The Yankees vs. Giants rivalry will be again on display on March 25 at Oracle Park when both teams open their 2026 MLB campaign. It may not be as intense as the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry but it is the oldest enmity in baseball deeply entrenched in fierce resentment against one another. The roots of the Yankees vs. Giants rivalry date back to the time when the Yankees relocated to New York and the National League and the American League were into a bitter competition.
The first Subway Series of 1921 was the first mega showcase of that Yankees vs. Giants rivalry, which was carried to the 2022 offseason over the signing of Aaron Judge. Both teams are ready to cross swords and take their reignited acrimony into the new level.
Yankees vs. Giants rivalry built on resentment, revenge
The seeds of the Yankees vs. Giants rivalry were sown in 1902 when the Bronx Bombers were known as the Baltimore Orioles. The San Francisco Giants were then New York Giants with a history in the city going back to 1883. When NL executive John T. Brush got a stake in the Baltimore team, he allowed for of its known faces – John McGraw, Joe McGinnity, and Roger Bresnahan — to sign with the Giants.
In 1903, Brush became the owner of the Giants. This caused resentment in the American League and its president Ban Johnson termed it an attempt to weaken his league. Seeking revenge on Brush, he moved the Orioles to New York City to capture the lucrative market, and it officially became the New York Highlanders, a name the Yankees used until 1912.
The Giants opposed the move tooth and nail and even used political influence to push back against the new team. This revenge and dislike gave birth to an aggressive Yankees vs. Giants rivalry that was expanded with cross-town derby and fight over the ballpark.
Ballpark feud added fuel to Yankees vs. Giants rivalry
The Yankees started to play at Hilltop Park and had a great 1904 season that put the Yankees in second position in the American League. Though the new team began to gain fans in New York, the Giants continued to look at it as an upstart and describe it as a minor league team igniting the Yankees vs. Giants rivalry.
Both teams shared the ballpark in 1911 and again in 1913 when the Yankees move to Polo Grounds. However, the Bombers were a junior partner there until Colonel Jacob Ruppert took over them in 1915. An owner with deep pockets and wider media coverage pushed the Yankees to field a strong team. They acquired Babe Ruth from the Red Sox in 1918 and their upward journey began.
The Yankees growing popularity and strength caused resentment in the Giants’ organization. This caused a nasty turn in the Yankees vs. Giants rivalry and the latter sought to evict the former from Polo Grounds in 1920.
1921 and 1922 Subway Series
Babe Ruth was the progenitor of the “Curse of Bambino” in the Yankees vs. Red Sox enmity. It is he who also forced his way to ignite the Yankees vs. Giants rivalry. Ruth’s big hitting and home runs expanded the Yankees fanbase drawing more crowd into their games. Giants Manager John McGraw seething in anger plotted to trouble the Yankees with an eviction notice.
However, Ruth and his Yankees continue their exploits and win the 1921 AL Pennant to meet the NL champs and their landlords the Giants in the World Series. An injury kept Ruth away until Game 3 and the Giants won the hotly contested series 5-3. However, this, for the first time, signified the Bombers getting an equal pedestal in the Yankees vs. Giants rivalry. Until then, the Giants considered them a lowly ranked league team.
In the 1922 World Series, the Yankees lost 4-0 with one tie. Each except Game 3 was decided by a very thin margin amid allegations of conspiracy and ticket sales to benefit the Giants.
Yankees gained an upper hand
In 1923, the Yankees moved to the newly-inaugurated Yankee Stadium and their ascendancy in the Yankees vs. Giants rivalry began. They beat the Giants 4-2 to win the 1923 World Series. John McGraw influenced the MLB commissioner to deny permission to the Yankees to have Lou Gehrig on the roster in the series. The Yankees win Games 4 and 5 by big margins. In Game 6, they came back from a 4–1 deficit to emerge victorious.
When Yankees forced Giants to submit
In 1936 and 1937, the Yankees vs. Giants rivalry came to the fore in two consecutive World Series. Babe Ruth was no more on the team but experienced Lou Gehrig and a young Joe DiMaggio led them to big wins against the Giants.
The 1936 series went to the Yankees 4-2. Game 2 ended 18-4 in favor of the Yankees while they saw off the Giants 13-5 in Game 6 in their backyard.
It was a 4-1 win for the Yankees in 1937 without a single error. The first three games went 8-1, 8-1, and 5-1. In Game 4, the Giants made a 7-3 comeback but lost the fifth 4-2. With three World Series wins against their cross-town rivals, the Bombers showed who was the boss in the Yankees vs. Giants rivalry.
