New York baseball is finally something to talk about again, after the Mets and Yankees have both made the playoffs this year. One team’s road was easier than the other though.
New York Yankees
After getting Juan Soto this off-season, the Yankees were World Series favorites. After the Mets sold on the trade deadline last year, they didn’t get any notable free agents this off-season. Subsequently, nobody saw them making the postseason, let alone the second round of the playoffs.
The Yankees finished 1st in the American League pretty easily. Even though they ran into some trouble in the second half of the season, they were able to hold on to the division, despite competition from Baltimore.
The Yanks finished with a record of 94-68, led by Aaron Judge and Juan Soto. Judge had another amazing season, finished with 58 home runs, all while maintaining a .322 batting average. Soto had an amazing season of his own, hitting 41 home runs, a career high, while having a .288 batting average.
These two players single-handedly carried the Yankees offense this season. Many players got off to hot starts, such as shortstop Anthony Volpe, but nobody was able to maintain their greatness for as long as Judge and Soto did.
The Yankees starting pitching was a problem all year, plagued by injuries and bad performances. But when it mattered, they showed up. Even the bullpen was really shaky, but once closer Clay Holmes was replaced by Luke Weaver, the bullpen got a lot better.
New York Mets
The Mets notably started off their season 0-5 and were declared “out of playoff contention” by fans and sports writers in early June.
Those same fans and writers then went on a tear.
The Mets finished with a record of 89-73 this season and had a 65-40 since June 1st. An outstanding season by Francisco Lindor, along with notable sparks in the lineup such as Jose Iglesias and Mark Vientos, led this offense to be the threat that it is today.
The Mets pitching staff is what surprised me the most this year. They got most of their pitchers on short, one-year deals, with the expectation that they wouldn’t be competing this year. The Mets just wanted to put players on the field.
This pitching rotation ended up being the best in the league this year.
Led by Sean Manaea, Jose Quintana, Luis Severino, and David Peterson towards the end of the season, this pitching staff was practically unhittable after June. 35-year-old Quintana was pitching 7 inning shutouts almost every start, with Manaea and Severino also doing very well.
The Mets have made it to the NLCS with a team that shouldn’t have been as competitive as it ended up being. The best thing about this team is that they have nothing to lose. The Mets are 2 years ahead of schedule; they weren’t supposed to be good this year. Whatever happens next is a bonus.
The Mets and Yankees are on the verge of competing against each other in the World Series for the first time in 24 years. With the both reaching the NLCS and ALCS respectively, all they need are 4 more wins each.
I’m beyond excited to see what ends up happening to both of these spectacular New York teams.
