Who are the greatest relief 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 the Phillies uniform. We started with starting pitchers, and now pick up the bullpen phone to call for a reliever.
Or, the five greatest relief pitchers in franchise history, to be precise.
5. Steve Bedrosian
Since the Cy Young Award’s inception in 1956, only nine relief pitchers have won baseball’s highest pitching honor. Steve Bedrosian is one of them.
One of only four Phillies pitchers to win a Cy Young (though Steve Carlton won four), and the only bullpenner to do so, Bedrosian pitched well for the Phillies in one of their many postseason-less eras. Over four years in Philadelphia (1986-89), Bedrosian logged a 3.29 ERA over 218 games, including finishing 188 and earning 103 saves. In his Cy Young season in 1987, he posted a 2.83 ERA and led MLB with 40 saves.
Bedrosian finished his Phillies career with the third-most saves (103) in franchise history, one of only five Phillies pitchers with 100+ saves in a Phillies uniform. His 188 games finished ranks ninth all-time.
His son Cam is on the Phillies now, though he hasn’t been nearly as successful.