The Phillies are the only team to have bye and not advance to LCS
When Major League Baseball implemented its current playoff format in 2022, it came with a new benefit for certain teams. The top two seeds in the National and American Leagues would receive a first-round bye, avoiding playing in a best-of-three Wild Card Series.
In theory, the bye was a reward for teams that had a lot of success in the regular season. It meant rest. It meant their season wasn’t on the line in a potential three-game series; a series where there’s very little room for error. The bye was a good thing.
But, in practice, the five-day layoff didn’t appear to be helpful. It appeared to be hurting teams instead. At least that’s what some people believed.
In 2022 and 2023, the Phillies were a wild card team. They had to play in a best-of-three Wild Card Series to advance to a Division Series. After a first-round win in each of those two years, the Phillies went on to face the Braves in the divisional round.
Atlanta was the NL’s No. 2 seed two years ago. In 2023, they were the best team in the NL. Their five-day rest didn’t help them. The Phillies won both Division Series matchups with the Braves in four games.
Braves skipper Brian Snitker publicly stated his displeasure with the new system back in March. He felt it hurt Atlanta’s offense. Not facing pitching in a real-game setting was a bad thing. Hitters’ timing, per Snitker, wasn’t where it needed to be. “…it’s hard to hit velocity when you haven’t seen anything in five days,” said Snitker in an appearance on ‘Foul Territory’.
The Braves weren’t the only team to be “hurt” by the bye. The Dodgers were right there with the Braves in 2022 and 2023. LA had a first-round bye each year and couldn’t advance beyond the NLDS. The AL’s No. 1 seed from a season ago, the Baltimore Orioles, were swept by the eventual World Series champion Texas Rangers in the ALDS. Baltimore had a bye. Texas didn’t.
Between 2022 and 2023, three of eight teams to have earned a first-round bye — the 2022 Houston Astros, 2022 New York Yankees and 2023 Astros — advanced beyond the divisional round. Three of the four pennant winners — the 2022 Phillies, 2023 Arizona Diamondbacks and 2023 Rangers — were wild card teams that didn’t receive a bye.
The numbers suggested teams were being hurt by a five-day layoff more than they were being helped. This year, though, the script was flipped.
The Phillies, the two seed in the NL, were the only team with a first-round bye to not move on to the League Championship Series. All of the Dodgers, Guardians and Yankees waited for five days before starting postseason play. All three won their respective Division Series.
Rob Thomson’s club didn’t make excuses after losing their Division Series matchup against the New York Mets. Yes, the Phillies’ offense didn’t look awake for a large portion of the series. But they had struggled plenty during the second half of the season. Yes, the bullpen — a high-performing group for most of 2024 — imploded. But nobody talked about a layoff. They tipped their cap to the Mets. New York played a better series.
Teams want the first-round bye heading into the playoffs. It’s nice to rest after the grind that is spring training plus a 162-game regular-season schedule played out over 180-something days.
The Phillies wanted a bye this season. They got it. It helped get their roster some rest before the start of postseason play. But they weren’t able to capitalize. It wasn’t because of five days of no real-game action. It was because they didn’t play their best baseball — a theme that carried out at times leading into October.
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