Are the Phillies capapble of NOT being amazing?

         After a three game winning streak to clinch the playoffs, doubts and rumors surrounded the upstart Phillies. It couldn't last too long. Philadelphia barely made the playoffs, and looked pretty far from going into 2022 postseason. Well, with grit, determination, and Bryce Harper, the Phillies are going to the World Series. 

        Bryce Harper was lights out in the postseason. A clutch performer, Harper batted .419 and had five home runs. Harper showed up big when the team needed him most, and the Phillies are headed to their first World Series in 13 years. 

     Harper hit a huge homer in the 8th inning, in game five versus San Diego, to turn around a 3-2 score. The homer brought in two runs, and flipped the score, 4-3. Harper's clutch play turned around the game, and the Phillies never looked back.

 

Bryce Harper's smashing home runs are a big reason Philly is in the World Series.

                        Photo Credit: Sports Illustrated

        The Phillies are an excellent baseball team in an excellent position right now. However, their postseason run was insane. Philadelphia, true to their underdog nature, stunned teams left and right. 

    Very much like the 2021 Braves, which had an under-90 win season record and cruised to the World Series, the Phillies had a respectable season. They won five games more than last year, and were 14 games behind both the Braves and the Mets. They finished with an 87-75 record, which is good, but Philadelphia didn't really look like a playoff team. However, when they arrived at the playoffs, they took off. They beat the Cardinals in two games, and took only four to beat the Braves. Then Philadelphia crushed the Padres, four games to one. San Diego crumbled, and the Phillies' hot batters played well against veteran pitcher Yu Darvish. 

        J.T. Realmuto, Kyle Schwarber, and Rhys Hoskins all had at least one home run in game four against San Diego. Alec Bohm, Jean Segura, Nick Castellanos, Zack Wheeler, and Bryson Stott, are all excellent players that can also step up when needed. The entire Phillies roster is so good right now, and Phillies fans are so wild, Philadelphia will be a pain for the Houston Astros. 

The above photo was taken from a Sports Illustrated.com article https://www.si.com/mlb/2022/10/24/bryce-harper-phillies-world-series. Photo was taken by Matt Slocum/AP.             Image was used for commentary.