Phillies: Most underrated players of the 2000s

Many of the Phillies who set the stage for the ’08 run are easily forgotten

Phillies baseball in the early 2000s was a time to forget. From 2000-06 the team won 85 games five times but never made the playoffs. We saw the ends of the Terry Francona and Larry Bowa eras. Several high-profile players like Scott Rolen and Jim Thome came and went.

By the end of the decade we saw the greatest era in Phillies baseball history with homegrown stars like Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, Cole Hamels, and many more.

But those big stars took the limelight off some of the Phillies other productive players who helped either carry the team to a championship or performed well when times were tough. Here’s a look back at five of the most underappreciated Phillies of the 2000s.

Ryan Madson

Ryan Madson filled so many roles for the Phillies and was consistently one of their better relievers for the majority of his nine years in Philadelphia.

A ninth round pick out of Valley View High School in Moreno Valley, California in 1998, Madson initially came up in 2003 and established himself as a big league reliever the following season. He won nine games out of the bullpen in 2004 with a 2.34 ERA in 52 relief appearances.

In 2006 the Phillies gave Madson a shot at a starting job by giving him 17 starts, but he ultimately found his role back in the ‘pen.

From 2007-09 Madson had a 3.13 ERA in 193 relief appearances, and in 2008 he earned the nickname “the bridge to Lidge,” as the team’s setup man. That season the Phillies put Madson in the game in so many high-pressure situations.

Madson entered games with 37 inherited runners that season and only allowed 13 to score, one of the lowest rates among National League pitchers who inherited as many runners that season.

During the decade Madson led Phillies relievers with 37 wins and 421 strikeouts, which exclude his numbers as a starter.