From the Sidelines

Bah-humbug to Subway Series hype

I'm tired of hearing about this Subway Series. Just about everyone who has a word to say about the game of baseball thinks that the powers that be have divinely ordained a Mets-Yankees World Series—and, worse, thinks that any such series not including both of those teams would have been subpar. Last week, the Yale Daily News ran an editorial talking about how great the buzz would be in New York bars and subways. In the Yale Herald, in this very space, John Yi faulted Yankees-bashers, and told fans that not only is "the Yanks' celebrated march to the title...the only thing keeping fans tuned in," but also that "a Subway Series would be the most exciting of the possible match-ups, not only for New Yorkers, but for baseball fans across the nation."

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Maybe it's just me, but it seems that the only people who care about the Subway Series are New York fans. The rest of us would be better served by seeing the best possible matchup, not just a smokescreen of hype. In his article, Yi told fans not to hate the Yankees because of their success working within the current system and not to hate them just because they're the Yankees. But he defends them for that very reason.

For instance, Yi described the Mariners as "overachieving." But he ignores the fact that the Mariners won 91 games in the regular season to the Yankees' 87. He ignores the fact that Seattle scored 907 runs to New York's 871, and had a 4.49 ERA, while the Yanks' was 4.76. The M's also won the season series 6 to 4. Overachieving or not, over the course of the 162-game season, the Mariners were a better team than the Yankees. Just because the Mariners were new to the playoff scene doesn't mean that they overachieved in 2000. If the rosters were flipped, and the Yankees had Seattle's players, nobody would say that they'd overachieved.

People expect great things from the Yankees because of their history. To wit: Vegas odds favor the Yanks 7 to 5, even though they won 87 games this year to the Mets' 94 and had a much tougher trip through the playoffs. But the fact that Babe Ruth hit 60 home runs in 1927 has nothing to do with what happens in 2000. Yankee mystique? Pinstriped tradition? The only mystique at work here is the mystique that lets the Yankees spend all of that money.

Another reason why the Mariners seem to have overachieved is because they're a younger team than the veteran Yankees. Their best player, Alex Rodriguez, is 24. The staff is bolstered by youthful hurlers Freddy Garcia and John Halama, the two prospects acquired in 1998's Randy Johnson deal. In contrast, the Yankees have relied on veterans—Roger Clemens, Orlando Hernandez, Denny Neagle, Bernie Williams, Tino Martinez, Chuck Knoblauch, Paul O'Neill, and Mariano Rivera are all on the wrong side of 30. But statistics show that experience means little. A study by the Baseball Prospectus' Keith Law showed that in League Championship Series and World Series play since 1980 between a team with a recent playoff appearance and a team without one, the "experienced" clubs held an insignificant 13-10 edge.

Don't get me wrong—the World Series could be great. Both teams deserve to be there because they won. But they did so on talent, not because of some mystic omnipotent force. And had the M's or Cards made it and proven themselves better, I'd be just as excited.

I can understand why New York fans are psyched for the Subway Series, especially if they actually live in New York. It would be exciting to be there when the subway cars and the nightclubs are abuzz with baseball fever. But I don't live in New York. I'll be watching the World Series from the comfort of my Silliman suite. I don't care what goes on in New York. And don't insult the Seattle or St. Louis fans by saying they wouldn't be just as excited. I've been in Philadelphia during championship runs, and the air crackles. It's clear as day: why would anyone not in New York care what it's like there during the World Series?

The bottom line is the product on the field. The team that can win is the better team. Hype is nice, but it's just that—hype. The media has fun with it, and the fans buy into it, but in the long run, what will determine the lasting quality of the World Series is the game on the field. The concept of a Subway Series only adds superficially to the excitement. History will judge the 2000 World Series by its balls and strikes, not its hype. The plays and the images will last forever. The subway cars will not.

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