Gehrig’s hit his last World Series home run against the Giants. The Giants organization presented Gehrig with gifts upon his retirement. He mentioned the Yankees vs. Giants rivalry in his famous farewell address – “Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth” – two years later:
“When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift – that’s something.”
Last phase of cross-town rivalry
The 1951 World Series saw former Giants’ great Casey Stengel leading the Yankees as manager. They routed their bitter rivals 4-2. Joe DiMaggio passed the baton to legendary Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle. It was the last Subway Series in the Yankees vs. Giants rivalry.
The Giants won the World Series in 1954, when the Yankees lost the pennant to Cleveland despite winning 103 games. However, the dwindling fanbase, a crumbling stadium, and growing market dominance of the Yankees forced the Giants to seek a move out of New York City. In 1958, the Giants started their season in San Francisco while the Dodgers left New York for Los Angeles. The same year the Yankees won their 18th World Series title.
The 1962 World Series drama
Both teams again met in the 1962 World Series, their first after the Giants left New York. The Yankees won it 4-3 with pitcher Ralph Terry winning Game 5 and then pitching a 1–0 shutout in Game 7.
The final game headed to a dramatic conclusion when Bobby Richardson ensured the New York victory with a difficult catch of San Francisco’s McCovey. Rain prolonged the series to 13 days making it the longest not only in the Yankees vs. Giants rivalry but in the history of MLB.
Yankees vs. Giants rivalry in the interleague era
After a gap of 38 years, the Yankees played the Giants in March 2000. However, it was not an official game but an exhibition game at the recently opened Pac Bell Park. The Yankees vs. Giants rivalry resumed at old Yankee Stadium with the first official game two years later on June 7, 2002. The Yankees win 2-1 despite Barry Bond’s home run. The Giants bounced back in Game 2 with a 4-3 win but the Bombers overcame them in Game 3 with a 4-2 victory.
| Date | Place | Yankees score | Giants score | Yankees result |
| June 07, 2002 | Yankee Stadium | 2 | 1 | Win |
| June 08, 2002 | Yankee Stadium | 3 | 4 | Loss |
| June 09, 2002 | Yankee Stadium | 4 | 2 | Win |
| June 22, 2007 | San Francisco | 7 | 3 | Win |
| June 23, 2007 | San Francisco | 5 | 6 | Loss |
| June 24, 2007 | San Francisco | 2 | 7 | Loss |
| Sept 20, 2013 | Yankee Stadium | 1 | 2 | Loss |
| Sept 21, 2013 | Yankee Stadium | 6 | 0 | Win |
| Sept 22, 2013 | Yankee Stadium | 5 | 1 | Win |
| July 22, 2016 | Yankee Stadium | 3 | 2 | Win |
| July 23, 2016 | Yankee Stadium | 1 | 2 | Loss |
| July 24, 2016 | Yankee Stadium | 5 | 2 | Win |
| Apr 26, 2019 | San Francisco | 7 | 3 | Win |
| Apr 27, 2019 | San Francisco | 6 | 4 | Win |
| Apr 28, 2019 | San Francisco | 11 | 5 | Win |
In June 2007, the stage for the Yankees vs. Giants rivalry was set in the Bay Area and the Giants won the three-game series 2-1. The Yankees win the first game 7-3 but capitulated 6-5 and 7-2 in the next two games. Big stars, such as Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter, and Alex Rodriguez, were part of the Yankees team. But the Giants’ pitching department was headed by Dave Righetti, a Yankees legend.
The two teams battled again in 2013 at Yankee Stadium. It was the Giants’ first visit to the newly built home of the Yankees, who routed them 5-1 and 6-0 before losing the third game 2-1. On September 20, 2013, Alex Rodriguez hit his 24th career grand slam, making him the all-time MLB leader. The Yankees retired Mariano Rivera’s number 44 two days later and the Giants gave Rivera a custom-made Metallica guitar bearing the Yankees and Giants logos and Rivera’s number 42.
In 2016, the Yankees beat the Giants 2-1. They won first and third games 3-2 and 5-2. However, the second game went for 12 innings making it one of the longest in the Yankees vs. Giants rivalry. The Giants had the last laugh with a 2-1 score.
After three years, the Yankees vs. Giants rivalry started again in the last week of April 2019. The Yankees win the series with a scoreline of 7-3, 6-4, and 11-5.
