There Is No Reason To Panic About The Phillies Recent Skid

Philly fans are some of the best fans in the world. No one is more passionate. But that passion is a double-edged sword. Fans will be out of their mind when things are going well for the Phillies. But as we have seen over the last few weeks, they also lose their minds when things are not going well.

July has not gone well for them. After being by far the best team in baseball for the first few months, they hit a hurdle. The bullpen has struggled a bit, the bats have gone cold, and they have battled some injuries in the rotation. Including Ranger Suarez who after leading the league in ERA for most of the season, had several bad outings in a row, and recently landed on the IL.

I am not saying this team has been good recently. They have played poorly. But the sky is not falling. If you are one of those people who think the sky is falling, you are respectfully out of your mind. There is absolutely no reason to panic about this slump.

162 games is a long season. No one is going to be dominant the entire time. In 2022, the Astros won 106 games and went on to win the World Series. They had a 3-8 stretch and two 3-6 stretches. The Rangers won it all last season. They had a 2-7 stretch, and a 4-16 stretch, including 8 straight losses.

There were times the 2008 Phillies looked bad. The 2022 Phillies team that made it to the World Series was terrible in September. Teams go cold. Hitters go cold. Pitchers go through rough patches. There is no avoiding it. It happens to every team and every player.

This Phillies team, despite being 4-8 over their last 12 games, still has the best record in baseball. They have a 2-game lead over the Guardians for the best overall record, a 3-game lead over the Dodgers for the best NL record, and still an 8.5-game lead in the NL East.

What does the fact they can go on a skid like this, and still be in 1st place, tell you? One, they were so good before the skid that they gave themselves a lot of cushion. But also, they are not the only good team that has hit a speed bump.

The Dodgers were on a 5-10 stretch heading into the All-Star Break. They just dropped a series to the Astros, but have otherwise played well coming out of the break. The Braves are 3-6 post-All-Star Break and honestly have been treading water for a few months now. The Brewers went into the break on a 3-7 skid.

Over in the AL, none of the top 5 teams have a winning record over their last 10 games. The Guardians lost 3 of their 1st 5 games out of the Break, and were 2-5 going into it. The Orioles have lost 2 straight series to the Marlins and Padres, and were 2-7 going into it. The Yankees are 4-5 since the Break, and were 9-18 going into it.

What "great team" is playing well right now? All the people we look at as contenders are scuffling. It is what happens over the course of a 162 season. The fact the standings have not changed during this Phillies skid should tip you off to that. The problem we have is we are so focused on our team's struggles, we miss the bigger picture. Everyone is in a mid-season swoon.

Are the Phillies flawed? Of course. Every team is. But they are the least flawed of all 30 teams. Their lineup is deeper, their rotation is better, and their bullpen, despite recent struggles, is among the best in the league.

Relax. The Phillies will be fine. This happens to every single good team. They were never going to win 116 games like they were at one point on pace to get. They were going to have a slump.

I get being frustrated. They are frustrating to watch right now. Just know, it is the same case for every single team that will be in their way come October. Every team they might play in the playoffs is either struggling now or was struggling earlier in the season. No team is the perfect team you want the Phillies to be.

So stop worrying. They are going to be fine. Eventually, they will snap out of it. If you think this slump means they are frauds, that means you think all 30 teams in the MLB are frauds. Stop panicking.

What are the greatest home runs in Phillies history? The times where with one swing of a bat, our players changed the game in a big way? When a team is around as long as the Phillies have been, there are going to be some unforgettable moments. Let's talk about the best ones.

The Phillies have been around for a long time. Unfortunately, they have been incredibly mediocre for most of that time.

People my age, 31 and younger, have had it easy, seeing mostly great baseball. Yes, we had a decade of bad baseball before the run from 2007 to 2011. There was another decade without making it to the playoffs after that.

But with that said, most of our baseball-watching lives including Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, and Ryan Howard. Now we get Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, and Trea Turner. I will openly admit in comparison to what Phillies baseball has been for most of its history, my generation has it pretty easy.

Related: The All-Time Roster Of Phillies Players Acquired In Free Agency

I say this to explain why much of this list seems pretty recent. I didn't forget about Mike Schmidt. He and a few people from before the 90s made this list.

But to be one of the greatest homeruns, the HR has to mean something. Outside the late 70s and early 80s, there was not much winning going on for the Phillies before 1990. The home runs I put on this list are ones that came in big moments. The type of homeruns we will still be replaying a decade after they happened.

Which ones made the list? Which players hit the greatest home runs in Phillies history? Did any notable home runs get snubbed?

It is hard to say any regular season HR is one of the most important ones in team history. But this Mike Schmidt HR vs the Expos deserves its spot on the list. It was this HR that clinched the NL East for the Phillies in 1980.

Remember in 1980 there was no Wildcard. There was an NL East, and an NL West. The winners of each division made the playoffs. Everyone else was eliminated.

If the Phillies lost this game, they still could have won the East in game 162. But Schmidt helped them skip that step and just sent them there with an extra innings bomb. Of course, the rest was history, and they went on to win it all. It was Schmidt's regular season bomb though that ensured they had that chance.

Besides having a great name, Dick Sisler is also the only guy from before 1980 to make this list. But when you hit an HR that wins the Pennant, you have to make the list. Especially considering it came in 1950 when there were no real playoffs. The NL winner and the AL winner met in the World Series, and that was it.

The Whiz Kids were on the ropes. They held a 1 game lead over the Brooklyn Dodgers. If they lost the final game of the season, they would have had a best of 3 tie-breaker. Dick Sisler didn’t want to deal with all of that. He hit a 3-run shot in extra innings, to put the game away, and send the Phillies to the World Series. They went on to lose to the Yankees though.

