NEW YORK (AP) -Razor Shines marched to the top step of the Mets’ dugout, gazed toward right field at Yankee Stadium and giggled.
Over and over, out loud.
“My first thought is this: You’re going to have a lot of free-agent hitters wanting to come here,”’ the Mets’ third-base coach said Friday night. “I can’t wait to throw BP to see how far it flies.”
David Wright, Carlos Beltran and the Mets got their first look at the new ballyard in the Bronx, and were eager to take batting practice before this year’s Subway Series opener.
Easy to see why. Both new stadiums in New York had hosted 29 games going into the weekend – there had been a whopping 105 home runs at the Yankees’ bandbox and only 48 at the Mets’ spacious Citi Field.
“You can’t go out there and change your swing,” Wright cautioned.
at direction.
“It ain’t just 314 feet to the corner. It’s 314 to the gap!” Shines howled to Mets manager Jerry Manuel.
Each year, both teams try to play down the six games between the New York rivals, saying it’s important to avoid getting too hyped up. The fans tend to take a different approach.
“It’s bragging rights. It’s two new stadiums. That adds even more interest,” said Yankees announcer David Cone, who pitched for both teams.
Said Wright: “All around the city, people are wearing one of two hats.”
The Empire State Building will be lit Monday night in either Mets’ blue-and-orange or Yankees’ blue-and-white, depending on which team wins this weekend’s three-game set.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi sensed the excitement for the Subway Series.
“You’re going to walk around the city and people are going to ask you if you didn’t win the series, why you didn’t win the series,” he said. “It’s probably a little harder to go out for dinner because people are a little bit more aware of what’s going on. And if you happen to lose the game on one of the nights you go out, people are going to ask you why.”
Manuel, however, said he’s seen more fervent fans. He managed the Chicago White Sox for six years, and was certain the matchups with the Cubs created even more heat.
icago thing was a little more intense,” he said. “It was real, real, real intense.”
Whatever, there was quite a racket on the field before the game. Some of it came from 10-year-old Matthew Schwartz, who was standing near the Mets’ dugout in his orange, Johan Santana jersey.
Schwartz kept pleading for Alex Cora to sign an autograph, and the Mets shortstop walked over and obliged.
“You rule!” the boy told him.
Schwartz came for his 10th birthday with two pals. His dad, Bill, has season tickets at both New York fields.
“This is a neat feeling being here,” he said. “It’s out of control.”
Former Mets pitcher and current broadcaster Ron Darling had already seen several games at Yankee Stadium while doing TBS telecasts. A couple hours before the first pitch Friday night, he stood with Mets outfielder Jeremy Reed and pointed out several features of the park.
Reed, like many of the Mets, wanted to know whether there really was a jetstream carrying balls out toward right.
“Players don’t believe it until they see one,” Darling said.
Shines was a believer, based on what he’d heard. The third-base coach had his strategy in mind.
“You’ll be less aggressive here, you’ll stop a guy,” he said. “You’ll be rewarded when the next ball flies.”
r first look at the stadium. The four umpires also were making their initial visit.
“You do get excited to see new ballparks, especially the historic ones like Fenway, Wrigley and the old Yankee Stadium,” plate umpire Fieldin Culbreth said. “And now this one is already starting to ink itself with all the home runs.”
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