That Balls Outta Here
FanSided

A complete history of Philadelphia Phillies playoff runs

By Gabrielle Starr

PHILADELPHIA, PA - OCTOBER 21: Mike Schmidt of the Philadelphia Phillies fields a ground ball during World Series game six between the Kansas City Royals and Philadelphia Phillies on October 21, 1980 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Phillies defeated the Royals 4-1. (Photo by Rich Pilling/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - OCTOBER 21: Mike Schmidt of the Philadelphia Phillies fields a ground ball during World Series game six between the Kansas City Royals and Philadelphia Phillies on October 21, 1980 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Phillies defeated the Royals 4-1. (Photo by Rich Pilling/Getty Images) /
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1978 Phillies
PHILADELPHIA, PA – CIRCA 1978: Pitcher Tug McGraw #45 of the Philadelphia Phillies pitches during an Major League Baseball game circa 1978 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. McGraw played for the Phillies from 1975-84. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /

1978 Philadelphia Phillies: Division champions

After never making back-to-back appearances in the postseason before, the Phillies decided to extend their streak to three years, when they won the NL East again in 1978. This time, the squad only needed 90 wins to clinch the division.

Mike Schmidt also extended his Gold Glove streak to three, but had a down year offensively, only playing 145 games and breaking his streak of 30-homer seasons by only hitting 21.

While Schmidt struggled, Larry Bowa soared; he led the team in games played, at-bats, hits, average, home runs, and RBI.

Unfortunately, history also repeated itself in the form of loss, as the Phils again dropped the NLCS three games to one to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Phillies struggled offensively, though future Hall of Famer Steve Carlton kept their hopes alive by hitting a home run and getting the win in Game 3.

The best thing to come from the 1978 season was the Phillie Phanatic, who made his debut on April 25.

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