Dodgers slugger Max Muncy (13) celebrates after hitting a home run as San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner (40) looks on during the first inning at Oracle Park on June 9, 2019. Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images

Dodgers All-Star Says LA Has One Rival, And It's Not Padres

Originally posted on Los Angeles Dodgers on SI
By J.P. Hoornstra | Last updated Jun 10, 2025 2:20 PM ET

The Dodgers and Giants have a rivalry that predates the two teams' arrival on the West Coast in 1958. No current Dodger player — not even a current Dodger coach — was alive when the two teams called New York home.

But you're never too young to respect the history of the Giants-Dodgers rivalry.

It's been four years since the Giants finished ahead of either the Dodgers or San Diego Padres in the National League West. That's taken some of the focus off the rivalry, and shifted much of the tension in the division to Southern California in recent years.

But are the Padres really the Dodgers' rivals?

Max Muncy says the Giants will always be the Dodgers only rival.

"For me, your rival is just one team. You don't have multiple teams as your rival." pic.twitter.com/9az5E3QDmX
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) June 9, 2025

"The Padres bring everything that is in a rivalry, but you only have one rival," Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy said in a recent appearance on Foul Territory. "I don't like when people say you have rivals. If you have a rival, it's your counterpart, and that's always going to be the Giants for the Dodgers, at least. That's always going to be the Red Sox for the Yankees."

"People always made the argument that the Astros and the Yankees had a good rivalry going, and that's true," the two-time All-Star continued. "But you only have one rival. For me, like I said, the Padres bring everything a rivalry brings. For me, your rival is just one team. You don't have more than one rival."

What constitutes a rivalry among fans might not be a rivalry for the players, or vice versa. The Padres have enjoyed plenty of recent success, knocking off the Dodgers in the 2022 National League Division Series and nearly doing so again last year.

Yet the Padres are only 427-524-1 against the Dodgers all-time after losing Monday night at Petco Park. That includes a 226-247-1 record at home. The parity between the teams is a recent development.

That didn't stop MLB Network's Brian Kenny, Joel Sherman, and Ryan Rowland-Smith from debating whether Dodgers-Padres is the best rivalry in MLB right now.

Is Dodgers-Padres the best rivalry in baseball? pic.twitter.com/ZLoJuj3AuN
— MLB Now (@MLBNow) June 10, 2025

In contrast to Muncy, Sherman and Rowland-Smith believe it is.

"I think they have what's key. The Yankees and Red Sox have historic hatred. These two teams feel like they hate each other in 2025," Sherman said. "Which is what really resonates. Do the Cardinals and Cubs hate each other? Do these Yankees and Red Sox hate each other? I don't think so. But these teams, there is something more on the field when they're playing."

This article first appeared on Los Angeles Dodgers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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