The 2023 Phillies season marked the first time the team made the postseason without winning either an NL pennant or NL East division title.
The 1980 and 2008 World Series-winning teams are honored with red banners with white numbers, while the NL Champions are celebrated with blue banners with white numbers and the division title winners get cream-colored banners with blue numbers.
The ending to the 2023, a playoff berth via the wild card that ended in the NLCS, doesn’t fit into the typical season ending that warrants a banner.
Some wondered if the Phillies would recognize the accomplishments of the 2023 club with a banner or reserve those for certain seasons. The Phillies chose the former and are recognizing 2023 with a powder blue banner with maroon numbers.
The banner will fly up top on Ashburn Alley for the entirety of the 2024 season. It’s unclear if the Phillies will add additional wild card banners for seasons that do not end with a pennant or World Series championship or commemorate multiple wild card seasons with one banner.
The Phillies have made the playoffs only 13 times in its 141-year history, though for the first 86 years, the only way to get in was by finishing with the best record in the National League. The accomplishments of the 2023 team should not be forgotten, but does that necessarily mean they deserve a banner that’s flown alongside the pennant winners and division champs? It depends on where you stand.
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Brian Keough
March 29, 2024 at 1:26 pm
What about 2022 wild card?
MJ
April 20, 2024 at 6:01 pm
That team won the pennant. So, blue flag.
JPB
March 29, 2024 at 8:57 pm
The 1981 team made the postseason due to winning the first half of the season, prior to the strike. That team is not recognized with a banner.