How Phillies have become World Series contenders after a 10-year rebuild
Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the first inning in Game 3 of baseball's World Series between the Houston Astros and the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on Nov. 1. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
Right now the Phillies sit as one of the premier contenders in the NL. They went to a shocking World Series run just 2 years ago and were a win away from going back to the World Series last year. 10 years of rebuilding and many painful seasons led to these moments. Before the season starts back up again, take a moment and reflect on how we got here.
It’s 11:30 on October 7th, 2011. The 102-win, World Series favorite Phillies just had one of the most heartbreaking losses in team history to the eventual champion Cardinals. In the biggest game of the season, the Phillies were shut out. 1-0. The four aces had been wasted. Ryan Howard who was about to become the highest-paid Phillie in team history had torn his Achilles Tendon on the final out. Little did you know it at the time, but this disaster would spark the beginning of a 10-year-long rebuild that would change Phillies baseball forever.
2012 was even worse. Possibly the greatest rotation of all time with the four aces regressed, and the offense took a massive step back. Ryan Howard missed the first half of the season recovering from his Achilles Tendon tear and Chase Utley missed a similar time with knee problems. Through half the season the team wasn’t just average it was awful. 37-50 going into the All-Star break but hope was maybe on the way. There was optimism when Chase Utley and Ryan Howard were both back on the diamond, but it was all for not. Management realized this season was a disaster and traded Shane Victorino and Hunter Pence in the first big moves toward rebuilding. The team would be better in the second half but still finish at .500 with an 81-81 record as the second most expensive team in baseball that year. It would be the first October without the Phillies since 2006 and the first of 10 straight years without the postseason.
The Phillies were stuck. The pieces of that 2008 championship run weren’t themselves anymore and they had traded away their once-good farm system to compete. Phillies legend Jimmy Rollins was beginning to decline, Ryan Howard hadn’t been the same since tearing his Achilles tendon, and Roy Halladay was in an uphill battle with shoulder surgery. Despite selling at the deadline the team was still the 3rd most expensive going into the 2013 season. The team was relatively competitive halfway through the year at 48-48 but suffered a catastrophic collapse after the All-Star break.
From July 19, 2013, to August 17 2013 the team was an awful 5-21 ending all hopes at the postseason and finishing 73-89. The team’s worst record in 13 years. Phillies legendary manager Charlie Manuel was fired before the season even ended. The winningest and arguably the best manager in Phillies history. This was a gut punch to the Philly locker room who felt they failed someone who they loved and was doing all he could. Chase Utley was quoted as saying “Charlie didn’t strike out, Charlie didn’t make any errors. All Charlie did was come to the park every day and ask us to win.”
After Roy Halladay called it a legendary career Ruben Amaro threw 15 million dollars at 37-year-old AJ Burnett. He would have his worst season in 2014. Ruben Amaro began to come under a lot of fire from the media for constantly throwing away prospects and throwing out money for older stars who would decline shortly afterward. With the Phillies now looking towards the future, all those prospects he gave up at past trade deadlines would haunt him. Despite the negative attention, he retained 35-year-old Carlos Ruiz, and 36-year-old ex Phillie Marlon Byrd was paid to return.
The Phillies unsurprisingly stayed right in the middle in 2014. Following a 73 win in 2013 with a repeat 73 win in 2014. New manager Ryne Sandberg had locker room problems with fan favorite Jimmy Rollins. To make things worse, Rollins spent his season bombarded with trade rumors. When the season came to a close Ruben Amaro sent Rollins to the Dodgers. Finalizing an awful end to one of the greatest players in franchise history.
The fanbase went into 2015 expecting the worst and somehow the Phillies surprised many with how bad it was. Things got bad before the season even started with legend Cliff Lee suffering an elbow injury that would ultimately end his career. A disastrous 63-99 season earned the team their most losses since 1969. Jonathan Papelbon was traded after being fed up with losing, Cole Hamels was traded to the Rangers, and Chase Utley became another Phillies star traded to the Dodgers. Ruben Amaro had finally caved in and was embracing a rebuild in Philadelphia. Despite that, he was fired after 7 years in power. Carlos Ruiz went on to be traded and allowed Ryan Howard to walk in free agency. The ’08 core was officially gone.
