Top 10 Kansas City Royals Rivalries
The Royals have had some beef with various teams throughout their existence. Here's some of the more notable rivalries.
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St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They compete in Major League Baseball as a member of the National League Central division. The Cardinals are one of the most successful teams in MLB history, having won 11 World Series championships.
These two teams have some history. Often called the I-70 Series or the Show Me Series, these two teams have played annually for a long time. The peak of this rivalry was the 1985 World Series, which Kansas City won.
This rivalry has lost some meaningfulness since then, with KC becoming irrelevant and St. Louis becoming a dominant force in baseball. St. Louis has beaten up on the Royals, but there's still some bitterness between the fans, which still makes it a big rivalry in my book.
Not as big in Kansas, but ask any Royals fan in Missouri, and they'll tell you the Cardinals are the biggest rival.
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Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team based on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. They are part of the American League Central Division and play their home games at Rate Field. The White Sox have won three World Series championships, in 1906, 1917, and 2005. Their team colors are black... read more
Probably the biggest division rivalry. Chicago and KC have always had bad blood. They haven't really had many games of significance other than fighting for a better standing in the division. There's the whole Jeff Samardzija brawl in 2015. There's also the time two White Sox fans attacked Tom Gamboa.
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Oakland Athletics
The Athletics are a Major League Baseball team in the American League West division. The franchise has won nine World Series championships during its history in Philadelphia, Kansas City, and Oakland. The team currently plays its home games at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, California, and its... read more
The A's once played in Kansas City, and so there's been some saltiness ever since they left. They had some battles in the '70s. There was also some tension in the 2014 Wild Card game, which was the best one ever, change my mind. Plus, the Raiders and Chiefs were already rivals.
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New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Bronx, New York City. They compete in Major League Baseball as a member of the American League East Division. The Yankees are one of the most successful franchises in sports history, with a record 27 World Series titles.
The Yankees are the New England Patriots of the MLB. Pretty much everyone hates them. The Royals and Yankees were bitter rivals in the '70s, but nowadays, this rivalry isn't as big.
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Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit, Michigan. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball as a member of the American League Central Division. They are one of the American League's eight charter franchises and were established in 1894.
The Tigers and Royals are kind of similar. Ever since they have been in the same division, they have been kind of good/bad at similar times. There's been some competitive matchups in recent years when the Tigers were contenders and KC was competitive, but now in 2019, they both suck again. Overall, there hasn't really been any bad blood between these two teams.
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Cleveland Guardians
The Cleveland Guardians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They compete in Major League Baseball as a member club of the American League Central Division. The team was known as the Cleveland Indians through the 2021 season before changing its name to the Guardians as it moved... read more
Sure, they're division foes, but Cleveland and KC haven't had much beef recently. They're more or less just a division foe, and that's it.
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Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a Major League Baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the American League Central division and host their home games at Target Field. The Twins won the World Series in 1987 and 1991, and their primary team colors are navy blue, red, and white.
They were rivals in years past, but now they're nothing more than division rivals. Like Cleveland, they really haven't had much beef.
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Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto, Ontario. They compete in the American League East Division of Major League Baseball. The Blue Jays play their home games at Rogers Centre and are the only MLB team based in Canada.
KC came back from three to one in the ALCS in 1985, and they beat Toronto again in 2015. The true villain in this rivalry is Jose Bautista, who went as far as to taunt Royals fans and complain at every call he disagreed with.
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Los Angeles Angels
The Los Angeles Angels, formerly known as the California Angels from 1965 to 1996, the Anaheim Angels from 1997 to 2004, and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim from 2005 to 2015, are a Major League Baseball team based in Anaheim, California. The franchise was founded in 1961.... read more
Not as big of rivals anymore, but back in the '80s, they had a great rivalry and won a combined nine out of ten division titles between 1976-1986. The rivalry was sparked once again in 2014 in the ALDS, in which the Royals swept the Angels.
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Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. They won the World Series in 2017 and again in 2022. The team competes in Major League Baseball as a member of the American League West division.
The Astros and Royals are a very recent rivalry, but they met in the 2015 ALDS, and KC won the series, including a Game 4 comeback, which has to leave their fans somewhat salty. It's still recent, but this has the potential to become a good rivalry if KC becomes competitive again.
This team is dead to me. They have accomplished NOTHING! They have become the most hated team, surpassing, yes, even the Yankees.
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Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a professional American baseball team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball as part of the Central Division of the National League. They play their home games at PNC Park, which has been their stadium since it opened in 2001.
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Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1977, the Mariners are members of Major League Baseball's American League West division. The team plays its home games at T-Mobile Park and has a dedicated fan base.
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New York Mets
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in New York City. They play in Flushing, in the borough of Queens, and are members of Major League Baseball's National League East Division. The Mets have won two World Series titles, in 1969 and 1986.