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Look back at: Divisional Playoffs |
League Championship
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Friday, October 20
There's Yankee Stadium ... and then there's Shea
By Jayson Stark
ESPN.com
NEW YORK -- One team plays in the House that Ruth Built. The other team plays in the House that Kranepool Built.
One team is playing in its 37th World Series. The other team is playing in its 39th season.
One team is the franchise of Ruth and Gehrig and DiMaggio. The other team is still trying to make people forget it was once the franchise of Choo Choo Coleman and Jay Hook and Marv Throneberry.
This is your matchup for the first World Series of the 2000s. In one corner, New York. In the other corner, New York.
|  | | Here's the scene from a picturesque day at the House that Ruth Built. |
It may be Yankees-Mets between the lines. But it will be all NEW YORK NEW YORK NEW YORK NEW YORK all the time everywhere else.
However, as the visionary web site ESPN.com always aspires to be, we feel obliged to point out something none of those other Subway Series hypesters seem to have noticed:
If you send a team of miners to chip away below the subway platforms, we bet they'll find that geography is about the only thing these teams have in common.
This is the actual truth. And no one knows it better than the two franchises involved -- because they're being measured against each other pretty much 12 months a year.
"We can't avoid it," said Yankees GM Brian Cashman, as his team worked out Friday for Saturday's World Series opener. "We're both in the same city."
Yeah, but when you get right down to it, what else do they share? Think about it. If they weren't linked by their area codes, what would their common denominator be?
It isn't their histories. It isn't their ballparks. It isn't even their unique place in (or out of) LaGuardia's flight paths.
Face it. Before you spend the next week and a half grumbling about all the rampaging New Yorkness of this World Series, we want you to take a few moments to contemplate how different the Mets and Yankees really are.
And we'll prove it, with the assistance of longtime New York baseball authorities Ron Swoboda and Tug McGraw, in this ultimate World Series breakdown:
Yankees history vs. Mets history
When the Yankees arrive in the World Series, they don't exactly need to stop and ask directions.
They'd played in 36 of these World Series before they ever threw a pitch in this one. They'd won 25 of them. In fact, nearly 20 percent of all the World Series games ever played have been won by the Yankees -- including 100 percent of the last two. Perhaps you noticed that.
The Mets, on the other hand, come from a slightly different background.
"The Mets had to pull themselves up from the bottom rung of the ladder," said Swoboda, one of nine players to play 100 games in his career for both the Mets and the Yankees. "And I mean the bottom. When I started with the Mets (in 1965), they should have put a disclaimer on the tickets: 'Anything resembling major-league baseball is purely coincidental.' "
Oh, the Yankees have had a few seasons like that themselves, of course. But then they'd go out and win two or three more World Series, which does an excellent job of blotting out any memories of Horace Clarke or Oscar Azocar.
Naturally, we shouldn't forget that the Mets have also won two glorious World Series -- in 1969 and 1986. But whereas the Yankees' most memorable Series moment is the Babe's called shot in '32, the Mets' most memorable October freeze-frame wasn't even perpetrated by a Met.
When the club held a contest last year to determine the greatest moment in Mets history, the winner was ... (who else?) ... Bill Buckner, who played for the Red Sox at the time.
Not that any Mets fans are complaining about his contributions, even now. That's just getting to be a while ago. That's all. Not to suggest it's been a long time since that last Mets World Series or anything -- but since then, the Yankees have won 44 games just in the postseason.
And the Mets hate that kind of talk. Because as hard as they try, as much money as they spend, as many games as they win, you can't blame them for feeling as if they're never going to be the Yankees.
Unless, of course, they beat the Yankees. And this is their chance.
"It's kind of like that old David and Goliath thing," said McGraw. "It's a rite of passage. For the Mets to beat the Yankees in the World Series, it would be the greatest rite of passage of all time. It would be like climbing Mount Everest. If they beat the Yankees, they're there. They're at the top of the mountain. And if they don't, they've got to keep on climbing."
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It's kind of like that old David and Goliath thing. It's a rite of passage. For the Mets to beat the Yankees in the World Series, it would be the greatest rite of passage of all time. It would be like climbing Mount Everest. If they beat the Yankees, they're there. They're at the top of the mountain. And if they don't, they've got to keep on climbing. ” |
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— Former Met Tug McGraw |
Yankees uniforms vs. Mets uniforms
The Yankees wear those legendary pinstripes, the most famous uniforms in sports. They're so perfect, they've barely changed in a century.
The Mets, on the other hand, have had some serious color-scheme crises to attend to.
