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Phillies, Bryce Harper face enormous pressure for 2020 due to Nationals

By Dan Parzych

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 23: Bryce Harper #3 of the Philadelphia Phillies walks to the dugout after striking out in the eighth inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on September 23, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 23: Bryce Harper #3 of the Philadelphia Phillies walks to the dugout after striking out in the eighth inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on September 23, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) /
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After the Washington Nationals won their first World Series title in franchise history, the pressure is on more than ever for the Philadelphia Phillies in 2020.

Last offseason when the Philadelphia Phillies turned out to be one of the biggest winners from free agency highlighted by the signing of Bryce Harper, expectations to win the World Series were taken to new levels.

Meanwhile, the Washington Nationals were expected to go through a year of rebuilding after losing their former superstar in Harper, and seemed like the last team anyone expected to make a World Series run.

Turns out, the narrative of the 2019 season would end up being the complete opposite, as the Nationals clinched their first World Series title Wednesday night after defeating the Houston Astros in seven games, all while the Phillies watched from home.

As painful as it is for Philadelphia fans to hear, Washington deserves all of the credit in the world after seeing how many times they came close to elimination, and there’s no question this will be considered one of the most exciting World Series of all-time.

For the Phillies, it’s difficult not to wonder how this could have happened since the talent was certainly there for them to be in the position to compete for a title, and if Philadelphia wasn’t already facing high pressure for 2020 before, they certainly are now.

It would be one thing if the Phillies came up just shy of earning a trip to the playoffs, but the fact that Philadelphia actually finished in fourth place in the NL East this past season shows how rough things truly were.

One of the main reasons behind Philadelphia’s decision to invest all that money in Harper was due to the belief he was the missing piece to making this team a World Series contender, and while this could still be the case for the future, year one wasn’t exactly the best start.

Even if the Nationals lose a few key players in the offseason, this team is still built to continue competing for another World Series, and will make the NL East that much more difficult for the Phillies to win.

In a year when it seemed like the Atlanta Braves would be the biggest threat for the Phillies within the division, the Nationals found a way to emerge as the new team to beat.

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And since the rivalry between Washington and Philadelphia was already heating up due to the Harper factor, one can only imagine the kind of pressure the Phillies are going to be feeling in 2020 as a result of this year’s World Series.

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