[1] - In 1981, a mid-season players' strike split the season. Philadelphia, with the best record in the East Division when play was halted, was declared the first-half division winner. The Phillies' record over the entire season was third-best in the division, 2½ games behind St. Louis and Montréal.
The "Phillies" name originates a a shortened version of "the Philadelphias", as the convention at the time was to call the team by their home city. They are nicknamed "the Phightin' Phils", or simply "the Phightin's" or "The Phils". It is a convention in Phillies culture to substitute "F" with "Ph" in various terms or names, such as "the Phold".
One of the 19th century National League franchises, the club was founded in Philadelphia in 1883. Then the Philadelphia Quakers, the names "Quakers" and "Phillies" would coexist starting with their second year of existence, and continue until 1889. The team attempted to change names in 1943 to the Philadelphia Blue Jays to change the team's image, but it only lasted two years.
At the outset of the 20th century, the team made its home in the Baker Bowl. After much fighting to get out of their lease and the badly aging stadium, they moved into Connie Mack Stadium (then Shibe Park), home of their American League rivals, the Philadelphia Athletics. The A's would move in 1954 to Kansas City, Missouri, eventually moving to Oakland to become today's Oakland Athletics.
The Phillies have won one World Series Championship in their history, against the Kansas City Royals in 1980.
In 1883, sporting goods manufacturer Al Reach (a pioneering professional baseball player) and attorney John Rogers won an expansion National League franchise for Philadelphia. They were awarded the remains of the Worcester Brown Stockings, a franchise which had folded in 1882. The new team was named the Quakers. The Quakers managed to win only 17 of 98 games, with pitcher John Coleman going 12-48. The team's .173 winning percentage is still the worst in franchise history, but is not counted as one of the lowest in baseball history due to several postponements.
In 1884, future Hall of Famer Harry Wright was recruited as manager in the hope of reversing the team's fortunes. By the 1890s, the newly renamed "Phillies" (in homage to their home city) were posting consistently solid records of 70 or more wins, but were unable to rise above mediocre standings or extend beyond mere brushes of opportunity for a title.
The Phillies opened a new ballpark in 1887 to much initial acclaim, a venue that eventually became known as Baker Bowl. Unfortunately, the ballpark would come to draw as much ridicule as the underperforming team itself over its 50-some seasons as the Phillies' home.
Upon Wright's departure in 1893, the club's performance began to slip, the worst of which resulted in a 10th-place finish in the 1897 season. Highlights of the era, however, included Ed Delahanty's four home runs in a single game (1896) and an outstanding 94-58 record in 1899 (to place third, nine games out of first place). The Phillies' strong outfield during this time featured future Hall of Famers Billy Hamilton and Sam Thompson.
Early 1900s
By the turn of the century, the Phillies had not yet rebounded from years of low standings. The team's misfortunes extended off the field as well, as many of its better players defected to the more popular and lucrative American League. Many, including Lajoie, landed contracts with the newly formed, crosstown Athletics, owned by former Phillies minority owner Benjamin Shibe. In fact, the new league's first five batting champions were former Phillies.
The depleted talent left a noticeable mark on the club, and in 1902, the Phillies ended their season with a 56-91 record, 46 games out of first place. Moreover, a tragic accident that killed 12 and injured hundreds when a balcony collapsed at their home stadium, Baker Bowl, nearly ruined Reach and Rogers, and they were forced to sell the team.
One of the few notable events over the next decade was the banishment of owner Horace Fogel from the game for criticizing umpires.
In 1915, their 33rd season, the Phillies finally won their first pennant. The win was due in large part to a pitching staff led by the great Grover Cleveland Alexander, who won an impressive 31 games while pitching four one-hit games. Offensively, Gavvy Cravath (who set a modern major-league single-season record with 24 home runs, which would stand for five seasons until Babe Ruth bettered it), topped the league in RBI and runs scored. This would not prove enough, however, as the Phillies ultimately lost the Series in five games to the Boston Red Sox on a Harry Hooper home run in the top of the ninth. The following year, in 1916, the Phillies battled the Brooklyn Dodgers (now in Los Angeles) with a run at another pennant but finished 2½ games behind with a 91-62 record. In 1917, Grover Cleveland won 30 games for a third straight season but was dealt to the Chicago Cubs because owner William Baker didn't think he'd come back from World War I. Baker, the team's owner since 1913, had led the Phillies to their first pennant, but became notorious for operating the team on a minimal budget. For instance, the Phillies had only one major-league scout in the entire organization.
