Top individual Phillies seasons ages 35 and over
The Phillies were solid most of 2018 but struggled at season’s end. Out with the old, we look at the top individual seasons of players 35 and older.
The Phillies showed much promise, remaining in contention for most of the 2018 season, but ended in disappointment. As the year is coming to a close, it’s out with the old and in with the new looking forward to a more productive 2019. During some downtime, it’s good to reflect on the old and the past, which leads to this article about the top individual seasons for Phillies players ages 35 and over.
First base: Pete Rose (1979, age 38)
Rose was 12-time All-Star with the Cincinnati Reds before arriving in Philadelphia in 1979. He was the prominent name in the league in 1978 after hitting safely in 44-consecutive games. In his first of four consecutive All-Star seasons with the Phillies, Rose hit .331 with a league-leading .418 on-base percentage and .848 OPS. He had 40 doubles, 59 RBI, 20 stolen bases and 95 walks while striking out only 32 times in 732 plate appearances.
While the Phillies failed to reach the playoffs that season after three consecutive NL East titles, Rose was the catalyst for the Phillies 1980 World Series championship team. Rose had another noteworthy season in 1981, hitting .325 with a league-leading 140 hits in the strike-shortened season. He continued to play with the Phillies through the 1983 season, which culminated in another World Series appearance, this time losing to the Baltimore Orioles.
Rose played 95 games with the Expos and 26 for the Reds, hitting a combined .259. He made his final All-Star appearance with the Reds in 1985 and was player-manager in 1986, hitting .219 in 72 games.
Rose retired as the all-time hit leader in Major League Baseball with 4,256. He’s also the all-time leader in games, plate appearances, and at-bats. Rose also ranks second in doubles, sixth in runs scored and 14th in walks.
Second base: Joe Morgan (1983, age 39)
Morgan was at the tail end of a Hall of Fame career in 1983, his only season in Philadelphia. Starting his career with Houston in 1963, Morgan was a two-time All-Star in his 10 seasons with the team. He made his mark a member of the Cincinnati Reds “Big Red Machine”, making eight straight All-Star appearances from 1972 through 1979.
Morgan played on the Astros’ team that lost to the Phillies in the 1980 NLCS and then two seasons with the Giants. During his lone season with the Phillies 1983 “Wheez Kids” NL Championship team, Morgan hit only .230.
However, he was quite productive, belting 16 home runs with 59 RBI, 18 stolen bases and 89 walks in 123 games. His on-base percentage of .370 and OPS of .773 were very solid, particularly for a 39-year old middle infielder.
In the NLCS that year, Morgan recorded just one hit and two walks in four games against the Dodgers. He was more productive in the World Series, recording five hits in five games. He hit two home runs and a triple, driving in two runs and scoring three. Morgan stole one base but was caught stealing twice.
The following season, Morgan wrapped up a 22-year Major League Career with the Oakland A’s, hitting .244 with six home runs in 116 games. Morgan retired with 2517 hits, 1650 runs, 268 home runs, 1133 RBI, 689 stolen bases and 1865 walks. He appeared on 10 All-Star games, won five Gold Glove awards, two MVP awards, and two World Series championships.
Shortstop: Jimmy Rollins (2014, age 35)
The franchise’s all-time leader in hits, Rollins was in his 14th Major League season in 2014 and his final in a Phillies’ uniform. Certainly past his prime, Rollins still had a productive season. He hit .243 with 22 doubles, 17 home runs, 55 RBI, 28 stolen bases and a .243 batting average.
Looking back on his first 13 seasons with the Phillies, Rollins was an All-Star in 2001, leading the league in triples and stolen bases. He also led the league in triples in 2002, 2004 and 2007. In fact, his 2007 campaign in which he hit .296 with 30 home runs, 94 RBI and a league-leading 139 runs scored earned him MVP honors.
Although most of his numbers dipped drastically during the 2008 season, Rollins was the key component at the top of the lineup for the franchise’s second World Series championship.
Rollins went on to win four Gold Glove awards, three All-Star appearances and a Silver Slugger award in a Phillies uniform. In 2015, Rollins hit just .224 in 144 games with the Dodgers and closed out his career hitting .221 in 41 games with the White Sox in 2016.
After the 2014 season, Rollins was traded to the Dodgers for minor-league pitchers Tom Windle and Zach Eflin. Rollins spent the year in Los Angeles and was rather unproductive with a .643 OPS. He made 41 appearances with the White Sox in 2016 but was released in the middle of the season.
Rollins retired with 2455 hits, 1421 runs, 511 doubles, 231 home runs, and 470 stolen bases. He ranks first in Phillies history in doubles and hits, third in runs and ninth in home runs.
