Phillies History Month in Review

The Philadelphia Phillies have received a special historical treatment here at TBOH during the month of January.

This month has been “Phillies History Month”, and all throughout the month I have presented fans with record holders, franchise leaders, player biographies, and some of the great games and moments in team history.

This review is a chance for fans who might have missed something to catch up, or for fans who especially enjoy history to have a place to skim through and read them once again.

Last weekend was a special ‘Home Run Weekend’ featuring a number of players, teams, records, and moments involving the roll of the long ball in franchise history.

We would like to be one of your primary sources for Phillies historical information here at TBOH. At our website www.thatballsouttahere.com you can find a specific “History” link at the tool bar which will direct you to all of those type items which we present.

Our Twitter feed includes historical items on an almost daily basis. If there is every anything along these lines that you would like to see us tackle, please drop me a line.

So, without further fanfare, here were the items present here during “Phillies History Month”, each paragraph beginning with a title link to the piece, and then following with a description of what you will find. As a warmup, enjoy this tremendous video of recent club historical successes:

Top Hitters of All-Time: more than 1,900 players have come to bat for the Phillies in team history. Only 34 of those players came up to bat 4,000 or more times for the club. This piece highlights the .006% of those, an even dozen, who ever recorded 1,500 or more hits in a Phillies uniform.

Mahaffey Sets a Record: on Sunday, April 23rd, 1961, righthander Art Mahaffey set a Phillies franchise record by striking out 17 batters in a 5-0 complete game shutout of the Cincinnati Reds in the 2nd game of a doubleheader at Connie Mack Stadium.

Record Book – Infield Putouts: who are Ernie Courtney, Monte Cross, Emil Verban, and Fred Luderus? They all played for the Phillies long ago. They also hold the team record for most putouts recorded at each of the infield positions. I put their records into perspective against our modern heroes.

Phillies Retired Numbers: only five players in franchise history have had actual numbers retired in their names: Richie Ashburn, Robin Roberts, Jim Bunning, Steve Carlton, and Mike Schmidt. There is another number that the team should also consider bestowing this great honor.

Brotherly Love – nine brother combinations have played with the Phillies at some point in their career, including Hall of Famer Ed Delahanty, ‘Whz Kids’ shortstop Granny Hamner, and their brothers.

Pitchers Go Deep – Twice: story of the seven different pitchers who have hit two home runs in a game for the Phillies: Jack Knight, Phil Collins, Rick Wise (who did it twice), Larry Christenson, Randy Lerch, Robert Person, and Randy Wolf.

Beginning the Chase: the first start in the brilliant big league career of Chase Utley came in an afternoon game on Thursday, April 24th, 2003 during an 8-1 shelling of the Colorado Rockies at Veteran’s Stadium. In the bottom of the 3rd inning, he recorded his first big league hit, and it was a big one.

A 1997 Month in Hell: in 12 of the 13 seasons between 1988-2000, the Phillies won no more than 78 games. In all that losing, frustration, and futility there were few stretches worse than the month of June during the 1997 season, one of the worst months in franchise history.

Starting Back-to-Back: a look at the five times in franchise history, all accomplished within the last four decades, that the Phillies have begun a game with back-to-back home runs from their first two hitters.

Stealing ‘Em All: only three players in the long history of the Phillies franchise have accomplished the feat of stealing 2nd, 3rd, and home in the same inning and same sequence of base running, and the three are from very different eras: Sherry Magee, Pete Rose, and Jayson Werth.

Pitching Horses: how do you define a true “work horse” in a pitching rotation? Someone who eats up a ton of innings is the usual definition. Pitchers in Phillies history such as Curt Schilling, Roy Halladay, and Cliff Lee have all fit the bill in recent years.

40 Win Pitching Duos: just a dozen times in the 133-year history of the Phillies franchise have a pair of starting pitchers combined for 40 or more wins. ‘Grover Cleveland’ Pete Alexander, Eppa Rixey, Erskine Mayer, Curt Simmons, and Dick Ruthven are among those who have been involved.

Philography – Magee: an overheard conversation at a train station by a Phillies scout in 1904 led to the discovery of a 19-year old Pennsylvania native named Sherry Magee, who would become a Wall of Famer, one of the all-time greats in club history.

Schmidt Begins: on September 12th, 1972 the Phillies were in just their second season at Veteran’s Stadium when GM Paul Owens, serving a dual role as the team manager, called up and gave the first big league chance to the greatest player in franchise history.

Weak ’98 Phils Turn on Power: another visit to those late-90’s terrible Phillies teams. This one, however, was a rare success story. On September 8th, 1998 those Phillies thrashed the New York Mets by a 16-4 score, and set a franchise record for the most home runs in a single game.

Most Powerful Teams: the Phillies teams of the late-2000’s were the most powerful in the history of the team, with the 2009 club led by players like Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez, Pedro Feliz, and Shane Victorino setting the franchise season home run record.

Grand Slams: did you know that Vince DiMaggio, brother of baseball legend Joe DiMaggio, holds the Phillies team record for grand slams in a season? Did you know that Hector Luna is the last to hit a pinch-granny for the club? Or that Tony Taylor and Bo Diaz each hit a ‘Ultimate Slam’?

All-Time Home Run Leaders: the Phillies franchise home run Top 20 includes players such as Bobby Abreu, Johnny Callison, Scott Rolen, Mike Lieberthal, Darren Daulton, and Von Hayes. They’re in the 11-20 group, but who makes up the Top 10 home run hitters in club history?

More from That Balls Outta Here

O’Doul Sets NL Hits Record: outfielder Lefty O’Doul could have been a Hall of Famer as a hitter, but his career was delayed at its beginning, and he just ran out of time. But before he did, he registered a pair of big seasons in Philly, including an NL record 1929 Phillies campaign.

2015 Stats Quiz: it’s not all ancient history. After all, last season is now a part of Phillies history as well. Our stats guru, Ethan Witte, presents a quiz based on those 2015 Phillies. Take a shot, and if it’s too challenging, he also gives you the answers in the piece.

Triple Plays: there have been 697 triple plays turned in the history of big league baseball, 31 of those by the Phillies. On September 20th, 1992 with Mickey Morandini, and on August 23rd, 2009 with Eric Bruntlett, the Phils received the exceedingly rare “unassisted” triple play.

Philography – Stocker: in the middle of the 1993 season, with the Phillies surprisingly on top of the NL East race, the team called up prospect shortstop Kevin Stocker to solidify a revolving door position that had been a source of inconsistency for years.

A Love Affair Begins: when a new staff writer joins our TBOH team, we always start them out with a piece on the very first Phillies team that they followed, the one that turned them on to the team and the game. For Mike Azzalina, that was the 1992 team, when he was just five years old.

I hope that you enjoy each of these items, and all of the Phillies historical pieces presented here at the website and in our social media feeds. Again, always feel free to send me suggestions as we move forward, continuing to make more history along the way.

Next: Potential #1 Draft Pick: Corey Ray

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