The Philadelphia Phillies have had exceptional players who have spent part or all of their careers with the organization. Steve Carlton, Jimmy Rollins, the late Darren Daulton and the late Roy Halladay are some popular players who donned a Phillies uniform during their careers.
Analytics has different ways to determine a position player's value to his team. A player's batting average, arguably the most common statistic to determine how well a batter is doing offensively, has lost some significance to an extent.
OPS (on-base plus slugging) adds two percentages that factor in how a player gets on base. On-base percentage (OBP) is determined by the rate at which a batter reaches base in his plate appearances. If a player hits and walks often, he will have a high OBP. Slugging percentage (SLG) is the hitter's rate of total bases per at-bat. An easy way to understand SLG is if a player gets extra-base hits or is considered a home run hitter, his SLG will be higher than a player who hits mostly singles.
Top 5 individual offensive Phillies seasons by WAR
We used FanGraphs' WAR (wins above replacement) to determine the top individual offensive Phillies seasons in the club's history.
According to MLB.com, "WAR measures a player's value in all facets of the game by deciphering how many more wins he's worth than a replacement-level player at his same position."
To determine a player's WAR number for position players: "The number of runs above average a player is worth in his batting, base running and fielding plus adjustment for position plus adjustment for league plus the number of runs provided by a replacement-level player/runs per win."
Without further ado, here are the top five individual offensive seasons in Phillies franchise history by fWAR.
5. Dick Allen (1964), Chase Utley (2008-09): 8.2 fWAR
Third baseman Dick Allen made quite the impression with his performance in 1964. It was his first full season in the majors, and he won the Rookie of the Year Award. The utility player also demonstrated an impressive feat, playing in all 162 regular season games.
He finished with a slash line of .318/.382/.557 and an OPS of .939, the eighth-best in MLB at the end of the season. He led all of baseball with 125 runs and tied third baseman Ron Santo of the Chicago Cubs for first with 13 triples. The former Phillie tied for fourth with Cubs left fielder Billy Williams with 201 hits. Allen tied for sixth with Frank Robinson, the Cincinnati Reds right fielder, with 38 doubles.
The Wampum, Pennsylvania native received the highest honor for an MLB player as he received enough votes to be elected into the Hall of Fame in December 2024 after being on the ballot for the previous 14 years. He will be officially inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 27, 2025, in Cooperstown, New York.
Chase Utley was one of the Phillies' core players during his time with the club. He had a fantastic 2008, the last time Philly won a World Series. The second baseman posted a .292/.380/.535 line, with a .915 OPS in 159 games, first among the team and 14th in MLB.
Utley finished the 2008 regular season with 33 home runs, 104 RBI and 113 runs. His 177 hits led the Phillies and were the second most in a season for his career, trailing the 203 hits he posted in 2006. The 113 runs he posted led Philadelphia and were the second-highest of his career, behind the 131 in 2006. The Phillies' 15th overall selection in the 2000 MLB Draft also led Philly with 177 hits and 41 doubles.
One of the Phillies' all-time best infielders continued his offensive success in 2009. Utley's numbers were slightly lower than the previous season but still very good. He finished with a line of .282/.397/.508 and an OPS of .905 in 156 contests. His .282 batting average trailed center fielder Shane Victorino's .292 for the club lead.
The Pasadena, California native compiled 31 home runs and 93 RBI, while his 112 runs scored led the team. He finished fourth in home runs and tied third in RBI with left fielder Raul Ibañez. The second baseman's OPS trailed only first baseman Ryan Howard's .931 OPS for the club lead.
Utley was one of the more consistent offensive players during his prime years in Phillies history. The retired infielder has a legitimate chance to be inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame one day. He demonstrated himself as one of the best players in the majors during the mid to late 2000s.