Phillies Playoff Performance Should End Any Talk Of Home Crowd Advantage

"Red October." The cauldron of Citizens Bank Park. The incessant onslaught of Philadelphia sports fans. The noise. The atmosphere. The added stress it puts on visiting players.

All of it was supposed to give the Philadelphia Phillies the greatest home field advantage in baseball. Philly fans, the thinking went, just cared more about winning than other fans. Therefore, the crowd noise generated at home games would give the Phillies an insurmountable edge in playoff games.

Well, after losing 4-3 to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 2 of the National League Division Series on Monday night, the Phillies are down 0-2 and their season is on the brink. They were the only team in the four division series matchups to not win a single game at home. They went from securing the all-important bye and the daunting Citizens Bank Park home field advantage to having just a 9 percent to 10 percent chance of advancing to the NLCS. 

And this isn't a one-off; the Phillies have been, without question, the worst home playoff team in Major League Baseball for several postseasons now. Can we end the narratives yet?

Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper. Photo: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Phillies Have Been An Atrocious Home Playoff Team

Over their last six home playoff games, dating back to the 2023 playoffs, the Phillies are just 1-5 at home. With the best crowd-supplied home field advantage in baseball, per national sports media.

In the 2023 NLCS against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Phillies returned home with a 3-2 series lead. They needed to win just one of two games in the intimidating "Red October" environment. Against a significantly worse opponent, no less. Instead, the Phillies lost two straight, getting outscored 9-3 in the process. 

Then in 2024, they won one of two at home against the New York Mets, though the one win came after blowing a 6-4 lead heading into the ninth inning. That series ended with the Mets winning two straight at Citi Field. 

The 2025 NLDS is far from over; Philadelphia still has a powerful, dangerous offense. And if the Phillies can get past Yoshinobu Yamamoto in game three, they'll have Christopher Sanchez looming in game four. But once again, Citizens Bank Park made zero difference in the outcome thus far. The Dodgers came from behind in game one, winning 5-3. Then jumped out to a 4-0 lead in game two. Philadelphia has scored just 18 runs in its last six playoff home games. 

Phillies fans, the self-proclaimed best in baseball, vociferously booed their team throughout the game. Which built to a crescendo of boos raining down when the organization played its closer entrance showcase for Jhoan Duran, despite trailing 4-1. Duran allowed a double and a walk and took 26 pitches to get through the inning.

All this isn't to criticize Philadelphia fans, though they certainly deserve it. It's to point out, once again, that home field advantage doesn't come from crowds. It comes from familiarity. As well as some level of favorable umpiring decisions that generally benefit the home team. Home field advantage in baseball persisted in 2020 when games were played without crowds. There is no evidence that the noise and intensity of a home crowd impacts the on-field results. Because it doesn't. 

Does that mean fans should sit on their hands and stay silent during home playoff games? Of course not. It's part of the fun of the postseason tournament. It makes the games "feel" bigger and more important. It's fun. And maybe there's some small intangible benefit for players who appreciate the support. 

Then again, even Phillies player Alec Bohm admitted after Monday's loss that the intensity created by the crowd could actually make things worse.

Not to mention the questionable logic of noise making during home playoff games. Clapping and getting loud when your team is hitting is supposed to distract the visiting pitcher. But then clapping and getting loud before your pitcher tries to get the visiting hitter to strike out is supposed to distract the hitter. 

The Phillies could come back and win this series in five games, winning the fifth game at Citizens Bank Park. They could go on to win the World Series by never losing at home for the remainder of the playoffs. But that'd be because their pitchers and hitters performed up to their capabilities. Not because the mythical power of crowd friendship helped them.