The Alexander trade marked the beginning of a 30-year funk for the Phillies. Between 1918 and 1948, the Phillies had only one winning season (1932) and were never a serious factor in any pennant race past June. By some accounts, this was the longest stretch of futility for any team in baseball history.
A few remarkable players nonetheless emerged during an otherwise bleak period. For the batters, at least, Baker Bowl's cozy dimensions proved advantageous once the "lively ball" era began. In the 1920s, outfielder Cy Williams emerged as the new slugger, winning three consecutive NL home run crowns. In the 1930s, a young Chuck Klein impressed all, batting alongside Lefty O'Doul and winning the NL MVP in 1932 and the NL Triple Crown a year later. (Klein was the top hitter in Phillies' history until the arrival of Mike Schmidt.)
However, as baseball historian Lee Allen noted, the Phillies were required by the rules to pitch and field as well as hit. In The National League Story (1961), Allen noted that in 1930 the Phillies' pitching staff "yielded a total of 1199 runs, a major-league record which is likely to outlast the redwood trees of California or the sun."
1930s-1940s
Baker died in 1930, and left the team to his nephew, Gerald Nugent. Unlike Baker, who refused to spend any money on the Phillies, Nugent badly wanted to build a contender. However, he simply didn't have the financial means to do so. He was forced to trade what little talent the team had to make ends meet, and often had to use some creative financial methods to even field a team at all.[1] It got to the point that in many cases, the Phillies were a major league team in name only.
One problem was Baker Bowl. Once considered one of the finest parks in baseball, it was not well maintained from the 1910s onward. For many years, the Phillies tried to abandon Baker Bowl and move to the more modern Shibe Park, home of the Athletics. However, they were hamstrung by a 99-year lease on the decrepit park, and businessman Charles W. Murphy was unwilling to let the Phillies out of it. It wasn't until the middle of the 1938 season that the Phillies were able to get out of the lease, and only then because the city threatened to condemn Baker Bowl. The move five blocks west on Lehigh Avenue did little to improve the Phillies' fortunes. Attendance was so anemic (less than 3,000 per game) that other teams couldn't make enough to cover expenses.
The nadir came in 1942, when the Phillies needed an advance from the league just to go to spring training. Between this and back rent owed the A's, Nugent was at the end of his rope. Unable to find a buyer, he was forced to sell the franchise back to the league. A week later, lumber broker William Cox bought the team. A popular legend has it that Bill Veeck had agreed in principle to buy the Phillies from Nugent. As the story goes, Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, who strongly supported baseball's color line, scuttled the deal, and Cox bought the team for about half of what Veeck offered. However, research has proven that this story is likely false; notably, Philadelphia's black press was silent on the matter.[1]
Cox immediately set about remaking the team. In 1943, they improved to a 64-90 record, their first emergence from the league cellar and with fewer than 100 losses in five years. However, Cox admitted to making "sentimental" bets on the Phillies, not knowing it was against the rules to do so. Author Rich Westcott was quoted by Sports Illustrated as saying Cox knew "next to nothing about baseball. Otherwise, why would he have bet on the Phillies?" [1] What Cox knew or didn't know about the game did not matter to Landis, who banned him from baseball for life. Cox thus became the second Phillies owner to be banned. Soon afterward, Cox sold controlling interest in the Phillies to DuPont heir Robert R.M. Carpenter, who immediately turned control over to his son, Bob, Jr.
Carpenter's first act was to try to change the team's name to the "Blue Jays." The idea was to try and change the teams image. "Blue Jays" was chosen after a city wide vote on a new nickname. However, "Phillies" continued to appear on the team's jerseys, with a Blue Jay appearing on the sleeves. Students at Johns Hopkins University, whose teams have long been known as the Blue Jays, protested the change, claiming that the Phillies' use of the name was an insult to their school, given the team's reputation as a chronic loser. The experiment was dropped after only two seasons, and the nickname "Blue Jays" was out of Philadelphia newspapers by 1947.
File:Shibepark1.jpgShibe Park / Connie Mack Stadium, home of the Phillies from 1938–1970
Carpenter, like Cox, wasn't afraid to spend the money it took to build a contender. He immediately started signing young players and devoted significant resources to the farm system. Although it took a few years, the Phillies were soon fielding more competitive teams than they ever had before.