"The Mets' problem," Swoboda said, "was that their uniforms were an amalgam of the old Dodgers and Giants ... Dodger blue, Giants orange. So forget the whole pinstripes thing. The Mets had pinstripes, too. But the thing is, the Yankees' colors are cool. That's why I'd say more women like the Yankees. The colors have a lot to do with it.
"You could dress in Yankees colors. You could go out for the evening wearing Yankees blue. But if you went out dressed in that Mets blue and orange, you'd have people wondering if you worked at Burger King."
So in recent years, the Mets have tried to phase in black as their primary color and minimize that blue-and-orange motif. They call it marketing. What it really is, though, is damage control. At least when the Yankees do damage control, it's about Kenny Rogers or Danny Tartabull, not uniform colors.
Yankee Stadium vs. Shea Stadium
Built in 1923, renovated in 1975, Yankee Stadium still oozes history out of every blade of grass.
"By the time I got to the Yankees," said Swoboda, who had played seven big-league seasons before he came to the Yankees in 1971, "I'd been around. I'd played in the World Series. I wasn't a kid anymore. But when I put on those Yankee pinstripes and walked up the steps to the playing field, the short hairs on my neck literally stood up.
"And what was that about? Tradition. Babe Ruth. Lou Gehrig. Joe DiMaggio. Just to stand in the same outfield they stood in, I don't care what you've done in baseball. That means something."
But then there's Shea, a place whose biggest claim to fame is that it affords baseball's most spectacular view of the underside of every 737 in America.
"What can you say about Shea?" McGraw ruminated. "It was built on a swamp. And it's the end of a runway."
But at least it has an excuse. It was constructed in the early '60s, when architects thought roundness passed for state-of-the-art.
Yankee Stadium has its storied facades. Shea has a scoreboard larger than South Dakota.
Yankee Stadium has its monuments. "In Shea," McGraw said, "they've got tomatoes in the bullpen."
Yankee Stadium has a living, breathing neighborhood surrounding it. It might not be Beverly Hills, but it's full of real people, leading real lives, running real businesses.
Not that Shea doesn't have a neighborhood. It's just occupied by more loose fenders than people.
"It's a great neighborhood," Swoboda said, "if you want to get your car taken apart. There are a lot of places around Shea that will be happy to take your car apart -- and then sell off all of it, piece by piece."
The great thing about ballparks, however, is that they're about more than mere architecture, more than mere tomatoes in the bullpen, more than a little jetliner-induced hearing loss.
"Shea Stadium literally has no charm," McGraw said. "But when it's filled with people and there's action on the field, that's the beauty of it. Its ability to overcome its shortcomings is manufactured by the fact that baseball is played there. All it has going for it is games and people. But that's enough."
Yankees traditions vs. Mets traditions
The Yankees' most celebrated promotion is Old Timers Day, when living legends put on the famous pinstripes one more time and trot onto the diamond in the grand cathedral of baseball, as thousands cheer.
The Mets' most longstanding promotion was the now-defunct Banner Day, when every New Yorker with a bedsheet could scrawl a slogan with a magic marker and march around Shea, as everyone else tried their best to read their sloppy handwriting.
"They used to hold it between games of a Sunday doubleheader," McGraw remembered. "And they used to have a player or two represent the team on a committee that picked the winning banner.
"So the first Banner Day I ever witnessed was my rookie year. Before the game, Ed Kranepool comes up and says, 'Hey, McGraw, you're a lucky guy.' I said, 'How come?' He said, 'We voted you to be the judge for Banner Day.' I said, 'Really? Hey, that's great.' Two hours later -- when I was still sitting in the dugout and there were 200 or 300 banners still to come -- I realized it wasn't such a great honor.
"But I remember that my first year, I picked the winning banner. And I still remember what it said: 'To Error is Human. To Forgive is a Mets Fan.' How could you ever forget that one?"
Yankees transportation vs. Mets transportation
The Yankees have the No. 4 train and the Major Deegan Expressway. The Mets have the No. 7 train and the Grand Central Expressway.
We'll leave the subway analysis to John Rocker. But essentially, a subway is a subway is a subway.
Highways, however, are different. Especially in New York. Where you often have plenty of time to peruse the scenery, because actual movement isn't an option.
From the Major Deegan, you get a spectacular view of the Stadium. And on a clear day, you can see the Manhattan skyline.
From the Grand Central, you go right past LaGuardia. And later you can check out Shea, the Flushing Meadow tennis complex and the old World's Fair Giant Globe.
But often, you're checking out nothing more than the license plate of the car in front of you -- because you two are seemingly bonded for life.
"With my World Series check," McGraw recalled, "I bought myself a Mercedes 280SL. And I used to drive it down the Grand Central. But I always got stuck in traffic. And for some reason, I get real drowsy in traffic.
