Orion Kerkering sheds light on plan to move past Phillies postseason disaster

The Philadelphia Phillies' 2025 season ended heartbreakingly for the organization. Following an NLDS series against the Los Angeles Dodgers that was tightly contested throughout and concluded in extra innings, the Phillies felt they let the series slip away. Philadelphia reliever Orion Kerkering has certainly had plenty of time to ponder the Dodgers' winning run in Game 4 that clinched the series and helped propel Los Angeles to win its second consecutive World Series.

The 24-year-old made a costly mistake of throwing a ground ball to catcher J.T. Realmuto to try to get the winning run on third base out at home plate rather than making a cross-body throw to first baseman Bryce Harper, where Kerkering had a better chance of recording an out and ending the inning.

Kerkering's hurried throw went wide to Realmuto's left, and the Dodgers scored the deciding run that clinched the series for them. The reliever recently discussed his mindset on the situation five months later, days before the start of the 2026 regular season. The Phillies stuck by him. Here's how he plans to reward them.

Orion Kerkering's lays out his plan to move on from Phillies' NLDS postseason mistake

Kerkering recently spoke with The Phillies Show co-hosts Todd Zolecki and Jim Salisbury about how he has coped with his error in judgment during last year's NLDS.

"I think just talking about it [as opposed] to running away from it, like, telling people how you feel about it, 'Yeah, it sucks,' but [you] just gotta keep moving on because that's how baseball is, it's you mess up in the first out [but] there's still 26, 27 more outs left in the game," Kerkering shared. "So it's just you keep moving, that's how it is."

To Kerkering's point, circumstances can change fast in sports. In baseball, a pitcher can get the first two batters he faces out in an inning. Next, things quickly get out of hand, and he allows multiple runs before getting the third out, or he's removed from the contest. In another situation, a pitcher could allow a couple of baserunners before getting a strikeout, followed by a double play, escaping his way out of the inning. The sport can be quite unpredictable. And Kerkering's going to have to continue to deal with that volatility in his role.

Salisbury commended Kerkering for his maturity and accountability. The pitcher responded to the Phillies insider's question of where those traits come from.

"I think just seeing the older guys and the veteran guys on the team and then being accountable," Kerkering said, "and obviously being a fan of sports, so you kind of see where it's like, 'Oh, that guy didn't look good not talking to the media,' whether he wanted to or not, or whether he liked it or not, or let the emotions get to it."

Kerkering has the right attitude and should be commended for the way he accepted what happened. His mistake didn't occur earlier in the NLDS or during the regular season, where the approach would have been to hold himself accountable, learn from it, and move on quickly, with another game to prepare for. Instead, it ended the season entirely, changing his emotional calculus.

However, Kerkering had months to reflect on his mistake, and he was never alone throughout the process. Phillies manager Rob Thomson, former right fielder Nick Castellanos, and Realmuto were the first people to interact with the Huntington Beach, California, native following the end of the series. Other teammates gave him words of encouragement as well when they spoke to the media.

"Even though there was a s------ moment kind of thing, as long as you're accountable, you just kind of talk about it and just let it be and say 'Hey, I f----- up', " Kerkering told The Phillies Show. "I think also seeing how [Alec] Bohm did it too, where I wouldn't say it's a similar situation, but kind of in the same way, where you know you messed up, but if you just stay accountable, especially in Philly, I think that's all they care about."

Salisbury mentioned how he thinks the Phillies fan base appreciates how the reliever handled his mistake with accountability. Salisbury and Zolecki believe Kerkering will receive a standing ovation on Opening Day in Philadelphia because of it.

The Phillies' fifth-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft has put the past behind him, but has not avoided the topic of how last season ended for the franchise. Kerkering owned up to his mistake in a mature way, which Salisbury and Zolecki appreciated. Now, the fans in attendance at Philadelphia's Opening Day game have a chance to express their respect for how the reliever has handled the situation.