A rivalry between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres has intensified over recent seasons due to on-field competition and escalating animosity between fanbases. Players, managers, and outsiders have offered mixed perspectives on the rivalry's legitimacy and intensity. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts now considers the Padres a rival after changing his view following the 2022 season. Some Dodgers personnel still identify the San Francisco Giants as the team's principal rival. New Padres additions reported awareness of clubhouse antipathy toward the Dodgers. Public comments from figures like Magic Johnson underscore the rivalry's visibility and potential benefit to baseball.
The merits of a rivalry between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres have been debated at length over recent years and especially this season. Multiple players on both sides, as well as outsiders, have given their opinion on the obvious animosity between the two Southern California teams, sharing mixed perspectives. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts believes the answer is pretty simple, saying that a rivalry has indeed formed with the Padres over the past few seasons.
"Well right now it's the Padres for us that we hate. But they hate us," Johnson began. "When I first got here, it was the Giants. So many meaningful games against the Giants, it was something else. But I think now, between both fanbases and the teams, it's the Padres. "It's good for baseball that you have that. Just like it was good for baseball when it was us and the Giants going up against each other."
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