Opinion: Should the Philadelphia Phillies Receive a Ring for Taking Second Place?

The Philadelphia Phillies are set to receive their rings for winning the National Leagues. But, rings should only be reserved for World Series champions.

The Philadelphia Phillies are scheduled to receive their National League champion rings in a pregame ceremony before playing the Cincinnati Reds on April 9.

Nice, right?

It will be part of a lengthy promotional schedule all season for fans of this passionate fanbase. The Phillies handle this aspect as well as any team in Major League Baseball.

Handing out Phanatic T-shirts or winter hats or hosting Fireworks nights are wonderful promotions.

But there should be one ring in any ceremony – celebrating a World Series title.

It’s understandable why the Phillies would want to honor the 2022 Phillies. After all, it was a magical deep postseason run which no one expected.

I’m just not a fan of celebrating too much over runner-up status. Grinch status? Perhaps.

The 1980 and ’08 Phillies won championships. They will forever be cherished in the Delaware Valley.

The ’93, ’09 and ’10 teams came close. They all provided excitement and deserve to be remembered fondly.

There should be one ring handed out and that’s to the champions.

There will likely be a hefty crowd for April 9 and that’s a step forward for a franchise which went 11 straight seasons without appearing in the playoffs.

John Middleton has since handed out nearly $400 million to bring in Trea Turner, Taijuan Walker and Matt Strahm. The overall roster looks as strong as it has since 2011.

Even with Bryce Harper recovering from Tommy John surgery, the Phillies are in good enough shape to stay in playoff contention until their Most Valuable Player returns somewhere likely in mid-July.

The Phillies are certainly talented enough to compete for another deep postseason run and a World Series title.

If they come through in ’23, ’24, ’25 or somewhere else in the near future, championship ring ceremonies will be held and parades will draw two million people. Rightfully so.

That’s the benchmark. That’s the goal.

Second place ring ceremonies? They’re nice but not necessarily warranted.

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