The Mets and Yankees played each other three times in spring training, so the excitement of calling the opposing New York team “them” has worn off for Carlos Mendoza.
Mendoza, who spent 15 years as a Yankees minor league instructor and major league coach and is now half a season into his first MLB managerial job, wasn’t about to wallow in too much nostalgia as he prepared for his first Subway Series as Mets manager.
The Mets have two games coming up against their Bronx neighbors and are more interested in continuing their recent momentum than any other uproar.
“They’ve got a good team,” Mendoza said, “and we’ve got a good team and we’re playing well.”
Mendoza still talks with Yankees manager and old friend Aaron Boone from time to time, but their conversations Tuesday and Wednesday at Citi Field will be more businesslike.
Harrison Bader, a New York native who played in the same dugout as Mendoza in the opposing Subway Series, was asked what it would be like for Mendoza to be the Mets manager, given that he developed and groomed many of those Yankees players.
“You go out there and you beat people,” Bader said. [the Subway Series]it increases my level of appreciation for gaming opportunities. I am excited [Mendoza] I want to experience that. I’m excited to experience that. I’m on the other side of it now. I’m going to embrace it, dive in and enjoy it as much as I can.”
This won’t be the first time a former Yankees player or coach has coached the Mets in the Subway Series.
Willie Randolph has been there, managing the Mets from 2005 to 2008. Buck Showalter has managed the Mets the past two seasons.
“Something always happens,” Boone said. “Mendy’s been a big part of this organization for a long time and now he’s helping lead it. It’s definitely a little bit strange. We saw him in spring training and now this is the big thing. It’ll certainly be fun to watch him.”
The Mets are on a roll in June, going 13-6, including four straight wins.
To keep that streak alive, they need to win two games against the Yankees in Queens.
Mendoza made some changes to the pitching rotation last week, deciding that Luis Severino should play against the Cubs and naming David Peterson the starter on Tuesday.
Severino responded with his best performance of the season on Sunday, striking out 10 over six innings.
Now it’s Peterson’s job to validate the second half of Mendoza’s rotation rejigging, with Gerrit Cole on the mound.
For Peterson, the challenge starts with Juan Soto and Aaron Judge, but it doesn’t end there.
“They have a great lineup,” Peterson said. “Statistically and historically, they’re the two best hitters in baseball right now, so to me, that doesn’t change anything. Whether I’m going to be facing the guy with the best stats in the league or the guy with the worst stats, it’s still the big leagues.”
Bader, who grew up watching the Subway Series at Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium, welcomes the entertainment value of these games.
“It’s the Subway Series,” Bader said. “If you’re just playing other teams, there’s no title. When you have two New York teams playing each other, it creates kind of a theme. As a kid, as a fan, I loved it. I loved the feeling of the back-and-forth offensive and defensive tactics. We all want to hoist the trophy in New York. That’s our dream.”
—Additional reporting by Greg Joyce
