As a show of good faith amid an impending work stoppage, Major League Baseball owes us a postseason showdown between the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies.
On its own, the thought of these two furthering their century-old rivalry in a winner-goes-home series is good enough. We may also get the Yankees and Red Sox duking it out in the AL’s Wild Card round, potentially providing baseball fans with a double dose of continued history.
Phillies ace Zack Wheeler offered another reason to hope for a Phillies-Braves playoff battle, and not solely because the righty is enjoying another stellar season. The three-time All-Star turned heads on Saturday evening when he called out Braves superstar Ronald Acuña Jr. for a delayed home run celebration during the Phillies’ 4-2 victory.
Acuña Jr. took time to admire his third-inning homer off Wheeler, understandably drawing a fierce frenzy of boos from the Citizens Bank Park crowd. However, Wheeler exacted his revenge two innings later, striking out the 2023 NL MVP in an intense eight-pitch at-bat.
“It doesn’t really bother me all that much,” Wheeler told reporters. “He can do whatever he wants. He hit a home run, so it’s up to him to do what he wants.”
Zack Wheeler and Ronald Acuña Jr. just added new life to the Phillies-Braves rivalry
Major League Baseball’s Paul Casella estimated that Acuña Jr. took nearly 30 seconds to round the bases. In a previous era, that might have resulted in Wheeler throwing behind the veteran outfielder or plunking him in the ribs. Heated words definitely would have been exchanged, and not just between the players. Good luck convincing Phillies fans to avoid shouting their profanity of choice.
Wheeler also invoked “he can do whatever he wants” when referring to teammate Kyle Schwarber, who hit his MLB-leading 41st home run on Saturday night. However, the difference, at least in Wheeler’s eyes, is that Schwarber simply rounds the bases.
We don’t see Wheeler complaining when Bryce Harper flips his bat or Jhoan Duran jubilantly screams after a game-ending strikeout. So consider this yet another example of “rules for thee, but not for me.” Wheeler was mad because Acuña Jr. got the best of him, and he responded with a punchout — in the metaphorical sense, of course.
Not that we’re complaining about Wheeler’s hypocrisy. Rivalries very rarely carry the same heat they once did, whether it’s Yankees-Red Sox or Lakers-Celtics. Even Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham said earlier this year that he doesn’t “hate” Ohio State, which lost him significant favor among Wolverines fans. (Saturday’s near-loss to Western Michigan didn’t help him either.)
Call us old-school, but sports are better when there’s a sense of “we don’t like them and they don’t like us.” Rivalries need to matter beyond just the standings and final score. Things don’t need to escalate to Pedro Martínez throwing Don Zimmer to the ground, mind you.
Naturally, Acuña Jr. celebrated after hitting a game-tying, three-run home run in Sunday’s 5-4 Braves victory. If the postseason began Monday, Atlanta would host Arizona in the first round, and Philadelphia would face the Cubs in Chicago. We wouldn’t see the Phillies and Braves meet until the Division Series round at the earliest.
Please, baseball gods. Give us what we deserve.
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