The Philadelphia Phillies have played in eight World Series. Remarkably, they’ve won only two, going 16-27 in 43 World Series games. Naturally, there have been standouts, especially in the two Series the Phillies won, but that factors out to a 60-win record over a 162-game season. Essentially, the Philadelphia is a last-place team when they play in the Fall Classic.
Furthermore, because there have really been only two eras of sustained success in franchise history, most of the men who have played in the World Series for the Phillies have had very few at-bats and innings pitched.
Nevertheless, given their losing record and the limited sample size for most Phillies players, they still have a very impressive all-time World Series squad.
The greatest ever Fall Classic Phillies
C: Carlos Ruiz
Ruiz had a .700 OPS in 2008 and 2009. In 43 World Series plate appearances, he slashed .353/.488/.706 with two home runs, nine walks, and only two strikeouts. Not only is he clearly the best Phillies catcher in World Series history, but he might also be the best catcher for any team in World Series history; eat your heart out, Johnny Bench and Yogi Berra. Certainly, he’s on the shortlist for the 21st Century team.
1B: Ryan Howard
That time Ryan Howard hit two HR and drove in five in a World Series game 💪
— MLB Vault (@MLBVault) February 9, 2022
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Howard’s only real competition for this spot was 1915 Phillie Fred Luderus, who did have an OPS of 1.250, but in only 18 plate appearances. We’ll give Howard the edge here for his four home runs and actually playing 11 games in an era after our great-great-grandparents.
2B: Chase Utley
Like Ruiz, Utley may belong on the all-franchise World Series team. It’s amazing the Phillies have even two who could be considered for that honor, given their lousy history. Everyone remembers Utley tying to single-Series home run record in 2009, but he also hit another two bombs and had an .875 OPS in 2008. Not too shabby.
SS: Granny Hamner
For whatever reason, Phillies shortstops have not performed to their standard in the Fall Classic. Jimmy Rollins OPS was .574 in 53 plate appearances, and Larry Bowa’s was .792 in only 24. That leaves Granny Hamner, who slashed .429/.467/.714, one of the Phillies’ offense's only sparks in their four-game sweep by the New York Yankees in 1950.
3B: Mike Schmidt
The greatest third baseman in MLB history lived up to the moniker in the 1980 World Series, earning MVP honors with two home runs and a 1.176 OPS in plate appearances. You might not want to check his 1983 output, though. He hit .050 with six strikeouts and no walks after leading the league in OPS+ in the regular season… yikes.
LF: Raúl Ibañez
At age 37, with the Phillies in ‘09, Ibañez finally got to play in his first Fall Classic against his hometown Yankees. He made the most of the opportunity, slashing .304/.333/.609 over six games.
CF: Lenny Dykstra
Beloved sleazeball Lenny Dykstra always performed well in the postseason. His 1.094 OPS in 136 or more postseason plate appearances is topped only by Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth. His 1993 World Series was no different; he slashed .348/.500/.913 with four homers and four stolen bases in 30 games. What an incredible way to make the most of a short six-game series and the best slash line on this list.
RF: Jayson Werth
Like Dykstra, Werth was a career playoff riser, appearing in 63 career postseason games, but his star shone brightest during his back-to-back World Series trips with the Phillies in ‘08 and ‘09. In those Series, he slashed .351/.500/.676 with three homers and three stolen bases, walking as many times as he struck out.
DH: Kyle Schwarber
I’m bending the rules for this honor. Harper was the DH in the 2022 World Series because of his torn UCL, but I choose to believe Schwarber was spiritually a DH even then. Despite the eventual loss to the Houston Astros, Schwarber’s three home runs and 1.123 OPS helped power the Phillies to two victories and almost brought them to a Game 7 if not for Yordan Alvarez’s three-run homer in Game 6.
SP: Grover Cleveland Alexander
The events I’m about to describe happened so long ago that Ol’ Pete Alexander still hadn't deployed to the western front in World War I, developed “shell shock,” and come out of the bullpen drunk to shut down the Murderers’ Row Yankees in Game 7 of the 1926 World Series. In 1915, Alexander was only 28, and his two complete games and three earned runs in that series still only gave the Phillies one victory over the Boston Red Sox.
SP: Cole Hamels
Like Schmidt’s 1983 Series, we can just ignore the ‘08 World Series MVP’s later efforts. Hamels pitched two games in the Phillies' second Fall Classic series victory and, without a rain-soaked Game 5, probably would have become the second starter at that time with five wins in a single postseason.
SP: Steve Carlton
Despite all the honors Carlton has, he is still under-respected in Philadelphia. The one-time MLB strikeout king started three World Series games for the Phillies and threw 21.2 innings to a 2.49 ERA. Most importantly, his seven innings of one-run ball in Game 6 of 1980 propelled the Phillies to their first-ever World Series title.
CP: Tug McGraw
Bullpen arms were treated differently back then. Over the 11 days before Game 6 in 1980, McGraw threw 227 pitches. Manager Dallas Green really wore him out. In 7.2 World Series innings in 1980, McGraw allowed only one run and struck out 10. Ya just had to believe!
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