'Shot to see greatness': Phils primed for postseason run

October 5th, 2022

This story was excerpted from Todd Zolecki's Phillies Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

could not have looked any happier than he looked Monday night.

“I’m drenched in all sorts of beer and champagne,” he said. “My eyes hurt. I can’t see straight, but it’s the best.”

The Phillies clinched an NL Wild Card spot on Monday, lifting a heavy weight from their shoulders by mercifully ending an 11-year postseason drought. Think of the longest-tenured Phillies like Aaron Nola, Zach Eflin and Hoskins. Think about everything they had seen (and heard) since they joined the organization in 2014.

Lots of losses.

Lots of managers, pitching coaches, hitting coaches.

Four consecutive September collapses.

Frustrated (and sometimes indifferent) fans.

“I’m just really proud to be a part of this group,” Hoskins said. “To do it with this group of guys with the season that we had, we obviously had to overcome a lot of adversity. But I wasn’t surprised that this group was able to do that just because you can see how close we are. It’s the best.”

I remember in 2007, when the Phillies won the NL East. It was an important step for players like Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard, in part because they no longer had to answer questions about a 14-year postseason drought.

It might be difficult for fans to understand, but it gets old constantly looking up at Phanavision and seeing 1980 and 1993 highlights.

It probably gets old seeing 2008 highlights, too.

“We knew [the drought was there],” Kyle Schwarber said. “We knew it coming in, and our fans wanted us to be there. It’s not a secret that they let us know they wanted us to be here, and we want to get it done for them. We’re not out here trying to screw things up. We’re out here trying to win. And now that we’re here, we’re going to try to bring this back to Philadelphia and get these people in the seats and hear what this thing is all about. I want to see it. I want to hear it. I’ve seen videos. It looks unbelievable and I want to see it with my own eyes so it’s our job to get it back to them now.”

You wonder how much Monday’s clincher relaxes the players. They looked tight coming down the stretch, like a history of September flops and the burden of a franchise-record payroll could sink them.

“It’s always the thing coming down the stretch is, are you guys going to blow it?” Phillies interim manager Rob Thomson said. “The September swoon, and all of that stuff. To just squash that is huge. Now we can focus on other things and move on.”

Move on and maybe win.

“It’s a totally different team,” Bryce Harper said. “It’s a totally different group of guys. We have a totally different GM and president. It’s a different mindset. From the top all the way down to the bottom, it’s a different mindset. And I know that every single guy expects to be here in … this spot. We’re all the same now, right? Everybody is 0-0. We’re excited to be in this opportunity and get the shot to see greatness.”