There is certainly no love lost between the New York Mets and their NL East rivals the Philadelphia Phillies in 2025, as if it wasn't any more evident from their recent NLDS playoff series. However, another layer was added to that heated rivalry on Tuesday night. when former Mets great Jose Reyes made it clear about his disdain for the Phillies and a certain former player during his most recent television appearance on SNY.
Which team or player did @lamelaza_7 dislike the most?
— SNY (@SNYtv) March 5, 2025
🔸 Team: Phillies
🔸 Player: Chase Utley
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Reyes was asked which team or player he disliked the most during his playing career and without hesitation he immediately uttered out the Phillies organization, as well as mentioned in the same breath former Phillies second baseman Chase Utley. Reyes had mentioned a big reason as to why he hated the Phillies was due to the constant booing he received in Philadelphia, but he had a more in-depth answer about Utley.
Jose Reyes does not hold back when it comes to talking about his dislike for the Philadelphia Phillies and Chase Utley.
Reyes highlighted Utley as one of the only players he had never spoken to or expressed pleasantries with on the field during his entire playing career. Reyes even went as far to mention that during their time playing together in 2006 as MLB All-Stars at the Japan All-Star Series, when Reyes played shortstop and Utley played second base, they never even said hello to each other. If that doesn't show how deep this rivalry runs, I'm not sure what will.
Reyes also had shown visible disgust during the interview for Utley's actions when he injured then Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada during his infamous hard slide into second base during Game 2 of the 2015 NLDS. That slide ultimately led to Tejada missing the rest of the postseason with a broken leg and changed many of the sliding rules that are now in place today. To also put that in perspective, Jose Reyes was not even a member of the New York Mets at that time which goes to show you how he truly feels about Utley to this day.
Utley has also had his fair share of words about the Mets organization including mentioning how much he hated the organization in an interview last year, which goes to show that the feeling is fairly mutual on both sides of this rivalry. One thing is for sure, these comments from Jose Reyes will have the complete backing of all Mets fans and it will only add more fuel to the fire as both of these teams get ready to square off in what is sure to be an extremely competitive NL East in 2025.