The Mount Rushmore of the Philadelphia Phillies

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Two years ago, Andy did a series on choosing the top 4 players representing each major league franchise. Andy finished the American League teams and had started with some of the National League expansion franchises. Those posts and the voting results can be found here.

Since we’ve now begun a long off-season, I thought it might be fun to finish that series by running through the original NL franchises.

To start, readers are asked to choose the 4 players that best represent the Philadelphia Phillies. No rules other than that. Have fun!

This franchise started as the Philadelphia Quakers in 1883 and has operated in the National League continuously since then. In 1890 the Quakers became the Phillies, a nickname that has remained with the team since, save for the 1943 and 1944 seasons when the team was known as the Blue Jays.

For most of its existence, the Phillies have been a second division club, often failing to reach .500 much less contend. Their first pennant came in 1915, followed by second place finishes the next two years. Then 31 straight seasons finishing no higher than 4th and with only one season above .500 (and that only barely, with a 78-76 record in 1932).

A third place finish in 1949 and a second pennant in 1950 portended better things ahead but the revival was short-lived. They weren’t as bad as in the ’20s and ’30s, but the ’50s and ’60s Phillies were again consigned to the second division with only one finish higher than 4th in the twenty years from 1954 to 1973. That one season, in 1964, was notable for a famous collapse in the final two weeks of the season that saw the Phillies lose 10 straight, surrendering a 6.5 game lead in only a week (Sep 20-27).

Philadelphia’s first sustained stretch as a contending club came from 1975 to 1984 with 10 straight .500 seasons, only once finishing lower than 3rd. Included were 6 post-season appearances, two pennants and a first world championship in 1980. Back in decline after that, the Phillies had just one .500 season from 1987 to 2000 but they made it count with a fifth NL pennant in 1993. More recently, Philadelphia posted 11 of 12 .500 finishes from 2001 to 2012, never finishing lower than 3rd and climaxing with 5 straight post-season appearances from 2007 to 2011, including two more pennants and a second world championship in 2008.

Here are the top 15 Phillies batters, by career WAR:

Rk	Player	WAR	From	To	Age	G	PA	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	Pos
1	Mike Schmidt	106.5	1972	1989	22-39	2404	10062	1506	2234	408	59	548	1595	1507	1883	.267	.380	.527	.908	*53/H64
2	Chase Utley	61.5	2003	2014	24-35	1478	6335	926	1569	334	48	228	886	603	923	.285	.370	.488	.858	*4/H3D
3	Ed Delahanty	60.9	1888	1901	20-33	1557	7141	1368	2214	442	158	87	1288	643	384	.348	.414	.508	.922	*7384/695
4	Richie Ashburn	57.2	1948	1959	21-32	1794	8223	1114	2217	287	97	22	499	946	455	.311	.394	.388	.782	*8/7H9
5	Sherry Magee	47.8	1904	1914	19-29	1521	6312	898	1647	337	127	75	886	546	466	.299	.371	.447	.818	*7/93684
6	Bobby Abreu	47.0	1998	2006	24-32	1353	5885	891	1474	348	42	195	814	947	1078	.303	.416	.513	.928	*9/H8D
7	Jimmy Rollins	45.7	2000	2014	21-35	2090	9511	1325	2306	479	111	216	887	753	1145	.267	.327	.424	.751	*6/HD4
8	Johnny Callison	39.4	1960	1969	21-30	1432	5930	774	1438	265	84	185	666	513	854	.271	.338	.457	.795	*97/H8
9	Roy Thomas	36.5	1899	1911	25-37	1286	5788	923	1364	80	42	6	264	946	454	.295	.421	.334	.755	*8/391
10	Billy Hamilton	36.4	1890	1895	24-29	732	3629	880	1084	126	51	23	370	553	150	.360	.468	.459	.927	*78
11	Dick Allen	35.4	1963	1976	21-34	1070	4511	697	1143	204	64	204	655	517	1023	.290	.371	.530	.902	*537/H684
12	Chuck Klein	34.9	1928	1944	23-39	1405	5772	963	1705	336	64	243	983	471	410	.326	.382	.553	.935	*97H/83
13	Del Ennis	33.8	1946	1956	21-31	1630	6939	891	1812	310	65	259	1124	539	622	.286	.344	.479	.823	*79/H83
14	Gavvy Cravath	30.9	1912	1920	31-39	1104	4238	525	1054	222	72	117	676	503	514	.291	.381	.489	.871	*9/H78
15	Sam Thompson	30.8	1889	1898	29-38	1034	4835	930	1478	275	107	95	963	344	147	.334	.388	.509	.897	*9/783

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 11/4/2014.

