PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets are set to take their rivalry to new heights when the teams face off in the National League Division Series, beginning Saturday at 4:08 p.m. on FOX43.
The National League East rivals have never faced off in the MLB postseason before, until now.
Both teams joined the division as founding members in 1969, but have history back to games being played all the way in the Mets' inaugural season of 1962.
Over those 52 years, the Mets have taken the division six times, and taken home the World Series title twice.
The Phillies have matched the Mets with two World Series wins, but have doubled up on division titles with 12 in the same time period.
It's impossible to tell the story of one of these franchises without the other, that's how intertwined their histories have become.
A new chapter is set to be written this week.
FIVE-DAY LAYOFF: Since MLB’s most recent 12-team playoff format took effect in 2022, five of the eight top seeds have lost in the Division Series, unable to capitalize on the supposed reward of earning a bye through the Wild Card Series.
This year, the Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies have the top two seeds in the National League, while the New York Yankees and Cleveland Guardians are in the same position in the American League. That's given all of them five days to prepare for the best-of-five Division Series that begins Saturday.
Sure, a few days to heal bumps and bruises while other teams fight it out is nice. But there's also a downside.
“It’s not a vacation,” Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott said following a workout earlier this week.
Maybe more than any other professional sport, baseball is one that relies on rhythm and routine.
MLB squeezes 162 regular-season games into 187 days over six months, meaning teams are playing games almost daily from April to September. Other than the All-Star break in July, there's never two scheduled days off in a row.