Comparing Eagles and Phillies Collapses in 2022 and 2023
The Eagles are the focal point of sports in Philadelphia. The great success that they have enjoyed creates huge expectations. The other organizations in town trail in eyeballs and overall energy. This isn’t their fault. A baseball season is 162 games long. It builds towards a crescendo in a pennant race. The 76ers and Flyers both have their own sales jobs to do in order to even enter the chat.
Unfortunately, near championship heartbreak has been the heavy storyline in the past couple of years. The Eagles and Phillies have both failed to deliver on the precipice of a parade in 2022 and 2023. Which team is deserving of the most critique? My answer may surprise you.
The 2022 Phillies
The Phillies snuck into the postseason as the final National League Wild Card. That alone should get them some grace, but they backed into the berth by stumbling down the stretch thanks that the inept Milwaukee Brewers.
A dramatic comeback in Game 1 of their NL Wild Card series against the Cardinals lit a fuse. A sweep in St. Louis led them to the NLDS where they thumped the heavily favored Atlanta Braves in four games. The Padres were their next victim in a five game NLCS victory.
After leading 2-1 in the World Series, they had two games lined up at home. They couldn’t close the deal. The Astros threw a no-hitter in Game 4, and the tailspin continued over the next two games in an agonizing defeat.
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The 2022 Eagles
The Eagles led wire to wire as the NFC top seed. They trounced the Giants in the NFC Divisional Round and the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game.
They led by 10 at halftime of the Super Bowl despite a Jalen Hurts fumble that awrded the Kansas City Chiefs a free seven points. There was a tie score with five minutes to go. A questionable call sunk them, but some questionable defense before that put the nail in their coffin.
The 2023 Phillies
The Phillies again weren’t ever in the NL East race, but they grabbed the top Wild Card spot. After beating the Miami Marlins in two games, they faced the Braves in the NLDS again.
It was a replay of 2022, as they jumped the Braves and advanced to the NLCS with home field advantage. They led the Diamondbacks 2-0 and 3-2, but they couldn’t hit in their final two home games. They fell in agonizing defeat.
The 2023 Eagles
The Eagles started 10-1 and then scripted one of the greatest collapse stories in NFL history. The disappointing losses down the stretch were embarrassing. The defeat at the hands of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Wild Card Round was disgusting.
The Verdict
The Eagles defeats were cruel in two different ways, but I’ll insist that the Phillies whimpering off in the 2022 World Series was the biggest miss and repeating that fate in 2023 was the bigger collapse. Hopefully, both teams have a plan to change how they deal with the pressure of getting close to glory.
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History of Philadelphia Phillies World Series Appearances
Ya Gotta' Believe (1980)
The franchise began as the Philadelphia Quakers in 1883, and the first World Series took place 20 years later. However, Phillies fans had to wait until 1980 to celebrate their first World Series.
Mike Schmidt led the team with two home runs and seven RBIs in the series. Tug McGraw struck out Willie Wilson for the final out in Game 6 at Veterans Stadium end the drought.
Macho Row Falls to Joe Carter (1993)
The 1993 Phillies became one of the most beloved teams in Philadelphia sports history because of the “Macho Row” mentality that landed so perfectly with the fan base. A colorful mix of personalities like Curt Schilling, Lenny Dykstra, and John Kruk helped push the Phillies past the Braves in the NLCS.
One of the most infamous moments in franchise history ended the memorable ride. Mitch Williams surrendered a walk-off home run to Joe Carter in the 9th inning of the Game 6 clincher.
Surviving Mother Nature (2008)
The Phillies announced a new era of dominance in 2007 by storming back on the New York Mets for their first playoff appearance in 14 years. However, they left the fan base hungry for more with a quick playoff exit. Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, and Cole Hamels delivered one year later with an unforgettable playoff run.
Shane Victorino’s grand slam helped the Phillies to a commanding lead in the NLDS. Matt Stairs hit an absolute moonshot at Dodger Stadium. Utley made the best heads-up play in MLB history for the third out of the 7th inning in the clincher.
Mother Nature made them wait two extra days, but Brad Lidge eventually threw the final strike to break a 25-year championship drought for major professional sports teams in Philadelphia. Hamels took home the hardware as the World Series MVP at age 24.
Just Short of Back-to-Back World Series (2009)
The defending NL champions sunk the Dodgers again in the NLCS to advance back to the World Series. Cliff Lee dominated a stacked Yankees lineup in Game 1, but the Phillies ultimately ran out of gas just short of the finish line.
Cole Hamels ended his disappointing 2009 season with a Game 3 loss. Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, and Hideki Matsui overwhelmed a pitching staff that didn’t have enough behind Lee to win consecutive titles.
"Dancing On My Own" To A Miracle Run (2022)
The Phillies backed into the 2022 MLB Playoffs, but their first postseason trip in over a decade made the fan base forget quickly. A 9th inning rally in the postseason opener raised some eyebrows, and the Phillies set themselves up for the triumphant return of Red October at Citizens Bank Park.
The Atlanta Braves didn’t know what hit them in an NLDS stunner, and Bryce Harper capped off the NLCS with the swing of his life against the San Diego Padres.
Only the Houston Astros stood in the way. The Phillies slugged their way to a 2-1 lead in front of a raucous crowd in Philadelphia, but the Astros responded with a combined no-hitter in Game 4 to suck the momentum out of the miracle Red October run. The series ended with another heartbreaker in a Game 6 loss in Houston.
