Yankees vs. Mets Trivia Quiz

Answer: New York Highlanders

The franchise that would become the New York Yankees began as the second incarnation of the Baltimore Orioles, who played their first season in 1901 for the newly created American League. The reason the team was started in Baltimore is because the New York Giants of the National League did not want to compete with another team in New York City.

However, in 1903, an agreement between the two leagues was reached and the 1901 Orioles moved to Manhattan, New York. The team's name was then changed to the New York Highlanders.

The name Highlanders was chosen due to the higher elevation in the area where their former stadium, Hilltop Park, was located. The media at the time often referred to the Highlanders as "Yanks" or "Yankees" and the team officially changed its name to the New York Yankees in 1913.

Answer: 1923

The Highlanders played at Hilltop Park from 1903 until 1912 and actually shared their stadium with the New York Giants for a few seasons after the original Polo Grounds was destroyed by fire in 1911. Hilltop Park was closed in 1912 and the the team actually shared a new Polo Grounds with the Giants until Yankee Stadium was built.

The New York Yankees moved to the Bronx in 1923 following the completion of the first Yankee Stadium, where they enjoyed many successful seasons, including the stadium's inaugural season during which the Yankees claimed their first of many World Series titles.

In 2009, a new Yankee Stadium was completed across the street from the original.

Answer: 2001

The Yankees have been one of the most, if not the most, successful franchises in Major League Baseball history. The Yankees captured their 26th World Series Championship in the 2000 season, when they defeated the NY Mets. At this time no other franchise had reached double digit WS wins (the Cardinals had nine wins).

Their first was in in 1923, where they defeated the New York Giants. Prior to that first championship, the Yankees competed in the 1921 and 1922 World Series where they lost to the New York Giants in both series.

The Yankees three-peated in 1998 (San Diego Padres), 1999 (Atlanta Braves) and 2000 (New York Mets). The Yankees lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2001 World Series.

Answer: #9 - Babe Ruth

The New York Yankees have had so many memorable players over the years that they have retired all of their single digit numbers. The late Lou Gehrig, who wore #4 was the first of the legends to have his number retired on July 4, 1939. Babe Ruth became the second on June 13, 1948, though he was #3 and not #9, which was Roger Maris' number. On July 22, 1972 the Yankees retired #8 for two players who wore the same number, Yogi Berra and Bill Dickey. Joe DiMaggio's #5 was retired on April 18, 1952 and Mickey Mantle's #7 was retired on June 8, 1969. Billy Martin's #1 (1986) and Joe Torre's #6 (2014) were also retired. Derek Jeter, #2, was the last Yankee to wear a single digit as his number was retired on May 14, 2017. Keep in mind these are just the single digit numbers as the Yankees have retired over a dozen double digit numbers as well including #10, Phil Rizzuto.

Answer: "Enter Sandman" - Metallica

Mariano Rivera made his debut for the New York Yankees in 1995. He would become the team's closer in 1997 and would remain in this position for his entire Major League Baseball career. During his career, Mariano Rivera helped lead the Yankees to five World Series championships and was selected to the All-Star Game thirteen times. Upon his retirement after the 2013 season, Mariano Rivera had become the MLB's all time leader in saves with 652.

Whenever Mariano Rivera was brought into a game at Yankee Stadium, he would walk from the bullpen to the mound with Metallica's "Enter Sandman", which became his signature entrance theme even though Mariano Rivera claimed that he was not a fan of the band. Metallica performed the song live during Mariano Rivera's final game in 2013.

Answer: 1962

Following the departure of the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants in 1957, New York was chosen to be the home of a new expansion team that would compete in the National League. The new team's official name was The New York Metropolitan Baseball Club, but the name was eventually shortened to simply the New York Mets.

The colors of the Mets' uniforms was designed to honor to the two original New York NL teams, with the blue taken from the Brooklyn Dodgers and the orange taken from the New York Giants.

The Mets made their official debut in the 1962 season, however things did not start out so great for the new team. The Mets finished the 1962 season with one of the worst records ever at 40-120. They would remain at or near the bottom of the standings until the 1969 season.

Answer: Ebbets Field

When the New York Mets made their debut in 1962, they took over the Polo Grounds, which was previously used by the New York Giants before they moved out to San Francisco. The Polo Grounds was located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and was demolished following the 1963 season.

Shea Stadium, which opened in 1964, became the permanent home for the New York Mets. It was located in the Flushing neighborhood in the borough of Queens, a short distance from LaGuardia Airport. It would serve as the Mets' home stadium until 2008, when the team moved into Citi Field, which was constructed in the same area. Ebbets Field was located in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn.

It was demolished in 1960, a few years after the Brooklyn Dodgers left for Los Angeles.

Answer: 1986

After six grueling seasons at or near the cellar of the National League, the New York Mets completed the 1969 season with a league best 100-62 record. This performance led to the Mets' nicknames, "The Miracle Mets" and "The Amazin' Mets". The 1969 Mets went on to defeat the Baltimore Orioles to capture their first World Series victory.

The Mets returned to the World Series in 1973, but were defeated in seven games by the Oakland Athletics. The New York Mets would claim their second World Series title in 1986, defeating the Boston Red Sox in seven games.

They lost the 2000 World Series (aka Subway Series) in five games to the New York Yankees.

Answer: 41

Tom Seaver debuted with the New York Mets in 1967. He won the National League Rookie of The Year Award that year despite the Mets' standing. He would move on to become the team's ace, where he helped them claim their 1969 World Series victory. He would remain with the Mets until 1977, when he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds.

He made a brief return to the Mets in 1983 and finished with the Boston Red Sox in 1986, though he did not play in the World Series against the Mets. After his retirement, Tom Seaver would eventually become a broadcaster for the Mets. Tom Seaver's #41 was retired in 1988 and he was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1992. Tom Seaver passed away in 2020, partially due to COVID-19 complications. Gil Hodges, who managed the 1969 Mets, wore #14. Casey Stengel, the Mets' first manager, wore #37 and former Mets slugger Mike Piazza wore #31.

Answer: Bobby Valentine

Bobby Valentine managed the Mets from 1996 through 2002, during which time he led them to the Subway Series in 2000 against the Yankees. On June 9, 1999, the New York Mets played the Toronto Blue Jays during in an inter-league series. The game ended up going into extra innings.

In the twelfth inning of the game, Bobby Valentine had been ejected after arguing a catcher's interference call against Mike Piazza. Bobby Valentine was later caught sitting in the dugout an inning later wearing a Mets t-shirt, a different cap, sunglasses and a fake mustache.

The league later fined Bobby Valentine $5,000 and suspended him for two games as punishment for the incident.