Yankees and Mets, Latinos and Asians

So, good thing the Mets got that game last night, I don't know if they'll be able to get another win this series. Right now they're losing 10-5.

Seems to me there are a few key differences in the Yankees and the Mets. The Yankees are a team steeped in heritage, and the Mets are like the new kids on the block. Yankees are known for left handed power hitting, where the Mets are known for good pitching. The Yankees are the ever present dominant team in baseball, and the Mets are the underdogs in whom you "gotta believe". The biggest difference, in my opinion, is with the fans. If you're a New Yorker and you're Italian, there is about a %200 chance that you're also a Yankees fan. My sister CONSTANTLY points that out, to the chagrin of my mother (1/2 Italian). Things have been changing though...

I read somewhere last year that the Mets are trying to increase they're presence in Latin America. They pointed to the tendency of Latinos to go to the game, not because they were fans of the Mets (per se), but because "their guys" were playing. It seems like half the team has the name Jose or Carlos. No wonder Banco National is the official bank of the Mets. Being a Latino baseball fan now must be like being an Italian when names like DiMaggio and Berra were running baseball in New York.

The Yankees seem aren't far behind with they're own up and coming fan base though. This article points out that the Yanks will soon be reaching out to China for new young talent. As I speak, the Yankees have two East Asians that I can think of on their team, Matsui (Japan), and Chen Ming Wang (Taiwan). The reason I got started on this post is because I saw this picture in a friend's facebook profile:












Can you guess her nationality?



5 points if you said Taiwanese. This girl doesn't know the first thing about baseball, except to say that she knows the best time to go to a Yankee game is when Wang is starting.

So if you're one of the two biggest immigrant groups in New York right now, you already know what team to root for. That is unless you're Chinese, but it looks like the Yankees are already covering that base (no pun intended). In 20 years all the New York Latinos will be Mets fans, and the East Asians will be Yankees fans (just my prediction).

In my opinion the Mets need to reach out to China too. I mean, look at their location. Flushing!!! Yeah, of course there's all that about prospects needing to be a good ball player and all, but think of the increase in fans and attention! One good Chinese pitcher, and you have the stadium filled, and Shea's not a easy place to fill. Just look at the added convince for a Chinese baseball fan too:


That's all I'm sayin'.