Roundtable: Was the 2024 Phillies season a success?

Now that the pain of an early October exit has subsided a bit, it’s time to answer the question: Was the 2024 Phillies season a success? Phillies Nation writers weigh in.

Destiny Lugardo, Deputy Editorial Director — Yes

It doesn’t make the end result any less frustrating, but hear me out. The Phillies lost to the Mets in the NLDS in disgraceful fashion. The lineup was terrible and the bullpen disappointed. They should be embarrassed by what happened.

But I encourage you to look at how the last ten years have gone for the future 2024 World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. They won the title in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, but there’s been a lot of October heartbreak. That’s because they haven’t missed the postseason since 2012. With the power of the largest local TV deal in the league and a player development machine, LA has built a powerhouse that should be in title contention every year. The Phillies still have a ways to go to become an organization that’s as healthy as the Dodgers, but the best way to win a title is to build a team capable of reaching the postseason every year because eventually, you’ll probably be the last team standing. This season, 95 wins and a third consecutive playoff berth, established that the Phillies are October mainstays. Consider that a success, but get used to the heartbreak.

Ty Daubert, Staff Writer — Yes

This Phillies season, despite its unremarkable second half and ultimate disappointment in October, was a success. The same result would not be the same moving forward.

With a 95-win campaign and a National League East crown, the Phillies marked this core’s spot as one of the best groups in club history. They added some regular-season prowess to their previous playoff runs. That’s something to celebrate. Now, the only thing left for these Phillies is a World Series championship; they’ll need to bring one back to Philadelphia for their upcoming seasons to be successful.

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Nathan Ackerman, Staff Writer — No

No, no, no a thousand times over. I’m no proponent of Rings Culture, but the days of “just happy to be here” ended with the 2022 World Series. The veterans got a year older and most young guys regressed. Not only did they miss out on their No. 1 goal — which they, themselves, preached since pitchers and catchers reported in February — they actively took a step backward.

Did the Braves have a successful season in 2022 or 2023? They didn’t end a 13-year NL East title drought in the process, but let’s not let a decade-plus of failure crater the standard for the team with baseball’s fourth-highest payroll and a finite window.

Bailey Digh, Staff Writer — Yes

Heading into the year, the club set three goals: win the NL East, secure a first-round bye in the playoffs and win the World Series, the hardest thing to do in baseball. They achieved two of those. The Phillies won their first division title in 13 years. They clinched a first-round bye by winning 95 games — the second-most in MLB and the fourth-most wins in a single season in franchise history.

Internally, the Phillies were a World-Series-or-bust club. It was a fair internal label. But, from the outside, judging a team can’t come down to that one thing. It makes little sense. For six months, the Phillies were one of the best teams in baseball. Their roster was arguably the best in MLB; it just didn’t perform like it across four games in October. There was far more success in 2024 for the Phillies than failure. They outperformed most people’s pre-season expectations. They outperformed most computer projections. They had one of the best regular seasons in franchise history. The season ended in disappointment for the organization and its fans, sure. But look at the bigger picture. 2024 was successful.

Grace Del Pizzo, Staff Writer — No

With the emotion of 2023’s ending and the excitement of 2024’s fast start, expectations for the Phillies were reasonably high. Add those to a slew of Atlanta Braves injuries, and it looked like this was finally the year. The Phillies lived up to those expectations (and maybe even outpaced them) until the All-Star break. Then the wheels started to fall off, and by the time the playoffs arrived, they had totally run out of steam.

Sure, it was fun, and there was some success along the way, but a lot of people (including the Phillies themselves) expected that they would be playing in the World Series right now. Instead, they’ve been watching the MLB playoffs on TV from home for almost three weeks.

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