That Balls Outta Here
FanSided

4 Phillies players who skipped the minors and went straight to MLB

By Gabrielle Starr

PHILADELPHIA - C.1916. Eppa Rixey, star pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, demonstrates his follow through before a game in his home park. (Photo Mark Rucker/Transcendental Graphics/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA - C.1916. Eppa Rixey, star pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, demonstrates his follow through before a game in his home park. (Photo Mark Rucker/Transcendental Graphics/Getty Images) /
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Fred Van Dusen, Phillies
MIAMI, FL – OCTOBER 02: Fred Van Dusen, the only player in Major League Baseball to have his career halted after one plate appearance after being hit by a pitch, attends the Miami Marlins against the New York Mets game at Marlins Park on October 2, 2012 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images) /

Fred Van Dusen (1955)

Like Tom Qualters a few years before, Fred Van Dusen’s MLB story doesn’t have a happy ending.

He appeared in exactly one game for the Phillies in 1955. Coming into a September game as a pinch-hitter, instead of getting a hit, he got hit. His sole plate appearance gave him a career 1.000 on-base percentage.

After that, Van Dusen bounced around the minors, having a few promising seasons. He homered 25 times in 119 games in 1957 and hit another 24 homers in 1960, but after the 1961 season, he left the game behind.

In 2012, Van Dusen threw out the ceremonial first pitch at a Miami Marlins game, supporting a fellow one-game wonder, Adam Greenberg, who that day, became a two-game wonder.

Mack Burk (1956)

Mack Burk is the only catcher in franchise history to leapfrog over the minors.

Like Qualters, Burk signed with the Phillies for $40,000. Unlike Qualters, Burk got into the game immediately, albeit briefly. In his May 25, 1956 debut, he came in as a pinch-runner. He appeared in 15 games that year and went 1-for-1 with three runs scored. He never drew a walk or struck out.

Burk missed the entire 1957 season serving in the military and then returned to the Phillies in 1958, this time as a minor leaguer. He appeared in one last game for the Phillies that year, striking out in his only at-bat. After two more seasons in the minors, Burk retired from baseball.

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