Philadelphia Phillies set for Red October, run towards World Series legitimacy

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Well it finally happened.

For the first time in 11 years -- a lifetime for some people, including my 5th grade son -- the Phillies are BACK in the postseason.

It's a feeling we almost forget.

Red October. Baseball that matters with a chill in the air.

Hanging on every pitch.

You have to commend the Phils for finally getting over the hump.

Getting in is definitely reason enough to pop that champagne.

Now they face a three-game series in St. Louis. and they have to win that to give our hometown fans a chance to experience real Postseason baseball.

Since the last time the Phillies got in, everything has changed.

The new format provides more teams a chance to experience the playoffs. But, in my opinion, it lessens the meaning a bit.

I know my opinion may be unpopular, but all the Phillies really are, is a third-place team.

That said, here's where I think this is a huge deal.

I'll never forget being inside the visitor's clubhouse in Colorado back in 2007.

That first time that Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and Jimmy Rollins got over the hump and made the playoffs, only to have it end way too quickly as they were swept in three games.

I remember the sadness in that clubhouse.

I remember the disappointment.

I'm convinced that experience is why the Phillies came back and won the World Series the next season!

If anything, getting a taste of October baseball, which many of them have never experienced, will be exactly what they need to go even farther next year.

To win the Division, instead of a wild card spot.

And listen, the whole point of this extra round is to give more teams a chance and anything can happen in a 3-game series, right?

So maybe it's just the beginning.

But surely, it's just the beginning... for this squad and in the years to come.