The Turnpike Series: Philadelphia Phillies New York Mets Rivalry Page

“The Phillies are still the team to beat in the NL East. The Mets don’t have a chance with their old men and no bench!”

“The Mets are clearly the best team in the National League. Not only will they crush the Phillies but will also go straight to the World Series!”

Check out our Turnpike Series Blog

Philadelphia Phillies New York Mets Rivalry History

1st Meeting April 27, 1962

Last Meeting September 16, 2007

Next Meeting April 8, 2008

Number of Meetings 783

All-Time Series PHI leads, 420-366

Regular Season Series

Largest victory

Current Streak PHI, 8

Longest NYM Win Streak 10

Longest PHI Win Streak 10

Turnpike Series History

______________________________________________

Sarge vs Hernandez

Mike and Bill usually argue about who is better but this argument is about who is worse.

All season we will have quotes from Phillies announcer Gary Matthews and Mets announcer Keith Hernandez.

You can be the judge of the Matthews and Hernandezisms.

Click here to see them or add your own favorites!

New Site. More Content coming soon. Check back soon!

Turnpike Series  History

The Mets-Phillies Rivalry is the intense rivalry between the New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies, sometimes called the "Turnpike Series" based on the New Jersey Turnpike connection between New York City and Philadelphia.                                                                                                                       

The rivalry between the Mets and Phillies is quite intense, as often the two National League divisional rivals meet each other in numerous playoff and NL Wild Card races. The Mets-Phillies rivalry is now regarded as second-best rivalry in baseball next to the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry. Philadelphia is trying to rid of the Curse of Billy Penn, while the Mets are trying to seek their first title since 1986.

The rivalry has always been bitter; nevertheless, before the 2006 season, it had remained relatively low-key, as the teams had seldom (if ever) been equally good at the same time.

In 2006, however, the rivalry began to heat up as the Mets steadily led the NL East (finally supplanting the theretofore perennial division champion Atlanta Braves), while the Phillies maintained pace as a Wild Card contender until the very end of the season. The Mets won the head-to-head season matchup, beating the Phillies 11 out of 19 times.

On January 23, 2007, Phillies star shortstop Jimmy Rollins made a statement that may have set the rivalry in a dead heat: "I think we are the team to beat in the NL East -- finally." Many Mets fans and players laughed at the prediction, especially once the Phillies stumbled out of the gate in April 2007, starting the season at 1-6 and posting an 11-14 record for the month. The Mets, meanwhile, sat firmly in the NL East lead for almost all of the season. Nevertheless, as the season wore on the Phillies slowly regained momentum in their usual position as wild-card contender. Importantly, the Phillies dominated the Mets in head-to-head play, posting three separate series sweeps (including an exciting four-game sweep at Citizens Bank Park at the end of August and a pivotal mid-September three-game sweep at Shea Stadium, by which time the Phillies were threatening to move from wild-card contender to division leader). With 17 games left to play, the Mets led the Phillies by 7 games; but during the final 17-game stretch, the Mets won only 5 games while the Phillies went 13-4. On the final day of the season, the Phillies won the division, backing up Rollins' quote. Mets starter Tom Glavine gave up seven runs in the first inning to the Florida Marlins, while the Phillies beat the Washington Nationals to send the Mets packing for the winter. The rivalry portends to be even hotter during the 2008 season.

The rivalry also can be attributed to the rivalry between the cities of New York City and Philadelphia. Mets fans often show up at Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park in large numbers, due to the fact Philly is only a 2-1/2 hour drive from New York via the New Jersey Turnpike, and is easily accessible via Amtrak trains departing from Penn Station. Large pockets of Phillies fans attend games at New York's Shea Stadium.

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

Games between the two rival teams are intense between fans, as numerous beers are thrown, and fights commonly break out in the stands. Fans of both teams often direct derisive and abusive chants at opposing players and opposing fans whenever games between the two teams are played. It is not uncommon to hear foul language and obscenities when at a Mets-Phillies game as well.

Mets fans see the Phillies as one of their most hated rivals alongside the Atlanta Braves and American League New York Yankees, as do the Phillies who see their rivalry with the Atlanta Braves along with the American league Boston Red Sox, mainly because the Phillies and Red Sox habitually face one another in interleague play.

The New York-Philadelphia rivalry is evident in other sports (for example, the heated rivalry between the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles in the National Football League and the New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers in the National Hockey League).

On February 16, 2008, Mets center fielder Carlos Beltran made a statement regarding the 2008 season. He 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." Some Phillies made comments about Beltran's prediction. Jimmy Rollins was surprised that Beltran would say such a thing because Beltran is a quite guy. J-Roll sarcastically said congratulations to Carlos for finally becoming a leader. Also, Jimmy Rollins said "isn't that plagiarism" because he made the same comment a year before. This statement has intensified the white hot rivalry.

The rivarly is also based on trades made by both teams sending to the Phillies such players as Tug McGraw in one deal and Lenny Dykstra and Roger McDowell in another. Mets fans are still bitter that they only recived Juan Samuel in the deal for Dykstra and McDowell.