And the top 15 pitchers, by career WAR:

Rk	Player	WAR	From	To	Age	G	GS	CG	SHO	W	L	W-L%	IP	BB	SO	ERA	FIP	ERA+
1	Robin Roberts	69.7	1948	1961	21-34	529	472	272	35	234	199	.540	3739.1	718	1871	3.46	3.49	114
2	Steve Carlton	64.6	1972	1986	27-41	499	499	185	39	241	161	.600	3697.1	1252	3031	3.09	3.05	120
3	Pete Alexander	60.3	1911	1930	24-43	338	280	219	61	190	91	.676	2513.2	561	1409	2.18	2.39	140
4	Cole Hamels	40.4	2006	2014	22-30	275	274	13	6	108	83	.565	1801.1	453	1707	3.27	3.48	125
5	Curt Schilling	36.8	1992	2000	25-33	242	226	61	14	101	78	.564	1659.1	415	1554	3.35	3.27	126
6	Chris Short	32.2	1959	1972	21-34	459	301	88	24	132	127	.510	2253.0	762	1585	3.38	3.24	105
7	Jim Bunning	31.4	1964	1971	32-39	226	208	65	23	89	73	.549	1520.2	329	1197	2.93	2.80	122
8	Charlie Buffinton	27.3	1887	1889	26-28	133	127	115	9	77	50	.606	1112.2	272	512	2.89	3.16	131
9	Charlie Ferguson	25.5	1884	1887	21-24	183	170	165	13	99	64	.607	1514.2	290	728	2.67	3.12	120
10	Curt Simmons	24.4	1947	1960	18-31	325	263	109	18	115	110	.511	1939.2	718	1052	3.66	3.45	108
11	Tully Sparks	24.0	1897	1910	22-35	224	198	150	18	95	95	.500	1698.0	374	586	2.48	2.60	109
12	Al Orth	23.4	1895	1901	22-28	193	173	149	14	100	72	.581	1504.2	314	359	3.49	3.55	109
13	Cliff Lee	22.3	2009	2014	30-35	118	118	12	8	48	34	.585	827.1	124	813	2.94	2.85	132
14	Dan Casey	21.9	1886	1889	23-26	142	142	128	11	72	59	.550	1197.2	339	485	2.91	3.50	124
15	Kid Gleason	18.7	1888	1891	21-24	166	143	132	7	78	70	.527	1328.2	482	475	3.39	3.61	105

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 11/4/2014.

Please choose 4 players, or write in your own. Polls are open until midnight Pacific time on Tue, Nov 18th. You can check on results using the link at the bottom of the ballot.

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no statistician but

10 years ago

First to comment—that’s a first, if I hurry.

Can’t do without Schmidt and Roberts, it seems to me. Carlton, too. The other big names, except Ashburn, made as much a mark elsewhere as in Philly. Have to go with the presidential candidate, I think. Three pitchers out of four?

Phil

10 years ago

Schmidt and Carlton, obviously, probably Robin Roberts too. In an odd sort of way, Ryan Howard came to mind next, for reasons both good and bad.

Hartvig

10 years ago

Oh happy day- Mount Rushmore is back. I’ve wondered more than a time or two since we last voted when or even if this was going to happen. I’m not ready to cast my vote just yet. I generally prefer to have a representative sample of players from across the franchises entire timeline but since almost all of their success is centered around a couple of eras (late 70’s/early 80’s and the 00’s) but a few brief blips on the radar in the many years outside of that this is going to be a tough one. I’m mean how do… Read more »

Editor

John Autin

10 years ago

A welcome diversion, Doug! But this was a LOT tougher than it might have been, for the losing-est team in MLB history. I went Schmitty & Lefty, Utley and Ol’ Pete. I felt dirty leaving out Robin Roberts, one of the best 5-year peaks in the live-ball era. (Maybe he can get a “Crazy Horse” monument later on.)

bstar

10 years ago

I went with Schmidt, Carlton, Utley, and Robin Roberts. Alexander only playing seven seasons for Philly was why I left him off. Richie Ashburn was a tougher omission. Utley was my final choice because I don’t think he’s done accumulating WAR.