The rebuild started off rough. The Phillies selected Micky Moniak with the first pick in the 2016 draft. He never panned out and is now an Angel. To many people’s surprise, the Phillies came out the gates hot in 2016 sitting at 22-15 in mid-May. To even less people’s surprise, they collapsed and finished 71-91. The only big positive to come out of the season was Aaron Nola pitching his first full season as a Phillie. He showed flashes and would obviously go on to become the stud we know him as today.
In the third season since rebuilding truly began the Phillies swung and missed with another poor draft day decision. They selected outfielder Adam Hasley with the 9th pick. He would play 116 games for the team in 3 years and played for the White Sox in 2023. Another crushing blow to a demoralized fanbase. They were doing the losing part of rebuilding with no good prospects to show for it. There was one major positive to take away from 2017 however. Rhys Hoskins made his debut. he played 50 games had 18 home runs and a .259 average. The season was a terrible one with a 66-96 record, but for the first time in years, this city had someone to be excited about as the future of the team. The 2017 draft was very good too. They selected third baseman Alec Bohm. The first major hit since beginning to rebuild. Bohm has played a key role in the Phillies success in recent years.
2018 was a breakthrough. Led by Rhys Hoskins the Phillies stormed out to a 53-42 record at the All-Star break. The team earned an 80-82 record, the best since 2012. Aaron Nola had an outstanding season with a 2.37 ERA. The future of this team looked bright. To make things better the team would earn themselves the 14th pick which would become Bryson Stott. They also got their catcher in stud former Marlin JT Realmuto. All of this is obviously amazing, but the move the team made next is the move you’ve been waiting to see. Bryce Harper.
It’s 2:52, February 8th, 2019. You see a Twitter notification pop up on your phone. It’s Jeff Passan. “Free agent outfielder Bryce Harper is finalizing an agreement on a deal with the Philadelphia Phillies…” 13 years, 330 million dollars. The biggest contract in team history and yet it still feels like he’s underpaid. You don’t need me to tell you what Bryce Harper has done for the Phillies. GM Matt Klentak took a gamble and hit the jackpot, changing this team forever.
2019 marked the first .500 season in 7 years. Fantastic seasons from Rhys Hoskins, J.T Realmuto, Aaron Nola, and obviously Bryce Harper gave this city tons to hope about. If the rebuild stayed on track they should’ve been able to be a playoff team in 2020! The only thing in their way was a global pandemic.
2020 just felt like a lost season. The shortened 60-game season saw the Phillies win just 28 games and miss the playoffs. Conditions were obviously against the team, but regardless it was still disappointing. Front office changes are made with Dave Dombroski as the president of baseball operations. The team picked up Mick Able in the draft who is still in the minor leagues. They made a splash in free agency with Zack Wheeler coming aboard, he’s so good he’ll be starting in this year’s opening day.
The beginning of 2021 was eh. The whole season was. 82-80 gave the team its first winning record since 2011, but no playoffs. It still felt like we were waiting for the breakout season. Something, anything to put this team back in the playoffs, but it never came.
2022 was a make-or-break year for Manager Joe Girardi. If things didn’t work this year under him, he’d be fired. He started 22-29 and was fired. The interim manager? Rob Thomson. Rob Thomson flipped the feel of the team on a dime going 65-46 and putting the Phillies in the playoffs for the first time in 10 years.
You know what happens from here. One of the most magical postseason runs in sports, followed by another great run a year later, both ending in disappointing losses. In many eyes, the rebuilding of this team is over. Even if it didn’t quite go to plan, the team is finally competitive again. Maybe it isn’t though. The last 2 years have been magical, but nothing to show for it. As the Phillies prepare for the 2024 season where they’re expected to be World Series contenders, remind yourself about how this came to be. It was a long uphill battle that all started on one miserable October night in 2011.
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