Friday August.24/2012

Note from Chuck Booth:  I am attempting to bring the history for each of the 30 MLB Franchises into a 5 part series that will focus on 1. The teams history.  2. The hitters 3. The pitchers.  4. The Teams Payroll going into 2013 and 5.The Ball Park that they play in. (The stadium articles will all be done next summer when I go to all of the parks in under a month again.)  Be sure to check my author page with a list of all of my archived articles here.

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024–The Phillies have had an incredible run in the last decade of baseball.  Most of that time has been spent at Citizens Bank Ball Park which is a very hitter-friendly park.  The management was smart enough to draft a whole bunch of offensive talent like Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Pat Burrell, Scott Rolen, Jimmy Rollins and even J.D Drew(who never signed in 1997 with the Phillies and went back into the 1998 draft.)  They also traded Scott Rolen for Placido Polanco.  These guys have all taken advantage of the new baseball cathedral.  Ryan Howard leads all active players in HRs per AB in the Major Leagues with hitting a HR per just a little over 13 AB.  There is still a long way to go to chase down Michael Jack Schmidt.  His 548 Career HRs and 1595 RBI  lead the ALL-Time totals on the Phillies by quite a big margin.

Criteria for being put on this list was quite simple.  You had to be a player of significance on the Franchise.   Great watermarks are: 1000 hits, 100 HRs, 1000 games, if you led the league in any category for a few seasons or batted .285 or higher for the duration of your time.  This is what I was looking for to include the players on the list.  It has taken me a lengthy period of time to siphon through 130 years of baseball to bring you this list.  From Ed Delahanty and Billy Hamilton, to Richie Ashburn and Dick Allen, to Mike Schmidt and Greg Luzinki, to Von Hayes, to John Kruk and Lenny Dykstra, to Bobby Abreu and Scott Rolen-to finally get us to the gentlemen aforementioned in the first paragraph.  I want this study to be as interactive as I can with the readers.  If you feel that there is someone worthy of being included in the list for hitters, please feel free to comment or send me an email to booth7629@gmail.com.  I would be glad to edit this post and add to it.  After all, if you are reading this, chances are you are a Phillies fan, I am just a baseball historian.

For Part 1 of The 4 Part Phillies Article Series:  The Franchise- click here

For Part 3 of  The 4 Part Phillies Article Series:  The Pitchers- click here

For Part 4 of the Phillies Article Series:  Team Payroll and Contractual Statuses click here

Ryan Howard Highlight reel

Mike Schmidt still holds the Major League Record for Career HRs by a 3B (548), and Career HRs by a player that just played for just one franchise. Mike Schmidt leads the Team in History for almost all offensive categories including: G, AB, R, HR, H, HR and RBI.

The Early Years 1883-1948:

Jack Clements 1884-1897  .289  70 HRs 636 RBI:  Jack Clements was the teams 1st real great player.  Clements spent time as a catcher and an outfielder.  In 1895, Clements hit .394 and had an OPS of 1.050.  He had a year before that in 1894 where he hit .351 and in 1896 he hit .359.

Ed Delahanty 1888-1901  .348  101 HRs  1466 RBI:  Delahanty was the first real basher for the Phillies organization.  He led the National League in HRs on 2 different occasions and in RBI 3 different times.  He would also led in Slugging Percentage and in doubles in 4 separate years apiece.   He was inducted to the BBHOF as a Phillie in 1945 by the Veterans Committee.  Tragically, Delahanty died at age 35 when he was swept over the Niagara Falls in 1903, when he was a member of the Washington Senators. 

Sam Thompson 1889-1898 .334  95 HRs 963 RBI: With Sam Thompson, Ed Delahanty and Billy Hamilton, the Phillies had the best OF ever in the history of the MLB from 1890-1895.  Thompson was an RBI machine and he still holds the record of RBI/per gms played in MLB with a .923 clip.  Thompson would lead the NL in RBI on 2 different seasons including a Major League Record 165 in 1895.  It took until Babe Ruth had 177 RBI to break it in 1921.  In 1894, Sam Thompson led the NL with a .415 Batting Average. Delahanty (.407) and Hamilton (.404) both joined him over .400.  Thompson finished his career in 2nd place for ALL-Time HRs with 126, (second to Roger Connor’s 138, who Ruth so incredibly destroyed for the new mark of 714 HRs when he retired.)  Thompson was inducted into the BBHOF in 1974 by the Veterans Committee.