John

10 years ago

Schmidt and Carlton are gimmes. The other 2 were tougher. Then realized Robert & Klein both won Triple Crowns for lousy teams. There’s my 4.

Alan

10 years ago

Reply to John

Hey, I didn’t quite get this: who was the Robert you referenced here that won the Triple Crown?

Voomo Zanzibar

10 years ago

Reply to Alan

That is a puzzler.
The only other Phillie to win a TC was named Pete.
He won three in a row, but not for lousy teams.

Richard Chester

10 years ago

Reply to Voomo Zanzibar

Perhaps he erroneously thought that Robin Roberts won the pitching TC.

John

10 years ago

Reply to Richard Chester

Ya got me. I erroneously thought Robin Roberts did. He’d’ve won 300 games if he’d pitched for better teams.

Alan

10 years ago

Reply to Richard Chester

Well, I voted for Roberts in any case, as well as Schmidt and Carlton (can’t believe anybody would not vote for Lefty!), plus Pete Alexander. 3 pitchers–wasn’t expecting that.

birtelcom

10 years ago

Seven World Series homers for Utley. Only Duke Snider has more for one team other than the Yankees. Frank Robinson had seven for the O’s, Goose Goslin seven for the Senators, and Utley — that’s it in terms of topping six for one team. Overall, an 1.183 WS OPS. With everything else he’s accomplished, and given Phillies history, that’s enough for me to chisel his face on the mountain.

John Nacca

10 years ago

Schmidt and Carlton are easy……. My third choice was Delahanty……… My fourth choice was………..in all honesty?………..”The Phillie Phanatic”. Think I am crazy? Here, according to wikipedia, are all the non-baseball credits the Phanatic has received……. In popular culture The Phillie Phanatic with fans at Veterans Stadium at a Camera Day pre-game event in 1987. The Phillie Phanatic in the stands of Veterans Stadium on Opening Day, 1986. The Phanatic appeared in the closing credits of the film Rocky Balboa (2006). The Phanatic appeared on the episode of the television show Jon and Kate Plus 8 titled “Baseball Game with Daddy”,… Read more »

John Nacca

10 years ago

Reply to John Nacca

The Phillie Phanatic was created in 1978, and his first appearance at a Phillies game was April 25th, 1978. Next Opening Day will mark 38 consecutive years. If that isn’t Mount Rushmore worthy, I don’t know what else is………especially since the Phillies haven’t had a real run of truly great players over the 125+ years of existence (which is pretty sad when you think of it).

Rich Looby

10 years ago

Reply to John Nacca

Millwood’s no no was on The Phanatics b day. It was 4/28. I think “his” actual day is 5/2

Dr. Doom

10 years ago

I felt like spreading the love out chronologically. I went with Pete Alexander, Robin Roberts, Mike Schmidt, and Chase Utley. To me, the issue isn’t that the Phils haven’t had great players – it’s that their great players have been too close together in terms of value and/or impact. That makes this tough. Fun, though! The only real ‘gimme’ I see is Schmidt. As for the rest? I don’t think you can really go wrong, at least if you’re voting within reason.

Arsen

10 years ago

I voted for Schmidt, Carlton, Roberts and Ashburn. I think that the first three clearly deserve to be on the monument. I chose Ashburn over Utley (my all-time favorite Phil)for a couple of reasons. Ashburn is a true legend in the Philadelphia. After his playing career he was an announcer for three decades. Ashburn and Harry Kalas were the voices of the Phillies during that 1970s and 80s run. Utley, while great, was never the acknowledged leader of the team. He was unfairly overshadowed by Ryan Howard’s slugging, Jimmy Rollins all around game and the pitching of Cliff Lee and… Read more »

Hartvig

10 years ago

First I narrowed the list down to 8. Klein and Allen were the first 2 overboard and then Utley. The last guy to get tossed was Ashburn, which was really a hard call. My final votes: Schmidt- well duh. Lefty- it actually came down to him & Ashburn and the WS titles was the deciding factor. Roberts- maybe not quite as great as Carlton at his best but you had a much better idea of what you were going to get from year to year. Alexander- OK I know he was only a Philly for 8 years and one of… Read more »

Steve

10 years ago

Schmidt and Carlton without a doubt Roberts and Ashburn – sorry Chase war or not Richie gets the nod

10 years ago

Schmidt, Ashburn, Roberts, Carlton. Mount Rushmore is about fame, so even if Utley has more WAR than Ashburn, Ashburn was the face of the Phillies during the the 50s.

