Mets Vs. Phillies: Siblings on Opposite Ends

It’s a big weekend in my house. The New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies play one another in a three game set in Philadelphia. However, this won’t be the only time the two play each other this month. Next week, they will be in Queens for four games beginning Thursday. The stakes are high with the Phillies closing in on a division title while the Mets are trying to remain in a Wild Card spot. Perhaps the biggest item over these next three days is that this will affect the mood in my house. Caitlyn (Phillies) and Matthew (Mets) are sure to be honed in on every single pitch and for one of them, going to school on Monday will be quite the chore.

But first, a quick story as to how Caitlyn became a Phillies fan.

The year was 2016 and the month was also September. The Mets were making a late push to secure a playoff spot. Matthew was already established as a (mostly) maniacal Mets fan. I could remember him watching the first Spring Training game of that year (or 2017) and getting upset that Yoenis Cespedes struck out on three pitches. Anyway, during that September push the Mets played the Phillies a number of times. Philadelphia wasn’t very good that year, finishing with a record of 71-91. The Mets beat them repeatedly, and Matthew was very vocal in his support. Caitlyn, who did not have a team at that point, finally had enough and said, “That’s it, I’m becoming a Phillies fan!” Speculation that it was a phase ended when she saw me looking at baseballreference.com and asked to see the Phillies roster for the following Spring.

Fast forward to today. I am extremely lucky that my three kids get along so well with each other. I could honestly say there has never been an occasion where there has been anger among the three of them. This weekend, Caitlyn and Matthew will not be making fun of one another whenever the Mets or Phillies make a mistake. They will be annoyed with the losing result and thrilled with the winning outcome. But they won’t take it out on each other. Between the two, I would say, Caitlyn will show more emotion and let me tell you, she comes out with some great one liners when she is annoyed. Even when the Phillies are in say, a 20-10 stretch she finds reason to be aggravated. The London series in June provided some great quotes as the Phillies melted their late lead away in the Sunday contest:

“Oh my gosh, this team stinks”.

“At least three players need to be left in London”.

“I would have a better time flushing my money down the toilet than watching Jose Alvarado pitch”.

Of course, the next time they win, all is forgiven.

Me? I remain neutral. I have one wish after this weekend: the result is not a sweep. I want to see happiness for both children. Someone is going to be disappointed at least twice. I would like this series a little bit more if the Mets had a stronger hold on a playoff position. I expect some great baseball from two these long time rivals.

And I hope come Monday morning, Caitlyn and Matthew go off to school without a frown.