The City Series Begins: The Phillies vs. Athletics, April 14, 1883

Blondie Purcell

A few veteran Philadelphia baseball fans may remember The City Series, an annual series of (usually three) exhibition games between the two Philadelphia professional baseball teams, the Athletics and the Phillies. The history of the City Series actually dates back to 1875, but the team we now know as the Phillies was not formed until the National League's Worcester, Massachusetts team transferred to Philadelphia in 1883 under the leadership of local sports equipment purveyor, Albert Reach. The team was formally called the Philadelphia Quakers, but even then, fans and sports writers alike often referred to the team as the Phillies. 

On April 14, 1883, the Phillies faced off against the Athletics of the American Association. This was not the same franchise that would enter the American League in 1901, but Philadelphia had had professional baseball teams in various leagues since 1860. The name was derived from the name Athletic Base Ball Club of Philadelphia. The 1883 iteration of the Athletics was one of the strongest teams in the American Association, having finished second in the league in 1882, they would go on to win the championship in 1893.

The Phillies first foray into the City Series was covered by a brand-new sports journal, called Sporting Life, that would publish its first edition the day after this first City Series game. This new journalistic endeavor was the brainchild of Philadelphian, Francis Richter, who published, edited, and wrote stories for this venture out of his offices at 202 South Ninth Street. Sporting Life would eventually become the most important baseball journal in the country and Richter a key figure in the development of professional baseball, but in this initial edition the focus was on local Philadelphia sports, especially baseball. We know every play of this game because of the comprehensive coverage of Richter and Sporting Life.

This very first game of the spring was apparently highly anticipated by local fans. The game was to be played at the Athletics home field, the Jefferson Street Grounds, a ball field at Jefferson and 26th Street in what we would today call Brewerytown. It had a capacity of about 5,000-6,000 fans.  According to Sporting Life, 

For hours before the game a constant stream of people was wending its way along all the streets leading to the grounds... By the time the game began fully ten thousand people were on the ground and "still they came."

The crowd was so large that it "encroached upon the playing field." The teams mutually agreed any ball hit into the crowd on the field counted as two bases. 

The more experienced Athletic team was heavily favored to win. Their pitcher was Bobby Matthews, recently arrived from Boston. Matthews would have three consecutive 30-win seasons for the Athletics. First baseman Harry Stovey, a Philadelphia native, was one of the top offensive players in the American Association. A rare combination of speed and power. he led the league in home runs four times and in runs scored three. Germantown native, fleet-footed Jud Birchall batted leadoff and played left field. Lon Knight, a graduate of Girard College (High School) was in right field. Another Philly native, diminutive Cub Stricker, all 5'3" of him, was the second baseman.

The battery for the Phillies was the 20-year-old youngster Hardie Henderson on the mound and left-handed catcher, "Roaring Bill" Harbridge behind the plate. Thirty-eight-year-old Bob (Death to Flying Things) Ferguson, who served as second baseman and manager of the club, is remembered today mostly for his nickname. Other members of the Phillies made their reputations off the baseball field. Third baseman Frank Ringo, left fielder Blondie Purcell, and centerfielder Fred Lewis all had reputations for heavy drinking and barroom brawling. First baseman Alex McKinnon played in this game but was sick during the spring and asked for his release, never appearing in the regular season. 

The game itself started inauspiciously when the Athletics Birchal dropped a fly ball from Phillies leadoff hitter Jack Manning. Catcher Ed Rowen then dropped a foul popup, before Purcell singled. Matthews wriggled out of the inning with the help of a good defensive play by Stovey at first. Birchall led off for the Athletics and drove the ball over centerfielder Lewis' head and into the crowd for a ground rule double. Henderson retired the Athletics without further ado. 

Bill Harbridge

In the second inning "a new ball was put in as the old one had ripped." Lewis "whanged" a ball to center for a single. Harbridge walked after his foul pop was muffed and both runners moved up on a passed ball. After two batters went out, Manning drove a ball to deep center over Jack O'Brien's head for a bases clearing double. Both runs were unearned.

