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The Yankees and the Dodgers are two of the most iconic baseball teams. They have a long history and a rivalry that is legendary. So why don’t they play each other more often?
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The teams are in different leagues
The Los Angeles Dodgers are in the National League West while the New York Yankees are in the American League East. They only play each other in interleague play.
The American League
The American League (AL) and the National League (NL) are two separate legal entities that compete against each other in Major League Baseball (MLB). They are often called simply the American League and the National League, or more colloquially, the AL and NL.
Since 2000, there have been interleague games scheduled during every regular season. However, because the AL and NL operate as separate legal entities, they do not play each other in the postseason. The World Series is contested between the champions of the AL and NL.
The AL was founded in 1901, while the NL was founded in 1876. The two leagues operated as separate entities until they merged together in 2000.
The National League
The National League of Major League Baseball (MLB) is a group of 16 teams that play in the Eastern, Central, and Western United States and Canada. The American League, also of MLB, is made up of 14 teams, 13 in the US and 1 in Canada. The two leagues are distinguished from each other by the fact that AL teams have designated hitters (DHs), while NL teams do not.
The National League was founded in 1876, and its history is checkered with periods of severe instability. Three times in the league’s history all but two of the teams have gone out of business or been absorbed into other leagues. The present-day National League configuration came into existence in 1900 with the addition of four new franchises.
The teams are in different divisions
The Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees are two of the most iconic baseball teams. They have a long-standing rivalry dating back to the early days of the sport. The Dodgers and Yankees have met in the World Series 18 times, more than any other two teams in baseball history. Despite their rich history and storied rivalry, the two teams have not played each other in nearly three years. The reason for this is simple: they are in different divisions.
The AL East
The American League East is one of Major League Baseball’s (MLB) six divisions. This division was created before the 1969 season when the AL expanded from 10 to 12 teams by adding the Seattle Pilots and the Kansas City Royals. The Pilots only lasted one season in Seattle before relocation to Milwaukee, where they became the Brewers. As part of the realignment that accompanied that expansion, each league was to be split into two divisions of six teams each. The AL West was created as the counterpart to the NL West.
The AL West
The American League West is one of three divisions in Major League Baseball’s American League. The division comprises five teams located in the Western United States and Canada. It is also one of two former West Divisions that were created when the league realigned itself in 1994. Although its teams currently only range as far east as Kansas City, Missouri, historically the division has had teams as far east as Chicago and St. Louis.
From 1994 to 1997, the AL West contained only four teams as a result of MLB going from two divisions to three in each league. The addition of a fifth team to the division, the Seattle Mariners, led to MLB realigning itself into six divisions in 1998.
The current champion of the AL West is the Houston Astros.
The NL East
The Los Angeles Dodgers are in the National League West while the New York Yankees are in the American League East. The two teams are in different divisions and don’t play each other very often.
The main reason for this is that, unlike most other professional sports leagues, MLB is split into two different leagues – the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). Each league is then further split into three divisions – East, West, and Central.
So, while the Dodgers and Yankees are both among the most successful and popular teams in MLB history, they just happen to play in different leagues and divisions.
The NL West
The National League West is one of the three divisions of the National League of Major League Baseball. The division comprises five teams in western United States: the Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, and San Francisco Giants.
The teams have different spring training facilities
The Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees are two of the most iconic baseball teams. They have a long history and a rivalry that is legendary. But, they haven’t played each other in a regular season game since 2004. Why is that?
The Dodgers in Arizona
The Dodgers share their spring training facility in Glendale, Arizona with the Chicago White Sox. The Dodgers have been training in Arizona since 1947 and moved to Glendale in 2009. The White Sox have been training in Arizona since 1936 and moved to Glendale in 1997.
The Dodgers’ spring training games are played at Camelback Ranch, which is also the home of the White Sox. The two teams share the stadium, which has a capacity of 13,000.
The Yankees train in Tampa, Florida.
The Yankees in Florida
The Yankees’ first spring training was in Corydon, Indiana, in 1913. They trained in Saint Petersburg, Florida, for the first time in 1914 at Coffee Pot Bayou Park. In 1918, the Yankees began sharing their training facilities with the New York Giants. This arrangement turned into a joint venture known as the “St. Petersburg-Clearwater Clearwater Mission Statement: To enhance the quality of life of our community by providing world-class recreation, leisure and cultural experiences that are affordable and accessible to all.” The Yankees and Giants both left Florida after their 1919 spring training.
The teams have different fan bases
The Los Angeles Dodgers have a large number of fans in Southern California, while the New York Yankees have a large number of fans in the northeastern United States. The two fan bases don’t overlap much, so there’s not much of a market for the two teams to play each other.
The Dodgers in Los Angeles
The reason the teams don’t play each other more often is Los Angeles and New York are on different coasts and are in different leagues. The Dodgers are in the National League West while the Yankees play in the American League East. The two teams play each other during interleague play, but that only happens a few times a year.
The rivalry between the two teams is also less intense than it used to be. In the past, the two teams were among the most successful in baseball, but that is no longer the case. The Yankees have not made it to the World Series since 2009, while the Dodgers have not been since 1988.
One reason for this may be that the fan bases of the two teams are different. Dodgers fans tend to be more laid back, while Yankees fans are more vocal and intense. This difference may make it difficult for fans of both teams to connect with each other.
The Yankees in New York
There are a lot of reasons why the Dodgers and Yankees have different fanbases. The most obvious reason is that they play in different cities. The Yankees are based in New York, while the Dodgers are based in Los Angeles. This means that there are a lot of people who are fans of the Yankees because they live in New York, and there are a lot of people who are fans of the Dodgers because they live in Los Angeles.
Another reason why the Dodgers and Yankees have different fanbases is that they have different histories. The Yankees have been around for a lot longer than the Dodgers, and they have won a lot more championships. This means that there are a lot of people who have been Yankees fans for a long time, and who are very loyal to the team. The Dodgers, on the other hand, only moved to Los Angeles in 1958. This means that there are not as many people who have been Dodgers fans for a long time, and that many Dodgers fans are not as loyal to the team.
Finally, another reason why the Dodgers and Yankees have different fanbases is that they play in different kinds of stadiums. The Yankee Stadium is a very old stadium, and it has a lot of history. It is also located in a very tough neighborhood in New York City. The Dodger Stadium, on the other hand, is located in a much nicer neighborhood in Los Angeles, and it is a newer stadium. This makes it much more enjoyable for fans to go to Dodger games than Yankee games.