5 most legendary Phillies starting pitchers of all time

Who are the greatest starting pitchers in Philadelphia Phillies franchise history?

In the long and storied history of the Philadelphia Phillies, there have been many legendary players.

Since MLB is currently in lockout and teams can’t sign anyone new, we’re looking back at the most legendary players to ever wear a Phillies uniform, starting with the starting pitchers.

Ranking starting pitchers is perhaps the most difficult endeavor because it’s arguably the role in baseball that has changed the most over the years, as evidenced by the different stats that made each of these Phillies pitchers great. For example, in 2021, Zack Wheeler led MLB in complete games, by pitching three of them; the legendary Grover Cleveland Alexander threw 219 complete games over his eight seasons with the Phillies, with a grand total of 436 in his 20-year career.

That said, here are the five greatest Phillies starting pitchers of all time…

5.  George McQuillan, Phillies 1907-10, 1915-16

Starting off on an obscure note, George McQuillan was 22 years old when he debuted with the Phillies in 1907. Over his first stint with the Phillies, he compiled a 1.69 ERA over 119 games, including 92 starts and 22 games closed. Among those appearances were 66 complete games, 17 shutouts, and five saves.

McQuillan returned to the Phillies in 1915, adding another 30 games to his Philadelphia resumé over his final season and a half with the club.

To this day, his 1.79 ERA and 146 ERA+ are the best in franchise history, as are his 1.020 WHIP and 6.927 H9. His 2.42 FIP is second, 0.107 HR/9 is fourth, and he’s tied for eighth in shutouts.

TIE: Grover Cleveland Alexander and Steve Carlton

The top spot is really a toss-up between Steve Carlton and Grover Cleveland Alexander because it’s so difficult to compare two starting pitchers from such vastly different eras of the game. Alexander has Carlton beat in categories that have long since become impossible to repeat, while Carlton excelled in areas that weren’t as relevant in Old Pete’s day.

Alexander is the OG Phillies starting pitcher. Between 1911-1917, he posted a 2.12 ERA over a whopping 329 games, averaging 47 pitching appearances a year.

Here’s the breakdown of those 329 games: 277 starts, 47 games finished, 219 complete games, 61 shutouts, 15 saves, 2,492 innings pitched.

With the Phillies, Alexander led MLB in wins five times, led the NL and/or MLB in ERA three seasons in a row, and led either the league or the entire game in strikeouts five times. The workhorse also led in innings pitched in six of his seven seasons and pitched 300+ innings in all of them. Do you see why it’s impossible to compare the two?

Carlton is a four-time Cy Young award-winner, an accolade that did not exist when Alexander pitched. Joining the Phillies in 1972, he compiled a 3.09 ERA over 15 years, including 499 games, all starts. He amassed an impressive 185 complete games and 39 shutouts, but still not as many as Alexander. Different times, after all.

On the Phillies’ all-time leaderboards, Carlton has Alexander beat in WAR, wins, games played, innings pitched, strikeouts, starts, batters faced, and WPA. Alexander has Carlton beat in ERA, ERA+, win-loss %, WHIP, H/9, complete games, shutouts, and is the all-time FIP leader.

But one stat, adjusted pitching wins, shows just how valuable these two were, as Alexander and Carlton are tied for the all-time top spot, with 27.7 apiece. No one else even comes close.