MLB Playoff Picture 2022: Top Storylines for Phillies vs. Astros World Series
Over the next week-and-change, baseball's next World Series champion will be crowned.
The 2022 iteration of the Fall Classic gets rolling Friday night, pitting the Houston Astros against the Philadelphia Phillies.
It's a fascinating series on paper and could prove even better in practice. Let's break down the top storylines for this championship round.
Houston Eyeing Dynasty Status
While the Astros have distanced themselves from their peers in recent years, the question now is where they belong on the historical hierarchy.
This is their fourth World Series appearance in six years. The other two seasons, by the way, ended in the American League Championship Series. Their winning percentage has been north of .620 in four of those campaigns.
All of that said, this incredible run has only yielded a single title so far, and getting a second might be the key to unlocking dynasty status for this group.
"I think dynasties are judged by championships, and unfortunately we've lost two in this run," Lance McCullers told reporters. "From '17 on, we've had a really dominant stretch. And so I think a World Series title would help kind of solidify us as an organization as a team that could go up against other great teams of other generations."
Bryce Harper's Quest for Gold
Harper's ascension from teenage phenom to full-fledged superstar has all been building toward this moment.
He's not only in the World Series for the first time, he punched his own ticket. While baseball isn't a one-player sport, Harper sort of made it feel that way as he ripped through the National League side of the postseason bracket. His entire playoff line is bonkers—11 extra-base hits, five homers, 21 combined runs and RBI in 11 games—and his go-ahead blast to clinch the pennant could be on playoff highlight reels for generations to come.
To be clear, his resume doesn't need a world title to rank as an all-time great. He's a two-time MVP and seven-time All-Star. His Hall of Fame spot is already secured.
Still, delivering on baseball's biggest stage delivers a reputation boost like no other. If his bat keeps blazing and powers Philly to a championship, it will be a torrid run fans never forget.
Two Dramatically Different Paths to This Point
The Astros spent this season cruising at high-altitude, because that's just what this franchise does. Houston won an AL-best 106 games then swept its way through both the Seattle Mariners and New York Yankees.
The Phillies, meanwhile, encountered enough turbulence to make a managerial change mid-season, replacing Joe Girardi with Rob Thompson in early June. Philly was the final team to clinch a playoff berth after an 87-win season, though it has hit a groove this postseason and posted a combined 9-2 record against the St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres.
"While a division winner facing a wild-card team in the World Series is hardly rare, this year's showdown
between the Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies is the Fall
Classic's greatest mismatch—at least on paper—in more than 100
years," Scott Allen wrote for the Washington Post.
Playoff baseball can be the great equalizer, though, and that's what makes this such a compelling series. The Astros and Phillies may have had dramatically different seasons, but they've reached the same point and now have the same challenge in front of them.