Harper was scuffling big time heading into the 2022 playoffs. He went on to have one of the best playoff runs in MLB history. It all started with the Wild Card Series vs the Cardinals. In his first at-bat of Game 2, he sent a Miles Mikolas pitch deep to right field.

It was 1 of only 2 runs the Phillies scored that game. Turns out they only needed 1. Aaron Nola pitched 6.2 shutout innings, then the bullpen took it from there.

It clinched that series and started a magical run for the Phillies.

In terms of importance, there are more important ones than the Grand Slam. It was only the 2nd inning of game 2 in the NLDS. They won game 1 and won the series in 4. They likely win the series even without the Slam. But it was still an iconic moment.

That Grand Slam was the start of the magic that eventually carried them to the second World Series win in team history. The buildup, with Brett Myers drawing a walk, was fantastic. The fact it was off CC Sabathia, who was one of the best pitchers in the game at the time, makes it even better. All of it just made the eventual Grand Slam a legendary moment in Phillies history.

In terms of just vibes, it is hard to beat this moment. Apart from just being a big-time HR that put the Phillies firmly in the driver's seat of this series, it was a true redemption story.

Fans were pissed at Rhys Hoskins coming into game 3 vs the Braves. It was his poor fielding that led them to blowing game 2 in Atlanta. Not to mention he had done very little at the plate in the playoffs at that point. But with 1 swing, and one unforgettable bat spike, he was back in the fan's good graces.

Rhys crushed a ball off of a sputtering Spencer Strider for a 3-run HR to put the Phillies up 4-0. From there, the Phillies never lost control of this series. Harper followed it up with a 2-run HR of his own, and the Phillies cruised to a victory.

Rhys is no longer with the Phillies. But with this moment, he cemented himself into Phillies lore.

I needed to have a Ryan Howard HR on this list, and also needed something from the 2008 World Series. Luckily I can kill 2 birds with 1 stone.

I don't think we talk enough about how great Howard was in that series. Hamels was World Series MVP, but it could have easily gone to Howard, who had an OPS of 1.137 and hit 3 HRs in 5 games.

The most notable of which came in game 4. The Phillies were only up 2-1. Carl Crawford had just recently cut the lead in half with a solo shot. With Joe Blanton on the mound, a 1 run lead was not exactly comfortable.

Ryan Howard made things a lot more comfortable though. In the 4th inning, he busted the game wide open with a 3-run blast. He would add a 2nd HR later on for good measure, and Joe Blanton would famously add one of his own. But it was the 1st Howard blast that put the game away, helping them secure a 3-1 lead in the series.

Only one Phillies player has ever hit a walk-off HR in the playoffs. Not Ryan Howard, Not Mike Schmidt, not Bryce Harper. George Vukovich.

It was game 4 of the 1981 NLDS vs the Expos. The game had gone to extra innings, but Vukovich didn’t let the game last long. In the bottom of the 10th, he roped a ball to right field and over the wall to end it there and then.

The Phillies lost the series in the very next game, which keeps it lower on this list. But his HR is still a moment worthy of the list.

The Phillies were close to being on the ropes in the NLCS in 1993. ‘Wild Thing’ Mitch Williams lived up to his name and blew a 3-run lead in the 9th. Had they lost that game in extras, they would have faced an elimination game in game 6.

Lenny Dykstra had something else in mind. He took Mark Wohlers yard, to give the Phillies a 4-3 lead. Then Larry Anderson came in to do what Mitch couldn’t and got the save.

They went on to win game 6 too, and kept that magical 1993 run alive. We know how it ended from there, but if it wasn’t for Dykstra they may have not had the chance to lose in such heartbreaking fashion in the World Series.

For someone not known for his big-time power, the Flyin' Hawaiian showed up twice on this list. When we talk about the 2008 NLCS, we always talk about the Matt Stairs HR, which we will get to. But before he could hit a go-ahead HR, Shane Victorino tied it up with a HR of his own.

It was not a moonshot like the Stairs HR. It also does not have the iconic call to go with it. But it is arguably just as important. Who knows if the Phillies win that series, and go on to with the World Series, without this Victorino bomb.

The 1980 World Series almost got off to an awful start for the Phillies. They went down 4-0 early in game 1. But a rally started by Larry Bowa, and capped off by a Bake McBride 3-run blast, turned things around, and set the tone for the series.

They went on to win game 1 and eventually won the series in 6.

Every single Phillies fan knows the phrase “Matt Stairs rips one into the night.” The call is as iconic as the HR itself.

The 2008 NLCS was in danger of going to 2-2. But as we already talked about, Shane Victorino hit a HR to tie it up, setting Matt Stairs up for the go-ahead bomb.

The moment it came in, the fact it was an absolute moonshot, and Joe Buck having a legendary call ready, makes this one of the best Phillies moments period. Over 15 years later, it still gets replayed all the time around the city. I will sometimes just pull it up for the sake of it.

Can anything compare to this one? It was not a walk-off, but it was as close as you can get without being one.

The Phillies were on the ropes in game 5. They blew the lead, thanks to poor conditions. It looked like the series was going back to San Diego. They would have still needed just 1 more win, but still, blowing that game to go back West would have been rough.

Bryce Harper was having none of it. With JT Realmuto on base, Harper stepped up and crushed a ball to left field off Robert Suarez. In an instant, the Phillies were back in the lead. A lead they held onto to win the game, and the series.

Putting it number 1 might be recency bias. But for me, it is the first home run I think of when I think Phillies. Like the Matt Stairs one, this is an HR I often look up just to watch it again.