No. 3: Grover Cleveland "Old Pete" Alexander
Grover Cleveland "Old Pete" Alexander played with the Phillies from 1911 to 1917 and again in 1930, and ranks among the top Phillies pitchers in several categories. The right-hander is third with 190 wins, 2,513 2/3 innings pitched, and an ERA of 2.18. He has the highest winning percentage of any Philadelphia pitcher at .676 and the most shutouts with 61.
#OTD in 1917 at Ebbets Field, Phillies ace Pete Alexander (seen here at Polo Grounds same year) started, completed and won both games (5-0, 9-3) in a doubleheader against Brooklyn Robins. On the day Old Pete pitched 18 innings, gave up 13 hits struck out seven and walked just one pic.twitter.com/x8qsEGmSMx
— Old-Time Baseball Photos (@OTBaseballPhoto) September 3, 2019
The right-hander is simply among the elite of all starting pitchers based on where he finished in several key pitching categories throughout the history of the organization. He's second among Phillies pitchers with 219 complete games and 10th in games with 338 appearances in a Phillies uniform. He finished seventh with 1,409 strikeouts throughout his eight seasons with Philadelphia.
During his first seven-year stint in Philadelphia, Alexander led the NL in innings pitched four times, and the majors twice. He also led the NL in strikeouts three times and the majors twice. He received MVP votes in three seasons with the Phillies, including finishing third in his rookie year.
The only thing missing from his remarkable career with the organization is a World Series championship, which he won with the Cardinals in 1926. Alexander was a member of the 1915 Phillies team that made the Fall Classic but lost to the Boston Red Sox in five games. The five-time ERA leader was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1938 and the Phillies Wall of Fame in 1981.