Maybe Phillies’ first round bye wasn’t as beneficial as Bryce Harper thought

As NL East champions, the Philadelphia Phillies' first-round bye was hard-earned throughout the regular season. But after a devastating loss to the New York Mets in the 2024 NLDS, maybe the first-round bye isn't all it's cracked up to be.

After the disastrous impact of the All-Star break on the Phillies about halfway through their season, many fans were wary of the first-round bye. But Bryce Harper seemed optimistic that the break would give the team an opportunity to work through some of the their "bumps and bruises."

Harper expressed that the bye would be a good opportunity for the team to "reset," hopefully allowing them to enter the NLDS and play at the standard they set earlier in the season.

“I think the bye is going to help a lot of our team. I mean, I think a lot of guys are kind of grinding through a lot of stuff, so kind of getting that reset and kind of hitting the pause for a minute,” said Harper per MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki.

So what went wrong?

Maybe Phillies’ first round bye wasn’t as beneficial as Bryce Harper thought

Catcher J.T. Realmuto, noting the Phillies were facing some struggles late in their season, was hopeful with the rest of the team that they could "flip the switch" after their first-round bye, but unfortunately the break did not have that effect.

Instead, bats were cold. And the Mets, to the aggravation of every Phillies fan, were hot.

"Instead of feeling sorry for myself, I'm going to give them credit because right now the Mets are playing really good baseball," said Nick Castellanos in an interview with NBC Spots Philadelphia. "They're hot ... give them their credit, they beat us. Is there a lot of things we could have done better? Yes. Are there things we could have done differently? Yes. Do I think that they are a better team than us? No. But this series, they were."

Though the Mets might not be as good a team as the Phillies on paper, they came into the NLDS with the momentum they had built with crucial wins at the end of their regular season, as well as their Wild Card victory. The Phillies are certainly familiar with the power of this momentum, and had it themselves in their previous two seasons.

Last season, the Phillies dusted the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS after their victory in the Wild Card round. Meanwhile, their division rival had just come off a first-round bye. Early this season, Braves manager Brian Snitker had expressed that he wasn't a fan of the first-round bye, noting that it can be difficult for an offense to heat up after a break.

But the Phillies and their fans weren't impressed with that excuse then, and won't be having it for this year's results. Even if the bye is considered a challenge, shouldn't the best teams be tested the most in their hunt for a World Series victory? The Yankees did just fine after their bye. Not to mention the Braves, after Snitker's complaints, didn't have the first-round bye this season, but got knocked out of the playoffs even earlier.

Bottom line is, teams have to play the hand they are dealt, which the Phillies unfortunately failed to do this season. They earned the first-round bye, but weren't able to capitalize on at as a means to get their act together. Now, fans are left with no choice but to wait for Opening Day and hope for better success next season.

But still, it's going to be a long winter after that letdown.