Third base: Mike Schmidt (1986 and1987, ages 36 and 37)
The greatest player in franchise history and best all-around third baseman in MLB history was at the tail end of his career in 1987. However, he was still near the top of his game. Schmidt hit .293 with 35 home runs, 113 RBI and a .936 OPS. In fact, his batting average was second highest of his career behind his .316 mark in the strike-shortened 1981 campaign.
Schmidt’s career started all but smoothly, hitting only .196 with 18 home runs and 136 strikeouts in 367 at-bats. However, Schmidt quickly became the elite slugger of his time, leading the league in home runs the next three seasons.
Schmidt arguably became the top offensive threat in the game from 1979 through 1981, twice leading the league in both home runs and RBI. His 48 home run 121 RBI season of 1980 and 31 home run, 91 RBI season in 1981 were good for MVP honors.
Schmidt also took home MVP honors in 1986, belting 37 home runs, 119 RBI, .547 slugging percentage and .937 OPS, tops in the league. A shoulder injury limited Schmidt to 12 home runs in 108 games in 1988 and just six in 42 games before abruptly retiring in 1989. Despite ending his season early, he still wound up an All-Star.
All told, Schmidt is the franchise leader in runs, home runs, RBI and walks. He was named to 12 All-Star teams and won 10 Gold Glove awards, second all-time among third basemen. Schmidt retired with 548 home runs, 1595 RBI, 1507 walks and 1506 runs scored.
Catcher: Chris Coste (2008, age 35)
When thinking of Phillies all-time great catchers, Bob Boone, Mike Lieberthal, and Darren Daulton generally come to mind. However, only Daulton played with the Phillies beyond his 35th birthday and by then he was in left field. Carlos Ruiz played with the Phillies at age 35, but his numbers paled to Coste’s in 2008.
After 11 season’s in the minor-leagues, Coste made his major-league debut as a 33-year old rookie in 2006. He was a pleasant surprise in a backup role, hitting .328 with seven home runs, 32 RBI and an .881 OPS in 65 games. Coste followed that with a solid .279 average and five home runs in 129 at-bats in 2007.
Coste saw his most playing time and most productive year of his relatively short MLB career in 2008. Splitting time with Carlos Ruiz behind the plate, Coste hit .263 with 17 doubles, nine home runs, and 36 RBI in 98 games. He was worth 0.7 wins above replacement. Coste recorded one hit in the NLCS but went hitless in four at-bats during the World Series.
In 2009, Coste played in 45 games with the Phillies before ending his major-league career with the Astros, hitting .204 in 103 at bats. He spent time with the Mets and Nationals but never appeared in the majors or minors with either team.
Although having only 885 Major League plate appearances, Coste hit a solid .272 with a .744 OPS. His grit, determination and overall story lead to his book, “The 33-Year Old Rookie.”
Left field: Raul Ibanez (2009, age 37)
The Phillies had a void in left field after the 2008 World Championship season, as Pat Burrell left to play with the Giants. A power bat was needed and came in a big way with the signing of 37-year old veteran Raul Ibanez.
A 13-year veteran when he arrived in Philadelphia, Ibanez had a resume which included five seasons with 20 or more home runs and four with 100 or more RBI. In fact, he was coming off the best stretch of his career, averaging .290 with 26 home runs and 113 RBI over his three previous seasons.
During the 2009 campaign in which the Phillies returned to the World Series, Ibanez was a key power threat in the middle of the lineup. He hit .272 with career highs in home runs (34), slugging percentage (.552) and OPS (.899). Appreciated for his efforts, Ibanez was named to his first and only All-Star team.
Ibanez remained productive in the playoffs, posting a .259/.333/.481 line in 15 games. He hit two home runs, drove in 13 runs, and scored eight. Ibanez recorded 14 hits, drew six walks, and struck out 17 times.
Ibanez played two more seasons with the Phillies hitting a combined 36 home runs and 167 RBI. He remained a good hitter in 2010 but his OPS fell below league-average in 2011. He went on to play with the Yankees, Mariners, Angels, and Royals from 2012 through 2014 before retiring with 2034 hits, 305 home runs, 1207 RBI and 1055 runs scored.
Center field: Kenny Lofton (2005, age 38)
Lofton had a very successful and strange journey through Major League Baseball. He spent his first ten seasons in Cleveland, where he was a six-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove award winner. The best base stealer in the game during the early part of his career, Lofton led the league in steals five consecutive seasons, averaging 65 thefts per year.
Following his run in Cleveland, Lofton made his way around the league, playing for 10 different teams over the final seven seasons of his career. Among them were the Chicago White Sox, San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, Texas Rangers, Houston Astros, and the Phillies.
