Philadelphia Phillies – The News Desk

Bryce Harper delivers more heroics for Phillies on grand, 3-homer night to remember

4Apr

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Bryce Harper delivers more heroics for Phillies on grand, 3-homer night to remember

PHILADELPHIA — There were two outs in the 10th inning Monday night when Bryce Harper stepped into the on-deck circle as the potential tying run. Backup catcher Garrett Stubbs was in the dugout and he found Whit Merrifield, one of the only new guys on this Phillies team.“Man,” Stubbs said, “you’re going to want to watch this.”Often, time stops at Citizens Bank Park when Harper bats. It is an inequitable expectation in a sport when the greatest are successful 30 percent of the time. That is what makes Harper special. He has met the highest expectations again and again.He struck out on five pitches to end Monday’s game.“Obviously, it didn’t work out,” Stubbs said. “It doesn’t always work out. But it damn near feels like it always works out.”That’s Harper. He started the season hitless in 11 ...

MLB’s weirdest injuries of 2023, from a pool basketball mishap to a toilet setback

28Dec

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MLB’s weirdest injuries of 2023, from a pool basketball mishap to a toilet setback

Every year at this time, we marvel at the many creative ways baseball players find to make an appearance on the ever-popular Strange But True Injuries of the Year leaderboard.So we’d like to thank this year’s baseball population for … cooking breakfast … playing the piano … and doing their best to get in and out of their hotel bathroom safely. But you know what’s especially amazing? None of those mishaps even topped this list!Really? Yes, really. So here they come, the Strangest But Truest Injuries of 2023.First prize: Eye confess!We always award Injury of the Year bonus points to guys who manage to get hurt while they’re already hurt. So here’s to Rays relief warrior Pete Fairbanks, who couldn’t even cover up the Giannis imitation that got him into this mess.When Fairbanks met with the R...

MLB’s 20 most mind-blowing hitting, pitching feats of 2023 — with Kyle Schwarber leading off

27Dec

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MLB’s 20 most mind-blowing hitting, pitching feats of 2023 — with Kyle Schwarber leading off

It’s the most wonderful time of the year … except for one thing:It’s no longer baseball season!But that’s where we come in. It’s our not-so-solemn duty to get you through these long, chilly, baseball-free months by helping you relive the best of the Strange But True baseball season of 2023. Don’t tell us you already forgot that …An unforgettable on-base streak ended even though the man who compiled that streak was standing on first base. … And we really did see a real human being steal third base and home on the same pitch. … And a team pitched a no-hitter despite the minor hindrance of also allowing seven runs — in the same inning!We’re not making any of that up. We spend the whole year keeping track of wacky stuff like this so you don’t have to. So join us now as we relive The Strange B...

Five things to watch on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot: Could Beltré be a unanimous pick?

24Nov

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Five things to watch on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot: Could Beltré be a unanimous pick?

Nine weeks from today, we’ll find out who gets to live out the weekend of a lifetime next July in magical Cooperstown, N.Y. Spoiler alert: Adrián Beltré’s friends and loved ones had better make those dinner reservations ASAP!But there were 25 other names on the 2024 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot that was announced on Monday. And when I looked over those names, I could already see the storylines forming in my brain.So here they come — my Five Things to Watch on the latest, greatest Hall ballot.1. Can Adrián Beltré make ballot history? Adrián Beltré throws out the first pitch before Game 2 of the 2023 World Series. (Raymond Carlin III / USA Today)Could Adrián Beltré really become the first position player to get elected to the Hall of Fame unanimously? It’s a fascinating questio...

2023-24 MLB offseason: Bowden’s 24 predictions for signings, trades, hirings and more

9Nov

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2023-24 MLB offseason: Bowden’s 24 predictions for signings, trades, hirings and more

Free agency officially started Monday but the managers, not the players, stole the show, headlined by the Cubs’ stunning swoop to land Craig Counsell. Frankly, I’m still in shock after yesterday’s series of managerial moves, which also included hires by the Mets (Carlos Mendoza) and Guardians (Stephen Vogt).Another unpredictable MLB offseason is here and although the trades and signings haven’t started in earnest, we have seen some noteworthy transactions, including several teams exercising club options on potential free agents such as Alex Cobb (Giants), José Leclerc (Rangers) and Kyle Hendricks (Cubs). We’ve seen teams cut ties with the faces of their franchise, as the White Sox declined their option on Tim Anderson and the Reds did the same with Joey Votto. We’ve seen players such as E...

