Flashback to 2022.
The Philadelphia Phillies had just willed themselves to a World Series matchup against a heavily favored Houston Astros team. Things started spectacularly with a 10-inning win in Houston. Coming back to Philadelphia, the Phillies blasted Lance McCullers Jr. with five home runs to go up 2-1 in the series.
The magic ran out there. Since 2022, the Phillies have been trying to recapture said magic. In 2023, the bullpen ran out of steam in Arizona. In 2024, the Phillies swung and missed at the Mets' pitching.
Now in 2025, the Phillies try again to capture their 3rd World Series ring in franchise history.
But what makes the 2025 team any better than its previous iterations? A few things stand out heading into the NLDS.
Overall Consistency
This shouldn't come as much of a surprise, but the 2025 Phillies were pleasantly consistent throughout the season. They didn't start cold like the '22 or '23 team, and they didn't limp to the finish line like the '24 squad.
The 2025 Phillies' best win streak was nine games long, and their longest losing streak lasted just five games. They never played ridiculously out of their minds, and they never fell into quicksand with no way out. This is the ultimate reason why they won 96 games, the 6th most in team history.
A more consistent lineup posted their highest team batting average and team on-base percentage since 2010. Their hitters struck out 26 fewer times than any other Phillies team in the last five seasons. On the pitching side, the side posted a 3.79 ERA, the lowest team ERA since the vaunted 2011 team (3.02). They had a higher strikeout rate (9.08) than any team in franchise history outside of the 2021 squad (9.14).
On defense, the team made the fewest errors in franchise history. While a large part of this was MLB's change in policy regarding official scoring, another part leads us to the next point.
Trea Turner and other defensive upgrades
Trea Turner re-established himself as an excellent fielder in his age-32 season. No one expected such a sharp turnaround from Turner at shortstop. By the end of April, he had committed four errors, including two in a game against the Giants. Many people were talking about a possible move to center field for Turner sooner or later.
From May on, Turner committed just a single error. Beyond the basics, he posted a positive defensive runs saved (2) for the first time since 2021. He posted the second-highest dWAR of his career (1.1). In everyone's favorite defensive metric, Turner had 16 outs above average, 10th-most in all of baseball. It was the highest OAA in his career, four better than his next best season.
Everyone knew Trea Turner had the ability to win a batting title. He did before in 2021. The defensive breakout kept the Phillies from having many blow-up innings.
Adding to the team's defense, the trade for Harrison Bader on deadline day has immensely helped the outfield defense. The former Gold Glove had his highest dWAR season since winning the award in 2021. Now that he's secured the center field position, the likes of Brandon Marsh and Max Kepler have better secured left and right field, respectively.
Fewer holes in the lineup
Every Phillies' starter in the field homered at least 11 times in 2025. Overall, the Phillies' offense had fewer easy outs. Once Bader was added from the Twins' fire sale, the Phillies' lineup got a boost. Since August 1, Bryson Stott has hit .310 with an .880 OPS. Brandon Marsh, coincidentally, also hit .310 in that time with an .899 OPS. Alec Bohm hit .31,5 and Max Kepler had a .791 OPS.
When all of your second-tier players show life at the plate, it makes your entire team deeper. This is what made the Phillies a consistent team: contributions from everyone. Add in Batting champion Trea Turner, Home run/ RBI leader Kyle Schwarber, and future Hall of Famer Bryce Harper, and the Phillies have an offense that can propel them to a World Series.
