How the Phillies' miserable decade traces back to a brutal 2011 finish 

Inclined to believe that you guys have been sitting on this video for a couple months, just waiting for the Phillies to be eliminated from playoff contention this season to release it.

As a Phillies fan... this is going to be absolutely brutal. Edit: Nevermind

As a Phillies fan, that 2011 playoff elimination was the harshest thing I've ever seen. Deep down, I knew we wouldn't be back to the playoffs in a long time.

Phillies fans knew watching Ryan Howard in a heap that it was over.

It doesn’t even matter which team it is, I just love the Collapse series.

The ripple effect around baseball was incredible. The Phillies sought to shed payroll in 2012. After trading for the soon-to-be free agent Carlos Beltran at the 2011 trade deadline, the Giants couldn't convince him to sign a new contract. The Phillies, on a fire sale, parted ways with Hunter Pence, and he was the fire for the Giants in winning in 2012 and 2014. Funny how life works.

Rest In Peace Doc His career would've been complete if he won a championship in Philly

Being a middle school/high school kid during the 2007-2011 stretch was incredible; my dad would always tell me how spoiled I was as a fan because I didn't go through the hard times, but now I understand completely. Those teams are even more amazing in retrospect to me now than they were at the time

One year later and they are in the world series!

The Detroit Tigers collapse would make a great one. How Dombrowski and Illitch did everything they could to win but was met with bad luck wrong match ups, and ultimately bad trades.

Man roy deserved a ring that year he threw a perfect game and the no hitter in the post season. Of the best pitching seasons I've ever seen. Rip doc.

The sad thing about the Phillies rebuild is it really didn’t acquire any big prospects from the draft (with the exception of Aaron Nola). In a couple of years, the Phillies started their old crazy spending habits again and they just haven’t been able to build a contender

That Era of the Phillies was an absolute power house team. Howard, Rollins, Utley, Victorino, Werth. Insane team. They could've won more rings than just against the Ray's.

Just when I thought it couldn’t get worse secret base kicks me while I’m down

I wasn’t a Phillies fan but my brother is and so when I was younger I would always root against the Phillies to spite him. But I still remember watching that Howard injury on live TV and even my vindictive younger self couldn’t feel anything but pity.

Philly got two punches in the gut that decade, one is this and then the kawhi shot killing the process

Hats off to the Giants and Royals for being able to figure out how to remain championship contenders while developing their talent, making timely trades and signings that don't disrupt their formula.

As a Phillies Fan, I hate that we've spent a decade in the gutter with absolutely no prospects to show for it and so sad and disappointed that squad didn't win more. But what makes me mad, is that the man who put us here, Ruin Tomorrow Jr, is now one of our analysts and shits on our current players. But hey, we got over .500 for the first time since 2011, so all is good.

As a Phillies fan, this video was both nostalgic and heartbreaking, nostalgic to see all the Phillies players I liked, heartbreaking to relive the past

I'm a Cubs supporter, and I wish I could put this video in front of the eyeballs of every other Cubs fan who is mad about them clearing house this year. There's no guarantee they'll rebuild smoothly, but hanging on to aging stars just for the privilege of watching them decline is what makes this sort of thing happen.

As a Phillies fan I have been asking for this for such a long time. I’m typing this as the ads are still playing having not seen a second of it yet and I know exactly what it’s about. And it’s tragic honestly. 2011 winning 102 games and losing to the Cards in the DS, getting shut out in Game 5 was as painful as it gets. Ryan Howard popping his Achilles on the last AB was purely emblematic of what was to come for this team this past decade. The rosters we had back in 08-11 was simply amazing. The rotation?! My goodness. But 10 years it’s been. I think we have a good shot to be right back these coming years.

Aaaaaaaand we back

This pops up the moment I put my earphones in after leaving work. Secret Base, you are just too good to me

The irony being that by beating the Braves in the final series of the season…..that allowed the Cardinals to make the playoffs 😂

As a Phillies fan, this is hard to watch. But I agree. Oh well, there’s always next season.

This one hurts. The run from 2007 to 2011 was a lot of fun. Even if we came up short more times than not.

Another thing to consider about the Philies' early 2010's meltdown is it literally gave birth to the Giants' even year dynasty. Without fleecing them Pence for Schierholtz and those useless prospects, San Fran doesn't go to the 2012 World Series let alone 2014 as well.

Hey I'm a Mets fan but I remember watching that 11 LDS when Howard grounded out happy they lost but seeing him on the ground like that was really sad. You knew his career would never be the same.

This video hitting different now 🤔 👊 LFG

The Phillies are one of those teams that should be a lot better than what they are but bad decisions & questionable money management are Always causing them to be terrible

Who’s here after the Phillies won the 2022 NL pennant?