Billy Hamilton 1890-1895  .360  23 HRs 370 RBI 510 SB:  Long before the newest 21st Century Billy Hamilton, there was a 19th century speedster named ‘B-HAM’.  Hamilton swiped over 100 bases three times for the club and his 198 runs scored in 1894 is still the Major League Record for a single season, even though it was done in just 132 games.  Hamilton hit .403 that year.  He was the ALL-Time Stolen Base Leader when he retired and it held until Lou Brock beat it  (Technically MLB did not let his 912 SB hold up as the ALL-Time Lead, citing Ty Cobb’s record of 892 as the official record to break.  It was hard to keep exact track of how a stolen was determined back then.)  Hamilton was inducted into the BBHOF in 1961 by the Veterans Committee.  His 914 SB is still good for 3rd all time in the MLB behind Lou Brock 938 and Rickey Henderson 1406.   Hamilton is in 6th place ALL-Time with a .344 lifetime batting average.

Nap Lajoie 1896-1900  .345  32 HRs 458 RBI: Nap Lajoie was a Baseball Hall of Famer.  He played for the Phillies for 5 years before he jumped over to the American League because of a salary cap restriction on the National League players.  Lajoie had 458 RBI in 492 games for the Phillies.  He later would go onto hit .421 in 1901 for the Philadelphia A’s (American League Record), second only to Rogers Hornsby hitting .424 for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1924  in MLB History for one single season.

Sherwood Magee 1904-1914  .299  75 HRs 886 RBI:  Sherry Magee was an RBI machine for the big club with 886 RBI in 5505 Career AB with Philadelphia.  Magee led the NL in runs hits, BA, OBP, RBI, SLG and OPS in 1910.  He had a similar season to this in his last campaign with the Phillies  in 1914.  He still ranks 7th on the ALL-Time team list for RBI.

Gavvy Cravath 1912-1920  .288  118 HRs 685 RBI:  Gravath was a 6 time HR Champ for the Philadelphia Phillies and was part of the 1915 World Series team that lost to the Boston Red Sox.  He set a Major League Record with 4 doubles in a game during the 1915 season.  Cravath hit 92 of his 119 Career HRs at ‘The Baker Bowl’ .  When he retired, he was 4th on the MLB ALL-Time HR List.

CY Williams 1918-1930  .306 217 HRs 795 RBI:  Cy Williams broke all the HR Records for the Phillies.  Williams led the league in HRs 3 times for the Phillies and 4 times overall in his career.  In MLB History, he is regarded as the first player that the opposition would have three fielders on one side of the base for while at bat.  Often referred to now as the  “Ted Williams Shift.”

Freddy Leach 1923-1928  .312   44 HRs 301 RBI: Freddy Leach hit over .300 in each of his 3 full years that he played with the Phillies.  

Pinky Whitney 1928-1933, 1936-1939 .307  69 HRs 734 RBI:  Pinky still sits in 10th overall for the team’s ALL-Time  batting average.  Whitney had 4-100 RBI seasons and 2 years with 200 hits for the club.

Don Hurst 1928-1934 .303  112 HRs 598 RBI:  Don Hurst and Chuck Klein were a lethal 1-2 power hitting combination for the Phillies back in this time period.  Hurst hit over. 300 in 4 of his years with Philadelphia and he led the league in RBI with 143 in 1932.

Chuck Klein 1928-1933, 1936-1939, 1940-1944  .326  243 HRs 983 RBI: In three separate stints with the club, Klein was a constant threat to go deep with HRs.  In 1932, he was the NL MVP batting .348 with 38 HRs and 137 RBI, however that was not his best year.  In 1930, Klein hit .386 with 40 HRs and 170 RBI, with 9 triples and an NL Leading 59 doubles for 107 Extra Base Hits (This is tied for 3rd ALL-Time for 1 single season.) Klein finished runner up in MVP voting in 1930 and 1932.  He had 4 HR crowns, led the league in runs 3 times, hits twice, RBI twice, SLG 3 times and even swiped 20 Bases in 1932 to lead the NL.  His stretch from 1929-1933 (5 yrs) he had 1118 hits, 180 HRs, 232 2B 693 RBI and .359 AVG and nearly 2000 Total Bases.  This might be one of the greatest hitting periods of all time.  Klein is permanently honored as a name amongst the retired numbers in Philadelphia.