The score stayed 2-0 Phillies, until the sixth, when the Athletics cut the lead in half on doubles by shortstop Mike Moynahan and Rowen. The Phillies got that run back in the top of the seventh, thanks again to some sloppy fielding by the Athletics. Frank Ringo got to third base on an overthrow at first by third baseman Bob Blakiston, and went all the way to third after a return throw from Knight hit him in the basepaths and ricocheted away. From there, Purcell drove him home with a single. 

In the ninth inning the Athletics "got another streak of muffery." After Henderson reached on Moynihan's bad throw, Manning hit another double to drive him in. Purcell drove a single to left and Manning scored when Birchall juggled the ball. After two outs, Purcell scored when Ferguson's popup fell between four fielders in shallow right field. The Athletics went down in order in the bottom of the ninth and the final score was Phillies 6, Athletics 1. 

According to Sporting Life,

After the game, the enormous crowd flocked across the field, and it was a long time before the ground was cleared. On the street and [street] cars, nothing was heard but comments upon the unexpectedly severe defeat of the Athletics.

Blondie Purcell with three hits and Jack Manning with two doubles were the hitting stars for the Phillies. The Athletics were guilty of six errors. 

The final two games of the City Series were played at the Phillies home field - Recreation Park. The field was at 24th and Ridge Avenues in Strawberry Mansion. The Phillies won both of these games as well by scores of 8-1 and 3-1. The sweep of the city series was not a harbinger of things to come for either team, however. The Athletics won the American Association championship with a record of 66-32, while the Quakers/Phillies finished dead last in the National League at 17-81-1. 

The City Series was held every year until the Athletics left for Kansas City in 1955.

Harry Stovey

Light-Hitting Denny Doyle Owned Pitching Great Bob Gibson

Former Phillies second baseman Denny Doyle died this week at the age of 78. Denny was signed as a free agent out of Morehead State University in his native Kentucky. Doyle was disappointed not be drafted but was spotted by former Phillies outfielder and scout Mel Clark who convinced the Phillies to take a chance on the scrappy 5'9" Doyle. Denny worked his way through the Phillies farm system with stops at Spartanburg, Tidewater, Reading and Eugene, before making his debut with the Phillies in 1970. He was paired with another rookie, shortstop Larry Bowa, to form a fine double play combination. Doyle had four decent years with the Phillies, providing solid defense and a .240 batting average. He bought a home in the Philadelphia area and settled in with his wife and three children.

At the end of the 1973 season, the Phillies traded Doyle to the California Angels to complete a trade for Billy Grabarkowitz. California traded Doyle to the Boston Red Sox in 1975 and Doyle had his greatest season, hitting .310 with the Sox and helping lead them to the American League pennant. In the post-season Doyle started every game and had hits in all but one of them, as the Red Sox eventually fell to the Cincinnati Reds in that classic World Series. Doyle retired in 1977 after two more seasons with the Bosox.

Doyle was chiefly known as a good defensive second sacker and contact hitter with little power. While he only averaged .240 in his years with the Phillies, in one of those strange anomalies that make baseball so compelling, little Denny Doyle simply owned future Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson. In 31 plate appearances against the most dominant right-handed pitcher of the era, Doyle had 13 hits, two walks and a hit-by-pitch, for an astounding .464 batting average.

In Doyle's first-time facing Gibson, on May 23, 1970, the rookie went 2-for-4 with two singles as the Phillies and Jim Buning fell to Gibson's St. Louis Cardinals, 3-1. The next time Doyle faced Gibson, on July 30, 1971, Denny had one of the finest offensive games of his career. Batting leadoff, Doyle reached base in the first when Gibson drilled him with a 1-2 pitch. In the third inning, Doyle got revenge for the bruise by smashing a homerun over the right field fence in Veterans Stadium to get the Phillies on the board. It was one of a total of only 16 home runs Doyle hit in his career. Doyle then singled in his next three at bats against Gibby, the final single pulling the Phillies to within one run at 4-3. Unfortunately, Bowa grounded out to end the game. Doyle was 4-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored.

On April 19, 1972, Gibson squared off against his former teammate and new Phillies pitcher, Steve Carlton. Carlton bested his old mate in a classic pitcher's duel, 1-0. Doyle went two-for-two with a walk. In his next two games against Gibson in 1972, Doyle came back to earth a bit, going 0-for-7 with just one walk to show for his efforts. The Phillies lost both games. 

