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Randy Miller | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
NEW YORK — The first of two Yankees and Mets’ Subway Series is on for this weekend at Citi Field.
Excited?
The Yankees are and they aren’t.
From polling a bunch of players, some are really into these games while others look at them as just another series that is more fun for fans.
Some consider the Mets a friendly rival that certainly isn’t close to being on par with the Red Sox.
Others say they aren’t a rival at all.
Another Yankees player who has been the target of some ugly insults from Mets fans has mixed opinions on these games.
Here’s the take that we got on the Subway Series from nine Yankees players and manager Aaron Boone:
MLB: Baltimore Orioles at New York Yankees
Gregory Fisher | USA TODAY Sports
Dellin Betances, RHP
The four-time All-Star reliever grew up in New York City rooting for the Yankees and ribbing Mets fans about Subway Series losses.
He absolutely loves these games.
“For me, it means a lot,” Betances said. “I went to school in Brooklyn and there are a lot of Mets fans in Brooklyn. I grew up a Yankee fan, but I had a lot of people that I knew who still root for the Mets secretly. Obviously, I play for the Yankees, so they can’t tell me that they’re rooting for the Mets, but I know who they are so I give them heat sometimes.”
His most memorable Subway Series as a fan was the 2000 World Series, which the Yankees won in five games.
“I was watching in my apartment,” Betances recalled. “I was living in the lower East Side. I was young. I was 12 at the time, so middle school.
“That was pretty crazy being in New York for that. Obviously the Yankees coming out on top on that, I remember talking crap to the guys that I went to school with, the guys that were Mets fans. I felt good about that.”
MLB: New York Yankees at Baltimore Orioles
Mitch Stringer | USA TODAY Sports
Didi Gregorius, SS
Gregorius is one of the Yankees who isn’t overjoyed about playing the Mets.
Maybe it’s because he’s been called some bad things by Mets fans.
Such as?
Gregorius says the insults that he’s received were bad enough that he didn’t want to say what they were.
“Mets fans have said a lot of bad stuff to me, but what I can do?” he said. “They say all type of stuff. Some like you, some hate you. The Subway Series is still fun, but not extra special to me.
“There will be some buzz going on, but nothing we haven’t been in. It’s not more of a buzz than playing the Red Sox. It’s not our biggest rivalry.”
New York Yankees v Baltimore Orioles
Mitchell Layton | Getty Images
Aaron Boone, manager
Boone didn’t get to play in a Subway Series in his short but historic time as a Yankees career.
The Yankees and Mets played six times in 2003, including twice in one day in two ballparks, but Boone was with the Reds until a July 31 trade.
He did experience the atmosphere of Subway Series games in recent years while working as an ESPN broadcaster and this weekend he’ll live it as the Yanks’ rookie skipper.
“I am looking forward to it,” he said. “You understand it matters. Anytime you play in games where it matters to people on a greater level, I think that adds to the excitement of the games. I think it adds to the excitement of the season.
“That’ll be kind of cool to be going from home into another ballpark and putting on the grays. I know the city will be excited about it and I know the fan base will be excited about it. I'm very much looking forward to it.”
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