That Balls Outta Here
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Phillies TBOH 2015 Stats Quiz

By Ethan Witte

Sep 1, 2015; New York City, NY, USA; Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Andres Blanco (4) gives Philadelphia Phillies left fielder Aaron Altherr (40) a high five after scoring on home run by Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Darin Ruf (18) in the third inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 1, 2015; New York City, NY, USA; Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Andres Blanco (4) gives Philadelphia Phillies left fielder Aaron Altherr (40) a high five after scoring on home run by Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Darin Ruf (18) in the third inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Philadelphia Phillies may have had a tough 2015 season, but they still had statistical leaders.

Admit it: you love quizzes. Don’t we all? Heck, I’ve even found myself taking the quiz in my wife’s Cosmopolitan magazine at times. Care to test your knowledge of that Phillies’ 2015 season? Here’s your chance! Batting stats! Pitching stats! Even a question that covers the best baserunner last year.

During January here at TBOH we have been celebrating Phillies History Month, and have been looking back on various accomplishments of the players and teams of the past. But we don’t always have to be talking about the distant past of years or decades ago. Last year was the past, after all. So how about one more look back on a disappointing 2015?

Sharpen that pencil. Search the house for a piece of paper. See if you’re as knowledgeable about the most recent Phillies team as you think you are. I’ve put the answers at the bottom of this piece – but no cheating!

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Some of the questions have obvious answers, while some might make you think a little. I’m not going to divide it up into batting questions, and then pitching questions. I’m going to vary it up a bit, just to keep you on your toes.

Couple of notes: all hitting questions are for players with at least 150 plate appearances, and all pitching questions cover those who threw 30 innings, unless otherwise noted. Links are not necessarily to correct answers, they are simply provided the first time we reference a player, so that you can later view each player’s statistical performance.

Without further ado…

  1. What player led the team in slugging?
    a. Aaron Altherr
    b. Ryan Howard
    c. Andres Blanco
    d. Odubel Herrera
  2. Which pitcher induced ground balls at the highest rate?
    a. Jake Diekman
    b. Luis Garcia
    c. Cole Hamels
    d. Jeanmar Gomez
  3. Which pitcher, making at least 10 starts, had the highest ERA+ (a positive accomplishment)?
    a. Cole Hamels
    b. Aaron Nola
    c. Jerad Eickhoff
    d. Adam Morgan
  4. According to Baseball Reference, which batter simultaneously led the team in both Win Probability Added and Win Probability Subtracted?
    a. Ryan Howard
    b. Cody Asche
    c. Odubel Herrera
    d. Freddy Galvis
  5. According to Baseball Reference, what pitcher simultaneously led the team in both Win Probability Added and Win Probability Subtracted?
    a. Cole Hamels
    b. Aaron Harang
    c. Adam Morgan
    d. Jerome Williams
  6. According to Baseball Prospectus, what Phillies runner led the team in Baserunner Runs?
    a. Odubel Herrera
    b. Cesar Hernandez
    c. Ben Revere
    d. Freddy Galvis
  7. Who led the team in walks?
    a. Cesar Hernandez
    b. Freddy Galvis
    c. Ryan Howard
    d. Cody Asche
  8. In 2015, Phillies’ starters were allowed to throw more than 120 pitches only three times. Cole Hamels had two of those games. Who had the other?
    a. Aaron Harang
    b. Jerome Williams
    c. Sean O’Sullivan
    d. David Buchanan
  9. Which Phillies pitcher recorded the worst Game Score (generally scaled from 0-100) this past season?
    a. Phillippe Aumont
    b. Jerome Williams
    c. Sean O’Sullivan
    d. David Buchanan
  10. Which Phillies hitter had the highest percentage of his hits go for extra bases? (XBH%)
    a. Andres Blanco
    b. Aaron Altherr
    c. Maikel Franco
    d. Odubel Herrera

How did you do? I must admit, when I first came up with these questions, I was surprised by many of the answers. Were I to take this blind, I can honestly say I’d get maybe five or six right, tops. But, you’re probably better than me, so I expect you to do better.

Here are the answers:

  1. C, Andres Blanco with a .502 SLG. I know it was only in 161 PA, but still, Blanco produced a really good year as a utility guy.
  2. B, Luis Garcia with a 63% ground ball percentage. This one caught me off guard, as I was fully expecting with the movement on his pitches that Gomez would have led the team. But nope, Garcia is it.
  3. B, Aaron Nola with a 111 ERA+. He narrowly edged out Hamels’ mark of 109 while the latter was still with the Phils, and it makes me excited for this guy’s future. It’s hard for a pitcher to stay steady throughout the season, but Nola, though a small sample size, did exceptionally well. Once he begins to lower the home run rate, I don’t see any reason he can’t be a solid #2 starter.
  4. D. Freddy Galvis, with 10.2 WPA+, and a -10.8 WPA-. John Stolnis recently wrote that signing Ian Desmond might be of interest to the Phillies, and at first I was skeptical. The more I look at Galvis, the less skeptical I get. Sure, J.P. Crawford is coming and Desmond would have to eventually move off shortstop, but Galvis didn’t show much of anything with either the bat or the glove. As bad as I would like to have seen him work at for at least two years before Crawford showed up, if a better option comes along the team should be all over it.
  5. B, Aaron Harang, with a 12.2 WPA+, and a -13.9 WPA-. Remember when he briefly had some trade value last year? That was fun.
  6. C, Ben Revere, with 6.5 BRR in his Phillies’ 2015 tenure. I don’t think we will ever fully appreciate what Revere brought to the team.
  7. A, Cesar Hernandez with 40 walks. Patience was not something this team was very interested in, or good at, last year.
  8. C, Sean O’Sullivan with 123 pitches on July 6th against the Dodgers. At first, I thought this was the start where O’Sullivan got his first win in five years. Nope. It came later against the Dodgers, when he gave up 7 runs (6 earned) on eight hits in 5.1 innings. That 123rd pitch was the last one he ever threw as a Phillies pitcher.
  9. D, David Buchanan, who somehow managed a -12 Game Score on August 12th against the Diamondbacks. His final line that night (hide the kids): 1.2 IP, 11 H, 11 R, 11 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO, 18 batters faced, 4 outs recorded. I think it’s safe to say that, barring an injury or plane crash, Buchanan will never throw another big league pitch as a starter for this team again.
  10. B, Aaron Altherr with a 12.4 XBH%, edging out Blanco’s 12.3%. Altherr gave the team and fan base a jolt at the end of the year after steadily climbing the minor league ranks for years. Hopefully, he is able to keep the adjustments intact, becoming the right-handed power bat the team has lacked since Jayson Werth.

Don’t forget folks, Spring Training is near. Yes, the Philly area just received the fourth highest snowfall in it’s recorded history. But pitchers and catchers report in just three weeks. Hang in there.

Next: Kingery Rated a Top 10 Prospect at 2nd Base

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