The Phillies have been playing baseball since 1883.
Folks, that’s a long time. That’s 141 years of baseball. The Philadelphia Phillies franchise began playing this sport a mere 18 years after the end of the Civil War. In those 141 years, the United States has participated in two World Wars, fought a Cold War against Communism, suffered through a Great Depression and numerous serious recessions, survived the 9/11 terror attacks and elected 28 Presidents.
Throughout all that, the Phillies had finished in first place a total of 13 times heading into the 2024 season. In just 9% of all the seasons they’d played, they’d finished a regular season at the top of their league or division.
Last night, the Phillies made it lucky 14, thanks to their 6-2 win over the Cubs at Citizens Bank Park.
NL EAST CHAMPIONS pic.twitter.com/peQVT1C08I
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) September 24, 2024
Prior to 1976, the Phils had won their league twice in 93 seasons.
TWICE. IN 93 SEASONS.
Since ‘76, however, success has been more plentiful, although not abundant. The Phils have hauled in 12 divisional titles over the last 48 years, including four in five seasons from 1976 to ‘80, one in 1983, another in ‘93, five straight from 2007 to ‘11, and now one here in 2024. They ended the injury-plagued Atlanta Braves’ run of six straight NL East championships, and have set themselves up to skip the wild-card round of the playoffs when the postseason begins on October 1.
So it should not be lost on anyone that, even though this group won the pennant in 2022 and almost reached the Fall Classic for a second straight season last year, winning a division title is a whole other achievement.
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Much of this year’s success can be traced back to roster construction. Team president Dave Dombrowski took a lot of heat at the beginning of the season for essentially running things back in 2024. He didn’t make a splashy offseason addition, instead choosing to re-sign Aaron Nola to a free agent contract and extend Zack Wheeler an additional three years. Fans were upset he didn’t shake up a lineup that slumped badly in each of the previous two postseasons, and yet, the Phils once again have improved their win total from the previous year, the fifth straight year they’ve done that.
It also is a testament to player management. Manager Rob Thomson takes his fair share of criticism for bullpen decisions aimed at prioritizing a player’s health and ability to stay fresh rather than pushing harder for victories in certain situations. He also takes heat for lineup decisions that seemingly defy logic – giving someone a day off even though he’s riding a hot streak, or continuing to play a struggling player in a certain spot in the lineup. But Thomson’s decisions inspire trust among his players and, over the long haul, appears to be of greater benefit to the club.
A red-hot start
The Phillies won this division title largely based on their blistering hot early season streak, taking advantage of a schedule that featured a plethora of home games against weaker opponents. They needed to take advantage of the soft underbelly of their schedule, and they did.
After a lackluster 8-8 start, they rattled off a seven-game winning streak. By the time June 11 rolled around, they were 10 games up in the standings, with a 46-20 record. They had gone 38-12, a .760 winning percentage, for the better part of two months. Their lead never dipped below five games the rest of the way.
Bryce Harper won back-to-back Player of the Month honors in May and June. Ranger Suarez raced out to a ridiculous start, winning Pitcher of the Month in April. Cristopher Sanchez emerged as a dominant force in the rotation, winning Pitcher of the Month in June. Eight Phillies were selected for the NL All Star team, including three starters along the infield – third baseman Alec Bohm, first baseman Bryce Harper and shortstop Trea Turner. Starters Zack Wheeler and Suarez were both selected but didn’t play due to minor injuries, while Sanchez, Matt Strahm and Jeff Hoffman all pitched in the game.
The Phils owned the Midsummer Classic.
At one time we were talking about this being the best Phils team of all time, capable of breaking the franchise record of 102 wins, set in 2011. But they struggled out of the All Star Break, going 10-14 in July, and overall suffered through an 8-18 stretch that bummed out the entire fanbase for the better part of a month.
Were we a bit worried it was all crashing down? Yep, but that’s how we roll.
In August they righted the ship, although not at the pace they played early in the season, going 28-21 in August and September so far, with five games left in the season. When you race out to a 62-34 record in the first half, you can go 31-30 in the second half and still coast to a division title, as they have. They got huge contributions from Triple A call-ups Cal Stevenson, Kody Clemens, Buddy Kennedy, and Weston Wilson in September.
Luck also played a part in winning this division title. Atlanta suffered a cascade of catastrophic injuries they just couldn’t overcome, losing perhaps the best pitcher (Spencer Strider) and hitter (Ronald Acuna, Jr.) in the league, as well as All Stars Austin Riley and Ozzie Albies for extended periods of time. The Braves simply ran out of horses at the end. The red-hot Mets have a ton of momentum and are the odds-on favorites to reach the playoffs ahead of the Braves, but started too late to mount a serious charge for the division after losing three of four to the Phils in Philly earlier this month.
This Phillies team didn’t have to scratch and claw their way back to the playoffs this year. For most of 2024, they have been one of the best teams in baseball, holding down MLB’s best record for extended periods of time. They are still in prime position to finish with the best record in baseball and, at the very least, will almost certainly secure a bye past the wild-card round that gets underway next week.
Once the playoffs begin, we’ll immerse ourselves in our obsession to see this team finally do what everyone knows it’s capable of doing – winning a World Series. But before we do that, let’s revel in this achievement, for a few days at least.
As history has shown, it is an extremely rare thing for this franchise to finish a regular season in first place. So, enjoy it, before the hair-pulling and nail-biting commences next week.
