Photo credit: @MLB

By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

Forget the curse of the Bambino.

For over 100 years, the Yankees and Red Sox rivalry has arguably been the most fierce in baseball. This year is no exception as both clubs are on their way to more than 100 wins. The American League East is probably the only division in either league with such numbers. Both teams should be in the playoffs–one will win the division, the other one will finish second and advance as one of two wild card teams in the American League.

This is a very glamorous battle for top dog. As of today, the Yanks have the most home runs as a team in the MLB with 118, while the Red Sox are second with 106. Both teams are among the top five in pitching as they both sellout with frequency. There is a buzz in Yankee Stadium at the Bronx like in the 1960’s with Mantle and Maris. It’s just that this time, it’s Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and an impressive supporting cast of Gary Sánchez, Didi Gregorious, Aaron Hicks, Miguel Andujar, Gleyber Torres. They have the potential of beating the current MLB record for most home runs in a season by a team, which belongs to the 1997 Seattle Mariners, who had 264.

The Red Sox picked up J.D. Martínez in the offseason after the Yanks inked last year’s NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton. It is all working out like both teams wanted and this epic battle could be neck-and-neck for the entire season. It’s a terrific summer spectacle for two of the great franchises in American sports.

This rivalry is so big that MLB scheduled the first regular season baseball games in Europe in 2019. The Red Sox and Yanks will face at London Stadium in England on June 29th and 30th next year.

I am sure there will be lots of stories and commentaries on English radio and television when these two teams play in the U.K.. After all, cricket is very similar to baseball with 11 players on each team and also use a bat and a ball.

Most historians would agree that baseball was an American invention. But playing in London will probably revive all the speculations on the origins of the game. So, Big Ben will time the breaks between innings during the Red Sox vs. Yanks games. We all understand that baseball was invented in the U.S.A., but we have to give credit to soccer (or fútbol) to the British since it’s their invention. Though, the Chinese have claimed that they played a similar game many centuries ago. Can we all get along and just play ball?

Those two games in London should sell out. After all. London is the largest city in Europe with a population of 14 million. But we are still about a year away from those games.

Back here in this hemisphere, the Yanks and the Red Sox are two of just a handful of teams picked by Las Vegas odds masters to win the World Series, alongside the Astros, Nationals, Dodgers, and Indians.

Just for the fun of it, these were the odds to win the World Series before the season began: Houston 21-4, Cleveland 7-1, Dodgers 7-1, Cubs 8-1, Yanks 9-1, Nats 9-1 and Red Sox 13-1. And, for our local teams, in the Bay Area: Giants 200-1 and A’s 300-1. Moreover, the Marlins have the longest shot of 1,250-1.