The Phillies were early contenders for the Wild Card but were unable to overcome injuries to players such as the eight time winner of what?
1999 Philadelphia Phillies season The Phillies were early contenders for the Wild Card, going a season-high 13 games over .500 on August 6 (61–48), but injuries to pitching staff ace Curt Schilling and third baseman Scott Rolen, as well as a struggling bullpen, proved too tough to overcome. In one particularly bad stretch from August 28 to September 14, the Phillies went 1–18.
1980 Philadelphia Phillies season The 1980 Philadelphia Phillies season was a season in American baseball. The team finished with a regular-season record of 91 wins and 71 losses, which was good enough to regain the National League East title by just one game over the Montreal Expos. The Phillies went on to defeat the Houston Astros in the NLCS to gain their first NL title since 1950, then defeated the Kansas City Royals to win their first-ever World Series Championship, in the team's 98th season. The 1980 Phillies were known as "The Cardiac Kids" because of the many close games that were almost blown.