New York Yankees vs. Mets Rivalry : Head to Head

The Subway Series — which is when the New York Mets and New York Yankees face off — quickly became one of the highest anticipated series of every MLB season, as soon as it began back when interleague play between the NL and AL became more common in 1997. It didn’t take long after that for this series to blossom into a full-fledged rivalry; and not just because these two big-time teams share the same city.

There have been intense beefs between star players on respective teams, bouts of bragging rights between both fanbases, and even a World Series matchup. And considering that both teams expect to be World Series contenders in 2024, this series seems to be just getting started.

Yankees vs. Mets Head to Head History

When both teams have their current names and locations, the New York Yankees and New York Mets have played each other a total of 147 games against each other. Of those, the Yankees told the overall edge in record, 84-63 (57.1%).

The first matchup between these teams in the Subway Series era took place on June 16, 1997, when the Mets beat the Yankees, 6-0. The most recent matchup between these teams took place on July 26, 2023, when the Yankees beat the Mets, 3-1.

The longest current winning streak between either of these teams is held by the Yankees, when they beat the Mets 7 straight times, which started on June 30, 2002, and lasted until June 29, 2003.

Yankees vs. Mets Head To Head (Since 2007 Season)

Yankees vs. Mets Rivalry Background

Of course, this rivalry had been brewing ever since the Mets came to New York, in 1962. Yet, because interleague wasn’t common until the late 1990s, there was never a chance for these two teams to settle their respective scores and for their fans to win bragging rights.

And while New York Yankees fans would probably claim that their biggest rivals are the Boston Red Sox, there’s no question that being bested by the Mets gets under their skin just as much — if not more so.

The Mets have their own rivalry with the Philadelphia Phillies. But if we were to ask Mets fans, we are almost certain that they would say they dislike the Yankees more than the Phillies.

While there have been a number of classic moments between these two teams, the most legendary that took place came during the 2000 World Series (more on that in a moment), when Mets Hall of Fame catcher Mike Piazza was facing Yankees Hall of Fame pitcher Roger Clemens. During the at-bat, Piazza fouled a ball off, and his wood bat broke. One of the bat shards flew toward Clemens on the mound. After it landed, Clemens picked the bat shard up and threw it at Piazza.

While it didn’t hit Piazza, the moment sparked a years-long beef between the two that lives on in MLB history.

Now, let’s get to that 2000 World Series.

Yankees vs. Mets 2000 World Series

This 2000 World Series was the first and only time that the Yankees and Mets faced each other in the playoffs. Because the Yankees had the better record during the regular season, that meant they hosted the first game of the World Series — although neither team would need to travel very far throughout the five game series.

While every game in this World Series was tightly contested, Game 1 was perhaps the best of them. With both starting pitchers (Al Leiter for the Mets and Andy Pettitte for the Yankees) performing extremely well, neither team scored any runs until the sixth inning. Then, the Yankees were able to break the tie in the bottom of the sixth inning, by scoring 2 runs.

The Mets then responded with 3 runs in the seventh inning, taking a 3-2 lead. The game stayed that way until the bottom of the ninth, when the Yankees scored one run and tied the game.

From there, the game went into extra innings, and ended in the bottom of the 12^th inning when the Yankees scored a walk-off run and won the game.

Game 2 also took place at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees started off strong, scoring 3 runs in the game’s first 2 innings. This was the game where Clemens threw the bat shard at Piazza. While both players were rattled after the incident, Clemens still produced an excellent performance. The Mets didn’t score until the ninth inning, when they were down by 6 runs. Although they did score 5 runs in the ninth, it wasn’t enough for the Mets as they lost Game 2, 6-5.

Then Game 3 arrived in Shea Stadium. The Mets started the scoring in the second inning, getting 1 run from a home run by Robin Ventura. The Yankees then responded with 1 run in the third inning and then another run in the fourth, giving them a 2-1 lead. The Mets then tied the game in the sixth inning, off of a double by Mike Piazza. After that, the Mets tacked on 2 more runs in the eighth, which was enough to defeat the Yankees by a score of 4-2, making the series 2-1 in favor of the Yankees.

Game 4 also took place in the Mets’ Shea Stadium. Derek Jeter started the scoring by hitting a leadoff home run in the first inning. From there, the Yankees tacked on one run apiece in the second and third innings, respectively, giving them a 3-0 lead. But the Mets would score 2 runs of their own in the third, making the score 3-2 in favor of the Yankees. Neither team ended up scoring for the remainder of the game, meaning that the Yankees won the game 3-2 and took a 3-1 lead in the series.

Game 5 also took place in Shea Stadium. The Yankees started the scoring on a solo home run in the second inning by Bernie Williams. Then the Mets responded by adding 2 runs of their own in the second, as well. Derek Jeter then broke the tie with a solo home run in the sixth inning, tying the game at 2. Then the Yankees scored 2 runs in the top of the ninth, and although the Mets were mere feet away from a Mike Piazza home run to tie the game in the last inning, the ball was caught short of the fence and the Yankees won the game 4-2 and became 2000 World Series Champions.

2024 Rivalry Analysis

It seems that both the New York teams have a ton of expectations each season. However, neither team has done much succeeding of late — at least as it pertains to their sky-high expectations. While the fanbases of both teams are expecting to be World Series contenders, only time will tell whether either of them will get there. Even if not, at least we’ll have the Subway Series to look forward to.

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James Idayi

James Idayi is an experienced writer with a deep passion for the world of media, sports, and entertainment. With years of experience working in the streaming industry, James has a wealth of knowledge and expertise when it comes to creating compelling content for modern audiences.

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