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Bay Bridge Series

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Bay Bridge Series

The Athletics–Giants rivalry, formerly termed the Bay Bridge Series, or the Battle of the Bay, was a series of baseball games played between—and the rivalry of—Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics of the American League and San Francisco Giants of the National League. The formerly termed Bay Bridge Series took its name from the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge which links the cities of Oakland and San Francisco. Beginning in 2018, the winner of the annual series retained a trophy fashioned from a piece of the original bridge.

Although competitive, the regional rivalry between the A's and Giants is considered a friendly one with mostly mutual companionship between the fans, as opposed to Cubs–White Sox, or Mets–Yankees games where animosity runs high, though sections of each fanbase does harbor towards the entirety of the other. This, however, is limited as many people see the opposing team as no threat to their own; hats displaying both teams on the cap are sold from vendors at the games, and once in a while the teams both dress in uniforms from a historic era of their franchises. Many fans actively cheer for both teams when they are not playing against the other. A's fans cite the Giants blocking a potential move to San Jose as a point of contention.

The series was also occasionally referred to as the "BART Series" for the Bay Area Rapid Transit system that links Oakland to San Francisco. However, the name "BART Series" has never been popular beyond a small selection of history books and national broadcasters and has fallen out of favor, likely because BART does not provide direct or easy access to Oracle Park in San Francisco. Bay Area locals almost exclusively referred to the rivalry as the "Bay Bridge Series" or the "Battle of the Bay."

Originally, the term described a series of exhibition games played between the two clubs after the conclusion of spring training, immediately prior to the start of the regular season. It was first used to refer to the 1989 World Series which the Athletics won and the first time both teams had met since they moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. Later it also referred to games played between the teams during the regular season since the commencement of Interleague play in 1997. Through the 2024 season and conclusion of the rivalry, the Athletics won 76 games, and the Giants won 72. The Bay Bridge Series ended when the Athletics made West Sacramento, California their temporary home starting in the 2025 season until their new stadium is completed in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The Giants and Athletics met in the 1905, 1911, and 1913 World Series as the New York Giants and Philadelphia Athletics. The Giants won, 4–1, in 1905, and the Athletics won in 1911 (4–1) and 1913 (4–2), respectively. Overall, the Athletics won more games, 9–7. SHall of Famers such as John McGraw, Roger Bresnahan, Christy Mathewson, Joe McGinnity and Rube Marquard took part on the Giants side while the Athletics had Connie Mack, Chief Bender, Eddie Plank, Rube Waddell, Frank Baker and Eddie Collins.

The San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics met for the first time in the 1989 World Series. This series was interrupted minutes before Game 3 on October 17, 1989, when an earthquake, measuring 6.9 on the Richter Scale, struck the San Francisco Bay Area. The resulting damage to both Candlestick Park and to a lesser extent the Oakland Coliseum, along with the emotional and economic damage to the area, delayed the resumption of the series for 10 days, the longest interval between games in World Series history. The earthquake caused the collapse of a portion of the Bay Bridge, the centerpiece of many promotions for the "Bay Bridge Series"; however, experts have suggested that the Series actually helped to save countless lives, as many would-be commuters from both sides of the Bay had left work early or stayed in the cities to watch the game. As a result, traffic on the roads below collapsed portions of the Bay Bridge and Cypress Street Viaduct portion of Interstate 880 in Oakland (while this disaster killed one person on the Bay Bridge and 42 people on the viaduct, local officials initially assumed that the death toll would be well into the hundreds) was significantly lighter than it would normally be at rush hour.

The Athletics swept the Giants to win the 1989 World Series. As of 2024, this is the most recent time the Athletics have won a World Series championship.

Both teams met for the first time in the regular season in June 1997.

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