On April 11, 2022, the Phillies beat the Mets in Philadelphia in dramatic fashion.
Down 4-0, the Phils rallied for five runs in the eighth: Alec Bohm led off the inning with a walk and Johan Camargo, pinch-hitting for Matt Vierling, followed up with a single. Bohm scored on a Kyle Schwarber groundout. J.T. Realmuto hit a two-run home run and cut the Mets’ lead to 4-3.
Bryce Harper, batting behind Realmuto, struck out. But with the Phillies down to their final out, back-to-back doubles by Rhys Hoskins and Didi Gregorious gave the Phillies a 5-4 lead. Brad Hand pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to finish the game.
We relive these Camargo, Gregorious, and Hand heroics because that win put the 2022 Phillies in first place by half a game with a 3-1 record. And, until the early hours of Saturday morning, the Phils hadn’t returned since.
Friday’s 4-3 Phillies win over the San Francisco Giants, paired with an overnight Dodgers victory over the Braves, put the Phillies atop the NL East for the first time since Brad Hand’s big save. In fact, the Fightins wake up on Saturday morning with the best record in all of baseball at 22-11.
It’s certainly something to savor. After their impressive April 11 comeback, the 2022 team lost seven of their next eight and never sniffed first place again, finishing 14 games behind the 101-win Mets and Braves.
In 2023, the Phils didn’t spend even one day in first place. They started the season 0-4 and, once again, finished 14 games back in the division.
The Phillies earned postseason berths in both years, of course, and made deeper runs than their NL East rivals. Though they didn’t end in championships, the 2022 and 2023 seasons were wildly successful seasons by just about any other metric.
But.
There’s something very different about a first-place team. More electric, more satisfying as a fan. While Red October will continue to be the most important month of the baseball year, watching a team win all season long, knowing it’s one of the best in the game, is a completely different experience. Think of 2011 or–if you’re of a certain age–1993. Summer-long parties at Citizens Bank Park and Veterans Stadium.
The wins don’t guarantee a championship. The ’93 Phils, ’11 Phils, ’22-’23 Braves, and countless other great teams know that all too well. But the fun, the excitement, the juice, that a truly dominant team carries is special. Winning the division just feels so much better than eking out one more W than an 86-win Brewers squad for a wild card spot.
Here’s to a great summer at the Bank.