Although the Phillies led the league for most of the 1950 season, and led by seven with 11 left to play, a late-season tailspin triggered by the loss of Simmons to National Guard service caused the team to lose the next eight of 10 games. On the last day of the season, the Phillies hung onto a one-game lead when Sisler's dramatic tenth-inning, three-run home run against the Dodgers clinched the Phils' first pennant in 35 years. In the World Series, they were swept by the New York Yankees in four straight games. Ace reliever Jim Konstanty was used as the starter in Game 1 at Shibe Park, and suffered a 1-0 loss, which set the tone for the Series. All of the games were close, but the Phillies, exhausted from their late-season plunge, could not muster a win. An indication of how things were going for the Phils occurred in the sixth inning of Game 2 at Shibe, when Ennis hit a deep fly to center, but Joe DiMaggio made a spectacular over-the-shoulder running catch, near the 400-foot marker at the base of the scoreboard in right center field. Despite the World Series loss, the Phillies' dramatic run to the pennant cemented their status as Philadelphia's favorite team. This coincided with the final collapse of the Athletics, who finally moved out of town after the 1954 season. They sold Shibe Park (which had been renamed Connie Mack Stadium in 1953) to the Phillies.
The Phillies remained competitive during most of the first half of the 1950s. However, they soon faded from the scene, notching eight straight non-winning seasons from 1954 to 1962, including four straight years in last place (1958-61). Manager Gene Mauch took over during the 1960 season, but the team's record only got worse, bottoming out at 47-107 in 1961, a season that also included a modern major-league record 23-game losing streak.
"Phold" of 1964
From 1919 through 1947, the Phillies finished last a total of 17 times and next to last seven times. A 1962 cartoon in a baseball magazine depicted a ballplayer arriving at a French Foreign Legion outpost, explaining, "I was released by the Phillies!" That year, one of the new expansion teams, the New York Mets, played so poorly that they set a modern record for losses in a season (120), wrestling the title of "most futile team in the Majors" from the Phils.
During 1962 and 1963, the Phillies began to climb back to respectability, and throughout the 1964 season, they seemed destined to make it to the World Series, with excellent performances from players such as rookie third baseman Dick Allen (called "Richie" in the news media of the time), starters Jim Bunning (obtained from the Detroit Tigers at the start of the season to shore up the pitching staff) and Chris Short, and star right fielder Johnny Callison. TV Guide went to press with a World Series preview that featured a photo of Connie Mack Stadium. However, from a 6½-game lead on the Cincinnati Reds with 12 games remaining in the season, Philadelphia collapsed in a 10-game losing streak (the first seven played at home). The crucial series came when the now second-place Phillies traveled to St. Louis to play the Cardinals after their losing home stand. They dropped the first game of the series to Bob Gibson by a 5-1 score, their eighth loss in a row, dropping them to third place. The Cardinals would sweep the three-game set and assume first place for good.
During that losing streak, there was a reference to "the ghost(?) of 1950," recalling that the 1950 Phillies had barely hung on to win the pennant. The 1964 Phillies managed to win their last two and held onto the hope of a tie with the Cardinals and Reds. The Cardinals had also stumbled, losing the first two in their final series to the lowly Mets. Had the Cardinals lost their final game, the resulting three-way tie would have forced an unprecedented "round-robin" playoff for the league title. That did not materialize though, as the Cardinals salvaged that last game against the Mets, to take the pennant (their first since 1946) with no playoff. The legendary choke would vilify Mauch (who was criticized for his handling of the pitching rotation) and haunt Philadelphia fans for years to come.
The "Phold," as it is known, is one of the most notable collapses in sports history, surmounted only by the Brooklyn Dodgers' memorable 13½-game fall to the New York Giants in 1951, and by the Boston Red Sox' loss of a 14-game lead to the New York Yankees in 1978. The Phillies remained competitive through the 1960s, but sank to the bottom of the standings by the start of the 1970s.
1965-1970, the ending of Shibe Park
in 1965, the Phils were 3.5 games out of first at the All-Star break and just five games behind on August 18. Then they lost 13 of 17 to fall out of contention. They finished sixth. Off season acquisition Dick Stuart hit 28 homers and knocked in 95 runs, but batted just .234. Richie Allen wasn't as good as he was as a rookie, but still hit .302 with 20 homers and 85 RBIs. John Callison had another solid season (.262, 32 homers, 101 RBIs). Cookie Rojas led the Phils with a .303 average while playing seven positions. Jim Bunning (19-9, 2.60 ERA, 268 strikeouts in 291 innings), Chris Short (18-11, 2.82 ERA) and Ray Culp (14-10, 3.22 ERA) gave the Phils three good starters. Bunning's seven shutouts were the most by a Phillie since Grover Alexander had eight in 1917.
