It’s MLB’s inaugural rivalry week. While it’s not one of the most traditional “rivalries” in the sport, the league has organized some fun matchups this weekend. One rivalry is finally getting the official recognition on par with each team’s fans.

The name Eddie Vedder is bigger than baseball or sports in general. It’s a household name in mass media. Of course, we mean the lead vocalist and guitarist for the world-famous band Pearl Jam, which is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Pearl Jam pioneered the “grunge” music movement in the 1990s and is synonymous with Seattle, Washington. The Pacific Northwest was the epicenter of the grunge movement.

Vedder’s Pearl Jam is a staple of ’90s music.

Vedder also moved to San Diego from Illinois as a youth. He attended San Dieguito High School, now San Dieguito Academy. While working in La Jolla, he bounced around a few musical groups before finding his home with Pearl Jam.

For several years, fans of both teams embraced the matchup between the San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners as the “Vedder Cup.” The humorous part is that Vedder personally is a Chicago Cubs fan as a native-born Illinoisan. Plus, it stemmed from both the Padres and Mariners sharing the same Spring Training complex in Peoria.

While the word “rivalry” has been passed around, it’s more of a friendly coexistence between Spring Training roommates who reside on opposite ends of Interstate 5 highway. They are in different leagues and thus would only meet in the postseason if it were the World Series. The “Vedder Cup” was primarily a social media bit and something of a cheesy joke.

It also has a personal touch for this writer, a Seattle-based Padres fan.

Up until 2025, the name for the rivalry went mostly unrecognized officially by Major League Baseball. Now, with MLB embracing “rivalry weekend, the matchup has been officially recognized as such. It’s even gone as far as Vedder designing a trophy to be given to the winner of the series, while the two teams agreed to support Vedder’s charity, the EB Research Partnership.

The Mariners and Padres will face off in the Vedder Cup!

Each year, the winner of the annual series will get to keep the Vedder Cup trophy, which was designed by Eddie Vedder himself

Vedder, a Rock-and-Roll Hall of Famer as lead singer of the legendary band Pearl Jam, is a… pic.twitter.com/t5qHTWTzkP

— MLB (@MLB) March 14, 2025

Both teams will  host a three-game series. The matchup is in San Diego this weekend, with the return trip to Seattle August 25-27.

Both teams even have fan promotions and giveaways affiliated with the now official Vedder Cup.

Also, these teams do have some history, certainly not to the level of real “rivals” like the Yankees, Red Sox, or the Cardinals and Cubs. The Mariners are the American League team the Padres have played the most in franchise history, not counting the Houston Astros. San Diego is 63-68 all-time against the Mariners.

There have been some great games between the two clubs. Look away, Padres fans. On June 2, 2016, the Mariners completed their largest comeback in franchise history against the Padres. San Diego jumped out to a 12-2 lead before letting the Mariners slowly chip away and eventually win 16-13.

Certainly, great players have played for both the Mariners and Padres.

Mike Cameron is probably the poster child of the former Padres/Mariners. Cameron was an All-Star and Gold Glove for the Mariners and also won a Gold Glove in centerfield for the Padres in 2006. He put together at least one 4.0-plus WAR season with both franchises.

A few notable pitchers played for both, namely Nick Vincent, Brandon Maurer, and the beloved Padres TV personality Mark Grant. Fernando Rodney was an All-Star closer for both teams between 2014 and 2016.

Not only are the Padres and Mariners spring complex partners, but they have been trade partners in several notable deals. The most notable one came in the COVID-shortened 2020 season at that season’s awkward trade deadline.

In an effort to acquire some bullpen help and another catcher amid the chase to make the 2020 playoffs, A.J. Preller dealt away Andres Munoz, Ty France, Luis Torrens, and Taylor Trammell to Seattle for relievers Austin Adams and Dan Altavilla and catcher Austin Nola.

With the benefit of hindsight, that trade might be one of the worst Preller has made in his career. Adams spent three seasons with the Padres but struggled to stay healthy, appearing in 70 games in three years, with 65 appearances in 2021 alone.

Altavilla was a disaster for San Diego, appearing in just 11 games in a Padres uniform due to injury and just two games after 2020.

Nola became the main part of the deal for San Diego. He spent parts of four seasons as the Padres’ main catcher. His best season came in 2022, when he posted 1.9 WAR in 110 games. In the 2022 postseason, he came through in some big spots. Between the Wild Card Series against the Mets and the NLDS against the Dodgers, he batted .381 with a .916 OPS.

Unfortunately, things went south quickly after that. Injuries and vision issues caused him to play just 52 games with a -0.6 WAR after 2022. He has not appeared in a MLB game since July 15, 2023.

Meanwhile, Munoz has become one of the best closers in baseball in Seattle. His nasty movement and velocity have him with a 2.12 ERA in 131 games since 2023, with an All-Star selection last season, and he likely has another one coming this summer. Ty France was an All-Star for the Mariners in 2022 and batted .283 between 2021 and 2023.

Both teams are playing well thus far in 2025. If the season were to end today, both would occupy playoff spots. The Mariners sit atop the deep, clustered AL West.

Both teams have plenty of star power. Cal Raleigh is the most well-rounded catcher in baseball this year, with 13 homers, the second-most in the American League. Julio Rodriguez is a human lightning rod in centerfield. The two-time All-Star has a similar gravitas to Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr., but has not been as consistently powerful at the plate as the Padres right fielder.

Both pitching staffs provide a variety of tough challenges for opposing hitters. These series should be compelling, as both teams expect to make the playoffs. The Mariners are the only active MLB team without a World Series appearance. Neither team has a Commissioner’s Trophy in the closet. Both have high hopes this year that the drought could end.

Overall, these two franchises have been intertwined in more ways than one. While the venom and vitriol that usually accompany rivalries aren’t there (yet), the Vedder Cup is a fun and fitting pairing for MLB’s rivalry weekend promotion.

Nick Lee

Native of Escondido, CA. Lived in San Diego area for 20 years. Padres fan since childhood (mid-90s). I have been writing since 2014. I currently live near Seattle, WA and am married to a Seattle sports girl. I wore #19 on my high school baseball team for Tony Gwynn. I am a stats and sports history nerd. I attended BYU on the Idaho campus. I also love Star Wars.