The idea sounds a bit silly when presented, but Nick Castellanos, who made another one of his brilliant sliding catches that he has perfected this postseason on the first pitch of Game 3, was asked about the idea of being sad that this Phillies postseason run is coming to an end.
The ride is so glorious that almost nobody is thinking about how it will be over by Sunday at the latest.
Castellanos thought about it for a moment and said the obvious.
“Well, I want it to end in the next two games.”
He could have ended it there, but he brought up something interesting that’s worth putting in to greater context.
“The great part about it is that this is kind of our first season playing together. You see all these coaches getting extensions and stuff, so it might be close to the end of this season, but it’s just the beginning of something bigger,” Castellanos said.
Both third base coach Dusty Wathan and manager Rob Thomson signed extensions with the Phillies this postseason. Key members of the front office are settled in their roles for multiple years. Other Phillies coaches could be in line to sign contract extensions.
Players like Rhys Hoskins, Jean Segura and maybe Aaron Nola are closer to the end than the beginning of their Phillies careers, but Castellanos, Kyle Schwarber, Bryson Stott and Brandon Marsh are all in their first years with the club. Zack Wheeler and J.T. Realmuto are both under contract for multiple years after 2022. Bryce Harper is here for another decade.
So yes. In a way, this is the first year the Phillies have played with a relatively complete core of players.
But let’s get ahead of ourselves and say the Phillies win a championship this year. Winning a World Series title is the ultimate goal that doesn’t change no matter the year, but is there something greater to chase once the trophy is won?
The obvious answer is another trophy, but there are residual benefits to being “a winning organization.” The sheer naivety of this Phillies squad has helped, not hurt them this postseason, but any experience in big games will help them in future Octobers.
Win or lose, memories from the last four weeks will be plastered all over the walls of Citizens Bank Park. In five, ten and 20 years, team officials will invite players back for a reunion and fans will buy tickets just to see what their favorite 2022 Phillies are up to. Players, coaches and staff will have these memories to share with close friends and family for the rest of their life.
The Phillies will also enjoy an increase in baseball revenue this year and next year due to this postseason run. That could mean better crowds during the regular season and more importantly — more spending in free agency if managing partner John Middleton decides to double down on what’s working.
The path to stability and perpetual contention will not be easy — especially in the NL East, but it’s worth noting that the Phillies are accomplishing all of this in a year in which both the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets both won over 100 games. The Phillies also handled the Braves easily in the Division Series.
Sound organizational infrastructure — not just spending “stupid money” — has been the key to the Phillies’ success in the postseason.
Before the series began, Dave Dombrowski, when asked, praised the one-year improvement in the club’s player development system under new farm director Preston Mattingly.
“We have the same players and I don’t mean to take away from anybody else that contributed in the past, but I know that when Preston Mattingly came in to run this group, there’s a different mindset — a mentality,” Dombrowski said before the World Series. “A different focus from him that he’s provided from leadership that I think has meant a lot to us. That combination with him, and then being in a position where Rob Thomson and the staff that we have here is more developmentally oriented has meant a great deal.”
Castellanos, when asked about his positioning in right field and possibly getting tips on Lance McCuller’s pitch selection after Game 3, praised the Phillies’ analytics department.
“All the information that we get as a team, not just their starters but on their bullpen guys has been a huge help,” Castellanos said.
“I’ll just say the people whose job it is to go and find any information that they can to make our lives easier, is greatly appreciated. So it’s a group effort. From everybody.”
In just a few months — maybe weeks — the Phillies went from being perceived as a club with a bloated payroll that tried to outspend their flaws to a club that others will be looking for inspiration for when they try to build their way to championship contention.
The greater lesson here is quite simple: Do everything well — especially the little things — when it matters most.
“As a whole group we’re locked in,” Castellanos said. “So all these little nuances of the game, we’re paying attention to. We’re picking up. The Phillies are playing baseball right now.”
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