With no tournaments or sports, we break down the greatest Phillies of all-time
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced every major sports league and team, including the Phillies, to shut down indefinitely. Everything from spring training to the NCAA tournament has been shut down due to the virus.
To fill the time in between, we’re breaking out our own bracket to find the greatest, most beloved Phillies player of all-time.
To do this, we’re taking the top-30 players from our Top 50 Players in Phillies History story and creating a bracket for the fans to vote on.
The top-two seeds, Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton, will each have a bye to start out. We will put out Twitter and Facebook polls for each matchup and let the fans pick.
Now, let’s break down the matchups.
16 Chris Short vs 17 Johnny Callison
Long-time teammates in the 1960s, Chris Short and Johnny Callison were part of the infamous 1964 Phillies that lost 10 straight games to miss a chance at the World Series.
Among all pitchers in franchise history, Short ranks third in starts, fourth in wins, innings pitched, shutouts and strikeouts, and sixth in pitching wins above replacement. Out of all players in franchise history, Short ranks 24th in wins above replacement.
He made two All-Star teams and had two top-30 MVP finishes. In 459 career games with the team, he had a 132-127 record, 3.38 ERA, 1.283 WHIP and 32.1 pitching wins above replacement.
Callison had a .271/.338/.457 line, 185 home runs, 666 runs batted in, 774 runs scored, 1,438 hits and a 122 OPS+ in 10 years with the Phillies. He’s eighth in franchise history with a 39.5 WAR and is in the top-20 for nearly every offensive category in team history.