravitate towards Cubs-Cardinals or Dodgers-Giants games, the opportunity is always there for a new rivalry to blossom within a division – something NL West fans will speak to regarding the Dodgers-Padres rivalry, which has greatly intensified in the 2020’s as the Padres have become competitively relevant once again.
The key for any blossoming rivalry is for there to be enough animosity and hatred for the rivalry to still have legs once the current competitive era ends, with many rivalries flourishing and waning as time goes by. While there have been times during my life where the rivalry between the Detroit Red Wings and Colorado Avalanche was considered among the most fierce in the NHL, the two teams compete in separate conferences today and no longer have much of a reason to hate each other.
While I’d love to see every divisional matchup become an intense rivalry, the less far-fetched fantasy is to see a select few rivalries become important to a pair of fanbases, serving as the juice to keep interest in the sport alive and well.
When taking the 2026 MLB landscape into consideration, here’s a look at the three divisional matchups I wish were bigger rivalries:
1. AL West – Los Angeles Angels vs. Athletics
In some ways, including this matchup to lead off the list feels weird, as it is very much so a rivalry – just a pretty damn dormant one at that.
Long serving as the NorCal vs. SoCal matchup of the American League West, the A’s and Angels have shared a division for as long as divisions have existed in MLB, with the two teams making up part of the inaugural AL West in 1969.
While there have been times that this rivalry has been the most intense in the AL West, the AL West also just hasn’t been a hotbed for rivalries in general – at least before the Houston Astros joined the division in 2013, moving the Lone Star Series into the division.
Within my lifetime, the Angels-A’s rivalry has had two main periods of relevance – first coming in the early 2000’s, when the 2002 Moneyball A’s edged out a 99-win Angels team to win the division. This ultimately didn’t mean much as the A’s fell to the Minnesota Twins in that year’s ALDS, while the Angels eliminated the New York Yankees and Twins en route to defeating the San Francisco Giants for their first and only World Series title.
The rivalry was reignited in 2014, when the two teams battled neck-and-neck throughout the season for the AL West crown. While the Angels ultimately won the division and the A’s entered the playoffs as a Wild Card team, both teams would be knocked out of the postseason that year without winning a game.
Since then, the two clubs have combined for just three postseason wins – all coming from the A’s during the 2020 playoffs, which carried a different format due to the pandemic-shortened season.
Though the dynamic of this rivalry will likely change at least a little bit as the A’s are slated to relocate to Las Vegas by 2028, there’s enough history and geographical proximity to allow the A’s and Angels to hate each other again in the future.
The A’s currently lead the all-time regular season series with 551 wins and 505 losses.
2. NL West – Colorado Rockies vs. Arizona Diamondbacks
The two non-California teams in the National League West, the Rockies and Diamondbacks have plenty in common that should contribute to a rivalry, along with a little bit of shared history in the postseason as well.
Representing the two largest metropolitan areas of the Mountain West, the Rockies and Diamondbacks are also relatively new to MLB, with both teams entering the league among the most recent waves of expansion in 1993 (Rockies) and 1998 (Diamondbacks), respectively.
Although both teams have been mediocre or below-average for much of their franchise histories, the Rockies and Diamondbacks have been good enough at the same time to have met in the postseason two previous occasions.
The Rockies came out on top in the first meeting, rolling over the D-Backs in what was an emphatic sweep of the team in the 2007 NLCS, leading to the Rockies’ first and only NL pennant. Arizona would exact their revenge 10 years later in the 2017 NL Wild Card Game, a wild back-and-forth affair that ended in an 11-8 Arizona victory.
While the two teams have not been competitive at the same time since, there has been a concerted effort to make this matchup a legitimate rivalry – with the league matching the two teams up with each other during the otherwise interleague-dominated MLB Rivalry Weekend.
The Diamondbacks currently lead the all-time regular season series with 275 wins and 214 losses.
3. NL East – Miami Marlins vs. New York Mets
It goes without saying that the Marlins don’t really have a true, hatred-filled rivalry with any one team despite their 33 years of history that includes two World Series championships.
Sure, they share a state with the Tampa Bay Rays and play them six times a season, but the Marlins have yet to develop a true rivalry with any of their NL East counterparts – though I wish that would change.
It would be false to say that these two teams have no shared history in big moments. Despite never meeting each other in the playoffs, it was none other than the then-Florida Marlins who threw the final nail in the coffin on the historic collapse of the 2007 Mets, who somehow squandered a seven-game division lead that they held on Sept. 12.
Other than that bizarre crossing of paths, the Marlins and Mets have typically not been good at the same time and have made up one of the more forgettable divisional matchups across all of baseball.
But it certainly shouldn’t be that way, especially given the history of rivalries between Miami and New York City, two locations that have always fostered a connection with one another due to the high volume of NYC transplants that have made a home in South Florida.
In other sports, this comes off as a lot more obvious. The Jets and Dolphins, despite both teams usually being pretty bad, still absolutely hate each other. The Knicks and the Heat, despite not sharing a division, have crossed paths enough times in the postseason over the years to always root against the other. Yet with the Marlins and Mets? Nothing but missed potential and crickets chirping.
If the two teams are ever good at the same time, this rivalry can absolutely become something fans look forward to – which could really help draw some larger crowds at the typically quiet LoanDepot Park.
The Mets currently hold the upper hand in the all-time series, with 295 wins to 254 losses.
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