During his full season with the Phillies in 2005, Lofton hit .335 with five triples and 22 stolen bases in 110 games. His batting average was second highest in his career, behind only the .349 mark he set in 1994. Lofton’s 88% stolen base success rate was fifth-best in the National League. Lofton finished the year with 3.6 wins above replacement, making him the fifth-most valuable player on the team behind Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Pat Burell, and Bobby Abreu.
Lofton’s 2005 season was one of just two seasons between 1995 and 2007 that he did not appear in the postseason.
Lofton finished his career in 2007 where it started, hitting .283 with 15 RBI in 173 at-bats as a 40-year old with the Indians. He ranks 15th on the all-time list with 622 stolen bases. Lofton scored 1520 runs with 2428 hits and 116 triples in his career.
Right field: Jim Eisenreich (1996, age 37)
Eisenreich is quite a story, noted for his Tourette Syndrome, which kept limited him in his first several seasons and kept him out of baseball entirely in 1985 and 1986. In 1987, Eisenreich was back in a Major League uniform, hitting .238 for the Royals in 44 games.
He became a starter in 1989 and had three solid seasons with the Royals, including a .293 average with nine home runs, 59 RBI and 27 stolen bases in 1990. Following the 1992 season, the Phillies brought Eisenreich aboard and he didn’t disappoint. In fact, he became a fan favorite.
During the 1993 NL Championship season run, Eisenreich platooned in right field with Wes Chamberlain, hitting .318 in 394 at-bats. Eisenreich became one of the most consistent and reliable all-around hitters on the team over the next four seasons, hitting above .300 every year.
His best season was in 1996 when he hit .361 with 22 doubles, 10 home runs, 55 RBI and 10 stolen bases in as many attempts. He also had a .413 on-base percentage and .889 OPS, both career highs.
Eisenreich’s best season was also his last with the Phillies. He went on to be part of the Florida Marlins World Series championship team and played with them through part of 1998, before hitting .197 in 127 at-bats with the Dodgers in the second half of the 1998 season.
During his time with the Phillies, Eisenreich hit .324 with a .381 on-base percentage and .833 OPS in 499 games. One of the most disciplined hitters of his era, Eisenreich struck out only 435 times in 4391 plate appearances.
Starting Pitcher: Jamie Moyer (2008, age 45)
Moyer grew up in the Philadelphia area and was a huge fan of the 1980 World Series team. So having a chance to play for his hometown team was a dream come true. It didn’t matter that he was 43 years old when the Phillies acquired him near the end of the 2006 season.
Moyer went 5-2 in eight games and 4.03 ERA in eight games with the Phillies that season. Although he was the winner of 14 games in 2007, Moyer lost 12 and had a high ERA of 5.01.
Things turned around for Moyer in Philadelphia in 2008. He not only helped the Phillies to their second World Series title in franchise history, but he also led the team in wins with 16 against only seven losses with a respectable 3.71 ERA.
The following season, Moyer won 12 games as a 46-year old and returned for the 2010 season looking for more. However, an elbow injury limited him to 19 games and nine wins. Moyer was removed from the 40-man roster after the season and re-injured his elbow in winter ball, resulting in Tommy John surgery.
Refusing to let that be the end, Moyer came back with the Rockies in 2012 as a 49-year old. Despite struggling much of the time, he found enough in the tank to win two more games in ten starts, becoming the oldest pitcher in Major League history to win a game.
Moyer retired with 4074 innings pitched, 269 wins and 2441 strikeouts despite a fastball that topped out in the low 80’s.
Starting Pitcher: Jerry Koosman (1984, age 41)
Koosman had a long career of success in the Major Leagues, mostly with the New York Mets and Minnesota Twins prior to coming to the Phillies in 1984. In fact, he had two 20-win seasons, two All-Star appearances and over 200 wins before putting on a Phillies uniform.
Koosman started to drop off in the years before he became a Phillie. From 1980 to 1983, he had a 42-40 record, 4.16 ERA, 1.340 WHIP, and only 5.1 strikeouts per nine innings. In 1983 he had a 4.77 ERA and 1.70 strikeout-to-walk ratio splitting the season between the rotation and the bullpen.
Koosman found the “fountain of youth” in his first year with the Phillies at age 41. Koosman won 14 games, had a 3.25 ERA and logged 224 innings. His win total was his highest since 1980 and his ERA lowest since he posted a 2.69 ERA with the Mets in 1976.
Koosman returned next season with the Phillies but had only a fraction of the success. In 19 games, he won six and lost four with an ERA of 4.62, making his last career appearance on August 21 of that year. Koosman finished his two-year tenure in Philadelphia with a record of 20-19 and a 3.67 ERA.
