After the Philadelphia Phillies clinched their third straight playoff berth on Friday night, they shook hands on the field and walked back to the dugout as if it were a normal regular-season victory.
Moments later, manager Rob Thomson gathered his players in the clubhouse and thanked them in a subdued champagne toast, recognising their significant achievement.
But not a wild party, with grown men shooting up booze, drinking beer and showering each other with fun.
Not yet, anyway.
“Kind of calmer and more relaxed than it normally is,” All-Star third baseman Alec Bohm said with a laugh.
Qualifying for the postseason is a long way from winning the World Series. No one knows that better than the Phillies these days—and they have far loftier goals than just playing.
“You look around and you see all the talent, you see all the guys, you see the front office, the moves they’re making and all that stuff, you look at it on paper at the beginning of the year, and this team should be in the playoffs,” Bohm said. “So it’s good that we’ve stayed healthy all year and done everything we had to do to get to this point. Now it’s just a matter of continuing to keep going.”
Bryce Harper and the Phillies secured their final playoff ticket – this time it was a long time coming – with a 12-2 win over the New York Mets.
Philadelphia is assured of a wild-card berth into the National League and can secure its first NL East title since 2011 with another win this weekend against the second-place Mets at Citi Field.
“It’s tough to go from start to finish, and I think our team has done a great job this whole season,” Harper said. “We have bigger goals and things like that, but this is a great moment.”
With the division title so close, the Phillies took it easy Friday night, hoping to quickly let loose with a drunken clubhouse party after securing first place.
“It’s definitely going to be a little louder,” said Bohm, who hit a home run and finished with four hits and four RBIs.
Chasing their third World Series championship, the Phillies overtook Atlanta on May 3 to take the division lead and have not trailed since.
Philadelphia (92-62) is tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the best record in the majors and is headed for a first-round bye in the playoffs. It is the third time the Phillies have reached the postseason in three consecutive years (1976-78 and 2007-11).
“Not everybody gets the chance to play in the World Series every year, so as much as people in this room might think this is where we should be, it’s still an accomplishment,” Bohm said.
Harper, Bohm, Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner and Nick Castellanos drive the offense, while Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suárez and Cristopher Sánchez make up the pitching, a lineup largely unchanged since 2023.
Philadelphia won five straight NL East titles from 2007-11, then went 10 years without making the playoffs. The Phillies were wild cards in each of the past two postseasons, and went on consecutive October runs that ended in heartbreak.
They reached the 2022 World Series, where they lost to Houston in six games, and lost a seven-game NL Championship Series to Arizona last year, after beating the underdog Diamondbacks 2-0, 3-2.
This time, the Phillies are willing to do whatever it takes to finally finish the job.
Philadelphia has only won the World Series in 1980 and 2008.