The Philadelphia Phillies may have impressively put together their best season in 13 years after finishing with a 95-67 regular season record and capturing the NL East division title in the process.
However, with their early playoff exit at the hands of the New York Mets in the NLDS, it is hard not to feel that it has somehow turned into a disappointing season as a result. With the Phillies fully expected to go all the way and contend for the World Series once again this year, which personnel may have inadvertently led to their downfall?
Here, we will take a look at five Phillies who, in one way or another, played a key role in leading to the disappointing 2024 season.
5 Phillies most to blame for disappointing 2024 season
Bryson Stott
Following a breakout 2023 season, the Phillies were expecting much more out of second baseman Bryson Stott. After all, even teammate Bryce Harper anointed him the “best second baseman in the league” after Game 5 of the 2023 NLCS. However, with high expectations came huge disappointment as Stott struggled for the majority of his 2024 campaign.
His stats fell from a .280/.329/.419/.747, 103 OPS+, 78 runs scored, 32 doubles, 15 home runs and 62 RBI in 2023 to just a .245/.315/.356/.671, 89 OPS+, 65 runs scored, 19 doubles, 11 home runs and 57 RBI in 2024.
As one of the main driving forces for the Phillies’ offense in the bottom half of the lineup, the glaring regression for Stott made the task for the opposition less daunting once they got by the first five in the batting order. It even got to a point by the end of the season where some wondered if he should be part of a platoon rather than be the Phillies’ everyday starter at second going forward.
Stott also became a non-factor in the playoffs, other than his clutch two-run triple in Game 2 of the NLDS that helped give the Phillies a temporary lead. Not only did he start on the bench for one game, he ended up posting just a .182 average and .672 OPS, with just one run scored and two RBI over four games in a losing cause for the Phillies. Stott will no doubt look to bounce back for the 2025 season, but his 2024 season turned out to be one worth forgetting for the 27-year-old.