For the second straight season, the Philadelphia Phillies have made the MLB postseason. They clinched the first wild card spot, it is the most important one out of the three spots as it provides home field advantage and an easier matchup.
The Phillies took advantage of the benefits of the first wild card spot as they easily beat the Marlins in two games at home. The Marlins seemed to be completely outmatched, as the Phillies sweep their opponent in the wild card round for the second year in a row.
The Phillies then had to face off against the division winning Atlanta Braves, who won a league leading 104 games. The Braves also broke the record for most home runs hit in a season, while leading the league in runs scored.
Even though the Phillies finished 14 games behind the Braves and were seemingly outmatched, they managed to beat the Braves 3-1 in a 5 game series and move on to the NLCS for the second consecutive season.
The Phillies will now face off against the Arizona Diamondbacks, who just swept the Dodgers 3-0 after finishing 16 games behind them in the regular season. The Phillies will have home field advantage in this series, and if they are able to, will go back to the world series for a second straight year.
In the American League, the Houston Astros will face the Texas Rangers to decide who will play in the World Series. If the Astros and Phillies both win their series, they will face off against each other in the World Series for the second straight season, but this time the Phillies will have home field advantage. The Phillies home field advantage has shown to be the most significant in the league, so this would be incredibly beneficial in helping defeat the Astros if this rematch were to happen.
Across the school many people have recently been seen wearing Phillies jerseys, t-shirts and hoodies to support the team during their postseason run. Chase Utley and Mike Schmidt jerseys still seem to be popular even though they retired many years ago.
A few people were interviewed and asked about what the Phillies being in the postseason again means to them.
Junior Caden Humphries is pumped up.
“It’s awesome. It’s only the second time that I remember of the Phillies being in the playoffs,” he said. “It’s a feeling I can’t explain”
Watching the Phillies is a family affair for the Humphries clan.
“My whole family watches every playoff game together in the living room,” he added. “We are all lifelong Phillies fans.”
For senior Matt Martino, baseball also means family time.
“Me and my family watched every game together. It really brings everyone together,” he said.
The Phillies bring families, friends, and even strangers together to root for the Phillies as they make their postseason run.
The Phillies will face the Diamondbacks in Game 1 tonight on TBS as they look to return to the World Series for the second consecutive season.