Mookie Betts downplays Dodgers' rivalry with SF Giants in Padres comparison

The SF Giants have been on the wrong side of their storied rivalry with the Los Angeles Dodgers as of late. Dodgers star Mookie Betts recently downplayed the rivalry though in comparison to the rivalry the Dodgers have with the San Diego Padres.

Adam Weinrib of FanSided talked with Betts about his feelings on the rivalry with the Giants and the Padres. The full interview can be seen below:

Mookie Betts downplays Dodgers' rivalry with SF Giants compared to one with Padres

Weinrib asked Betts whether fans in San Francisco or San Diego had more aggression towards the Dodgers and this is what he had to say: "I would say San Diego probably has more aggression towards the Dodgers. San Francisco to me is, they just don't like the Dodgers...San Diego is more of like a hatred of the Dodgers."

Betts said that since he has been a Dodger, the Padres have been better and have proved a more stout test for Los Angeles than the Giants have and he has a point. Outside of the miracle 2021 season, the Padres have really been the team in the NL West that has pushed the Dodgers and made life hard on them at times.

Plus, tempers have flared with San Diego more recently. Over the summer benches cleared and managers for both teams go into it as both teams were throwing at the other team as eight batters were hit by a pitch in the series.

The teams faced each other in the playoffs last season as the Dodgers won the NLDS in five games even though San Diego had them on the ropes at one point. They could potentially face each other in the playoffs again this year and if they do expect sparks to fly.

Betts doesn't think the rivalry between the Giants and Dodgers is nonexistent. He himself has said that San Francisco has some mean people. But given his experience as a Dodger, it makes sense that he has felt the rivalry with San Diego more acutely.

His teammate Max Muncy has made comments on the rivalry and believes that the Giants are the one true rival of the Dodgers. He may be reviled by Giants fans, but many would agree with him on that sentiment.

Remarkably, the Giants and Dodgers are tied in their all-time record against one another dating back to the New York days. It is remarkable that a rivalry that traversed across a continent has remained so important for all these years and even if Betts does not view it as a rivalry in the same way he does with San Diego, fans know that the hatred runs deep between the Giants and Dodgers.

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