The Subway Series That Could Decide New York Baseball’s Postseason Fate
Column - September 12, 2021
What makes for some of the most exciting and memorable games in any professional sport is when there is so much on the line leading into them. Intra-city bragging rights, a rivalry game, playoff race implications, each of these things can make an individual game or series worth ten fold in their end result and the anticipation leading into a game that much stronger.
T
he upcoming weekend in New York and the tri-state area will certainly be an important one, both inside the realm of sports and out. On Saturday, the city, and nation more broadly, will commemorate the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center towers, remembering the profound, long-lasting effect that the mournful day had on its citizens and the way both responded in the aftermath. Football returns from it’s eight-month hiatus as the Giants and Jets kick off their respective seasons on Sunday.
On the baseball mound, the Yankees and Mets are set to meet each other for the second half of their annual Subway Series at Citi Field in Queens.
Every time the two teams face off for New York bragging rights, there’s always a competitive atmosphere surrounding the contest. It’s the top-class, storied Yankees versus the little brother, ambitious Mets, who are looking to show they deserve more attention in their town.
This series, however, will carry much more meaning than usual. That’s precisely because there is a lot on the line for both squads.
In this TPS column, both New York baseball teams—the Yankees and Mets—have recently seen bumpy patches in the road of their 2021 season after they were heading towards playoff contention earlier on. As the two teams enter the weekend of the 20th anniversary of 9/11, they enter another Subway Series whose importance goes beyond the significance of the commemorations in New York City. When it’s all said and done, the series could also help or bury their hopes of remaining in the hunt for the playoffs—Yankees with the AL wild card and the Mets with the NL East division pennant. I break everything down and the significance for both teams in the article.