PopTop
11-10-2003, 10:15 AM
Ok, these aren't necessarily the players I think are the greatest all-time Phils ... Just some of my favorites that I enjoyed watching along the way.
Starting Pitcher: Jim Bunning. Though he was only with the Phils for a total of 6 seasons, Bunning gets my nod just because when I think of the present day senator from Kentucky, I think of him in a Phils jersey. Bunning just looked big and strong and tough when he was on the mound, whether he was pitching for some of the better Phillies teams or some of the worst. A Phillie from 1964-67 and again at the tail end of his career in 1970-71, he was a 7-time All-Star (1957, 1959, 1961-64, 1966) and made it into the Hall of Fame in 1996 via the Veteran’s Committee. Notorious for pitching inside, Bunning chunked a no-hitter while with the Tigers against the Red Sox in Fenway Park on 20 July 1958, and then tossed a perfect game for the Phillies against the Mets in Shea Stadium on 21 June 1964. At the time he was the only pitcher besides Cy Young to throw no-hitters and win at least 100 games in both the AL and NL.
Relief Pitcher: Tug McGraw. The Tugger divided his 19 MLB seasons among the Mets and Phils, spending the last 10 years in the City of Brotherly Love. The zany southpaw appeared in 26 postseason games spread over 9 postseason series, going 4-5 with 8 saves and a 2.23 ERA in the playoffs overall. In the 1980 World Series against the Royals, McGraw saved Game 1 in relief of rookie starter Bob Walk, then won Game 5 and saved the clincher in Game 6 for Steve Carlton. He retired with a record of 96-92, 180 saves and a 3.14 ERA in over 1,500 MLB innings.
Catcher: Darren Daulton. I know, I know. The smart play is to go with Bob Boone here. Daulton had about 327 knee surgeries and has been in more trouble with the law since leaving baseball than I like to think about. But I always liked Dutch, and he remains the answer to the trivia question, “Who was the last catcher to lead the NL in RBI?” (1992, 109 RBI)
First Base: Dick Allen. Started his often-tumultuous 15-year MLB career with the Phils in 1963, played for them through 1969 and came back for the 1975-76 seasons. Allen always seemed to be at odds with the press, the fans, his coaches or his teammates, but was still a stud with a bat in his hands as evidenced by his lifetime .292 average and 351 homers. Allen was a 7-time All-Star and the 1964 NL Rookie of the Year.
Second Base: Juan Samuel. Close race between Samuel, Mickey Morandini and Manny Trillo in my mind. Samuel was nowhere near the defensive player the other two were, and he was only a Phillie for the first 6½ of his 16 MLB seasons. But his power/speed combination always impressed me. And his 1984 campaign was nothing short of amazing: 191 hits, 36 doubles, 19 triples, 15 homers, 72 steals, 105 runs scored and 72 RBI. It’s even more amazing if you conveniently forget the 168:28 ratio he posted in the K:BB column.
Third Base: Mike Schmidt. A no-brainer, one of the game’s best ever, and the one moment of his career I’ll always remember above all others is when Schmidt jacked one in the old Astrodome to dead center that struck a speaker suspended from the ceiling and was eventually ruled a ground rule double. Schmidt was royally ripped off on that one since it was a ball that would’ve easily traveled over 500 feet if the darn speaker hadn’t been there.
Shortstop: Larry Bowa. Had trouble hitting his way out of a wet paper bag at times, and he was a cocky little guy. But he could run and was a pretty darn slick-fielding shortstop. And being someone who was always as slow as molasses in winter and who sometimes couldn’t catch a cold if I was surrounded by a gazillion 3-year-olds with runny noses, I’ve always admired speed and defense.
Outfielders: Greg Luzinski, Garry Maddox, Johnny Callison. I swear, Maddox could run down fly balls blindfolded. He had incredibly long strides and only seemed to need about 3-4 good steps to get from dead center into one of the gaps. He won 8-straight Gold Gloves (1975-82), and longtime Pirates great Ralph Kiner said it best when he noted, “Two-thirds of the earth is covered by water, the other third by Garry Maddox.” Bull Luzinski was just a monster at the plate; he struck fear into me and I was in the stands! Luzinski spent the first 11 of his 15 MLB seasons with the Phillies, hit 223 of his 307 lifetime jacks with Philadelphia, was a 4-time All-Star and twice runner-up for the NL MVP (1975, 1977). Callison is not going to make a lot of all-time Phillies teams, but he’s still one of my favorite players if only for one dramatic moment in All-Star history. With the Nationals trailing 4-3 going into the bottom of the ninth inning of the 1964 Midseason Classic played at Shea, Callison crushed a Dick Radatz pitch for a 3-run bomb to give the NL a 7-4 win. Callison’s career was far more than that one at bat, but I can still vividly recall that moment and take you to the little park my buddies and I were at playing ball ourselves and stopping to listen to parts of the game on my transistor radio. We all took turns reenacting the moment and running around the bases as if we’d hit it.
