Jonathan Papelbon says 2012 Phillies were ‘the best team I played for’ – NBC Sports Philadelphia

Jonathan Papelbon is one of the best closers in baseball history. The six-time All-Star ranks tenth all-time with 368 career saves, and won a World Series with the Red Sox back in 2007. 

He played on some very good teams. But his answer to one question came as a bit of a surprise when he appeared on the Live BP Show podcast for WEEI in Boston.

“The best team I played on was the first team I got in Philadelphia [in 2012]. By far, as far as players go. Now, the best team, and the ability to come together and get a win despite everything was obviously the 2007 [Red Sox] team [that won the World Series].”

“We didn’t all get along, but we didn’t care, we all had a common goal. But in Philadelphia, we didn’t all have that common goal. But I had Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Cole Hamels, myself, I mean, there’s like, eight Hall of Famers right there! I was like ‘I’m about to go win me three or four more championships! And it’s gonna be cake!’”

“And then Utley plays, like [83] games. Ryan Howard is still coming back from his torn Achilles. It was like ‘Oh, crap’. I mean, they were in [the playoffs] just like [the Red Sox]. But, what’re you gonna do?”

His point is a fair one. On paper, the 2012 Phillies were still pretty loaded, albeit long in the tooth. In addition to the players he mentioned, they also had Jimmy Rollins (how do you forget JRoll?!?), Carlos Ruiz, Juan Pierre, Shane Victorino, and Hunter Pence. 

But Pence was the youngest regular starter at the age of 29, and the injury bug bit the team early and often. Halladay, as well as he pitched for the Phillies prior to that season, was a shell of himself. The bench on the roster that top-heavy couldn’t carry them very far. The 2012 Phillies finished 81-81, 17 games behind the Nationals.

But it’s wild to consider that a guy who won the 2007 World Series with the team that was pretty stocked – David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Jason Varitek, Mike Lowell, Josh Beckett, and Curt Schilling – thought the 2012 Phillies was the best team he had ever played with.

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