Is Mets-Phils a real rivalry?
Teams rarely have been good in same season
Jerad Eickhoff NEW YORK can still recall his last start at Citi Field.
It came more than a year ago and represented one of his most memorable major league starts — and not because of his performance. The 44,099 fans packed into the ballpark that April afternoon in 2016 was the largest regular-season crowd in Citi Field’s eight years of existence. The rowdy, energetic crowd left an impression on Eickhoff and the Philadelphia Phillies.
“That was probably one of the louder atmospheres I’ve been a part of,” Eickhoff said. “And to be part of that rivalry was kind of an eye-opener, just the sense of, OK, I really need to focus here. Just a lot going on.”
The Mets fans had plenty to cheer about that day in another win against the Phillies. That’s become a familiar trend, much to the chagrin of the Phillies and their fans.
Rivalries make sports better. Playing in the same division with the cities geographically close to each other seem to make the Phillies and Mets natural rivals. Historically, though, both teams have rarely been good at the same time.
Since the formation of the National League East in 1969, the Phillies and Mets have been .500 or better in the same season only nine times in that 47-year span. And they’ve never both earned a postseason berth in the same year since the wild card was added in 1995.
So, is there truly a rivalry between the NL East foes? Players, coaches and fans can’t seem to agree.
Outfielder Curtis Granderson, in his fourth season with the Mets, is skeptical.
“I don’t,” Granderson said. “When I first got over here everyone said it was Mets-Braves and then I’ve yet to hear anybody else talk about that since I’ve been over here. And now all of the sudden it’s Mets-Nationals, so the fact that the rivalry from the outside keeps changing means there’s no rivalry.”
Granderson understands better than most players what a legitimate rivalry entails after spending four years with the New York Yankees that featured plenty of showdowns with the Boston Red Sox.
Phillies bench coach Larry Bowa also is well aware of what it means being part of an intense rivalry. He cited the rivalry his Phillies teams had in the mid-1970s with the Pittsburgh Pirates, noting it was born out of competitiveness and respect between the two sides.
“It’s very difficult to create a rivalry when one team’s dominating the other team,” Bowa said. “I think down the road it’s a possibility. But we’re judging our movement to the top on a lot of prospects that haven’t done it. There’s a big difference between a prospect and then getting here and doing it. Every team has prospects, and they don’t all come here and make it.
“Until that happens, this rivalry is sort of going to go under the radar.”
The Phillies’ five-year stranglehold on the NL East — featuring five division titles, two World Se- ries appearances and one title from 2007 to 2011 — meant plenty of success against the Mets.
From 2007 to 2013, the Phillies were 68-59 against the Mets (.535 winning percentage) with a plus-35 run differential. They didn’t have too many problems on the road, either, winning 24 of their first 40 games (.600) at Citi Field from when the ballpark opened in 2009 through 2013.
But the Phillies’ reign atop the division came to a halt in 2012, kicking off five consecutive seasons without a postseason appearance entering this season. And with those struggles and the rebuilding process, the Mets have asserted their dominance against the Phillies.
Since 2014, the Phillies have posted a 19-43 record against the Mets (.306 winning percentage) while being outscored 354-228 for an unsightly minus-126 run differential. They’ve been hapless in Queens, too, losing 20 of their previous 30 games through Wednesday.
Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said it’s “always on your mind” when facing a team that’s owned them like the Mets.
“There’s always a rivalry with teams in your division,” Mackanin said. “You play them so many times that you want it to be a fair fight, and it hasn’t seemed like it’s been a fair fight when we play the Mets.”
The lopsided matchup has led to Mets fans infiltrating Citizens Bank Park, often breaking out in “Let’s Go Mets” chants that Phillies fans try to drown out with boos. Philadelphia players and coaches have noticed the loss of homefield advantage.
“I’m not saying it’s demoralizing, but you’re busting your butt and you see all these people from New York coming down into you’re stadium, like, wait a minute,” Bowa said. “The only way you stop that is by winning some games.”
Added catcher Cameron Rupp: “That’s not what you want to hear in your home stadium, of course, but they’re a winning ballclub. And when you win, those fans travel. It’s not a long trip. It was flipped for a while. We’re getting back on the right track, and hopefully pretty soon our fans will be filling the visiting stadiums and doing the same thing.”