Philadelphia Phillies Are Off To Historic Start Through 66 Games

The Phillies have turned a lot of heads and look to be a World Series favorite.

Jun 11, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber (12) celebrates after hitting a solo home run during the fifth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. / Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports

After yet another win by the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday, knocking off the Boston Red Sox by a final score of 4-1, the team moved to an impressive 46-20 on the season. Right now, they appear to be the favorite in the National League and a legitimate World Series favorite.

Everything has been firing on all cylinders for the Phillies. The offense has remained productive and pitching has been top-notch as well. It's hard to keep that up for an entire season, but so far Philadelphia has shown no signs of slowing down.

USA Today MLB reporter Bob Nightengale took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share an impressive fact about the start to the 2024 season. This is the second-best record that the Phillies have had through 66 games in franchise history.

Obviously, as you can see from the tweet below, Nightengale mistyped and said 46 games instead of 66.

The Phillies win again and are 46-20.
The only time they've had a better start after 46 games was in 1976.
They now have a 10-game lead in the NL East.
Magic number: 88.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) June 12, 2024

While the start of the season has been nothing short of dominant, there is a long way to go until the postseason. Keeping this kind of success rolling for an entire season is not easy to do.

In order to do so, the Phillies will need a healthy combination of both skill and luck.

They will need the offense and pitching to stay dominant at the same time. Also, health will become a factor.

Recently, J.T. Realmuto was injured and will miss the next month. That alone is a big-time loss for Philadelphia. They will be tested during his absence.

Coming up soon, the Phillies will have to make a decision on what to do at the MLB trade deadline. Many expect them to be buyers and to try to add upgrades and depth. They'll need to find success and land the targets that they view as helpful to their World Series goal.

Nothing is set in stone at this point in a baseball season. It's good to be excited about the start, but a season is not about the start. The playoff team that finishes the year the hottest wins the World Series.

All of that being said, it will be interesting to see how the rest of the 2024 campaign goes for the Phillies. There is no question about how impressive the start to the season has been. Now, it will be even more impressive if they can keep their current pace up.