On April 22, 1973, Mike Schmidt hit a ninth inning walk off home run to beat Gibson 2-1. Doyle was 1-for-3 in the game. On June 26, Doyle was back at it, going 3-for-4 against Gibson (3-for-5 overall), with a triple, two runs scored and an RBI, as the Phillies romped, 10-3. Dick Ruthven shut the Cardinals down on two hits in besting Gibson, 2-1 on July 1. Doyle was 1-for-3 in his final career appearances against Gibson. That fall he was traded out of the National League for good.

Denny Doyle was anything but an intimidating presence at the plate, but for reasons known only to the baseball gods, he turned into Ty Cobb when he came to bat against one of the most intimidating pitchers baseball has ever known. I am sure Gibson raised a glass in mute celebration when the Phillies traded him away.

RIP Denny.

Phillies 1915 World Series Catcher Eddie Burns: Little Man, Big Job

When the Phillies get to the World Series, as they have done eight times in their history, one team member knows he won't be seeing much action. In seven of those eight World Series the backup catcher is a virtual invisible man, finding a comfortable spot on the bench and acting as cheerleader when events demand is about all that is asked of them. In 2022, backup catcher Garrett Stubbs earned a DNA (did not appear) next to his name in the final World Series stats. J. T. Realmuto caught every inning of every game. The same was true in 2009, when Carlos Ruiz caught every inning of the six games, while backup Paul Bako (remember him?) could only sit and wait. The 2008 World Championship team had Chris Coste, who did manage to get four at bats as a designated hitter, but Chooch again caught every inning. Darren Daulton played every inning of the 1993 Series against Toronto, while Todd Pratt was a DNA.

The last time a backup catcher actually appeared behind the plate for the Phillies in a World Series was 1983, when Ozzie Virgil, Jr. caught one inning after Bo Diaz was taken out for a pinch runner. Bob Boone caught every inning for the World Champion 1980 team, although backup Keith Moreland saw some action (12 at bats) as the DH. In 1950, Andy Seminick caught all but one inning of the Series even though he was playing on a dislocated ankle. Backup Stan Lopata came in after Andy went out for a pinch runner. Lopata also had a pinch-hitting at bat. That's seven World Series, 38 games, 345 innings and just two innings caught by the backup catcher.

The 1915 World Series was very different, however. The Phillies starting catcher. Bill Killefer came down with what was described as a "dead arm" in August. That opened the door for career backup catcher Eddie Burns to become the starter. Pundits of the day worried that the diminutive Burns (Eddie was just 5'6", 165 pounds) would not be up to the task. As the baseball journal Sporting Life put it, "It was generally thought that the Philly pitching staff would go to pieces," after the Killefer injury. "It was feared that his throwing would not be up to the mark and that the pitchers would lose confidence with him behind the bat." Those fears proved to be unfounded, Burns performed well, threw out 40% of those trying to steal against him, and hit .244 after taking over for Killefer on August 25. The Phillies kept winning too, going 29-12 and clinching the National League pennant with Burns behind the plate.

Before the World Series against the Boston Red Sox began, the Phillies' brass called in a specialist from New York to look at Killefer's arm, but he was deemed unfit to play and thus, little Eddie Burns caught every inning of the World Series. The Phillies were the underdogs to the powerful Red Sox team that had won 101 games on the season. The Phillies did have the great Grover Cleveland Alexander, winner of 31 games on the season, to give them hope. 

Alexander beat the Sox in Game 1 in Philadelphia. 3-1. The Phillies scored two runs in the eighth to win it, after Boston shortstop Everett Scott failed to cover second base on a potential double play ball. In the ninth inning, twent-year-old Babe Ruth made his first ever World Series appearance as a pinch-hitter. Alexander got him to ground out to first baseman Fred Luderas. Burns went a quiet 0-for-3 at the plate but handled the catching duties well.

