The brotherly love is certainly not lost when it comes to the top two teams in the NL East. The Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies have each represented the National League in the World Series in the past two years. The Braves beating the Astros in 2021, and the Phillies losing to Houston last season.
Right now, the two clubs have been locked into an intense four game series, one in which the Braves won their second game in extras in the series and shrunk their magic number to clinch the NL East to two.
This morning Phillies manager Rob Thompson joined the WIP Morning Show for an interview. During said interview he answered questions on life in Philadelphia as well as how the rotation might look in the postseason for the Phillies.
However, the quote that is going platinum right now is the one he chose to utter in regards to Ronald Acuña Jr.’s home run last night. Thompson said “I like our guys to act like they’ve been there before.” This quote comes in response to the celebration Acuña had while rounding the bases for the second time in the series last night.
Certainly an interesting take to have in 2023 as a MLB employee. Technically Thompson is right, the Braves are simply acting like they haven’t been there before. In fact, the Braves have reached a mark no other team in National League history has, as their 281 homers just eclipsed the 2019 Los Angeles Dodgers mark of 279.
The 281 homers the Braves have hit are 86 more than the Philadelphia Phillies have hit, so yes the Phillies indeed have not been there before. Perhaps the funniest thing about this whole scenario is that his team has offered much more flamboyant celebrations just as recently as last year’s playoffs.
As a Braves fan, I certainly take no pleasure in reminding him of this iconic Hoskins bat spike that took place in the NLDS last year. However, the Braves have a chance to clinch their sixth straight NL East title tonight in Philadelphia behind the man who was on the mound for that moment last season. Hopefully, the stars align and we get another Spencer Strider masterpiece, backed by an Ronald Acuña Jr. bat spike of his own.