The National League East division features three teams who are playing their best baseball and each may qualify for a spot in the 2022 postseason.
While we’re still a couple months away from the start of the postseason, the races are heating up.
Teams are duking it out with one another as they push for October.
At the top, the New York Mets own the second-best record in the National League at 75-41.
The defending champion Atlanta Braves are in a close second, just 4.5 games out of first.
The Philadelphia Phillies are well behind the Mets in the division, but have control of the second NL Wild Card spot.
Mets insider Anthony DiComo points out that as of now, these teams are all on pace to finish with 90+ wins, which would be a first in the NL East since 1987.
The NL East is not only favored to have three playoff qualifiers at this point, it's also on pace to have three clubs with 90-plus wins.
That hasn't happened since 1987, when there were six teams in the division led by the Cardinals, Mets and Expos, who all won 90-plus.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) August 16, 2022
A Three-Headed Monster
The last time a division had three teams win 90 or more games and all reach the postseason was 2015, when in the NL Central the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Chicago Cubs won 100, 98, and 97, respectively.
This could be a wild finish.
All three of these teams are red-hot right now and are in playoff position.
The Mets have not reached October since 2016 and the Phillies haven’t been there since 2011.
But these three teams are all fighting it out in a hot race, with two of them making some noise for the first time in quite a while.
This time of year is always fun.
It’s when we as fans can start dreaming about October and some of the fun matchups that could take place.
A Wild Card series featuring the Braves and Phillies would certainly be a lot of fun.
We’ll see how it all plays out.
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