PHILADELPHIA _ A few minutes before the first pitch of the last game, before the Eagles stole the attention of even those who chose to spend their Sunday at the ballpark instead of in front of their televisions, Rhys Hoskins stepped onto the field and grabbed a microphone.
What followed amounted to an epilogue of a Phillies season that can't be easily summed up.
"Obviously we're a little disappointed with the way that the season has ended," Hoskins said as folks were still filing into their seats. "I'd like to promise you that we will learn from it, we will get better from it, and we will be better and ready when 2019 comes around."
Hold him to it, Phillies fans.
For the record, the Phillies won Game 162, 3-1 over the division-champion Atlanta Braves, and finished with an 80-82 mark, their sixth consecutive losing season but a 14-game improvement over last year. True to form, manager Gabe Kapler made full use of the roster. He deployed eight pitchers, including spot-starting prospect Ranger Suarez, and 12 position players.
How many of them will be back in 2019 is anybody's guess. The Phillies are about to embark on the most fascinating offseason in recent franchise history. Over the next few days, you will hear from general manager Matt Klentak, team president Andy MacPhail and, with any luck, billionaire owner John Middleton, all of whom will draw some conclusions about this season and look ahead to next year.
Beginning on Monday, the spotlight officially shifts to them.
But Game 162 represented one last chance for the players to reflect on a once-promising season that went off the rails over the past seven weeks. On Aug. 7, the Phillies were 15 games over .500 and held a 1 {-game lead over the Braves in the National League East. Since then, they went 16-33 and finished in third place, 11 games behind the Braves.
It wasn't any one thing, Kapler and Klentak keep saying, that caused the collapse. And if anything, they believe the experience of going through a playoff race will steel Hoskins, ace Aaron Nola, and the rest of the young roster for future runs.
The Phillies jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning Sunday on a leadoff home run by Cesar Hernandez and a single by Jose Bautista, who came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Carlos Santana. In all likelihood, Santana will be back next season, the second year of his three-year, $60 million contract. But Bautista? Doubtful. Hernandez? Maybe. Then again, maybe not.
Hoskins drove in the Phillies' final run of the season with an RBI double in the fifth inning. And rookie reliever Seranthony Dominguez recorded the final out by striking out Charlie Culberson to end the game and send the Phillies into the winter.
In thanking the fans for the support, Hoskins said in his pregame address, "We can not wait for 2019. It's going to be exciting."
The next few months should be just as interesting.