As a Phillies fan, this whole collapse has been heartbreaking. That being said, it's not the first time it had happened to the team. After the Phillies made the World Series in 1993, the team invested heavily in their core players. Unfortunately, like the core of the 2008 team, they too were aging and injury prone. Loads of horrible contacts and aging players caused the franchise to be absolutely horrible until the minor league system produced the likes of Rollins and Utley. That wouldn't happen, though, for a good 10 years or so. While the 93 Phillies are still my favorite team, with the likes of Daulton, Eisenreich, Kruk and Schilling, the 94 team could have been even better, if not for the strike shortened season. No team was hurt more than the Phillies and the Expos. The Expos may have had one of the best teams ever in 94, but so did the Phillies. Both teams took loads of time to recover from the strike, especially the Expos, precipitating a move to Washington. The Phillies didn't regain attendance until opening the new ballpark in 2004. They didn't start upping their payroll until 2007, and they didn't get good until their last holdout from the crappy years, Abreu (who was a amazing player himself, and who won a few titles on other teams after being traded), was traded to the Yankees. Sad to see him go, but the trade opened up the floodgates for the younger future stars to make their way up from the minors and get the opportunity to shine. Philadelphia sports fans have always been patient. There are many loud people along for a manager's head after the team plays poorly, but that's anywhere you go. The Eagles have won one Superbowl and only made it to a Super Bowl twice before then. The Flyers have always been pretty good, but haven't crossed into great territory for a bit. The Sixers last made the finals in 2001, but have loads of promise with this core of players. The Phillies were a beacon of hope. They had last won in 1980, and had the miracle season of 93 ended by Joe Carter. The 2008 win was amazing. It was the first championship in Philly since Villanova amazingly won the basketball tournament in 85 and the Sixers won in 83. It meant so much to the city. And the continued success meant so much as well. To see the team decline the way they did, especially after tying up loads of payroll in the core of that team, was devastating. Thank you for reminding me just how badly the Phillies upper management had mismanaged the team over the past decade.

I would love to see a long term breakdown of the organization like you did with the falcons. I am a long term philies fan and the history of the team is something to admire. The struggles the team has gone through, how they where a force in the late 70s and 80s. The build up to the 2008 world series, the fall into what is today. A team that I feel is coming out of a rebuild missing some key pieces but a team that doesn't know what they want. Three seasons ago it was pitching focused down into the bullpen. Into what is now a bullpen with the wors ERA, WAR, AVG Against. Yet we have an team that offensively can put up 5+ runs a game. I would love to see a deep dive into this organization!

I appreciate the decision to show a pic of Amaro that makes it look like he was a guest at Al Capone's nephew's birthday party.

10:01 Thus did Amaro earn the great nickname "Ruin Tomorrow, Jr." And ruined it has been.

As a 5 for 5 Philly sports fan, this kills me. That 2007-2011 run brought some of the most joy I have experienced from my teams. Now some are just happy we finished with a winning record this year. Sad

It's kind of refreshing to see the GM actually regretting his poor decisions at the end of the road when he sees the wreckage. Usually they see the wreckage and assume it was everybody else's fault.

In case there was any question about how badly Amaro did as GM, it should be noted that his next job in baseball was 1st base coach for the Red Sox

Secret Base, I've wanted you to do this video for a LONG time. Thank you so much! And as a loyal Phillies fan, if anyone needs me I'll be sitting on the floor in the corner sobbing uncontrollably. 😢 😿 😭

As a Phillie Fan , This Hurts My Soul

I’ve never so happy and sad at the same time for a video

I remember that 2011 defeat to the Cardinals. I was kind of depressed afterwards because I truly thought that was our best chance. Still waiting to see them go back

Burnett played through an injury that entire 2014 season and bounced back immediately with the Pirates. Even the good transactions have all turned to dust during this decade long hell streak.

Oh man. Going through that championship lineup almost made me cry. That was my childhood

Pssh, I'll take a collapse if it means I get a championship. I legit worry I'll never see the blazers win any thing in my life time.

I have two ideas that I think would make great Collapse episodes: How the 1994 baseball strike killed the Montreal Expos and how a questionable weight jump and a couple bad knockouts derailed the career of Roy Jones Jr

As a Nationals fan, I'm gonna enjoy this and hope that this rebuild works out so we don't get one of these videos in 2027

Ryan Howard's son went to my elementary school... He visited our school a couple times and we played kickball with him. Great memories and a great guy!

I was a little kid going to these Phillies games back in the day. Good times man and I really miss these teams from 2008-11

I dont even care about the phillies, but I love this channel.

Thank you for doing this! I’ve been excited to see this for a while

Thank you so much for uploading Secret Base

It’s kinda of ironic that after this video was uploaded 367 days ago the Phillies would return to the playoffs for first time in since 2011 as a sixth seed to beat the Cardinals in NL Wild Card Series then they beat the defending World Series Champion Braves in the NLDS 3 games to 1 then they beat a fellow Wild Card team in the Padres in the NLCS 4 games to 1 to make the World Series for the first since 2009 where they would lose to the Astros in six games but I’ll tell you what man what a ride that was

Ryan Howard’s injury in the 2011 NLDS was the start of the downfall for the Phillies, and no end seems in sight

I think about this all the time. Such an insane cast of players to fall short in the end. Thank you so much for making this

YES, thank you!!! I've been waiting and asking for this for a while, Awesome vid as usual!!! But fr though, as somone who has grown up with this Phillies team, these guys were my heroes, but nothing hurt more than watching fall apart as the years went by with what should've been a potential dynasty.

