<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2uOAci_0vsn0AFA00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2uOAci_0vsn0AFA00" width="840" height="472" ></figure>The Philadelphia Phillies enter the 2024 playoffs amid a swirl of questions. Will the Fightin’ Phils — whose 95 regular season victories ranked second-most in the majors and earned them their first NL East title since 2011 — overcome the heartbreaking defeats that haunted their last postseason runs? Can Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, and Christopher Sánchez maintain their dominance on the mound? Which versions of the notoriously streaky Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner, and Nick Castellanos will we get? And then there is perhaps the most burning question of all: which composers do the 2024 Phillies most resemble? Go Phils!<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4K9MJc_0vsn0AFA00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4K9MJc_0vsn0AFA00" width="840" height="472" ></figure>Kyle SchwarberComposer Comparison: Gustav MahlerLike Mahler’s symphonies, Schwarber’s towering moonshots leave us reliably floored. Next time The Philadelphia Orchestra plays Mahler’s Sixth, we nominate #12 to wield the hammer! <figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3UFyLB_0vsn0AFA00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3UFyLB_0vsn0AFA00" width="840" height="472" ></figure>Johan RojasComposer Comparison: Domenico ScarlattiScarlatti’s 550 keyboard sonatas demand dexterity, finesse, precision, and panache, the exact skills Rojas displays game-after-game patrolling center field.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4IbE5Z_0vsn0AFA00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4IbE5Z_0vsn0AFA00" width="840" height="472" ></figure>Brandon MarshComposer Comparison: Johannes BrahmsFear their beards!<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=32bxBt_0vsn0AFA00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=32bxBt_0vsn0AFA00" width="840" height="472" ></figure>Trea TurnerComposer Comparison: Pyotr Ilyich TchaikovskyBalletic displays of slick fielding at shortstop and a reliable stream of hits at the plate. Like Tchaikovsky, Turner earns every clap of his well-deserved standing ovations!<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2eHdUq_0vsn0AFA00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2eHdUq_0vsn0AFA00" width="840" height="472" ></figure>Garrett StubbsComposer Comparison: Johann Strauss IIThe Phillies backup catcher is the ultimate “vibes guy” and the instigator of all major clubhouse celebrations — few composers bring the party like the “Waltz King,” and his more than 500 waltzes.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4akNPJ_0vsn0AFA00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4akNPJ_0vsn0AFA00" width="840" height="472" ></figure>Bryce HarperComposer Comparison: Ludwig van BeethovenThe fire and passion at the heart of the order. No composer has conjured as many iconic moments in the concert hall, and no player has conjured more iconic Red October moments at the Bank.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1iPFqP_0vsn0AFA00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1iPFqP_0vsn0AFA00" width="840" height="472" ></figure>Alec BohmComposer Comparison: Antonio VivaldiThe Phillies' third baseman has a knack for getting on second. This season he cranked out 44 doubles (4th most in all of baseball!) just as Vivaldi’s dozens of “double” concertos for two soloists lead the way for all composers.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=25sapE_0vsn0AFA00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=25sapE_0vsn0AFA00" width="840" height="472" ></figure>Zack WheelerComposer Comparison: Johann Sebastian BachPeerless in the art of counterpoint in the strike zone.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2qjVRr_0vsn0AFA00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2qjVRr_0vsn0AFA00" width="840" height="472" ></figure>JT RealmutoComposer Comparison: Franz Joseph HaydnSteady, industrious, and loved by all. Like Haydn — the composer of 104 symphonies and 68 string quartets — the Phillies’ backstop is a stalwart of his genre, churning out masterpiece after masterpiece behind the diamond.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4MEfXf_0vsn0AFA00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4MEfXf_0vsn0AFA00" width="840" height="472" ></figure>Nick CastellanosComposer Comparison: Gioacchino RossiniCastellanos leads the league with four walk-off hits this season. Rossini, a similarly feisty character, was notorious for composing the overtures for his operas mere hours before they premiered, another king of coming through in the clutch.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=168OGq_0vsn0AFA00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=168OGq_0vsn0AFA00" width="840" height="472" ></figure>Christopher SȧnchezComposer Comparison: Sergei RachmaninoffPowerful left-handers (yes, Rachmaninoff was a southpaw!) with fearsome technique that makes life exceedingly difficult for all opposing pianists and hitters.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1zDuMt_0vsn0AFA00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1zDuMt_0vsn0AFA00" width="840" height="472" ></figure>Aaron NolaComposer Comparison: George GershwinNola’s patented curveball, one of the best in baseball, glides across hitters’ eyelines with the elegant zip of the most famous glissando in all of classical music, the opening clarinet solo of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. <figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0CiJ5A_0vsn0AFA00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0CiJ5A_0vsn0AFA00" width="840" height="472" ></figure>Matt StrahmComposer Comparison: Igor StravinskyTense, twitchy, and rhythmically irregular, the Phillies’ prized set-up man commands the mound with Rite of Spring-level intensity.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=20Vd3X_0vsn0AFA00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=20Vd3X_0vsn0AFA00" width="840" height="472" ></figure>Orion KerkeringComposer Comparison: Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAt only 23, the precocious righty is the youngest player on the roster. Like the youthful Wolfgang Amadeus, Kerkering’s outstanding talent is still being refined, but certainly not to be underestimated.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4USaAv_0vsn0AFA00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4USaAv_0vsn0AFA00" width="840" height="472" ></figure>Bryson StottComposer Comparison: Giuseppe VerdiStott’s charismatic and debonair presence at second has made him such a fan favorite that crowds at the Bank have taken to belting out his walk-up song — Tai Verdes’ A-OK — at deafening decibel levels. From choruses like Va, Pensiero to arias like La Donna e mobile, Verdi’s tunes are among the most appealing and fun to sing along with in all of opera.</div></body>

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Bats or Batons? The Phillies Roster as Classical Composers

The Philadelphia Phillies enter the 2024 playoffs amid a swirl of questions. Will the Fightin’ Phils — whose 95 regular season victories ranked second-most in the majors and earned them their first NL East title since 2011 — overcome the heartbreaking defeats that haunted their last postseason runs? Can Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, and Christopher Sánchez maintain their dominance on the mound? Which versions of the notoriously streaky Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner, and Nick Castellanos will we get? And then there is perhaps the most burning question of all: which composers do the 2024 Phillies most resemble? Go Phils!

Bats or Batons? The Phillies Roster as Classical Composers

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