| Brandon Contes. 13th July, 2006 - 4:13 am
 In 1916 the Brooklyn Robins, later known as the Dodgers, represented the National League in the World Series. In 1926 the New York Yankees represented the American League, the 1936 World Series was played by the New York Giants and the New York Yankees. 1956 was another New York filled World Series as the Yankees defeated the Dodgers. The Yankees were in the fall classic again in 1976 and of course the Mets won in 1986. Then the Yankees once again played in the World Series in 1996, and defeated the Braves as they began their dynasty.
Every year ending in a six in the history of Major League Baseball saw at least one New York team playing in the fall classic except for 1946 and 1966. Now in 2006 there is an excellent chance of that happening again, with the potential for another Subway Series.
2006 Mets and 1996 Yankees
The 2006 Mets have many similarities with the 1996 Yankees. They are both up and coming teams that are built to win now, while having enough young stars to keep the team in contention for the next decade. Both teams had a great mix of young talent with veteran leadership. The Yankees had a new manager in Joe Torre, and the Mets have a similar manager in Willie Randolph in his second year with the team. The Yankees were a losing team just 3 full seasons earlier, and the Mets were a losing team just 2 seasons earlier. The 1996 Yankees were entering their prime as they built a dynasty, and the 2006 Mets hope to be doing the same.
The Yankees had young budding stars in Derek Jeter, Andy Pettite, Mariano Rivera, and Bernie Williams, a centerfielder just entering his prime. The Mets also have young stars with Jose Reyes, David Wright, and Carlos Beltran, also a centerfielder entering his prime. Each team is constructed with a great nucleus of young talent.
Along with their young talent, the 1996 Yankees and the current Mets have veteran leadership on their teams. The Yankees had a veteran catcher to lead the ballclub in Joe Girardi, as do the current Mets with Paul Lo Duca.
The Yankees also had Paul O’Neill, Tino Martinez, and their main leader Wade Boggs. They also had veteran leadership in their pitching rotation with David Cone. The Mets have Carlos Delgado, Cliff Floyd, and their clubhouse leader Julio Franco. They too have veteran leadership in their pitching rotation, with Tom Glavine and Pedro Martinez at the front end, along with playoff great Orlando Hernandez. Each team has strong bullpens. The Yankees had Jeff Nelson, Mariano Rivera, and the closer John Wetteland, while the Mets currently have Duaner Sanchez, Aaron Heilman, and the closer Billy Wagner. Although the 2006 Mets have a higher payroll then the Yankees did in 1996, when you factor in the state of the market in their respected time periods, the payrolls are very similar.
Each team is very similar yet they still have some different strengths and weaknesses. The Yankees had a more established pitching rotation, where as the Mets are still trying to plug holes in theirs. The Mets have an older, more fragile pitching rotation with a back end that is very shaky. The Mets, however, have a better lineup. With arguably the best 3-4-5 combination in baseball in the middle of their batting order, Beltran, Wright, and Delgado help to make the Mets a very dangerous team. Having Jose Reyes at the top of their batting order also helps the Mets to score more first inning runs then any other team in baseball. While the Mets have a great young manager in Willie Randolph, the edge still has to go to the Yankees with Joe Torre being a more experienced manager.
In the end, the 1996 Yankees and the 2006 Mets have many similar characteristics, and judging by the history of New York and the sixes, it would not be surprising for the Mets and/or Yankees made the World Series this year. The way that the Mets are built right now is very similar to that of the Yankees just a decade ago, and they hope to produce similar results, followed by a dynasty of their own. |
