By the end of May, the Phillies were 21–29. The next day, they fired their manager. Five months later, they’re going to the World Series.
The Fightin’ Phils continued their remarkable turnaround season by winning Game 5 of the NLCS over the Padres in dramatic fashion on Sunday, taking a 4–3 lead in the eighth inning on a game-winning two-run homer by Bryce Harper. Three outs later, the Philadelphia party got started.
It’s a historic run the likes of which are rarely seen in professional baseball. Philadelphia’s record through the first 50 games of the season is tied for the fourth-worst among teams that eventually went on to make the World Series, per MLB.com’s Sarah Langs. The Phillies have yet to lose a postseason game in front of their home crowd and are 9–2 overall in the playoffs after finishing the regular season 87–75. They were the last team to punch their ticket into the field, beating out the Brewers for the NL’s final wild-card spot by just one game.
Understandably, the baseball world had strong reactions to the Phillies continuing their improbably run toward the Fall Classic. Check out some of the best of the bunch below.
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