Despite a less-than-inspiring, record-breaking 17 to 0 drubbing the Giants received on the part of the Dodgers – at home – in a tight division race –which invariably filled countless Dodgers fans with glee – the series and final weeks of the season are shaping up to be a dramatic affair and further proof of a rivalry that is alive and well. Just the day before, the Giants beat the Dodgers in a 9 to 0 rout, and after Saturday’s flub find themselves two games back in the fight for first place. There are two weeks left in the season, and after Sunday’s game, three games left between the teams. This is likely going to go down to the wire, as it usually has in the long and storied history between the two clubs. It is arguably the best rivalry in all of baseball, and if you would interject with the Yankees-Red Sox as a counterpoint, you are welcome to take several seats and sit down. The fact is, this is what the Giants and Dodgers do, and what they have done since time immemorial – keep it close, keep it tense, keep it exciting until the very end.

Unlike other rivalries, the Giants and Dodgers have been notable for their relative parity throughout the years. The Giants and Dodgers have played the most head-to-head games in all of baseball since the 1890’s, with the Giants winning 1,209 of those and the Dodgers winning 1,181. The Giants have won the National League pennant 22 times since their time in New York, and the Dodgers have won it 21 times since their time in Brooklyn. As to the World Series, the Giants have won it 7 times, and the Dodgers 6. Since 1920 the two teams have finished 1-2 in their division 16 times.

The teams of course, go back over a hundred years, and across the country. The Giants were the team of New York, which is to say Manhattan, and the Dodgers were the team of the borough of Brooklyn, which before had been its own city. This along with cultural and working class differences engendered some ill-will between the fans of the teams. But perhaps more contentious initially were relations between the managers and owners of both teams, who would frequently argue and dig at each other in the papers. One of my favorite quotes pertaining to the rivalry is in reference to Dodgers president Charles Ebbets, who died in 1925, the morning of a game between the two teams. The game wasn’t cancelled despite his death, and the manager of the Dodgers commented that “Charley wouldn’t want anybody to miss a Giant-Brooklyn series just because he died.” In 1957, both teams made the move west to California after owners of both clubs agreed that the two teams should stay together.

But it gets better, because these teams have a knack not just for competing, but also specifically for ruining the other’s chances of making the playoffs. The tradition of crushing the other team’s hopes and dreams dates back to 1927, when the Dodgers beat the Giants 10-5 on the third to last day of the season, eliminating them from playoff contention. A particularly crazy instance of this occurred in 1982, when both teams were in a dead heat for the pennant along with the Atlanta Braves. Tied for second with only three games left, the Dodgers won the first two games to knock out the Giants from contention. The Giants then responded by beating the Dodgers on the last day of the season, allowing the Braves to win the division by one game. The Giants spoiled a few more Dodger chances in the 90s, but Dodgers had their moments of revenge too. Perhaps most regrettable of these for the Giants was when they did not reach the playoffs in 1993 despite winning 103 games, thanks to the very last game of the season–a loss to the Dodgers.

Of course, the most famous instance of last moment pennant thrills, triumphs and disappointments has to be the Giants-Dodgers series of 1951, and not just within the rivalry, but in all of baseball. Bobby Thompson’s “Shot Heard Round the World,” one of the most celebrated home runs in history, propelled the Giants to a pennant-winning victory over the Dodgers on the last day of the series. The Giants had been 13.5 games behind the Dodgers in August but surged back, leaving the teams tied on the last day of the season and forcing a 3 game playoff.

A close September race between these two teams is a familiar narrative, but no less compelling every time. Despite assertions of hatred on both sides (#BeatLA, #GiantsSuck, etc etc) it’s what the fans want to see. Ticket prices spike for these series, and the stadiums become visibly more packed and lively. As much as I would like to see the Dodgers languish in last place, beating them while they are doing well is so much more satisfying.

And both teams have been doing very well in recent years. The Dodgers are perennial favorites and have made the postseason several times in the past decade, only to fall short of the World Series each time. Meanwhile the Giants have won their last two World Series appearances in 2010 and 2012. And to add insult to that injury, 2012 was the latest case of spoiling as the Giants eliminated the Dodgers from playoff contention in the second to last game of the season, and subsequently went on to win it all. You know the Dodgers are hungry. They’re out on a mission, and most “experts” fully expect them to make it far this postseason. Will balance be returned to this rivalry? Will the Dodgers finally have their revenge on the Giants’ recent success?

Here’s to hoping they don’t – but more dramatic and exhilarating, history-making baseball is always welcome. (But less 17 to 0 routs against the Giants, please.)

Sources: Dodgers-Giants.com, Baseball-Reference, Dodgers-Giants rivalry wiki, Mlb.com (photo)