Comparing the 2008 Phillies to the 2024 Phillies

The Differences

A Stud in Center Field

The 2008 team was gifted with an elite center fielder as switch-hitting Shane Victorino was putting up another great season with the Phils. The Flyin’ Hawaiian hit .293 with 14 homers and 36 stolen bases, the third-highest mark of his career.

The current Phillies team has a lot of question marks in center field, where a trade seems imminent with the struggles of Johan Rojas and Cristian Pache, resulting in Brandon Marsh being forced back to center from left field. 

Third Base

While Pedro Feliz turned in some decent seasons throughout his career, none of them quite seem to match the production the Phillies are getting from Alec Bohm this year. Bohm has turned into a balanced hitter behind Bryce Harper in the Phillies order. Bohm is hitting .304 with 8 home runs and an OPS well north of .800. A far cry from the guy who “hates this place,” Bohm has turned into a fan favorite with bright red savant bubbles to back up his great numbers. 

An Elite Rotation

The 2008 rotation was surprisingly underwhelming in the regular season, with only Cole Hamels and Jamie Moyer finishing with an ERA under 4.00. Hamels stepped up in a big way in the postseason, taking home World Series MVP honors and leading the Phillies as a dominant ace. Outside of that, the rotation lacked the firepower with Brett Myers, Joe Blanton, Adam Eaton, and Kyle Kendrick that this year’s rotation has.

As of Tuesday, the 2024 team is leading the league in ERA and home runs allowed while being tied for the league lead in wins, losses, and complete games. Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola are proven horses at the top of the rotation followed up by Ranger Suarez.

I think you all know how awesome Ranger has been, pacing baseball in ERA and wins in his breakout season (and he’s quite possibly the best fielding pitcher to boot). Adding Cristopher Sanchez and Spencer Turnbull into the mix both with ERA’s under three as your four and five starters feels like overkill, leaving any contribution from Taijuan Walker as a cherry on top. The depth makes this rotation so dangerous come October, something that wasn’t a guarantee in 2008.

The Dombrowski Effect

This Phillies team has a different man at the helm: Dave Dombrowski. To put it simply, Dombrowski is no stranger to making trades and isn’t timid about it either. Whether his days with the Marlins or later on with the Tigers, he’s never been shy with the trigger finger when it comes to making moves, that he thinks can put his team over the top.

With how good this team looks so far, I’d expect Dombrowski to jump at the chance to make a trade at the deadline. 

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