Looking back at 4 Phillies Rookie of the Year Award winners
Ryan Howard (2005)
Drafted in the fifth round of the 2001 amateur draft out of Missouri State University, first baseman Ryan Howard played in parts of four professional seasons in the minors before making his Major League Baseball debut in September 2004.
Howard showed promise, slugging five doubles, a pair of home runs, and five RBI across 19 games in the final month of the season — the Phillies franchise’s first at Citizens Bank Park.
Then came the Big Piece’s eye-catching Rookie of the Year award-winning season in 2005, which would be eventual-Hall of Fame slugger Jim Thome‘s last in his first of two Phillies playing stints. Spanning 88 games and 348 plate appearances that year, Howard slashed .288/.356/.567 with 17 doubles, two triples, 22 home runs, and 63 RBI.
In earning the prestigious award for rookies, Howard bested second-place finisher Willy Taveras of the Houston Astros, as well as third-place finisher Jeff Francoeur of the Atlanta Braves. Francouer would go on to play 118 games for the Phillies exactly one decade later.
- Ryan Howard: 3.1 WAR, 88 G, 312 AB, 52 R, 90 H, 22 HR, 63 RBI, 33 BB, .288/.356/.567
- Willy Taveras: 1.9 WAR, 152 G, 592 AB, 82 R, 172 H, 3 HR, 29 RBI, 34 SB, 25 BB, .291/.325/.341
- Jeff Francoeur: 3.0 WAR, 70 G, 257 AB, 41 R, 77 H, 14 HR, 45 RBI, 3 SB, 11 BB, .300/.336/.549
Howard finished his career playing 13 seasons, all with the Phillies; in total, he slugged 382 home runs and 1,194 RBI.
Scott Rolen (1997)
Similar to Ryan Howard, third baseman Scott Rolen‘s big-league career began with a late-season promotion.
The 1993 second-round draft pick also needed just parts of four seasons to work his way to the majors, and he did not disappoint — slugging four home runs and 18 RBI spanning 37 games to finish the 1996 season.
Rolen became a mainstay on the 1997 Phillies and earned way to the franchise’s first Rookie of the Year honors in 33 years. In 156 games, Rolen slashed .283/.377/.469 with 35 doubles, 21 home runs, and 92 RBI.
In earning the Rookie of the Year Award nod, Rolen beat out two pitchers — Livan Hernandez of the Florida Marlins and Matt Morris of the St. Louis Cardinals.
- Scott Rolen: 4.5 WAR, 156 G, 561 AB, 93 R, 159 H, 21 HR, 92 RBI, 16 SB, 76 BB, .283/.377/.469
- Livan Hernandez: 1.8 WAR, 9-3, 3.18 ERA, 1.235 WHIP, 17 GS, 96 1/3 IP, 81 H, 5 HR, 38 BB, 72 SO
- Matt Morris: 4.1 WAR, 12-9, 3.19 ERA, 1.276 WHIP, 33 GS, 217 IP, 208 H, 12 HR, 69 BB, 149 SO
Rolen played in parts of seven seasons with the Phillies, also earning three Gold Glove Awards before he was traded to the Cardinals in July 2002. The Indiana native would finish his 17-season career with seven All-Star nods, eight Gold Glove Awards, one Silver Slugger Award, and a 2006 World Series championship.
Still up for Hall of Fame consideration, Rolen slugged 316 home runs and 1,287 RBI combined with the Phillies, Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, and Toronto Blue Jays.
Dick Allen (1964)
Wampum, Pennsylvania, native Dick Allen debuted and played 10 games in September 1963, but he quickly became a staple in the Phillies infield the following season.
As a rookie in 1964, Allen not only earned Rookie of the Year honors but he also finished in seventh place in MVP Award voting. Playing all 162 games, Allen led the majors in runs scored (125) and triples (13), while also producing an impressive 38 doubles, 29 home runs, and 91 RBI.
Allen beat out the following position players, of the Milwaukee Braves and San Francisco Giants, respectively, for the 1964 National League Rookie of the Year honors:
- Dick Allen: 8.8 WAR, 162 G, 632 AB, 125 R, 201 H, 29 HR, 91 RBI, 3 SB, 67 BB, .318/.382/.557
- Rico Carty: 4.8 WAR, 133 G, 455 AB, 72 R, 150 H, 22 HR, 88 RBI, 1 SB, 43 BB, .330/.388/.554
- Jim Ray Hart: 5.3 WAR, 153 G, 566 AB, 71 R, 162 H, 31 HR, 81 RBI, 5 SB, 47 BB, .286/.342/.498
Allen played in nine of his 15 Major League seasons with the Phillies; while with the franchise, he slashed .290/.371/.530 with 204 doubles, 204 home runs, and 655 RBI across 1,070 games. His .530 slugging percentage ranks as the second-best in Phillies history, trailing only Hall of Fame outfielder Chuck Klein (.553).
Allen was named an All-Star seven times (1965-67; 1970; 1972-74) and earned Most Valuable Player Award honors in 1972 while with the Chicago White Sox — slugging 37 home runs, 113 RBI, and a league-best .420 on-base percentage and 1.023 OPS.
The Phillies retired Allen’s No. 15 this past season.
1. Jack Sanford (1957)
Right-handed pitcher Jack Sanford was the first-ever Phillies Rookie of the Year Award recipient, and he remains to this day as the franchise’s only pitcher to ever win the prestigious honor.
Debuting in 1956, the Massachusetts native made three appearances, but the following season arguably was one of the best in the league — going 19-8 with a 3.08 ERA and 1.217 WHIP across 33 starts. Also that year, Sanford led the majors in strikeouts (188), helping him not only earn the Rookie of the Year Award, but also his first and only career All-Star appearance and a top-10 finish in the MVP Award voting.
Coincidentally, Sanford (4.4 WAR) beat out another Phillies player in earning the Rookie of the Year Award, first baseman Ed Bouchee (4.3 WAR), who slashed .293/.394/.470 in 1957 with 35 doubles, 17 home runs, and 76 RBI.
Sanford would go on to pitch 12 seasons in his career through 1967; just the first three were as a Phillie, as he was dealt to the San Francisco Giants following the 1958 season for Ruben Gomez and Valmy Thomas.
Between Howard, Rolen, Allen, and Sanford, they surely were deserving Rookies of the Year Award recipients. An argument can be made for Bohm, who lost out to a relief pitcher who appeared in less than half of the Brewers’ 2020 season games.
Nonetheless, Bohm will surely be a staple in the Phillies infield for years to come. He will have the chance to make up for losing out on the 2020 rookie honors by perhaps being in MVP contention later on in his career.
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