I'm a lifelong Phillies fan and I remember watching Howard collapse at the end of that game, I was 11 years old at the time. Howard was my favorite player and seeing that on top of them losing was the worst baseball moment ever for me.

When you look at their 2011 roster, mostly every key player was over 30. Recipe for collapse

They finally did it! Thank you! I’ve been wanting this for so long now.

Please release more of these! The ‘Collapse’ series is always a fantastic watch. Don’t care which sport or team, I’m watching every single time

As a Braves fan, I’m going to enjoy this but I’m also scared there will eventually be a video for these past Braves teams

That carpenter halladay game was so good. One of the best pitched playoff games overall ever

Hallelujah! Thank You So Much, Seth & The Rest Of Secret Base! U Guys R The Best! 👍🏻👍🏻

I cant watch the Ryan Howard clip without wanting to cry. He will forever and always be my favorite player and it breaks my heart every time

There should have been 10 minutes dedicated to Dom Brown's one great month.

very painful as a Phillies fan. They won in '08 with a solid but not as deep (compared with '11) of a starting rotation led by Hamels, a lights out bullpen with Madsen/Romero/Lidge, and great offense. In 2011, they had the starting pitching, but the offense was no longer there. Even before Howard's injury, his numbers were dropping off. He struck out on a lot of breaking stuff outside and the shift killed him. He was far from the player of his MVP season.

Growing up outside of Philly, I vividly remember going to endless games with me, my brother and father during this time period... This segment is going to hit home, thank you secret base.

Thank you for bringing this series back

This hurt a lot, but at the end of the day, I’m glad we got some Phillies content

And just over a year after this video was uploaded, the Phillies have clinched a playoff berth. Obviously the third WC spot provided some extra help, but all that really matters is that they FINALLY made it back to the Postseason!

been waiting for a long time for you guys to do this

I was waiting for this! rough season with a rough end of the season with not much of a bright future but some to build on around bryce, happy for ranger and rotoe. Great video

This is so perfectly timed

Whos here after they won the NL

Having experienced the same catastrophic injury to my leg that Howard did, I totally sympathize. That injury is no joke! The fact that he never came back 100% doesn't surprise me. I ruptured my Achilles' tendon in 2016, and here we are near the end of 2022, and I still feel it! If it hasn't fully healed by now, I doubt it ever will. I can still walk just fine, but jogging and doing other athletic things are problematic, and I'd rather die than get this injury again. The pain was unbearable, and the post-surgery recovery was excruciating. As I say to everyone about this injury, pray it never happens to you.

Been waiting for this vid a while great job

Long story short: Signing Harper doesn’t and won’t help Phillies returning to the peak.

“Brutal Decade” Mariners Fans, noose around neck: First time?

Been waiting for this

How do y’all consistently put out the best sports videos? Great work. Nobody does it better on RU-vid. 👍🏻

The most dangerous thing you can say… …2-1 lead against the Cardinals. The St. Louis Cardinals, year after year after year after year are the most dangerously consistent team in baseball.

That's "Mac's favorite player, Chase Utley," good sir!

As a Braves fan… this is tremendous piece of journalism. Well done. Can’t wait for the sequel.

Love watching this in Atlanta a few days after we clinched a playoffs spot

Speaking of Philadelphia, the next collapse needs to be about the Eagles after winning the Super Bowl. They imploded almost immediately and have crashed and burned quickly.

OMG COLLAPSE IS BACK!! YAY!! If you don’t do the 2010-2011 Rangers, I will personally do a video myself on them. LOL.

YES I HAVE BEEN ASKING FOR THIS ONE FOR YEARS

I’ve been waiting for this for a long time.

Being a Phillies fan is to know pain. My dad told me stories about how the Phillies flopped in his childhood ('64 in particular). They are also the first professional sports team to hit 10,000 losses. At least they lead in something...

a phillies documentary would be cool

I really love these collapse videos. Please try to do more of them.

Please keep this series going!

Roy Halladays 2010 No hitter against the Reds needs a Deep rewind

Just a 1985 Bears collapse Something like: How the 15-1 Bears failed to reach the Super Bowl after several playoff failures

Been waiting on this for a while.

I been waiting for this moment all my life

Hey at least Philly fans who are alive have the 2008 World Series and Super Bowl 52 this century so there’s that.

I am once again asking for the 2012 Detroit Tigers. That team was stacked both in the hitters lineup and pitching lineup but failed to get a ring. I think they’d be really interesting to do a Collapse on.

Growing up in a split Yankees-Phillies house, that '09 series was beautiful. I was an A-rod fan too and his HR that hit the camera was the cherry on top

You forgot one key element. The shift came into play and as well as injury took its toll on that vaunted phillies offense .