One of the lifebloods of all sports is the rivalries between specific teams that are built over time. Most of the time, rivalries develop because teams are in the same division or at least league, but the best ones are ones that have a rich history behind them. For the Atlanta Braves, one of their biggest rivals at the moment without question is the Phillies.
With the Mets seemingly unable to do anything without falling on their faces and hurting themselves, the Phillies have quickly become Atlanta's chief rivals in fact. They play in the National League East, they are are good baseball team making them a worthy villain, there is loads of history between the two teams including in the playoffs, and the two fanbases truly despite one another. In short, Philadelphia checks all the boxes.
It was unsurprising, then, that when Phillies catcher JT Realmuto was asked about how much winning the division mattered to the Phillies, he was quick to complain about the Braves always winning the division.
JT Realmuto: I'm Tired Of The Atlanta Braves Winning Our Division | WIP ... https://t.co/EYbm74jj9n
— Joe Giglio (@JoeGiglioSports) March 21, 2024
JT Realmuto takes shot at the Braves that the Phillies may regret
On the surface, the Phillies should be tired of the Braves winning the division. Before their back-to-back postseason appearances, Philadelphia was irrelevant for over a decade and they couldn't even manage to win the division while the Braves were rebuilding. To have to watch the Braves get all of the attention and praise for building a sustainable, well-run dynasty while the Phillies have had to just hope that John Middleton's wallet will carry the day must be tough for them.
However, Realmuto's comments get to the very heart of why Braves fans hate them so much. Despite being a clearly inferior team, the Phillies and their fans truly believe they are in the same league as the Braves when it comes to talent. They may not be a great match-up for the Braves in a short playoff series especially with the new playoff format messing with a lot of top seeds, but they are not particularly close to being on the Braves level talent-wise. For Realmuto to suggest anything else is delusional and reeks of unearned entitlement.
The worst part is that Phillies fans eat this sort of thing up and are acting like their team is the 1927 Yankees. Apparently once a team wins a couple lucky playoff series, it is license to simply ignore the the dumb luck the Phillies have had and to even be abusive towards Brian Snitker's family to the point where they won't even travel to Philly anymore. Stay classy, Philadelphia...just know that Alec Bohm still hasn't touched home plate.
In a lot of ways, this rivalry could be exactly what the Braves need to get back to the World Series. For whatever reason, Realmuto has decided to poke the bear before the season has even started and give Atlanta even more motivation to make sure the Phillies fall short yet again. The Phillies are a worthy villain once again and that is great for the game, but Philadelphia may regret declaring themselves to be in the Braves' league especially when they haven't even figured out how to win more than 90 games in the regular season let alone actually win something yet.