Don’t pinch yourself. Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, and the Phillies really are this good — and should win the World Series

by Marcus Hayes | Columnist
Published Oct. 19, 2023, 5:00 a.m. ET

PHOENIX — Philadelphia is where the other shoe drops. It’s where epic sports disappointments reign.

Two and three generations ago it was the “Whiz Kids” in 1950, then the Phillies’ collapse in 1964, and the 1980 Eagles, who beat the Cowboys, finally reached the Super Bowl, then forgot how to play football. The last generation grew up with Andy Reid and his almost-great Eagles teams and the gilded, one-and-done Golden Era of Ryan Howard’s Phillies. Kids today might recall the 2017 Super Bowl, but eight months ago, they also watched the Birds blow it in the second half of a Super Bowl played right here in the desert.

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That wound is still fresh. Maybe the other wound is, too.

Last fall the Phillies, a happy, hairy, underdog ballclub straight out of a bad sports movie, took a 2-1 lead over the Astros in the World Series, then scored three runs in the last three games and lost.

Whump.

The other shoe fell, as it always seems to do.

» READ MORE: How Phillies hitters’ meetings give their red-hot offense the tools to dominate postseason pitching

Maybe that’s why fans had a hard time committing to the 2023 team early in the season. Maybe that’s why, now, with the best team in baseball road-grading its competition, instead of reckless jubilation over a postseason of pure dominance so far, Phillies fans are reluctant to hope too much. Sure, every home game, 46,000 bloodthirsty ball fans worship together at Citizens Bank Park, but then they go home and hope they’re not dreaming.

Don’t pinch yourself. You’re not dreaming.

This Phillies team is that good. They lead an overmatched Diamondbacks team, 2-0, and they’re two wins away from a second straight pennant. They match up well against both the Rangers and Astros. Dream big.

They are.

“Yeah, I’m not surprised,” said Aaron Nola, who nowadays turns into Curt Schilling Lite after Labor Day. “I thought we’d be a better team this year. And we’ve been here. We’ve got experience.”

Also, talent.

They’re 7-1. They beat a Braves team that was the best in baseball after they swept a Marlins team that has haunted them for decades. They’ve trailed for just two innings in those eight games. Their run differential is plus-33.

This is by design.

NLCS: D'backs defeat Phillies, 4-3

Game 1: Phillies 5, Diamondbacks 3 | Hayes | Murphy

Game 2: Phillies 10, Diamondbacks 0 | Hayes | Murphy

Game 3: Diamondbacks 2, Phillies 1 | Hayes | Murphy

Game 4: Diamondbacks 6, Phillies 5 | Hayes | Murphy

Game 5: Phillies 6, Diamondbacks 1 | Hayes | Murphy

Game 6: Diamondbacks 5, Phillies 1 | Hayes | Murphy

Game 7: Diamondbacks 4, Phillies 2 | Hayes | Murphy

 

Phillies president Dave Dombrowski signed Trea Turner to a 10-year, $300 million contract in the offseason. Turner leads the team with a .500 playoff batting average — yes, you read that right, .500 — which is 109 points better than anyone left in the playoffs, and he’s hit a home run in three of the past four games. In fact, Phillies sluggers have hit 15 homers in the past four games, the most by any team in a four-game playoff span, all wins. They hit three in Game 2 off Merrill Kelly, who’d never given up three bombs in one game in his career.

Nick Castellanos hit all five of his homers in the last four games, and Kyle Schwarber hit all three of his bombs in the last two games, which helped the Phillies build this 2-0 lead in the NLCS. And we haven’t even mentioned Bryce Harper, the superstar centerpiece, whose 1.389 OPS is almost exactly where it was through eight games last year, when it was 1.390, and he began his chase of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

Suddenly, they can catch. They’ve adapted the defensive philosophy of Rob Thomson, their manager, and his fielding coaches, Bobby Dickerson and Paco Figueroa, who simply ask the players who don’t catch the ball particularly well, like Alec Bohm and Castellanos, to just make the simple play. Ditto Harper, who’s trying out first base as his elbow heals. Now, even the defensively impaired are providing highlights.

All this hitting doesn’t mean spit if the pitching stinks.

The pitching’s been even better.

Nola, Zack Wheeler, and Ranger Suárez, who starts Game 3 here Thursday, have a combined 1.10 ERA, 51 strikeouts, and just three walks.

Three walks, in 36⅓ high-pressure, big-ticket innings. With due respect to Turner and Harper and Castellanos, whose home-run barrage tied Reggie Jackson, that might be the most impressive stat of all, particularly against a D-backs club that thrives on traffic.

“I told the guys at the start of the series, I said if we take care of the baseball defensively and don’t give them free passes, you are going to be able to kill some of the chaos that they create because they’re really good at that,” Thomson said. “Running, bunting, taking extra bases, tagging up at first base on fly balls to the outfield, that kind of thing. They take advantage of mistakes, and you have to eliminate that.”

» READ MORE: Trea Turner is playing the best baseball of his postseason career — and he’s doing it in a dream environment

Again, this is by design. Nola and Wheeler make a lot of money, just like the sluggers in question. They are highly paid players, seasoned veterans, playoff-tested, playing to their paychecks.

This is what was supposed to happen. So don’t bother pinching yourself.

Just enjoy the ride.