The rivalry hasn\u2019t softened — it\u2019s just evolved.<\/p>\n
Speaking on “The Dan Patrick Show<\/a>” on Tuesday, Giants CEO Larry Baer framed the back-to-back World Series-winning Los Angeles Dodgers<\/a> not as villains to despise, but as baseball\u2019s ultimate benchmark — a team that pushes everyone else to be better.<\/p>\n “Having a dragon to slay isn’t necessarily a bad thing for the sport,” Baer told Dan Patrick. “You could say that\u2019s the Dodgers.”<\/p>\n Baer made clear the Giants\u2019 ambition hasn\u2019t changed.<\/p>\n “We want to beat the Dodgers, and we want to be at the top of the division,” Baer said. “And one day, we want to be the dragon to slay.”<\/p>\n While Los Angeles\u2019 spending power often is the focus, Baer emphasized that the Dodgers\u2019 dominance goes beyond payroll.<\/p>\n “Hats off to the Dodger organization,” Baer said. “They\u2019ve done it with obviously high-priced players, but they\u2019ve also done it with farm system and development.”<\/p>\n Baer also pointed to baseball\u2019s inherent unpredictability, using the Giants\u2019 own recent history as proof.<\/p>\n “When we won three championships in 2010, \u201912 and \u201914, we weren\u2019t predicted to win any of those years,” Baer added. “And we didn\u2019t have a top-five payroll any of those years.”<\/p>\n Asked about the emotional side of the rivalry, Baer pushed back on the idea of hatred, preferring to frame Giants-Dodgers as something deeper — and older.<\/p>\n “I don\u2019t really like the word ‘hate,’ ” Baer stated. “It\u2019s a rivalry. It gets your blood boiling in a good way.”<\/p>\n He recalled growing up watching clashes between legends like Willie Mays<\/a>, Willie McCovey<\/a>, Sandy Koufax<\/a> and Don Drysdale<\/a>, calling it “one of the great rivalries of sports” that still carries meaning today.<\/p>\n Baer also shared a lesser-known moment of cooperation between the franchises. When the Giants nearly relocated to Florida in 1992, he acknowledged that Dodgers owner Peter O\u2019Malley was one of the strongest advocates for keeping the team in San Francisco.<\/p>\n “On the field, we try to beat each other’s brains in,” Baer joked. “Off the field, we’re actually colleagues and partners in trying to grow the sport, and having opened up the sport in California, first two teams west of the Mississippi, the Giants and Dodgers are a great rivalry.”<\/p>\n That mindset has filtered down to the clubhouse.<\/p>\n Appearing on the “Murph & Markus Podcast<\/a>,” Giants center fielder Harrison Bader<\/a> explained how the Dodgers set the standard — not just for rivalry games, but for how the Giants prepare every night.<\/p>\n “The goal is to treat every opponent like the Dodgers,” Bader added. “Every team is the Dodgers. If you can\u2019t get up for a non-Dodger team compared to the Dodgers, I think you\u2019re missing in your preparation. You should prepare the same way to chase the absolute best.”<\/p>\n For now, the Dodgers set the bar — and the Giants are chasing it.<\/p>\n