Harper vs. Lindor, Wheeler vs. deGrom: Rivalries within Phillies-Mets part of rebooting series drama

At a basic level, all the best rivalries in team sports — Eagles-Cowboys, Duke-North Carolina, Yankees-Red Sox, you get the drift — share a common characteristic: simultaneous winning over a period of many seasons.

On that count, Phillies-Mets historically falls short.

In 60 years of co-existence, the National League East neighbors have shared a total of eight mutual winning seasons and four 1-2 finishes, only two of which were decided by three games or fewer. They’ve been polar opposites in the standings far more often than they’ve been linked at the top.

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Maybe Year 61 will be different. Maybe not, if the defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves get their say. Either way, as the Phillies and Mets meet in New York — and again next weekend in Philadelphia — both teams may be good enough to eventually bring their grudge match to a boil.

It did percolate a bit in 2019, when Todd Frazier complained to reporters about getting drilled by a changeup from Jake Arrieta, who threatened to “put a dent in his skull” if the Mets third baseman wanted to take it up with him. Otherwise, things have been fairly tepid since 2008.

“We play 19 times a year, so it can get heated, right?” Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins said. “There’s a Northeast thing. It feels like we’re going to have a lot more of those types of series this year with them just because of the players on each team. We’re just better.”

But there’s another aspect to all good rivalries: The mini-dramas within the overall stage play.

Believe it or not, the Yankees and Red Sox have finished first and second only 21 times in the 103 years since Babe Ruth switched sides. But they also had Joe DiMaggio vs. Ted Williams, Thurman Munson vs. Carlton Fisk, Don Mattingly vs. Wade Boggs, Derek Jeter vs. Nomar Garciaparra, Alex Rodriguez vs. David Ortiz, and on and on to stoke the larger debate for generations.

The Phillies and Mets mostly missed out on that, too. Save for Tom Seaver vs. Steve Carlton for a few years in the ‘70s and the mid-2000s comparisons of Jimmy Rollins to José Reyes and Chase Utley to David Wright, the stars rarely aligned. Mike Schmidt didn’t slug it out with Mike Piazza. Dwight Gooden never really dueled with Curt Schilling. Ryan Howard came along 20 years after Keith Hernandez.

Even Seinfield didn’t overlap with It’s Always Sunny, although Conan O’Brien did do a few bits with the Phanatic and Mr. Met that didn’t age so well.

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That also may be changing. You don’t have to squint very hard to see a few micro-rivalries that could enhance the macro one, or at least make the whole thing a little more saucy.

“Because we see each other, because we know each other, it can add an extra layer of spice, or there’s maybe a little more trash talking,” Hoskins said. “I think because the teams should both be better that the competitive level is going to rise, the stakes are going to feel higher.”

Here’s a look at a few mini-rivalries that may emerge:

When ESPN asked Harper on-air last weekend which Mets player he would like to see mic’d up for Sunday Night Baseball, he answered Lindor. It seems he will get his wish. Lindor is expected to wear a mic Sunday night.

But the $341 million shortstop doesn’t need to get all chatty on national TV to be recognized as the face of the Mets, just as Harper is undoubtedly the Phillies’ $330 million front man.

Harper’s career in Philly is off to a better start than Lindor’s in the Big Apple. But who will be the better player over the next 10 years?

They’ll have plenty of head-to-head opportunities to decide it.

Wheeler and deGrom came up together with the Mets and remain close friends. At their best, and presumably whenever deGrom is healthy again, the aces have similar repertoires: comfortably high-90s heaters that can ride up in the zone or sink, sliders that break off the table, and bat-slowing changeups.

As former Mets pitching coach Dave Eiland said last year, “I’m not making the statement that Zack Wheeler’s just as good as Jake deGrom. What I am saying is Zack’s starting to wander around that same neighborhood.”

Imagine how the balance of power in the NL East might have shifted if the Mets hadn’t let Wheeler walk as a free agent three years ago — and to the Phillies, no less.

Let’s see: They are strapping, right-handed, and homegrown first basemen who tend to be their team’s emotional north star. The similarities don’t end there, either.

Hoskins’ career numbers entering the weekend: .240/.358/.497, 119 homers, 126 OPS+; Alonso’s: .256/.346/.536, 109 homers; 137 OPS+. Hoskins makes $7.7 million; Alonso $7.4 million. Neither is known for his defense. Both tend to be streaky at the plate.

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“They can beat you on any given pitch,” a rival National League scout said last year. “They seem like guys who will post every day and work their asses off to get better. Very, very comparable players. It’s a pretty close call.”

When Girardi turned down the Orioles’ managerial opening in 2007, Baltimore hired Showalter. When the Phillies hired Girardi after the 2019 season, Showalter was the runner-up. Showalter even took Girardi’s vacated gig as an MLB Network commentator.

They both managed the Yankees. They went head-to-head for years in the AL East. Neither is averse to gamesmanship to gain an edge, as Max Scherzer can attest after Girardi requested he be checked for a foreign substance last season.

Come to think of it, now that Scherzer is a Met, Binder Joe vs. Mad Max may be an even more compelling subplot.

The Mets were hit by 19 pitches in their first 20 games, including five in three games against the Phillies (April 11-13). And they weren’t very happy about it.

“We hit them a few times,” Girardi said, “but ours were mostly breaking balls.”

Fair enough. But Alvarado, the big lefty reliever with a triple-digit heater and spotty command, had a dust-up with Mets outfielder Dom Smith last season. Given the history there and the Mets’ frustration with getting hit, it’s a potential powder keg that bears watching.

“I’m sure it’ll be intense,” Hoskins said. “It usually is.”

It’s always more fun when the owners jump in, and few are more involved than these two.

Cohen, the wealthiest man in baseball, has the Mets payroll at approximately $288 million after an offseason splurge for Scherzer, Starling Marte, Mark Canha, and Eduardo Escobar. Fearing that Cohen can’t help himself, fellow owners added a $290 million tier to the luxury-tax penalties. It’s known colloquially throughout the industry as “The Steve Cohen Tariff” because the Mets and Dodgers may be the only teams that ever pay it.

“Mr. Cohen, he’s done a great job evolving his team and doing what he kind of wanted to do,” Harper said in spring training. “He’s putting his splash on the market. It’s great for the players to have that. I’m not going to deny that. He’s doing what’s best for the Mets and their fan base and that organization. They’ve gone out and gotten the players they need to compete.”

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But Middleton also crossed into tax territory — for the first time in Phillies history — with a Kyle Schwarber-Nick Castellanos free-agent binge that boosted the payroll to roughly $238 million. “Stupid money,” in Middleton’s parlance? Not yet.

Whose bankroll will go farther? And will Cohen and Middleton keep pumping cash into a rivalry that could use some premium gasoline?

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