I cannot remember another time that the two New York teams have resided in the top two spots of my MLB power rankings. But while the 2022 season is still less a month old, two New York teams at Nos. 1 and 2 has got to get the goosebumps going in the arms of baseball fans in New York City.
The last time two New York teams played in the World Series came in 2000, when the Yankees beat the Mets in five games. But there was a time when a Subway Series seemed to simply be an annual occurrence in the Fall Classic. All told, between the Yankees, Mets, Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants, there have been a grand total of 14 Subway Series.
Only once has this phenomenon occurred in California, with the San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics squaring off in the Bay Area in 1989, but that’s not what that World Series is remembered for.
With the A’s leading two games to none, a 6.9 magnitude earthquake hit Candlestick Park and the surrounding area just before Game 3. It was so destructive that Game 3 was postponed and the Series did not pick back up for 10 days. As eventful as that series was, the baseball was not particularly memorable. The A’s swept the Giants four games to none.
But in getting back to New York, the Giants and Yankees played three consecutive World Series in the early ’20s, with the Giants taking the Series in 1921 and 1922. The Yankees would win their first Subway Series against those same Giants in 1923.
Then in 1936 and 1937, the Yankees bested the Giants in back-to-back World Series. The Yankees played the Dodgers three times in the ’40s, with the Yankees winning all three times (1941, 1947 and 1949).
From 1951-1956, the Yankees appeared in five Subway Series. In 1951, the Yankees bested the Giants in six games. In 1952 and 1953, the Yankees beat the Dodgers in seven and six games, respectively.
In 1955, the Dodgers won the World Series their one and only time in Brooklyn, besting the Yankees in a classic seven-game series. The following year, the Dodgers faced the Yankees for the final time, and the Yankees would win that last Brooklyn-New York Subway Series in seven games.
New Yorkers wouldn’t experience another Subway Series again until 2000.
By 1958, the Giants and Dodgers had moved to San Francisco and Los Angeles, respectively. It’s interesting to think about how Dodgers and Giants history could have possibly been altered by a couple more wins in the Subway Series. From 1921-1956, the Yankees appeared in 13 Subway Series and won 10. The Dodgers won just one series and the Giants, two.
Only time will tell if the Yankees and Mets meet up in the Fall Classic this year.
Here are my power rankings:
1. New York Yankees (16-6, No. 5 last week): The Bronx Bombers have put together a hot streak in winning 11 out of 12 against the likes of Detroit, Cleveland, Baltimore and Kansas City. These are the teams they should beat. The competition ramps up big time with a three-game series in Toronto. Gerrit Cole’s last two excellent starts have everyone in the Bronx breathing a sigh of relief.
2. New York Mets (16-7, No. 1): The fact that the Mets were overtaken by the Yankees isn’t slippage. It’s just a matter of how hot the Yankees are. They keep winning series, and they’d be near unbeatable if Jacob deGrom were active and dealing. The good news is that with Buck Showalter around, there won’t be a second of self pity. One problem to these eyes is Adam Ottavino entering close games out of the ‘pen. Not sure Ottavino is up to it, but Showalter will keep using him.
3. Toronto Blue Jays (15-8, No. 3): This Blue Jays club is mighty powerful from an offensive angle. But while starters Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios and Alek Manoah have been excellent, Hyun Jin Ryu and Yusei Kikuchi have given them nothing. Ryu is hurt, but the Jays look a starter short right now. Jordan Romano is off to a monster start this season with 11 saves through May 1.
4. Los Angeles Dodgers (14-7, No. 4): MLB announced a two-year unpaid suspension for Trevor Bauer as a result of the allegations of sexual assault brought forward by an unnamed woman. Bauer has not pitched for the Dodgers in about a year, but the rotation has not missed a beat. Even with Andrew Heaney out for a while with shoulder pain, Tony Gonsolin, Walker Buehler, Julio Urias, Clayton Kershaw and Tyler Anderson are holding down the fort. Craig Kimbrel has the eye of the tiger again at the back end.
