JUST IN: Phillies Makes Last Move For Another Top Star Catcher After $210 Million Contract News
Since their 2022 World Series appearance, the Philadelphia Phillies have tried to “run it back” win it all with stars Bryce Harper, Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber at the core of their squad. At a combined contract value of nearly one billion dollars ($709 million to be exact), their regular season performances were a display of talent seemingly well worth the money. Schwarber’s 56 home runs, a career high, was the most in the National League (NL). Trea Turner held onto leading the NL in batting average despite missing time due to injury. And despite having a quieter year than usually, Bryce Harper’s stats for the regular season were nothing to scoff at.
And yet, they couldn’t get the job done once again, as they have another early post season exit losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 4 of the National League Divisional Series. The aforementioned billion dollar stars at the top of their starting line up had a combined one hit in fourteen appearances at the plate in that do or die elimination game. “They’re getting to the NLDS and folding because their brand offensively…doesn’t work,” said Philadelphia sports commentator Hunter Brody on the post game episode of his podcast Sports Talk With Brodes.
So how does a team with the second best record in baseball and nearly a billion dollars in star power perform so miserably in the post season? Their roster outside of the contract values and statistics may provide some interesting insight.
The Phillies are the only team in Major League Baseball (MLB) that hasn’t had a Black player on their Opening Day roster since 2022. This is a pretty astonishing feat considering the MLB is one of the most diverse professional sports with about 40% of 2023 Opening Day rosters coming from diverse backgrounds. Additionally, 18 of their 26 players roste
Leave a Reply