David Horwich

10 years ago

I took Schmidt, Carlton, Roberts, and Rollins.

Hard to leave out Ashburn, but I wanted a player from their recent run of success. Utley has been more productive than Rollins, of course, but Rollins has had the longer and more durable career, and is now at or near the top of the franchise leaderboard for most major offensive counting stats; so to me he’s more the ‘face’ of the franchise than Utley.

Luis Gomez

10 years ago

Is there an easier choice than Schmidt in the Philiies Mount Rushmore, than any other team?

Now that Mount Rushmore is back, we need to get back too the simi-fantasy-baseball thing that we were part of, a few months ago.

mosc

10 years ago

Reply to Luis Gomez

My guy was great… except for the fact he couldn’t pitch more than 15 innings A YEAR. I did think that was cool though. Probably a lot of work to put together.

10 years ago

Reply to Luis Gomez

Adam has said he is too busy to continue with that. I was considering prodding him to see if he still has the save files so someone else might carry on with it…

brp

10 years ago

Reply to Luis Gomez

Tony Gwynn was easier. You could envision Joe Baseball Fan saying Carlton or maybe a modern guy like Rollins/Utley if asked to name the best Phillie. Schmidt is pretty obviously the best but it’s possible someone else could pop into your mind if put on the spot. I can’t imagine anyone not saying Tony Gwynn; there simply isn’t another option. Based on teams we’ve already voted for, George Brett and the Royals is the same way to me. But yeah, Schmidt is a complete no-brainer. As a side note – is there a way to disable the voting on those… Read more »

Author

Doug

10 years ago

Reply to brp

Andy would have to disable the old polls.

This one is programmed to close on Nov 18th at 23:59 Pacific.

John Nacca

10 years ago

Reply to Luis Gomez

Babe Ruth……….Hank Aaron…………Willie Mays………possibly Ernie Banks……..

oneblankspace

10 years ago

Reply to John Nacca

Banks has the advantage of not playing for another team at the end of his career.

donburgh

10 years ago

I went with Schmidt, Carlton, Roberts and Ashburn. Alexander is the last player I cut.

Thank you, Doug, for bringing this back. It bugged me that this series was dropped in the middle for no reason. I didn’t get involved in CoG voting right away because I feared that it might also just fade away.

Dr. Doom

10 years ago

Reply to donburgh

Wow… I was just imagining what would happen if the COG stopped for no apparent reason. There would be mutiny! People would seek out birtelcom’s house and… I don’t know… forcibly tie him to a chair until he ran the next round, or something.

birtelcom

10 years ago

Reply to Dr. Doom

Oh no, not the Comfy Chair!

Dr. Doom

10 years ago

Reply to birtelcom

“No one expects the Spanish Inquisition!”

David P

10 years ago

As an FYI, there seems to be a discrepancy re: Chase Utley’s WAR. His player page lists 62.7, not the 61.5 that comes up in search results.

I think the 62.7 is correct, that’s what you get when you add up him individual seasons.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/WAR_active.shtml

Probably doesn’t effect anyone’s vote, but worth noting.

10 years ago

Reply to David P

I’ve also noticed occasional differences in what comes up on a search and what the player page says. Perhaps one total comes from adding rounded numbers together, whilst the other total uses the raw, non-rounded numbers.

David P

10 years ago

Reply to RJ

RJ – It definitely seems to happen more than it should. But I can’t see how it would be due to rounding. A 1.2 WAR difference is quite large. And just looking at Schmidt, his player page shows the exact same WAR as the search results.

