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PHIL has arrived: Phillies move to embrace analytics

The Phillies new proprietary information system has launched as the team takes a big step in catching up in the analytics department.

General manager Matt Klentak said he is currently working with a beta version of the custom-made sabermetrics system. Klentak said the system - aptly named PHIL - is a place for the team to store and manipulate data, including scouting reports, medical information, basic statistics, and "refined, nuances statistical information." The PHIL acronym stands for "Phillies Holistic Information Location."

"Basically it's a place to house all of our information and synthesize it and try to manage it and pool it and bring all together," Klentak said. "That's what PHIL will provide. I'm new to it. I was not involved in the design of it, but I'm getting more and more familiar with it. We're making some tweaks to it to make sure it suits what we're looking to do and what we're hoping to achieve. It's close to its official launch."

The Phillies had long been slow to embrace analytics. ESPN ranked the organization last February as the last team - No. 122 - in the "Great Analytics Race." The report said the organization "did not demonstrate any real faith in the analytic approach." The arrival of Klentak, and team president Andy MacPhail, along with the launch of PHIL could change that.

Phillies partner John Middleton first discussed PHIL in June when the team hired MacPhail. Middleton said the team would "move forward aggressively" in the sabermetrics. Former president Pat Gillick said last season that the team had six people in their analytics department.

"I can assure you as you already probably know that sabermetrics is something of intense interest of the ownership," MacPhail said after he was hired.