As we prepared for the 2023 season, we were expecting the Mets and Yankees to make plenty of headlines. The assumption was that those headlines would be positive, but that’s not the case right now.
The All-Star break is officially over and teams are getting back on the field this weekend. The Mets will host the Dodgers and the Yankees are visiting the Rockies. Once games get started, both New York squads have a lot of work to do based on the following two tweets.
At this point in the season last year, the Mets and Yankees were in terrific shape. I’m talking about both their win-loss record and postseason chances. But with the Amazins starting the second half 42-48 and the Bombers at 49-42, they’re the two least improved teams compared to their respective records at the 2022 All-Star break:
comparing each MLB team's record at the break last year vs. this year –
the 2 most improved & the 2 worst improved teams pic.twitter.com/oMtIF7RPyD
— Jay Cuda (@JayCuda) July 14, 2023
Just in case you want to be reminded, the Mets were 58-35 at the midsummer break in 2022. Meanwhile, the Yankees were even better, sporting a 64-28 record.
That’s bad enough, but there’s more! According to a poll conducted by Codify Baseball, the Yankees are the most disliked team in baseball. (Yes, more than the Houston Astros!) The Mets weren’t too far behind, checking in at number three.
Y'all buying the Yankees being more disliked than the Astros?! 😳
(via @codifybaseball) pic.twitter.com/pEyd5qsxrP
— The Game Day MLB (@TheGameDayMLB) July 14, 2023
While I’m surprised the Bombers have leapfrogged Houston in a poll like this, it’s not a shock that they’re among those at the top. I’m a little more surprised the Mets are neck-and-neck with them, but only slightly. After all, being a New York sports fan is different from anywhere else. You either love us or your hate us, and we don’t really care which one it is — especially if our teams are winning.
Things aren’t the best right now, but there’s still one-half of baseball left to play. It’s been a rough week for the Mets, though, so maybe things can only go up from here. We’ll have to just wait and see, I suppose.
You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