Lefty O’Doul 1929-1930  .391 54 HRs 214 RBI:  In 1929, Lefty O’Doul had one of the best offensive years in the history of the National League  batting .398 with 254 hits (he is still tied for the NL Record with Bill Terry who did it the next year), 32 HRs , 122 RBI and 152 Runs. His hits total broke the previous National League record of 250 set by Rogers Hornsby of the 1922 St. Louis Cardinals.  O’Doul success made him impossible to sign so the Phillies management traded him as they always did from 1918-1948.  O’Doul was a converted pitcher and had a .349 career average in 970 Games at the plate as a hitter.

Spud Davis 1929-1933, 1938-1939  .321 53 HRs 363 RBI:  Davis was a great hitting catcher and had 6 straight seasons of .300 or higher with his best year at .349 in 1933. 

Dolph Camilli 1934-1937  .295  92 HRs 333 RBI:  In just 540 games Camilli amassed those totals beside his name at the beginning of this sentence.  He slugged .510 for his Phillies career.  Dolph Camilli led the league in OBP during the 1937 season.  He would later go on to win a NL MVP with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1941 with 34 HRs and 120 RBI.

Andy Seminick 1943-1952 ,1955-1957  .244 123 HRs 411 RBI .351 OBP:  Seminick was a catcher for the club for a greater part of 12 different seasons. including the 1950 year in which the club went to the World Series and lost to the powerhouse New York Yankees.  Seminick had back to back 24 HR years in 1949 and 1950 and had his only ALL-Star Appearance was in 1949.

The Ashburn Days 1948-1959: 

Del Ennis 1946-1956  .286  259 HRs 1124 RBI: Ennis played for 11 years and is 3rd ALL-Time in HRs and RBI on the club.  Del had 6-100 RBI seasons with the club.  He has his name on the Phillies Wall of Fame.  In the 1950 World Series Year, Ennis led the league with 124 RBI. Ennis also posted 32 HRs.  He had 8-20+ HR seasons  as well.

Richie Ashburn 1948-1959  .311 22 HRs 499 RBI 2213 Hits:  Richie Ashburn was one of the best contact hitters of his era. As a Center Fielder with little HR Power, Ashburn made up for it with Walks, Speed and a lot of hits.  Ashburn led the NL in hits 3x, Batting Avg 2x, Triples 2x, Walks 3x and OBP 3x.  Ashburn was a 5 time ALL-Star for the Phillies.  His .311 average is the highest for the Phils since 1948.  Richie had 1875 hits in the 1950’s and was inducted into the BBHOF in 1995 by the Veterans Committee.  Ashburn announced for the club for a 27 year stint, (mostly with Harry Kalas.)

Willie Jones 1947-1959  .258  180 HRs 753 RBI 1400 Hits:  Jones  was a solid power hitter/RBI guy for the club during these 13 years.  Jones was a 2 time ALL-Star.  Just like the other players, Jones had the best year of his career for the 1950 Pennant winning Phillies with 25 HRs and 88 RBI.

Stan Lopata 1948-1958  .257  118 HRs 397 RBI:  Stan Lopata was a part time player before he had back to back ALL-Star years in 1955 and 1956.  He has 22 HRs in 99 Games during the 1955 year-and 32 HRs in 146 Games in 1956.  Lopata added 95 RBI and 33 doubles in 1955. 

1960-69 The Lean Years-Post Ashburn /Collapse of 64:

Dick Allen 1963-69, 1975-76  .290  204 HRs  655 RBI: Dick Allen was the Rookie of the Year in 1964 with a .318 AVG, in leading the league with 125 Runs, 13 triples and 352 Total Bases.  Allen also hit 29 HRs and added 91 RBI.  Allen would have 3 straight ALL-Star Appearances from 1965-1967, where he led the league in OPS during the 1966 and 1967 Years.  After he left Philadelphia, he won an AL MVP with the Chicago White Sox in 1972 and made 4 more ALL-Star Teams.  Allen’s OPS with the Phillies was .902 for his time there.  Allen is part of the Phillies Wall of Fame.

Tony Gonzalez 1960-1968  .295  77 HRs 438 RBI:  Tony Gonzalez had a great 9 year career, where he had an average of .300 or better in 3 of those years.  In 1962, He had a career high 20 HRs.  

