Philadelphia Phillies icon Jimmy Rollins once famously declared his team the “team to beat.” However, Bryce Harper, Zack Wheeler, and the current Phillies may want to steer clear of making a similar statement. With Shohei Ohtani in the mix, the Los Angeles Dodgers are the overwhelming favorites to win the World Series. Both fans and analysts widely expect them to secure back-to-back championships and their third title in six years.
Now serving as a special instructor at Phillies camp, Rollins isn’t interested in hearing about the powerhouse out West. Instead, the 2007 NL MVP has a simple philosophy for how his former team can take down the Dodgers: “Anybody can be beat,” he said. Short and to the point—just the way he likes it.
According to FanDuel Sportsbook, the Dodgers are the clear frontrunners with +240 odds to win the World Series. The Phillies (+950) rank third among National League teams, trailing only the Dodgers and Atlanta Braves (+950). Rollins sees similarities between this Phillies squad and the teams he played on. After winning the 2008 World Series, his Phillies fell short in subsequent years—losing the 2009 Fall Classic, the 2010 NLCS, and the 2011 NLDS.
This current Phillies team has followed a similar trajectory, losing the 2022 World Series, the 2023 NLCS, and the 2024 NLDS. “We reached the top, then came up short every year after that,” Rollins told the Phillies’ official website. “I hope that’s not the case again,” he added. “But their team is more together than ours was.”
If the Phillies hope to claim their first championship in nearly two decades, they’ll likely have to go through Ohtani and the Dodgers. Rollins may be a little biased, but he sounds confident that this Phillies team has what it takes.
