As the celebration began in South Philly on a rainy Sunday, credit was doled out.
The Phillies wouldn't be here without their MVP, Bryce Harper. They wouldn't have come close to getting this far without manager Rob Thomson, the ultimate calming influence in a clubhouse that needed it. They wouldn't be National League champions if not for the roster depth assembled by team president Dave Dombrowski. They wouldn't be headed to the World Series for just the ninth time in franchise history if not for the leadership and big bat of Kyle Schwarber.
All that is absolutely true.
But the most credit for why the Phillies are headed back to the World Series belongs to the most important person that took the Fox dias and held up a National League championship trophy: Team owner John Middleton.
This is Middleton's production. This was his George Steinbrenner moment. This pennant belongs to him.
Middleton's reign as point man of the franchise prior to this October was filled with more disappointment than joy. It was clear that the Phillies had an owner in place that cared about winning. What wasn't: Did he have a clue on how to best build a winner and put the right people in place to do so?
When the Phillies tore the franchise down to the studs to rebuild, I thought the team was a potential sleeping giant. Put the right minds in place and an Astros or Dodgers-like machine could be built on the back of player development, scouting, analytics and an owner willing to spend to bring the franchise back.
Unfortunately, the Andy MacPhail-Matt Klentak era left a ton to be desired in the area of player development and scouting. While some young and useful players (Bryson Stott, Alec Bohm, Connor Brogdon, Matt Vierling) were drafted and developed by Middleton's first hand-picked regime, years were wasted. If not for Middleton's money, this franchise would still be on the hamster wheel of rebuilding.
Years ago, Jimmy Rollins said Middleton's goal was to become the modern-era Steinbrenner, coupling deep pockets with a desire to win at all costs.
"That's his ambition, to be Steinbrenner South," Rollins told NBC Sports Philadelphia in 2014.
Eight years later, we can say with confidence that it's happened. Over the last five years, the Phillies have carried enormous payrolls. They've signed star after star. For the first time ever, the luxury tax was paid.
Harper was given (at the time), the biggest contract in Major League Baseball history. Harper's left-handed power and flair for the dramatic always reminded me of Reggie Jackson, the first true big-ticket Yankees signing by Steinbrenner in the 1970s. I have no idea if that kind of thinking influenced Middleton to hop on a plane across the country one Friday night in the winter of 2018 to chase Harper, but the right superstar landed in Philadelphia because of the owner willing to pay him "stupid money."
Then there was over $100M for Zack Wheeler. The largest contract for a catcher in MLB history for J.T. Realmuto. Another $80M to lure the winner the franchise needed in Schwarber. Throw in $100M more for Nick Castellanos, who had some big playoff hits (and a defensive moment to remember in Atlanta) to help offset an awful 2022 regular season. In the NLCS Game 4 slugfest win over San Diego, the top five hitters in the lineup (guaranteed a combined $632.2 million by Middleton) went 9-for-18 and scored 10 times.
And of course, there was the persistence to get Dombrowski out of Nashville and back to the grind of building a team. Middleton needed a proven winner to come in and clean up the MacPhail-Klentak mess, and didn't take no for an answer. It changed the course of Phillies history.
Dombrowki's ability to refine the edges of the roster and add more depth around this team's base of stars is a huge reason why we'll have World Series games in South Philly next week. His accurate perception of Joe Girardi's shortcomings in the dugout led to a perfectly-timed dismissal and ultimate right-place, right-time man in Thomson. Dombrowski believed there was a winning team inside the Phillies clubhouse. He added the right ingredients and was proven right.
Middleton hasn't been perfect. Far from it, actually. He held onto MacPhail and Klentak too long. He blamed his first high-profile managerial hire for deep-rooted issues within the roster. He once compared the signing of Girardi to the impact of landing a star player. The Phillies seemed to skirt around the luxury tax year after year, unwilling to go all in. He may have personally fired a hitting coach midseason. His end-of-season press conferences made the franchise look lost.
Is Middleton rough around the edges? Sure. So was Steinbrenner. But here's what really matters: Trying (and spending) until everything is right.
Middleton did that.
He paid for the players. He found the right general manager. He provided the franchise infrastructure necessary to move from the stone age to modern, data-driven baseball (as mapped-out bullpen games, improved cutter-usage from Jose Alvarado, and correctly removing Ranger Suarez before the third time through the order in Game 3 should remind us) and it finally all came together.
The Phillies are here because of their stars, general manager and manager.
But they'll line up to take the field in the 2022 World Series in large part because the owner delivered on his promise to do what it takes to bring a championship back to Philadelphia.
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