Philadelphia Phillies Compared to 2022 New York Yankees Amid Recent Struggles

The Philadelphia Phillies have shown similarities to the 2022 New York Yankees, who didn't win the World Series.

Aug 15, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first base Bryce Harper (3) crouches on second base after his RBI single during the fourth inning against the Washington Nationals at Citizens Bank Park. / Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

It's been a rough few weeks for the Philadelphia Phillies, which continued in their recent series against the Atlanta Braves. They lost two of three against their division rival, and after dropping their first contest against the Kansas City Royals, they are now just five games ahead in the National League East.

If the Phillies don't win the division, it'd be one of the biggest choke jobs in Major League Baseball throughout the past decade.

While it ultimately doesn't determine their season since they could still win a World Series title via the Wild Card, it'd make things much tougher.

Philadelphia has proven they don't need to win their division to succeed in October, but having more games at Citizens Bank Park than on the road is a huge advantage given how loud their fan base is and well they have performed at home.

No team wants to come to Citizens Bank Park and play the Phillies in a playoff series. Players, coaches, and others have shared that many times in the past.

However, with the way Philadelphia is playing, there isn't much of a reason for any team to be scared of them.

They simply haven't been good since the All-Star break and it's become a major problem. 

Looking back at history, there are a few teams they can be compared to. Most recently, the 2022 New York Yankees when they started that campaign as the best team in baseball by a wide margin, similar to the Phillies this season.

Unfortunately, that ended with the Yankees not winning a World Series and being a below-average team in the second half of the year. 

Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report compared the two.

"Reminiscent of the 2022 New York Yankees going 38-40 after a blistering 61-23 start, the once juggernaut-ish Phillies have seemingly been hibernating for the past six weeks, entering play on Wednesday with the worst record in the National League (12-19) dating back to July 12."

Baseball is a weird sport. It's tough to compare one team to another, but in terms of production in the regular season, they both look similar on paper.

Philadelphia has more talent than that New York team did, but often, it's about the process. The Phillies' process over the past two months hasn't been good.

It'll be interesting to see if anything clicks.

When Orlando Arcia went at Bryce Harper on Wednesday night, the hope was for that to be the turning point.

Instead, they lost the next game.

At some point, they have to figure things out and get back on track or else they will suffer the same fate as that Yankees team did two years ago.