Phillies Fans Guilty of “The Steinbrenner Doctrine”
When the Houston Astros recorded the final out of the World Series in 2022, most fans of the Philadelphia Phillies handled the disappointment on the biggest stage without intensely criticizing the players or the organization.
The Phillies were a wild card team in the MLB Postseason for the first time in 11 years. They had outperformed expectations drastically and lost to a powerhouse team in annual World Series contention.
A collapse in the National League Championship Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks changed that tune in Red October 2023. The Phillies entered the series as heavy favorites, and they had a year of playoff experience under their belts. Losing four of the final five games hit their fans differently.
The reasoning is over with. The 2024 Phillies have the weight of the “Steinbrenner Doctrine” on their shoulders.
The Steinbrenner Doctrine
Buster Olney, host of Baseball Tonight and former New York Yankees reporter, joined The Mike Missanelli Show to talk about the NLDS. He explained the fan mentality of the “Steinbrenner Doctrine” simply.
“If you don’t win the World Series, you suck.”
George Steinbrenner wrote a blank check that kept the Yankees in perennial World Series contention and enabled them to become the envy of professional sports.
He also rashly interfered with daily baseball operations constantly and created a chaotic soap opera. Look no further than hiring and firing his manager Billy Martin five times.
All of it was in pursuit of the same goal. Anything less than a World Series was a disappointment to The Boss and to Yankees fans.
Olney has seen it for decades in the perception of the Yankees. The New York Mets sometimes have a similar outlook in the largest media market in the country. Star power creates a similar sense for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Phillies Have Eyes On World Series
The crowd at Citizens Bank Park waved the Red October rally towels during the first two games of the National League Division Series against the Mets. They brought the playoff energy, but they also brought something that wasn’t there in previous Red Octobers.
The building was tense with demanding fans who expect Red October 2024 to end in a World Series. A victory in the NLDS is not just a hope. It’s one small step toward meeting that much larger expectation.
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When the Mets stole Game 1, Phillies fans panicked. They brought out the boos when the home team struggled offensively in the early innings of Game 2.
Nick Castellanos even heard a Bronx cheer in the fourth inning for laying off a pitch in the dirt after chasing two pitches outside the strike zone earlier in his at-bat.
This is not the Red October crowd that spontaneously rocked Citizens Bank Park while the underdog Phillies went on an unexpected run in 2022.
It bears more similarity to the nervous energy of NLCS Game 7 last October when 45,000 fans slowly wrapped their minds around an impending reality that seemed unthinkable just days before.
Phillies fans built a reputation at Citizens Bank Park as the best home field advantage in the sport. They played a part in making Philadelphia an attractive place to play. Now, they want their World Series.
They’re entrenched in the Steinbrenner Doctrine.
