The Yankees-Red Sox Rivalry is back!
- Cory Claus
- Mar 20
- 5 min read
Updated: Mar 27
The Yankees are in a fight to win the American League and the World Series. And perhaps the team best positioned to challenge them for supremacy is their old foes, the Boston Red Sox. That turns a fight into a war, and the fans will be the winners.
The Yankees-Red Sox rivalry is the greatest in sports (suck it, Lakers and Celtics, and you, too, Leafs and Habs). Their age-old war was never hotter than those early 2000s, and it was never better for Yankees fans than in 2003. And never better for the Red Sox fans than in 2004.
It’s gone cold since then, however, with only a few minor skirmishes. Baseball, too, seems less exciting since those glory days. That’s not to say there haven’t been great stories over the intervening years. Both the Yankees and Red Sox have won titles. The Giants won three titles in five years, while the Houston Garbage Cans became the most hated team in the sport. The Cubs and White Sox both followed Boston by overcoming their own curses. Out West, the Dodgers built a divisional dynasty, just won their second World Series in four years, and recently added seemingly every great Japanese player to come over. Still, something’s been missing, and that something is the sport’s greatest rivalry: the Yankees versus the Red Sox.
This year–finally–it’s back.
The War is Back On
The Yankees still have a roster primed to win the AL and put themselves back in the World Series. That’s partially true because the Junior Circuit seems a bit less talented than usual. But of equal interest to Yankees fans is the team they’ll most likely have to battle for that opportunity: The hated Boston Red Sox!
Both teams had strong offensive years last season. The Yankees had the third-best offense in all of baseball and first in the American League (based on OPS). But Boston had the seventh-best and, more importantly, third in the league, with the Orioles coming between them. That could flip this year as the Yankees lost a guy named Soto, while the Red Sox added the declining but still potent Alex Bregman. They Sox also have the best power-hitting prospect in all of baseball ready to come up this year in Roman Anthony. The Yankees counter with Jasson Dominguez and their battle for Rookie of the Year will only add to the rivalry.
But the two teams weren’t nearly so close when it came to pitching in 2024. The Yankees fielded the seventh-highest-rated staff in baseball (based on ERA), while the Sox were 17th. But that gap was mainly in the bullpen. The starters for the two teams had almost identical ERAs, with the Yankees finishing with a 3.85 ERA and Boston at 3.81
However, the Sox’ bullpen threw to a 4.39 ERA, 12th in the AL and 24th overall. The Yankees’ pen was much better and the real key to their separation from the Sox over the season. Those men threw to a 3.62 ERA, sixth overall and third in the AL.
That was Then and This is Now.
This year, the Sox look to field a perhaps more potent offense than the Yankees, possibly tops in the AL. And they’ve improved their starting rotation. They brought in young lefty Garret Crochet, who put up a 3.58 ERA in his first full year last season. They also added Walker Buehler, who can pitch well when he pitches. His last two years haven’t been great–-4.02 two years ago and 5.38 last season–but he was battling injuries. If he can stay healthy, he might still be the guy who threw to a 2.47 in 2021. They’re projected to sandwich around incumbent Tanner Houck with his 3.12 from last year.
The Yankees made their own changes. They might not have as scary a middle-of-the-order as they did with Soto, but the additions of Adam Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger, and Jasson Dominguez will make the lineup far deeper than it was in 2024. And Austin Wells will likely end with better numbers after his up-and-down rookie season. I’d like to say with confidence that Anthony Volpe will be better, too, but that’s not as certain.
The pitching, however, was supposed to be an overwhelming difference, with the Yankees as the by far better bunch. The Yankees switched out Marcos Stroman for Max Fried in an attempt to turn a strength into a powerhouse. But then Gerrit Cole went down for the season, Luis Gil is out for roughly half the season, and Clarke Schmidt is dealing with a balky back. That seemed to shift the balance a bit more towards Boston. But those scales tipped back towards the Yankees when the Red Sox lost three-fifths of their rotation. That's going to be much harder for them to overcome. Fried was already predicted to be the ace of the Yankees, but there is no such replacement for the already-questionable Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford, and Lucas Giolito.
The Yankees bullpen should also provide a significant difference. They already had an elite closer in Luke Weaver. Now they’ve brought in maybe the top closer in baseball in Devin Williams, according to MLB’s Top Ten Right Now. The Sox, meanwhile, are merely hoping. This from Matt Gaegan and CBS News:
"The Red Sox will have an open competition for the closer's role in Spring Training, with Liam Hendriks, Aroldis Chapman, and Justin Slaten potential options for the ninth inning in 2025."
Hendricks, however, hasn’t pitched since 2023, while Chapman is far removed from his glory days with the Reds and Yankees. But if second-year player Slaten with his 2.93 ERA and 1.012 WHIP can handle the closer role, then the Sox bullpen looks a lot better. The Yankees pen will still be deeper and better, but that distance will close a bit.
Simple Math
Add it all up, and the two teams are very likely to battle it out all year and just as likely to finish first and second in the East, if not the entire American League. It means the games between them could mean the difference between a first-round bye and a one-game wild-card matchup. It means a possible ALCS rematch, the kind we haven’t seen since 2004. I’m sure both teams know that, too. The Blue Jays and Orioles will have a lot to say about that and could come out on top. But the O's got rid of their best pitcher (Corbin Burnes) and let power bat Anthony Santander walk. Toronto, meanwhile, is just trying to keep it all together.
That means the best rivalry in sports is back on. I give the edge to the Yankees for a number of reasons. They have the best hitter in the AL East in Aaron Judge and the best starting pitcher in Max Fried. Luis Gil will be back at some point, adding significant depth. They also have the best closer with Devin Williams, and the best defense behind him and the other pitchers. I’m also picking them because I’m a fan, so if it’s close, I’ll always pick the Yankees.
So, Yankees fans, grab the popcorn and get ready for some white knuckle moments because war is about to break out.
And we get a whole season to watch it unfold.
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