By 1970 Shibe Park was an aging stadium, and in the last day of the season at the stadium's last game the Phillies avoided last place by beating the Montreal Expos 2-1.
Abandoning aging Connie Mack Stadium, the Phillies opened the new Veterans Stadium in 1971, with hopes of a new beginning. In their first season there, pitcher Rick Wise hurled a no-hitter. That same season, Harry Kalas joined the Phillies broadcasting team. In 1972, the Phillies were the worst team in baseball, but newly acquired Steve Carlton won nearly half their games (27 of 59 team wins) In that same year, ownership of the Phillies was "inherited" by Robert "Ruly" Carpenter III when his father stepped down.
By 1974 the Phillies began their quest for a championship that would be theirs 6 years later. That year second baseman Dave Cash coined the phrase "Yes We Can" for the Phils. And, for a while, it looked as if they could. They led the division for 51 days. But in August and September the Phils went 25-32 and it was "No They Couldn't".
The Phillies achieved some success in the mid-1970s. With such players as Carlton, third baseman Mike Schmidt, shortstop Larry Bowa, and outfielder Greg Luzinski, the Phillies won three straight division titles (1976-78). However, they fell short in the NLCS, against the Reds in 1976 and the Dodgers in 1977-78. In 1979, the Phillies acquired Pete Rose, the spark that would put them over the top.
The Phils won the NL East in 1980, but to win the league championship, they would have to defeat the Astros. In a memorable NLCS, with 4 of the 5 games needing extra innings, they fell behind 2-1 but battled back to squeeze past Houston on a tenth-inning game-winning hit by center fielder Garry Maddox, and the city celebrated its first pennant in 30 years.
Facing Kansas City in the 1980 World Series, the Phillies won the first two games at home, but the Royals came back in games three and four in Kansas City. With the series thus tied, Del Unser drove in Mike Schmidt with a pinch-hit triple off Royals closer Dan Quisenberry to tie the game, and Unser scored the winning run later in the inning to gain a 3-2 series lead. When they got home for game six, Schmidt's two-run single started the Phillies off. A sign of things going well was in an oft-replayed moment when, on a foul ball near the seats, Phils catcher Bob Boone bobbled the ball, but Pete Rose was right there to catch it on the fly to get the out. Reliever Tug McGraw struck out Willie Wilson for the series-winning out, for the Phillies' first and only World Series Championship. They are one of only four MLB teams, and by far the oldest of the four, with only one World Series championship, with the 1985Kansas City Royals, 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks, and 2002 then-Anaheim Angels being the other three.
The 1981 season was shortened by a player's strike. The Phillies would lose to Montreal in a special pre-LCS playoff series. After the 1981 season, the Carpenter family sold the team to a group of investors led by Bill Giles and Dave Montgomery.
Two years later, the "Wheeze Kids" would win another pennant, only to lose the 1983 World Series to Baltimore in 5 games. After years of futility, the Phils would have a last hurrah in 1986 finishing 2nd to the Mets.
During the early 1980s, when baseball was becoming more drug-conscious, several Philadelphia players admitted to having used amphetamines from time to time. A memorable Philadelphia Daily News headline dubbed the team "The Pillies".
Following their 1983 World Series loss to the Baltimore Orioles, the team failed to post consecutive winning seasons until 2003 and 2004, and followed it up with a third winning season in 2005 and a fourth in 2006; the 2004 team also was second in the NL East, only the third time the Phillies have finished that high since the 1994 realignment (including a joint second-place finish with the New York Mets in 1995).
After Mike Schmidt retired in 1989, the Phillies had a string of losing seasons, until their World Series berth in 1993. Beloved by their fans, this team, which included stars such as Darren Daulton, John Kruk, Lenny Dykstra, and Curt Schilling, surprised the city and the nation by going from last place in the National League East in 1992 to a 97-65 record and a division title. The team was often described as "shaggy," "unkempt," and "dirty." The previous year, noting the presence of the clean-cut Dale Murphy, Kruk himself described the team as "24 morons and one Mormon." Their character endeared them to fans, and attendance reached a record high the following season. As a play on the legendary 1927New York Yankees' Murderers' Row, the team's dirty, mullet-wearing look was dubbed "Macho Row."
The Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves in the 1993 National League Championship Series, four games to two, to earn the fifth pennant in franchise history. They faced defending World Champion Toronto Blue Jays in the 1993 World Series. Philadelphia lost the Series in six games, with Toronto's Joe Carter hitting a low inside curveball for a walkoff three-run home run off Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams in Game Six, to win a second consecutive championship for the Blue Jays. Following that loss, Williams was the subject of death threats and other hostile reaction from some irate Phillies' fans.
Following the season, several of the 1993 club's core players were traded or released, including Williams, who went on to pitch for several different teams, including the Houston Astros. 1993 was the Phillies' only winning season in the period from 1987 to 2000.
1990s and 2000s
1994-2005
With the 1994players' strike, most of the Phillies' fan base was greatly offended, and since then the team has had little success either on the field or at the gate. Both were negatively affected by the realignment of the Atlanta Braves into the National League East in 1994, as the Braves won the division every year until 2006, often by wide margins. Despite the relative lack of success, many current baseball stars rose to prominence during this era in Phillies history, including Scott Rolen, Bobby Abreu, Randy Wolf, Placido Polanco, and perhaps most notably Schilling. In addition, the nucleus of the current Phillies club (Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, Brett Myers, and Cole Hamels) was developed during this era.
The opening of the new Citizens Bank Park brought fans new hope, which quickly faded as the team failed to meet expectations in the '00 decade. On October 10, 2005, general manager Ed Wade was fired after his eighth season. Soon after, the Phillies hired Pat Gillick, who, ironically, was the general manager of the 1992 and 1993 Toronto Blue Jays' Championship teams.
2006
[citation needed]Continuing what he had begun in the off-season, general manager Pat Gillick engaged in a flurry of trades in an effort to transform the character of the team and to obtain financial flexibility for what he termed "retooling." On July 26, 2006, the Phillies traded backup catcher Sal Fasano to the New York Yankees for minor league infielder Hector Made. Two days later, the Phillies traded third baseman David Bell, who was due to become a free agent during the off-season, to the Milwaukee Brewers for minor league pitcher Wilfredo Laureano.
Just before the trade deadline, on July 30, Gillick traded All-Star outfielder Bobby Abreu and pitcher Cory Lidle to the Yankees for several minor league players. As Gillick later explained, the Phillies were limited in finding a trade partner for Abreu because of a no-trade clause written into his contract, allowing him to veto any trades to small market teams. In any case, few teams could afford his expensive contract. Unloading Abreu therefore proved to be more important to the Phillies than obtaining him was for the Yankees, and as such, the Phillies were unable to demand a top prospect or a major league ready player in exchange. His on-base percentage notwithstanding, Abreu's batting average and home-run count stood well below his career averages, thus hindering Gillick's negotiating power. Nonetheless, the Abreu trade saved the Phillies organization $15.5 million in 2007. Lidle had pitched well for the Phils, but had critisized his teammates for the lack of run support he received and worn out his welcome in Philadelphia. The Yankees included him in the deal due to the loss of Javier Vazquez to Chicago. Incidentally, Lidle was killed in a plane crash four days after the Yankees were eliminated from the postseason, and Philadelphia held a moment of silence for him Opening Day, 2007.
The Liberty Bell replica at Citizens Bank Park rings for Phillies home runs & victories.The team responded well to the changes. All-Star second baseman Chase Utley was free to bat third, and Ryan Howard batted cleanup; more importantly, they assumed a team leadership role along with shortstop Jimmy Rollins. On August 18, Gillick acquired veteran left-hander Jamie Moyer for the starting rotation. Immediately afterwards, and following a win over the Washington Nationals on August 29, the Phillies record stood at 66-65, trailing the San Diego Padres by a mere half game in the wild-card race. By September 24, the Phillies had captured and lost the wild-card lead and were tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers. With identical 82-74 records, both teams took to the road for the final six games, the Phillies to Washington and Florida, the Dodgers to Colorado and San Francisco. On September 30, both the Dodgers and Padres won their respective games and as a result, the Phillies were eliminated from playoff contention while two games behind with only one left to play.
The season teased and frustrated fans yet again, adding another disappointing season in which the Phillies fought their way into contention only to fall just short of post-season play. Having been shut out of the playoffs by such a slim margin, pundits speculated that the shortcomings of the 2006 team were a reflection of Charlie Manuel's managerial ability.[citation needed] The consensus among Phillies fans seemed to suggest that Manuel should be fired to allow the team to move in a new direction.[citation needed] The Phillies front office allowed Manuel to return to manage in 2007. However, three of his coaches were fired: Gary Varsho (bench coach), Marc Bombard (first base coach) and Bill Dancy (third base coach). Just over a week after the announcement regarding Manuel's staff, it was announced that Jimy Williams would be the team's new bench coach, Art Howe would be the team's third base coach and infield instructor, and Davey Lopes would be the new first base coach. In an unorthodox maneuver, Howe was then allowed to pursue a job with the Texas Rangers, where he was hired as a bench coach. Steve Smith was hired as the Phillies' new third base coach.
