Phillies: Players who started here but had great success elsewhere
Several Hall of Famers could have been Phillies if not for some unlucky moves
The coronavirus pandemic has affected nearly every facet of the world’s operations, including the shutdown of all sports leagues. As we patiently wait for this crisis to pass and baseball to begin, I ponder those that started their Major League careers with the Phillies, only to quickly depart and excel elsewhere.
Note that Scott Rolen had a good deal of success after his days with the Phillies, but he doesn’t qualify for this having played several seasons in the red pinstripes before moving on.
In chronological order, here are the top six on this list.
Ferguson Jenkins
Starting his professional career in the Phillies farm system as a 19-year old in 1962, Ferguson Jenkins worked his way through the minor leagues, making his Major League debut on September 10, 1965. He earned a win, tossing 4 1/3 innings in relief, allowing just two hits and no earned runs.
Jenkins posted a 2-1 record in seven games out of the bullpen. He pitched in only one game with the Phillies in 1966 before being traded to the Cubs on April 21, 1966, along with John Herrnstein and Adolfo Phillips for Bob Buhl and Larry Jackson.
Jenkins quickly became one of the top pitchers in the league, winning 20 or more games every season from 1967 through 1972. He made three All-Star appearances during that stretch and won the NL Cy Young Award in 1972 after leading the league with 24 wins, 30 complete games and 325 innings pitched.
After being traded to the Rangers on October 25, 1973, for Bill Madlock, Jenkins posted a career-high 25 wins. He paced the league in complete games with 29 and was second in the AL Cy Young Award voting. After a 17-win season in 1975, Jenkins was once again traded, this time to the Red Sox where he would win 22 and lose 21 in two seasons.
Jenkins was shipped back to the Rangers and enjoyed a fine season upon his return, winning 18 with an ERA of 3.04. After 28 wins combined in 1979 and 1980, Jenkins struggled to five wins and a career-worse 4.50 ERA in 1981 and was subsequently released.
Returning to where he had his greatest success, Jenkins finished out a stellar career with the Cubs, winning 14 in 1982 and 6 in 1983 before retiring at the age of 40.
Jenkins compiled a career record of 284-226 with 267 complete games, 3192 strikeouts, and an ERA of 3.34. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991 on his third ballot, receiving 75.4% of the votes, a hair over the necessary 75%.
Ryne Sandberg
A 20th round draft pick by the Phillies out of Spokane, Washington in 1978, Ryne Sandberg was assigned to the Helena Rookie League team, batting .311 as an 18-year old. Working his way through the farm system, Sandberg made his Major League debut with the Phillies on September 2, 1981 as a pinch-runner for Bob Boone. All told, Sandberg went 1-for-6 with two runs scored in 13 games during his cup of coffee that season.
Sandberg was traded to the Cubs along with Larry Bowa for Ivan DeJesus on January 27, 1982. DeJesus went on to have a few average seasons with the Phillies, while Sandberg put together a Hall of Fame career, going down as one of the worst trades in franchise history.
In his first season with the Cubs, Sandberg hit .271 with seven home runs and 54 RBI. He won his first of nine consecutive Gold Glove Awards in 1983. The first All-Star appearance for Sandberg came in 1984, and he locked down MVP honors as well, hitting .314 with 36 doubles, 19 triples, and 19 home runs.
Sandberg had a power surge in 1990, belting a career-high and league 40 home runs to go along with his first of two consecutive 100 RBI seasons. After 26 home runs in both 1991 and 1992, injuries limited Sandberg to 174 games over the next two seasons. Not playing in 1995, Sandberg returned for two final seasons, hitting .244 with 25 home runs in 1996 and .264 with 12 home runs in 1997.
Sandberg was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005 and returned to the Phillies organization as manager of Triple-A Lehigh Valley in 2011. He was the Phillies third base coach after the 2012 season and managed the Phillies in parts of 2013 through part of 2015 before resigning, compiling a record of 119-159.
Julio Franco
Julio Franco began his professional career in the Phillies minor league system as a 20-year old in 1979. After hitting at least .300 in each of his first four seasons, Franco made his Major League debut with the Phillies on April 23, 1982, going 1-for-4 against the Cardinals. He went on to play in 16 games with the Phillies, hitting .276 in 29 at-bats.
During the 1982 offseason, Franco was a part of the 5-for-1 trade to the Indians along with Manny Trillo, George Vukovich, Jay Baller and Jerry Willard for Von Hayes. Franco went on to hit .297 with 1272 hits and 62 home runs in eight seasons with the Indians before being traded to the Rangers for Pete O’Brien, Oddibe McDowell and Jerry Browne.
Franco enjoyed his greatest success with the Rangers, making All-Star appearances from 1989 through 1991. He led the AL in runs scored (104) and batting average (.341) during the 1991 campaign. After two more seasons with the Rangers, Franco was on the move again, this time to Chicago. In his only season with the White Sox, Franco hit .319 with 20 home runs and 98 RBI.
