Process to Progress: Are the Phillies the next success story?

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PHILADELPHIA, PA – JANUARY 21: Carson Wentz #11 of the Philadelphia Eagles holds the George Halas Trophy after his team defeated the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship game at Lincoln Financial Field on January 21, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Minnesota Vikings 38-7. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

Other sports teams in Philadelphia are starting to win again after years of losing. Are the Phillies the next success story in town?

Pandamonium is still running rampant through the streets – and into poles – of Philadelphia. After only making the playoffs once in six season the Philadelphia Eagles are headed to Minnesota to take on the juggernaut New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. Fans and residents of “Wentzylvania” have claimed grasp of the underdog persona since the fall of possible MVP Carson Wentz, while Nick Foles has risen to platform and carried the Eagles to an NFC Championship.

Meanwhile things are going pretty well in the Wells Fargo Center. Fan favorite and global icon Joel Embiid has just been named an all star starter, while turning down Rihanna in the process.The team is closing in on a win total equal to the amount gained in the previous two seasons, and could possibly be ready for playoff basketball.

In the city of Philadelphia, the process has turned into progress. So how will the Phillies follow in the steps of their successful neighbors? All they have to is follow the same process the other two have.

PHILADELPHIA, PA – SEPTEMBER 30: Rhys Hoskins #17 of the Philadelphia Phillies hits an RBI single against the New York Mets during the seventh inning of a game at Citizens Bank Park on September 30, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /

Find the Cornerstone

This is one the Phillies already have locked down, hopefully. Rhys Hoskins came out and shocked the baseball world, rewriting rookie home run records with his 18 home runs in just 50 games.

Does this sound familiar? A rookie giving a deprived franchise hope for the upcoming year? It is the exact same thing Joel Embiid and Carson Wentz did. Both showed flashes of greatness in year one, and look where they are now. Wentz paving the path for the Eagles to get to the Super Bowl. Embiid is now a NBA All-Star and has a legitimate MVP and Defensive Player of the Year case.

Hoskins is now approaching year two. If he takes the next step that his fellow stars have, the Phillies will have succeeded with step one.

The Young Coach

Now, this doesn’t exactly mean age for the 56 year old Brett Brown. However, both Brown and Doug Pederson have been under the reigns for less than five years. Each also experienced hardship before their current success.

Gabe Kapler fits the young role as he enters Philadelphia as a first-time manager. He, similar to the others, appears to be somewhat of a players coach, which could be a very good thing for a young roster. There is not a large sample size to see how much this will improve the team, but the rookie coach certainly fits the formula.

An Easy Division

This is not something any of the three can control, yet it is something all three had. This year the NFC East was somewhat of a cakewalk. Dallas lost superstar Ezekiel Elliott for six games, injuries and dysfunction plummeted the Giants, and the Redskins are inconsistent and possibly the NFL’s best bad team.

More from That Balls Outta Here

In the NBA, outside of Lebron James, the Eastern Conference is universally known to be weak when it comes to title contenders. It has been 14 years since an East team besides the Cavs, Celtics and Heat have won a title. The NL East is no stronger.

The Nationals are a very good team, but 2018 could be the end of the era as Brcye Harper, David Murphy and Gio Gonzalez are all free agents in the upcoming year. The Marlins franchise has been on a downward trend since the death of Jose Fernandez and any player with any value wants out. The Mets are filled with injuries and underperformance. The Braves are irrelevant. The doors are wide open for the Phillies.

Good Secondary Pieces

Every team needs good secondary players to go with their superstars. The Eagles have gotten a few bigger names like Jay Ajayi and Alshon Jeffery. Players like Torrey Smith, LeGarrette Blount, Ronald Darby aren’t the cream of the crop, but still strong contributors. The Sixers got players like J.J Reddick and Amir Johnson to help improve the roster.

This offseason the Phillies got Pat Neshek, Tommy Hunter and Carlos Santana. All are household names and good players, but not superstars. They should still all help increase the club’s win total compared to last year.

Youth

The 76ers three men on their roster over the age of 30. If you don’t include the three free agent signings, the Phillies have just one. All players on the Eagles roster are under 35. The Philadelphia method appears to be get young players during their prime and add the necessary pieces. This gives the entirety of the roster to develop and reach maximum potential.