The special assistant to the General Manager and longtime Phillie coach, John Vukovich, died of cancer on March 8, 2007, and was honored on August 10, 2007 by the Phillies organization, which installed a plaque bearing Vukovich's name and accomplishments on the "Wall of Fame" in the Ashburn Alley outfield concourse at Citizens Bank Park. For the 2007 season, the Phillies are also wearing a black circular patch on their right uniform sleeves bearing the letters "VUK" in white.
Ryan Howard was named the NL MVP. Howard narrowly edged Albert Pujols to claim the top honors in the National League.
After the 2006 season, the Phillies announced that they intended to move the team's AAA affiliate to Allentown, Pennsylvania beginning in April 2008, where they would assume a new name, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs and play in a newly constructed Allentown stadium, Coca-Cola Park. Allentown is a core Phillies fan base, and the anticipated move was greeted positively in the Allentown and Lehigh Valley areas.
The Phillies made their first big acquisition of the 2006 off-season on December 6 by acquiring pitcher Freddy Garcia from the Chicago White Sox for minor league pitchers Gavin Floyd (AAA in 2006) and Gio Gonzalez (AA in 2006). Also acquired as a free agent was Wes Helms, who played for the Florida Marlins in the 2006 season, during which he hit .329 with 10 home runs in 240 at-bats; he was expected to start at third base, but is able to fill in at first also. Other off-season acquisitions included Adam Eaton (RHP), free agent with the Padres in 2006; Jayson Werth (OF), free agent with the Dodgers in 2006; Rod Barajas (C), free agent with the Rangers in 2006; Greg Dobbs (INF/OF), waivers from the Mariners in 2006 who was drafted by Gillick while he was GM of the Mariners; and through rule 5 draft, Alfredo Simon (RHP), James Warden (RHP), and Ryan Budde (C).
The Phillies also had several players depart in the 2006 off-season. Mike Lieberthal (C), Randy Wolf (LHP), David Dellucci (OF), Aaron Fultz (RHP), Arthur Rhodes (LHP), and Jose Hernandez (INF) left as free agents. As mentioned above, Floyd (RHP) and Gonzales (LHP) were traded, and Julio Santana (RHP) was released. Lieberthal left after 13 seasons, the last 10 of which he was the opening-day starting catcher. He and Wolf are playing the 2007 season with the Dodgers.
During the off-season, All-Star second baseman Chase Utley signed a 7-year, $85 million contract extension that will keep him in Philadelphia through 2013. [2]
Also signed to a long-term contract was starting pitcher Brett Myers. He was signed to a three-year, $25.75-million deal which bought out his remaining two-years of arbitration and one year of free agency. [3] In addition, the Phillies renewed the contract of first baseman Ryan Howard to a deal of one year, $900,000 deal, the most ever offered to a player not eligible for salary arbitration. [4]
The Phillies began the 2007 season with a home-opening 5-3 loss on April 2 to the Atlanta Braves after 10 innings. After the first fifteen games the Phillies limped to a 4-11 record, but then found a five game winning streak to put them back into contention in the National League East. After 40 games, the Phillies finally reached the .500 mark at, 20-20. They also were the first team in the MLB to lose 10,000 games.
On April 18, Brett Myers was moved to the bullpen and Jon Lieber replaced him in the starting rotation. Myers supplanted Tom Gordon as the Phillies' closer before being placed on the disabled list himself.
Heading into the All-Star break the Phillies split their win/loss record at 44-44, and have been hampered by the loss of starting pitchers Freddy Garcia and Jon Lieber due to injuries which will sideline them for the remainder of the season. They have, however, found a bright spot in young pitcher Kyle Kendrick.
Ryan Howard was invited back to defend his title and participate in the 2007 Home Run Derby. Howard won the contest in 2006, but did not make it out of the first round in 2007.
On July 15, 2007, the Phillies lost their 10,000th game, 10-2 to the St. Louis Cardinals. [5]
The Phillies became the first North American professional sports franchise to lose 10,000 games.
