In 1956 the New York Yankees played the
Brooklyn Dodgers in the World Series.
Forty-four years later in 2000 the New York
Yankees played the New York Mets in the
World Series.
Both of these teams could make a return
to the October Classic 2006.
There is really nothing to compare to a
World Series among two New York teams.

By Amaury Pi-GonzalezOf the World Series that I have covered,the
2000 Yankees vs Mets might be the second
most memorable,right after the 1989 A’S vs Giants
Earthquake Series. 1989 I was broadcasting the games for the Oakland Athletics on a both on top of the roof at Candlestick Park a few minutes after
5PM a strong Earthquake shook us all.(Oct 17th)

During the 2000 World Series in New York I got the call to do the play by play for the Latino Broadcasting Network (today is ESPN Español
Radio Network) some 200 radio stations in the USA and Latinamerica. It was yours truly and Eduardo
Ortega, my good friend and Spanish Play by Play
Voice for the San Diego Padres, Billy Berroa,
longtime veteran Spanish Voice of the New York Mets. With us also Armando Quintero, who was then doing the Dallas Cowboys Spanish Play by Play in the NFL. All under the direction of veteran
producer Armando Talavera with Carlos Silva
and El Burrito engineering.
Quintero is not a baseball guy, but he was hired
that year to work with us. We split the innings,
one game I started and Eduardo followed and then
Armando and so on. Whomever opened the game
as play by play will go down to the field to do live
interviews right after the game.

The Yankees won the Series in five games and
it was my luck to open that 5th game broadcast
and then go on the field for the Post Game interviews and celebration. And that it was.
It was at Shea Stadium,home of the Mets where
the last 3 games were held. In game five a
two out single in the top of the ninth by Luis Sojo
was the winning hit and the Yankees won their
twenty-six and final World Series. I went on the field seconds after the last out with a wireless
microphone and remember doing a live interview
with Luis Sojo right in the middle of the infield,
behind the pitching mound in the middle of Yankee
players celebrating, flying and jumping in a pile all over the place. Then I went into the Yankee
dressing room where I will never forget little Luis Polonia in the floor opening a bottle of champagne,
even José Canseco who was then a Yankee
(only had one at bat in the Series and struck out)celebrating with other Yankee players.

Inside the Yankee dressing room was also Mayor
Rudolph Giuliani, Spike Lee, Regis Philbin and
many other celebrities, inside or just outside
the dressing room in the celebration many more.
It is NewYork after all and one of the games at Yankee Stadium in the Press Elevator I was standing there with Billy Crystal and a couple of his friends or bodyguards.

It is New York after all and the World Series in the
Big Apple is something very special. I know that many people say that baseball should not call it
World Series, but if you ever lived in New York
you understand that the World started there.

The whole City of New York was a Baseball
Fiesta. Eduardo and I walked the streets just outside the hotel in Midtown Manhattan and you
could see Mets fans arguing with Yankee fans.
About a couple of blocks north of the hotel we
were staying on Broadway we saw a couple of
fans arguing very loud, typical New York.
One guy was telling the other guy ” “You Mets fans
do not deserve to be in the Series, you guys are a Wild Card team, we(the Yanks) we deserve to be
here, we won our Division”. They went on and
on…

Many things to remember about the crazyness
of those days in Gotham, the “incident”between
Yankee pitcher Roger Clemens and Mets catcher
and hitter at the time, Mike Piazza. When Piazza’s
bat chattered, he walked in front of the mound
trying to retrieve it but Clemens got in front of
Piazza and threw half of the bat at Piazza as he
was barking at the Mets player.

The 2000 World Series was a short 5-game series
with the first two games in Yankee Stadium, Bronx and the last three at Shea Stadium in Flushing, Queens.

It was indeed a Subway Series.
Prior to the games(either at Yankee Stadium or
Shea Stadium) we got on the train/subway.
The Line 4 to the Bronx for Yankee Stadium the
Blue Line 7 to Flushing, Qeens to Shea. In the Subway we could have literally done a 30 minute
Sportstalk show. New York baseball fans, most of
them really knowleadable giving their opinions of
manager Bobby Valentine(Mets) and Joe Torre
(Yankees)talking about the DH,the lineups,the pitching,the bullpens. who had the advantage, was Roger Clemens going to be the MVP. It was a heaven for those that really love the game of baseball. If you know New York you know fans there talk,argue,fight, these are not fans that
go for Helmet Day, Calendar Day or Bat Day, these
are people that live baseball day and night, these
are fans and the World Series in New York with two
local teams is (like the great composer Cole Porter once wrote for a song) It’s the Top.

During one of our rides to Yankee Stadium, Eduardo and I were walking from the Subway Station behind Yankee Stadium in the Bronx
to the park. Eduardo looked at me and said to me in Spanish -isn’t this guy walking here besides us Mike Hampton?. It was, Mike Hampton, lefty pitcher
then for the Mets, he was in the same Subway with us on his way to the park. At least during that walk
nobody else(fans)recognized Hampton. But he is
not the only player ever to take the Subway to a game in New York.

The 2006 regular season has 2 weeks left at this time and it would be crazy to predict. But two of the best teams in the game are the Mets and the
Yankees and there is a good posibility that they
will play for the title this year. And when the World
Series is in New York with their local teams in
action I can assure you nothing can overshadow
that event. Not the Metropolitan Opera, the NFL
or anything else,well maybe when Sinatra made
his thousand comeback at Madison Square Garden for the “Ultimate Event”.

A year later after that 2000 Yankees- Mets World Series the City of New York was hit by 9-11-01.