by Cole Magditch

Image Courtesy of whyy.org

The Philadelphia Phillies season unfortunately came to an end after they lost Game 7 of the NLCS to the Arizona Diamondbacks, by a score of 4-2. This was a surprise, as previously, the Phillies were cruising through the playoffs, and even beat the number 1 team, the Atlanta Braves.  Overall, the Phillies still had a good season.  Throughout the season, the Phillies had very high expectations, as the year before they lost 4-2 in the World Series to the Houston Astros.

In the offseason, the Phillies signed all star shortstop Trea Turner to a 11-year, $300 million deal.  The Phillies signed Turner in hopes of becoming a franchise player and were gearing up for the next season to try and take the World Series.  The season got off to a very slow start, as the Phillies were under .500, having more losses than wins.  Phillies fans were getting rowdy as they watched their team continue to lose an excessive amount of games.

By the halfway point, the Phillies were barely above .500, and only had 2 all stars on their team. Although, after the all star break, the Phillies took off.  They got star player Bryce Harper back at first base and started winning the majority of the games.  One game, Trea Turner was in a bad slump which usually happens to all star players on their first season with a new team.  The Phillies gave Turner a standing ovation to show that they believed in him.  After the ovation, Turner hit with a .369 batting average, which was one of the highest throughout that time.

  The Phillies continued winning a lot of their games as some of their young players would step up, but the Atlanta Braves, who were at the top of the division, were almost impossible to catch up to.  The Phillies ended up 90-72 which was not able to beat the Braves record, but did end up getting the Phillies fourth seed in the National League.  The Phillies wildcard game was very successful, as they swept the Miami Marlins with ease.  This gave Phillies fans confidence, as the Marlins were not a bad team.  This also got the Phillies fans louder and made it hard for opposing teams at Citizens Bank Park.

  In the Divisional Series, the Phillies had to play the number one seed, the Atlanta Braves.  This series was thought to be a great matchup and lots of people thought it might be over for the Phillies, as the Braves were unstoppable in the regular season.  Phillies fans did not care that their team was playing the best team.  This just caused them to cheer even louder, making it even harder for the opposing pitchers.  The Phillies beat the Braves in the divisional series for the second season in a row. This  led to the NLCS, where the Phillies ended up losing to a very good Diamondbacks team.  The Phillies will look to regroup during the off season with occasional pickups, mainly getting more and better pitchers.  The Phillies will patiently wait for next season’s postseason, and attempt to win the World Series next season.