PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - OCTOBER 23: Josh Bell #24 of the San Diego Padres celebrates after hittin a double in the seventh inning of Game Five of the National League Championship Series against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on October 23, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Matt Thomas/San Diego Padres/Getty Images)
Have you ever heard the phrase: “The best way to win the World Series is to make the playoffs every year.” It’s a true, yet obvious statement that’s been evidently clear throughout the postseasons in the past couple years.
Let’s look at two teams, the San Diego Padres and Philadelphia Phillies, that are a great example of not-so-great regular-season teams that caught fire in October and defied the odds in this year’s edition of playoff baseball.
Lessons learned from the San Diego Padres and Philadelphia Phillies
The Padres came into the postseason very wounded and disappointing. After trading for Juan Soto, Josh Bell, Brandon Drury, and having Fernando Tatis Jr. seemingly on the cusp of returning from injury, the sky was truly the limit for this ball club. However, things really didn’t pan out as planned. Tatis Jr. was suspended for 80 games after failing a drug test, and newly acquired Bell and Soto were both severely disappointing. Soto slashed a .778 OPS with six homers, while Bell hit .192 with three homers.
Despite the team struggles, the Padres managed to secure a five seed, earning them a Wild Card matchup with the New York Mets. The Mets were coming off a 100-win season, and seemed nearly unbeatable with a one-two punch of Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer.
However, the Padres proved otherwise, notching seven earned runs off of Scherzer in Game 1, handing the future Hall of Famer the worst postseason start of his career. After batting .192 in the regular season, Bell started the Game 1 home run parade with a two-run homer in the first inning.
After losing Game 2, it was up to Joe Musgrove to send the Padres to the NLDS. Musgrove had a signature outing, pitching seven scoreless innings. Musgrove was checked for “foreign grip substances” mid-game because he was pitching so well. Soto continued his postseason turnaround, going 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI.
The series win earned San Diego a matchup with the Dodgers, a team who downright bullied them in the regular season. The Padres had a horrid 5-14 record against L.A. in the regular season, and were going into the series without home field advantage.
After a brutal Game 1 loss, San Diego managed to pull the series even, notching three earned runs off future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw. In Game 3, a solo shot from Trent Grisham in front of a wild Padres crowd gave them a 2-0 lead, and that was all they needed. Blake Snell pitched another gem against the Dodgers in the playoffs, going five scoreless with six strikeouts. Josh Hader closed out the game striking out the side, looking nearly unhittable with his 100 mph fastball.
Throughout the season, the Dodgers embraced analytics. However, in Game 4, analytics were their downfall. After starting pitcher Tyler Anderson went five scoreless innings, manager Dave Roberts decided to pull Anderson and go to the bullpen. Roberts did this likely because the analytics told him to do so; his bullpen had a better chance to win him this game rather than keeping Anderson in longer. This strategy worked until Roberts brought in relievers Yency Almonte and Alex Vesia. Vesia and Almonte blew the game, with Vesia giving up a devastating two-run hit to Jake Cronenworth that gave the Padres the win and series victory.
Game 4 was a prime example of how unreliable analytics can be in playoff baseball. Ultimately, it wound up costing the Dodgers their championship hopes.
The incredible Padres run came to an end in their NLCS matchup with the Phillies, a series in which Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber were too hot for the Padres to handle. Nonetheless, it was an awesome run for San Diego, and the series victory against Los Angeles is something Padres fans will reminisce about for years to come.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – NOVEMBER 01: Bryce Harper #3 of the Philadelphia Phillies reacts after hitting a home run against the Houston Astros during the first inning in Game Three of the 2022 World Series at Citizens Bank Park on November 01, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images) /
As for the Phillies, well, it’s an incredible story. The Phillies were the last National League team to make the postseason, playing in the last Wild Card spot against the St. Louis Cardinals. After trailing 2-0 in the ninth inning of Game 1, the Phillies put together a six-run inning against Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley, one of the best closers in the regular season.
The Phillies went on to defeat the Cardinals in Game 2, earning them an NLDS matchup against the NL East Champion Atlanta Braves. Everyone liked Atlanta, who was surging coming off a huge regular-season series win against the Mets, helping them clinch the NL East pennant.
In Game 1, the Phillies jumped on Max Fried, something they had failed to do all year, and forced him out of the game early, which eventually helped them earn a huge win. After dropping Game 2, the Phillies had an offensive onslaught in Game 3, forcing five earned runs off Atlanta’s NL Rookie of the Year candidate, Spencer Strider. After Bryson Stott’s RBI double, the Phillies were able to deteriorate Strider’s confidence, with Strider throwing his lowest fastball velocity of the season in Game 3. Rhys Hoskins put the nail in the coffin with a signature bat flip on a three-run homer.
The Phillies continued this offensive momentum under their home crowd in Game 4, with Brandon Marsh starting the offense with a three-run homer in the second. The Phillies wound up scoring eight runs in Game 4, and shocked the baseball world beating a team that was superior to them practically the entire regular season.
The underdog story continued after that, of course. The Phillies were slight underdogs in their NLCS matchup with the Padres, but it didn’t faze them. A 4-2 series win booked them a trip to their first World Series since 2009. The magical run came in the World Series, where the Phillies ran into a Houston Astros team with arguably one of the best pitching staffs in playoff history. The Astros lost two games in the entire postseason, with both losses coming from Philadelphia.
Oct 8, 2021; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Atlanta Braves left fielder Joc Pederson (22) celebrates he runs the bases after hitting a solo home run in the eighth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers during game one of the 2021 NLDS at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports /
Let’s not forget about the 2021 World Series Champion Braves, who arguably pulled off one of the most improbable postseason runs in MLB history. After losing star outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr., the Braves had one of the worst rosters entering the postseason and were written off by almost everybody. After losing Game 1 of the NLDS to Corbin Burnes and the Brewers, the Braves went 7-2 in their next nine playoff games, defeating the Brewers and Dodgers, who both had significantly better regular seasons than Atlanta.
The Braves again defied the odds in the World Series, beating a more talented Astros team to secure the title. It was the true example of postseason magic, with guys like Eddie Rosario, Joc Pederson, and Adam Duvall getting hot out of nowhere and carrying an underdog team.
In the end, David Stearns, Andrew Friedman, James Click, and all the other GMs who tailor their rosters towards making the postseason year after year are the ones who are doing it right.
Next. How the 3 true outcomes doomed the Phillies. dark
The postseason is truly a different animal. There are no real metrics that can predict your success. The best way to win is to throw your team’s hat in the ring every October, no matter what position you start in. The more talented team doesn’t always win in October. It doesn’t matter how good or bad you were playing in the regular season. In the end, any team that gets hot can win it all when it comes to playoff baseball.