Johnny Callison 1960-1969  .271  185 HRs  666 RBI:  Johnny Callison had 3 ALL-Star Years and led the league in triples 2x and doubles once.  Callison finished the runner-up for the NL MVP Award in 1964 with his .274 AVG and hit 31 HRs, while driving  in 104 RBI.  In 1965, Callison added another 72 extra base hits and 101 RBI.  

Tony Taylor 1961-1971  .261  51 HRs 461 RBI 1511 Hits:  Taylor played First, Second and Third Base for the club and sits in 5th place on the ALL-Time games list with 1669 Games Played.  

Early Veterans Stadium Days 1970-1983:

Larry Bowa 1970-1981  .264  421 RBI 1798 Hits:  Bowa was a 5 time ALL-Star and was one of the best defensive shortstops of his generation.  He was part of the 1980 World Series team.  He would come back to manage the team in 2001 and was fired with 2 games left in the 2004 season after a couple of 2nd place finishes.  Bowa won 2 Gold Gloves and finished 3rd in MVP voting for the 1978 season.  It was a year he hit .294 with a career-high of 192 hits.  Bowa is 4th in Games played for the Franchise, and is in 6th for All-Time Hits.

Greg Luzinki 1970-1980  .281  223 HRs 811 RBI:  Greg had 204 HRs in 9 years during the 1970’s decade.  He was a 4 time ALL-Star and finished in the top 10 for MVP voting every year from 1975-1978.  Luzinski led the NL in 1980 with 120 RBI.  Luzinski also was part of 4 NLCS teams and added 5 HRs in 82 playoff AB.  Luzinski had 3 -30 HRs/100 RBI seasons.  Greg also led the  NL in HBP 3x.

Mike Schmidt 1972-1989 .267  548 HRs 1595 RBI: Mike Schmidt led the NL in HRs on 7 separate occasions and was a 3 time NL MVP.  The Phillies won the World Series in 1980 and made another appearance in the 1983 Fall Classic.  Schmidt also racked up 12 ALL-Star Appearances and 11 Gold Gloves. Mike Schmidt’s 548 HRs is the most ever for a guy that only played for one Franchise.  Mike Schmidt also led the NL in Slugging and OPS 5 times each.  Schmidt is also a 6 time Silver Slugger Award Winner.  His HRs are also the most ever by a third baseman in MLB History.  He was inducted in the BBHOF in 1995.  His number 20 is permanently retired by the club.

Bob Boone 1972-1981  .259  65 HRs 456 RBI:  Bob Boone cracked the Phillies as a regular in the 1973 season and finished 3rd in the Rookie of the Year Voting.  Bob  Boone hit .311 for his career in 8 Playoff Series.  Bob Boone won 2 Gold Gloves for the Phillies and was a 2nd generation catcher.  His Dad Ray also played in the MLB.  His sons Brett and Aaron also had productive careers later in the MLB.  Boone won 4 more Gold Gloves after he left the Phillies.  When Boone retired from the MLB, he was the ALL-Time Leader in Games caught for the MLB.  Bob Boone made the centennial team for the clubs first 100 years as the team’s best catcher. 

Gary Maddox 1975-1986  .284 85 HRs 566 RBI:   He was known as the “Secretary of Defense” and racked up 8 straight Gold Gloves for the Phillies from 1975-1982.  Both Maddox and Schmidt were part of 6 Pennant Winners and 2 World Series Appearances.  Gary Maddox had a career year in 1976 with a .330 Average and placed 5th in NL MVP Voting.

Pete Rose   1979-1983   .291  255 RBI 826 Hits:  Pete Rose was the missing ingredient to what the Philadelphia Phillies lacked as a team.  The club had won 3 division titles in a row from 1976-1978 only to lose out to the Dodgers in 1977 and 1978, and of course Pete Rose and ‘The Big Red Machine” in 1976.  Rose had his 10th and final 200-hit season in 1979 for the club, while hitting .331 and leading the league in OBP (.418) as a 38 year old.  He also made the ALL-Star Game and would do so in the next 3 years as well for the Phillies.  In 1980, the Phillies 1b would led the league in doubles.  Rose hit .326 for the World Series winning Phillies during that postseason run.  He came back in the strike shortened year to lead the MLB with 140 hits in 107 games and bat .325 as a 40 year old.  In the 1983 Postseason, and amidst some benching from the Manager Paul Owens, Rose cranked out another 11 hits in 32 AB for a .344 Avg, however he argued with the manager and was released after the World Series Loss to the Baltimore Orioles.  Rose played a total of 745 games for the club.  Rose was voted to the 100 year ALL-Centennial team for the Phillies as their best ever first baseman.

