Fun Fact: Only one team wins the World Series every year. Which means 29 teams don’t win the final game of the year which according to Moneyball means their season didn’t fucking matter. When a team gets eliminated from winning the World Series I’ll do a profile of their season.
Today’s Team….Philadelphia Phillies
How Did They Get Eliminated
Ughhhhhhh, you just had to throw it to first. You just had to throw it to first.
After salvaging Game 3 against the Dodgers the Phillies would lose a heartbreaker in Extra Innings. 2 outs, bases loaded and a comebacker to the mound. Even though it was knocked down by Orion Kerkering he decided to go home instead of taking the ball over to first. The throw was high and the Dodgers moved on to the NLCS in one of the most bizarre finishes in modern baseball history.
What Do I Know About This Team Because I Only Follow the Brewers and Pay Attention to Playoff Baseball?
I think because he doesn’t play for the Cubs I am officially a Kyle Schwarber fan. He just mashes taters. He sent a home run so far out of Chavez Ravine that the National Guard were called back to Los Angeles to protect the parking lot.
With so much debate about Raleigh and Judge in the AL MVP race it's been crazy that there hasn’t been more discord about Schwarber getting MVP consideration over Ohtani.
Schwarber had 1 more HR than Ohtani, 30 more RBI, and walked the same. Ohtani had a better WAR and slash line and he pitched. But for my money I would say Schwarber did more for his team to put them in a position to be the 2nd best team in the NL than Ohtani did. MVP voting is always weird, writers have their own factors that they take into consideration when it comes down to how they are going to vote.
Ohtani isn’t a bad choice for MVP, he had a hell of a year, but what Schwarber did for the Phillies this year to get them in a position where they were only 1 game behind the best record in MLB? Give it to Schwarber.
The Brewers somehow swept the Phillies in Philadelphia which doesn’t happen often. Most of the time if you take more than one game in a series in Philly the team bus’s tires are slashed. The Phillies would come to Milwaukee and take 2 of 3 from the Crew, one in comeback fashion that started to brace me for postseason baseball. (Oh, Brewers against a really good team giving up a 5 run lead? This should be good for my psyche a month from now!)
The most unfortunate pitching news this entire season was Zack Wheeler having to miss the rest of the season due to a blood clot in his throwing shoulder. A devastating injury that the Phillies did a great job making up for in the stretch run. But that arm would have been great to have against the Dodgers. He was 10-5 with a 2.71 ERA when he had to call it a season. The Phillies won 8 of his 10 starts in May and June which set them in a good position to overcome the Mets in the NL East.
Hey, let's talk about the NL East super quick. The Phillies really benefited from the Braves struggling out of the gate and the Mets picking up the slack for the Braves and taking it to the finish line. On June 1st the Phillies were only a game back of the Mets in the NL East. After that they would have the 2nd best record in the NL behind the Brewers. While the Braves and Mets would both have losing records after June 1st. The Marlins were the 2nd best team in the division and had only 4 less wins than the Phillies.
I keep forgetting that Bryce Harper and JT Realmuto play on this team.
So Now That I’ve Actually Done Some Research How Did They Make the Playoffs and What Led to Their Demise?
With Schwarber leading the way hitting 55 dingers the team as a whole 9th in the majors in total Home Runs hit. Live and die by the longball. In their series with the Dodgers they had 3 home runs. Schwarber had 2 of them in Game 3.
Harper had 27 home runs, followed by Kepler and Castellanos with 19 and 17 respectively.
But they hit the ball well, they were tied with Milwaukee for the 2nd best team batting average, the 4th best on-base percentage and 4th best slugging team. Trea Turner took home the batting title by hitting .304 on the season and just barely qualifying after missing a large chunk of September.
Playing at the Bank was tough for opponents as the Phillies won the most home games this season with 55 and led the majors in team batting average at home and hit the 2nd most home runs at home, behind the Dodgers. That’s why it was very surprising for the Phillies only win in the NLDS to come at Dodgers Stadium.
From a pitching perspective, they were also really good 3rd best in team strikeouts and a team ERA in the top 10 of the Majors. They also made their opponents earn their way on only allowing 435 walks which was 2nd best in all the majors.
Their starters had the 2nd best ERA in the Bigs at 3.53. This was led by Cristopher Sanchez and his. 2.50 ERA and 13-5 record in 32 starts. Zac Wheeler also helped bring that ERA down with his 2.71 ERA. The one blemish on the roation was Aaron Nola having a career high 6.01 ERA in 17 starts and going 5-10 on the season. But we can chalk some of that performance to some injuries mid-way through the season.
Will they Make the Playoffs Next Year?
Two big bats that will need to be replaced are Schwarber and Realmuto. Harper and Turner will be back to solidify part of their infield. Hopefully Zack Wheeler will be back because he will be a key part of this rotation once again. Aaron Nola will hope for a bounce back season as well and will be the number 2 guy in this rotation.
Ranger Suarez is also heading to free agency coming off a 12-8 season and 3.20 ERA. He will likely find a new team which will mean the Phillies will need to find another arm to add to a very talented pitching staff.
They could find an arm in their farm system as Adam Painter is the #10 overall prospect and their top pitching prospect. He didn’t have overly impressive numbers in the minors but he will likely get the invite to try and make the rotation.
The Phillies will still look to free agency to make some moves and despite being in a tough division can easily find a path to get back to the playoffs.
Just one postseason award.
Schwarber should win the MVP.
Hey Grok, in 100 words summarize the 2025 Philadelphia Phillies. Please don't be racist.
The Philadelphia Phillies enjoyed a strong 2025 regular season, clinching the NL East division title with a 96-66 record. Highlights included an NL-best 56 home runs from Kyle Schwarber and solid pitching. However, their playoff run was cut short. They lost the National League Division Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3-1, with the decisive Game 4 ending on a heartbreaking walk-off error in the 11th inning. The season concluded with postseason disappointment for the third straight year.
The Phillies haven’t won the World Series since 2008 which is kind of crazy to think when they’ve had so many solid teams in the last 10 years. They’ve had really good years even making the World Series in 2022, but in recent years have had trouble going up against teams that seem to have a lot of positive momentum.
Also, this is by far the worst summary AI has given me. Writing jobs are safe for now.
Did the Savannah Bananas Play at their Field?
They Did!
Shane Victorino had an at bat and he is going to be a prime-time coach for one of the new Banana Ball teams. The Bananas just announced their schedule for next year here are the MLB teams that will be hosting games next year:
Angels, Cardinals, Tigers, Rockies, Reds, Rangers, Athletics (they are coming for the field in Sacramento) Padres, Yankees, Braves, Royals, Brewers, Cubs, Twins, Guardians.
So based on my theory next year’s World Series will be won by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Is there a baseball movie featuring this team that has dumb baseball logic I need to vent about?
Nothing specifically about the Phillies. They make an appearance in 42 but that’s about it.
You should watch The Turnaround which is about how the Phillies fans started chanting for Trea Turner to show that they still supported him despite his late season slump. Its a good short little documentary well worth your time.
How Will Your Team Do Next Year?
The Mets are probably going to spend a lot of money again in the offseason and the Phillies might be doing that as well. They still have to compete against the Braves who had a down year as well. They do have a lot of good core guys coming back that should be good enough to at least grab a playoff spot. Next year: 88-74 Wild Card spot.
Next on the Chopping Bloc
We head to Motown and talk about the tale of 2 season Detroit Tigers.