Phillies fans are losing a bit of hope according to a recent survey from The Athletic
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Phillies fans are losing a bit of hope according to a recent survey from The Athletic originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Philadelphia Phillies are in the middle of a postseason renaissance. After years of mediocre at-best play, the Phillies, since 2022, have made the postseason every time.
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This upcoming season shouldn't be any different, as they are more than capable of not only contending for a postseason spot, but the World Series.
However, according to a recent survey conducted by The Athletic and Stephen J. Nesbitt, the Phillies fan base is losing a bit of hope and isn't as optimistic as they once were over the last few years.
Phillies fans losing hope in team in 2026
Nesbitt shared the Phillies survey results: "18. Philadelphia Phillies: 71.3 percent optimism." This ranking is behind teams like the Pittsburgh Pirates, Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres, and the Athletics.
Last year, this same survey had Phillies fans with 84.1% optimism. In 2024, they were fifth overall with a 96.9% figure. And in 2023, following their World Series appearance, the Phillies fanbase was ranked third in optimism for the team at 98.7%.
Even back in 2022, before the postseason run, Phillies fans were 84.9% optimistic about the team. And yet, despite this roster being capable of the same heights, if not greater, the fan base isn't nearly as optimistic.
It's not hard to see why. This team hasn't changed much from the last few years, where they've fallen short of expectations and hopes in the postseason.
Even if the team has a good regular season, the Phillies haven't been able to make it back to the NLCS in three years, and the team is only getting older and slightly worse.
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Following another lackluster offseason, with the Phillies missing out on Bo Bichette and even despite the Kyle Schwarber re-signing, there are plenty of reasons to be pessimistic about this team.
The bullpen might be better than ever, but the rotation has a lot of question marks with Zack Wheeler out and Ranger Suarez gone. Andrew Painter didn't look nearly as good as fans were hoping for in the spring, either.
The lineup should be good, but the questions are real, especially with the top three, as they've gone through their fair share of inconsistencies in their Phillies careers.
Phillies fans being pessimistic isn't that strange, especially following their struggles in recent years come October and the postseason. They could very well win the World Series, but the big questions about the roster and Rob Thomson aren't exactly confidence-building.
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