Philadelphia Phillies

Team information

• Inaugural season: 1883
• Home ballpark: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Owner: John Middleton
• Team colors: Red, blue, and white

Overview

The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball (MLB) team that plays in the National League East division. The Phillies have the distinction of being the oldest franchise to have kept the same name and remained in the same city in North American sports history. However, the team holds other records that are far less admirable. For much of its first century in the league, Philadelphia struggled to win games, advancing to the World Series just twice in ninety-seven years. By 2024, the team had lost more than 11,200 games—the most losees of any professional sports team in history. It was not until 1980 that the Phillies broke through with their first championship. Philadelphia played for the championship again in 1983, made an unlikely run to the World Series in 1993, and advanced to the playoffs five consecutive times from 2007 to 2011. The franchise won its second World Series title in 2008. Following an extended period of rebuilding, the Phillies returned to the World Series in 2022. However, the team ultimately lost to the Houston Astros in six games.

History

After the 1882 baseball season, the Worcester Ruby Legs franchise unexpectedly folded, causing the National League to scramble to find a new city as a replacement. They chose Philadelphia and established a team called the Philadelphia Quakers in 1883. The Quakers lost eighty-one of ninety-eight games in their first season and struggled again in 1884. Buoyed by the hiring of future Hall of Fame manager Harry Wright, the team turned around the situation in 1885 and posted winning records for much of the next decade. During this time, the team became informally known as the Philadelphias—it was a common practice of the era to refer to teams by their city’s name. Newspaper writers soon began shortening Philadelphias to “Phillies,” and in 1890, the franchise officially adopted the name.

In 1901, the newly formed American League placed a team in Philadelphia to compete with the Phillies. The Philadelphia Athletics, known as the Oakland Athletics after their relocation to the West Coast, were a better-managed organization and signed away many of the Phillies’ best players, weakening what had been developing into a contender. The Phillies lived in the shadow of the Athletics for most of the next half-century. While the Athletics made eight World Series from 1905 to 1931, winning five, the Phillies advanced to the World Series just once, in 1915. The Phillies won the first game of that series before losing four straight to the Boston Red Sox. The franchise would not win another postseason game until 1977.

By 1918, the Phillies had fallen out of contention and began a three-decade-long period where they were among the worst teams in baseball. From 1918 to 1948, the Phillies had just one winning season—a 78–76 mark in 1932—and finished in last place sixteen times. During this time, fans would openly mock the team by playing off a giant soap billboard that was placed on the outfield wall. The ad read, “The Phillies use Lifebuoy,” to which fans chanted back, “And they still stink!”

The Phillies experienced a brief resurgence in the late 1940s and early 1950s, finishing with a winning record in four out of five seasons. The highlight was the 1950s team, led by a core of young players nicknamed the “Whiz Kids.” The Phillies won the National League pennant that season and advanced to the World Series against the New York Yankees. Despite three of the four games being decided by one run, the Yankees swept the Phillies, 4–0. The next quarter century brought more heartbreak, punctuated by a MLB-record twenty-three-game losing streak in 1961. Three years later, the Phillies suffered an even more devastating collapse as they lost their last ten games to fall one game short of making the World Series.

From 1883 to 1975, the Phillies made exactly two postseason appearances. That trend changed in the 1970s with the arrival of third baseman Mike Schmidt and pitcher Steve Carlton—the two best players in franchise history. The team was also aided by baseball realigning into divisions and changing its playoff format in 1969. Now in the National League East, the Phillies won their division three consecutive times from 1976 to 1978. However, each time, they fell short in the National League Championship Series (NLCS). In 1980, the Phillies were once-again the favorites in the NL East, but underachieved for much of the season. The team came on in August and September and battled its way to a division title. After winning a nail-biting NLCS against the Houston Astros, Philadelphia advanced to the World Series to face the Kansas City Royals. The Phillies won the series in six games, capturing the first championship in its ninety-seven years of existence.

Philadelphia returned to the playoffs in 1981 and made it back to the World Series in 1983, only to lose to the Baltimore Orioles. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the team fell back into its old ways, finishing below .500 from 1987 to 1992. However, the 1993 season was different as the Phillies dominated their division en route to an unexpected NL East title. The team was led by a freewheeling group of misfits who upset the heavily favored Atlanta Braves in the NLCS to advance to the World Series. Needing a win in Game Six to force a deciding Game Seven, the Phillies led the Toronto Blue Jays 6–5 in the ninth inning, only to watch as Toronto’s Joe Carter won the series with a dramatic three-run home run.

