NY Mets: Subway Series against Yankees was scheduled perfectly this year

It’s easy to criticize Major League Baseball for a lot of the decisions they make. I don’t know how much of this is on them, but I want to heap out a little praise to the schedule makers for how they lined up the games between the New York Mets and New York Yankees this year.

The two Big Apple teams will face each other a total of six times this year. The first series happens over Fourth of July weekend. In September, the two will face each other during the 20-year anniversary of September 11th.

Mets versus Yankees has a lot more meaning this year

I’ve written in the past how tired the Subway Series is. When one team is bad (usually the Mets), it’s especially dull.

However, this year both teams are making noise. We’re far more evenly matched and that’s the least thrilling part of the six games on the schedule.

Meeting over Fourth of July weekend sets a nice tone to the start of summer. I know the equinox already happened, pagans made their sacrifices, and daylight is beginning to less a little each day. The unofficial start of summer happens on the nation’s birthday. Is there any better way to celebrate it than for some Mets vs. Yankees baseball?

With just about every team struggling to pack their ballparks, this could end up as a weekend with Yankee Stadium full of New Yorkers coming together to cheer, boo, and probably boo a little bit more.

Far bigger is the matchup at Citi Field later on this year. Mid-September is the start of the final stretch run for both teams. The games will have meaning in the standings. For everyone in attendance, the series will serve as a reminder of what happened 20 years ago.

Baseball helped bring us back to some sense of normalcy post-9/11. Much like we’re attempting to do at what is hopefully the end of the pandemic, a September series between the Mets and Yankees could help achieve a sense of calming—but also plenty of sports tension because hopefully those games matter on a lesser scale in life.

Back in 2011, the Mets hosted the Chicago Cubs on the ten-year anniversary of 9/11. Meanwhile, the Yankees played the Los Angeles Angels out in Southern California.

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The Mets and Yankees don’t have to play each other every Independence Day or share a game on 9/11. On anniversaries like this, it’s essential.