Ever since the Phillies made it to an unexpected World Series appearance in 2022, the team has strived to make it back. They were unable to do so in the following two years, exiting the playoffs in excruciating fashion in 2023 and in frustrating fashion in 2024. Yet both of those seasons, they made the playoffs, something that sixteen other teams cannot say that they were able to. It’s always a point of contention with people when discussing a season – what ultimately defines the success of that season?
Does a team have to win the World Series in order for it to be successful, or can simply making it a certain distance in the playoffs count?
It likely depends on the team. For a team like the Rockies, making it above .500 would probably be a success, yet for a team like the Phillies or Dodgers, that kind of a season would be a “failure”. Win a division title would make fans in Kansas City quite happy, yet for the Yankees, that is almost the bare minimum of a season. It’s a question that always makes fans think once the season is concluded. Does the playoff success a team has define whether or not the season as a whole could be considered “successful”?
