An intense Phillies-Braves rivalry would be good for both teams

While the Philadelphia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves have undoubtedly not liked each for as long as baseball has been played, the rivalry between the two franchises has been rather stale the last couple of years. The Braves are coming off three consecutive years of winning the National League East, years where the Phillies themselves were never viewed as a serious threat.

Even back during the glory days of 2007-2011 for the Phils, it was always the Mets who seemed to take center stage when it came to talking about Philadelphia’s biggest rivalry. Even the Nationals, led by a particularly pesky young outfielder named Bryce Harper, seemed to be a bigger nuisance to the Phillies in the years following.

However, now seven games deep into the 2021 MLB season, it’s becoming quite clear that an intense, summer-long rivalry between the Phillies and the Braves is starting to form, a rivalry that would ultimately end up being a good thing for both sides involved.

We saw this sense of a true battle brewing last night during game one of a three-game series. Following a mammoth home run off the likes of RHP Zack Wheeler, Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. took his sweet time to admire the center field bomb:

A minor moment in a game that turned out to be a rather ugly one for the Phillies, but the type of moment that can be become “bulletin board material” for the Phils’ clubhouse as they look to properly dethrone the reigning NL East champions this season.

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Phillies v Braves has the makings of quite the rivalry this season.

The Phillies have been out of the postseason picture for quite some time now, and while a berth via the Wild Card may feel like the easier route to pursue, actually gearing up for a year where they compete with Atlanta all the way down to the wire would only bring out the best in their players. Not only have the fans been starved of October baseball, but so have the physical players on the Phillies roster. Harper hasn’t sniffed the postseason since signing with Philly, and guys like Aaron Nola, J.T. Realmuto, and Jean Segura haven’t even logged a single career playoff appearance.

On the flip side of the conversation, Atlanta buying into such a rivalry could give them their own sense of internal motivation as well. As often as the Phillies have been talked about the last two years due to their busy offseason spending, the Braves have remained the top dog when it comes to actually performing during the regular season.

Gearing up for a fourth straight division crown isn’t the easiest thing to do – Atlanta rallying behind this notion of doing whatever it takes to stave off the likes of Philadelphia should help keep them motivated over the next 150+ games.

Ultimately speaking, hard-fought rivalries in baseball are exhilarating for everyone involved. It’s been quite some time since the Phillies were viewed as legitimate contenders in the National League East – them getting under Atlanta’s skin a bit early on should be viewed as a positive development.

The Phils currently lead the battle 3-1, but there’s still plenty of ball to be played between the two sides. Hopefully the Phillies can respond with their own home run stare-down later this evening.