The Phillies are not new to coming up short. This year after a strong regular season and hot start to the postseason, the Phillies lost in a nail-biting game 7 to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Similarly, last season, the Philadelphia Phillies came up just short, falling to the Houston Astros in the World Series 6. However, the disappointment of falling short should not overshadow their incredible regular season.

Coming into the 2023 season, expectations were sky high for the Phillies after their World Series run. However, fast forward 57 games and the Phillies had a well below average 25-32 record with just a 21.4% chance to make the playoffs, showing no signs of that elite World Series Team of last year. Their star, Bryce Harper, was recovering from elbow surgery, causing him to move positions to first base and the defense struggled to adapt to the change. With the defense porous, the offense slumping, and the team losing, all had seemed lost for a Phillies team looking to win their first World Series since 2008.

Fortunately for the Phillies, they were no strangers to overcoming adversity. Last year, the Phillies started the season off with a disappointing 22-29 start before a major mid-season turnaround, sneaking into the playoffs with an  87-75 record. Could last season’s miracle comeback be replicated?

With some Philly magic, they immediately went on a 6 game winning streak, and their momentum would not stop. The Phillies on June 2 had a 25-32 record, but by the time the month concluded they improved to 44-38, winning 19 games with only 6 losses. The Phillies kept their foot on the gas for the rest of the season. At the end of the season, when the playoff race f was getting very tight, they went on a 7 game winning streak to solidify a 90-72 record and a 4th seed.

So what sparked this furious comeback? Perhaps the biggest reason was simply a change in the mood of the locker room sparked by the return of a familiar uniting force. Throughout the magical 2022 World Series Run, the Phillies theme song played by both players in the clubhouse and fans alike was Dancing On My Own by Calum Scott. After falling short of winning the World Series, they decided to banish the song because it was now associated with losing, but at the start of June in the midst of their slump after a 4-2 win over the Nationals, Kevin Long, the Phillies hitting coach, requested the song be played. Immediately a sense of hope felt injected back in the locker room as the song was unretired, returning to its rightful spot as the Phillies theme song. Although a seemingly minor change, the mood was immediately uplifted. Sometimes a simple uplifted attitude is all it takes, as the Phillies season immediately turned around following the return of their beloved theme song.