Former Phillies World Series closer lays out simple blueprint for next year’s team

The Philadelphia Phillies finished with the second-best National League and Major League Baseball record in 2024. The only team with a better record was the Los Angeles Dodgers, the 2024 World Series champions.

The Phillies were in uncharted territory in 2024, finishing first in the NL East after making the playoffs as a Wild Card team the previous two years. Many people wonder if ending the season as a top team is beneficial, and one of those people is a former Phillies World Series closer.

Former Phillies World Series closer Brad Lidge lays out blueprint for success

The Phillies were one of the top teams in baseball and jumped out to an incredible start to the first half of the season. They had Cy Young favorites, an MVP favorite and were World Series favorites heading into the All-Star break. Everyone knows where that got them.

The Phillies struggled down the stretch but still finished as the No. 2 seed in the NL with a first-round bye. The late-season struggles continued into the playoffs resulting in a four-game series loss to the New York Mets in the NLDS.

The team, organization and fans were disappointed with the outcome of the 2024 season. Too much went wrong for a team with one of the most talented rosters in the league. Former Phillies closer and 2008 World Series champion Brad Lidge shared his thoughts on what went wrong for this year’s team.

“Part of me thinks maybe next year the Phillies need to not be winning the division until the very end of September and then take off,” Lidge said about what the Phillies' blueprint should be in 2025, per Ty Daubert of Phillies Nation. “And maybe that’s the missing recipe or something, but it’s really hard to put a finger on it. I do know the Phillies still have a great team. I know the window is still open for them right now, and that’s great news if you’re a fan, that the next couple years should be great ones too.”

The Phillies might be better off as a Wild Card team in 2025 and beyond

Teams get hot at the end of the regular season. That was seen with the Mets and Detroit Tigers heading into the 2024 playoffs and also with the 2022 Phillies team. It’s tough for a team with a first-round bye to sit for a week and stay in rhythm.

“What ends up happening, especially now when you’re playing these super hot Wild Card teams that come in, is you do need to change the formula a little bit,” Lidge said. “But it’s really tough to know how and when to do that.”

It might be more beneficial to make the playoffs as a Wild Card team as opposed to winning the division. It’s easy to lay out a blueprint to do that, but it’s hard to follow through with it. It’s hard to tell a team to not try to win every game all season long and to wait to get hot until the end of the season.

The blueprint to perfect the new playoff format might never get figured out. The Phillies are a good team with a good future and can only control their own destiny.

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