Yankees-Mets rivalry

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The Yankees-Mets rivalry is the latest incarnation of the Subway Series, the competition between New York City's two Major League Baseball teams, the New York Yankees of the American League and the New York Mets of the National League. Until Interleague play started, the two teams had never officially played each other. Since then, they have split series wins during the regular season and have played each other in the 2000 World Series, which the Yankees won in 5 games.

[edit] History

[edit] 1962 - 1996: Formation of the Mets and Pre-Interleague

With the departure of the New York Giants to San Francisco and the Brooklyn Dodgers to Los Angeles in 1958, the Yankees became New York City's only Major League Baseball team. That was, of course, until 1962, when the expansion Mets joined the National League. The Mets sought to create a fan base from fans of the departed teams and New Yorkers who disliked the Yankees for whatever reason. The Mets did however hire former Yankee legend Casey Stengel as their first manager. Although the teams never met in regular games, they did play exhibition games during Spring Training, and from 1963 to 1983 they played annually in the Mayor's Trophy Game, an in-season exhibition game, where the Yankees enjoyed a record of 10-8-1 over the Mets.^[1] Both teams shared Shea Stadium as their home field when Yankee Stadium was being refit during the 1974 and 1975 seasons.

For the remainder of the 20th century, neither team seemed to be superior at the same time. The Yankees won the World Series in 1962, the Mets inaugural season, and would not win again until 1977. During that Yankee drought, the Mets won their first World Series in 1969 and made it to the Fall Classic again in 1973 (with former Yankee catcher Yogi Berra as manager in '73). The 1980s would be the only decade since the 1910s where the Yankees did not win a World Series. In contrast, the Mets enjoyed success during much of the decade and won the World Series in 1986. The Yankees would not return to the Series until 1996. The Yankees team that won that series included several personalities that had enjoyed success with the Mets in the 1980s (namely pitchers Dwight Gooden and David Cone, outfielder Darryl Strawberry, and pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre).

Both teams have set their respective League records for Gold Gloves by a first baseman during this period as well. Don Mattingly holds the record for the American League with 9 while Keith Hernandez holds the record for the National League with 11 (5 of which were won playing for the St. Louis Cardinals).

[edit] 1997 - 1999: Interleague Regular Season Play Begins

In 1997, Major League Baseball scheduled official regular season games between the American and National Leagues for the first time. On June 16, 1997 the Mets and the Yankees played their very first official game, which the Mets won 6-0. Eventually, the Yankees would come back to win the series. Later on, Major League Baseball decided to expand Interleague play and both teams would host a series at their respective home stadiums.

The Yankees would go on to win consecutive World Series titles in 1998 and 1999. Meanwhile, the Mets clinched the National League Wild Card berth in 1999, ending an eleven year playoff drought. This marked the first time both the Yankees and Mets reached the playoffs in the same season. However, fans who wanted a Yankees/Mets World Series had their hopes dashed when the Atlanta Braves defeated the Mets in the National League Championship Series in six games.

[edit] 2000: First World Series Meeting

Main article: 2000 World Series

Those fans would get their wish a year later when the Yankees and Mets made it to the 2000 World Series. It was the Yankees 4th World Series appearance in 5 years and the Mets first appearance since 1986. It was the first "Subway" World Series since 1956.

Controversy ensued when Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens (who had pitched for the Yankees' arch-rival Boston Red Sox against the Mets in the 1986 World Series) faced Mets star Mike Piazza for the first time since Clemens hit Piazza in the head with a fastball earlier in the season, giving Piazza a concussion and forcing him to go on the disabled list. In the World Series match-up, Piazza shattered his bat after fouling off one of Clemens' pitches, and the splintered bathead hurtled towards the mound. Clemens threw the bathead towards the sideline and nearly hit Piazza who had been running down the foul line. The incident caused both benches to clear.

The Yankees went on to win the game. They took the series four games to one. Although the Yankees triumphed to win their 26th World Series, all of the games were won by 2 runs or less and the Mets broke the Yankees' 14 game win streak in World Series play. Neither team has won a World Series since 2000.

[edit] 2001 - present: The Rivalry Continues in the 21st Century

Subway Series 2008, Johnny Damon with the Yankees (left) and Brian Schneider with the Mets

A full house at Yankee Stadium for a Subway Series game against the Mets on 6/16/2007.

