Timeline - 2020s

The Phillies opened 2020 with high expectations following a lengthy rebuild, the highest payroll in franchise history, the arrival of free agents Zack Wheeler and Didi Gregorius and the arrivals of manager Joe Girardi and pitching coach Bryan Price. But in a 60-game pandemic-shortened season, the Phillies finished without a winning record or postseason berth for a ninth-consecutive year. The biggest culprit? The Phillies neglected their bullpen in the offseason and it bit them in a major way. It posted a 7.06 ERA, which is the second-highest in baseball in at least 90 years, according to Elias Sports Bureau. Shortly after the regular season ended, Phillies managing partner John Middleton reassigned general manager Matt Klentak, who replaced Ruben Amaro Jr. following the 2015 season.

For the 2021 season, the Phillies might look back and wonder what if? Bryce Harper won the NL MVP, further establishing himself as one of the greatest players of his generation. He is just the fifth player in baseball history to win MVPs with two franchises. Frank Robinson (Reds, Orioles), Barry Bonds (Pirates, Giants), Alex Rodriguez (Rangers, Yankees) and Jimmie Foxx (A’s, Red Sox) are the others. Wheeler nearly won the NL Cy Young, but he finished 10 points behind Milwaukee’s Corbin Burnes. It was the closest vote in the NL since the ballot went from three to five pitchers in 2010. A good argument can be made that the Phillies had the two best players in the NL in 2021, which makes it more frustrating that they fell short of the postseason for a 10th consecutive year. Teams never want to waste performances like that, but the Phillies tied a Major League record with 34 blown saves. That hurt. It also hurt that they lost Rhys Hoskins the final month of the season to a lower body injury. They lost Zach Eflin for the final two-plus months because of an injured knee. They struggled to find productivity at the bottom of the rotation, until Kyle Gibson and the surprising emergence of Ranger Suarez solidified things. The Phillies had talent, but they could not fill every hole they needed to fill. It left them short of October baseball once again, even though they won 82 games, which is their first winning season since 2011.

The Phillies finally broke through in 2022, ending the second-longest postseason drought in baseball by clinching the third and final NL Wild Card in Game 160 on Oct. 3 in Houston. A few weeks later they were in the World Series. It didn’t start that way. The Phillies were 21-29 on June 1, when Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski fired manager Joe Girardi and replaced him with bench coach Rob Thomson. The change sparked the team. The Phillies went on a tear, setting them up for that postseason clincher Houston. Aaron Nola delivered, starting the game with 6 2/3 perfect innings against the Astros before allowing a couple of hits. Zach Eflin, who was the second-longest tenured Phillies behind only Nola, picked up the save with a perfect ninth inning in a 3-0 victory. It was the first time the Phillies popped champagne bottles since they clinched the 2011 NL East title. It would have been memorable, even if the Phillies’ season ended soon thereafter. But the Phillies surprised the baseball world, first sweeping the Cardinals in the NL Wild Card Series, then thumping the Braves in the NL Division Series and the Padres in the NL Championship Series for their first trip to the World Series since 2009. So many different players had moments along the way: an improbable ninth-inning comeback in Game 1 of the NLWCS in St. Louis, Nola’s gem to sweep St. Louis in Game 2, jumping on Max Fried early in Game 1 of the NLDS in Atlanta, Rhys Hoskins’ unforgettable homer and bat spike in Game 3 of the NLDS at Citizens Bank Park (the first postseason game in Philly since Game 5 of the 2011 NLDS), Kyle Schwarber's epic second-deck blast in Game 1 of the NLCS in San Diego, Harper’s World Series-clinching homer in Game 5 of the NLCS. The Phillies took a 2-1 lead in the World Series against Houston, but the Astros won the next three games, ending their magical run in 2022.

Harper shook his head a few times as he thought about a pitch he just missed in Game 7 of the 2023 NLCS. The Phillies had runner on first and second with two outs in the seventh inning. He flies out to center field on a 2-1 fastball. "Got a heater and just missed it," Harper said. How close did he come to hitting it out? "I mean, 109 at 44," Harper said, referring to the ball’s exit velocity (107.6 mph) and launch angle. "So he beat my barrel by a tenth of second, probably." A tenth of a second might have been the difference between the Phillies winning their second consecutive NL pennant and wondering how in the world they can bounce back in 2024? The season started with so much promise. They added several pieces to the roster, including Trea Turner. But then they lost Hoskins to an ACL injury late in Spring Training.

They regrouped following a poor first two months of the season. They played like one of the best teams in baseball in the final four. Wheeler and Nola led the pitching staff. Harper not only led the offense, he learned to play first base for the first time in his career because he thought it could help the team. It did. The Phillies offense clicked in the first two rounds of the postseason with Harper, Schwarber, Turner and Nick Castellanos leading the way. They took a 2-0 lead in the NLCS, but then the bats fell silent, the bullpen blew two games in Arizona and the Phillies suffered the ultimate stunner, losing Games 6 and 7 at Citizens Bank Park.