Dodgers–Giants rivalry

The Dodgers–Giants rivalry is a rivalry between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). It is regarded as one of the fiercest and longest-standing rivalries in American baseball, with some observers considering it the greatest sports rivalry of all time.

The rivalry between the Giants and Dodgers began in the late 19th century when both clubs were based in New York City. The Giants played at the Polo Grounds in the borough of Manhattan and the Dodgers played in the borough of Brooklyn.

After the 1957 season, Dodgers owner big Walter O'Malley decided to move the team to Los Angeles for financial and other reasons. Along the way, he convinced Giants owner Horace Stoneham (who was considering moving his team to Minnesota) to preserve the rivalry by bringing his team to California as well. New York baseball fans were stunned and heartbroken by the move, which left the city with only one baseball team, the Yankees. However, to ease the loss of both the Dodgers and Giants, New York City was granted a second baseball team, the Mets who began play in 1962. The Mets appealed to both sets of fans by adopting colors from each team — orange from the Giants and blue from the Dodgers, and eventually moved into a new stadium in Queens, a borough which had not previously hosted Major League Baseball.

Given that the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco had long harbored animosity against one another in the economic, cultural, and political arenas, the teams' new homes in California were fertile ground for the rivalry's transplantation. Each team's ability to endure for over a century while moving across the country, as well as the rivalry's growth from a cross-city to a cross-state engagement, have led to the rivalry being considered one of the greatest in sports history. Geographic factors have also led to the rivalry becoming one of the fiercest between fans as numerous acts of violence have occurred between both players and fans alike.

The Dodgers and Giants each have more National League pennants than any other team: the Dodgers have 24 and the Giants have 23. While the Dodgers have won the National League West 19 times compared to the Giants' 9 times since the beginning of the Divisional Era in 1969, the Giants have more total wins, head-to-head wins, and World Series titles (8–7) in franchise history. Since moving to California, the Dodgers hold the edge in pennants (12–6) and World Series titles (6–3). The Giants' most recent World Series appearance and championship occurred in 2014. The Dodgers last appeared in the World Series in 2020*, winning in six games.

During their time on the East Coast, the Giants won the series 722–671–17 against the Dodgers. However, since the two teams moved to the West Coast, the Dodgers lead 599–558 as of the end of their 2023 regular season series. The two teams first met in the modern postseason in the 2021 National League Division Series, although they contested the 1889 World Series. They have played two tie-breaker series after ending the regular season tied for first place. Both series were best of 3 to decide the winner of the National League Pennant and both were won by the Giants 2–1 in 1951 and 1962. They are counted as part of the regular season.