Baseball is a great game filled with emotional memories. This sport is played in backyards, on city streets, and in ballfields across the world.
As someone who has followed the Philadelphia Phillies since the 1970's, this season's improbable turnaround, through a tough September, is particularly special.
The Phillies have enjoyed four club house celebrations since Monday, October 3. Their trip to the 2022 World Series is stunning, with the triumphs over the St. Louis Cardinals, reigning World Champion Atlanta Braves, and San Diego Padres all being impressive.
What comes next is also unpredictable, with a strong Houston Astros team likely primed to secure its fourth American League pennant (2018, 2021) since also winning its first-ever World Series championship in 2017.
The then five-game maximum Phillies-Astros 1980 National League Championship Series (when Houston was still in the NL) ranks with or is the greatest championship series of all-time. The last four games all went extra innings, with the Phillies emerging victorious and then defeating a good Kansas City Royals team in six games to earn Philadelphia's first-ever title.
While the Phillies have gone to the World Series in 1915, 1950, 1980, 1983, 1993, 2008, and 2009, the franchise has only ever been awarded one other trophy. The 2008 championship team was part of a run (2007-2011) of five consecutive playoff appearances. The 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, and 1983 playoff teams represent the only other great era in team history.
The 1993 run to the World Series (verses the Toronto Blue Jays) has since been seen as the most improbable playoff run in franchise history. The 2022 season arguably tops it.