Diamondbacks silence the Philly faithful — and relish every minute of it

26Oct

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Diamondbacks silence the Philly faithful — and relish every minute of it

PHILADELPHIA — Standing atop the stage wheeled out to honor their National League championship, the Arizona Diamondbacks looked out on a smattering of sad souls who refused to go home.This was what the vaunted Phillies crowd had been reduced to. Day after day, before and after every game, Arizona players and coaches were asked about this raucous environment.What was the challenge of playing here? How could they overcome the best home-field advantage in baseball? Would this young core be fazed?That crowd was now shredded to a couple of hundred solemn stragglers after Arizona’s 4-2 NLCS Game 7 victory. Some watched in disbelief. Others screamed insults and obscenities.“No one cares about Arizona,” one fan bellowed.“Let’s go Rangers,” others chanted.Tommy Pham watched from the front of the p...

Diamondbacks rally to defeat Phillies, win improbable NL pennant; will face Rangers in World Series

25Oct

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Diamondbacks rally to defeat Phillies, win improbable NL pennant; will face Rangers in World Series

PHILADELPHIA — Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo peered into the abyss on Aug. 11, 74 days before his team captured the National League pennant in an improbable, month-long ambush of their better-touted foes with a 4-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series. The prospect appeared remote only two months ago, when the Diamondbacks lost for the ninth consecutive game. The club had lost its hold on the NL West. A chance at the postseason looked to be fading. “We’ve got to get this thing to turn around,” Lovullo said. “Somehow. Some way.”The Diamondbacks did not make a miraculous recovery. The club won the next day to end the skid. They won again the day after that. They won more than they lost the rest of the month. They won enough...

After Game 6 letdown, Phillies face their toughest test: the weight of Game 7

25Oct

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After Game 6 letdown, Phillies face their toughest test: the weight of Game 7

PHILADELPHIA — The entire Diamondbacks team had departed the field and Kyle Schwarber stood there, alone at second base in the middle of the seventh inning, and this is when it felt too real. The hulking slugger had tried to do too much — take 90 feet while trailing by four runs — and he paid for it. It was 7:36 p.m. ET and some people decided it was time to leave a ballpark that has achieved legend-like status in October.A replay review of Schwarber’s mistake took less than a minute. Then, Citizens Bank Park turned dark to signal Craig Kimbrel’s entrance as a mop-up man, and boos greeted him. The vibes were extinguished.The two most terrifying words for a team that lost Game 6 at home: Game Seven.“It’s going to be exciting,” Schwarber said after a 5-1 loss. “This is what you play for. Ob...

The voices in their heads: With PitchCom, pitchers never sure who they may hear

21Oct

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The voices in their heads: With PitchCom, pitchers never sure who they may hear

As Max Scherzer came set before the first pitch of Wednesday’s ALCS Game 3 in Arlington, the voice in his ear was that of a Texan who never played pro ball. Fastball. Away. Scherzer obliged, the future Hall of Famer heeding the words of a software engineer who was working for a defense contractor back when Scherzer was winning his first of three Cy Young Awards.Ryan Murray is the Rangers’ senior director of research and development, rendering data into baseball insights for an organization chasing its first World Series championship. He also has a one-second cameo for each Rangers pitch as the voice of the team’s PitchCom — the device catchers use to signal pitch and location to the pitcher 60 feet, 6 inches away. Murray’s role is imperceptible to most, by design, but in the biggest momen...

Why kinder, gentler Philly fans are done with snowballs and Santa Claus

20Oct

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Why kinder, gentler Philly fans are done with snowballs and Santa Claus

The Athletic has live coverage of Phillies vs. Diamondbacks in Game 3 of the NLCS. By Andy McCullough, Chad Jennings and Stephen J. NesbittPHILADELPHIA — In the parking lots outside Citizens Bank Park, in the hours before the Phillies hosted the first game of the National League Championship Series, the people of the Delaware Valley communed. They tossed footballs as helicopters buzzed overhead. They chomped hoagies from Primo’s and Wawa. They sipped Bud Light and Miller Light, Coors Light and Coors Banquet, Yuengling and also Yuengling. The vibe felt more subdued than unhinged, a dynamic that would change as the first pitch drew closer.“As soon as you enter the building, it’s like a switch goes off,” said Chris Edge, a 42-year-old from Marlton, N.J. “You hear it. You feel it. Everybody k...