The always intense rivalry between the Yankees and Red Sox has somehow managed to reach new heights. Last season, the pair became just the fourth set of division rivals to each win 100 or more games. That’s quite a rare feat, considering divisional play began 50 years ago.
Both teams recently underwent extreme makeovers in order to climb back to the top of the baseball world. Curiously, the two organizations also took radically different approaches to these rebuilds. Although there exists noticeable differences between the clubs’ offensive philosophies — the Red Sox lean on speed in their lineup while the Yankees continue to rely on their traditional power-centric run production — the most significant contrast lies in the construction of their pitching staffs.