Philadelphia Phillies Are First Team To Accomplish This Feat

After the Philadelphia Phillies planned all offseason to get off to a hot start, they accomplished that by being the first team to accomplish something all year.
Apr 28, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott
Apr 28, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott / Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
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All offseason, the Philadelphia Phillies players and coaches talked about wanting to get off to a much better start than they had the previous two years when they were fighting for their playoff lives in 2022, and were relegated to the Wild Card race early in 2023 because they were so far behind in their division.

Much of that could be understood.

In 2022, manager Joe Giardi was fired in early June after starting 22-29. Last season, the Phillies were mising Bryce Harper and Rhys Hoskins.

After getting through this Spring Training relatively unscathed, they had the ability to achieve their goal of starting off as one of the best teams in the league.

It looked like that might not happen as they stumbled out of the gate with their offense looking like a complete shell of itself.

But, they turned that around and are now the first team to reach the feat of winning 20 games this year.

Philadelphia came back in dramatic fashion by putting three runs up on the board in the ninth inning to take a 7-5 lead. Jeff Hoffman then came on to close things out and earn his second save of the season.

In terms of short term results, this was an important victory as it gives them an opportunity to win another series on Wednesday, while also giving them the cache of being the first team to reach 20 on the year.

In the long term, this doesn't mean much.

Championships aren't won in the regular season, and the Phillies are playing for results that only take place in the fall.

But still, moments like this need to be celebrated throughout the long year, and this continues to give Philadelphia an opportunity to win their first division title since 2011.


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Brad Wakai
BRAD WAKAI

Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he did work at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad currently is the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continues to cover Penn State athletics. He is also a contributor at FanSided, writing about the Philadelphia 76ers for The Sixers Sense. Brad is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, discussing topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai