Philadelphia Phillies: 1 person who has the most to prove in 2022

They did it! The 2021 Philadelphia Phillies improved from their 81-81 record in 2019 to go 82-80. Baby steps, people. At this rate, by the end of the decade, the Phillies could be a 90-win team.

To say the team underachieved is an insult to my high school grades: the ultimate example of underachievement. They employed the National League MVP and the runner-up in the Cy Young Award. Despite this, the Phillies were fooling themselves for most of the season thinking they could make it into the postseason.

There are plenty of people who have a lot to prove in 2022. But no one has more to prove than this one man.

Nobody in a Philadelphia Phillies uniform has more to prove in 2022 than Joe Girardi

The skipper, Joe Girardi, has been underwhelming thus far in his Phillies’ tenure. The 28-32 season in 2020 was unacceptable but understandable because of the world we were living in. What the team did in 2021—not so much.

From 2020 to 2021, not a lot was done to actually improve the roster. A lot of guys came back. A few minor adjustments were made. It was an offseason where management put a lot of faith in the manager to get things done with what they already had in place.

Girardi failed miserably in this aspect. I know the onus ultimately falls on all of the players but a big goal of every manager should be to get the most out of the players they’re provided.

Luckily for him, he gets another shot in 2022 to make up for his flaws. Hopefully armed with some better players, Girardi can live up to those lofty expectations that everyone had when he was first hired by the team.

I hate to blame an 82-80 team expected to win more on the manager the same way I wouldn’t credit Gabe Kapler with making the San Francisco Giants a formidable team in 2021. Baseball managers don’t wield nearly the same amount of power as they used to. They are the babysitters and spokespeople for millionaire athletes.

How Joe Girardi can prove himself to Phillies fans

Winning cures all and it’s the only way Girardi can salvage his stint in Philadelphia and turn it from a mistake to a memorable stay. Some of this is out of his hands. Anyone who thought a rotation featuring Chase Anderson and Matt Moore would work hasn’t followed baseball in a half-decade.

Managing in a place like Philadelphia, where the fans demand nothing less than victory, only leaves Girardi with one route to take. He needs to get the most out of the players he has. It can all start this offseason by, through whatever means necessary, influencing the front office into giving him a better staff of players.

This winter should be a more productive one for the front office. Their needs are greater and another missed opportunity to make the postseason needs to elevate the urgency. Girardi is reaching the point of becoming the scapegoat casualty that will receive the blame if they don’t. As much as we wish it’s the bullpen we could fire, it’s Girardi who gets the pink slip in the end.