One of the best professional sports towns in America is New York City. It is full of people and sports fanatics with many varying opinions. The city is also home to multiple sports teams in the same league.
For example, the New York Yankees and New York Mets are two of the most popular teams in MLB. But they both have entirely different fanbases. One player who has had the experience of playing for both teams spoke about the differences between the fanbases.
Harrison Bader Speaks on New York Rivalry
Minnesota Twins outfielder Harrison Bader has spent time on many different teams, two of which were the Mets and Yankees. He knows as well as anyone what it is like to play in that city.
Bader joined “Foul Territory” to discuss both fanbases and said, “There’s no gray area. If you play for the Yankees, you know exactly who’s rooting for you. If you play for the Mets, you know exactly who’s rooting for you.”
"There's no gray area. If you play for the Yankees, you know exactly who's rooting for you. If you play for the Mets, you know exactly who's rooting for you."
Harrison Bader breaks down the difference between playing for the Yankees and Mets. 👇 pic.twitter.com/dGGRKpbPmB
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) March 18, 2025
Mets fans do not like the Yankees, and Yankees fans do not like the Mets. Rivalries like this make MLB fun. Many New York fans look forward to the Subway Series each year when these teams face off.
But this season, the Subway Series will have a little more juice. That is because Juan Soto left the Yankees to sign with the Mets. A player like Soto leaving to sign with an intercity rival would upset any fanbase.
Pitching Woes in the Big Apple
Both New York teams will enter the 2025 season with a common issue: a lack of starting pitching. The Yankees lost Gerrit Cole for the season and Luis Gil for an extended period, while the Mets are down Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas for at least the beginning of the season.
Also, both teams have the misfortune of playing in a tough division. The AL/NL East is full of teams expected to compete for the playoffs, so there will be no time to ease into the season.
Last season, we almost had these two teams meet in the World Series, but the Mets lost in the NLCS to the Dodgers. On paper, both of these teams have a chance to win the World Series.
However, if the injuries continue to pile up, it would not be surprising if both teams miss the postseason.