Phillies Aiming to Overcome a Decade of Decline
Between 2001 and 2011, the Philadelphia Phillies enjoyed an amazing period of success. For eleven consecutive years the team posted winning seasons, starting with the appointment of Larry Bowa as manager until 2004, followed by the hugely successful tenure of Charlie Manuel.
The astute work of GM Pat Gillick was vital. He was responsible for hiring Manuel and building a roster that would eventually win the World Series in 2008. After retiring from his post in a blaze of glory, assistant Rubén Amaro Jr. was promoted. The team reached a second consecutive World Series, ultimately lost against the New York Yankees, although the team would continue to post winning seasons until 2011.
Heading into the wilderness
The 2011 regular season was the best in franchise history with a record 102 wins posted, but it was also the last time the Phillies would reach the postseason. However, the best regular-season teams don’t always end up winning the World Series. Philadelphia lost the 2011 National League Division Series 3-2 against the St. Louis Cardinals, the eventual World Series champions, and that’s arguably where the decline started.
Despite being the best team in baseball on paper, out in the ballpark, results took a turn for the worse in 2012 with 81 wins and 81 losses, as the Phillies missed out on the postseason. The following 2013 season, just after winning his 1,000th game as a manager, Manuel was fired as manager with his team having lost 15 out of 20 games. Third-base coach Ryne Sandberg took the post, although he wouldn’t fare any better. The golden era was well and truly over.
Phillies lost in the fog
Since the evens regular season campaign of 2012, the previous era of success has almost been lost to the mists of time. Ryne Sandberg, Pete Mackanin, Gabe Kapler; all have held the managerial reins, and none posted winning seasons. After being hailed for creating one of the best ever batting rotations in 2011, GM Rubén Amaro was gone by September 2015, having subsequently become the worst GM in the MLB according to various media outlets.
By the time that Matthew Klentak was hired as GM in 2015, he inherited an ageing team in dire need of rebuilding. Despite big investments to improve the roster, accompanied by false dawns early in each regular season since then, winning campaigns have continued to elude the Phillies. Following his appointment as manager, Joe Girardi led the team to a positive start last year, before a late season collapse, prompting the demotion of Klentak as GM.
Hopes for an improved 2021
After nine woeful seasons without even reaching the postseason, the appointment of Sam Fuld as GM appears to have brought new hope. The franchise has been busy revitalizing the roster, particularly in the bullpen, with the arrivals of Archie Bradley, Jose Alvarado, Brandon Kintzler and Sam Coonrod. Now before fans in Pennsylvania start getting too excited, they might want to compare odds at different sportsbooks available in the state, before wagering on a surprise World Series bid.
Not one of the leading online bookies rates the Phillies amongst the best ten MLB teams, although heading into the 2021 season, they are genuinely being considered as good outside prospects. There’s also growing confidence that at long last, the new-look team could actually post a winning season. Whether that will be enough to reach postseason, remains to be seen, although there is every reason for fans to be more positive ahead of the 2021 campaign.
