Philadelphia Phillies Manager Says This Team Is "Best We've Had" In His Tenure

Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson had high praise for his club after the final home game of the regular season.

Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies closed out their regular season home schedule on Thursday with a 9-6 victory over the Chicago Cubs.

Offensively, it was what we have grown to expect from the Phillies with their lineup, one of the deepest in baseball this year.

The club combined to go 13-for-36 with eight of the 13 going for extra bases, while also drawing three walks.

The win moved Philadelphia to 54-27 at Citizens Bank Park this season, the best mark in the history of the park, and they will finish the season with the best home record in MLB.

Manager Rob Thomson spoke with reporters after his club's win and had high praise for this year's roster.

"This is the best team we've had since I've been here," Thomson stated, "I think there's great balance as far as our offense is good.. our rotation, obviously, is good, and we've got an extremely deep bullpen."

And, for once, it may not just be "coach speak."

More often than not, when the coach of a team waxes poetic as Thomson did, the words are empty and meant to save face in front of the media.

But, statistically, the Phillies have built an all-around great team, and it has helped them win their first National League East division title since 2011, and clinch a bye until the NLDS.

Philadelphia enters Thursday ranked fourth in MLB in team OPS at .753, only .024 behind the Arizona Diamondbacks in first.

While two of the three teams ahead of the Phillies in the rankings (the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees) are mostly sustained by two or three guys at the top of their lineups, Philadelphia's lineup is much deeper with five hitters hitting well above the league-average OPS of .712.

The starting rotation for Philadelphia is a four-headed monster, much like the much-beloved rotation of the early 2010s.

They rank fifth in starter's ERA for the year at 3.75, and even that is brought down by the fifth spot of the rotation, something that will not be an issue in October.

The Phillies top-four in their rotation all carry a 3.52 ERA or better, with ace Zack Wheeler in contention for the National League Cy Young Award.

While Thomson did praise the bullpen, it may be the only "weakness" the club has, and even that is up for debate.

While it is the weakest aspect of the team, the bullpen still ranks 15th in MLB in ERA at 3.92.

Despite the team ERA, Philadelphia currently employs eight pitchers on their 28-man roster with ERAs below that mark, two of them having ERAs sub-2.00 in Jeff Hoffman (1.65) and Matt Strahm (1.93).

The Phillies have a roster built for success, and 2024 may be the best chance they have at their first World Series title since 2008.