Philadelphia Phillies: 50 greatest players of all-time

You may not think of Pete Alexander as a Phillie, but he began his career in Philadelphia and still shows up all over the franchise leaderboards. His primary team in the National Baseball Hall of Fame is the Phillies, so he is worth including in this list.

The MLB legend got his start with the Philadelphia Phillies all the way back in 1911 when starting pitchers racking up 300 innings was commonplace. The longevity numbers he put up won’t be touched ever again.

In his rookie year, Alexander appeared in 48 games, starting 37. He pitched a league-leading 31 complete games, and MLB-leading seven shutouts. He also led the league in innings pitched (367.0) and wins (28). He finished third in MVP voting that year behind Frank Schulte of the Chicago Cubs and Christy Mathewson of the then-New York Giants.

Over eight seasons in Philadelphia, Alexander had a 190-88 record, 2.12 ERA, 143 ERA+, 1,403 strikeouts and 1.066 WHIP in 329 games. He received MVP votes three different times and almost certainly would have been an All-Star had it been a thing at the time.

Despite spending less than a decade with the club, he still ranks among franchise leaders in multiple categories. Alexander ranks first in fielding-independent pitching, win-loss percentage and shutouts, second in ERA+, WHIP and complete games, and third in pitching wins above replacement, innings pitched, wins and ERA.

Alexander joined the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1938, just the third year of voting. He was part of the first ever Hall of Fame class alongside other legends like Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb and Cy Young.