David P

10 years ago

Reply to David P

Looks like the Utley error has already been corrected. His player page now lists 61.5 career WAR, the lower of the two figures. When I looked at it earlier his 2014 was listed at 4.8. It’s now been changed to 3.6. That must have been the source of the discrepancy.

Paul E

10 years ago

Schmidt, Roberts, Carlton….Allen

For combined seasons, from the age of 22-25, Dick Allen is third (3rd !) all-time in oWAR – behind two bums named Cobb and Mantle. Then he ripped his ulna nerve in his wrist and hand in August 1967…

I can only imagine what he would have done in the Utley-Rollins-Howard era playing in that newer little league park with the 365 foot alleys. But, if you go to BR and enter the 2009 season for Allen, you get something like:

.327 .407 .585 in lieu of .311 .388 .585 for his first four seasons (22-25)

Paul E

10 years ago

sorry, that actual slugging percentage was “only” .559 in the second example

Author

Doug

10 years ago

Schmidt, Carlton and Roberts look home and dry for the top 3 spots.

Quite a race, though, for the final Rushmore face, with Utley and Ashburn neck-and-neck and Pete Alexander not too far behind.

Delahanty, Rollins, Allen and Klein round out the top 10.

Dr. Doom

10 years ago

Reply to Doug

May I ask, who are the 3 “write-ins” who have received votes? I’m curious. I’m assuming the Phillie Phanatic got at least one… but what about the others?

Author

Doug

10 years ago

Reply to Dr. Doom

Two votes for the Phillie Phanatic, and one for John Kruk.

mosc

10 years ago

Reply to Doug

HA! That’s clever.

Dr. Doom

10 years ago

Reply to Doug

John Kruk: Phattest Phillie? Famously, of course, got a hit in his final PA to push his career batting average to .300. He also nearly won OBP titles in 1992 and 1993… some fella named Bonds was really good at getting on-base, though. Kruk did nearly take the batting title from Sheffield in 1992 (Sheff won it .330 to .323. Kruk was also the NL Player of the Week three times. Most impressive was the third of those, the first week of 1993. Kruk hit .476/.577/1.000, going 10/21 with 5 BB, 5 2B, and 2 HR. None of that would… Read more »

bstar

10 years ago

Reply to Dr. Doom

Greg Luzinski may have been even more rotund, Doom. I would take The Bull in a fight between the two.

B-Ref lists Krukkie at 170 lbs. Uh-huh.

oneblankspace

10 years ago

Reply to Dr. Doom

http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=117339#gameType=%27R%27 lists Kruk at 204 lbs. The search results page there also lists him as a DH, which is interesting for someone who played 1155 of his 1200 career games in the National League (before inter-league play).

Voomo Zanzibar

10 years ago

Took a peek at Pete Rose. Noticed that he played all 162 games at age 41 with a WAR of -1.1 Worst WAR for 162 games played: -1.8 … Joe Carter -1.1 … P.E. Rose -1.1 … Neifi Perez -1.1 … Matt Kemp -0.7 … Bobby Richardson -0.6 … Leon Wagner (163) -0.4 … P.E. Rose ________ Most games in a season, age 40+ 162 … Rose 156 … Wagner 156 … Winfield 152 … Murray 151 … Rose 150 … Wagner 150 … Darrell Evans Pete also played 162 at age 39. ________ And no, I’ve decided not to… Read more »

Author

Doug

10 years ago

Reply to Voomo Zanzibar

For the pre-expansion crowd, here are the worst WAR for 154+ games played. -3.0 … Tommy Thevenow (1930) -1.7 … Tony Lupien (1948) -1.6 … Sam Dente (1950) -1.1 … Harry Swacina, 1914 (FL) -0.9 … Doc Cramer (1941), Bob Kennedy (1940), Ski Melillo (1932), Frank O’Rourke (1929) -0.8 … Eddie Robinson (1953) -0.6 … Leo Norris (1936) Thevenow and Norris were Phillies. The rest (except Swacina) are AL teams (Browns, As, White Sox, Sens). Dente also had -1.4 WAR in 153 games in 1949. These are the career leaders (excl. pitchers) for players with 200 games played and a… Read more »

Voomo Zanzibar

10 years ago

Reply to Doug

Sam Dente’s nickname was “Blackie”, which totally wouldn’t go over nowadays. I wonder why they didn’t call him Al.

