The Phillies Need to Win 10 More Games to Avoid 100 Losses

The Phillie Phanatic jokes around with Toronto Blue Jays left fielder Ben Revere (7) before an August game at Citizens Bank Park.

Labor Day 2015 is behind us, and the attention of the Philadelphia sports fan has now turned to the Eagles. A few years ago, though, this would also be the time to watch the Phillies make a run at the playoffs. From 2001 to 2006, the Phillies were generally pretty close. From 2007 to 2011, they made five consecutive trips to the postseason.

In 2015, the Phillies are trying to avoid losses in the triple digits. And fans are clearly focused on other subjects: 15,125 attended last night’s 7-2 loss to the Braves, the smallest crowd in Citizens Bank Park history.

The Phillies now have two dozen games left in the season. They are 53-85. They need to go 10-14 to avoid losing 100 games. That .417 winning percentage is better than the team’s current .384, so they need to actually pick things up a bit.

There’s no extra penalty for losing more than 100 games, but the Phillies — who have a whopping 14 100-loss seasons in their history — haven’t had a triple-digit loss season since 1961! That’s a long stretch for a team so steeped in awful history.

But don’t go rooting for them to win just yet. The Phillies are also in a race (“race”) for the first overall pick in next year’s MLB draft. This once seemed secure. Their hot stretch after the All-Star break, however, has complicated things. The Braves were once 42-42; they’ve gone 13-41 since. After last night’s win, the Braves are two games ahead of the Phils in the standings.

As a fan, you’d like the Phillies to avoid losing 100 games — but don’t want them to lose the first overall pick in the draft. Being a Phillies fan right now is like rooting for the Sixers!

You’ll have another chance to experience those complicated rooting feelings tonight when the Phillies host the Braves again at 7:05 p.m.