Franco was out of baseball for three of the next six seasons and bounced around with the Indians, Brewers, and Rays for the other three. Franco had success in his early to mid 40’s from 2001 through 2005 with the Atlanta Braves, hitting nearly .300 with 29 home runs.
After some time with the Mets in 2006 and 2007, Franco retired with the Braves in 2007, making his final appearance at the age of 49. He retired with 2586 hits, 407 doubles, 1194 RBI and a .298 batting average.
Mike LaValliere
Mike LaValliere was a 20-year old out of Charlotte, North Carolina when he made his professional debut in 1981. A solid average hitter with minimal power, LaValliere made it through the minor league ranks as an excellent defensive catcher and made his Major League debut with the Phillies on September 9, 1984.
He appeared in just six games during the month, going 0-for-7 with two walks and two strikeouts.
After being sent to the Cardinals for future considerations on December 3, 1984, LaValliere returned to the Phillies ten days later before being granted free agency. The Cardinals signed LaValliere on January 23, 1985.
LaValliere has two substandard seasons with the Cardinals before being dealt to the Pirates along with Andy Van Slyke and Mike Dunne for Tony Pena. In 1986, LaValliere hit .300 and was recognized for his defense, earning his only Gold Glove Award. He had another .300+ season in 1989, hitting .316 in 68 games. After three more seasons with the Pirates, LaValliere was released by the Pirates early in the 1993 season.
The White Sox signed LaValliere shortly after his release and he became a solid veteran backup for the team through the 1995 season. Granted free agency following the season, LaValliere retired with .268 average and 663 hits in 879 games.
Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson was drafted by the Phillies in the second round in 1984 out of Hill College in Texas. He had an impressive season in A ball as a 19-year old, going 7-2 with an ERA of 2.68 in 14 starts. After a mediocre season as a starter in 1985, Jackson moved to the bullpen in 1986, going 5-4 with a 2.18 ERA.
Making his Major League debut with the Phillies on August 11, 1986, Jackson had a 3.38 in nine games in relief the rest of the season. In 1987, Jackson pitched a career-high 109 1/3 innings, striking out 93 but went 3-10 with a 4.20 ERA.
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Following the 1987 season, Jackson was traded along with Glenn Wilson and Dave Brundage to the Seattle Mariners for Phil Bradley and Tom Fortugno. Jackson appeared in over 60 games in relief in each of his four seasons in Seattle, posting an ERA of 2.63 in 1988 and 3.17 in 1989.
In December 1991 Jackson was on the move again, this time traded to the Giants along with Bill Swift and Dave Burba for Kevin Mitchell and Mike Remlinger. Jackson was very effective during his three seasons in San Francisco, leading the league in games in 1993 and had a slim 1.49 ERA in 1994.
After a six-win, 2.39 ERA season with the Reds in 1995 Jackson landed back in Seattle for the 1996 season. He was again solid, posting an ERA of 3.63 with 70 strikeouts in 72 innings of work.
Jackson signed as a free agent with the Indians in 1997 and posted an ERA of 1.55 in 69 appearances in 1998.
The Phillies resigned Jackson as a free agent in December 1999, but injuries kept Jackson off the field for the entire 2000 season. Jackson bounced around the league with the Astros, Twins, and White Sox over the next few seasons before retiring at the age of 39 with 62 wins, 142 saves and an ERA of 3.42.
J.A. Happ
The Phillies drafted Happ in the 3rd round of the 2004 draft out of Northwestern University, J.A. Happ posted an ERA under three in each of his three seasons in the Phillies farm system. He got hit around in his first Major League start on June 30, 2007, allowing five earned runs on seven hits in four innings. As it turned out, that would be the only game Happ would pitch for the Phillies that season.
Happ appeared in eight games with four starts for the 2008 World Series champions, going 1-0 with a 3.69 ERA. The following season Happ came into this own, going 12-4 with a 2.93 ERA in 166 innings. His two shutouts tied for the league lead.
On July 29, 2010, Happ was traded along with Anthony Gose and Jonathan Villar to the Houston Astros in exchange for Roy Oswalt. Happ had minimal success over the next two-plus seasons with the Astros, compiling a record of 18-28 with a 4.84 ERA in 59 starts.
Philadelphia Phillies
Once again on the move, Happ was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays on July 20, 2012. His best season with the Blue Jays was 2014, when he went 11-11 with 133 strikeouts in 158 innings. After winning 11 games combined with the Pirates and Mariners in 2015, Happ was back in Toronto and had a career season in 2016. He posted a 20-4 record with a 3.18 ERA in a career-high 195 innings.
After a drop to 10-11 in 2017, Happ was back to form in 2018, winning 17 with only six losses and 193 strikeouts in 177 2/3 innings. Happ pitched for the Blue Jays into the second half of 2018, then went a spectacular 7-0 with a 2.69 ERA in 11 starts with the Yankees. The 36-year old Happ went 12-8 with a relatively high 4.91 ERA last season and is projected to be the number three starter for the Yankees this season.
In 13 Major League season, Happ has a record of 121-90 with 1497 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.99.