New York isn’t just a baseball city. It’s baseball’s beating heart the stage where the game’s myths are born, heroes are forged, and rivalries burn hottest. While baseball’s roots may stretch back to ancient Egypt, as John Thorn reminds us in Baseball in the Garden of Eden, nowhere has the game burned more brightly than in the five boroughs and across the Hudson.
Don’t tell this to New Yorkers, but baseball wasn’t exactly born in the five boroughs. Bat-and-ball games can be traced all the way back to ancient Egypt nearly 4,500 years ago. According to baseball historian John Thorn in his book Baseball in the Garden of Eden, a game called seker-hemat, or “batting the ball,” was depicted in Egyptian temples. In fact, on the walls of the Temple of Hatshepsut stands an image of Pharaoh Thutmose III, clutching a stick and a ball. A renowned military tactician, Thutmose might also have been the Aaron Judge of the Nile.
Still, in the modern world, few cities have embraced baseball with the depth, passion, and obsession of New York City. From the 1846 match at Elysian Fields to the glory days of the Yankees, Dodgers, and Giants, to today’s Yankee-Mets duels, Gotham has often been the beating heart of America’s pastime.
As the Mets and Yankees gear up for their next inter-borough clash at Yankee Stadium, part of MLB’s Rivalry Weekend, let’s count down the 10 hottest moments in New York baseball history.
1. 1920: John McGraw Evicts the Yankees from the Polo Grounds
The Polo Grounds were once the shared home of the National League’s New York Giants and the upstart Yankees. But in 1920, everything changed.
That year, the Yankees acquired Babe Ruth from the Red Sox a transaction that would forever alter the trajectory of both franchises. Fans flocked to see Ruth’s towering home runs, and the Yankees quickly began to outdraw the Giants in attendance.
Giants manager and part-owner John McGraw, no fan of Ruth or his style of slugging baseball, responded by informing the Yankees that their lease at the Polo Grounds would not be renewed for 1921. Was this pure baseball rivalry or jealousy? Likely both.
Although the Giants ultimately relented and allowed the Yankees to stay one more year at a higher rent the relationship had soured. In 1921 and 1922, the two teams faced off in back-to-back World Series, with McGraw’s Giants winning both times. But McGraw had stirred a hornet’s nest, and the Yankees were only just beginning their rise.
2. 1923: The Babe Builds a House and a Dynasty
Spurred by their eviction scare, Yankees owners Jacob Ruppert and Tillinghast Huston built their own stadium — right across the Harlem River from the Polo Grounds.
The result: Yankee Stadium, a colossal ballpark unlike any other. Costing $2.5 million and seating over 60,000 fans, it was designed to showcase Ruth’s power. And on Opening Day, April 18, 1923, Ruth delivered, smashing a three-run homer in the stadium’s inaugural game.
The stadium soon became known as “The House That Ruth Built,” and that fall, Ruth homered three times in the World Series as the Yankees beat the Giants for their first championship.
It was the beginning of a new era. The Yankees wouldn’t just win — they’d dominate, capturing 26 more titles in the next 80 years.
3. 1951: The Shot Heard ’Round the World
Few baseball moments are as dramatic or as controversial as Bobby Thomson’s “Shot Heard ’Round the World.”
The 1951 Giants had staged an improbable comeback to catch the Brooklyn Dodgers, overcoming a 13-game August deficit with a 36-8 sprint. Years later, it was revealed that the Giants were stealing signs using a telescope and buzzer system a precursor to the modern cheating scandals.
In a three-game playoff, the teams split the first two games. In the finale, the Dodgers led 4–1 in the bottom of the ninth when Thomson stepped in against Ralph Branca.
“Branca throws… there’s a long drive… it’s gonna be… I believe… the Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!” shouted Russ Hodges.
Thomson’s homer launched one of baseball’s most iconic calls and cemented the rivalry between the boroughs. The Yankees would later defeat the Giants in the World Series, but nothing could top the electricity of that playoff blast.
