Fans watch batting practice from the bleachers prior to the American League Wild Card Game between the Houston Astros and the New York Yankees on Tuesday, October 6, 2015 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City.
Two years ago, we told you how it was more fun to be a Mets fan than a Yankees fan.
Well, things have changed in the Big Apple.
Sure, a new Quinnipiac Poll says there are now more Mets fans than Yankees fan in New York City, due in large part to the Mets' recent run of playoff appearances while the Yankees have played in just one postseason game in the last four years. Regardless of whatever crazy numbers the people up at Quinnipiac came up with, we think Yankees fans are having a whole lot more fun one month into the 2017 season than their Queens counterparts.
The Yankees are young, they're decidedly underdogs for a change, and aren't dropping like flies the way the Mets are. They're playing above their expectations, hitting the cover off the ball, and restoring Yankee fans' faith that the quest for title No. 28 isn't four or five years away—it starts right now since the Bronx Bombers have one of the best records in baseball.
But there are plenty of other reasons why we felt we needed to revisit our list and switch things up. So dig into the six reasons why being a Yankees fan is way more fun right now than being a Mets fan.
The ghosts are in full effect.
The ghosts are the main reason why, when building their new castle, the Yankees used the dirt from the old stadium. Twenty-six World Series rings were won on that field, and they continued that tradition by winning No. 27 in the new stadium’s inaugural season. The Yanks have only made the postseason three times since. (I don't count the Wild Card game in 2014 as a playoff appearance.) Fast forward to this season, and it seems like the ghosts are in full effect. Their young guys are coming along faster than expected and their epic 10-inning comeback last week against the Orioles has the Bronx feeling optimistic for the future. It may be too soon for the Yankees to realistically contend, but it's definitely a familiar feeling. The Baby Bombers will be champions within the next five years—book it. —Angel Diaz
Aaron Judge is a gawd.
Speaking of ghosts, how else do you explain Aaron Judge’s season so far? The kid is trying to bring that Sultan of Swat feeling back to the Bronx. As of right now, the Judge is batting .330 with 13 home runs, 27 RBIs, a .433 on base percentage, and two multi-HR games already in this young season. When he lays the gavel down, you’re basically BBQ chicken, staring down the barrel of 25 to life without the possibility of parole. And we thought Gary Sanchez’s 20 homers in 53 games last year was a big deal. Gary and Aaron back-to-back in the lineup is a scary proposition for any pitching staff. Just you wait until Sanchez comes back into the fold. The whole American League is gonna be shook. —A.D.
The Yankees pitching staff is dealing.
Four of the Mets' starting pitchers are either coming off of injury or are injured. Steven Matz and Seth Lugo just started throwing off the rubber; Matt Harvey is kinda, sorta back; and Noah Syndergaard is possibly done for the year, or for three months at the very least. Each of those guys is younger than 30 with hella upside, but this season already seems to be a wash. The Yanks, on the other hand, have a nice mix of youth and age in their rotation, and in their bullpen, which is fifth best team ERA in the majors and holding teams to a .233 batting average. Hopefully, the Mets gets healthy because their young arms are as promising as a pitching staff could be. They’re looking like the Cubs when they had Mark Prior and Kerry Woods, though. —A.D.
The Yankees have the superior farm system.
Once upon a time, the roles were reversed. The Mets were lauded for having a loaded farm system full of future flame throwers and awesome young talent. On the other hand, the Yankees’ farm system was a barren wasteland full of throw-ins from lopsided trades and washed-out draft picks.
But when Brian Cashman committed last year to doing what only a few years ago would have been considered unthinkable—holding a trading deadline fire sale of his best assets—he reaped the rewards of a sound rebuilding philosophy. ESPN’s Keith Law, one of the experts in the wholly unscientific practice of ranking farm systems, put the Yankees No. 2 on his list of best systems this past January after Cashman turned Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller into huge prospect hauls. The Yankees used to regularly hover toward the bottom of that list, but now feature notable names on the verge of becoming everyday impact players in the majors like Clint Frazier, Gleybar Torress, and Justus Sheffield.
The Mets, meanwhile, ended up a respectable 7th on Law’s list. And while they may own Law’s No. 3 prospect in shortstop Amed Rosario, they don’t have nearly as many in the top 100 (five) as the Yankees do (six). —Adam Caparell
The Yankees are underdogs for a change.
The Yankees being underdogs is a rare occurrence, which makes this surprise start even more entertaining. CC, Masahiro Tanaka, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Alrodis Chapman are the big names, each with a couple decent years left in the tank. Not to mention the farm system and the young guys putting in work both at the plate and on the field. For one of the first times in a while they don’t have a marquee name like a Derek Jeter or an Alex Rodriguez on the roster, and don’t have high expectations, making this season a pressure-free fun fest. Take your kids to the game, maybe watch a comeback, and probably see an Aaron Judge moonshot hit a plane. There’s no win-now mentality this season, no media scrutiny, no jobs on the line, so enjoy it Yankee fans because with the talent this roster has and the free agents on the horizon, this feeling won’t last for long. Meanwhile, the Mets were expected to compete for the N.L. East crown and have stumbled out of the blocks. The crew over in Queens have their fans quivering over the prospects of a wasted season as their window to win a World Series is rapidly closing. —A.D.
Yankee Stadium is making strides.
As a Yankee fan, it’s tough to defend the new Stadium (the third iteration, for those of you counting at home). The intimacy of the old park was completely lost when the new building that George Steinbrenner built opened in 2009. Nobody sits in the insanely expensive seats behind home plate. It’s not nearly as loud as the old stadium. It wasn’t built strictly for baseball the way Citi Field was. And since its opening, the food offerings have paled in comparison to what’s available in Queens.
But the Yankees have made major strides this season with the concessions. And while they’re still trailing the Mets—who feature the holy grail of fast-food burger joints in Shake Shack, Blue Smoke, Fuku, Pat LaFrieda’s Original Filet Mignon Steak Sandwich, and Bao Hau, among others—if you visit the Bronx you can now score some prime dishes from the likes of Mighty Quinn’s, Parm, and Lobel’s. That's a huge improvement over the general garbage they were offering the last few years. —A.C.
Tradition never takes a season off.
The Mets have been the hot team the past few seasons, but we all know the Amazins can't touch the tradition of the Yankees. We won't even compare number of division titles, pennants, World Series, retired numbers, and Hall of Famers because it's not a fair fight. The Bronx Bombers will always top the Mets when it comes to prestige and legacy and the only way the Mets will even come close is if they start ripping off runs to the World Series at a pace matched by the Yankees of the 40s and 50s. But we all know that's not happening. Yes, there are heavy expectations for the Yankees. It's championships or bust in the Bronx every year while a nice run in the playoffs is a phenomenal season for the Mets since it rarely happens. As screwed up as it might sound, and as impossible as it is to meet the expectations in today's game, plenty of fans will tell that they'd rather root for a team that says anything less than a World Series ring is a failure. — A.C.