Monday, August 14, 2017

Remembering Game One of the 2000 Subway World Series

The 2000 World Series featured the New York Yankees and the New York Mets facing off in the World Series for the first time in their history. This was the first Subway Series since 1956 when the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Yankees faced off. Let's take the time to remember Game 1 of the 2000 World Series.


The Yankees sent Andy Pettitte to the mound to face off against the Mets Al Leiter on a very important date in baseball history, October 21st. This was the day that Carlton Fisk hit his home run in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series and on the same day the Philadelphia Phillies won their first World Series on this day in 1980. Both starting pitchers had shut outs going into the 6th inning until David Justice knocked a two run double to put the Yankees up 2-0. Andy Pettitte would quickly lose the lead in the 7th after hit after hit off the savvy lefty including an Edgardo Alfonzo hit to give the Mets the 3-2 lead. Chuck Knoblauch would have a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 9th inning off Mets closer Armando Benitez to tie the game and send it to extra innings. Jose Vizcaino would be the unlikeliest of heroes when he would knock in Tino Martinez with his fourth hit of the game to give the Yankees a 4-3 victory and a 1-0 lead in the Subway World Series. Mike Stanton would get the win and Mets pitcher Turk Wendell would take the loss.

Trade History Between the Yankees & Mets



Here's all 16 trades between the two clubs. You be the judge. Leave your thoughts in the comments section of the site or by tweeting us @GreedyStripes. Enjoy and Happy Hunting Cashman!


New York Mets selected Duke Carmel in free agent draft (Rule 5 Draft) on November 30, 1964.
New York Mets purchased Bob Friend from the New York Yankees on June 15, 1966.


New York Mets sold Chris Cannizzaro to the New York Yankees on December 7, 1966.


New York Mets purchased Hal Reniff from the New York Yankees on June 29, 1967.


New York Mets traded Roy Staiger to the New York Yankees for Sergio Ferrer on December 9, 1977.


New York Mets purchased Ray Burris from the New York Yankees on August 20, 1979.


April 1, 1980: New York Yankees purchase infielder Marshall Brandt from the New York Mets. 
New York Mets traded Felix Perdomo and Steve Ray to the New York Yankees for Tucker Ashford on April 18, 1983.


New York Mets traded Rafael Santana and Victor Garcia to the New York Yankees for Phil LombardiDarren Reedand Steve Frey on December 11, 1987.

July 10, 1989: Outfielder Marcus Lawton is traded from the Mets to the Yankees for pitcher Scott Nielsen. 

New York Mets traded Tim Burke to the New York Yankees for Lee Guetterman on June 9, 1992.

New York Mets traded Frank Tanana to the New York Yankees for Kenny Greer on September 17, 1993.



New York Mets traded Robin Ventura to the New York Yankees for David Justice on December 7, 2001.

New York Mets traded Armando Benitez to the New York Yankees for Jason AndersonAnderson Garcia and Ryan Bicondoa on July 16, 2003.

New York Mets traded Mike Stanton to the New York Yankees for Felix Heredia on December 3, 2004.

New York Yankees traded cash to the New York Mets for Domingo German.

There Was Almost Life After Sale...

Credit:  Paul J Bereswill-NY Post
Red Sox 3, Yankees 2...

The Yankees had victory in their hands but Aroldis Chapman was unable to hold a one-run lead in the 9th and the Yankees fell to the Boston Red Sox in extra innings.  

This was one tough.  I felt very uneasy with Chapman taking the mound.  The Yankees really needed an insurance run in the 8th when Didi Gregorius struck out in the bottom of the 8th with runners at the corners and two outs.  I was concerned that Chapman would not be able to hold a one-run advantage.  Unfortunately, I was right.  Dellin Betances may have righted the ship but Chapman has not.  I don't know if it's the World Series "hangover" (too many pitches thrown in an extended season), but...right now...the Yankees have two better closers in Betances and David Robertson.  

It was expected that Chris Sale would be tough and he was.  Entering the game, his season ERA was only 1.15 against the Yankees in two starts.  We could have used that 0.15 of a run.  After Boston had scored the game's first run in the top of the 5th on a run-scoring single by Jackie Bradley, Jr, the Yankees struck back against Sale when they got their turn at bat.  Chase Headley lined a one-out single to center.  After Ronald Torreyes struck out, Austin Romine tripled to right to score Headley.  Mookie Betts was at the wall but couldn't make the catch on Romine's hit.  The game was tied at 1.  It would be the sole run the Yankees would score off Sale.  He went 7 strong innings and only allowed 4 hits and the single run, while walking 2 and striking out 12.  

Credit:  Frank Franklin II-The Associated Press
Still, the Yankees had a chance.  Jordan Montgomery, struck in the head by a line drive during batting practice on Saturday, was excellent.  He kept the Yankees in the game, holding the Red Sox at bay to match Sale's dominance for 5 1/3 innings.  The Red Sox were able to get only two hits off Monty, and the run in the 5th.  Throwing 84 pitches, Monty did walk 3 batters but struck out 4.  

