Judge faced the Mariner’s Bryan Woo last night. He’s had some amazing starts this season and is currently the star pitcher due to our other stars, Gilbert and Kirby, on IL. Fried was pitching for the Yankees and the M’s managed to pull off a win!
Now back home for the weekend subway series. I don’t understand the hype most of the time. Just another non-division game. This year it’s slightly different. Both are number 1 teams and there is the Soto angle.
Tough stretch for the Yanks. Two number 1 teams in a row with a coast to coast plane ride in between.
MLB is promoting May 17 - 18 as “rivalry weekend” although a lot of the games are not particularly notable as rivalries - e.g. Mets - Yankees, which wasn’t even possible as a regular season game until a few years ago.
On the plus side, every game is available for free streaming on the MLB app (subject to local blackout restrictions).
I coudn’t remember how long interleague play and the ‘subway series’ had been taking place. The first was in 1997.
Does anyone remember the Mayor’s Trophy game? For around 20 years ('63 to '83) the New York teams played an in-season exhibition game. Ostensibly, the game was a fund-raiser for youth baseball, and supposed bragging rights. I went to one once and sat behind the mayor of NYC at the time, Abe Beame. He left in the middle innings and as he passed, my father pushed me towards the aisle, wanting me to shake his hand, for some reason. I was only 12 or 13 at the time, but already taller than Beame, which is pretty much the only thing I remember about the encounter.
The Mayor’s Trophy Game became something the players didn’t want to do any more as Boss Steinbrenner would get very upset if the Yanks lost. I’m reasonably sure that is what ended it.
It actually started as a Yankees vs. Giants or Dodgers thing. Post war through their departure for the West Coast.
I found a nice article about it on BBR:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Mayor's_Trophy_Game
Apparently the Umpires had something to do with it ending also.
Before interleague play, it would have made sense as a spring-training exhibition game. In season was kind of nuts. I wonder if any player ever sustained a serous injury during one of the games.
The Dodgers and Angels played their last preseason games together when I was a kid at the home parks. I the mid season game they’re use AAA pitchers to not throw off the rotation.
I don’t recall one, which is actually surprising. Though it was only about 10 games in my time watching/following.
Sparky Lyle in particular ripped it in The Bronx Zoo.
It is interesting to read books on baseball history and realise how many exhibitions teams used to be forced to play in the middle of the season!
The Cubs and White Sox used to do something similar in the middle of the season. I don’t remember how many actual players from the major league squads played vs. how many were called up from the minors just for the exhibition game. I do remember that the year Michael Jordan was playing in the White Sox minor league system, he played in the game and got some RBIs with a double and maybe some other hits.
The press hypes up Yankees vs Mets. Some fans really hate the other team. Personally I’m happy to see the Mets win. If they are on and the Yankees aren’t then I watch the Mets. Citifield is a great place to go see a ballgame. The true rivalry will always be with the Red Sox.
It really is a great stadium, especially compared to Shea, which was terrible.
100% agree. The Mets are not the Yanks rival, just for the back pages of the tabloids and who reads those anymore.
Similar here in Chicago. There’s a bit of a rivalry between the Cubs’ and White Sox’s fan bases (North Side vs. South Side, white-collar versus blue-collar, etc.), but the Sox have, at least for the past 40 or so years (and maybe longer), been very much a second-fiddle team as far as the level of interest among Chicago sports fans.
The Cubs’ true rival is the Cardinals. The Sox’s true rival is, I dunno, maybe whoever is playing the Cubs?
The 3 big rivalries in Baseball are Yanks vs. Redsox; Dodgers vs. Giants and Cubs vs. Cards. These are old and string rivalries with a massive amount of history.
I find it a little weird when I find out most Cleveland fans consider Yanks their prime rivals. I get Baltimore and Blue Jays but Cleveland seems weird. I know it goes back forever, before divisions, but still seems weird to me.
Philly fans consider Mets their #1 I think, but I’m not sure that is reciprocated.
The Yankees are hated by every baseball fan. Certainly the Tran the Mariners most want to beat. (Unless the division lead is at stake, then those games naturally matter most)
The Blue Jays and Expos had a midseason exhibition game for awhile called the “Pearson Cup” - named after a Prime Minister who was dead by the time they started playing it and didn’t have much at all to do with either franchise. It was not especially popular, consistently drawing fewer fans than either team would normally draw for a regular season game.
I like this weekend’s schedule, reminds me of the early days of interleague play. Maybe even ESPN will cover it if they decide we can survive with only 23.5 hours per day of Lebron.
The Dodgers bats appear to be warming up, with them absolutely pummeling the Athletics last night 19-2. The heart warms.
The AL West is tight. Mariners fans appreciate you.
The MLB thinks San Diego and Seattle are a rivalry. No one in Seattle thinks twice about the Padres.
Yanks beat Mets 6-2, Judge went 2 for 4 with a walk. Batting .414.