The Philadelphia Phillies came within two victories of celebrating a World Series title in 2022. Last season, they fell in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series.
They were still two deep playoff runs with the fanatical fan base enjoying the ride.
But nothing came easy.
In fact, the Phillies had to overcome slow starts in both seasons just to qualify for the playoffs.
In ’22, Philadelphia squeezed in as the third wild card team. In ’23, the Phillies were finished first in the wild card standings.
The playoff expansion certainly helped and they got hot at the right time to make those deep runs at a title.
Go back to 2022.
Philadelphia looked completely out of sync at 21-29. Joe Girardi was dismissed and Rob Thomson was named interim manager.
Then last season, the Phillies skidded to a 25-30 record on June 1. Keep in mind that Rhys Hoskins had suffered a torn ACL in spring training and Bryce Harper was recovering from Tommy John surgery.
