Mets-Phillies Rivalry.

As Mike Vaccaro of the NY Post writes - "Well, hell, it's about time."

This is becoming an intense rivalry, sometimes called the "Turnpike Series" due to the New Jersey Turnpike connection between the two cities.

The Mets-Phillies rivalry has been said to be the second best rivalry in baseball after the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry. I'm would not go that far as of yet, but it sure has the potential to be.

Back in Jan. 2007 Rollins made a quote that may have set the rivalry in a dead heat. Rollins stated that: "I think we are the team to beat in the NL East -- finally." Many Mets fans and players laughed at the prediction, but the Phillies dominated the Mets in wins that season. On the final day of the season, the Phillies won the division, backing up Rollins' quote.

This month Beltran 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."

Mets fans often show up at Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park in large numbers, while smaller pockets of Phillies fans attend games at New York's Shea Stadium.

The Phillies are fighting the Curse of William Penn - sometimes used to explain the failure of professional sports teams based in Pennsylvania to win championships since the March 1987 construction of the One Liberty Place skyscraper, which exceeded the height of William Penn's statue atop Philadelphia City Hall. Since then, no Philadelphia major sports team (baseball, football, basketball, or hockey) has won a league championship.

The last professional team to win a championship in Philadelphia of the four major sports was the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1983.

There is even a movie on the curse by the same name, The Curse of William Penn, was produced in 2006.

The Fanbase:

• Mets' fanbase comes from the New York metro area, as well as southern Connecticut and northern New Jersey
• Phillies' fanbase generally draws from the Philadelphia metro area, as well as eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and parts of Delaware.
  
  

History:

• Both team won a World Series during the 1980s. The Phillies in 1980 and the Mets in 1986.
• 1st meeting April 27, 1962
• number of meeting 783
• all-time series - PHI leads, 419-364
• current streak - PHI 8 straight wins
• Longest Mets winning streak - 10
• Longest Phillies winning streak - 10
• Both teams have a historic collapse. The Phillies gave up a 6 1/2 game lead with 12 to play in 1964 - the Mets gave up a 7 game lead with 17 to play in 2007
  

The Phillies: Established in 1883

• 1 World Series Championship
• 5 League Championships
• 7 Division Championships
• 0 Wild Cards
  

The Mets: Established in 1962

• 2 World Series Championship
• 4 League Championships
• 5 Division Championships
• 2 Wild Cards

In the 46 year history between the two teams they have only finished 1-2 four times.

• 1986 Mets 1st place Phillies 2nd place
• 1995 Tied for 2nd place
• 2006 Mets 1st place Phillies 2nd place
• 2007 Phillies 1st place Mets 2nd place
  

Do you welcome the Rivalry?