Rich Looby

9 years ago

Reply to Voomo Zanzibar

Probably because he liked Spaghetti Westerns

no statistician but

10 years ago

Gavvy Cravath didn’t make the bigs to stay until age 31, then put up some numbers that make you wonder what he might have done if he’s gotten an earlier start. He set a Minor League record for HRs in 1911 (29) and escaped the contract that held him in Minneapolis by accident. Four years later he was the offensive force that drove the Phillies to the pennant. Arguably he was just as important as Alexander. Without either one the team would have gone nowhere. Not a Rushmore guy, no, but for 8 years, starting at age 31, he was… Read more »

David P

10 years ago

Reply to no statistician but

Cravath is best known as the guy who held the career home run record until some guy named Babe Ruth came along. (Baseball Reference lists Roger Connor but he played entirely in the 19th century).

Anyway, Cravath is one of those guys who could have been a HOFer if he had been born on the east coast. Unfortunately he was born in California and spent a while toiling in the PCL before making his way east.

Richard Chester

10 years ago

Reply to David P

Of Cravath’s 119 HR, 92 came at the Baker Bowl. He had 10 bounce HR and 4 IPHR. He was a RHB so if he took advantage of the short RF fence at the Bowl he was going the opposite way.

David Horwich

10 years ago

Reply to David P

Just to note, although probably no one knew it at the time, Cravath was in fact never higher than 4th all-time in home runs, behind three 19th century players: Connor, Sam Thompson, and Harry Stovey.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_lifetime_home_run_leaders_in_Major_League_Baseball

David P

10 years ago

Reply to David Horwich

David H – I’m never really sure where the early baseball records fit in. Nevertheless, I’m guessing the Cravath had the record for most over the fence home runs since the other players on the list were likely IPHR types.

David Horwich

10 years ago

Reply to David P

According to their HR logs on bb-ref, the totals of the top pre-Ruth HR hitters break down as follows:

Connor 138 total: 1 bounce, 17 IPHR = 120 over the fence
Thompson 126 total: 13 IPHR = 113 OTF
Cravath 119 total: 10 bounce, 4 IPHR = 105 OTF
J Ryan 118 total: 2 bounce, 17 IPHR = 99 OTF
Stovey 122 total: 1 bounce, 27 IPHR = 94 OTF

So Connor, Thompson, and Cravath were the only 3 players with 100+ over the fence home runs before Ruth.

bstar

10 years ago

Reply to no statistician but

Priceless quote from Cravath’s SABR bio. In reference to his lack of speed:

“They call me wooden shoes and piano legs and a few other pet names,” he once said. “I do not claim to be the fastest man in the world, but I can get around the bases with a fair wind and all sails set. And so long as I am busting the old apple on the seam, I am not worrying a great deal about my legs.”

Busting the ol’ apple. On the seam. We just need more people in the world who talk to way, see.

dr-remulak

10 years ago

Schmidt, Utley, Carlton, Roberts.

Darien

10 years ago

Schmidt, Rollins, Bunning, and Hamels. And in my defense: we’re talking players who best exemplify being a Phillie, not players who were all-time awesome. 🙂

10 years ago

3 pitchers for me too. Couldn’t pull the trigger for Utley over Alexander.

Dan Mallon

10 years ago

Phillies might have the easiest Mt. Rushmore to choose in baseball. Just walk around Citizens Bank Park, find the four statues, there you go.

Tubbs

10 years ago

I voted for Schmidt, Carlton, Roberts, and Alexander. Alexander just edged out Ashburn for my last spot

I’m glad to see the Mt. Rushmore series back and would also like to see the “Does He Belong in the Hall of Fame” polls brought back, especially with the Golden Era Veteran Committee election coming up in December. I’d love to see what the readers here think of Miñoso, Kaat, Boyer, Hodges, Tiant and others HOF candidacies. Also, there a lot of recently retired players such as Abreu, Rolen, and Helton who would make interesting subjects

Joseph

10 years ago

I just noticed Ashburn’s 1958 season. I would bet that may be the only time where a player had 215 hits, 97 walks, 30 stolen bases, and scored under 100 runs. I don’t know for sure, I don’t have a subscription to play index right now.

Can someone check that?

