Only two cities in the United States have two Major League Baseball teams, New York and Chicago. In the first, the Mets and the Yankees and in the second Cubs and White Sox.
There are states that have two or more clubs, like Ohio (Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Guardians), Texas (Astros and Rangers), and California is the most abundant with Oakland, Dodgers, Angels, San Diego, San Francisco. In Florida there are two, the Miami and Tampa Bay Marlins, in the state of Missouri there are the St. Louis Cardinals and the Kansas City Royals and finally in Pennsylvania the Pirates and the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Yankees were born in the 19th century, the Mets in 1962 and they are the youngest, but in 2000 the opportunity arose to see these teams face each other in a world series.
The managers of the teams were Joe Torre, of the Yankees, and Bobby Valentine of the Mets. It was also the case that the Yankees were looking for their third crown in a row since they had been champions the last two years. The Mets were champions in 1986 against Boston and had not returned to the October classic.
THE FIGURES
The Yankees were in the midst of a dynasty that had been champions 3 of the last 4 years. And in that 2000 version there were Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, Orlando-Duque-Hernandez, left-hander Denny Neagle, who made up the main rotation, with Mariano Rivera as the closer.
On offense, the Yankees had their entire squad with Jorge Posada as catcher, Tino Martínez in the first, the second was defended by the Dominican José Vizcaíno, Derek Jeter in short, who won the MVP award, and in the third Luis Soy. Chuck Knoblauch was second and DH, and in the outfield were Bernie Williams, Paul Oneill and Dave Justice.
And the Mets? Their basic pitching featured Rick Reed, Bobby Jones, Mike Hampton and Al Leiter, pitchers who had a good year. John Franco was the table preparer and Armando Benítez the closer.
On offense, outfielders Timo Pérez, Jay Payton and Benny Agbayani, Mike Piazza was a catcher, infielder Edgardo Alfonzo, Todd Zeile and Robin Ventura, among others.
The Yankees won the first two at Yankee Stadium, the Mets won the 3rd at home, but then lost the other two. The Yankees won 4-1, their 26th title.
A LITTLE MORE: Derek Jeter was the MVP of this world series with his good defense and a batting of 22-9, average in .409, 2 home runs and OBP of .480… The Yankees would win another title later, in 2009, reaching 27 crowns. The Mets were champions in 1969 and 1986.
DOMINICANS: What did the Dominicans do in this world series called the Subway series? José Vizcaíno, second baseman of the Yankees, hit 4-for-17 for .235, Luis Poland went 1-2, Timo Pérez 2-16, and Armando Benítez in 3 games, 3 hits, one run.
PERSPECTIVE: This year we talk about the Yankees and the Mets because they both lead their divisions thanks to good starts. As of last night, the Yankees have a 46-16 record, with a 9-game lead over Toronto. The Mets, on their side, 41-23, leaders of the National East Division, 4 over Atlanta. In wins, the Yankees have 30 games over .500 (positive), the Mets have 18.