Starting Pitcher: Jim Bunning. Though he was only with the Phils for a total of 6 seasons, Bunning gets my nod just because when I think of the present day senator from Kentucky, I think of him in a Phils jersey. Bunning just looked big and strong and tough when he was on the mound, whether he was pitching for some of the better Phillies teams or some of the worst. A Phillie from 1964-67 and again at the tail end of his career in 1970-71, he was a 7-time All-Star (1957, 1959, 1961-64, 1966) and made it into the Hall of Fame in 1996 via the Veteran’s Committee. Notorious for pitching inside, Bunning chunked a no-hitter while with the Tigers against the Red Sox in Fenway Park on 20 July 1958, and then tossed a perfect game for the Phillies against the Mets in Shea Stadium on 21 June 1964. At the time he was the only pitcher besides Cy Young to throw no-hitters and win at least 100 games in both the AL and NL.
Relief Pitcher: Tug McGraw. The Tugger divided his 19 MLB seasons among the Mets and Phils, spending the last 10 years in the City of Brotherly Love. The zany southpaw appeared in 26 postseason games spread over 9 postseason series, going 4-5 with 8 saves and a 2.23 ERA in the playoffs overall. In the 1980 World Series against the Royals, McGraw saved Game 1 in relief of rookie starter Bob Walk, then won Game 5 and saved the clincher in Game 6 for Steve Carlton. He retired with a record of 96-92, 180 saves and a 3.14 ERA in over 1,500 MLB innings.
Catcher: Darren Daulton. I know, I know. The smart play is to go with Bob Boone here. Daulton had about 327 knee surgeries and has been in more trouble with the law since leaving baseball than I like to think about. But I always liked Dutch, and he remains the answer to the trivia question, “Who was the last catcher to lead the NL in RBI?” (1992, 109 RBI)
First Base: Dick Allen. Started his often-tumultuous 15-year MLB career with the Phils in 1963, played for them through 1969 and came back for the 1975-76 seasons. Allen always seemed to be at odds with the press, the fans, his coaches or his teammates, but was still a stud with a bat in his hands as evidenced by his lifetime .292 average and 351 homers. Allen was a 7-time All-Star and the 1964 NL Rookie of the Year.
Second Base: Juan Samuel. Close race between Samuel, Mickey Morandini and Manny Trillo in my mind. Samuel was nowhere near the defensive player the other two were, and he was only a Phillie for the first 6½ of his 16 MLB seasons. But his power/speed combination always impressed me. And his 1984 campaign was nothing short of amazing: 191 hits, 36 doubles, 19 triples, 15 homers, 72 steals, 105 runs scored and 72 RBI. It’s even more amazing if you conveniently forget the 168:28 ratio he posted in the K:BB column.
Third Base: Mike Schmidt. A no-brainer, one of the game’s best ever, and the one moment of his career I’ll always remember above all others is when Schmidt jacked one in the old Astrodome to dead center that struck a speaker suspended from the ceiling and was eventually ruled a ground rule double. Schmidt was royally ripped off on that one since it was a ball that would’ve easily traveled over 500 feet if the darn speaker hadn’t been there.
Shortstop: Larry Bowa. Had trouble hitting his way out of a wet paper bag at times, and he was a cocky little guy. But he could run and was a pretty darn slick-fielding shortstop. And being someone who was always as slow as molasses in winter and who sometimes couldn’t catch a cold if I was surrounded by a gazillion 3-year-olds with runny noses, I’ve always admired speed and defense.
Outfielders: Greg Luzinski, Garry Maddox, Johnny Callison. I swear, Maddox could run down fly balls blindfolded. He had incredibly long strides and only seemed to need about 3-4 good steps to get from dead center into one of the gaps. He won 8-straight Gold Gloves (1975-82), and longtime Pirates great Ralph Kiner said it best when he noted, “Two-thirds of the earth is covered by water, the other third by Garry Maddox.” Bull Luzinski was just a monster at the plate; he struck fear into me and I was in the stands! Luzinski spent the first 11 of his 15 MLB seasons with the Phillies, hit 223 of his 307 lifetime jacks with Philadelphia, was a 4-time All-Star and twice runner-up for the NL MVP (1975, 1977). Callison is not going to make a lot of all-time Phillies teams, but he’s still one of my favorite players if only for one dramatic moment in All-Star history. With the Nationals trailing 4-3 going into the bottom of the ninth inning of the 1964 Midseason Classic played at Shea, Callison crushed a Dick Radatz pitch for a 3-run bomb to give the NL a 7-4 win. Callison’s career was far more than that one at bat, but I can still vividly recall that moment and take you to the little park my buddies and I were at playing ball ourselves and stopping to listen to parts of the game on my transistor radio. We all took turns reenacting the moment and running around the bases as if we’d hit it.