In 19 Major League seasons, Koosman won at least ten in thirteen of them. He reached the 200 strikeout plateau once when he won 21 with a 2.69 ERA for the Mets in 1976. Overall Koosman retired with 222 wins, 33 shutouts, 2556 strikeouts, and a 3.36 ERA.
Starting pitcher: Steve Carlton (1980 and 1982, ages 35 and 37)
Arguably the greatest pitcher in franchise history and one of the top left-handed starters of all-time, Carlton had two of his best seasons later in his career.
Carlton had already won two Cy Young Awards, the first being his remarkable 1972 campaign, winning 27 with a 1.97 ERA, 310 strikeouts and 30 complete games. The second was in 1977 when he won 23 with 17 complete games and a 2.64 ERA.
During the 1980 World Series championship season, Carlton put together another season for the ages. In 38 starts, logged 304 innings, won 24 and struck out 286, all career highs. Carlton also posted a slim 2.34 ERA with 13 complete games and three shutouts. He went 3-0 in the playoffs, giving up seven earned runs while striking out 17 batters in 27.1 innings.
If three Cy Young Awards weren’t enough, how about a fourth at the age of 37? That’s what Carlton did in 1982. He started 38 games, completed 19, won 23, had six shutouts and 295 2/3 innings and 286 strikeouts, all leading the league.
Carlton went on to lead the league in innings pitched and strikeouts in 1983. He won 13 games with a 3.58 ERA as a 39-year old in 1984 before injuries took their toll on the future Hall of Famer.
He pitched for the most part ineffectively from 1985 through the beginning of 1988 with the Phillies, Giants, Indians, and Twins before retiring with 329 wins (11th all time), 55 shutouts and 4136 strikeouts (4th all time).
Relief pitcher: Kent Tekulve (1986, age 39)
Tekulve was one of the best short relievers in the National League during his 12 years with the Pirates prior to moving to join the cross-state rival Phillies. He saved 31 games in both 1978 and 1979 while making his first and only All-Star appearance in 1980. Tekulve won 70 and saved 158 games with the Pirates,
Tekulve started the 1985 season with the Pirates but was traded to Philadelphia in April. In 58 games with the Phillies that season, Tekulve had a 4-10 record but pitched to a solid 2.99 ERA in 75 2/3 innings. He managed to do this while only striking out 36 batters and walking 25 batters.
Tekulve had his best season with the Phillies the following year in 1986, logging 110 innings over 73 games. He won 11 against just five losses with an ERA of 2.54. The ultimate sinkerball pitcher, Tekulve allowed only two home runs, while walking just 25. His 11 wins in relief were the second most of his career.
Tekulve continued to pitch well, displaying his rubber arm at the age of 40, appearing in a league-best 90 games in 1987. Still solid in 1988, Tekulve had a 3.60 ERA in 70 games covering 80 innings. During his Phillies career, Tekulve won 24 and lost 26 with a 3.01 ERA.
Signing with the Cincinnati Reds before the 1989 season, Tekulve pitched to a record of 0-3 with a 5.02 ERA in 37 games before retiring. He ranks ninth in career appearances by a pitcher with 1050.
Closer: Jose Mesa (2002, age 36)
Mesa had an up and down journey over 19 seasons in the major leagues. He pitched for the Cleveland Indians, Baltimore Orioles, Pittsburgh Pirates, Seattle Mariners, Colorado Rockies, San Francisco Giants, Detroit Tigers and had two runs with the Phillies.
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Mesa began his career as a 21-year old starter and struggled in that role through 1993 become moving to the bullpen. In Mesa’s first season as closer in 1995, he was nearly impossible to hit. He pitched to a 1.13 ERA, compiling a 3-0 record with a league high 46 saves. In 64 innings, he allowed only 49 hits and three home runs, while striking out 58.
Mesa shined again the following season with 39 saves, making his second of two straight All-Star appearances. He struck out 64 batters and walked 28 in 72.1 innings.
Mesa joined the Phillies after some up and down times with the Giants and Mariners.
During his first year with the Phillies in 2001, Mesa 42 with a 2.34 ERA. He followed it up in 2002 saving 45 with a 2.97 ERA, striking out 64 and allowing 65 hits in 75 2/3 innings.
After a horrendous 2003 season in which Mesa’s ERA ballooned to 6.52, he pitched solidly for the Pirates in 2004 and 2005 and the Rockies in 2006, the Tigers in 2007 before finishing his career back with the Phillies.
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Mesa retired with 321 saves, but a mediocre 80-109 record with a 4.36 ERA. His time in Philadelphia was mainly successful, ranked second in franchise history with 112 saves.