The 2022 MLB World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros began on Oct. 28 and lasted until Nov. 5, where the Astros claimed the Commissioner’s Trophy.

The discussion surrounding the World Series, however, focused primarily on the Phillies. The Phillies’ season started poorly when they dropped to a 22-29 record under former manager Joe Girardi, causing the Phillies to make a needed change in leadership. Bench coach Rob Thompson was promoted to head coach on June 3 of this year, which seemed to instantly reanimate the Phillies’ lifeless start.

“We started playing the way we thought we were going to play coming out of spring training,” Thompson said in a press release. “It just sort of all came together, right at that spot. I don’t think it had anything to do with me. It just started to click.”

The Phillies finished the season with an 87-75 record, just barely sneaking into the 6th seed of the National League Championship Series (NLCS) while the Astros rested comfortably in the 1st seed of the Atlantic League Championship Series (ALCS). 

Many fans were rooting against the Astros after their scandalous World Series win in 2017, where they were accused of stealing call signs from the opposing teams they faced on their championship run. This clear violation of the rules put a stain on the Astros franchise. 

“You can’t say it didn’t bother [the team],” Astros owner Jim Crane said of the scandal. “But they worked their way through it and played hard, and you got a result tonight that’s pretty spectacular.”

The Astros and Phillies both dominated on their respective routes to the World Series. One of the biggest contributors to the success of the Phillies in the playoffs was the dedication of right fielder and hitter Bryce Harper, who had a 0.382 batting average, the highest of any active player in the postseason.

“He said ‘We ain’t losing,’” Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins recalled Harper saying . “He’s been saying it since the first day in St. Louis. I think it’s the belief that he has in us. It’s the belief we have in each other.”

The World Series was a back-and-forth affair. The Phillies won game one, but the Astros bounced back quickly with a win in game two. The Phillies then went on to shut out the Astros in game three before the Astros pitched the first ever combined no-hitter in World Series history, leading them to a 5-0 win in game four. The Astros then won a close game five, but became champions once again in a 4-1 victory in game six. Astros manager Dusty Baker attributed their success back to their 2017 scandalous victory.

“I think that’s what drove this team,” Baker said after their victory. “The boos and the jeers that we got all over the country, it bothered these guys, but it also motivated them at the same time.”