In a July 17 game in Los Angeles against the Dodgers, the Phillies recorded 26 hits, 1 hit short of the franchise record.
The Phillies lead the National League in runs scored. Jimmy Rollins currently holds that distinction as an individual. Utley and Rollins also lead the league in total bases, Utley first, Rollins second.
On September 21, Jimmy Rollins became the first player in major league history to collect 200 hits, 15 triples, 25 home runs, and 25 stolen bases in the same season.
On September 12, the Phillies were seven games behind the New York Mets in the NL East, and it appeared as if their season was over. However, the Mets suffered an epic collapse on the likes of the "Phold of 1964," going 4-11 over the next fifteen games while the Phillies parried with a strong 12-3 record to eventually overtake the Mets by one game on September 28. The Philles fell back into a first-place tie the following day with a Mets win and a Phillies loss, with only one game remaining in the regular season to decide the Champion of the National League Eastern Division.
Team uniform
The current team colors, uniform, and logo date to 1992. The main team colors are red and white, with blue serving as a prominent accent. The team name is written in red with a blue star serving as the dot over the "i"s, and blue piping is often found in Phillies branded apparel and materials. The team's home uniform is white with red pinstripes, lettering and numbering. The road uniform is traditional grey with red lettering/numbering. Both bear a script-lettered "Phillies" logo, with the aforementioned star dotting the "i"s across the chest, and the player name and number on the back. Hats are red with a single stylized "P", though for interleague play the cap sports a blue visor with a blue star in the middle of the letter "P". The uniforms are nearly an exact copy of those the Phillies wore from 1950 to 1969.
From 1970 to 1991, the Phillies sported colors, uniforms, and a logo that were noticeably different from what had come before, or since, but that were widely embraced by even traditionally minded fans. A darker red/burgundy was adopted as the main team color, with a classic pinstripe style for home uniforms. Blue was almost entirely dropped as part of the team's official color scheme, except in one area; a pale blue (as opposed to traditional grey) was used as the base-color for away game uniforms. Yet the most important aspect of the 1970 uniform change was the adoption of one of the more distinctive logos in sports; a Phillies "P" that, thanks to its unique shape and "baseball stitched" center swirl, remains instantly recognizable and admired, long after its regular use has ended. It was while wearing this uniform/logo/color motif that the club achieved its most enduring success, including a World Series title in 1980 and another World Series appearance in 1983. Its continued popularity with fans is evident, as even today Phillies home games can contain anywhere from a quarter to a third of the crowd sporting caps, shirts, and/or jackets emblazoned with the iconic "P" and burgundy color scheme. Occasionally the team plays in throwback uniforms that resemble the style.
For a brief period in 1979, the Phillies front office modified the uniform into an all-burgundy version with white trimmings, to be worn for Saturday games. They were called "Saturday Night Specials". The immediate reaction of the media, fans, and players alike was negative, with many describing the despised uniforms as pajama-like. As such, the idea was hastily abandoned. [6]
Another uniform controversy arose in 1994 when the Phillies introduced blue caps on Opening Day which were to be worn for home day games only. The caps were unpopular with the players, who considered them bad luck after two losses. The caps were dumped after being used on the field for a month.
Currently, during spring training (except for the 1992 to 1996 seasons, when they were still wearing leftover 70-91 inspired gear) the Phillies wear solid red practice jerseys with pinstriped pants for Grapefruit League home games, and solid blue batting practice jerseys with gray pants for away games. The Phillies are the only major professional sports team in Philadelphia that does not have a so-called third or "Sunday jersey" for regular-season play; the Eagles, Flyers, and 76ers all currently have alternative jerseys/uniforms for home play.
