Top 20 Phillies of All-Time (16-20)
Welcome to 2015 here at TBOH, and we’re starting off the New Year with something special. Over the next four days we’ll be presenting the Top 20 Phillies of All-Time.
These aren’t just players, though you’ll find plenty of them represented. We’ll be showcasing the 20 individuals who we believe have had the greatest positive influence over the course of the 132-season history of this star-crossed franchise.
There will be players, coaches, managers, general managers, owners, broadcasters, and writers. There will be multiple Baseball Hall of Famers and Phillies Wall of Famers, though not every Phillies HOFer is on the list.
Many of the names will be familiar, and a number are obvious. A few may be names, faces, and stories that some have never known.
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You will certainly have your own ideas on who should have been included, and your own reworking of the ranking. We’d love to have your input. Leave comments on this article, and visit us at both Facebook and on Twitter @FS_TBOH.
We’ll be presenting five new Phillies in a countdown format each day. So let’s get it started with the #20-15 figures in our countdown:
20. AL REACH, Owner/Founder
Born in London, England in 1840, Al Reach was a cricket player in his youth who became one of the first baseball stars. As a player in the old American Association in the mid-19th century, Reach was a left-hander who played both outfield and 2nd base.
From 1871-75, Reach played in Philly for the Athletics. While still playing, Reach became a sporting good manufacturer.
In 1883, the newly formed National League was looking to place a franchise in Philadelphia, replacing the former Worcester club. Reach immediately set about working to gain control of this club, and brought in local Philly attorney John Rogers as a partner.
They were awarded the team, which was nicknamed the “Quakers” at the start. However, most teams of that time were also known as, and frequently referred to in the media as whatever town they were from, i.e. – the New Yorks, the Cincinnatis, etc. As the “Philadelphias” was rather long, locals shortened it to “Phillies”, and by 1890 this was the only official name for the club.
In 1887, Reach worked to have a ballpark built in the city, National League Park, which ultimately became known as Baker Bowl. At it’s opening, it was known as the finest ballpark in America. A tremendous competitor, he was behind the hiring of the club’s first great manager, Harry Wright, in 1884, and the bringing in the team’s first truly talented ball players such as Ed Delahanty, Billy Hamilton, and Sam Thompson.
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During an injury to Wright in 1890, Reach briefly managed the club, and had a 4-7 record as one of three temporary Phillies managers during Wright’s convalescence.
While Rogers was certainly a key financial investor whose own early role should not be diminished, and Reach would ultimately sell out to him in 1899, it was Reach who was the baseball man of the two.
After selling his interest in the Phils, Reach helped his friend, Ben Shibe, start up the Philadelphia Athletics club with the new American League.
Reach’s son George, working for the family sporting goods company, would introduce the cork-center baseball, which became standard in the major leagues, and he would merge the company with Spalding in 1934.
19. HARRY WRIGHT, Manager
Born in Sheffield, England, Wright was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953. He is considered one of baseball’s true forefathers as in 1869 he organized, managed, and played centerfield for the Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first truly professional team in history. His brother George, 12 years his junior, was also an early star who is enshrined in the Hall.
Harry Wright is credited with being the innovator who came up with ideas such as backing up infield plays, and putting on infield defensive shifts, and of course that pro aspect, actually paying his players.
When the first Phillies/Quakers team finished in last place at 17-81 in their inaugural season of 1883, Reach brought in Wright as the manager to turn things around. The club moved up to 6th place in his first season, then to their first-ever winning record at 56-54 and 3rd place in 1885.
The following year they improved again to 71-43, and then in 1887 he guided the club to a 2nd place finish in the National League, just 3 1/2 games back of the eventual champion Detroit club. From 1888-93, the club hovered between 3rd and 5th place.
While Harry Wright never won a championship in Philadelphia, he made the team a truly professional outfit for the first time, and he brought the city its first winner. By 1893 his inability to actually deliver a winner was causing clashes with Reach and Rogers, and his contract was not renewed.
18. DAN BAKER, Public Address Announcer
A regular P.A. announcer at a ballpark or stadium, one who stays in their position for decades, becomes as much a part of the experience for fans attending games as the team itself. They become an integral part of the experience, and Dan Baker has been an integral part of every Phillies fan experience since he arrived for the 2nd season at Veteran’s Stadium in 1972.
