Philadelphia is an Eagles town.
Green is the favorite color of the city’s sports fans and “Fly, Eagles, Fly” is their anthem.
That is especially true now, with the Eagles seemingly poised to make another Super Bowl run a year after winning it.
But fans could also be seeing red in a few weeks, for the Phillies have a legitimate shot at earning their first World Series championship in 17 years.
Their quest starts on Saturday, when the Phils will play host to the Cincinnati Reds or Los Angeles Dodgers in the first game of the best-of-five National League Divisional Series (NLDS).
The Phils just finished one of the best regular seasons in franchise history. They finished at 96-66, marking the sixth time they’ve earned more than 95 wins and the first time since 2011 (102-60).
There were also plenty of individual accomplishments.
Shortstop Trea Turner won the National League batting title with a .304 average, becoming the first Phillies to do so since Richie Ashburn won it by batting .350 in 1958.
Strangely, Turner’s average was the lowest to ever win the N.L. crown and the second-lowest in Major League Baseball annals. Hall of Famer Carl Yastremski won the A.L. title with a .301 average in 1968.
Designated hitter Kyle Schwarber had an MVP-caliber season, leading the N.L. with 56 home runs and topping the majors with 132 RBIs. His 56 homers were two shy of the team record set by first baseman Ryan Howard in 2008.
Turner and Schwarber enabled the Phillies to top the N.L. in those categories for the first time in 92 years, though that’s bit misleading. In 1933, Chuck Klein did it by himself, winning the Triple Crown by batting .368 with 28 homes and 120 RBIs.
The pitching staff also excelled this season.
Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes is expected to win the N.L. Cy Young award, but Cristopher Sanchez should get consideration after going 13-6 with a 2.24 earned run average and 212 strikeouts.
Jesus Luzardo led the team wins (14) and strikeouts (216). Ranger Suarez added 12 wins, giving the Phils three pitchers with at least 12 victories for the first time since 2011, when Roy Halladay (19), Cliff Lee (17) and Cole Hamels (14) did it.
They helped compensate for the loss of ace Zack Wheeler, who will miss the playoffs after undergoing surgery to repair a blood clot in his right arm.
The core of the team – Turner, Schwarber, first-baseman Bryce Harper, catcher J.T. Realmuto – is solid and the in-season additions of outfielder Harrison Bader and closer Jhoan Duran have been key.
They seem to be on the verge of something special.
With success, however, comes pressure.
The Phils are in the playoffs for the fourth straight season, but after losing the World Series to the Houston Astros in 2022, they’ve regressed.
Perhaps the most shocking exit came in 2023, when the Arizona Diamondbacks rallied from a 3-1 deficit to win the NLCS in seven games.
That was followed by an embarrassing, 4-1 loss to the arch-rival New York Mets in last year’s NLDS.
There is concern that they are running out of chances. The window of opportunity is still open, but only by a crack.
Schwarber and Realmuto are in the final years of their contract and both will draw strong interest on the open market.
Schwarber will be one of the most sought-after free agents and could command a contract north of $120 million. Realmuto is not quite the elite catcher he was a few years ago, but he will also have plenty of suitors.
This could be their last, best chance.
Eagles stay undefeated
The Eagles haven’t won back-to-back league championships since the days when players wore leather helmets with no face masks.
It last happened for them in 1947-48, when Hall of Fame running back Steve Van Buren was the star.
They could repeat this season.
While they haven’t been dominant by any stretch in the early going this year, the Birds (4-0) and Buffalo Bills (4-0) are currently the NFL’s only undefeated teams.
More impressively, they’ve gotten off to a good start despite struggling with inconsistency.
The Eagles’ special teams have provided the biggest plays lately. They blocked two field goals to clinch their win against the Rams two weeks ago, then Sydney Brown returned a blocked punt for a TD in last Sunday’s 31-25 win at Tampa Bay.
In order to keep rolling, they need running back Saquon Barkley and wide receiver A.J. Brown to get untracked.
Local MLB update
When the Eagles return to action Sunday by hosting the Denver Broncos at the Linc, the fans will include season-ticket holder Mike Trout.
Trout, the three-time American League MVP for the Los Angeles Angels, saw his team miss the playoffs for the 11th consecutive year.
The Millville native finished this season with 26 home runs – his most since hitting 40 in 2022 – and became the 59th player in history to reach 400 career home runs last week.
It was a disappointing year by his standards, however, mainly due to bone bruise in his left knee that forced him to miss 30 games.
The 12-year veteran closed on a high note, however, blasting five home runs in the last seven games to give him 404 homers for his career.
Another Millville product, Buddy Kennedy, saw action in 13 MLB games this season with the Phillies, Toronto Blue Jays and Dodgers.
Reds pitcher Chase Petty, a Mainland Regional High School graduate, appeared in three games for the Reds while spending most of the season in Triple A.
Local NFL update
Dallas Cowboys defensive back Markquese Bell (Bridgeton High School) scored the first points of his three-year NFL career Sunday night when he returned a blocked extra point kick for a two-point conversion in a 40-40 tie with Green Bay.
Bo Melton (Cedar Creek High School) had two kickoff returns for 60 yards for the Packers.
Arizona cornerback Max Melton (Cedar Creek High School), Bo’s younger brother, had three tackles and two pass defenses in a 23-20 loss to Seattle.
Jacksonville running back LeQuint Allen (Millville) had one reception for 7 yards in a 26-21 win at San Francisco.
Defensive tackle Austin Johnson (St. Augustine Prep, Galloway Township) had two tackles for the Jaguars.
David is a nationally recognized sports columnist who has covered Philadelphia and local sports for over 40 years. After 35 years with The Press, he has served as a columnist for 973ESPN.com and created his own Facebook page, Dave Weinberg Extra Points.
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