In the second game, Burns caught the ceremonial first pitch, thrown out by President Woodrow Wilson. In the first inning, with runners on first and third, he threw out Boston star Tris Speaker trying to steal second but bobbled second baseman Bert Niehoff's low return throw for an error that allowed the on-sliding Harry Hooper to score. Burns was again 0-for-3 at the plate as the Phillies lost, 2-1.

In Game 3 at Fenway Park, Burns got his first hit of the Series in the third inning and came around to score on a Dave Bancroft single. Unfortunately, that was the only run the Phillies scored in the game as they fell by another 2-1 score. Burns gunned down Duffy Lewis trying to steal in the second. Lewis had the last laugh though as he hit a walk-off game winning single in the ninth inning against Alexander. Game 4 also finished 2-1 in favor of Boston. Burns had a good game with a single and a walk and another caught stealing, catching Speaker at second base again. 

The Series returned to Philadelphia for Game 5 with Boston leading the series 3-to-1. Luderas doubled in two runs in the first and then homered in the fourth. In that same inning, Burns stroked an RBI single scoring Niehoff to put the Phillies up by 4-2.  Boston prevailed 5-4, however, on two home runs by Hooper and one by Lewis. Burns threw out Speaker trying to steal in the first inning. The Phillies lost the last four games of the series, all excruciatingly close, but losses, nonetheless. Their Game 1 victory would be the only Phillies World Series game win for 65 years.

Eddie Burns hit just .188 over the five games, but that was actually a few points better than his teammates had managed for the Series. Burns acquitted himself well behind the plate throwing out five of six baserunners attempting to steal, including future Hall of Famer Tris Speaker three times.

When the 1916 season began, Killefer's arm had not fully mended. Burns started the first 18 games of the season, but when Killefer healed, Burns returned to the bench. He broke his thumb in 1917 and appeared in just 20 games. In 1918, the Phillies traded Killefer to the Cubs as part of the infamous Grover Cleveland Alexander trade.  Burns began the season as the starting catcher, but in late July, with his batting average hovering near the Mendoza line and with his father-in-law falling ill at home, Eddie Burns, just 30-years-old, abruptly quit baseball. He returned to his home in Monterey, California and opened a clothing store. He died of a heart attack in Monterey on May 20, 1942. He was 54.

Eddie Burns was a solid defensive catcher with a weak bat, in other words a proto-typical backup catcher. Eddie, however, got the chance that few backup catchers ever get. The chance to be the "main guy" behind the plate in the World Series.

To read more about Eddie Burns career, check out his SABR biography here. 

Curt Simmons Greatest Game

With the news Tuesday, December 13 that Curt Simmons, the last surviving member of the 1950 Philadelphia Phillies Whiz Kids, had died at 93, tributes began pouring in from all over. Excellent obituaries in the Inquirer and the New York Times covered the highlights.

For Phillies fans those highlights of Simmons remarkable pitching career are familiar. A high school phenom out of tiny Egypt, PA near Allentown, Simmons signed with the Phillies for the largest bonus ever given up to that time: $65,000. With very little minor league experience, Simmons struggled to find his bearings in his first two seasons with the Phillies. He put it all together in 1950, however, and with his righthanded counterpart, Robin Roberts, pitched the upstart Phillies to the pennant. He could not pitch in the World Series, however, because he was called up to his National Guard Unit, the first baseball player called up due to the Korean War. 

Returning to the Phillies after his military duty, Simmons had an up and down career featuring a blazing fastball and some great pitching, marred by frequent arm miseries and a 1953 encounter with a lawn mower that removed part of his big toe. After 13 years with the Phillies, he was released and caught on with the St. Louis Cardinals, where he reinvented himself as a crafty, soft-tossing lefty who helped pitch the Cards to the 1964 pennant. He finally got to pitch in the World Serie that Year and acquitted himself very well.

As I said, these facts about Simmons career are well-known and well-detailed elsewhere. In my tribute to Curt, I would like to focus on one game - the greatest game he ever pitched. The game was played on May 16, 1953, at County Stadium in Milwaukee against the Braves. That day Curt pitched a one-hit shutout, to win 3-0 and deposit the Phillies, however temporarily, into sole possession of first place in the National League.

