Fact Check: Are Canadian wildfires responsible for the Mets and Yankees' woeful season? Evaluating MLB podcast's 'Stranger Things' analogy

Divided by rivalry, united by misery - such has been the story this year for New York’s two baseball powerhouses, the Mets and Yankees.

With just over a month of regular-season action remaining, it looks increasingly likely that both teams will miss out on a postseason berth. The last time both the Mets and Yankees failed to qualify was during the 2014 season.

While it’s been a more frequent occurrence for the Mets - having made the playoffs only 10 times in franchise history - no postseason involvement spells disaster for the Bronx Bombers. The Yankees have made the playoffs in 58 of their 121 major league campaigns, with their last miss dating back to 2016.

Several factors have been indicated as key contributors to both New York franchises’ terrible campaigns.

The Mets have been accused by fans of assembling MLB's highest payroll without a plan. Much of the Yankees’ troubles have been attributed to Brian Cashman and the lack of action from the top brass.

Could another factor be at play? In the latest episode of the Talkin’ Baseball podcast, co-host Jake Storiale shared a theory suggested by Jomboy Media’s Joseph Solano aka Joez McFly.

According to McFly, the Mets and Yankees haven’t been the same since smoke from Canadian wildfires engulfed the New York skies back in June - a thought which reeks of a Stranger Things-inspired supernatural event.

"Joez McFly said that nothing’s been the same in New York since those Canadian wildfires came down. He thinks that might have been it. He thinks maybe it was like a Stranger Things-type situation.” - Jake Storiale on the Talkin' Baseball podcast

Did Canadian wildfires really disrupt the Mets and Yankees’ season?

Combined, the Mets and Yankees have gone 52-76 since wildfire smoke entered New York airspace in early June. That run of form translates to a 66-96 pace over the course of an entire campaign.

The climate emergency and the horrendous combined run of both teams does make for a peculiar coincidence. However, it doesn’t explain why things have gone so wrong on the pitch.

The Mets and Yankees have had several issues to address - injuries, key players underperforming, questionable tactics at times - to name a few, but very little in the way of answers. So even without all the smoke, there still would have been plenty of fires to put out.