The Rivalry: Going, Going Gone? Not so fast!

As a late August four game, weekend series between heated rivals, the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets, gets ready to kick off in Flushing, NY this evening, it has become quite apparent that the Mets’ hopes and dreams of a postseason appearance is a mere afterthought, while the Phillies appear to be cruising to their third consecutive division title. With this being the case, is it fair to say that one of the most heated rivalries in pro sports over the past few years has lost some of its steam? As a late August four game, weekend series between heated rivals, the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets, gets ready to kick off in Flushing, NY this evening, it has become quite apparent that the Mets’ hopes and dreams of a postseason appearance is a mere afterthought, while the Phillies appear to be cruising to their third consecutive division title. With this being the case, is it fair to say that one of the most heated rivalries in pro sports over the past few years has lost some of its steam?

The rivalry has been a long and fairly storied one over the years. One big problem with the rivalry however, is that up until the mid-2000’s it has rarely, if ever, seen both teams being competitive at the same time. It could be said that 2006 is when the rivalry really began to heat up as the Mets cruised to their first division title in nearly twenty years while the Phils showed their first glimpses of becoming a perennial contender.

It never got more heated, though, than 2007 and 2008 when the Phillies surpassed the Mets both years, late in the season, to take the NL East crown. Since that time, the decimated by injury New York Mets have fallen off the map and much of the trash talk between players, fans and even media members has settled to a minimum. Although it may not be as heated as it has been for the past two or three years, the rivalry will always be there.

It was there in 1986 when the Mets won the World Series and Philadelphia finished twenty-one and a half games back. It was even there as the Mets won another division title in 1988 while the Phillies were a putrid franchise during that time and just finishing the season not having the worst record in baseball seemed like a victory of sorts. The rivalry was even there in 1993 as the Phillies cruised to their first postseason appearance in a decade while the Mets couldn’t even bring themselves to play .400 baseball.

The fact of the matter is that even though the rivalry will be more heated when both clubs are playing well, it will still be there when that is not the case. In the end, Phils fans will always love to hate the Strawberrys, Goodens, Beltrans and Reyeses, while Mets fans will always show up to try to boo the Schmidts, Kruks, Utleys and Rollinses out of the stadium. Things will be no different this weekend at Citi Field, even though the Mets are essentially fielding a minor league team and the defending World Champion Phillies are vying to take over the top spot in the entire National League. Even though they aren’t fighting over a championship, let’s all sit back and enjoy one of the longest lasting and best rivalries in the game.