Yankees Prove It’s Still Their City

Reuters

Just in case anyone thought New York was becoming a blue and orange city, the Yankees proved otherwise this past weekend.

With the exception of Matt Harvey doing Matt Harvey things, the Bronx Bombers dominated the first installment of the Subway Series, taking two out of three from a New York Mets team that was on an 11-game winning streak when they arrived at Yankee Stadium on Friday. In doing so, the Yanks showed that no matter how much hype and excitement there is surrounding the Amazin’s, this is still a city where navy pinstripes are dominant.

The Yankees took the first game thanks to a brilliant outing on the mound from Michael Pineda and a power surge courtesy of Mark Teixeira, Jacoby Ellsbury and an uncharacteristic night from Jacob deGrom. On Saturday, The Dark Knight realized a lifelong dream of dominating in front of the Yankees faithful –  the colors he was wearing in reality were just different. With an 8.2 inning, two run, seven strikeout performance, Harvey showed exactly why he is the most exciting and talented player in The Empire State (it does not matter what side you root for, there is no denying this). Sunday night’s finale was a rather chaotic ending, as the two teams combined for six errors and 10 runs. The Mets made four blunders in the field and another on the bases, costing themselves any chance they had at coming back.

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At the end of the series two things are clear: The first being that those Damn Yankees still run this town. A few years of missing the playoffs and the loss of a legend is not going to change that. The Yankees can still call the majority of New York baseball fans their own no matter how successful the boys in Queens get.

With that said, those boys in Queens have clearly impressed and so has their fan base. The Mets are always well-represented at 161st Street, as it is just a subway ride away, but this past weekend they were heard. They gave the home crowd a run for their money plenty of times, showing that Mets are a team worth watching. The pitching is great – again, Harvey is the best player in the city – and the rest of the team is filled with young, talented players with a few savvy vets mixed in.

The point here is not to bash the Mets. The team is playing thrilling baseball, some of their best in years and it is cool to see the rest of New York getting excited about the game. The rivalry is a good thing for both the city and the sport and right now it is more of a rivalry than it has been in recent years. For the first time in a while both the Yankees and Mets are relevant, and that really is awesome.

Just do not make the mistake of thinking the Mets are winning that rivalry; not on the field and not off of it.