Veterans Stadium Days 1984-1993: 

Juan Samuel 1983-1989  .263  100 HRs 410 RBI:  Juan Samuel was a multi-talented player for the Phillies by the time he was a regular in 1984.  He had a combination of speed, power and versatility to play any of the outfield and infield positions.  Samuel stole 72 bases a rookie in 1984 to finish second in Rookie of the Year Voting,  Samuel had double digits for HRs, Triples and Doubles from 1984-1987 and led the League in triples 2x and AB 2x.  Unfortunately, he also led the league in strikeouts those 4 years in a row.  In 7 years with the club, Samuel amassed 249 Stolen Bases, 71 Triples and 176 Doubles.  He was a a great top of the order guy.  Samuel is on the Philles Wall of Fame and was a 3 Time ALL-Star for them.  He was part of the trade that brought back Lenny Dykstra from the New York Mets in 1989.

Von Hayes 1983-1991  .274  124 HRs 568 RBI: Von Hayes was a steady player for the Phillies in their outfield for 9 years and racked up 1173 hits.  His best year came in 1986, where he led the NL in doubles with 46 and runs with 107.  He finished 8th in MVP Voting.  Hayes also made the ALL-Star team in 1989 for his only time as a pro.

Darren Daulton 1983-1997:  .245  134 HRs 567 RBI:  Darren Daulton made his debut in 1983 and stayed with the ball club until he was traded away to the eventual World Series Winning Florida Marlins in 1997.  He retired right after that.  Daulton was a part-time player until 1989.  He didn’t really break out until 1992 where he hit 27 HRs and had a NL Best 109 RBI. That year he finished 6th in MVP Voting and was an ALL-Star for the first time.  Daulton nearly duplicated his numbers the next year with 24 HRs and 105 RBI.  He was a big reason the team won the NL East and went to the World Series before losing to the Blue Jays in 1993.  This time Daulton finished 7th in MVP voting.  He made his 3rd ALL-Star Appearance in 1996 and plated 55 RBI in just 98 games that year.  His knees held out just long enough to win a World Series Trophy.  Daulton is a member of the Phillies Wall of Fame.

Lenny Dykstra 1989-1996  .289  51 HRs 251 RBI:  Dykstra came into prominence as an everyday player for the club in the 1990 season, where he led the NL in hits with 192 and OBP avg (.418).  Dykstra also scored 106 runs.  Dykstra spent 1991 and 1992 partially hurt before coming back for an incredible year for a lead off spot amongst his NL Peers in 1993.  Amongst the 5 stats he led the league in were: PA, AB, Runs with 143, Walks with 129 and hits with 194.  Lenny made his second ALL-Star squad and won a Silver Slugger Award at the end of the year.  Dykstra also finished 2nd in MVP voting.  Dykstra continued his torrid pace in the 1993 playoffs, where he hit .313 with 6 HRs, drove in 10 RBI and scored 14 runs in just 12 games.  Dykstra has a a career slugging pctg of .661 in the playoffs to go along with his .321 BA and .432 OBP-for an 1.094 OPS.  Dykstra made ALL-Star Appearances in both 1994 and 1995, however injuries had slowed him down.  Dykstra did not play another game in the MLB after 1996.  The man also had 3-30 SB seasons for the club and is on their Wall of Fame.

John Kruk 1989-1994  .309  62 HRs 390 RBI:  John Kruk was a professional hitter as his .300 Career Avg clearly attests too. The big burly first baseman had his best seasons in Philly.  From 1991-1993, Kruk made three straight ALL-Star Games including that memorable AB versus Mariners Pitcher Randy Johnson.  In the 1993 year, Kruk hit .316 and drove in 85 RBI, while scoring 100 runs himself.  In the 1993 playoffs, he would  hit .298 with 9 RBI and 11 Walks in 12 Games.  Kruk also survived testicular cancer and is on the Phillies Wall of Fame. He is now a great baseball analyst at ESPN.

