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Rivalries are always a big selling point in sports. It can be individual or on a team-wide basis. In baseball, it's nearly always going to be a team-level rivalry. The individual rivalries in team sports are more for a sport like basketball. Major League Baseball even markets things like Rivalry Weekend (this year was the first officially named as much).

But some of those weren't actual rivalries when it comes to the 2025 playoff race. 

In looking at this Major League Baseball season, what are our best rivalries? 

Now, this isn't historic rivalries. I believe, rather firmly, there's a Big Three in historic rivalries with the Yankees-Red Sox, Cubs-Cardinals and Dodgers-Giants and it's possible people would rank them according to region (with the fans out West picking the Dodgers-Giants as the best, etc.). All three are in play this season, though. 

A rivalry for me is a season-long series that carries heavy playoff implications. This is nearly always going to be a list of intra-division rivalries, then. I know in some cases there are fans who believe there's a rivalry in the same city or region and the best one this season, at least judging by the standings, would be the Mets and Yankees. For me, though, both of those teams have far bigger issues with divisional foes. If they both make the World Series, sure, go nuts over a New York rivalry. It just doesn't have the juice for me that Mets-Phillies or Yankees-Red Sox does, though. 

I've already complained about the MLB schedule this season and the Cubs and Cardinals are finally playing each other for the first time in 2025 this week. Is that one of the best rivalries for this season? 

Let's rank the top five. 

5. Rockies-White Sox

Kidding, though as hot as the Rockies just got, there might be a fight for the best odds in the lottery for the No. 1 overall draft pick after all. 

5. Astros-Rangers

There's potential for this thing to vault to No. 1 if the Rangers get their act together and make this a race, though the odds of that happening are getting longer by the day. The Rangers are seven back now and the Mariners stand in between the two Texas clubs. 

Still, teams both in the same state and same division is always a good start. The Astros were in the National League until 2013, so this took some time to grow into something, but things kicked into overdrive in the 2023 season. The Astros won the regular-season series, 9-4, taking the AL West via that tiebreaker, as both went 90-72 for the season. The two teams then met in the ALCS, which went seven games with the road team taking all seven. There was a bunch of drama and a few incidents that could have even been very loosely called "fights." There was plenty of trash talk, too. 

The Astros have won the AL West in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. They have a good lead right now. If the Rangers get hot and close the gap here, there's a lot of intrigue. 

4. Yankees-Red Sox

The Blue Jays and Rays stand between the Yankees and Sawks in the AL East battle right now, but those still just don't feel the same. And it looked like the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry wouldn't have the same juice this season as many past years, but then the Red Sox went out and won five straight games against the Yankees, kickstarting a chain reaction that moved the Yankees' division lead from seven games all the way down to 1 ½.

Seven head-to-head games remain between the two teams and if the Red Sox can remain within striking range, it could get pretty spicy.

3. Dodgers-Giants-Padres triumvirate

This one actually works every which way, so while it might feel like cheating, it's three rivalries for the price of one. The Dodgers and Giants rivalry is obviously the big one here, but there's always a possibility of the Padres jumping in and bothering the Dodgers. Remember, the Padres and Dodgers have had some great playoff rivalries in recent years and the 2022 Padres knocked the 111-win Dodgers out in the NLDS. And for as much of a powerhouse as the Dodgers have been, the Giants still have more championships this millennium. There's also a fourth team that could also inject itself here in the Diamondbacks. 

This division seems to carry a better chance for heated wild-card rivalries down the stretch, too, as the Dodgers figure to run away with the NL West while both the Giants and Padres will be very involved in the playoff race and the Diamondbacks could hang around, too. 

2. Cubs-Cardinals-Brewers triumvirate 

We'll see how this sorts out, but, again, this works from every angle. Brewers-Cubs, Brewers-Cardinals and Cardinals-Cubs (obviously) have all been quality rivalries the last few years. We're about to see the first game between the Cubs and Cardinals and maybe there's some spark waiting to be lit. The Cubs lead the Cardinals by 4 ½ games with the Brewers at 3 ½ back. 

If either the Cardinals or Brewers creep up and make the NL Central race a tight one with the Cubs, that second-place team vs. the Cubs gets the top billing in the 2025 rivalry. If the Cubs run away and hide, the Brewers and Cardinals will be fighting for a wild-card spot. They already had a nice scrap with each other last weekend. 

Keep in mind, the Reds could also factor in heavily here and Cincinnati fans have plenty of hatred for at least the Cubs and Cardinals, too. This division works with all kinds of potentially heated rivalries. 

If we had to pick a top one, though, it's the Cubs and Cardinals. It just isn't close enough right now to rank higher.

1. Mets-Phillies

There's been a lot of variance with these two teams at the top of the NL East this season. The Mets have had a lead as big as five games while the Phillies have had a lead as big as 3 ½ games. That's a pretty wide spread between two good teams before we even finish June. 

We just saw the two teams face off for a three-game series over the weekend and the Phillies now sit one game ahead of the Mets after taking the set 2-1 (the Mets swept the Phillies earlier this year).

There are seven games left and this is a race that figures to go down to the final week. I expect the teams to continue to be both good and relatively inconsistent, which means a lot of jockeying. That also means a lot of angst among the fans (and both fan bases don't seem to be happy without angst), which leads to hatred. That's always fun from the outside. 

Add in the historical element in that the Phillies and Mets have long been among the best NL East rivalries and you get a recipe for fireworks.

This is your best 2025 rivalry.