Many thought the Philadelphia Phillies would be one of the league’s worst teams this season, but that hasn’t been the case so far. What factors have contributed to their early success?
The 2016 season was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Philadelphia Phillies. It still might be before all is said and done. But for the month of April and now stretching into May, the Phils have not been playing like a team resigned to the fate of a bottom-feeder.
They entered this week at a cool 15-10, and though losing three of four to the St. Louis Cardinals has dropped them to 16-13, they’re still definitely outpacing even the more optimistic of projections. At the season’s outset, this looked like a squad that would probably battle with the Atlanta Braves (currently a league-worst 7-20) to stay out of the NL East cellar.
These Phillies could very well come back down to earth (more on that later), and even if they keep their heads above water they still have two of the best teams in baseball to contend with in their division in the Washington Nationals and New York Mets. Nevertheless, at the moment they appear ahead of schedule in the first year of the new era led by president Andy MacPhail, GM Matt Klentak and manager Pete Mackanin.
So what in particular is working for the Fightin’ Phils right now? Here are five reasons for their surprising better-than-.500 start.
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