Seton Hall
20th anniversary of the Subway Series
Date: June 22, 2020By: Michael Daly
ALL SPORT USA/ALL SPORT
This October marks the 20th anniversary of the Subway Series that saw the New York Yankees defeat the New York Mets, 4-1. The series had a major impact on New York City’s presence in baseball around the country.
The entire country was on the outside looking in at a captivating series and the pulse of baseball existed in the Bronx and Queens for nearly one week. The Yankees and Mets were on opposite spectrums in terms of recent World Series experience in 2000. The Yankees were in the midst of an incredible dynasty run in the mid-to-late 1990s and into the turn of the 21st century.
The 2000 Subway Series was the fourth World Series appearance for the New York Yankees in five seasons. The Yankees were World Series Champions in 1996, 1998, and 1999. The New York Mets had not appeared in a World Series since 1986, when they defeated the Boston Red Sox in seven games.
The Subway Series nearly happened one year prior in 1999. The Yankees and Mets advanced to their respective League Championship Series, but only the New York Yankees won the pennant. The Mets fell to the Atlanta Braves in six games in the 1999 NLCS. The New York Yankees handled the Boston Red Sox in five games en route to their second straight World Series title in 1999.
The following season, a perfect storm of hype brewed across the five boroughs of New York City because the Yankees and Mets were playing at high levels throughout the entire season. At the end of the 2000 season, the Mets finished in second place in the National League East with a 94-68 record. The New York Yankees were the top team in the American League East with an 87-74 record. The road to the World Series for the Yankees began with a clash against the Oakland Athletics in the ALDS. The Yankees moved on to the ALCS after outlasting the A’s in five games, 3-2.
In the ALCS, the New York Yankees had a wake-up call against the Seattle Mariners in the opening game of the series. The Yankees were shutout in game one but bounced back by winning the next three games. An elimination of the Seattle Mariners escaped the Yankees in game five. Eventually, New York finished off Seattle with a 9-7 victory in game six of the ALCS. The New York Mets opened the 2000 MLB Playoffs with an NLDS matchup against the San Francisco Giants. The Mets vanquished the Giants in four games, 3-1, and they moved on to face the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Championship Series.
New York Mets pitcher Mike Hampton captured a win in game one against the St. Louis Cardinals. Trailing 2-0 in the NLCS, the Cardinals climbed back in the series with an 8-2 win in game three. New York won the next two games and outscored the Cardinals, 17-6, which clinched the National League pennant for the Mets in five games.
#DidYouKnow that @Yankees vs. @Mets match ups are called the Subway Series because fans can ride the #NYCsubway to get between their home stadiums? This photograph shows a train wrapped in a Yankees theme for the 2000 Subway Series! pic.twitter.com/qBXAlH68iE
— NY Transit Museum (@NYTransitMuseum) June 22, 2020
This showdown in the World Series was truly a battle for baseball supremacy in New York. The winner of the Subway Series would own the bragging rights as the best Major League Baseball team in New York City.
New York Yankees Hall of Fame shortstop Derek Jeter spoke with the YES Network and discussed the importance of winning the World Series against their crosstown rival, the Mets. “I moved to Manhattan when I was 21-years-old and if we didn’t win that World Series against the Mets, I think I would have moved out of the city,” said Jeter to YES Network’s Jack Curry, when asked about the pressure surrounding the Subway Series. “In my mind it was a battle for New York. We were playing for something pretty special with winning three championships in a row.”
The New York Yankees came out on top in game one with an extra-inning walk-off single from second baseman Jose Vizcaino in the bottom of the 12th inning. The Yankees started off the Subway Series with a 4-3 win.
In game two, the Yankees led the Mets 6-0 through the first eight innings of play. In the top of the ninth inning, the Mets rallied and scored five runs, but they ran out of time against the Yankees. The first two games of the series were very close, but the Mets found themselves in an early 2-0 series deficit heading back to Shea Stadium for game three.
Rick Reed gave up two earned runs through 6.0 innings pitched for the Mets in game three. John Franco received the win with a relief appearance in the eighth inning and Armando Benitez earned the save. The Mets closed the gap in the series, 2-1.
Amy Sancetto/AP Photo
The Mets were unable to turn the tide in the next two games, and they lost the Subway Series to the Yankees in five games, 4-1. Yankees shortstop Jeter was named the World Series Most Valuable Player with six runs, nine hits, two home runs, two RBIs, and a .409 batting average against the New York Mets.
The Subway Series victory over the Mets sealed a three-peat championship run for the New York Yankees from 1998-2000. This was the third time in franchise history that the Yankees won three or more consecutive World Series. No other Major League team has won back-to-back World Series since 2000.
Prior to 2000, the last World Series to feature two New York franchises was the 1956 World Series between the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Yankees and Mets only made the playoffs during the same year, a total of two times after 2000, in 2006 and 2015.
Michael Daly is the Station Manager for 89.5 FM WSOU, and can be reached at wsoustationmanager@gmail.com.
