Mets-Phillies rivalry
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| New York Mets–Philadelphia Phillies | |
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| History | |
| 1st Meeting | April 27, 1962 |
| Last Meeting | April 20, 2008 |
| Next Meeting | July 4, 2008 |
| Number of Meetings | 788 |
| All-Time Series | PHI leads, 421-367 |
| Regular Season Series | NYM leads 4-2 |
| Largest victory | |
| Current Streak | Philadelphia Phillies 1 |
| Longest NYM Win Streak | 10 |
| Longest PHI Win Streak | 10 |
The Mets-Phillies Rivalry is the intense rivalry between the New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies. The Mets-Phillies rivalry is said to be among the best rivalries in the National League along with the Cardinals-Cubs rivalry and the Dodgers-Giants rivalry.
The rivalry between the Mets and Phillies is quite intense, as often the two National League divisional rivals meet each other in numerous playoff, NL East, and NL Wild Card races. The Phillies are trying to rid Philadelphia of the Curse of Billy Penn, while the Mets are trying to seek their first title since 1986.
The rivalry has always been bitter; nevertheless, before the 2006 season, it had remained relatively low-key, as the teams had seldom (if ever) been equally good at the same time. The Phillies were near the bottom of the NL East when the Mets won the World Series in 1969 and the National League pennant in 1973, while the Mets did not enjoy success in the late 1970s when the Phillies won three straight division championships. Although both teams each won a World Series in the 1980s, the Mets were not serious contenders in the Phillies' playoff years (1980, 1981, and 1983), nor did the Phillies seriously contend in the Mets' playoff years (1986 and 1988). The Mets were the Majors' worst team when the Phillies won the NL in 1993, and the Phillies could not post a winning record in either of the Mets' wild-card winning seasons of 1999 or 2000 (when the Mets faced the Yankees in the World Series).
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[edit] Recent History
[edit] 2006: The rivalry intensifies
In 2006, however, the rivalry began to heat up as the Mets steadily led the NL East (finally supplanting the theretofore perennial division champion Atlanta Braves), while the Phillies maintained pace as a Wild Card contender until the very end of the season. See Mets' 2006 Season; Phillies 2006 Season. The Mets won the head-to-head season matchup, beating the Phillies 11 out of 19 times.
[edit] 2007: Rollins calls out the Mets
On January 23, 2007, Phillies star shortstop Jimmy Rollins made a statement that may have set the rivalry in a dead heat: "I think we are the team to beat in the NL East - finally. But that's only on paper." Many Mets fans and players laughed at the prediction, especially once the Phillies stumbled out of the gate in April 2007, starting the season at 1–6 and posting an 11–14 record for the month. The Mets, meanwhile, sat firmly in the NL East lead for almost all of the season.
As the season wore on the Phillies slowly regained momentum as a wild-card contender. Importantly, the Phillies dominated the Mets in head-to-head play, posting three separate series sweeps (including a pivotal sweep of a four-game series at Citizens Bank Park at the end of August which included two walk-off hits by Chase Utley and Ryan Howard and comeback victories for the Phillies in 3 of the 4 games. as well as a crucial mid-September three-game sweep at Shea Stadium, by which time the Phillies were threatening to move from wild-card contender to division leader). With 17 games left to play, the Mets led the Phillies by 7 games; but during the final 17-game stretch, the Mets won only 5 games while the Phillies went 13–4. On the final day of the season, the Phillies won the division, backing up Rollins' quote. Mets starter Tom Glavine gave up seven runs in the first inning to the Florida Marlins, while the Phillies beat the Washington Nationals behind Philadelphian Jamie Moyer to send the Mets packing for the winter. Rollins capped his prediction by adding his first career MVP award. The rivalry portended to be even hotter during the 2008 season.
According to Baseball Prospectus, the Mets' collapse over the end of the season ranked statistically as the second-worst in baseball history.[1]
[edit] 2008: Beltran fires back
On February 16, 2008, Mets center fielder Carlos Beltran made a statement regarding the 2008 MLB season. He stated that, "Without Santana, we felt, as a team, that we had a chance to win in our division. With him now, I have no doubt that we're going to win in our division. I have no doubt in that. We've got what it takes. To Jimmy Rollins: We are the team to beat." Some Phillies made comments about Beltran's prediction although Rollins was surprised that Beltran would say such a thing because Beltran is a relatively soft-spoken player. Rollins sarcastically said congratulations to Beltran for finally becoming a leader.
Through the opening month of the season, the Phillies and Mets traded blows with the Braves and Florida Marlins atop the NL East; however, the Phillies and Mets both managed to come out of April locked in a tight race atop the division. Both teams ended April only ½ game behind Florida, with the Mets (14–12) ahead of the Phillies (15–13) by merely .002 in winning percentage. Over the next month, the Phillies' offense began to come on strong, powering them to a 32–24 record. Conversely, the Mets struggled through May as media reports calling for Willie Randolph's job began to surface. They finished the month 26–27, 4½ games off the pace.
[edit] Causes
The rivalry also can be attributed to the proximity between the cities of New York City and Philadelphia, which are approximately two hours apart by car. Mets fans often show up at Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park in large numbers, and large pockets of Phillies fans attend games at New York's Shea Stadium. The Mets' fanbase comes from the New York metro area, which includes southern Connecticut, and northern and central Jersey. Conversely, the Phillies' fanbase generally draws from the Philadelphia metro area, which includes southeastern Pennsylvania, central Jersey and south Jersey, and northern Delaware.
The rivalry is also based on trades made by both teams sending to the Phillies such players as Tug McGraw in one deal and Lenny Dykstra and Roger McDowell in another. Mets fans are still bitter that they only received Juan Samuel in the deal for Dykstra and McDowell.
Games between the two rival teams are intense between fans, as beers are occasionally thrown, and fights commonly break out in the stands. Fans of both teams often direct derisive and abusive chants at opposing players and opposing fans whenever games between the two teams are played. It is not uncommon to hear foul language and obscenities when at a Mets-Phillies game as well.
Mets fans see the Phillies as one of their most hated rivals alongside the Atlanta Braves and American League New York Yankees, as do the Phillies who see their rivalry with the Braves along with the American League Boston Red Sox, mainly because the Phillies and Red Sox habitually face one another in interleague play.
Another major factor in the intensifying rivalry between 2006-2007 was the acquisition of former Phillies closer Billy Wagner by the Mets. Pat Burrell and Billy Wagner became embroiled in a heated rivalry after Wagner departed the Phillies, and in the 2007 regular season, Burrell hit two home runs off Wagner, resulting in two blown saves.
[edit] In other sports
The New York-Philadelphia rivalry is evident in other sports (for example, the heated rivalry between the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles in the National Football League and the New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers in the National Hockey League).
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[edit] References
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