The Giants and the Dodgers

Book excerpt: The Giant-Dodger rivalry was considered the best in baseball by 1890 and remains the game's oldest and most storied rivalry today. It's remarkable how often both teams have been good, how rarely they've both been bad, and how tenaciously the underdog has battled in between. Through 12 decades (and in two sets of cities 3,000 miles apart) Giant and Dodger partisans have rooted so passionately against each other that, just as during the Civil War, conflicting loyalties have divided neighbors and even families. This is the definitive account of the rivalry, from its roots in amateur contests between New York and Brooklyn teams in the 1840s to its present incarnation in California's world class cities. All the greats are here: Ward, Ebbets, McGraw, Mathewson, Terry, Durocher, Reese, Robinson, Mays, Koufax, Drysdale, Marichal, Lasorda, Bonds. The book also examines the cities that have hosted the rivalry and devotes a special section to the move to California. The author argues compellingly that, contrary to popular wisdom, the rivalry's best years came after the move.