5 Phillies with James Harden-esque exciting debuts in recent history
By Matt Rappa
3. The Phillies trade for, trade away, and then sign Cliff Lee, parts 1 and 2
Four-time All-Star left-hander and 2008 American League Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee is unique for not having just one highly anticipated Phillies debut, but two.
The first came on July 31, 2009, opposite the San Francisco Giants — just days after Lee and outfielder Ben Francisco were dealt to the Phillies in exchange for prospects Jason Knapp, Carlos Carrasco, Jason Donald and Lou Marson.
The Phillies acquired Lee to bolster their rotation to complement 2008 World Series MVP Cole Hamels and others. Right away, it seemed like “Mission Accomplished” for then-general manager Ruben Amaro Jr.
Lee went the distance against the Giants, needing only 109 pitches. He yielded just one run on four hits and two walks, while striking out six batters in the 5-1 Phillies win. Not to mention, Lee doubled (nearly homering) off of the left-field wall. It was Lee’s third one-run complete game in his previous four starts overall.
More than 600 days later, Lee would make his second “Phillies debut” after returning to the team through free agency.
While Lee was six outs shy of another complete game, he only allowed three runs on four hits and no walks — while striking out 11 Houston Astros batters — en route to a 9-4 win.
Domonic Brown made his MLB debut 10 years ago today.
— High Heat Stats (@HighHeatStats) July 28, 2020
He had 3.3 WAR in 2013....and -0.5 WAR in the rest of his career. pic.twitter.com/qekOWASX8j
4. Domonic Brown’s Phillies debut — July 28, 2010
Next to 2008 World Series champion Ryan Howard, outfielder Domonic Brown was perhaps the most hyped Phillies prospect in recent memory.
Once dubbed as a “five-tool prospect,” Brown’s big-league debut in the summer of 2010 made the baseball scribes appear correct, at least at the start. Logging four plate appearances against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Brown logged a single and double each, while driving home two runs for a .667/.500/1.000 slash line.
Brown would become a National League All-Star in 2013, but never quite was the same player ever again after that year’s Midsummer Classic.