NLCS: How the Phillies Decided to Travel Home Early
We’re halfway through the 2018 NLCS, and the Phillies’ magic number of three is quickly coming down. All the Phils have to do is win the next two games.
It’s the beginning of a season full of surprises, and the Phillies’ 2019 season promises to be no different. A team that looked so far removed from its core early in the season is suddenly one of the most exciting young teams in sports. They could win the NL East. They could win the National League Pennant. They could just go out and beat whatever the Red Sox put in front of them.
We’re currently in the middle of one of the most amazing collapses in baseball history, so I figured it was time to take a look at what the Phillies actually did at the end of last season and at what the Phillies did to decide to make the playoffs.
The Phillies were the NL’s second-best team this past season, but just barely. They finished second behind the Nationals with a 107-69 record. They had the second-best record among NL teams in pitching and were fourth in run differential. They were the best-hitting team in baseball, but they trailed the Mets for the most runs they’d scored all year. It was a good season in many respects, but it was a very good season.
The Phillies were a surprise last year, and were not terribly confident they’d make the postseason. Now that they’re the second-best team in baseball, they’re going to look at last season as nothing but a learning experience.
In a season where the Phillies are expected to win the NL East and make the postseason, they’re the team to beat in September. In a season where the Phillies are expected to win the NL East and make the postseason, they’re one of four teams in baseball (the Reds, Mets, and Nationals have a combined record of 69-66 during that same