<img alt="Atlanta Braves v New York Mets" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/C3rQCaoNUN1Y6dpSYIruMmcm61Y=/196x0:4924x3152/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73607417/2154938280.0.jpg">
Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images
The Braves and Mets have been here before. If it feels like this is all happening again, that’s because it is. For the second time in three seasons, the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets find themselves playing a massive 3-game series in Atlanta late in the season with playoff implications all over the place. And the similarities are striking.
Back in 2022, the setting was very similar. The Braves had chased down the Mets to the point where one 3-game series was going to basically decide it all. It was the second to last series of the year, it was in Atlanta, and the Braves were close enough in the standings that a sweep would give them full control of the playoff race. It’s the exact same for the 2024 series.
In the 8 games the Braves played leading into that 2022 series, they started out by losing 3 in a row and then followed that by winning 4 out of 5, keeping them close enough to the Mets for the 3-game series to matter. In the 8 games leading into the 2024 series, the Braves started out by losing 3 in a row and then followed that by winning 4 out of 5, keeping them close enough to the Mets for the 3-game series to matter.
In 2022, the entire series was initially feared to be threatened by rain and storms. So much so that Mets fans and reporters were openly suggesting and even demanding the series get moved to New York, with it being too pivotal of a series to be upset by bad weather. In 2024, here we are again with Hurricane Helene barreling its way towards Tampa, Florida and then eventually through the heart of Georgia. The forecast for Wednesday’s game is questionable but the forecast for Thursday’s game is down right abysmal. In 2022, the weather cooperated and the Braves were able to sweep the series without any interruptions. I’m guessing you won’t have to look far for Mets people already clamoring for this to be home series instead of a road one.
Austin Riley and Matt Olson go back-to-back with a pair of BOMBS off of Jacob deGrom for the lead! pic.twitter.com/wHMGfA2uc7— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) October 1, 2022
The irony of that 2022 series was it wasn’t even supposed to happen that way. Fans will remember the 2022 regular season was delayed by 1 week because of the CBA lockout that dominated the winter. It was finally resolved in March but it was too far into March for the regular season to start on time. So it was decided that the first two series of the year for each team would be moved to the end of the season. So that Mets series, which ended up being the second to last series of the year for Atlanta and crucially important for the division race, was originally supposed to be their Opening Day series. How different history would’ve been had that been the case.
There are of course also some dissimilarities. In 2022, the Braves and Mets were both guaranteed a playoff spot regardless of how their 3-game series went. They were two of the very best teams in baseball, both finishing with 101 wins and the prize they were battling for was the division crown and the brand new first round bye in the playoffs. In 2024, neither team will be winning a division title as the Phillies took care of that officially last night vs the Cubs. No, what’s on the line this time around is a Wild Card spot, where the Mets currently hold the 2nd WC spot, the Diamondbacks hold the 3rd spot, and the Braves are on the outside looking in.
It’s also possible, depending on how the Diamondbacks play this week, that Mets and Braves could both get Wild Card spots with Arizona being left out in the cold. It’s not a two-team race for one spot but instead a three-team race for two spots, complicating matters a bit. The Mets currently hold a 0.5 game lead over the Diamondbacks and a 2.0 game lead over the Braves. Atlanta and New York both have 6 games remaining, 3 against each other, while Arizona just has 5 games in their 2024 regular season.
Despite their current place in the standings, the Braves have actually played strong baseball for a while now. Since that meltdown against Colorado on August 11th, the Braves are 24-15 in their last 39 games, a .615 winning percentage, which translates to a 100-win pace over a full season. Easily their best stretch since the first 3 weeks of the season. The problem is since the All-Star break, the three highest win totals in MLB belong to the San Diego Padres, the New York Mets, and the Arizona Diamondbacks, the other 3 teams in the Wild Card race with Atlanta. There’s a very real possibility an 88 or 89 win team won’t make the playoffs in the National League this year, a crazy development considering 84 wins was good enough for a playoff spot last season. There also won’t be a 100-win team in baseball this year, a notable data point as expanded playoffs have pushed things more towards the middle.
But the Braves have it all right in front of them. Just like in 2022, the second-to-last series of the year, at home, against the Mets, bad weather looming, the exact same 8-game lead up, where a sweep puts them in full command of a playoff spot. They control their own destiny, which is all you can ask for at this point in the season.
Despite all the frustration 2024 has brought, all the injuries and inconsistency, the Braves can erase a lot of it with one strong week of play at home to close out the year. The offense needs to cooperate, as does the weather, but the full story of the 2024 regular season has not been written yet and the ending has not been decided.
Not until you play all 162. And then hopefully, a little more.
