Mets vs Yankees: a Sports Rivalry

Mets vs. Yankees? by Nicholas Ziino

New York is lucky to have two good professional baseball teams: the Mets and Yankees. Both teams play intense, competitive, exciting games! They both have talented, very popular players. They are the major topics for lively discussions on our sports radio stations. And yes, they are the subjects of ongoing arguments between their fans!

People say there’s a Mets/Yankees rivalry. But is there really one?

Not on the field. The Mets play in the National League, while the Yankees compete in the American League. They only play four inter-league games against each other every year, unless both teams make it to the World Series. So there is no professional rivalry between them.

But their fans? Oh boy, that’s another story!

That’s where the “rivalry” really exists. Yes, the Yankees have had more success than the Mets. But that’s largely because they have simply been around longer. The Yankees originated as the Baltimore Orioles (no relation to the present team) in 1901. When that franchise failed, new owners moved the team to New York in 1903. It was officially renamed the New York Yankees in 1913.

Everyone knows the Yankees’ history. They are one of the most popular and successful team in professional sports history. They have won 27 World Series championships. So naturally, their fans constantly brag about it. They view the Mets as “that OTHER New York team.” Some fans make fun of the Mets and put the team down.

That, of course, provokes an equally strong reaction from us Met fans. Some of us say the Yankees buy championships. They have the highest revenues of any team in professional sports, so they can afford the best players. We also say the Yankees get favorable treatment from umpires and MLB (hello, Jeffrey Maier!). But what really makes some of us hate the Yankees most? That would be their conceited fans (in our opinion)!

Yeah, there’s a Mets/Yankees “rivalry”...in fandom!

Here are some good books for further reading about both teams: