What MLB teams are in the Beltway Series? Unique rivalry explored

The 'Beltway Series' is a unique rivalry between the Baltimore Orioles and the Washington Nationals. While baseball rivalries are nothing new, this series is unique as the teams are separated by roughly 40 miles but play in different conferences.

Most rivalries come within the same division or conference, such as the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees. However, this is not the case for the Beltway Series, as the Orioles play in the American League East and the Nationals play in the National League East.

"Congrats to Washington Nationals on World Series win. I am a loyal Orioles fan but doesn't mean I can't appreciate great effort from our neighbors down the road. Plus...What would be better than the O's and Nats BOTH having great seasons that ended in a beltway series?" - Jayne Miller

How did the Beltway Series get its name?

The series got its name from the Beltway Highways (the Baltimore Beltway and the Capital Beltway), which serves Baltimore, Maryland, and Washington D.C.

This rivalry comes more from the distance between the franchises than the history between the clubs. However, there have been several incidents that have added fuel to the fire.

One key incident was when Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos pushed back against the relocation of the Montreal Expos to Washington. Angelos felt that the move would hurt the Orioles financially, with an emphasis on the potential loss of fans to the new Washington Nationals franchise.

The incident that led to bad blood between the Nationals and Orioles has been surrounded by television broadcasting rights. Prior to the inaugural season for Washington, Angelos and the MLB struck a deal to create MASN (Mid-Atlantic Sports Network).

The deal occurred before the completion of arrangements for Washington-area cable television providers to carry MASN's two channels. This led to many D.C.-based fans being unable to watch most Nationals games for some time during the Nationals' first season.

"Hopefully with all of the shakeups at MASN, they don’t bring the back the Beltway Series setup where they’d mix the booths. 10 year old me was already annoyed I was watching a pitching duel of Garrett Olson and John Lannan, but I had to listen to Santangelo too? No way." - @Scottathan2221

When will the Beltway Series take place this season?

The Orioles and Nationals will play each other twice this season. The first series will take place from April 18-19, with the second occurring from September 26-27.