Atlanta Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Braves star explains why they take such pleasure in beating the Mets

By Adam Gretz | Last updated 8/13/23

The Atlanta Braves enter play on Sunday 23.5 games ahead of the New York Mets in the National League East standings and just swept a laughably one-sided double-header against them on Saturday.

And according to one of their biggest stars, second baseman Ozzie Albies, they take great pleasure in doing things like that to the Mets.

Why? Because apparently, the Mets are always talking about how they are going to beat the Braves.

Ozzie Albies on how much pleasure the Braves take in beating the Mets: “A lot of pleasure, of course, because they always say they’re going to beat us. That’s all I can say. I won’t say much.”
— Justin Toscano (@JustinCToscano) August 13, 2023

It's kind of a weird statement because there really isn't much evidence of anybody on the Mets publicly talking about beating the Braves, and especially not this season. It has also been eight years since the Mets have actually finished ahead of the Braves in the standings, while Atlanta has been one of the National League's most successful teams over that stretch with a World Series title.

Is this a reference to some sort of on-field or behind-the-scenes trash talk that we do not really hear about? Is it a reference to media hype about the Mets and their gigantic payroll going into this season?

Whatever the case may be, the Braves love what they do to the Mets every year and seemed to really enjoy Saturday's doubleheader.

The Braves and Mets used to be a fierce rivalry back in the late 1990s and early 2000s when they would meet in the playoffs, and it is good to see that animosity still exists through a new generation. Even if the rivalry has lost some of its luster with one team (the Mets) not being as consistently good.

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