Any momentum from 1993 was soon lost as the Phillies suffered seven straight losing seasons from 1994 to 2000. Starting in 2001, the Phillies began to rebuild behind a young core of players such as Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, and Chase Utley. In 2007, the team won the first of five straight NL East titles and advanced to the World Series in 2008. Philadelphia dispatched the Tampa Bay Rays in five games to win its second World Series championship. The Phillies made the World Series again in 2009, but fell to the New York Yankees, 4–2. In 2011, the Phillies won a franchise-best 102 games but were eliminated in the opening round of the playoffs. That season signaled the end of the Phillies’ run of success, as the franchise struggled to rebuild. Following a series of free-agent signings and the addition of several promising young players, the Phillies hoped that a turnaround was in their future for the 2020s.

In 2019 the Phillies signed superstar Bryce Harper to a thirteen-year contract worth an estimated $330 million in the hopes of securing the talent needed to develop into a winning team. That same year the team hired Joe Girardi, who previously had success with the New York Yankees, as manager. The team then notched their first winning season since 2011 in 2021 by winning 82 games and losing 80. However, Girardi was fired in 2022 after the Phillies lost nearly thirty of the first fifty games and replaced him with interim manager Rob Thomson (who was later named to the position permanently). The Phillies then went on to secure a spot in the postseason by winning the wild card series after turning their regular season around. The Phillies found continued success in the postseason and ultimately progressed to the 2022 World Series to face the Houston Astros. Despite a strong performance, the Phillies lost to the Astros in six games. The Phillies made another playofff run in 2023, but fell in the NLCS to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Notable players

By 2020, more than thirty players, managers, and team officials affiliated with the Phillies have been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The first was infielder Nap Lajoie, a 1937 inductee who played with the Phillies from 1896 to 1900 before being signed away by the rival Philadelphia Athletics. Outfielder Ed Delahanty hit more than .400 three times in thirteen seasons with the Phillies from 1888 to 1901. He was part of an outfield in the 1890s that also featured Sam Thompson and “Sliding” Billy Hamilton. All three would eventually be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Pitcher Grover Cleveland “Pete” Alexander won 31 games in 1915 and 33 in 1916. He won 190 games in seven seasons with the Phillies—third on the all-time franchise list—and 373 games in his twenty-year career.

The 1950 “Whiz Kids” were led by prolific hitter Richie Ashburn, a four-time All-Star who played in Philadelphia from 1948 to 1959. On the mound, pitcher Robin Roberts won 20 games for the Phillies in 1950, the first of six consecutive seasons with 20 or more wins. Roberts made seven All-Star teams with the Phillies from 1948 to 1961, and stands second on the all-time franchise list with 234 wins and 1,871 strikeouts. Although not a member of the Hall of Fame, pitcher Jim Konstanty won 16 games for the 1950 Phillies and saved 22 more, winning the National League Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) in the process.

A 1971 selection in the MLB Draft, Mike Schmidt is considered not only to be the best player in Phillies history, but also one of the best third basemen in baseball history. Schmidt played his entire career with the Phillies from 1972 to 1989. He made twelve All-Star teams, won ten gold gloves for defensive excellence, and won three NL MVP awards. He holds franchise records for home runs (548), runs batted in (RBIs) (1,595), and runs scored (1,506). Pitcher Steve Carlton was acquired by the Phillies in a 1972 trade. In his fifteen years with the Phillies, he won four Cy Young Awards and made seven All-Star teams. He won 241 games and struck out 3,031 batters with Philadelphia—both franchise records. His 4,136 career strikeouts are the fourth most in MLB history, and his 329 career victories are second most among left-handed pitchers.

The 1993 Phillies were led by outfielder Lenny Dykstra, who finished second in the NL MVP voting that season, and pitcher Curt Schilling, who won 16 games that year. Dykstra made three All-Star games with the Phillies before his career was cut short by injury. Schilling was a Phillie from 1992 to 2000, making three All-Star games in that span. Shortstop Jimmy Rollins played in Philadelphia from 2000 to 2014. He is the all-time franchise leader in hits with 2,306 and won the 2007 NL MVP Award. First baseman Ryan Howard hit 382 home runs in his Phillies’ career from 2004 to 2016, second most in team history. Howard won the NL Rookie of the Year Award in 2005, the NL MVP Award in 2006, and set the single-season franchise record with 58 home runs that same year. Second baseman Chase Utley was a six-time All-Star with the Phillies from 2003 to 2015. Known for his hard-nosed playing style, Utley provided a key defensive play in the 2008 World Series to help the team clinch the championship. Upon joining the team in 2019, Bryce Harper became a key player in the team's turnaround. Known for his aggressive style of play, Harper won the National Leage MVP award in 2021 and hit a clutch home run in the 2022 NLCS to send the Phillies on to the World Series. Harper was joined on that World Series team by All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto and pitchers Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola.

Bibliography

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