Philadelphia traded sweeps with the Los Angeles Dodgers in August and went 13–3 in their last 16 games, taking advantage of a late swoon by the New York Mets for the second year in a row to capture the division crown.

[1] Philadelphia defeated the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLDS, 3–1, and the Dodgers in the NLCS, 4–1, to win the National League pennant and advance to the World Series.

In the World Series, the Phillies defeated the Tampa Bay Rays, 4–1, to win their first championship in 28 years, ending the Curse of Billy Penn.

[6] The Phillies re-signed left-handed relief pitcher J. C. Romero to a new two-year contract[7] after a dominating 2007, in which he struck out 42 batters in 56+1⁄3 innings pitched while posting a 1.92 earned run average.

[8] Outfielder Michael Bourn and right-handed pitcher Geoff Geary were traded to Houston for closer Brad Lidge and infielder Eric Bruntlett on November 7, 2007.

However, the Phillies' first sweep was achieved in dramatic fashion, as the offense broke out for 60 runs in five games, including a 20–5 win over the Colorado Rockies.

[16] Though several fill-in players, including Brad Harman and T. J. Bohn, substituted during Victorino's and Rollins' absence, none was more valuable to the team during May than Jayson Werth.

[26] Ryan Howard broke out of his early-season slump, batting .245 in May, nearly an 80-point increase from his average in April, and hitting ten home runs.

[16] While Hamels and Kyle Kendrick each managed to post a 3–1 record in the rotation,[21][29] the other starters (Moyer, Adam Eaton, and Brett Myers) were not so lucky.

[30][31][32] Myers' poor performance received arguably the most scrutiny, based on management's decision to move him back to the rotation from the bullpen after the 2007 season.

[36] Pat Burrell was also selected as a "Final Vote" candidate,[37] but lost out on the opportunity for his first All-Star appearance to Milwaukee outfielder Corey Hart.

[41][42][43] The Phillies managed to go 7–5 after the All-Star break within their own division, dropping series to the Marlins and Mets, but besting the Braves and sweeping the Nationals.

The Dodgers' sweep in Los Angeles was completed as the Phillies dropped the last game of the series, leaving them out of first place in the division.

However, the Phillies struck back, taking two of three from both the Padres and the Nationals, and completing a revenge sweep of the Dodgers at Citizens Bank Park.

[3] Infielders General manager Coaches Following their four-game sweep of Milwaukee in the beginning of September, the Phillies recorded their first playoff win since their 1993 World Series appearance on October 1, defeating the Brewers in Game 1.

After a beanball and a throw-behind by the Phillies in the previous game and no retaliation from the Dodgers, Los Angeles starter Hiroki Kuroda threw a fastball up and in to Shane Victorino, narrowly missing his head.

This soon escalated to clearing the benches, and the Dodgers rode their momentum to the end of the game, defeating the Phillies 7–2 after posting five runs in the first inning.

In the first decisions of the series for either bullpen, right-handed reliever Ryan Madson got the win for Philadelphia, while Cory Wade suffered the loss for Los Angeles.

Tampa Bay loaded the bases in the bottom of the third inning; however, Upton grounded into an inning-ending double play and the score remained 2–0.

Philadelphia starter Cole Hamels pitched seven innings and allowed only two runs, while Brad Lidge recorded his 47th consecutive save in 2008.

[66] Tampa starter James Shields shut down the Phillies lineup, scattering seven hits and allowing no runs in 5+2⁄3 innings of work.

Chase Utley and Carlos Ruiz also hit home runs for the Phillies, while Carl Crawford and Dioner Navarro contributed a double each for the Rays.

Even with a five-man infield, Ruiz was still able to engineer some late-game heroics, sneaking a dribbling ground ball down the third base line to score Bruntlett.

Roster addition Eric Hinske hit a home run for the Rays, as did left fielder Carl Crawford, his second of the series.

[69] Philadelphia scored in the first inning for the third consecutive game, taking a 2–0 lead when Shane Victorino batted in Chase Utley and Jayson Werth.

Tampa Bay cut the lead in half in the fourth inning; Carlos Peña doubled and was batted in on Evan Longoria's single, both players' first hits of the Series.

In the bottom of the seventh, Pat Burrell led off with a double; Eric Bruntlett entered as a pinch runner and scored on a hit by Pedro Feliz to put the Phillies up by a run again.

[70] The alleged curse of Billy Penn was sometimes used to explain the failure of professional sports teams based in Philadelphia to win championships.

In March 1987, One Liberty Place, a 945-foot (288 m) tall skyscraper, opened three blocks from the 548 ft (167 m) high statue of William Penn atop Philadelphia City Hall.

[92][93] Second baseman Chase Utley also won his third consecutive Silver Slugger Award, given annually to the best hitter in each league at his position.