Philadelphia Phillies: World Series Win Would Make Them Best Philly Team Ever

The Philadelphia Phillies just ripped off 102 victories during their 2011 campaign.  They sell out home games at a level unprecedented in team history.

If they can pull off a repeat of the 2008 season, at the very least they should be highly considered as the greatest Philadelphia team, in any sport, in the history of the city.

It has been a long while since this statement could be seriously made.  The 2004 Philadelphia Eagles had a chance after posting 13 wins against three losses (with the last two losses noticeable concessions).  Unfortunately, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots had different ideas in that Superbowl.

However, the Phillies are just a notch ahead.  They are actually expected by many to win the World Series.  It is difficult to remember any Philadelphia team in recent history where anything but a championship would be considered an abject failure.

This argument puts aside all and any preseason hype.  Of course, there was a predictive deluge of hype and excitement once the Phillies signed Cliff Lee in the free agent scramble, much to the shock of the baseball world.

It was a victory, albeit a small one.  It felt more like the completion of a puzzle.

Interestingly, that puzzle was not complete until the Phillies reached out to their former general manager, Ed Wade, and his promising young All-Star, Hunter Pence.

Once this deal was inked, the Phillies were complete. A juggernaut contender now became primed to unleash its power on the rest of Major League Baseball.

They may, of course, not win the World Series. Baseball takes many unexpected turns.

The thrill of the moment now, however, is that the 2011 Philadelphia Phillies could become the most iconic team in the long history of this sports-crazed town.

P.S.:  This article is now void because the Phillies failed to get past the NL Central Wild Card winner, the Saint Louis Cardinals.