The Philadelphia Phillies are one of the most storied franchises in baseball history and have had some of the greatest players in the history of the game wear their uniform. Mike Schmidt, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Robin Roberts and many more have spent a great deal, if not all, of their careers in Philly before ending up on a plaque in Cooperstown.
More recently, Phillies superstars like Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Bryce Harper have taken home Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger Awards in recognition of elite seasons they’ve put together at the plate. However, MLB only started handing out Silver Sluggers in 1980. With that in mind, who are some of the best Phillies that never had the chance to earn the coveted trophy?
The Phillies have plenty of hitters in their history who would have won Silver Sluggers
Richie Ashburn
One of the most beloved men in franchise history due to his Hall of Fame playing career and his broadcasting work later on, Richie Ashburn was a member of the famed 1950 “Whiz Kids” team and perennial All-Star. The blazing fast center fielder racked up well over 2,000 hits in a Phillies uniform and put up a .311 batting average over his 12 years with the team. Ashburn’s magnum opus was a 7.0-WAR 1958 campaign in which he led all of baseball with a .350 average and a whopping 215 hits, more than enough to have earned him a Silver Slugger if it had been around.
Ed Delahanty
Outfielder Ed Delahanty was perhaps the greatest Phillie of the 1800s, as he played 13 seasons for the team, slashing .348/.415/.508 and compiling over 60.0 WAR. Equally noteworthy was his incredibly bizarre death at the age of 35 that cut short his Hall of Fame career. Had Delahanty played 80 or 90 years later, he most certainly would have piled up Silver Sluggers, seeing as he put together three seasons with above-.400 batting averages and an incredible six in which his OPS topped 1.000.
Chuck Klein
Perhaps the greatest non-Mike Schmidt hitter in Phillies history, Chuck Klein swatted 243 homers and posted a .935 OPS in 15 seasons in Philadelphia. The right fielder earned plenty of accolades in his career, including an MVP, two All-Star berths, a triple crown, a batting title, and of course a 1980 Hall of Fame induction. His finest hour was an 8.0-WAR 1933 season where he slashed .368/.422/.602 with 79 extra-base hits and 120 RBI; certainly Silver Slugger-worthy production.
Billy Hamilton
No, not the Cincinnati Reds speedster from a few years back. Hall of Famer “Sliding” Billy Hamilton spent six years starring for the Phils prior to the turn of the 20th century. The diminutive outfielder collected 1,084 hits in those six seasons, posting a .360 batting average along the way. While Hamilton was elite wire-to-wire during his Phillies tenure, he went absolutely nuclear in 1894, collecting 8.2 WAR on the back of a .403 average and an unreal 225 hits. Oh, and in the same vein of the more recent Billy Hamilton, he swiped an even 100 bags that year.
Dick Allen
Poor Dick Allen didn’t get the recognition he deserved while he was alive. The longtime Phillies third baseman died in 2020, five years before his long overdue Hall of Fame induction, and retired in 1977, just three years before the Silver Slugger came into effect. Had the award been in circulation earlier, Allen could have won it in any of his nine Phillies seasons, but his best work came in 1966 when he smashed 40 home runs and posted a 1.027 OPS en route to a top-five MVP finish.
Sam Thompson
The Phillies employed a trio of Hall of Fame outfielders at the same time in the late-1800s, yet somehow were never able to parlay that talent into a World Series victory. That certainly wasn’t the fault of Sam Thompson, who slashed .334/.389/.509 during his decade in Philadelphia. 1889 through 1895 were all top-tier campaigns, but the cream of the crop was Thompson’s bonkers 1894 season, wherein he worked to a .415 batting average and 1.162 OPS with a league-leading 149 RBI.
Sherry Magee
This list is chock-full of Hall of Famers, but one guy who was arguably snubbed from that exclusive club is left fielder Sherry Magee. The native Pennsylvanian racked up an even 60.0 career WAR and over 2,000 hits during his 16-year major league career, 11 of which he spent with the Phils. Magee’s most Silver Slugger-esque season came in 1910 when he collected a league-high 123 RBI and paced the National League with a .331/.445/.507 line across 154 games.
Del Ennis
Born and raised Philadelphian Del Ennis spent 11 seasons with his hometown team, racking up 32.4 WAR in the process. Arguably his best year came for the Whiz Kids when he slashed .311/.372/.551 with more than 30 doubles and homers apiece, while pacing the National League with 126 RBI; more than enough to be worthy of a Silver Slugger.
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