That Balls Outta Here
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Phillies Madness: Rd. 2 of the All-Time Phillies Bracket

By George Stockburger

PHILADELPHIA - AUGUST 10: (L-R) Phillies Alumni and Hall of Famers Jim Bunning, Steve Carlton, and Mike Schmidt stand on the field during a pre game ceremony before a game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park on August 10, 2014 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Phillies won 7-6. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA - AUGUST 10: (L-R) Phillies Alumni and Hall of Famers Jim Bunning, Steve Carlton, and Mike Schmidt stand on the field during a pre game ceremony before a game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park on August 10, 2014 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Phillies won 7-6. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images) /
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PHILADELPHIA, PA – JULY 31: Hall of Fame players, left-handed pitcher Steve Carlton #32 (L) and right-handed pitcher Jim Bunning (R) of the Philadelphia Phillies, stand on the stage during the Pat Burrell “Wall of Fame” Induction ceremony before a game against the Atlanta Braves at Citizens Bank Park on July 31, 2015 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Phillies won 9-3. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA – JULY 31: Hall of Fame players, left-handed pitcher Steve Carlton #32 (L) and right-handed pitcher Jim Bunning (R) of the Philadelphia Phillies, stand on the stage during the Pat Burrell “Wall of Fame” Induction ceremony before a game against the Atlanta Braves at Citizens Bank Park on July 31, 2015 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Phillies won 9-3. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images) /

2 Steve Carlton vs 15 Jim Bunning

If we had taken this bracket and done the traditional 64, these two might be meeting each other in the semi-finals. In our current format of going with the top-30 players in franchise history, they meet in the second round.

There were no better pitchers in their respective eras. Jim Bunning won 224 games and was a nine-time All-Star in his 17 seasons with the Phillies, Tigers, Dodgers, and Pirates.

Jim Bunning put together three consecutive years with 19 wins and had two more double digit win seasons as a Phillie in his six seasons with the club. With the Phillies Bunning had a 2.93 ERA with 65 complete games, 23 shutouts, 1.111 WHIP and a 3.64 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 226 games and 1520.2 innings pitched.

The former U.S. Senator ranks fourth in Phillies history for WHIP, is fifth in shutouts, sixth in strikeout-to-walk ratio and seventh in strikeouts.

Steve Carlton remains one of, if not the, greatest left-handed pitchers in baseball history. Among all southpaws, he’s second in wins with 329, second in strikeouts with 4,136, and third in shutouts with 55.

When it comes to the Phillies, Carlton is the franchise leader in career wins, strikeouts, and starts. He won four Cy Youngs in Philadelphia, a Triple Crown in 1972, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1994 with all but 20 votes.

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