Inside The Mets

Brandon Nimmo takes powerful stance about Mets' New York respect compared to Yankees

Mets slugger Brandon Nimmo didn't mince words about the respect his team deserves in New York.

Grant Young

Oct 13, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; New York Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo (9) takes the field before game one of the NLCS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Oct 13, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; New York Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo (9) takes the field before game one of the NLCS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
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Even New York Mets fans would have a hard time arguing that when it comes to winning tradition and cultural impact, their beloved team is second fiddle compared to the cross-town Yankees.

But that has nothing to do with where both of these teams are at in the present day. And while the Yankees made it to the World Series last season, the Mets didn't finish far behind by advancing to the NLCS. And there's a case to be made that the Mets played the Los Angeles Dodgers much tougher than the Yankees did.

Not to mention that the Mets swiped superstar slugger Juan Soto from the Yankees this past offseason. This seemed to be the final weight added to what has felt like a recent balancing of the scales when it comes to New York's baseball supremacy.

Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo was featured in a March 24 Q&A article with Newsday's Tim Healey. And at one point, Nimmo set the record straight about the respect his squad deserves.

Read more: Francisco Lindor discloses Juan Soto 'research' verdict before Mets signing

"We’re not going to try to be the stepbrother to the Yankees," Nimmo said in the article. "We’re not going to be the second team in New York anymore. We want to be New York’s team.

"We want to command respect for the Mets' name. And I think that total buy-in from [the Cohens] has been the biggest difference I’ve seen," he added.

It's cool to hear Nimmo stand on business in this regard. But the bottom line is that the Mets can only truly earn the New York respect that they think they deserve with postseason success and World Series championships — which feels closer than ever this season.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Mets and Women’s Basketball for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee.

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