But jeez, what an offensive mess that team must have been in–the guy was on base over 315 times and his teammates could not bring him home more than 98 times?

David P

10 years ago

Reply to Joseph

Joseph – You actually don’t need a subscription to check this. And yes, you’re right. Only season with 200+ hits, 90+ walks, 30+ steals and fewer than 100 runs scored. If you eliminate the SB requirement, you add Pete Rose in 1979 and nearly Wade Boggs in 1983 (exactly 100 runs scored).

no statistician but

10 years ago

Reply to Joseph

Also— Robin Roberts had his last big year for that team, going 17-14. Ashburn’s WAR was 7.1, Roberts’ was 6.2. The team finished 69-85 in last place even though they won their last 6 games. Prior to that they had a streak of 11-32. A weird season, one probably worth analyzing for historical purposes, if anyone does that sort of thing.

Hartvig

10 years ago

Reply to no statistician but

Yeah, offensively they didn’t look that bad. They were a little below the league average in runs scored and 6th out of 8 teams in scoring but also just 2 runs from moving up another notch. And in terms of team OPS+ they were 4th in the league. Seven of their 8 starters and 5 of the 7 guys on the bench with more than 100 PA’s all have OPS+’s above 100. The only place they really stunk up the joint was LOB, where they were almost 100 over the league average and 69 more than the next team. It’s… Read more »

David P

10 years ago

Reply to Hartvig

Adding to Hartving: 1) The Phillies were 1st in hits, 2nd in double, 3rd in triples, 1st in walks, 1st in OBP, yet they finished 6th in runs scored. Sure they were 6th in home runs and slugging but that doesn’t seem like it should be enough to cancel out all the positive. 2) 15 players had 100+ PAs and 12 of those posted an OPS+ of 102 or better. But the other 3 had an OPS+ under 71. And those 3 accounted for over 1000 PAs. Which is how the Phillies ended up with a team OPS+ of 96.… Read more »

no statistician but

10 years ago

Reply to Hartvig

It’s a tangent, yeah, but the season’s over—long time till spring: The 1958 season itself was pretty weird. In the NL, the Braves led by 1 game on July 9 with a record of 40-34 and the Phillies were only 3 out at 37-37. At the end the Braves were 92-62, and the Phiillies were bunched at the bottom with three other teams, 2 at 72-82, 1 at 71-83, and the Phils at 69-85. In the AL the Yankees on July 10 were 50-26, leading by 11, and at one point had extended their dominance to 63-30, a pace to… Read more »

Dr. Doom

10 years ago

Reply to no statistician but

Ugh. I have been raised to have a visceral reaction whenever the ’58 series or the ’59 playoff is brought up. My stomach is seriously queasy just thinking about that. Yuck.

Author

Doug

10 years ago

Schmidt, Carlton and Roberts continue to lead the way, with Richie Ashburn now installed in the fourth and final position, a handful of votes ahead of Chase Utley.

Starting on Wednesday, you can vote again, if it’s been a week since you first cast your ballot. So, go ahead and confirm your original selections or, perhaps, make a change.

Voomo Zanzibar

10 years ago

Schmidt
Delahanty
Alexander
Utley

_____________

I voted for Big Ed, even though he “Jumped from the Philadelphia Phillies to the Cleveland Infants.”

And Roberts & Carlton may have done it longer, but Grover’s 7 years were ridiculous. Deadball era or not, a 4-year stretch of

121-50
1.74
.
.
.
gets my vote.

Author

Doug

10 years ago

Polls close in 6 hours or so. Richie Ashburn is currently leading Chase Utley by 5 votes for the fourth and final face of the Phillies’ Mount Rushmore.

MikeD

10 years ago

Good to see this back after a couple of years, roughly the equivalent of me being out of the country!

Missed this vote. Can’t disagree with the final vote, although somehow I wanted to vote for Old Pete. He deserves to be on some team’s Mt. Rushmore, yet he only spent seven years in Philly. Ed Delahanty? Time and a suicide have dimmed the image of one of the best hitters (the best?) in Philly history. Or was it murder?

Jason

10 years ago

I missed the poll, but I would have voted for the top four vote getters: Schmidt, Carlton, Roberts, Ashburn. Hard to argue with any of them.