Veterans Stadium  Days 1994-2003:

Mike Lieberthal 1994-2006  .275  150 HRs 609 RBI:  Lieberthal was one of the better hitting catchers in the NL during his era.  He made back to back ALL-Star Games in 1999 and 2000.  His best year was in 1999, where he hit .300 with 31 HRs and drove in 96 RBI in 510 AB.  He also won the Gold Glove that year.  Lieberthal also made it to the Phillies Wall of Fame, and may be their best offensive catcher of all time.

Scott Rolen 1996-2002  .282  150 HRs 559 RBI:  Scott Rolen came into the MLB as one of the bigger hyped prospects in the MLB and he delivered to the Phillies fans with 21 HRs and 92 RBI en route to a Rookie of the Year Award in 1997.  Rolen followed up in his 2nd year by hitting .290 with 31 HRs and 110 RBI, while scoring a personal best 120 runs.  Rolen also picked up his first of four Gold Gloves with the club.  It seems crazy that Rolen only made one ALL-Star Appearance for the Phillies (he has since made 6 other ALL-Star Games.)  Rolen had a career slugging pctg of .504 for the Phillies.  He was traded for Mike Timlin and Placido Polanco before the 2002 Trade Deadline.

Bobby Abreu 1998-2006 .303  195 HRs 814 RBI 254 SB:  The Phillies stole Abreu in a trade with the Devil Rays for Kevin Stocker.  Abreu was a great 5 tool player for his entire playing time with Philadelphia.  From 1999-2005, Abreu had 7 straight season of 20 HR+/20 SB+ and 2 years where he was 30/30.  In 9 seasons with the club, Bobby had 5-100 RBI seasons and 7 seasons of 100 or more walks.  He also hit 348 doubles and had 1474 hits in 1353 Games.  Abreu made back to back ALL-Star Appearances in 2004 and 2005, including winning the HR Derby at the ‘Mid Summer Classic’ in 2005.  Although not officially retired now, Abreu is not on an active MLB Roster.

 Citizens Bank Ballpark Gang 2004-2012:

Jimmy Rollins 2000-Present  .270  184 HRs 770 RBI 395 SB:  Jimmy Rollins has the longest tenure of any player on the team.  He also has 105 career Triples which puts him with Johnny Damon as the only other MLB Player to have 100 HRs, 100 SB and 100 Triples.  From 2004-2007,  the man had no less than 190 hits and 100 runs, while stealing a minimum of 30 bases.  In 2007, Rollins was the NL MVP with 30 HRs, 28 Doubles and 20 Triples.  The man batted .296, while adding 139 runs and 41 Stolen Bases to enter the 30/30 club.  In his 13th season with the club, Rollins has scored 1152 runs.  He had led the NL in Triples on 4 separate occasions. Rollins is a 3 time ALL-Star, 3 time Gold Glover and  a Silver Slugger Award Winner in 2007.  Rollins is in the top 3 of the Franchise for Games, AB, R, 2b and SB.  If he plays out his contract with the Phillies, he has a chance to take out the AB, H and Doubles.

Pat Burrell 2000-2008   .257  251 HRs 827 RBI:  Simply put, Pat Burrell was one of the most prolific homer hitters of the 2001-2010 decade.  he posted 267 HRs in 10 years.  For the Phillies, Burrell hit the 30 HR plateau 4 times.  Pat mixed in 2 -100 RBI seasons.  I am pretty sure that he will be invited back pretty soon to be on the Phillies Wall of Fame.  His best year came in 2002, where he hit 37 HRs and drove in 116 RBI.  His Avg. that year was .282 and he collected 37 Doubles.  His 251 HRs are good for 4th best in Franchise history.

Chase Utley 2003-Present  .288  196 HRs 717 RBI:  I would have thought Chase Utley would have had better career numbers to this point.  This just goes to show that the guy is always clutch when it counts.  In 46 career playoff games, Utley has 10 HRs and 25 RBI.  In the 2009 World Series against the Yankees, Utley had 5 HRs and 8 RBI in just 21 AB.  Chase has been named to the ALL-Star team 5 different years and has won 4 Silver Slugger Awards for the Second Base Position.  From 2005-2008, Utley had 4 straight 100 RBI seasons.  From 2006-2009, Utley scored at least 100 runs or more, including leading the NL with 131 runs in 2006.  I would love to see Utley and Howard both battle back from injury to hit like they did before.  