The Yankees, despite winning their division each year from 2001 to 2006 and reaching the World Series twice, have failed to win it all since they defeated the Mets. Since their appearance in the World Series, the Mets would go on to have several losing seasons until the arrival of highly touted stars David Wright and José Reyes.

• In 2002, Roger Clemens faced the Mets for the first time at Shea Stadium since the Piazza controversy. Because he was forced to bat, Mets pitcher Shawn Estes attempted to hit Clemens with a pitch in retaliation. The ball missed and went behind Clemens, prompting the home plate umpire to warn both benches. Estes later homered off of Clemens as the Mets would go on to win the game.

• In 2004, the Yankees worked out a deal with the Texas Rangers to bring superstar Alex Rodriguez to the Bronx. Rodriguez, a native New Yorker before he moved to Miami, grew up rooting for the Mets.

• After being a part of the history making 2004 Boston Red Sox team which overcame a 3-0 series deficit against the Yankees in the American League Championship Series and eventually winning their first championship in 86 years, the Mets signed pitcher Pedro Martínez. Martinez had been in the center of the heated Yankees-Red Sox rivalry during his tenure in Boston.

• The Mets signed Manager Willie Randolph, who had left the position of Yankees third base coach, in 2006. Randolph, who had played much of his career with the Yankees, had also played for the Mets before ultimately retiring as a player. Because of his history with the Yankees championship teams of the 70's (as a player) and the 1990's (as a coach), he holds a very cordial relationship with Yankee fans despite being a part of the Mets organization now, as noted by a Subway commercial done by him and former Yankees manager Joe Torre, who had managed the Yankees during their most recent dynastic run. Interestingly enough, Torre had also been associated with the Mets as they were the last team he ever played for and the first team he ever managed.

• History is made at the 2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Game when two positions on both teams are manned by players from teams of the same city. David Wright and Jose Reyes started at third base and shortstop respectively for the National League while Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter started at the same respective positions for the American League.

• Both teams in 2006 finished at the top of their division during the same season for the first time in history. Despite sharing baseball's best regular season records, both teams would have disappointing postseasons as they both would lose enroute to the two teams that eventually met in that season's World Series, the Detroit Tigers and the St. Louis Cardinals.

• The teams inverse success relationship was highlighted in 2007. On May 29, the Yankees were tied for last place and 14.5 games back of the Boston Red Sox while the Mets were in first place ahead of the Atlanta Braves by 4 games, with the lead being as high as 7 games during mid-September. A late season meltdown led to the Mets being eliminated from playoff contention, losing the NL East title to the Philadelphia Phillies on the last day of the season. On the other hand, the Yankees had gotten out of their losing ways from earlier that season, and clinched their 13th consecutive playoff berth. However, the Yankees were eliminated in the American League Division Series for the third straight season, leading to the departure of Joe Torre from the team to eventually manage for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

• After initially battling with the Red Sox to acquire Johan Santana from the Minnesota Twins, the Yankees removed their package deals that included prospects Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes (separately). The Mets worked out a deal for Santana and signed him on January 31, 2008.

• March 24, 2008 : In an article written in the New York Daily News, Alex Rodriguez said how he regreted signing with the Texas Rangers (the team the Yankees acquired him from) in the first place and wished he had signed with the Mets rather than Texas. Rodriguez stated how he listened to his agent Scott Boras about taking more money instead and did not want to make the same mistake of not being on a team he liked playing for by leaving the Yankees. ^[2]

[edit] Fan Demographics

In 1998, the Independent Budget Office of the city of New York published a study on the economic impact of the city's two Major League Baseball teams. The study included an analysis of where fans of both the Mets and the Yankees resided. The study found that people leaned more towards the Mets in the boroughs of Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island--which, interestingly, is the home of the Yankees farm team, the Staten Island Yankees--and the Long Island counties of Nassau and Suffolk, whereas the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx, the New York counties of Westchester and Rockland, and New Jersey and Connecticut leaned more towards the Yankees.^[3] It is also believed that Yankees fans tend to root for the New York Giants (who once played in Yankee Stadium) and New York Rangers while Mets fans tend to root for the New York Jets (who once played in Shea Stadium) and New York Islanders.^[4]

[edit] People with Both Organizations

[edit] See also

• Subway Series
• New York Yankees
• New York Mets
• Interleague
• 2000 World Series

[edit] References