Nineteen-fifty-three was the first year for the Braves in Milwaukee, who moved there after 50 years in Boston. Despite threatening skies, an enthusiastic crowd of 23,578 was on hand for the Saturday afternoon tilt. The Phillies and Braves were tied for first place a month into the season. Simmons mound opponent was rookie lefty Don Liddle. The Milwaukee lineup featured another rookie, Bill Bruton, second year star Eddie Mathews, as well as veteran sluggers Sid Gordon and Joe Adcock. The Phillies fielded a team of mostly Whiz Kid holdovers like Richie Ashburn, Del Ennis, Granny Hamner, Willie Jones, and Simmons battery-mate, Stan Lopata.

After the Phillies went down quietly in the first, Bruton, leading off for the Braves, whacked Simmons first pitch for a clean ground single to centerfield. Bruton would be the only baserunner Curt would allow. He retired the next 27 batters in order. He struck out ten. He walked no one. After Bruton's single, he allowed only two other hard-hit balls. Braves shortstop, Johnny Logan, hit a line drive that Jones snagged at third and, in the ninth, the Phillies third sacker made another fine play to flag down catcher Del Crandall's ground smash. 

The Phillies pushed across a run in the second. With one out, first baseman Earl Torgeson singled and stole second base. Jones knocked him in with a line single to left. The Phils doubled their lead in the third when Ashburn singled to center and moved to third base when Bruton drop-kicked the ball into left. Left-fielder Mel Clark scored Ashburn with a double off the right-field wall. Another Clark double, this time off reliever Lew Burdette led to the Phillies final run in the eighth. Clark scored when Del Ennis followed with a single over shortstop Logan's head.

Simmons ended the game with a flair striking out pinch-hitter Jim Pendleton and then whiffing his nemesis Bruton.

After the game, the Braves were effusive in their praise of Simmons. "Simmons was unhittable," said Braves manager Charley Grimm. "He ranks with the great left-handers of all-time. His fastball was hopping and jumping onto the handles of our bats." Slugger Sid Gordon said, "All I did was step to the plate and hope I would get a piece of the ball." Eddie Mathews was left shaking his head. "I'm glad there is only one Simmons in the league, and we don't have to face him for a while."

Simmons was off to a great start in '53 and looked to be headed for a big season, but three weeks after this dominant performance, he ran that lawnmower over his foot and missed a month. While Curt always said that the injury did not affect his pitching, before the injury he was 7-3, with a 2.60 ERA. Afterwards, he was 9-10, 3.71.

RIP Curt. It was always a pleasure to watch you pitch, with that leg waggle and sling shot action that drove batters crazy for 20 years in the big leagues.

 

Milt Stock: Hero of Two Phillies Pennant Winning Teams

Milt Stock

On the final day of the 1950 season, the Phillies were battling the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbetts Field in Brooklyn with the National League Pennant on the line.  The Phillies, who had had a 7.5 game lead over the Boston Braves on September 17, had seen that lead dwindle to just one game over the surging Dodgers. A Phillies win meant they captured their first pennant in 35 years. A loss meant a one game playoff with the Dodgers the next day. Phillies ace Robin Roberts faced off against Dodger ace Don Newcombe. The game entered the bottom of the ninth tied at 1-1. Roberts walked Dodger leadoff hitter, Cal Abrams to start the inning. Pee Wee Reese singled to left moving Abrams to second. Next, Duke Snider lined a single to centerfield. The Phils' Richie Ashburn charged the ball, Abrams took off for third and as he approached third, saw third base coach Milt Stock waving him home, Abrams turned, and sped home as Ashburn launched a throw to catcher Stan Lopata. Ashburn's throw was strong and true and Abrams was out by 15 feet. Roberts then worked out of the inning.

The Phillies won the game in the tenth on a Dick Sisler three-run homerun followed by a shutout inning by Roberts. Coach Stock came under considerable criticism for sending Abrams home with no one out and Jackie Robinson due up. Stock defended his decision, “We have been scoring on plays like that all season against the Phillies because Ashburn is not a great thrower. Furthermore, Reese was coming around fast, and if I had held up Abrams there might have been a jam at third base.” Abrams said, "I think he should have held me at third." Dodger manager Burt Shotten came to Stock's defense, "Stock played it right. That's the sort of set up when you send in the big run." Brooklyn fans and the Dodgers ownership were not so forgiving. General Manager Branch Rickey, Shotten, and Stock were all fired at the end of the season.

