It’s been a long time coming for the Philadelphia Phillies, but they’re in first place
Since the “rebuilding era” began in 2012 the Phillies have not held sole possession of first place for a single day. That’s changed as the team took game two against the Toronto Blue Jays and the Atlanta Braves lost another game to the Boston Red Sox.
It’s admittedly too early for “scoreboard watching,” but this team is doing something fans haven’t seen in a very long time.
How long has it felt since the Phillies were in first place? #BeBold pic.twitter.com/uAVkWWmGvS
— PHILLIES TBOH (@FS_TBOH) May 27, 2018
Ok, maybe not that long, but it’s been a very long time since the Phillies were atop the National League East. In fact, the last time they held sole possession of the division was the last day of the regular season in 2011 when they were up 13 games over the second-place Atlanta Braves.
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In the fifth consecutive season of winning the division the team held sole possession of first place for 159 games and never fell further than half a game behind of the lead. Winning a franchise-record 102 games, a Hall of Fame pitching staff held opponents to 529 runs the entire season, the third-fewest since 1920.
The only years better than that were 1981 and 1994, both seasons after a World Series appearance.
It’s been a fun first 30% of the season in Philadelphia, and for all we know, this is the last day we hold the division title for the entire year.
Next: 5 trades that won the 1993 Pennant
As one former Philadelphia Eagles coach would say, “enjoy the win.” There hasn’t been much winning in this town up till the last couple of months, but enjoy the win.