Mets vs. Yankees
As a Red Sox fan, I am obligated to despise the New York Yankees, but I have found this year’s version of the Bronx Bombers even more unlikeable than normal, which is saying a lot. And nothing exemplifies this more than their behavior during the American League Division Series with the Kansas City Royals, which the Yankees just won 3-1.
Just before the trade deadline, the Yankees picked up third baseman Jazz Chisholm from the Miami Marlins, one of the worst teams in baseball, and Chisholm made a quick impression, hitting some crucial home runs soon after his arrival to the Big Apple, and also providing some showmanship that made him quickly popular with the NY crowd. But during the Kansas City series, Chisholm’s swagger has taken an ugly turn, and it seems to be rubbing off on his teammates.
In game one of that series, with the scored tied 5-5 in the seventh inning, Chisholm singled, and when Anthony Volpe swung at a third strike, Chisholm broke for second base. Kansas City catcher Salvador Perez’s throw was high, but second baseman Mike Massey brought down the tag just about the time Chisholm hit the bag, and although he was called safe, Kansas City challenged the call, and replays showed that Chisholm’s slide came up short of the base. The announcers saw it, and predicted the call would be overturned, but it wasn’t, and the next batter, former Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo singled to left, driving Chisholm home with what turned out to be the winning run.
For game two, Yankees starting pitcher Carlos Rodon showed exactly what I find unlikeable about this team by celebrating when he struck out the first two batters as if he’d just won the world series, shouting and pumping his fists. Rodon later gave up a home run to Perez that sparked a four-run rally that won the game for the Royals, but Chisholm had the nerve to say that the Royals ‘got lucky’ to win that game.
Game three saw Royals starter Seth Lugo pitch five strong innings, only giving up two hits, but he walked too many batters, and by the eighth inning the game was tied 2-2 when Giancarlo Stanton, who ended up with three of the four hits that the Yankees got in the whole game, hit the winning home run. Stanton, like many of his teammates, has a carefully prepared dance that he performs whenever he hits a home run, complete with a little twirl when he touches home plate. And this is one of the things I despise about this team. They do these routines even if they’re so far behind that the run doesn’t matter. They celebrate every accomplishment as if they have just found the cure for cancer. It’s a team that has obviously never heard that wonderful phrase ‘act as if you’ve been there before.’
The final game was another pitcher’s dual, but the Yankees squeezed out three runs while the Royals could only manage one against Yankee ace Gerrit Cole. But here’s the play that typified the whole series. When Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia slid into second base on a ground ball from Massey, Volpe gave him a shove that didn’t appear to be intentional but it caused Garcia to stare him down for a moment and say something. The incident prompted one of those baseball ‘fights’ that are always kind of hilarious, where both teams poured out onto the field but mostly just jawed at each other. But as Garcia headed off the field, Volpe, Aaron Judge and a couple of other Yankees players started waving him back to the dugout, a tasteless move that was completely unnecessary. It’s this lack of respect this team seems to show toward its opponents that makes me despise them. And Chisholm, who hit a measly .133 during the series, decided to mouth off again after the game, saying Garcia was a sore loser, even though the game was far from over when the incident occurred.
Meanwhile, on the other side of town, the Mets have had a very tumultuous season, starting off with five straight losses, and falling so far behind in the standings early on that many people wrote them off. But halfway through the season, something shifted, and thanks in large part to the leadership by shortstop Francisco Lindor, who was acquired from the Cleveland Guardians, they were one of the best teams in baseball over the final stretch of the season, although they had to win one of two games on the final day to make it into the playoffs.
Unlike the Yankees, who have one of the highest payrolls in the game, and were expected to be where they are, the Mets have been the biggest surprise of the playoffs, pulling off one comeback win after another, with the crowning blow being a grand slam by Lindor in game four of their series against the heavily favored Philadelphia Phillies, a team loaded with all stars. The beauty of Lindor’s grand slam was the way he dropped his bat, rounded the bases with his eyes straight ahead, and trotted into the dugout without any theatrics whatsoever.
To me, that kind of leadership gives a team way more confidence than huge productions and boastful insults hurled at the opposition. I doubt it will happen, as the Mets really are not as talented as the Yankees, but it’s just that kind of example that I would love to see go all the way. Instead, we’ll probably be watching a lot of choreographed celebrations that feel empty and bloated.
I so loved my years of going to Dodger games in LA in the 60's and 70's. I was there for sandy Koufax's last no-hitter. and when Bob Welch struck out Reggie Jackson in the '78 World Series - it took nine pitches with two on and two out in the top of the ninth. (google it, its fantastic) I havent been watching the playoffs, but your writing had me right there. loved it. but sorry things are the way they are with the yankees...never did like them, anyway!
You are preaching to the choir! 😊 The arrogance is silly because they’ve been under achieving for the past several years. I really hope they get taken out in the next round. I have to say I’m rooting a bit for the Dodgers just to see Ohtani play. He is such a special talent