While most longtime Phillies fans likely know that story, what many fans might not know is that Milt Stock was also highly instrumental in the Phillies winning their first ever National League pennant in 1915. Stock was a 21-year-old utility player for that Phillies team, when he was suddenly thrust into the starting lineup during the team's stretch run to the pennant. The Phillies' regular third baseman and leadoff hitter, Bobby Byrne, broke his finger fielding a throw during the first game of a doubleheader on August 23. He was replaced by Stock, who up to that time had had only seven starts all season and was hitting just .200. 

Stock proved to be a more than capable replacement. His hitting improved with regular play and his defensive play was praised by all who saw him. "Milton Stock looks great at third base," gushed the Philadelphia Public Ledger. "While he may not be as strong on defense as Byrne, he is a much better hitter and a faster and better man on the bases." Buck Herzog, manager of the Cincinnati Reds, said, "He is not only a good hitter and a fine baserunner, but he has the best pair of hands I ever saw for a third baseman." Stock also possessed a strong arm, which allowed him to play deep and cut off balls in the hole and over the bag. 

In the Sporting Life* preview of the World Series, editor Francis Richter had this to say of Stock:

J. Milton Stock is in large measure responsible for the great finish made by the champions. When Bobby Byrne was injured Manager Moran sent Stock to third base. The team had lost three straight games to Brooklyn, and unless Stock filled the gap in the infield, it was almost certain the team would slump. Stock filled the bill so well, that Moran intends to make him the regular third baseman.

In his first game as a regular, Stock had two hits, an RBI and two runs scored in a 13-5 victory over the Chicago Cubs. Two days later he had two hits, two walks, two runs scored, and an RBI as the Phillies defeated Cincinnati, 8-0. On September 25 in Chicago, Stock went 3 for 6 including his only homerun of the season. His twelfth inning single helped the Phillies prevail over the Cubs, 5-4. Stock had a four-hit game on October 1, scoring two runs as the Phillies beat the Boston Braves, 9-4. 

Overall, the Phillies went 31-12 in the final 43 games. all of which Stock started in place of Byrne. Byrne recovered but never got his starting position back. Stock hit .260 for the season. In the World Series he scored the winning run in Game 1, the only Series game the Phillies won. He had a poor series at the plate, however, hitting just .118.

Stock was the Phillies starting third baseman for four seasons before being traded to the St. Louis Cardinals where he enjoyed five very good seasons. He wrapped up his career with Brooklyn in 1926 and then became a coach, which set up his second date with Phillies destiny in 1950.

If you would like to read more about Milt Stock's career, you can find his SABR biography here. 

*Sporting Life, established in 1883, and published in Philadelphia by Francis Richter from their offices at 54 S. 3rd Street, was the premiere national paper chronicling baseball. It had stiff competition from The Sporting News, which was published in St. Louis. Sporting Life ceased publication in 1917 as a result of the first world war.

Raffo to the Rescue: Phillies' Rookie Reliever Has a Moment in the Sun

The 1969 Phillies were a bad team. They lost 99 games while burdened with a superstar first-baseman who wanted to be traded, an anemic offense, a weak pitching staff, and a manager who would be fired in August.  Dick Allen was the super-star, of course, and his efforts to convince the team to trade him included writing messages to the fans in the dirt around first base. Allen was still a great player, however, hitting .288 with 32 homeruns. Manager Bob Skinner tried, but could not manage Allen or get good performances from other players for the most part, and was replaced by third base coach George Myatt on August 6. Despite all this turmoil and losing, this hapless group managed to engineer a nine-game winning streak in late June and early July.

