One of the biggest concerns heading into 2025 for the Philadelphia Phillies is their inconsistent offense.
Despite scoring the fifth-most runs in MLB in 2024, Phillies hitters had one of the worst chase rates. According to Baseball Savant, they swung at 30.3% of pitches out of the strike zone — ranking 25th in the league.
Their offense also disappeared during the four-game loss to the New York Mets in the NLDS. The Phillies struck out a whopping 38 times and scored just 12 runs while hitting an abysmal .186 with a .597 OPS.
Much of this stemmed from hitters consistently chasing pitches out of the zone and coming up empty. In an interview with The Athletic, Phillies owner John Middleton had some tough words for those who need to change their hitting habits.
Philadelphia Phillies owner John Middleton says players need to change hitting approach
Speaking to The Athletic’s Matt Gelb, Middleton stated that hitters “have to become more disciplined.”
“I don’t think you can forget the postseason. I don’t think you can forget the last couple of months of marginal play. It was more like three months of marginal play. There were some peaks and valleys in that second half. But we really didn’t play consistently well for quite a long sustained period,” Middleton said. “Some of that is we have guys who just chase too much. And they have to stop. They just have to become more disciplined. It’s not enough to say, ‘Well, look, this is just the way that person is.’ The person has to change.
“The other thing is, it’s not enough to say, ‘Well, that’s baseball.’ That’s just an excuse for not having to really think about what went right, what went wrong, and what you can do to right the wrongs.”
Middleton said he discussed this issue with Dave Dombrowski, the Phillies’ president of baseball operations. They both agreed that players will need to learn new habits because the inconsistency cannot continue.
“I was talking to Dave about it. I said, ‘Dave, I hate this expression.’ He goes, ‘I hate that expression more than any other expression in baseball.’ Because it allows you to think anything you want to think. Oh, we didn’t do well? That’s baseball. I’m 1-for-20? Well, that’s baseball.
“We need to learn from (the NLDS loss to the New York Mets). I think some old dogs need to learn new tricks.”
Middleton concluded, “I’ve seen people develop two-strike approaches at the plate. People can do it. People on this team have done that. Bryce (Harper) learned a whole different position, for God’s sake. But everybody’s got to do that.”
While Middleton didn’t name names, Trea Turner, Nick Castellanos, and J.T. Realmuto are three high-priced players who consistently swung at pitches outside the strike zone. Alec Bohm and Brandon Marsh were also guilty of this tendency.
This marks the second straight postseason where the Phillies’ offense collapsed in critical games. After leading 3-2 in the 2023 NLCS against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Phillies managed just three runs total in Games 6 and 7. Despite not reaching the World Series, the team primarily maintained the same lineup into 2024, only to lose in the NLDS. Changes are now expected in the offseason.
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