2015 Philadelphia Phillies 10th Anniversary: Part 1 - End of an Era

In Part 1 of our three-piece look at the 2015 Philadelphia Phillies on their 10th anniversary, we examine how that year signified the final transition from the best era in team history to a dark period that didn't see them make the playoffs again until the next decade.

It's hard to believe, but it's now been 10 years since we were subjected to watching the 2015 Philadelphia Phillies play baseball. If you'll recall, which you hopefully don't, the 2015 edition of the Phillies went 63-99, equalling the club's worst record since 1969. Fans justifiably tuned out as well, as that year also represented the lowest attendance in Citizens Bank Park history (pandemic-impacted seasons excluded).

So, why observe such a disastrous campaign? First, it's important to look back at what came before, even the bad stuff, so that we can appreciate what the team is giving us currently. Enjoy entertaining, winning baseball while it's here, because it can end at the drop of a hat. And secondly, sometimes you just have to laugh at things that may have angered you in the moment but ended up being just a small part of your overall fan experience.

The 2015 MLB season signaled the end of an era for the Phillies and was the low point of a dark period for the franchise

With that, one can say that 2015 was unquestionably the death knell of the mini-dynasty that the Phillies had put together on the backs of homegrown star players such as Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Cole Hamels and a strong supporting cast that saw them capture division titles each year from 2007 through 2011. The team ran out of gas after that, however, dropping to 81 wins the following year, then 73 wins in both 2013 and 2014.

By that point, the team was unquestionably in a rebuild, and manager Ryne Sandberg was entering his second full season with the team after taking over for Charlie Manuel during the 2013 season. But the Phillies were facing the issue of trying to return to relevancy when they had very little young talent to build around and also saw almost all of their veteran core hit the wall at the exact same time. Rollins was traded to the Dodgers after the 2014 season, but the team retained the likes of Howard, Utley, Hamels and Carlos Ruiz as they clung to hope that 2015 could be a resurgent season. What actually transpired, however, saw the Phillies hit their lowest point of the last quarter-century.

The Phillies really did try to hand the baton off to the young guys in 2015, as that season saw the MLB debuts of Domonic Brown and Odubel Herrera, Maikel Franco play his first full season after a brief appearance in 2014, and Cody Asche play his second full season. Unfortunately, literally none of the team's projected "new core" of hitters would end up panning out beyond an occasional "one-hit wonder" season, making 2015 even more of a waste since it didn't serve as any kind of springboard for the team. (Two more 90-plus loss seasons right after it really drove home this idea after the fact.)

After getting out of the gate with a 3-2 record over their first five games in 2015, the Phillies proceeded to drop six straight games and never came close to regaining their footing the whole season. They somehow managed to put up a six-game winning streak in May, but it was a short departure from reality for a club that then proceeded to have four more losing streaks of at least six games over the course of the rest of the season, including a nine-gamer in July that drove Sandberg into such an abyss that he quit. We'll cover that later in this article series, but let's look at how 2015 also represented the ignominious end of some notable Phils.

Franchise legend Chase Utley slumped miserably, continuing a trend that had reared its ugly head the season before. With Utley hitting just .217 in mid-August, the Phillies dumped him off to the Dodgers for a pair of spare parts that didn't amount to anything. Clearly, they couldn't find any takers for Utley at the non-waiver trade deadline at the end of July, forcing the Phillies to have to deal from a position of weakness during MLB's now-defunct August waiver period where players could still be traded. In the end, Utley was gone and it was now the César Hernández era at second base for the team.

The Phillies would follow a similar script with stalwart Carlos Ruiz the following year, and Ryan Howard actually hung around for another entirely unmemorable season after the mess of 2015. But the other big departure that the Phillies saw 10 years ago was their ace, Cole Hamels. He was obviously the Phillies' most valuable trade chip, as Hamels was still pitching well and would be able to help a contending team. With rumors swirling in late July, Hamels took the mound for what presumably would be his final start with the Phillies. What followed was perhaps the team's sole highlight of 2015, a farewell performance that seemed like it was written by a lazy Hollywood hack.

Taking the mound on July 25 against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, Hamels authored a 13-strikeout no-hitter to propel the Phillies to a 5-0 win. The game was most notable for its ending, which saw center fielder Odúbel Herrera trip on the warning track and have to make a diving stab at a fly ball for the final out to preserve Hamels' feat.

It was an amazing send-off for Hamels, which could have only been made better if it had occurred at home. Hamels was traded to the Texas Rangers two days later, yet his six wins on the season for the Phillies still tied him for the team lead by the end of the year. Yes, things were that bad. (Side note: The losing pitcher on that day was regrettable future Phillie Jake Arrieta.)

In yet another gut punch from the 2015 season, the package that the Phillies received in return for Hamels failed to pan out at all over the coming years. The Phillies gave up Hamels along with reliever Jake Diekman in exchange for Alec Asher, Jorge Alfaro, Jerad Eickhoff, Matt Harrison, Jake Thompson, and Nick Williams. Not one of them was still in the Phillies organization by the time 2020 rolled around. They went for quantity, and they lost, which was par for the course in 2015.

In future installments of this 10th anniversary series, we'll examine how some of the pieces that the Phillies brought in failed to gel with the existing crop of players. And we'll take a look at how the organization was turned upside down behind the bench and in the front office. It was the lowest point of a very dark period that the Phillies didn't emerge from until the next decade. But, hey, happy 10th anniversary to the 2015 Philadelphia Phillies!

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