Five years after the Washington Nationals went on a Cinderella run on their way to a World Series championship, the New York Mets appear to be following a similar path.
On Wednesday night, they closed out a best-of-5 series against the Philadelphia Phillies, with a 4-1 victory in Game #4, earning themselves a berth in the NLCS. It's the first time the Mets have advanced this far in the playoffs since 2015, when they were led by short-term superstar Yoenis Cespedes, along with a lethal trio of starting pitchers in Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey and Noah Syndergaard.
Thus far this postseason, the Mets have gotten the better of the Goliaths of the NL East over the last few years. The have defeated the Phillies themselves, and they've far outlasted the Atlanta Braves, who were defeated by the San Diego Padres in the Wild card round.
That in itself raises an interesting question. While it's pretty clear that the Mets won't fall among the preferred teams of most Nationals fans, how does that compare to the Braves and Phillies?
Fans can do what they want with their fandom, but it sickens me a bit that there are Nats fans rooting for the Phillies
— Stephen Newman (@stephen_newman1) October 6, 2024
For the sake of this argument, we'll remove the Braves from this discussion. They were removed from the picture prior to the NLDS anyway, but most Nationals fans would agree that Atlanta has the most tolerable fanbase of the three, as well as a relatively non-polarizing roster.
There's a fair argument to be had between the Mets and the Phillies in both categories. New York and Philadelphia are both among the loudest fanbases in sports, and opinions on the likability of the Phillies roster (particularly the top trio in their lineup) is certainly debatable.
While both are known to show up at Nationals Park and make their presence known, along with exuding virality regardless of their location, I would argue that Mets faithful are the lesser of two evils in that regard. Not to mention, their wave of emotions is much more understandable, considering the trials and tribulations of the team they support.
The more fascinating discussion to be had is centered around the makeup of the two teams' rosters. In that respect, the Mets rate fairly neutrally. I've seen and heard a lot of Nationals supporters heckle slugger Pete Alonso, viewing him as a try-hard (most notably towards the Home Run Derby) with a goofy personality. But otherwise, there's not a whole lot to actively dislike - and it's also easy to rally around short-term Nationals semi-star and folk hero Jesse Winker.
Opinions on the Phillies differ wildly. The core of their lineup is arguably a trio of former Nationals, and they're all stacked at the top of Philadelphia's lineup. There isn't a clear reason to dislike Kyle Schwarber, who played a similar but upscaled role to Winker in his time in DC. Most fans have favorable memories and no feelings of animosity towards Trea Turner either, largely because his initial departure was via trade, along with having a less polarizing personality. Even hitting coach Kevin Long is probably the best the Nationals have ever had.
Then there's Bryce Harper. If you've ever been to Nationals Park - or even watched on TV or listened to the radio - when the Phillies come to DC, you've heard Harper frequently be greeted with a loud chorus of boos. For better or worse, the audible hatred towards the former (arguable) face of the franchise has continued since his departure prior to the 2019 season, and whether it's due to correlation or causation, Harper has teed off Washington's pitching staff seemingly every time he faces it.
The discourse surrounding Harper online has taken on a similar tone. There is a vocal minority that will support Harper for the rest of his career and blame the Lerners and Mike Rizzo for letting their star player get away when they could've simply offered him a larger contract than the rest of the market was willing to give. (As an aside, that argument is somewhat fallacious, but let's table that discussion.) However, most Nationals fans - and often baseball fans at large - have a more negative view on Harper, and a large portion have cast him as a villain.
Even if we put all of this aside, though, there is a feel-good element to the Mets this season. That requires viewing them from a more objective lens than DC fans may be willing to consider, but let's be honest: there are some pretty clear parallels between the Mets and the 2019 MLB champions. The Mets have fallen short much more often than they've lived up to expectations, they started 2024 relatively slowly, and they don't have a particularly star-studded roster this year, with players like Jesse Winker and Jose Iglesias taking on similar roles to DC folk heroes like Howie Kendrick and Gerardo Parra.
To be clear, I'm not telling you who to root for going forward. It would be far from crazy to argue that there are more desirable options remaining in the postseason field. Take any of the trio of AL Central teams, for example.
What seems clear, however, is the DC faithful dodged a bullet, with the Phillies ousted from the playoffs, and it's all thanks to the hot streak the Mets are on.