Philly’s magical 2022 run sadly ended on November 5th following a world series game 6 loss to Houston Astros. The Phillies started the series 2-1 but ended up losing three in a row to the consensus-best baseball team. A huge controversy sparked in the 6th game following manager Rob Thompsons’ decision to pull Zach wheeler out of the game in the 6th inning. I wanted to see what students around Wilmington Friends thought about the Thompsons’ controversial decision to pull the wheeler out of the world series. I first went to Jackson Strauss 23′ to see what he had to say about it. ” I, unfortunately, did not get to watch game six. But when I watched the highlights I realized it was bs. you can’t be doing that to my man. it was ultimately the reason why red October came to an end. it made me want to personally give the manager a piece of my mind and punch a hole through my screen”. Well Jackson it is clear that this decision has impacted you! 

The Phillies’ playoff run was highly improbable because of their extremely slow start to the season. On a memorial day, the group was 21-29, the same exact record as the Pittsburgh Pirates who ultimately ended the season 62-100. The Phillies started their playoff run in a best-of-three Play in round against the St. Louis Cardinals. Winning this series clinched the Phillies’ first playoff birth since 2011. This was also a monumental moment in Bryce Harper’s career as it was his first playoff series win in his eleven-year career. In the NL divisional round, the Phillies took on the dangerous Atlanta Braves in a best-of-5 series. After the fourth game, the Phillies won the series 3-1 meaning that the Phillies would move on to the NL championship to face the San Diego Padres led by Juan Soto and Manny Machado. Following a dominant performance from the Phillies, They won the series 4-1 and advanced to the World Series where they would face the Houston Astros led by 3-time Cy Young award winner Justin Verlander. We all know what happened then. Although the ending to the season was a bit bitter, It is important that we recognize just how much the Phillies came together and improved throughout the season. If you told the average Phillies fan halfway through the season that they would be a world series finalist, they would be ecstatic.  One thing is for sure though, The world series finish has me and every other Phillies fan super stoked for the 2023 season.

The Philadelphia Phillies 2023 season is already highly anticipated due to the 43 million dollars in cap space that they have available to pick up free agents during this offseason. With a lower-quality short stop in Bryson stott it is expected that the Phillies sign an A-tier shortstop over the offseason. Philly hopefuls have their eyes on shortstops like Trea Turner, Xander Bogarts, Carlson Correa, and Dansby Swanson. A signing of this quality could be what turns the Phillies from a world series finalist to a world series champion. I wanted a bit of perspective on what Phillies fans around our school thought should be done with the Phillies’ extra cap space so I went to Phillies Super Fan George Rossi to hear what he had to say. With all this speculation, what matters is what happens starting March 30th when the Phillies take on the Texas Rangers’ opening day.