This is a preview of the Joe Sheehan Baseball Newsletter, an e-mail newsletter about all things baseball, featuring analysis and opinion about the game on and off the field from the perspective of the informed outsider.
You can subscribe to the newsletter for one year for $79.95 using your PayPal account or major credit card.
--
Once again, the Phillies show remarkable year-over-year stability. Their top 11 players by playing time all return, with 93% of last year’s plate appearances still with the Phillies. In fact, eight of the 12 players who batted in the 2022 World Series for the Phillies are still around. John Middleton made some loud noises in November, but in the end, he brought back the team that won 95 games even after its disappointing exit. This team, though, is one of the oldest in the sport, and a window that opened in ’22 is slowly closing.