<img alt="Atlanta Braves v New York Mets" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/C3rQCaoNUN1Y6dpSYIruMmcm61Y=/196x0:4924x3152/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73607417/2154938280.0.jpg">
Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images
The Braves and Mets have been here before. If it feels like this is all happening again, that’s because it is. For the second time in three seasons, the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets find themselves playing a massive 3-game series in Atlanta late in the season with playoff implications all over the place. And the similarities are striking.
Back in 2022, the setting was very similar. The Braves had chased down the Mets to the point where one 3-game series was going to basically decide it all. It was the second to last series of the year, it was in Atlanta, and the Braves were close enough in the standings that a sweep would give them full control of the playoff race. It’s the exact same for the 2024 series.
In the 8 games the Braves played leading into that 2022 series, they started out by losing 3 in a row and then followed that by winning 4 out of 5, keeping them close enough to the Mets for the 3-game series to matter. In the 8 games leading into the 2024 series, the Braves started out by losing 3 in a row and then followed that by winning 4 out of 5, keeping them close enough to the Mets for the 3-game series to matter.
In 2022, the entire series was initially feared to be threatened by rain and storms. So much so that Mets fans and reporters were openly suggesting and even demanding the series get moved to New York, with it being too pivotal of a series to be upset by bad weather. In 2024, here we are again with Hurricane Helene barreling its way towards Tampa, Florida and then eventually through the heart of Georgia. The forecast for Wednesday’s game is questionable but the forecast for Thursday’s game is down right abysmal. In 2022, the weather cooperated and the Braves were able to sweep the series without any interruptions. I’m guessing you won’t have to look far for Mets people already clamoring for this to be home series instead of a road one.
Austin Riley and Matt Olson go back-to-back with a pair of BOMBS off of Jacob deGrom for the lead! pic.twitter.com/wHMGfA2uc7— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) October 1, 2022
The irony of that 2022 series was it wasn’t even supposed to happen that way. Fans will remember the 2022 regular season was delayed by 1 week because of the CBA lockout that dominated the winter. It was finally resolved in March but it was too far into March for the regular season to start on time. So it was decided that the first two series of the year for each team would be moved to the end of the season. So that Mets series, which ended up being the second to last series of the year for Atlanta and crucially important for the division race, was originally supposed to be their Opening Day series. How different history would’ve been had that been the case.
There are of course also some dissimilarities. In 2022, the Braves and Mets were both guaranteed a playoff spot regardless of how their 3-game series went. They were two of the very best teams in baseball, both finishing with 101 wins and the prize they were battling for was the division crown and the brand new first round bye in the playoffs. In 2024, neither team will be winning a division title as the Phillies took care of that officially last night vs the Cubs. No, what’s on the line this time around is a Wild Card spot, where the Mets currently hold the 2nd WC spot, the Diamondbacks hold the 3rd spot, and the Braves are on the outside looking in.
It’s also possible, depending on how the Diamondbacks play this week, that Mets and Braves could both get Wild Card spots with Arizona being left out in the cold. It’s not a two-team race for one spot but instead a three-team race for two spots, complicating matters a bit. The Mets currently hold a 0.5 game lead over the Diamondbacks and a 2.0 game lead over the Braves. Atlanta and New York both have 6 games remaining, 3 against each other, while Arizona just has 5 games in their 2024 regular season.
Despite their current place in the standings, the Braves have actually played strong baseball for a while now. Since that meltdown against Colorado on August 11th, the Braves are 24-15 in their last 39 games, a .615 winning percentage, which translates to a 100-win pace over a full season. Easily their best stretch since the first 3 weeks of the season. The problem is since the All-Star break, the three highest win totals in MLB belong to the San Diego Padres, the New York Mets, and the Arizona Diamondbacks, the other 3 teams in the Wild Card race with Atlanta. There’s a very real possibility an 88 or 89 win team won’t make the playoffs in the National League this year, a crazy development considering 84 wins was good enough for a playoff spot last season. There also won’t be a 100-win team in baseball this year, a notable data point as expanded playoffs have pushed things more towards the middle.
But the Braves have it all right in front of them. Just like in 2022, the second-to-last series of the year, at home, against the Mets, bad weather looming, the exact same 8-game lead up, where a sweep puts them in full command of a playoff spot. They control their own destiny, which is all you can ask for at this point in the season.
Despite all the frustration 2024 has brought, all the injuries and inconsistency, the Braves can erase a lot of it with one strong week of play at home to close out the year. The offense needs to cooperate, as does the weather, but the full story of the 2024 regular season has not been written yet and the ending has not been decided.
Not until you play all 162. And then hopefully, a little more.
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