Credit:  Jason Scenes-EPA
With Sale out of the game, the Yankees finally broke through with a run in the 8th against Red Sox reliever Matt Barnes.  Aaron Hicks worked a one-out walk.  Aaron Judge singled to right, Hicks moved to second.  Another walk, this time to Gary Sanchez, loaded the bases.    Todd Frazier hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Hicks with the go-ahead run.  The Yankees led, 2-1.  The Red Sox pulled Barnes and replaced him with reliever Robby Scott to face Didi Gregorius.  A single by Didi in this spot would have been huge, but sadly Scott struck out Didi on three pitches.

Enter Aroldis Chapman, goodbye potential win.  With two strikes on Rafael Devers, Chapman unleashed a 103 mph fastball and Devers was ready for it.  Brett Gardner and Aaron Hicks could only watch as the ball landed over the wall in left center.  The game was tied.

Credit:  Bill Kostroun
The Yankees could have won the game in the bottom of the 9th.  With Addison Reed pitching, Chase Headley led off with a walk.  Ronald Torreyes laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Headley to second.  Jacoby Ellsbury, pinch hitting for Austin Romine, grounded out to first, but Headley was able to advance to third.  The potential winning run just 90 feet away.  The Sox replaced Reed with closer Craig Kimbrel to face Brett Gardner.  It was a big opportunity for Gardy but but he struck out to end the inning.

Aroldis Chapman was still on the mound when the Yankees took the field in the 10th.  With one out, he hit Jackie Bradley, Jr with a pitch and walked Eduardo Nunez.  Manager Joe Girardi finally had the stones to remove Chapman and replaced him with Tommy Kahnle.  Kahnle walked the first batter he faced (Mookie Betts) to load the bases.  Andrew Benintendi's single to right scored JBJ with the go-ahead run.  Kahnle was able to retire the next two batters but the damage had been done.  The Sox were up, 3-2.

Craig Kimbrel easily retired the Yankees in the bottom of the 10th, and the Red Sox walked off the field with the game and series win.

It won't get any easier when the Yankees play in Boston next weekend.  The Red Sox do not fear Chapman, nor should they have any reason to.  "He's my closer", Joe Girardi said after the game.  Live by the sword, die by the sword.  

Credit:  Frank Franklin II-The Associated Press
The Yankees (61-55) fell a season high 5 1/2 games behind the Red Sox in the AL East.  They had a chance to make a statement and it didn't happen.  The Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles were unable to make up any ground on the Yankees.  The Rays lost, 4-3, to the Cleveland Indians while the O's were thumped, 9-3, by the Oakland A's.  The A's are 3 1/2 games behind the Yankees, while the O's are trailing by four.  The Yankees hold the Wild Card advantage by 1 1/2 games over the Los Angeles Angels (where did they come from?...) and 2 games over Jaime Garcia's former team (for 6 days), the Minnesota Twins.  

Aaron Hicks made a great diving catch in the first inning to rob Eduardo Nunez of an extra-base hit.  

Aaron Judge had three more strikeouts on Sunday to extend his consecutive game streak to 30.  He trails the record that Adam Dunn set, for non-pitchers, in 2012 with strikeouts in 32 consecutive games.  The Yankees really need Judge to make the necessary adjustments to get out of this funk if they are to have any October aspirations.

Credit:  Mike Stobe-Getty Images

Next Up:  New York Mets at Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY (2) and Citi Field, Flushing, NY (2)...

The Yankees play a quick two-game set at home against the Mets before the series resumes at Citi Field for two games beginning on Wednesday.  The series follows some recent bad blood between the two teams over contentious failed trade negotiations leading up to the trading deadline.

Here are the pitching match-ups:

TODAY
Mets:  Rafael Montero (1-8, 6.06 ERA)
Yankees:  Luis Cessa (0-3, 4.83 ERA)

TUESDAY
Mets:  Jacob DeGrom (13-5, 3.21 ERA)
Yankees:  Sonny Gray (6-7, 3.39 ERA)

WEDNESDAY
Yankees:  Jaime Garcia (1-1, 5.82 ERA)
Mets:  Seth Lugo (5-3, 4.85 ERA)

THURSDAY
Yankees:  Luis Severino (9-5, 3.32 ERA)
Mets:  Steven Matz (2-6, 5.54 ERA)

May Sonny Gray and Jaime Garcia finally got some runs to work with, and may Luis Severino pitch much, much better than he did last Saturday against the Red Sox.  As for Cessa today, at least he's facing a pitcher with 8 losses and ERA above six.  

Odds & Ends...