Over the ensuing 43 seasons, Baker has served as the voice of the ballpark through 5 World Series and a pair of MLB All-Star Games. With the retirement of legendary Yankees P.A. announcer Bob Sheppard in 2009, Baker became the longest-tenured in his profession in all of MLB.
He has announced the pending at-bats of Phillies greats from Mike Schmidt, Dick Allen, and Pete Rose, on through Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, and Chase Utley. The importance of this continuity, of generations of Phillies fans hearing the voice of Dan Baker introducing players, making safety and service announcements, and serving as the Master of Ceremonies cannot be underestimated.
In the end, it’s all about the fans and their experience, and Baker’s spot on this list is an acknowledgement of that very fact. Successive Phillies ownership teams deserve kudos for recognizing both the importance of the continuity of the atmosphere at a traditional game like baseball, and the excellence of Baker in delivering for the franchise.
17. JOHN VUKOVICH, Coach
‘Vuke’ was the Phillies 1st Round pick in the January 1966 Draft as an 18-year old out of a Sacramento, California high school, and made his MLB debut with the club in it’s final season at Connie Mack Stadium in 1970.
The backup 3rd baseman when the club opened Veteran’s Stadium in 1971, he played in 74 games. After spending all of 1972 at AAA, Vukovich was dealt to Milwaukee.
The Phillies reacquired him in 1975 from the Cincinnati Reds, and he then stayed with the club as a minor leaguer and a backup at the majors level. He was part of the 1980 World Series winning team.
After retiring as a player, Vuke was hired as a coach by ex-Phils manager Dallas Green with the Cubs, and then in 1987 was hired as a coach with the Phillies.
When Lee Elia was fired at the tail end of 1987, Vukovich took the reigns and guided the club to a 5-4 record over the final two weeks. He then remained with the team as a coach in various roles for the next 17 seasons.
He was considered a vital influence on the ‘Macho Row’ team that reached the 1993 World Series, and is one of only three men to ever reach the Fall Classic with the Phillies as both a player and a coach.
In the 2001 season, Vuke was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He fought the condition, but finally succumbed in late 2006 at just age 59. Over the final couple of years of his life, Vukovich had taken on a role as Special Advisor to the General Manager for Ed Wade.
After his passing, the team publicly dedicated their 2007 season to him, and they went on to win the NL East Division crown for the first time since 1993.
John Vukovich enjoyed both the love and the respect of the players, and of the fans. His influence on and off the field for a big part of nearly a half-century earns him a place on this list.
16. ED WADE, General Manager
Few men associated with the Philadelphia Phillies can claim a rehabilitated image as strong as Ed Wade. He was the subject of derision by many in the media and the fan base when the club couldn’t reach it’s perceived potential in the early-mid 2000’s, and he was fired following another fallen-short 2005.
Wade was brought back as a Special Consultant to GM Ruben Amaro Jr in 2011 after four years as Houston Astros GM. A huge part of the reason was a new look at, and appreciation for, his actual ultimate track record with the Phillies.
Wade graduated from Temple University and started with the Phillies as a public relations intern in 1977. After working in similar positions with the Astros and Pirates, he came back to the Phils as an assistant to the GM in 1989.
He became the full Assistant GM in 1995, and then in 1998 he was hired as the club’s General Manager. In that role, Wade set about turning a stagnant roster into a winner, laying the foundation for the 2008 World Series winning team.
Wade drafted Pat Burrell, Brett Myers, Ryan Madson, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Cole Hamels among others. He signed Jim Thome when the team was first becoming a consistent winner, hired and fired Larry Bowa as manager, and hired Charlie Manuel as his replacement.
In the final 5 years of his tenure as GM, as his own players began to have influence in the lineup, the Phillies teams registered a .527 winning percentage. Each of his final 3 teams missed the playoffs by a half-dozen or fewer games.
The World Series win, with his drafted players in key roles and his manager hiring at the helm, came less than 3 years after his own firing.
Some fans may still not want to admit it, but Ed Wade was the principal architect of the 2008 World Series champions, and for that he clearly deserves a place on this list.