Guest Feature from Kevin Lagowski

Septembers to Remember, Septembers to Forget

The 2023 Philadelphia Phillies have put themselves in a nice position as we flip the calendar to September. They basically control their own destiny when it comes to the postseason, with the top wild card spot a very real possibility. There won't be any division race to speak of, since the Braves are so far in front, so that seemingly caps the ceiling on just how good this September can be. Conversely, if the Phillies cede ground in the wild card race and somehow end up missing the playoffs, this month stands to go down in infamy. Reflecting on these possibilities, now is the ideal time to look back at a sampling of Septembers past (in no particular order) that have been truly special for the Phillies and their fans, as well as Septembers that should never be spoken of again (even though we're going to).

Remember
1983 - A sterling 22-7 mark in September, which included an 11-game winning streak, catapulted the Phillies to a 6-game margin of victory in the NL East. John Denny won six games during the month to cement one of the unlikelier Cy Young seasons you’ll ever see. The good times rolled all the way through Game 1 of the World Series, when the Phillies’ bats mysteriously vanished, as they put up a total of seven runs over the next four games en route to a 5-game loss to Baltimore. But that September was good, at least!

Forget

1950 - Not many of us were around for the Whiz Kids’ NL pennant in 1950, so few realize just how close they came to disaster in September. Eddie Sawyer’s club entered the month leading the National League by 7 games, but they proceeded to go 12-16 and held a one-game lead over Brooklyn entering the final game of the season, which was on October 1. Thankfully, Robin Roberts shut down the Dodgers to put an end to that nonsense. Don’t ask how the World Series went.