Prior to Sunday's game, the Yankees returned reliever Giovanny Gallegos to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and recalled LHP Caleb Smith (who had been scheduled to pitch for the RailRiders on Sunday but was scratched with the promotion).  LHP Nestor Cortes made the start for SWB in Smith's place.  Cortes didn't get the win but he held the Durham Bulls to one hit and one unearned run in 4 2/3 innings.  With no free passes, he struck out eight.  The RailRiders won the game on a two-run homer by Ji-Man Choi in the top of the 9th.

The Texas Rangers have released infielder Pete Kozma who was on the Yankees' opening day roster as an injury replacement for Didi Gregorius.  The Rangers had previously sold reliever Ernesto Frieri, who was in spring training with the Yankees, to the Seattle Mariners for $1 earlier in the week.  

The Houston Astros have acquired reliever Tyler Clippard from the Chicago White Sox for a player to be named later or cash considerations.  Clippard rebuilt his stock after the trade   from the Yankees to the White Sox.  Although he lost his first appearance for the White Sox, he won his only other decision in 11 appearances and finished with a 1.80 ERA and two saves.  The Astros get a much better pitcher than the Yankees had earlier this year.

Have a great Monday!  A win today would be great!  Let's Go Yankees!

UPDATED: The History of the Subway Series

1997: 

Dave Milicki throws a complete game shutout to win the very first game but the Yankees would take the next two to win the Subway Series 2-1.

1998:

Mike Piazza was added to the Mets to add fuel to the rivalry, also in hopes of the Mets having a playoff push, but the Yankees still won the Subway Series 2-1

1999:

Interleague Play was expanded to where both teams hosted a series. The Mets won their series 2-1 at Shea Stadium and the Yankees won their series 2-1 at Yankee Stadium.

2000: 

On July, 8 2000 the Yankees and Mets played a split doubleheader, one game at Yankee Stadium and one game at Shea Stadium, and the Yankees took both games 4-2. The Yankees would win that season series and these two teams would meet in the World Series with the Yankees taking home the championship in five games.

2001: 

Yankees win the series 4-2

2002:

Yankees win the series 4-2

2003:

The Yankees won all six games to sweep the season series for the first time.

2004: 

The Mets would win their first Subway Series 4-2 after sweeping the Yankees in Shea Stadium.

2005:

The Mets won their first series at Yankee Stadium this season and almost swept the Yankees at Yankee Stadium before Jason Giambi had a ninth inning game winning hit to split the season series 3-3.

2006: 

These two teams would split the season series 3-3.

2007: 

These two teams would split the season series 3-3.

2008: 

The New York Mets would win the Subway Series for only the second time and got their first sweep at Yankee Stadium. Mets win the series 4-2.

2009: 

The Mets were swept at Citi Field and would lose two of three games at Yankee Stadium to lose the series 5-1.

2010: 

These two teams would split the season series 3-3.

2011: 

Yankees won the series 4-2 just days after Derek Jeter joined the 3,000 hit club.

2012: 

The Mets could only scamper one win and lose the series 5-1.

2013: 

The Yankees offense was nonexistent and for the first time the Mets swept all four games against the Yankees.

2014:

The Yankees and Mets split the new four game Subway Series while neither made any ground in the overall standings.


2015:

The Yankees took 2/3 from the Mets inside Yankee Stadium and then another 2/3 from these same Mets inside Citi Field. Another season series victory. 

2016:

The Yankees and Mets split the new four game Subway Series while neither made any ground in the overall standings.



2017:

To be continued....

Total Yankees Wins: 62
Total Mets Wins: 47

This Day In New York Yankees History 8/14: RIP Phil Rizzuto


The best part about being a fan of the New York Yankees is the history, the aura, and the prestige of watching not only a team that wins a lot but watching one that expects to win a lot. The worst part about being a fan of the Bronx Bombers is watching those players grow old, retire, and eventually pass away. This was the case on this day in 2007 when Yankees legend and play by play man Phil "Scooter" Rizzuto passed away in his sleep. Rizzuto was the oldest living Hall of Famer at the time when he passed away at a New Jersey nursing home from complications with pneumonia. Rizzuto was 89 years old.

Scooter was the Yankees shortstop during the dynasty seasons in the 1940's and 50's, appeared in numerous commercials, did color commentary for the Yankees, and even sung with Meat Loaf on his song "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" that won a Grammy.

Also on this day in 1933, a little happier moment in Yankees history, New York retired the #44 jersey of Reggie Jackson in a pre-game ceremony. Mr. October was fresh off an induction into the Hall of Fame after playing with the Yankees from 1977-1981 helping the Yankees reach the playoffs four times and win two World Series championships.

Finally on this day in 1960 Mickey Mantle was booed by the Yankee Stadium crowd and benched by then manager Casey Stengel for not running out a routine ground ball (cough Cano cough). The ground ball resulted in an inning ending double play in a Yankees 6-3 loss to the Washington Senators. On the play Roger Maris was also hurt as he bruised his ribs sliding hard into second base trying to break up the double play.