New York Yankees Kansas will play the Royals in the postseason for the first time in 44 years when they meet in the ALDS. It’s going to be such a big showdown, that it could drive a rift between the quarterback of the defending NFL champion Kansas City Chiefs and the teammate he once won a Super Bowl with.
dominant quarterback patrick mahomes Called out his former teammate Gerrig Dieter for his Yankees fans. Dieter played wide receiver for Kansas City from 2017-2021 and helped the Chiefs win Super Bowl LIV in February 2020. Mahomes, who owns a share of the Royals, was asked if he would supply tickets for games played in Kansas. City to Dieter, a well-known Yankees fan, during the Chiefs’ team press conference on Thursday.
Mahomes responded, “I’ll let him stay there because I’ll get to talk trash when we hopefully win.” “He’s a big Yankees fan, I think if the Yankees lose this series, he might have to move cities. So let’s see if we can do that for him.”
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Mahomes purchased an ownership stake in the Royals in July 2020, just months after winning Super Bowl LIV with Dieter and signing a 10-year, $500 million contract extension with the Chiefs. Mahomes himself was a professional baseball player before committing to football, and his father, Patrick Mahomes Sr., played in the major leagues.
Mahomes Sr. spent some of his best seasons in New York, but with the Mets in 1999 and 2000. He went 8–0 during 39 relief appearances in the 1999 season, and helped the Mets reach the playoffs. In 2000, he helped lead the Mets back to the playoffs and eventually reach the World Series, where they lost to the Yankees 4–1. He did not play in that series, as he was left off the team’s World Series roster.
The younger Mahomes was just 6 years old when his father’s team lost to the Yankees in that World Series, and there are many photos of him as a child shaking balls and running around the grass of Shea Stadium before the game.
The 2000 Subway Series is considered one of the most painful losses in Mets history. Players on that year’s roster have spoken publicly about the disappointment of losing the series to a crosstown rival that at the time had already won three championships in the previous four years. Those players include star catcher Mike Piazza and third baseman Todd Zeile.
“I really remember hating seeing the Yankees celebrate on our field,” Zeile told the Bergen Record In October 2020.
The Yankees were also the last MLB team to win three consecutive championships. Since then, the Los Angeles Lakers are the only North American pro sports franchise to win three consecutive titles from 2000 to 2002. Now, Mahomes has the majors in position to join that club and the Yankees have been placed even further behind in that category this year. , Two-time defending champion Chiefs are undefeated Because they’re trying to win their third consecutive Super Bowl and fourth under Mahomes. No NFL team has ever won three in a row in the Super Bowl era.
Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs celebrates with his father Pat Mahomes after the AFC Championship Game at M&T Bank Stadium on January 28, 2024 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Kara Durette/Getty Images)
One of the biggest reasons Mahomes is in a position to do that for the Chiefs this year is because he ignored the former Yankees superstar’s advice as a young man. Before Mahomes reached football stardom, he said baseball as a sport was his first love after watching his father play. Former Yankees MVP Alex Rodriguez said he tried to strongly convince Mahomes to choose baseball over football in the past.
“I said, ‘Now listen to me, if you don’t listen to one thing I tell you, you’d better listen to this,’ There’s no money in football, there’s no future, there’s no history. There’s a pass to play baseball!’ Well, he reminded me of that recently and, boy, am I glad he didn’t listen to me,” Rodriguez said in a Interview with Omnisport In November 2018, Mahomes was in the midst of his first NFL MVP campaign.
New York’s designated hitter Alex Rodriguez greets fans after playing his final game as a Yankee against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees won 6–3. (Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports)
However, Mahomes has also taken positive influences from the Yankees.
A year after losing the World Series to the Yankees, Mahomes Sr. brought his son a signed photo of former Yankees captain Derek Jeter from when his father was playing for the Texas Rangers. Mahomes and Jeter talked about it in an interview on Fox’s NFL coverage last September.
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But now, as the Yankees and Royals prepare to renew their historic rivalry, Mahomes has taken a tough stance.
Both teams will play their first game of the series on Saturday night at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx. The series shifts to Kansas City’s Kauffman Stadium next Wednesday for Game 3.
Mahomes and Dieter could be there.
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