Gabbie Bilenker ‘25, Sports Writer

The Philadelphia Phillies after defeating the San Diego Padres in order to head to the World Series.

Image courtesy of WPVI-TV

On April 8th, fans of the Philadelphia Phillies filled the seats of Citizens Bank Park, preparing for another year of typical Phillies baseball. After over a decade of unsuccessful playoff runs, the Phillies entered the 2022 playoffs with a mere 3.4% predicted chance of winning the World Series.

Yet the once-doubted Phillies went from the worst playoff team to facing the Houston Astros in the World Series. Despite their eventual loss, the perseverance and effort of both the Phillies and their fans made their journey one to remember. 

Following the many ups and downs, the Phillies ended their regular season with 87 wins and 75 losses. They were the last team to claim a spot in the playoffs and held the worst record out of all 12 teams. 

With a new MLB playoff format, the Phillies had to beat the St. Louis Cardinals in three games in order to advance to the next round. They began Game 1 down 3 runs to 0, but eventually came back to win 6-3. In Game 2, the Phillies defied all odds yet again, with a 2-0 win led by star hitter Bryce Harper. After this win, cheers of “Dancing on my Own” by Calum Scott and Tiësto could be heard all across Philadelphia. “Dancing on my Own” gave Phillies fans an anthem to represent the Phillies’ success when no one believed in them.  

After the Phillies swept the Cardinals, beating their next opponent would be an even harder task with even slimmer odds. They would face the Atlanta Braves, the 2021 World Series champions and one of the best teams in the MLB. After winning Game 1 with help from Nick Castellanos in both the field and at the plate, the Phillies went on to be shut out by the Braves in Game 2. To the outside world, it looked as if the Phillies season had come to an end, their win over the Cardinals being a fluke. Following their Game 2 loss, the Phillies came back stronger than ever and won the next 2 games, ending the Braves season against everyone’s predictions. 

The Phillies next faced the San Diego Padres who had just come off a win over the favored Los Angeles Dodgers. The Phillies defeated the Padres in 5 games with help again from Harper, who hit a game-winning home run in the 8th inning to send them to the World Series. Although winning the National League was exciting, the Phillies knew they were yet to face their toughest obstacle, the Houston Astros. 

Although the Phillies did eventually lose to the Astros, the World Series was a hard-fought battle. The Astros have been one of the most successful teams in the MLB since winning the World Series in 2017. Despite this, the Phillies put up a stronger fight than anyone expected. The first game of the World Series was a 6-5 Phillies victory bringing nine back-and-forth innings. After a 5-0 Houston lead in the third inning, the Phillies battered down and put up five runs to tie the game. In the tenth inning, Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto hit a homerun to make the score 6-5 and finally win the game. Despite a lot of effort, the Phillies ended up losing Game 2 by a score of 5-2, but they were still not ready to give up the fight. In Game 3, the Phillies shutout the Astros 7-0, backed by home runs from Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber. Despite the Phillies’ triumphant win in Game 3, they eventually went on to lose both Games 4 and 5, leaving the Astros to be the World Series champions. Despite their loss, the Phillies and their fans were still proud of what the team accomplished and overcame to make it so far. Newark Academy sophomore and avid Phillies fan, Cecily Burns, explained what this Phillies season meant to her: “I’m disappointed with the outcome of the World Series, but I’m glad the Phillies got this far. Hopefully they can win next year.” With a successful season behind them, the Phillies and their fans have a bright future ahead of them.