The National League East is arguably the best division in Major League Baseball heading into the 2025 season. The division featured three playoff teams in 2024, including the 95-win Philadelphia Phillies who had the second most wins in baseball behind the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
Will Leitch of MLB.com picked each division’s most bitter rivalry heading into the new season. Leitch opted for a three-way rivalry in the NL East between the New York Mets, Atlanta Braves and Phillies.
Mets are Phillies’ most bitter NL East rival heading into 2025 season
The Phillies and Braves have had their fair share of big moments and hatred over the last few seasons. The Phillies were 6.5 games back of the Braves in 2021 and missed the playoffs. In 2022, the Phillies snuck into the playoffs as the final Wild Card team and beat the No. 2 seed Braves in four games in the NLDS. The No. 4 seed Phillies took down the No. 1 seed Braves in four games in the NLDS once again in 2023.
The Braves were eliminated by the San Diego Padres in the Wild Card Round in 2024 while the division-winning Phillies waited to play either the Milwaukee Brewers or Mets. With how the 2024 season played out, the Phillies’ most bitter NL East rival heading into the 2025 season is the Mets.
The Phillies won the season series against the Mets 7-6 in 2024, but their divisional foe got the last laugh. The Phillies lost three out of the last four games to the Mets in the regular season. A few weeks later, the Mets eliminated the Phillies in four games during the NLDS.
Philadelphia and New York have a long-standing rivalry due to geographical reasons between the two major cities. That rivalry carries right into the sports world whether it’s Eagles-Giants, Sixers-Knicks, Flyers-Rangers or Phillies-Mets.
Phillies fans don’t like Mets fans and Mets fans don’t like Phillies fans. When the two teams are playing at a high level, the rivalry gets intense with the two stadiums being a short two-hour drive along I-95 from one another.
The Mets made the biggest move of the offseason by signing superstar outfielder Juan Soto to a 15-year, $765 million contract. The Phillies still feature one of the most talented rosters in baseball. Neither club is going anywhere, and it’s setting up to be a competitive, drama-filled 2025 season in the NL East.
The Phillies will look to get the bitter taste out of their mouth to avenge their early exit in the 2024 playoffs at the hands of the Mets. The Mets will look to build on their impressive season with World Series aspirations, and the Braves won’t go down without a fight. The NL East is a powerhouse, but the Phillies likely have their matchups with the Mets circled on their calendars.