Phillies 1993 World Series Player Sees Similarities With 2022 Team

PHILADELPHIA, PA —The man knows a lot about this Philadelphia Phillies World Series team.

In fact, if you held up a mirror, Mickey Morandini would see an image similar to his 1993 World Series team.

Those guys —picked in most sports publications to finish dead last —had a cast of characters that are now known in Phillies lore forever: Dutch, Nails, Inky, Eisey, the Krukker, Dave Hollins, Danny Jackson and Mitch "The Wild Thing" Williams. And then there was Mickey.

"I remember 1993 like it was yesterday," the former Phillies second baseman and now team ambassador told Patch in a phone interview Tuesday. "We had really good, solid players and got off to a fast start."

That's where the 1993 team and this version playing the Houston Astros Friday don't match.

But Morandini credits Manager Rob Thomson with stabilizing the team when he took over mid-season by writing out the same lineup card daily and stacking the back end of the bullpen so everyone knew their roles.

Morandini believes that —like his 1993 Phillies —this team plays hard and plays smart and has a good balance of young players like Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott, older players like Aaron Nola and Rhys Hoskins and leaders like Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber.

"They have the chemistry. And winning breeds chemistry," Morandini said. "They're pulling for each other and they get along with each other. They don't care who the hero is. They've put it all together."

Morandini believes the manager is "pushing the right buttons" during game situations, like using starter Ranger Saurez to close out the NLCS win against the San Diego Padres.

He expects Citizens Bank Park to be even more "electric" than it was against the Padres.

"This team is scrappy and they feed off the energy of the crowd," he said. "I don't think teams coming in realize that."

While the 1993 team lost the World Series to the Toronto Blue Jays, Morandini —while stating that it will be a tough series —believes these Phillies are going to add to the championships of 1980 and 2008.

"I think we're going to shock some people," he said. "We're going to win in 6."