Kyle Schwarber fiddled his glove-encased thumbs in search of the right vibe. Several hours before Game 2 of the World Series, music from a portable speaker echoed through the nearly empty confines of Minute Maid Park. Schwarber controlled the playlist as a few Phillies took early batting practice. He wore his hat backward and his T-shirt sans sleeves. On his shoulder, an eagle spread its wings. He nodded when he found what he wanted: Blink-182’s “Stay Together For The Kids.”

At the plate, one of the kids Schwarber kept together during a steamy, tumultuous summer in Philadelphia was taking his cuts. When Schwarber met rookie outfielder Matt Vierling this spring, the veteran offered his hand. “I didn’t know him,” Vierling said. “He came up and he was like, ‘What’s up, Vier?’” As the season progressed, Vierling utilized Schwarber like a secondary hitting coach, beseeching him for advice, using him to formulate plans. Now Schwarber yelped as Vierling hammered a ball off the left-field signage.

“Oh!” Schwarber said.

MLB

>Stupid money? How the Phillies are proving it's more important to be bold than smart

Vierling cranked another drive.

“Oh!”

Vierling slipped past first baseman Rhys Hoskins and walked outside the cage. Schwarber locked eyes with Vierling and impersonated Mark Hoppus. “We get along, so why can’t they?” sang Schwarber, the rare hulking, hirsute big-leaguer who also took part in high school show choir. The crack of the bat drew his attention. Hoskins had just gone yard.

“Oh yeah!” Schwarber said.

Hoskins soaked in the music as he finished his round. “What a song,” Hoskins said. When “Anthem Part Two” came on, Hoskins air-drummed like Travis Barker as Schwarber smashed line drives.

Indeed. What a time. What a team. At 87-75, the 2022 Philadelphia Phillies won fewer games than any other World Series participant in 16 years. If these fellows harbor guilt about sneaking into the expanded postseason as the National League’s last seed and ransacking the bracket, the group hides it well. Before games, the Phillies cavort with disarming affability, flinging frisbees across the outfield and busting chops near the batting cage. After first pitch, at least in October, the Phillies play with pluck and bravura; the players rarely experience a deficit they do not believe they can shrug and slug their way back from.