Luis Severino Gave Great Quote on Difference Between Playing for Yankees and Mets

The Mets righty spent the first nine seasons of his career in pinstripes.

Jun 23, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; New York Mets pitcher Luis Severino (40) throws the ball against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports / David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

This year's Subway Series turned into a rather shocking affair as the New York Mets smacked around the New York Yankees in two straight games. The home side beat up on Yankees ace Gerrit Cole on Tuesday night at Citi Field before routing the pinstripes on Wednesday, 12-2.

One added layer of the crosstown rivalry this year comes in the form of Luis Severino. Severino spent the first nine seasons of his career with the Yankees and, at times, was tabbed as the team's next great ace. But injuries and inconsistency plagued his final few seasons in the Bronx. When Severino hit free agency last offseason, he decided to simply move boroughs and joined the Mets.

The righty watched his new team beat the stuffing out of his old team from the dugout on Wednesday night. Afterwards, reporters wanted his unique perspective on what it's like to play for both of NYC's big league clubs, and Severino had a great quote to sum it up succinctly.

When asked what the biggest difference was between playing for the Yankees and the Mets, Severino deadpanned, "Having a beard."

Question to Luis Severino: "What's the biggest difference about being a Met vs. being a Yankee?"

Severino: "Having a beard" pic.twitter.com/EFtoITpJ9j

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) June 26, 2024

The pitcher would go on to give a more serious and interesting answer that had less to do with the pinstripes' infamous facial hair policy.

"For me, getting here, getting to know everybody, this is definitely just a little bit, I would say, more calm when you come here," Severino told reporters. "I don't know if it's because nobody is expecting us to win this year, if there's a little bit less pressure for us. It's like, come here, just win games and we'll see at the end of the year what's going to happen. But, you know, it's the Yankees, everybody know, we're the Yankees and we had to go out there and play because we were going to win the division."

The difference in expecations Severino mentions is what makes the results of the Subway Series so shocking. The pair of wins got the Mets back to .500 for the first time since early May, when the team's announcers were having an existential crisis about how bad the baseball was. Meanwhile, the Yankees just lost their grip on the "best record in baseball" title, which now belongs to the 53-27 Philadelphia Phillies.

On the other hand, maybe it isn't all that surprising. The Mets have won 15 of their last 19 games. Sometimes baseball is just about who's hotter, and right now the Mets are hotter than just about any team in baseball.

They also won the first round of their annual rivalry series with the Yankees. The pinstripes will have their chance at revenge in late July, when the Mets come to the Bronx for another two-game series.