Start spreading the dreams: Subway Series in our sights as Mets, Yanks get closer to station

It’s not here yet, and it might not arrive at all. But now that the Yankees and Mets each are only four wins away from a Big Apple showdown, the rumbling is only going to get louder.

For the Subway Series no one saw coming.

The Yankees? Can’t say that would be a shocker. They were the first team in the majors to get to 50 wins, claimed the division title with three days to spare and finished with the best record in the American League. As for their path to the World Series? No Astros, no Orioles. Basically a stroll through the AL Central.

The Mets, however, are this October’s party-crasher. Nearly belly-up by Memorial Day, they rallied from 11 games under .500 in early June, dodged a late July fire sale, were baseball’s best team for four months and still had to squeeze into the playoffs by winning Game 161 on Francisco Lindor’s go-ahead homer in the ninth inning in Atlanta.

But this Columbus Day weekend, the Yankees and Mets are in the same exact place, marking the first time both teams will play in the LCS simultaneously since 2000, which just so happens to be the last time they met in a Subway Series.

Twenty-four years ago. Al Leiter vs. Andy Pettitte. Roger Clemens vs. Mike Piazza. Timo Perez’s baserunning blunder in Game 1 at Yankee Stadium. Derek Jeter’s leadoff homer in Game 4, then another blast in the deciding Game 5 at Shea Stadium as he took World Series MVP honors.

After nearly a quarter-century, you could say New York is overdue for a rematch. Sure, the Yankees and Mets play a home-and-home series annually now during the regular season, but that’s a backyard BBQ compared to a late October best-of-seven with a championship at stake. Not to mention the baseball civil war that would grip Gotham during that raucous week.

“It would be amazing,” the Mets’ Brandon Nimmo said, smiling. “I don’t even know what the city would do, man. It would just almost explode. It would be a blast, there’s no question about it. It would be a dream kind of scenario. So I would enjoy the heck out of it and it would be a story that you would tell for the rest of your life.”

Nimmo was quick to point out that the Mets still have a “big obstacle” to get past, namely the Dodgers in the NLCS, which begins Sunday night in Los Angeles, so he didn’t want to look too far ahead. “We’re going to be focused on the NLCS for now,” he said. But the potential for a Subway Series is too juicy to ignore, especially with both teams now on the brink.

It also could be the worst nightmare for the Yankees, who haven’t advanced to a World Series since they won it all in 2009 and would be running smack into the never-say-die Mets, who seem to be this October’s Team of Destiny. The Mets already have knocked off two division champs in the Brewers and Phillies with signature late-inning comebacks, and it’s worth noting that they went 4-0 against the Yankees this season, albeit without the sidelined Giancarlo Stanton available for either locale.

Stanton obviously would loom large in the October rematch, considering he was the Yankees’ MVP during their four-game ALDS win over the Royals. So would a full-strength Gerrit Cole, as he’s now built up to his Cy Young Award-winning self rather than the guy who had just returned from the IL when the Mets knocked him around at Citi Field in the first meeting.

“I think everybody’s mind is it would be the perfect scenario,” said the Mets’ Luis Severino, who grew up in the Yankees’ system and spent eight seasons wearing pinstripes before moving to Queens. “But right now we just need to focus on playing the Dodgers.”

Another side plot: It was Severino who took the most publicized swipe at the Yankees in July, telling his former teammates on a group chat, “I’m not afraid of you guys. Right now you only have two good hitters.” It was a reference to Juan Soto and Aaron Judge, as Stanton was injured at the time and the rest of the lineup was slumping badly. The Bronx will be holding a grudge if the Mets visit again later this month, with Severino no doubt wearing those traitorous comments again.

“It would be really fun,” he said, laughing. “I would be booed, but hey, it would be really good.”

There’s plenty of Subway Series storylines, and at the forefront is Carlos Mendoza, rookie manager with the Mets, facing off against his old team and former mentor Aaron Boone. Mendoza spent 15 years in the Yankees’ organization, starting as a Class A coach before eventually being promoted to the major-league staff and ultimately becoming Boone’s bench coach for the 2020 season. With those pinstriped roots, Mendoza stays in touch with Boone, and he watched the Yankees’ Game 4 clincher Thursday night.

“I texted a lot of people,” Mendoza said. “There’s a lot of people that I have a lot of respect for. And it’s just great. It’s great for baseball, it’s great for the city of New York that the two teams are in this position and with a really good opportunity to continue to move forward.”

As for a Subway Series, Mendoza has the unique perspective of having been behind enemy lines. But whenever the Yankees are around, it’s still like a homecoming for the Mets’ manager, as he’s forged lasting friendships with some of their biggest stars, including Judge — the probable AL MVP — who couldn’t help but notice Mendoza’s impact with the Mets.

“Even when he was here as our bench coach, he prepared his guys, prepared the infield, prepared everybody to go out there and compete on a daily basis,” Judge said. “That’s what you’re seeing, I think. There’s been so many games where it’s been battling back and forth, back and forth, and all of a sudden the sixth, seventh, eighth, down to your last out, guys come up with big hits.

“It’s a testament to Carlos, a guy that’s cool, calm, collected in pressure situations, makes the right calls, makes the right moves.”

The mutual respect is one thing. The dueling billionaires would be another, with the Mets’ Steve Cohen — currently holding the title of baseball’s richest owner — going up against the Yankees’ Hal Steinbrenner, who’s weighed down by the dynastic legacy of his father, George, the original Boss. Cohen has the sport’s highest payroll, at $340 million, but Steinbrenner isn’t far behind, spending a franchise-record $313 million for this season.

If this Subway Series does happen, it also would kick off the looming big-money battle between Cohen and Steinbrenner over Soto, who will become a free agent a few days after the champion is crowned. Could the World Series winner have an advantage in those Soto sweepstakes? And how much would Soto’s performance add to his price tag?

All just part of the Subway Series conversation, which is going to continue until an LCS outcome dictates otherwise. But after what’s transpired this October, it’s hard to see the Yankees being stopped by the Guardians, and the Mets have defied the odds since June, shedding their underdog status with last round’s dismissal of the Phillies. The Dodgers are the third division winner to cross the Mets’ playoff path, and we know what happened to the previous two. Hardly an insurmountable foe, and the Bronx could be waiting on the other side.

“It’ll be an unbelievable experience,” Mendoza said. “Hopefully we see each other. But we have to take care of business. We have another series in front of us, and they have to get through their next series as well. I think it’s just a one-game mentality, one series at a time, and then see what happens.”

Baseball’s greatest metropolis will be holding its collective breath. After all, what’s the world compared to New York City bragging rights?

“It’s going to be fun to look forward to down the road,” Judge said. “Getting a chance to face them again.”

Depends on your definition of fun. For many fans, and especially those of the big-brother Yankees, another Subway Series matchup — with the championship at stake — would stir more anxiety than enjoyment. And now it might be only another week away.

By David Lennon

dave.lennon@newsday.comDPLennon

David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.