The Subway Series still had that new car smell, an air of incredulity, the intensity of October.
The city was celebrating the second birthday of the reincarnated Subway Series (Yankees vs. Mets), absorbing every ounce of what seemed extinct for four decades.
“People were stepping into their dream world,” then-Mets manager Bobby Valentine said last week. “I was living in the city at the time, and walking the streets of New York during those interleague games was as magical as the [World Series] in 2000 with how captivated everyone was. Every news show led with it, every back page, and even front page, heralded it. It was amazing how focused the community was able to get on regular-season games. I thought that was amazing.”
The Mets hadn’t been to the postseason in more than a decade. The Yankees had won two of the past three titles, entering 1999 after a record 125 win-season. Mariano Rivera kept the team’s spot atop the sport secure, allowing no runs in the previous postseason.