Phillies reflect on a season that ends in misery: ‘It’s a special group, and it ended too soon’

"This is going to sting for a while. But I expect nothing but hunger from this team showing up in Clearwater," says Matt Strahm.

The Phillies look on from the dugout as the Diamondbacks celebrate winning the NLCS in Game 7.Read moreJose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer

by Alex Coffey

Published Oct. 25, 2023, 3:03 a.m. ET

The Phillies clubhouse was quiet on Tuesday night. It is not often quiet, even after losses. But after this one — a 4-2 loss to the Diamondbacks in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series that ended their season — no words were spoken. There were no words to be said. The only sounds were of teammates shaking hands, slapping backs, and giving hugs.

Brandon Marsh consoled an emotional Johan Rojas. Rhys Hoskins walked around the clubhouse to console each player. Owner John Middleton did, too.

“Next year is a new year,” he said.

Alec Bohm hung his head at his locker. He hit the only home run of the night, a solo shot to left center field in the second inning, but his efforts were ultimately not enough. The Phillies combined for just five hits in Game 7, going 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

“Nobody is happy,” Bohm said. “We lost. It’s not what we wanted, but it’s what happened. So, we’ll be back next year. We worked all year to get here and it’s over. That’s really it. If this isn’t motivation enough, I don’t know what is.”

It will be motivation in the coming months, but for now, it is shock. The thought of the Phillies losing one game at Citizens Bank Park in October was unfathomable. The thought of losing two seemed impossible. But here they were, just before midnight, with plastic tarps rolled up above their lockers, slowly sipping beer out of sorrow, rather than dousing each other with it out of joy.

Matt Strahm sat on the floor next to Craig Kimbrel. This is Strahm’s eighth season and the most fun he has had in his professional career. He signed a two-year contract last December, knowing full well that he was walking into a group that was already tight-knit.

But that didn’t matter.

“I just melted into the group,” Strahm said. “We’re 26 [players] and one. It’s not very often that you get to experience that. That’s what [stinks] the most about this.

“We care about each other. And there is just an understanding here. We all understand the ability each of us have and how hard the game is. To able to come in here, and have no one judge you on baseball … it’s comforting. We know what everyone is going through. Everyone in here understands each individual and their job. And everyone understands this moment.”

Strahm looked around the room.

“That’s why you see 70% of the guys still in here right now. It’s the last game of the year for us. It’s a special group, and it ended too soon.”

A few feet away, backup catcher Garrett Stubbs sipped on liquor from a plastic cup. He described the loss as more “personal,” than anything else.

“Everyone just really cares about each other in this room,” Stubbs said. “I think besides the fact that we lost, and we wanted to bring a championship home this year for the fans and the city, who are more than deserving, within this room there’s a connection between people that is more than what we do on the field.

“So that’s what hurts the most. I don’t know what happens on every other team, but I know with our team, four months away from each other [stinks]. We don’t want to spend four months away from each other. I think that’s just what hurts the most right now. It’s not coming in tomorrow and going to battle again with everybody.”

Stubbs received some heat for his comments earlier in the series, about potentially celebrating in the Diamondbacks’ pool. Obviously that never came to fruition. But on Tuesday night, he had only admiration for Arizona’s perseverance.

“They played really well,” Stubbs said. “That’s a really good baseball team over there. They have a lot of young players and a lot to look forward to. So, I’ll be watching. I’ll be watching them play.”

That is what the next few days will be for these Phillies. Watching the World Series on a television screen. It won’t feel right. They were favored by many to win it all, and they believed it, too. Their mantra this spring was “two more wins.” They ended their season needing five more wins.

They plowed through the playoffs with a workmanlike attitude, their heads down, a team on a mission, until they arrived in Arizona. They dropped Games 3 and 4, won Game 5, and needed just one more win out of two games at home to return to the World Series. But a team that prides itself in fighting did not show that trademark fight.

“Everything felt fine [before the game],” Kyle Schwarber said. “It was confidence. That has been our conversation in the clubhouse. We believe in ourselves. There’s no doubt about it. We believe that we can play with anyone. We believe we can go out there and play great baseball and win a championship.

“And we still believe that. It didn’t work out for us, but we still believe that right now, and that’s why it hurts.”

It will hurt for a while. This team will have four months to think about what could’ve been. How Trea Turner and Bryce Harper could’ve gone a combined 0-for-8 in an elimination game. How the calm and cool Ranger Suárez could’ve allowed three earned runs in 4⅔ innings. How the Phillies’ lineup managed just three hits against Arizona in Game 3, and how their bullpen blew a 5-2 lead in Game 4.

And of course, how they could’ve had a parade down Broad Street, and made new memories, and dropped more F-bombs, and doused more beers. But instead, they will go home, unfulfilled, until February, when they try to rewrite their story.

“I was joking with Kimbrel a little while ago — I’m ready for it to be spring,” Strahm said.

“This is going to sting for a while. But I expect nothing but hunger from this team showing up in Clearwater. This group is special and a lot of them are coming back. Let’s just roll into it.”