Phillies-Mets series perfect time to bring back rally towels

Fans of the Philadelphia Phillies wave rally towels (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)
Fans of the Philadelphia Phillies wave rally towels (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)

The Phillies should bring back their iconic white rally towels this weekend.

Over the next few days, the Philadelphia Phillies will honor the late David Montgomery and Roy Halladay — as well as Wall of Fame inductee Manny Trillo — as part of their popular Alumni Weekend celebration held every year.

Their opponent across the three-game home series so happens to be the New York Mets — the same team the Joe Girardi-led squad is withinin striking distance of in the NL East standings.

The Mets, of course, are also the same team the Phillies beat out, year after year when capturing five straight division titles from 2007 to 2011. Fast-forward a decade later, it seems as though the Phillies’ chances to make the postseason have never been greater — this late in the season — since the last time fans celebrated Red October in 2011.

While attention this weekend will be on the franchise’s great alumni, it also truly feels like the right time for the Phils to bring back their iconic white rally towels. The Phils should play on the nostalgia, the urgency, and every heightened emotion.

First place is up for grabs on Friday night, which will create absolutely electric energy at Citizens Bank Park. The boost of in-game fan enthusiasm the rally towels would bring would only help propel a red-hot team even further up the National League East rankings.

Setting the stage for an interesting and monumental Phillies-Mets series

So far this season, the Phils are just 5-8 against the Mets with two series and six games left to be played. Yet, even with a record well below .500 against their rival, the Phils have still only been outscored by five runs against them — 44 to 49. Also, each of the Phillies’ last four 2021 losses against the Mets were only one-run defeats.

The Phillies have also been on an offensive tear so far in August, outscoring opponents 43-24, while the Mets have been outscored 25-15 this month.

The most recent Mets-Phillies series featured a four-game split between the teams. The first two games were doubleheader matchups on June 25 that both lasted extra innings. History was made on this day, as Aaron Nola recorded 10 straight strikeouts against the Mets. This feat tied an impressive 51-year-old record for most in MLB history, held by late Mets Hall of Famer pitcher Tom Seaver.

The stakes are high this weekend. Fan interest is at a peak level for this season, and the Phillies should build on that and bring back a fan-favorite from their last postseason run — the rally towel.

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