The Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles rivalry is exactly what the AL East needed

The Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles have laid the foundation for a heated rivalry in 2017, and that’s just what baseball in the AL East needed.

The benches will clear at some point this season when the Boston Red Sox face the Baltimore Orioles. There’s bad blood, and that’s good for baseball.

Both teams are competing for the top spot in the AL East. As it stands now Baltimore is 1.5 games behind the Yankees for 1st, while Boston is 2.5 back. Yes, the New York Yankees are the historic rival for the Red Sox, and they are the best in the division right now, but that rivalry is dormant.

There’s no bad blood between any Red Sox and Yankees players, but there is with Baltimore.

Of course, all of this started a couple of weeks ago with Manny Machado’s hard slide into Dustin Pedroia. Though Pedey was ultimately alright, it got the fans and players riled up. Matt Barnes was suspended for throwing behind Manny Machado a few days later and Baltimore has thrown at the Red Sox in this latest series. Chris Sale will face some sort of discipline, though a suspension is not likely, for a ball that got away and behind Machado.

Machado takes it all personally as well, as he went on this “I Hate Boston” rant after Tuesday’s game and the Sale incident.

"“It’s (expletive) … It’s coward stuff. I mean, that stuff you don’t (expletive) do, but I’m not that side. I’m not in that organization. I’ve lost my respect for that organization, for that coaching staff, for everyone over there. They’re still thinking the slide that I did when I had no intention of hurting anybody. And I’m still trying to get hit at. Thrown at my (expletive) head. (Expletive) thrown at everywhere. (Expletive) bull … If you’re going to (expletive) hit me, go ahead, (expletive) hit me. You know, don’t let (expletive) keep lingering around and (expletive) around. Keep (expletive) trying to hit people. That’s (expletive) bull.MLB should do something about it. (Expletive) pitchers go out there with their (expletive) balls in their hand and throwing 100 mph trying to hit people. I got a (expletive) bat too. I can go up there and crush somebody if I wanted to, but you know what, I’ll get suspended for the year and the pitcher will only get suspended for two games. That’s not cool. That’s not cool.’’"

Cool story. Play the innocent victim like you haven’t ever been involved in situations like this before, with other teams. Remember when you spiked your helmet at Josh Donaldson? Or when you threw your bat towards him two days later? Guess what, Fernando Abad and Drew Pomeranz were on that A’s team too.

Not recent enough for you? How about last season with Yordano Ventura?

Manny Machado is a punk. Boston fans will begin to hate him like they did with Alex Rodriguez on the Yankees.

Machado, you should be ready to be thrown at again by the Red Sox this season in a couple of months when you least expect it. That’s what a rivalry is. If you want to become the next Alex Rodriguez, we’ll treat you that way. Heck, maybe we can even get Varitek on the field to ruffle your feathers.

It’s funny also how mad Baltimore fans get about it all. None of their players have been hit. Mookie Betts took the first hit by pitch between the teams, not a member of the Orioles.

Then there is the tension between Adam Jones and Boston. This is absolutely warranted as some classless Boston fans chose to use racial slurs and throw peanuts at him. That is not what Boston is as a city, and that individual does not represent all Red Sox fans.

Still, many in Baltimore will use it as fuel to the fire to hate the Red Sox and the city of Boston. To that, we say bring it on.

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The players, fans, and media are all helping this to become a true rivalry, and Baltimore’s Buck Showalter said it’s almost expected in the AL East.

"“You’re in the same spring training—the Yankees, Toronto, Tampa, Boston. You’re in the same leagues in the minor leagues, for the most part. You play each other 18, 20 times a year. There’s no secrets, and people care. Keep in mind, people care. What, do you want them not to care? I’m talking about fans, I’m talking about players, I’m talking about coaches. People care.”"

Baseball is fun when there is a rivalry on the field and in the stands. The back and forth (respectful) banter between fans of opposing teams on twitter during games, the cheering of the opposing team’s player being tossed, the fact that you know there are so many more games between these teams going forward. It all makes the games just a bit more intense, and they all feel like they have just a little more meaning behind a win or a loss.

Boston and Baltimore have played 8 of their 19 scheduled games so far, and they’re split evenly at 4-4. That also helps to make a rivalry exciting, when both teams actually compete and it’s an even match.

Next: El Trece Hitting Bombs

I already hate the 2017 Orioles and the rivalry will continue to grow as the Orioles and Red Sox play 11 more regular season games against each other this season. Plus, there’s always the chance that these two squads will meet in the postseason.

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