Hugh & Joe: This Phillies group feels more 'likable' than 2007-11 teams

The Phillies, fresh off of two straight seasons of making it at least to the NLCS, are off to the best record in baseball, boasting an elite starting rotation with star power like Bryce Harper in the middle of the lineup.

No, the Phils haven’t won a World Series yet, but Joe and Hugh agree that this core Phillies group of the last two-plus seasons already feels more likable than the team from 2007-2011, which won two pennants and the franchise’s last World Series title in 2008.

“This group currently feels a little more likable than that group,” Joe said. “Not that there was anything inherently unlikable about that group. There’s just something about this group that connects differently with the fanbase than the 07-11 teams.”

Hugh agrees, both that this group is more likable and that it is in no way a knock on Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, and the rest of those Phillies teams, but it more praise for the current group and the way it has embraced the city and the fanbase.

“This team, it feels like…these guys are approachable,” Hugh said. “Bryce Harper seems like he’s approachable. I think Bryce Harper really endeared himself to the city.”