This Philadelphia Phillies postseason stat is a huge bummer

Kyle Seager’s retirement puts the Phillies in the spotlight

Longtime Seattle Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager broke up the MLB lockout monotony when he announced his retirement on Wednesday.

Seager spent all 11 years of his big-league career with the Mariners and opted to retire rather than explore free agency. His younger brother Corey recently signed a blockbuster 10-year, $325M deal with the Texas Rangers.

With Seager retiring, Philadephia Phillies infielder Jean Segura is now the active leader in games played without appearing in the postseason. He’s the microcosmic reminder of the Phillies’ larger postseason failures.

But wait, there’s more!

What do Segura, Héctor Neris, J.T. Realmuto, and Maikel Franco have in common? They’re all current or former Phillies.

Until last month, Neris had been a Phillie for his entire career. He signed a lucrative deal with the Houston Astros, further depleting the Phillies bullpen. Realmuto, of course, is their All-Star catcher, signed through 2025. Franco spent the first six years of his big-league career with the Phillies (2014-19) and was a 20+ HR-hitter three seasons in a row between 2016-18, but has bounced around the league since.

Technically, this stat makes sense, considering the Mariners and Phillies currently own the longest and second-longest active postseason droughts. Segura was actually traded to the Phillies from the Mariners in December 2018, essentially just a drought swap.

The Phillies finished the 2021 season with a winning record, their first since 2011, when they made their last postseason berth. However, they eked out that winning season by exactly one game, barely keeping their heads above the .500 waters.

If the Phillies come out of the lockout spending like there’s no tomorrow, maybe they can reverse their postseason fortunes. Don’t hold your breath, though.