NEW YORK — New York has never been able to agree on much. Baseball is no exception.
The city has two franchises, two fan bases and one long-running argument about which team matters more. The Yankees have 27 World Series titles. The Mets have two. The trophy cases are not close to equal.
But championships are not what keep a rivalry alive. Moments are. And the Subway Series has produced more than its share.
The name comes from the transit system that connects the Bronx and Queens. Since interleague play began in 1997, Yankees fans and Mets fans have argued about the same games across the same turnstiles. The 2026 Subway Series opens at Citi Field on May 16. Here are the top moments that built this rivalry into what it is.
9. Game no. 1. Subway Series starts (June 16, 1997)
Before 1997, the Yankees and Mets had never played each other. American League and National League teams simply did not meet in the regular season.
MLB introduced interleague play that year and the first Subway Series game was played. The Mets won it 6-0. The Yankees lead the all-time series 83-69 today. The Mets made their statement first.
8. The carpet bombing (July 4, 2025)
On July 4, 2025, the Yankees and Mets combined for six home runs. Jasson Dominguez and Aaron Judge went back-to-back to open the game. Juan Soto answered with an opposite-field shot against his former team in the bottom of the first. Jeff McNeil hit a go-ahead two-run blast in the seventh. The Mets won 6-5. Baseball and fireworks on the most fitting day of the calendar.
7. Yankees spoils Jacob deGrom’s debut (May 15, 2014)
On May 15, 2014, Jacob deGrom made his Mets debut in the Subway Series. Called up from Triple-A Las Vegas, he threw seven innings of one-run ball, struck out six and walked two. The Yankees won anyway, 1-0. The Mets wasted a gem. DeGrom went on to win two NL Cy Young Awards in 2018 and 2019. His first start was against the Yankees.
6. The cross-town doubleheader (July 8, 2000)
Rain wiped out a Yankees-Mets game in 2000 and there was no room to reschedule. The solution was a same-day doubleheader at two different ballparks. Game one at Shea Stadium. Game two at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees swept both. The logistics alone put this in the Subway Series record books.
5. Luis Castillo’s great mistake (June 12, 2009)
The Mets led the Yankees 8-7 in the ninth inning on June 12, 2009. Two outs. Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez got Alex Rodriguez to pop up with two runners on. Second baseman Luis Castillo settled under it. The game looked over.
The ball hit off his glove. He slipped. Two runs scored. The Yankees won on a walk-off that required nothing more than a routine catch. One of the most painful errors in Subway Series history.
4. The title decider (2000 World Series)
The first all-New York World Series since 1956. The Yankees and Mets in the same stadium city for a full October. The Yankees won in five games. The Mets’ only win came in Game 3.
Game 5 was the gut punch. Mets ace Al Leiter threw 142 pitches over 8.2 innings and could not get the final out. A walk, two hits and an error let the Yankees score twice in the ninth. Championship to the Bronx.
3. Clemens-Piazza fight (Oct 22, 2000)
Roger Clemens broke Mike Piazza’s bat in Game 2 of the 2000 World Series. The barrel rolled toward Clemens. He picked it up and threw it at Piazza as the catcher ran down the first base line. Benches emptied. Clemens claimed he thought it was the ball. Nobody believed him.
The Yankees won the game and the series. The bat-throw is still the image most people associate with the 2000 Subway Series.
2. Stanton’s power ignites bench-clearing (September 2021)
Giancarlo Stanton hit a home run in September 2021 to tie the game. He exchanged words with Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor on his way around the bases. Both benches and both bullpens emptied. Players flooded the field. No punches. Plenty of tension.
It was not the biggest Yankees home run in the rivalry’s history. It was the loudest moment in years.
1. The national tribute (Sept. 11, 2021)
The most memorable Subway Series moment has nothing to do with a score.
On Sept. 11, 2021, the Yankees and Mets played each other on the 20th anniversary of the attacks. Two New York teams. Two sets of fans who lost neighbors, coworkers and family that day. They took the field together in a city that had carried that weight for two decades.
Which one is your favorite moment?
