Will these forgotten Phillies become Hall of Famers in 2022?
Danny Murtaugh (Phillies 1941-1943, 1946)
Danny Murtaugh was one of several players who missed a significant portion of his career due to military service. He played for the Phillies from 1941-1943, then missed two seasons fighting in World War II. He returned to the Phillies in 1946, and then spend the remaining years of his career with the then-Boston Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates, with whom he played 416 of 767 career games.
However, Murtaugh isn’t being considered for the Hall based on his playing career, which, aside from leading the NL in stolen bases in 1941, was mediocre, at best. When he decided that his playing days were over, Murtaugh got into coaching. In 1957, the Pirates hired their former player mid-season to staunch the bleeding of a 36-67 team. Once he took over, they played above-.500 baseball the rest of the season.
In 1960, Murtaugh’s Pirates won their first pennant since 1927. Then they won the World Series thanks to the only Game 7 walk-off home run in MLB history. It was a storybook moment, especially because it was a World Series rematch against their 1927 rivals, the New York Yankees.
Despite health problems, Murtaugh managed the Pirates on and off throughout the 60s and early 70s. When he wasn’t at the helm, he worked in the front office. In 1971, the Pirates again won the World Series with Murtaugh. Overall, he spent 12 full seasons as manager. In that time, the Pirates had nine winning seasons, five postseason appearances, four division titles, and pairs of pennants and championships.
Murtaugh also helped break color barriers in baseball. As Roberto Clemente Jr. noted in his heartfelt case for Murtaugh’s induction earlier this week, the manager was the first to use an all-minority starting nine in 1971. Ironically, the opposing team was Murtaugh’s old team, the Phillies.
Clemente also pointed out that Murtaugh managed two championship teams, which is more than nine current HOF managers, and tied with five others. He also had better managerial records than several HOF managers, including Joe Torre, Connie Mack, and Tommy Lasorda.
Dick Allen (Phillies 1963-1969, 1975-1976)
The multitalented Dick Allen was an extremely talented hitter. He spent the bulk of his career with the Phillies, nine years between two stints, and played 15 years in the big leagues overall.
Allen spent a lot of time on the leaderboards, leading both his league and MLB in several offensive categories, including home runs, RBI, slugging, OPS, and total bases. Between 1964-1974, his astounding 165 OPS+ outranked a slew of current Hall of Famers, including Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente, Willie Mays, and Carl Yastrzemski.
He was rewarded for his playing at the time, winning Rookie of the Year in 1964, MVP in 1972, and seven All-Star Game appearances. The Phillies retired his number #15 last season.
However, in retirement, the Hall eluded him; Allen passed away in 2020 without getting the honor he not only deserves, but earned. The Golden Days committee can correct this injustice now.
Jim Kaat (Phillies 1976-1979)
Jim Kaat isn’t best known for being a Philadelphia Phillie, but he was one for four of his 25 years in the big leagues.
In all honesty, it’s astounding that Kaat isn’t in the Hall of Fame already based on his 16 Gold Glove awards, but as we proved with Dick Allen’s numbers, the Hall is kind of inconsistent. The pitcher won 12 in a row between 1962-1973, and then another four straight from 1974-1977; his last two were with the Phillies.
The versatile Kaat compiled a career 3.45 ERA over 898 games, including 625 starts and 17 saves. He threw 4,530 1/3 innings and struck out 2,461 batters. In an era when pitcher wins and losses meant something, he finished his career with a 283-237 record, making him 31st all-time in wins.
However, as Puckett’s Pond noted, the longtime Twins pitcher (he spent the majority of his career in Minnesota) didn’t have strong strikeout numbers and he’s 1-for-4 in Hall of Fame stats.
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