Yankees vs. Mets: Who wins in MLB's battle for New York?

By Jordan Shusterman
FOX Sports MLB Writer

We’re about a third of the way through the 2022 MLB season, and the two best records in baseball belong to the two teams in New York, New York.

How about that?

Now, we shouldn’t be overly shocked, considering the wealth of talent on the Mets' and Yankees' rosters. But to have them both pacing the league this far into the season feels significant … and begs the question that will surely be debated all summer long in sports bars across all five boroughs: Which of these teams is actually better?

We of course have more than 100 more games (plus the postseason) to effectively answer that question, but for now, we thought it’d be fun to do an early tale of the tape comparison. And so we went position by position and decided which team has the edge in each spot.

Catcher: Jose Trevino & Kyle Higashioka vs. Tomas Nido, Patrick Mazeika & James McCann (eventually)

This is easily the weakest part of both of these teams, so we weren’t particularly enthralled with either side, but we ultimately sided with the Bronx backstops.

Advantage: Yankees

First base: Anthony Rizzo vs. Pete Alonso

Rizzo has cooled off a good bit since an incredible start, but he’s still extremely reliable. That said, the ceiling with Polar Pete is tough to pass up.

Advantage: Mets

Second base: Gleyber Torres vs. Jeff McNeil

McNeil has certainly performed better this season, but Torres’ huge gains since last year in terms of batted ball data make us feel like this is pretty much a toss-up. 

Advantage: Even

Third base: Josh Donaldson vs. Eduardo Escobar

We lean Escobar thanks to his switch-hitting, solid defense and, most importantly, markedly superior durability. 

Advantage: Mets

Shortstop: Isiah Kiner-Falefa vs. Francisco Lindor

This isn't complicated. IKF is a solid player, but Lindor is a superstar.

Advantage: Mets

Outfield: Joey Gallo, Aaron Hicks & Aaron Judge vs. Mark Canha, Brandon Nimmo & Starling Marte

We decided to pick three outfielders between the two teams. Judge was the obvious first pick, but then we lean toward Nimmo and Canha, rather than the currently struggling versions of Gallo and Hicks. 

Advantage: Mets

DH: Giancarlo Stanton vs. J.D. Davis

Respect to Davis, but we’re taking Big G all day long for fairly obvious reasons.

Advantage: Yankees

Bench: DJ LeMahieu, Matt Carpenter & Marwin Gonzalez vs. Luis Guillorme, Nick Plummer & Khalil Lee

As amazing as Guillorme has been, having LeMahieu as a bench player and the suddenly rejuvenated Carpenter made us feel pretty good about picking the Yankees here.

Advantage: Yankees

Starting pitching: Gerrit Cole, Nestor Cortes Jr., Jameson Taillon, Jordan Montgomery & Luis Severino vs. Chris Bassitt, Carlos Carrasco, David Peterson, Taijuan Walker & Trevor Williams

This would obviously be a different discussion if Max Scherzer, Jacob deGrom and, yes, Tylor Megill were healthy, but they aren’t right now, which gives the Yankees' rotation — which has been shockingly healthy and stunningly effective — the clear edge. 

Advantage: Yankees

Bullpen: Clay Holmes, Michael King, Miguel Castro, Wandy Peralta & Clarke Schmidt vs. Edwin Diaz, Seth Lugo, Adam Ottavino, Joely Rodriguez & Drew Smith

Injuries come into play on the Yankees' side here, with Aroldis Chapman and Jonathan Loaisiga currently on the shelf and Chad Green out for the year. At this stage, it’s pretty close to a wash, though we probably lean slightly toward the Yankees.

Advantage: Even

Manager: Aaron Boone vs. Buck Showalter

Showalter has been at this longer and has done an impressive job of steadying the circus that is the New York Mets.

Advantage: Mets

WINNER: YANKEES

That’s how we’d pick ‘em. Let us know what you think! 

Jordan Shusterman is half of @CespedesBBQ and a baseball writer for FOX Sports. He lives in D.C. but is a huge Seattle Mariners fan and loves watching the KBO, which means he doesn't get a lot of sleep. You can follow him on Twitter @j_shusterman_.