For some of the Friar Faithful, the 2025 Major League Baseball season officially begins with the first series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres. So, I hope everyone will join in welcoming the team from up north to our friendly confines of Petco Park this Monday night. Let’s make their three-day stay in the Gaslamp Quarter as miserable as possible.
The rivalry between the Dodgers and Padres has become the best in baseball. It has gained fame from the intense postseason contests. Once again, both teams will butt heads as they battle for the National League West division crown.
The rivalry dates back to the Expansion Era
The long-standing rivalry dates back to the Friars’ inception in 1969. At first, the series was named “the I-5 Series” due to the highway that linked Dodger Stadium and San Diego Stadium. Still, Dodger fans considered the San Francisco Giants to be their main rival because of their days together in New York. But that changed when the teams met with something on the line.
The Friars have enjoyed celebrating a division title at Dodger Stadium. In 1996, the Padres were two games behind the Dodgers in the standings. The final series of the regular season was at Chavez Ravine. The Friars proceeded to sweep the three-game set to capture the NL West. It was fitting that former Dodger Chris Gwynn delivered the game-winning hit in extra innings.
Since the pandemic-shortened season, they have faced one another three times in the postseason. The Padres have experienced a division round exit in two of those postseason series: 2020 and 2024. Each regular and postseason game has been tense and filled with controversy.
Tensions rose between the two teams following a crying meme of Dodgers Clayton Kershaw shown on the left-field scoreboard at Petco Park after an early-season Padres victory in 2023. The Dodgers were not amused and proceeded to win 10 of the next 12 games in the season series.
Who could forget last October’s incident involving Manny Machado? He was accused of throwing a baseball at Dodgers manager Dave Roberts inside their dugout. It seemed like a harmless action, but Roberts used the controversy to fire up his team. The Dodgers bullpen responded by throwing 24 shutout innings against the Friars.
The Dodgers and Padres have a strong rivalry, in part because the teams genuinely dislike one another. It is not contrived for national TV ratings. You could cut the tension with a knife as neither team takes the other for granted.
It seems like each team’s superstars are at the center of every controversy that takes place. Who will be the next player that creates the next-day headlines in the rivalry?
Dodgers and Padres built to win
The media views the rivalry as a David versus Goliath but that is the furthest from the truth. Both teams expect to play October baseball.
The Padres roster is built through trades, their minor league system, and key free-agent signings while the Dodgers are a super team. The organization will overspend on free agents to fill their roster. There is never fear of ever exceeding the salary budget limits because none have been established.
However, neither team subscribes to this notion as the rivalry is not that easy to define. Each has grown tired of the other crushing their postseason dreams.
Both fan bases are cut from the same cloth. They fill their respective stadiums with SRO crowds on a nightly basis and value the hard work shown by their team’s star players in maintaining their excellence. The close proximity of the two cities makes the rivalry deep-rooted, as both fan bases have infiltrated the opposition’s home park. And of course, a commotion will occur in the stands.
The Dodgers and Padres are forever linked in baseball folklore as they find a way to meet in the postseason. However, it does not matter if you’re witnessing a regular or postseason game. It will always be a memorable affair. Monday marks another chapter in this rivalry’s rich history.
If luck will have it, these two teams will meet again this October.