4. 1950s: Willie, Mickey, and the Duke
For a brief, golden moment in the 1950s, New York City boasted the three greatest center fielders of the era: Willie Mays (Giants), Mickey Mantle (Yankees), and Duke Snider (Dodgers).
Each patrolled center field in his respective borough and sparked endless barroom debates.
From 1954 to 1957, when all three were active:
- Mays hit .323 with 163 home runs.
- Mantle posted a .330 average and 150 homers.
- Snider hit .305 with 165 long balls.
Their overlapping greatness helped fuel New York’s dominance 16 of the 20 World Series teams from 1949 to 1958 hailed from the city. But by the end of the decade, the Dodgers and Giants had left for California, ending an era and leaving Mantle’s Yankees to reign alone.
5. 1977: Mr. October Arrives, Tom Terrific Departs
The summer of 1977 marked a dramatic shift in the city’s baseball power.
The Yankees, revitalized by free agency and deep pockets, signed Reggie Jackson, who would become “Mr. October.” Meanwhile, the Mets alienated and then traded away their ace, Tom Seaver, in what became known as the “Midnight Massacre.”
Jackson’s swagger and postseason heroics, capped by three home runs in Game 6 of the World Series, helped the Yankees to a championship. The Mets spiraled into irrelevance, beginning a seven-year run of futility.
6. 1986: The Mets Own the Town
By the mid-1980s, the Yankees were in disarray and the Mets were ascendant.
With stars like Dwight Gooden, Darryl Strawberry, Keith Hernandez, and Gary Carter, the 1986 Mets swaggered through the National League. They won 108 games, brawled with opponents, trashed planes, and won the World Series in dramatic, come-from-behind fashion.
For a brief moment, the Mets weren’t just better they were cooler, rowdier, and the face of New York baseball.
7. 1997: The Subway Series Begins (For Real)
With the advent of interleague play, the Yankees and Mets finally met in meaningful regular-season games.
In the first matchup, at Yankee Stadium, Mets fans roared as Dave Mlicki pitched a shutout. It was the beginning of a new kind of rivalry one fueled not just by media competition, but by wins and losses.
The series would give fans unforgettable moments: Matt Franco’s walk-off vs. Rivera, Luis Castillo’s infamous dropped pop-up, and of course…
8. 2000: The Subway Series World Series
The rivalry reached its boiling point in the 2000 World Series the first all-New York Fall Classic since 1956.
The Yankees, going for their third straight title, clashed with Mike Piazza’s Mets. Tensions had simmered since Roger Clemens hit Piazza in the head earlier that summer, and things exploded when Clemens threw a broken bat barrel near Piazza in Game 2.
Despite the drama, the Yankees won in five games, securing their dynasty. The Mets, despite solid performances, left with only bruised pride and bitter memories.
9. 2009: Two New Ballparks, One Title
In 2009, both the Yankees and Mets opened new stadiums, Yankee Stadium and Citi Field, within days of each other.
Yankee Stadium was a luxurious homage to the franchise’s past, while Citi Field evoked Ebbets Field nostalgia. The Mets’ opening was marred by miscues and losses. The Yankees? They christened their new home with a championship, their 27th overall and still their most recent.
10. 2024: Uncle Steve Steals Soto
In 2023, the Yankees traded for Juan Soto, and he delivered with 41 home runs and an MVP-caliber season, helping them to the World Series.
But after the season, Soto hit free agency and the Mets’ billionaire owner, Steve Cohen, did the unthinkable: He signed Soto away from the Yankees, offering a record-setting contract.
It wasn’t just a baseball move it was a statement. For the first time in a long time, the Mets didn’t just want to compete. They wanted to dominate.
The Soto deal turned up the heat in the Subway Series like never before, setting the stage for a whole new chapter in New York baseball’s most combustible rivalry.
Final Pitch
From Ruth to Soto, McGraw to Cohen, the drama of New York baseball never stops. The names and uniforms may change, but the city remains the same: passionate, relentless, and forever split between Yankees navy and Mets orange-and-blue.
Whether you’re Bronx Bombers for life or bleed Flushing blue, one truth unites every New Yorker: no city does baseball like this one.
