MET MANIA
Sorry, Yanks, Amazin’s rule the city – poll
THIS OUGHTA make Mr. Met’s head even bigger.
More New York City baseball fans favor the Mets over the neighboring Yankees, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Friday.
The numbers are close: The Amazin’s are preferred by 45% of those polled compared to 43% for the Bronx Bombers. Count 10-year-old Aissatou Bah of Brooklyn among the majority pulling for the orange and blue .
“It’s not how much they win,” explained Bah. “It’s how hard they play. They’re really good players.”
Last year, the Mets won more too — 87 games and a berth in the wildcard playoff game. The Yankees captured 84 games and failed to make the postseason, although rabid boosters like Lorraine Bassett root regardless of the record.
“True Yankee fan,” explained the 55-year-old Bronx resident. “Die-hard Yankees fan. They’re the best. Their sportsmanship, their team effort.”
The Yankees fared better outside the city, according to the survey of 1,605 New York State residents.
The numbers upstate show the Yankees dominating with 53% of the fans to the Mets’ 14%, while the Bombers garnered 49% of the suburban support to 44% for the Mets.
The Yankees open the season Sunday in Tampa Bay, while the Mets debut a day later in Citi Field against the Braves.
Just three years ago, a poll found 59% of New Yorkers would have backed the Bombers in a Subway Series, compared to 37% supporting the Mets.
But with the Mets on the upswing and the Yankees in the midst of a youth movement, the pendulum has swung the other way.
“In the Big Apple, it looks like the 2017 baseball season will be a close race between the Yankees and the Mets,” said assistant poll director Maurice Carroll.
The phone poll was conducted March 23-27.
There were plenty of fans who didn’t care either way. The survey showed 50% of the men asked and 63% of the women said they were not interested in baseball at all.