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
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball as a member club of the National League Central division. 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.
Representing the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, this Major League Baseball (MLB) team is part of the American League Central division. The White Sox have won multiple World Series titles and play at Guaranteed Rate Field. Their uniform colors are black, white, and silver. 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.
This MLB team is part of the American League West division and represents Oakland, California. With a history of World Series championships, their home games are played at the Oakland Coliseum. The team's colors are green, gold, and white. 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.
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Bronx, New York City, New York, that competes in Major League Baseball. 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.
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. 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.
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball as a member club of the American League Central division. 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.
Representing Minneapolis, Minnesota, this MLB team competes in the American League Central division. They host their home matches at Target Field and have won several World Series championships. The Twins sport navy blue, red, and gold uniforms. They were rivals in years past, but now they're nothing more than division rivals. Like Cleveland, they really haven't had much beef.
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Blue Jays are a member of the East division of the American League in Major League Baseball, and play their home games at Rogers Centre. 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.
The Los Angeles Angels (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 an American professional baseball franchise based in Anaheim, California, near Los Angeles. The Angels compete in Major League... 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.
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. They won the World Series in 2017. 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.
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in New York City. They play in Flushing, in the borough of Queens.
The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. Enfranchised in 1977, the Mariners are a member of the West division of the American League in Major League Baseball.
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a professional American baseball league based in Pittsburgh. 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.