"So one day in '70, I was driving in heavy traffic near the airport. Traffic was moving at less than a mile an hour. And I dozed off, rear-ended somebody and damaged the fender on my new Mercedes. After that, I said, 'I'd better go back to taking the train.' "
Yankees numbers vs. Mets numbers
Like the Yankees, all Mets wear numbers. And when the Mets play anybody else, their numbers look just fine.
But when they play the Yankees, it's trouble -- because there are no numbers like Yankees numbers.
No. 3 on the Yankees means the great Bambino. No. 3 on the Mets means who exactly -- Rafael Santana?
No. 7 on the Yankees means Mickey Mantle. No. 7 on the Mets brings to mind which legendary Flushing hero: Amado Samuel? Elio Chacon? Ed Kranepool?
Even the Mets' very best players have trouble competing in this department. Rusty Staub, for example, was a fine No. 4. As is Robin Ventura. But he's no Lou Gehrig.
John Olerud was an exemplary No. 5. But he was no DiMaggio.
Gary Carter held up his No. 8 against any catcher of his generation. It was just Yogi and Bill Dickey who caused him trouble.
Thank heaven for Casey Stengel. At least he had the good sense to have his No. 37 retired by both of them.
Yankees comedians vs. Mets comedians
The official comedian of The Bronx is Billy Crystal. He wore his Yankees cap stylishly in "When Harry Met Sally." He tells great Mickey Mantle stories. And he's just finishing up a major Yankees motion picture, entitled, " '61.' "
But the Mets win this matchup, because their own official comedian, Mr. Jerry Seinfeld, ladies and gentlemen, not only got Roger McDowell and Keith Hernandez into show biz, he also lampooned the Yankees mercilessly.
We dare the Yankees to find a way to top George Costanza dragging the World Series trophy around from the back of his car. Or wiping his dirty hands on Babe Ruth's uniform. Or asking Steinbrenner, "What the hell did you trade Jay Buhner for? You don't know what you're doing."
Yankees malapropist vs. Mets malapropist
The Yankees had Phil Rizzuto. He was a one-time Hall of Fame shortstop. He had a vintage New York accent. And he made himself thoroughly beloved for saying stuff (after a line-drive single to center) like: "He walked him ... No, he didn't."
But there has never been a malapropping machine like Mets legend Ralph Kiner, a beloved Hall of Famer himself.
Ralph once called David Cone "the pitcher of the year for the month of July." He once reported that pitcher Keith Comstock, an apparent professional hostage, had "been released by four different countries."
He once mistook Milt May for Mel Ott, called Dan Driessen "Diane Driessen" and even mispronounced his own name -- as Ron Kiner.
And how could you not love a guy who once missed a bunch of late-inning defensive changes during a spring-training game, got confused by a between-innings pick-the-music contest and announced: "In center field, that's John Fogarty."
Sorry there, Scooter. There's only one Ralph.
Yankees music vs. Mets music
For decades, the Yankees have had Robert Merrill to sing the Anthem, with deep, operatic dignity. The Mets, on the other hand, are still searching for the ultimate answer to Robert Merrill.
"We had Jane Jarvis on the organ," McGraw said. "I used to like Jane Jarvis. She always played an Irish jig when I came in. I like that."
But these days, you need music to celebrate by after games, too. And again, the Yankees go the classic route: i.e., Sinatra. After they won the World Series last October, they spread that news for 45 consecutive minutes.
Which leaves the Mets in a bind, especially in an October like this. The appropriate way to salute a triumph in an all-New York World Series would clearly be, "New York, New York." But that's Yankees music.
So this World Series has a chance to answer one of baseball's ultimate questions:
If you can make it there, does that mean you can also let the dogs out?
Yankees confetti vs. Mets confetti
Finally, every New York World Series victory has to end with a major parade. And so will this one.
Now you may think all parades look alike. But a close check of New York's long-time parade history shows that isn't true.
"I'll give a challenge to the city of New York," McGraw said. "The Mets left more garbage after their parade in '69 than any parade in the history of New York. I know that, because the sanitation department made a big thing out of it."
Now normally, all records are made to be broken. So once Boss Steinbrenner reads about this one, you might think he could deploy his massive confetti department to work on that much-coveted parade-garbage mark. But McGraw says he's just wasting his time.
"That record will never be broken," he said, "because you can't open the windows now. All the buildings are climate-controlled.
"So win, lose or draw," said Tug McGraw, "we'll still have the sanitation record."
And that, friends, is a New York-New York matchup category we defy you to read at any other web site in our great universe.
Jayson Stark is a senior writer at ESPN.com.
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