Cubs vs Cardinals: Baseball’s Most Overrated Rivalry

Five hours and 303 miles down I-55 separate the cities of Chicago and St. Louis. Those cities are home to the most historic franchises in baseball, the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals. Given the proximity to each, there is naturally a rivalry between both the Cubs and Cardinals. Up until this season, the Cardinals had been one of the most consistent contenders in baseball while the Cubs have never been postseason regulars. I believe the Cubs vs Cardinals rivalry is overrated because the two teams are never relevant at the same time.

The Cubs and Cardinals Are Never Relevant at the Same Time

Throughout both the franchise’s history, the Cubs and Cardinals have never been relevant at the same time. The two teams have never been a foil to each other’s championship aspirations. When the Cardinals won four pennants and two World Series during the 2004, 2006, 2011, and 2013 seasons, the Cubs missed the postseason during all four of those seasons. When the Cubs made appearances in the playoffs in 2007 and 2008 and when they won the World Series in 2016, St. Louis missed the playoffs all three of those years. Even in the past four seasons where the Cardinals have gone to the postseason, with the exception of 2020, the Cubs haven’t been relevant then either.

It wasn’t until the 2015 season that the Cubs and Cardinals would play each other in the postseason. This occurred in the NLDS where the Cubs would defeat the Cardinals 3-1 to advance to the NLCS. However, the Cubs would be dispatched by the Mets 4-0 failing to make it to the World Series. Once again neither Chicago nor St. Louis had to beat each other to make it to the fall classic.

The Midwest Is the Only One That Cares

Unlike the Yankees and Red Sox rivalry, nobody outside of the Midwest cares about this rivalry. The national stations aren’t exactly dying to put on the Cubs and Cardinals game. Most of the time those stations want to broadcast either a Yankees or Red Sox or Giants and Dodgers game. With most other rivalries, you have a better chance of seeing a bench-clearing brawl than you do with the Cubs and Cardinals.

Not Many Iconic Moments Between the Two Franchises

This “rivalry” has had just a few moments to add to MLB lore. “The Sandberg Game”, “the McGwire-Sosa Home Run Chase”, “the Lou Brock Trade”, the 2015 NLDS, and this year’s London Series are the exceptions. For a team to have a true rivalry with another one, there needs to be more iconic moments. It has gotten to the point where writers of the Wikipedia page are just adding anything that sounds exciting. To me, it’s just both Cubs and Cardinals fans’ desperate attempt to make the rivalry more than what it is.

The Cardinals Have Owned the Cubs in the Regular Season for Over 20 Years

The Cardinals have dominated the Cubs in season series for the past 20 years 210-193. It’s difficult to call it a rivalry when the Cardinals have been beating the Cubs consistently. The last time the Cubs edged the Cardinals in seasons series during a decade was in the 90s.

The only time where this rivalry mattered was when the two teams met in the 2015 NLDS. The rivalry will never gain the traction that others have because both teams are never relevant at the same time. It appears whenever one team is having a successful year the other is not. Given that St. Lous has dominated the regular season’s series for the past 20 years, it’s hard to make it more exciting. Outside of Middle America, no other baseball fan is going to get excited over this rivalry. With both teams almost never being relevant at the same time, Cubs vs Cardinals should never be mentioned among the great rivalries baseball features.

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