The Philadelphia Phillies are a professional baseball team based in Philadelphia that competes in the National League (NL).
The Philadelphia Phillies are a professional baseball team based in Philadelphia that competes in the National League (NL). They have secured eight NL pennants and two World Series championships, in 1980 and 2008, making them the oldest continuously operating single-name franchise in American professional sports.
Founded in 1883, the team was informally called both the Quakers and the Phillies (short for “Philadelphians”) before officially adopting the Phillies name in 1890. Initially, the team struggled, only making the playoffs for the first time in 1915 with the help of legendary pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander. After trading him following the 1917 season, the Phillies entered a lengthy period of mediocrity, finishing last or second to last in the NL for 24 of the 30 seasons from 1919 to 1947. In 1950, led by star outfielder Richie Ashburn and pitcher Robin Roberts, the team reached its first World Series in 35 years but was swept by the New York Yankees.
After another playoff drought post-1950, during which the unpredictable slugger Dick Allen brought some excitement, the Phillies began to turn things around in 1972 with the arrival of future Hall of Famers Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton. This era saw the team achieve its greatest success, winning six NL East Division titles from 1976 to 1983 and claiming its first World Series title in 1980. The team returned to the World Series in 1993 but lost to the Toronto Blue Jays.
In 2007, the Phillies became the first franchise to record 10,000 losses, but they finished that season on a high note, winning their first NL East Division title in 14 years. They repeated this success in 2008, winning their second World Series title against the Tampa Bay Rays, backed by strong pitching from Cole Hamels and Brad Lidge. The following year, they won another NL pennant but lost in the World Series to the New York Yankees. Between 2009 and 2011, they added All-Star pitchers Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, and Cliff Lee, setting a franchise record with 102 wins in 2011, though they were upset in the playoffs.
Injuries and an aging roster plagued the team throughout the 2010s. The addition of star outfielder Bryce Harper in 2019 did not immediately lead to success, as they finished at .500 and missed the playoffs. However, they returned to the postseason as a wild-card team in 2022, surprising many by advancing to the World Series, where they lost to the Houston Astros. They made the playoffs again in 2023, defeating the Atlanta Braves but falling to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL Championship Series.
In 2024, the Phillies started strong with a 40–18 record and finished the season at 95–67, winning their division for the first time since 2011. Despite entering the playoffs as a contender, they were eliminated by the New York Mets in the NL Division Series.
