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Look back at: Divisional Playoffs |
League Championship
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Friday, October 20
Winning aside, Yankees and Mets are far different
By Bob Klapisch
Special to ESPN.com
Any out-of-towner -- anyone who actually needs a map to navigate New York
City -- understandably thinks the Mets and Yankees are separated only by a
skinny body of water (the East River). By one bridge (the Triborough). And a
straight, eight-mile drive on the Major Deegan Expressway to the Grand
Central Parkway (which is always jammed).
Sounds easy. Sounds friendly. Sounds downright neighborly.
Truth is, the Mets and Yankees couldn't be further apart -- from the
personality of their clubhouses, to the way their front offices operate, even
in the type of fans they attract.
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New York is in a state of siege for the next week. This isn't just a World Series, it's a war. A holy war. Pray we all survive this. ” |
Mets GM Steve Phillips concedes, "the Yankees are in a unique position,
because they're the world champs. They've been on center state for a long
time, and they're obviously the premier team in baseball."
He's right: the Yankees are a corporate monolith; the Mets are a start-up
venture that's just launched an IPO. The Mets have a mascot, Mr. Met. The
Yankees wouldn't lower themselves to that.
The Yankees wear the conservative Pinstripes and have never needed names
on the back of their jersey. The Mets have three different sets of uniforms
and aren't ashamed to use every in-game gimmick to keep their fans at full
volume.
Not that anyone needs to be artificially pumped up for the Subway Series;
this is a New York holy war, a collision not just of two teams, but two
different philosophies, which is why the matchup is so irresistible, even to
outsiders.
The Mets may be the hotter team, having flattened both the Giants and
Cardinals this month, and it's true the Yankees struggled in both the
AL Division Series and the ALCS. But the Bombers have 25 world championships
to the Mets' two, and have been the virtual rulers of the major league
universe since 1996.
And for those who think the Yankees' reign is about to end, owner George
Steinbrenner said yesterday, "when the pressure's on, we'll be there again.
Don't you worry."
Of course, it's Steinbrenner himself who sets the Yankees apart from the
Mets. He runs the Bombers single-handedly, signing off on all major personnel
decision, and paying all the bills. The Boss' overbearing presence is felt
everywhere at the Stadium, even when he's not in New York.
Stadium security is far heavier than at Shea and employees work in a
constant level of fear of a surprise visit from Steinbrenner -- or even an
unexpected phone call. As one senior official put it, "there are secretaries
here who worry about not picking up the phone fast enough, because it could
be George on the other end. And the minute he walks into the ballpark, forget it,
everyone knows."
Even the gentle Joe Torre seemed to have been affected by the uptight nature
of his surroundings. Torre allows reporters one group Q-and-A per day,
usually during batting practice, after which it's literally impossible to get
him alone.
By contrast, Mets manager Bobby Valentine will talk to any reporter at
any time. He usually receives visitors behind the batting cage during BP, and
feels so comfortable with the media, he's been known to let reporters linger in
his office until minutes before game time.
Unlike the Yankees, who seem to be constantly on guard, watching what
they say, the Mets generally like the press. They like the attention and are
reveling in the possibility of actually puncturing the Yankees' air of
superiority.
Just as Phillips says, the Mets realize they're New York's second team --
in terms of prestige and money. The Mets admit they're at their financial
limit with an $88 million payroll, and are wondering how they'd be able to
afford both Mike Hampton and free agent Alex Rodriguez on the same budget
next year, since the two would fatten the Mets' overhead to $100 million a
year.
The Yankees, of course, only worry about winning. The cash-concerns come
later. "They have no budget," one Met official said enviously. "We run our
operation more like a business. We're not willing to take a (financial) loss
for the sake of signing a player. The Yankees obviously do things
differently."
Although the Mets are hardly impoverished, they do appeal to more of a
working-class audience, most of them from Queens and Long Island who
absolutely loathe the Yankees' corporate-clientele.
Al Leiter, who was groomed as a Yankee in the '80s, said, "there's no
doubt the Yankees draw more of a Manhattan, Wall Street, after-work type of
fan. That's why you see so many empty seats in the first couple of innings
there, because people are late getting out of the office. The fans here (at
Shea) live and die for this team. They're here before BP."
Indeed, Met fans are so hungry for a winner, they create an atmosphere
that borders on hostility towards opposing players. Leiter said, "I had a
couple of Giants tell me they were kind of intimidated here. They said, 'your
fans are crazy.' And that's not the first time I've heard that."
Which is why New York is in a state of siege for the next week. This
isn't just a World Series, it's a war. A holy war. Pray we all survive this.
Bob Klapisch of the Bergen (N.J.) Record covers baseball for ESPN.com.
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