Phillies Nation Roundtable: Our favorite random moments from 2024

Bryce Harper is entering his seventh season with the Phillies. (Allan Dranberg/Icon Sportswire)

The 2024 Phillies season was full of fun moments and storylines. From the rotation’s early-season dominance to John Kruk’s Mexican prison story, some were more memorable than others.

This season will go down as one that ended in extremely disappointing fashion, but there were many great moments along the way that are worth looking back on.

Here are some of our favorite random memories and storylines from 2024.

Destiny Lugardo, Site Director — Tyler Phillips, the hometown kid

In light of Eagles quarterback and Jersey boy Kenny Pickett playing somewhat well in the first half of Sunday’s win against the Cowboys, I’m reminded of the feel-good story of the hometown kid playing for the team he grew up loving. From the get-go, you could tell that everything meant more to Lumberton Township, N.J. native and Bishop Eustace grad Tyler Phillips. He shoved against the Atlanta Braves in his MLB debut in relief, gave the Phillies a good start against the A’s in front of a sold-out CBP and pitched a nine-inning shutout against the Cleveland Guardians.

He was exactly what the Phillies needed in the No. 5 spot — until August hit. Who knows what the future holds for Phillips in Philadelphia, but he got to live the dream of every kid who grew up playing baseball in the Delaware Valley.

Nathan Ackerman, Staff Writer — A west coast swing with the full Bryce Harper Experience

It’s not a highlight, per se: The 2-4 trip began the Phillies’ barely-.500 last four-plus months of the season. But it had everything.

Friday’s Colorado opener in May saw Bryce Harper ejected for the second straight game at Coors Field, dating back to last year. Saturday, his three-run shot capped off a six-run ninth-inning comeback with tying and winning runs driven in by likely heroes Edmundo Sosa and Garrett Stubbs.

Wednesday, the day after losing a rare 1-0, 10th-inning walkoff in San Francisco, Harper was at the center of more bad blood when Kyle Harrison threw behind him — twice in a row. The benches cleared. Seven years to the day after the Hunter Strickland Incident. It was an ugly road trip in the most beautifully baseball way.

Bailey Digh, staff writer — “Buddy” chants

Two months after being acquired by the Phillies, Buddy Kennedy stepped to the plate as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning of a tied game on Sept. 9 at Citizens Bank Park. With two outs and two runners on, Kennedy faced Rays’ left-hander Garrett Cleavinger. A hit would win the game. As Kennedy’s at-bat progressed, the nearly 40,000 fans in attendance started to chant, “Buddy! Buddy! Buddy!” The chant grew louder and peaked when the Millville, NJ native took ball four on the sixth pitch of his at-bat, loading the bases. Kennedy’s walk set the table for Kody Clemens to walk things off one batter later.

It was a great moment for Kennedy, who grew up watching the Phillies and whose grandfather, Don Money, played for the club in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The chant returned days later when Kennedy’s eighth-inning double on Sept. 15 tied the game against the Mets. An inning later, J.T. Realmuto singled to walk things off. Two late-inning at-bats within the same week, two times Kennedy came through to help the Phillies win a ball game, sparking a pair of the coolest Phillies moments from 2024 that Kennedy will surely never forget.

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Destiny Lugardo

A lifelong native of Philadelphia, Destiny has been a contributor for Phillies Nation since January 2019 and was named Deputy Editorial Director in May 2020.