Fan support
Phillies fans have earned a reputation over the years for their generally rowdy behavior. In the 1960s, radio announcers for visiting teams would frequently report on the numerous fights breaking out in Connie Mack Stadium[citation needed]. Later, at Veterans Stadium, the notorious 700 Level gained a reputation for its "hostile taunting, fighting, public ion and general strangeness." [7]
One memorable incident occurred in 1999, when J.D. Drew, the Phillies' No. 1 overall draft pick in 1997 who had refused to sign in a well-publicized contract squabble, faced a barrage of boos during his first appearance in Philadelphia as a Cardinal. The game was halted for ten minutes when two fans began throwing large batteries and other debris at Drew in center field. Showing that Phillies fans rarely forgive or forget, Drew was booed every time he entered the stadium. The harsh reception was compared to Game 3 of the 1977 NL Championship series when Dodgers pitcher Burt Hooton was driven out by the second inning when he became wild and was unable to throw a strike the more the crowd rattled him. [8] Many sports writers have noted the passionate presence of Phillies fans, including Allen Barra, who wrote: "The biggest roar I ever heard out of Philadelphia fans was in 1980 when Tug McGraw, in the victory parade after the World Series, told New York fans they could 'take this championship and shove it.' The main point of winning the Phillies' only World Series trophy seemed to be as leverage for sticking it to New York." [9]
In January 2005, an irate Phillies fan was convicted of 79 charges related to fraud, identity theft, and computer . According to the F.B.I., the fan had hacked into computers in seven states, collected e-mail addresses and fired off rants that were supposedly sent from local sportswriters. In court, the fan's lawyer said his client was obsessive, perhaps even psychotic, but not an intentional lawbreaker, and meant only to say that the Phillies stunk. [10]
Phan Phavorites
Many recent Phillies players have had a fan group named "Phan Phavorites". While many role players have had groups, few have endured for more than a short while.
Numerous attempts have been made to change the team's name from the Phillies—the longest, continuous name in American professional sports history. In the 1910s, reporters tried to revive the original "Quakers" or "Live Wires." In 1944, owner Robert Carpenter Jr. held a contest to rename the team won by Elizabeth Crooks, whose entry was "The Blue Jays." Although the Blue Jays served as the unofficial team name from 1944-45, it was abandoned by 1946. [16]
During the team's tenure at Baker Bowl during the 1920s, an outfield wall advertisement stated, "All the Phillies use Lifebuoy". A graffiti artist sneaked into Baker Bowl and wrote on that ad, "And they still stink!" (Lifebuoy being a brand of deodorant soap). Variations of the joke were also employed by detractors of other losing teams.
Of the sixteen original American and National League teams (i.e, those in existence prior to the 1961-1962 expansion of the two leagues), the Phillies were the last team to win their first World Series, with their 1980 defeat of the favored Kansas City Royals in six games being their only World Series championship.
In April 2008, the Phillies intend to move their Triple A affiliate, the Ottawa Lynx, to Allentown, Pennsylvania, where the team will play in a newly-constructed 7,000-capacity stadium, Coca-Cola Park. The planned move has been greeted enthusiastically because it will bring the Phillies' AAA affiliate closer to the team's Philadelphia fan base while also moving the team into a new stadium. The team will be rechristened as the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, a spoonerized name on "pig iron", which was part of the region's steel industry.
42 Jackie Robinson, retired throughout all Major League Baseball
Grover Cleveland Alexander, P, 1911-17 & 1930 (On the retired numbers wall at Citizens Bank Park, the Phillies use a "P" logo because he played before the team started wearing uniform numbers in 1932.)
Chuck Klein, RF, 1928-33, 1936-39, 1940-44; Coach, 1942-45 (Klein wore several numbers with Phillies when they introduced numbers in 1932. He wore the number 3 more than the others. He is still acknowledged with a "P" like Alexander.)
Ashburn also served as a broadcaster for the Phillies from 1963 until 1997.
Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame
From 1978 to 2003, the Phillies inducted one former Phillie and one former member of the Philadelphia Athletics per year. Since 2004 they have inducted one Phillie annually. Players must be retired and must have played at least four years with the Phillies or Athletics.
As of 2007, the Phillies' flagshipradio station is WPHT, 1210 AM. Its television stations are Comcast SportsNet and WPSG channel 57, now known as "The CW Philly" with two games (the season opener and the July 4 game at Houston) telecast on KYW-TV (CBS 3) and some early season games telecast on CN8 when there are conflicts on CSN with 76ers and Flyers games. CSN produces the games shown on the above-mentioned stations.
In 2007, Harry Kalas will call play-by-play in innings 1-3 and 7-9 on TV and the fourth inning on the radio. Scott Franzke will provide play-by-play on the radio (except for the fourth), with Larry Andersen as the color man. Chris Wheeler and Gary Matthews both provide color commentary on TV, with Wheeler calling play-by-play in innings 4-6.
^Longman, Jere (2006). If Football's a Religion, Why Don't We Have a Prayer?. Harpercollins. ISBN9780060843731. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
^Orondenker (editor), Richard (1996). 'Life and Death through the Years with the Phillies, the Phillies Reader. Temple University Press. ISBN15663950389781566395038.{{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help); Check |isbn= value: length (help)
2024 Philadelphia Phillies season
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