5. Milwaukee Brewers (15-8, No. 6): President of baseball operations David Stearns is widely regarded as one of the top executives in the game. The same is true about the club’s manager, Craig Counsell. And I promise I won’t mention it every week, but Christian Yelich was arguably one of the top two or three players in the game before a broken kneecap in 2019 turned him into a well-below-average player. Yelich’s 3-for-5 performance April 30, which included a homer, reminded us of what he used to be. If there is a return to even, say, 60 percent of that Yelich, the Brewers might be baseball’s best team.
6. San Francisco Giants (14-8, No. 2): GM Farhan Zaidi moved very confidently to ensure the Giants’ starting staff would be up to the task of competing with the mega-power Dodgers, but Alex Cobb and Anthony Desclafani look like they may just be whiffs. Former Royals pitcher Jacob Junis hasn’t started and he may just be much better as a relief pitcher, but in 10-plus innings he has yet to allow a run and has 10 strikeouts and just one walk.
7. San Diego Padres (15-8, No. 9): Joe Musgrove has been a revelation and a lifesaver for this Padres starting staff. Musgrove (four wins and an ERA below 2.00) is positioning himself for a huge payday. MacKenzie Gore has looked outstanding in his three starts to date, with a 1.76 ERA in 15-plus innings. Taylor Rogers has been great late with nine saves. Manny Machado and Eric Hosmer have been productive on the offensive side, but without Fernando Tatis Jr. around, there is a lot of hit and miss here in terms of scoring runs. That said, with Bob Melvin around as manager, don’t be surprised if the sum of the parts is greater than the whole.
8. Houston Astros (11-11, No. 11): This is not exactly the start that GM James Click and manager Dusty Baker imagined for their talented Astros squad. The calculus the club used in letting star shortstop Carlos Correa leave via free agency has not worked out to date. The offensive numbers are just not like the Astros we have grown accustomed to, but it’s early and the starting pitching and depth of the staff won’t allow for any collapse. Still, given the improved Mariners and Angels clubs, this won’t be a cakewalk in the AL West.
9. Los Angeles Angels (15-8, No. 19): Sometimes it just comes down to plain dumb luck — like just staying healthy. The Angels sure look a lot better with a healthy Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon. And with Shohei Ohtani comfortable at DH, the likes of Taylor Ward, Brandon Marsh and Jared Walsh have turned this into one of the AL’s most potent offenses. The starting pitching has been elevated by the additions of Noah Syndergaard and Michael Lorenzen, and how about Patrick Sandoval with three starts and 15 innings of shutout baseball? GM Perry Mianasian has also worked to give manager Joe Maddon some decent options late in games to get the ball to closer Raisel Iglesias, most notably Ryan Tepera.
10. Minnesota Twins (13-9, No. 15): President of baseball operations Derek Falvey and GM Thad Levine have to be the early frontrunners for executives of the year. After a miserable 2021 season, they have given manager Rocco Baldelli a deep and versatile team, and with the White Sox looking like shrinking violets, the Twins may just jump out and be the AL Central’s jackrabbit and lead start to finish.
11. Seattle Mariners (12-10, No. 8)
12. Miami Marlins (12-9, No. 16)
13. St. Louis Cardinals (12-9, No. 7)
14. Atlanta Braves (10-13, No. 13)
15. Tampa Bay Rays (12-10, No. 10)
16. Philadelphia Phillies (11-12, No. 22)
17. Chicago White Sox (8-13, No. 12)
18. Boston Red Sox (9-14, No. 14)
19. Colorado Rockies (13-9, No. 18)
20. Cleveland Guardians (10-12, No. 17)
21. Detroit Tigers (7-14, No. 20)
22. Oakland Athletics (10-12, No. 21)
23. Arizona Diamondbacks (10-13, No. 27)
24. Chicago Cubs (9-13, No. 23)
25. Kansas City Royals (7-13, No. 25)
26. Texas Rangers (8-14, No. 26)
27. Baltimore Orioles (8-14, No. 29)
28. Pittsburgh Pirates (9-13, No. 24)
29. Washington Nationals (8-16, No. 28)
30. Cincinnati Reds (3-19, No. 30)