Jim Thome 2003-2005, 2012  .260  101 HRs 281 RBI:  Jim Thome flat out terrorized pitchers in the Phillies uniform.  He has those 101 HRs in just 390 career games (including pinch-hit appearances.)  Thome hit a HR about every 13.4 AB for the club.  In 2004 and 2005, the big guy had back to back 40 HR seasons with the Phils before a back injury paved the way for Ryan Howard to step in.  He relished this years role of Interleague, where he ripped it up for the fans once more before being traded to the Orioles.

Ryan Howard 2004-Present  .274   294 HRs 888 RBI:  When Jim Thome went down with an injury back in 2005, Ryan Howard hit 22 HRs and 63 RBI in 88 Games to win the Rookie of the Year Award.  He has been clubbing baseballs out of parks with authority since.  He topped his 1st year by hitting 58 HRs and driving in 149 RBI for an MVP Award in 2006.  Howard led the Major Leagues in both categories.  For 6 straight years, the man has finished in the top 10 for MVP voting and hit at least 30 HRs and drove in 100 RBI.  His HRs in Years after the 58  year are: 47, 48, 45, 31 and 33.  After he blew out his Achilles Tendon in last year’s final out for the club, will we ever see him regain his form?  Howard has two Hank Aaron Awards and has led the NL in RBI during 3 different years.  Howard has added 33 RBI in 46 Career Post Season Games.  Howard is the Active leader for HR per AB and sits in 4th place in MLB history behind Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds and Babe Ruth, so that is pretty elite company to be lumped with!

Carlos Ruiz  2006-Present .275  50 HRs 279 RBI:  It is too bad that Ruiz got hurt this year as he was batting .335 and slugging .559 at the time of his injury.  Ruiz has been the primary catcher since the 2007 year.  Coincidentally, the team had won 5 division titles.  Ruiz has finished 17th and 23rd in MVP Voting the last two years respectively.  He has evolved into one of the best offensive catchers in the National League.  ‘Chooch’ made his 1st ALL-Star game this year.  Ruiz has played in 46 playoff games and sports a .353 AVG in 11 World Series Games, including 2 HRs and 5 RBI.

Jayson Werth 2007-2010  .282  95 HRs 300 RBI:  Werth was very productive in Phillies gear.  He slugged .506 in his 543 games in  Philadelphia and added 99 doubles.  Werth led the NL in two-baggers with 46 in 2010.  He finished 8th in MVP voting with scoring 106 runs with 27 HRs, 85 RBI and a .296 AVG.  He made his only ALL-Star Appearance with the team in 2009.  In the 2008 World Series versus the Rays, Werth hit .444 with a HR and 3 RBI.  He hit 2 HRs in the 2009 World Series versus the Yankees as well. 

Honorable mentions go out to:  Manny Trillo, Doug Glanville,  Butch Henline, Mickey Morandini, John Titus, Johnny Moore, Fred Luderus, Elmer Flick, Raul Ibanez, Fresco Thompson, Russ Wrightstone, Lave Cross, Rico Brogna and Placido Polanco.  These guys were all pretty good in their own right!

For Part 1 of The 4 Part Phillies Article Series:  The Franchise- click here

For Part 3 of  The 4 Part Phillies Article Series:  The Pitchers- click here

For Part 4 of the Phillies Article Series:  Team Payroll and Contractual Statuses click here

For the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals Franchise 5 Part Series click here

John Kruk hit .309 and had an OBP of .400 with the Phillies in 744 career games. As one of only a 100  MLB’ers with a lifetime average over .300, he is one of the most underrated hitters of his era.  Since 1948, only Richie Ashburn’s .311 Avg for the Phillies is better.

*** The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of mlbreports.com ***

 ***Thank you to our Lead Baseball Writer- Chuck Booth for preparing today’s feature on MLB reports.  To learn more about “The Fastest 30 Ballgames” and Chuck Booth, you can follow Chuck on Twitter (@ChuckBooth3024) and you can also follow Chuck’s website for his Guinness Book of World Record Bid to see all 30 MLB Park in 23 days click here  or on the 30 MLB Parks in 23 days GWR tracker at the Reports click here. To Purchase or read about “The Fastest 30 Ballgames Book, ” please click here ***

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