I could do you a dishonorable disservice, dear reader, and proceed across the next 750 or so words to beat our well-worn Subway Series drum, speak once again of the wonder of seeing our baseball teams meet on a field of friendly strife, maybe make a callback to Whitey and Mickey and Pee Wee and the Duke and Muggsy McGraw and Leo the Lip.
But you would see through that, dear reader. You know that Pete Alonso and Aaron Judge are skipping the next two days (to say nothing of the next few weeks). You know both teams are already 9 ½ games out of first place, one in third and the other in fourth. This may be the most buzz-free Subway Series ever, in truth.
So I ask you, dear reader: Come take a ride with me. Let’s hop into Doc Brown’s time machine, crank the DeLorean up to 88 mph and set the clock for Wednesday, June 16, 2027, the night the Subway Series will celebrate its 30th anniversary, the night New York will celebrate a better day and a brighter time …
NEW YORK — The reigning MVPs thought it would be hard to top the anticipation of last October, when the Mets and Yankees each lost Game 7 of the League Championship Series, teasing that we might have an October Subway Series for the first time in 26 years. But now, with the 30th-anniversary edition of the regular-season Series upon us, they know better.
“I’ve never seen New York sound like this,” reigning National League MVP Francisco Alvarez said, as he and the rest of the Mets anticipate welcoming the Yankees on Wednesday night to Citi Field. Rain is in the forecast, but the newly installed dome in Flushing will keep the gates open and the crowd flowing.
“I thought it was crazy in the city last October,” American League MVP Jasson Domiguez said. “But this seems to be all anyone can talk about. I know we’ve been talking about it in our clubhouse for weeks. I can’t wait to see these two teams on the field.”
The Yankees and Mets will bring matching 45-23 records and each team is six games clear of the pack in their respective divisions. The Mets will play to their 22nd sellout of the season, matching the Yankees’ total at the Stadium, and both teams are coming off high notes: the Mets finished off a four-game sweep of the Dodgers by knocking Shohei Ohtani out of the box in the third inning Monday, and the Yankees collected 15 hits in drubbing the Rays 11-1 and knocking Tampa Bay into last place in the AL East.
“That’s what makes this so special, that both teams are playing so well,” said Anthony Volpe, who continues to lead the majors with a .388 average.
“We’ve had this circled on our calendar for months,” said Pete Alonso, who hit his 25th home run of the season Saturday, leaving him nine behind Aaron Judge for the major-league lead.
Ticket holders are urged to take public transit and be there early enough for pregame festivities, which promise to be extra special. The recently-anointed MVP of the NBA Finals, Knicks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch to the newest Conn Smythe Trophy winner, Igor Shesterkin. Taylor Swift, making her first public appearance since retiring four years ago, will sing the National Anthem.
Mayor Jeter is expected to be in attendance.
“I hope the Mets fans treat him with respect,” Yankees manager Alex Cora said.
“As long as he keeps it neutral and doesn’t wear a hat, he’ll be fine,” Mets manager Wally Backman snorted.
Alvarez, coming off a breakout 42-homer, 117-RBI season in ’26 has been part of a prosperous Mets lineup that also features the billion-dollar 1-2 punch of Alonso and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., as well as shortstop Francisco Lindor, bucking the odds and having a fine season in an odd-numbered year. Ronnie Mauricio has looked none the worse for playing at least three games at eight different positions and is crushing the ball lately.
Dominguez, meanwhile, who nearly won the Triple Crown last year at .344/41/120, is enjoying Cedric Mullins, Judge and Volpe hitting above him and Alex Bregman (.300/20/50) right below him. And Kyle Schwarber is proving himself to be worth every penny of the one-year, $65 million flier the Yankees took on him since he’s threatening to hit 40 Yankee Stadium home runs this year.
A pair of Cy Young candidates — Triston McKenzie for the Mets, Corbin Burnes for the Yankees — will take the hill.
The starts the Mets and Yankees are off to have many New Yorkers already fondly reminiscing about how it was here in the weeks leading up to Feb. 9, 2025, in New Orleans’ Superdome, when the Jets and the Giants played in Super Bowl LIX. And we all know how that one turned out …
“It’s really been a dream-come-true kind of sports stretch here in New York,” Mets GM David Stearns said, and Yankees GM Brian Cashman (Editor’s note: some things really don’t ever change) agreed.
“It’s almost like the best sports hallucination ever,” Cashman said.