The battle for Aaron Judge
During the 2022 off-season, the Yankees vs. Giants rivalry saw a new twist with both teams locked in a neck-to-neck competition to sign AL MVP and home-run record holder Aaron Judge. Despite the Giants’ best efforts, Judge signed a 9-year, $360 million contract with the New York Yankees. The Giants made a strong offer, but the AL MVP ultimately decided to stay with the Yankees.
Players and management in San Francisco are still feeling the effects of not signing him as their prized free agent. At the Giants’ annual fan fest, pitcher Logan Webb claimed that Judge’s decision had left the team feeling “butt-hurt.”
2023: Yankees take Opening Day series in the Bronx
The Yankees and Giants met at Yankee Stadium for a three-game set to open the 2023 season. Gerrit Cole set the tone in Game 1 on March 30, striking out 11 over six scoreless innings. Aaron Judge homered in his first at-bat as the newly named Yankees captain. The Yankees cruised to a 5-0 win in front of 46,172 fans.
The Giants took Game 2 on April 1 with a 7-5 victory, but the Yankees closed the series with a 6-0 shutout on April 2. The Yankees won the series 2-1, outscoring the Giants 16-7 across the three games.
2024: Yankees sweep two at Oracle Park
The teams met again in late May and early June 2024, this time at Oracle Park in San Francisco. The Yankees won both games. They took the opener 6-2 on May 31 and followed with a 7-5 victory on June 1. It was a clean sweep for the Yankees, who outscored the Giants 13-7 across the two-game set.
2025: Giants strike back in the Bronx
The Giants got their revenge at Yankee Stadium in April 2025. Game 1 on April 11 was a blowout. Jung Hoo Lee hit a three-run home run and LaMonte Wade Jr. added a two-run double in a five-run first inning that chased Marcus Stroman. The Giants rolled to a rain-shortened 9-1 win.
The Yankees responded in Game 2 on April 12. Will Warren pitched five innings in rainy conditions for his first career big league win. Cody Bellinger delivered a go-ahead RBI single in a five-run fifth inning and the Yankees won 8-4.
Game 3 on April 13 went to the Giants. Lee homered twice off Carlos Rodon for his first career multi-homer game as San Francisco rallied from a three-run deficit to win 5-4. It was the Giants’ first regular-season series victory in the Bronx. The Yankees lost the series 1-2.
Game-by-game results since 2023
| Date | Venue | Result | Score | Key moment |
| Mar 30, 2023 | Yankee Stadium | Yankees win | 5-0 | Cole 11 K; Judge HR |
| Apr 1, 2023 | Yankee Stadium | Giants win | 7-5 | Giants rally late |
| Apr 2, 2023 | Yankee Stadium | Yankees win | 6-0 | Yankees take series 2-1 |
| May 31, 2024 | Oracle Park | Yankees win | 6-2 | Yankees dominate in SF |
| Jun 1, 2024 | Oracle Park | Yankees win | 7-5 | Yankees sweep 2-0 |
| Apr 11, 2025 | Yankee Stadium | Giants win | 9-1 | Lee 3-run HR; rain-shortened |
| Apr 12, 2025 | Yankee Stadium | Yankees win | 8-4 | Warren’s 1st MLB win |
| Apr 13, 2025 | Yankee Stadium | Giants win | 5-4 | Lee 2 HR off Rodon |
Series-by-series summary
| Year | Venue | Series result | Games (NYY-SF) |
| 2023 | Yankee Stadium | Yankees won series | 2-1 |
| 2024 | Oracle Park | Yankees swept | 2-0 |
| 2025 | Yankee Stadium | Giants won series | 1-2 |
| Total | Yankees lead | 5-3 |
What Opening Day 2026 means for the Yankees
The 2026 opener at Oracle Park on March 25 will be the Yankees’ first regular season game in San Francisco since June 2024. Max Fried is expected to start for the Yankees. The club enters the season with its highest expectations in years despite placing Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon and Clarke Schmidt on the injured list.
The Yankees hold a 5-3 advantage in regular season games against the Giants since 2023. But the Giants showed last April that they are capable of winning in the Bronx. Now the Yankees head to the West Coast to begin a season where anything less than a deep October run will be considered a failure.
The rivalry between these two iconic franchises dates back to the days when both called New York home. The Giants left for San Francisco after the 1957 season. Nearly seven decades later, every meeting still carries a trace of that old city rivalry. Wednesday night’s opener will be the latest chapter.
How do you see the Yankees vs. Giants rivalry as they set to open the 2026 season?
Leave your comment below.
“The Giants won the World Series in 1954, when the Yankees lost the ALCS to Cleveland despite winning 103 games.”
There was an ALCS in 1954?