Phils hit repeat on 'Dancing' anthem, postseason march

PHILADELPHIA -- The Phillies partied late into the night Wednesday because that is what they do when they clinch.

They wear goggles and overalls. They pop champagne bottles, spray beer, smoke cigars, dance and sing songs that cannot be sung in front of children. And of course, the Phillies sang Calum Scott’s version of “Dancing On My Own,” which became Philly’s No. 1 song at bars, weddings and Citizens Bank Park last fall when they marched to the World Series.

If you have not heard -- but you almost certainly have -- “Dancing On My Own” is back for another run. It played at the Bank after each win this week in the NL Wild Card Series. It played in the clubhouse.

“When you come to Philly, it’s going to be a song that we listen to,” Bryce Harper said.

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The Phillies announced this spring that they retired the song because they wanted to keep it in 2022.

It’s a second-place song, they said.

It made sense until the Nationals beat Philadelphia in Washington on June 2. The Phillies fell to 25-32, which tied them with Washington for the worst record in the NL East. They were only a game ahead of Colorado, which had the worst record in the league.

The Phillies were playing poorly. The vibe in the clubhouse was … meh.

The next day, Harper, hitting coach Kevin Long and others chatted in the batting cage. They talked about the new season, the vibe in the clubhouse and how nothing felt right.

The Phillies had been playing new music in the clubhouse, trying to find a new song for 2023. They tried “Hustler Musik” by Lil Wayne. They tried “Errday (feat. Juicy J)” by Wiz Khalifa. There were others.

They talked about Garrett Stubbs’ “Phils Win” playlist on Spotify. Do they bring it back?

“Dancing On My Own” came up.

“That might be part of being Philly -- that song,” Long said. “It just might be a part of everything that goes on here. That song was a part of us. It’s part of being a Philadelphia Phillie. So those [new] guys that weren’t here [in 2022]; it doesn’t matter. This is part of who we are. So let’s just play the song. Let’s not try to find a new song. We have a song. The song works and everybody jives with it. Everybody likes it. Everybody gets a good feeling from it.”

They played the song in the batting cage. They blasted it. They hit repeat. They wanted to see the reaction from players as they made their way to the visitors’ dugout.

To reach the dugout at Nationals Park, players leave the clubhouse, turn left down a short hallway and then descend a long flight of stairs.

To the left of the stairs is the batting cage.

“Each guy came down, one by one, just so fired up that it was on,” Harper said.

The Phillies won that night, 4-2. Afterward, everybody clamored for more “Dancing On My Own.”

“Just play the [expletive] song!” Long shouted.

“Just let it eat,” Harper said. “Let Stubby do his thing.”

The Phillies went 65-40 (.619) -- the third-best record in baseball during that span -- after bringing the song back.

Coincidence? Probably.

But vibes are real. They matter.

“One, it’s a great tune,” Stubbs said. “I think what it came with last year is what resonates with people, right? If we played that song and we sucked, then people don’t like the song very much. But you play the song and we have the group of guys that we have in this clubhouse and you have the vibe of all the personalities that we have, people see that and are drawn to it. And then we win games. It makes the song what it is.”

It means October. It means wins.

“That’s what Phillies baseball is,” Long said.

“I don’t know how long it’s going to last,” Harper added. “But with this group we have here, it’s the song.”