Win number nine of that streak was a career highlight for the Phillies 27-year-old rookie right-hander Al Raffo. Raffo, who was signed by then Phillies scout Paul Owens out of a Los Angeles, California winter league for $1,500, toiled seven years in the Phillies farm system, making stops at Class D Miami, Class C Bakersfield, Class A Magic Valley and Eugene, Class AA Chattanooga, Macon, and Reading, and Class AAA San Diego and Eugene, before finally being called up to the Phillies on April 26, 1969. He replaced an injured Chris Short on the Phillies roster. The 6'5" Raffo featured a fastball that moved "like a slider" and a slow breaking ball that he admitted "was often a hanging curve." Raffo made his major league debut on April 29, allowing four hits and one run in three innings of work in a game the Phillies lost 10-0. 

Raffo pitched well in his role as middle reliever and had made seventeen appearances with an 0-2 record and a 2.82 ERA through June. On July 2, the Phillies were riding an eight-game road winning streak, the longest such streak in Phillies history. The Phils were in Pittsburgh to face the Pirates. Rookie Billy Champion started for the Phillies and did not make it out of the bottom of the first. He allowed three walks, two hits, and two runs, and left with the bases loaded and two outs. Raffo came on in relief and ended the inning by getting Freddy Patek to ground into a force out. 

In the top of the second, the Phillies rallied to take the lead off their former teammate, Jim Bunning.  Raffo was right in the middle of the rally. Rick Joseph led off with a double and Larry Hisle followed with a triple. Catcher Mike Ryan walked, and Ron Stone doubled, scoring Hisle and sending Ryan to third. Terry Harmon struck out, but Raffo, who had been a slugging third baseman in high school, scorched a line drive off the glove of first-baseman Willie Stargell and down the right field line. Ryan scored easily and Stone just beat Stargell's throw to the plate. Alas, catcher Manny Sanguillan recovered to throw Raffo out trying to move up to second. The Phillies now led, 4-2.

Raffo worked out of a second and third one out jam in the second inning and then set the Pirates down quietly in the next two innings. In the fifth, he allowed an unearned run, when catcher Ryan made an errant throw in an attempt to pick off Richie Hebner. Meanwhile, Raffo helped the Phillies extend their lead in the sixth, laying down a suicide squeeze bunt to score Ryan from third. Raffo tired in the seventh, allowing his first earned run of the game on a Sanguillan double and Carl Taylor single. John Boozer replaced Raffo on the mound and the Phillies eventually won the game 14-4, scoring seven runs in their last two at bats. 

Raffo's pitching line for the game: 6 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K. The victory would prove to be Raffo's only major league win. His second inning single would prove to be his only major league hit. His three RBIs would prove to be his only major league RBIs. Raffo appeared in a total of 45 games for the Phillies that year. He was very effective, until he experienced a "dead arm" in August and his ERA ballooned from 2.61 to 4.11. He finished the season 1-3 with one save.

Raffo did not make the Phillies team out of spring training in 1970. He pitched two more years in the Phillies minor league system before retiring from baseball at age 30. Raffo got a degree in Spanish and began a career as a teacher and baseball coach in Tennessee. Teams he coached won multiple district championships. Raffo was named district coach of the year 10 times and regional coach of the year five times. Raffo's son, Greg, played three years in the Detroit Tigers minor league system.  In 2001, the Marion High School baseball field was renamed Raffo Field. 

You can read a full biography of Al Raffo written by Brian Englehardt here.

H/T to @PhilliesBell for reminding me the Raffo played for the Phillies.

Before the Phanatic: The Story of the Phillies First World Series Mascot, Raoul Naughton

Phillies' Mascot Raoul Naughton, 1915

One of the great pleasures of watching the Phillies run to the World Series this year, was the national exposure the television coverage provided the Phillie Phanatic. Fox Sports announcer and former Phanatic target, retired Atlanta Braves pitcher, John Smoltz was over the moon in his praise of the Phanatic, calling him the best and funniest of all the team mascots. Of course, in Philadelphia we have known this for a long time, but it is always great to see a local treasure get deserved praise on a national level. 

What even the most diehard Phillies fan may not know is that the very first Phillies World Series team, the 1915 bunch, managed by Pat Moran and led by Grover Cleveland (Pete) Alexander, also had a team mascot. He was a 17-year-old Philadelphia native with the exotic name of Raoul Naughton.

Young Mr. Naughton was afflicted with kyphosis, a curvature of the spine that is commonly known as hunchback. Naughton's condition may have been caused by a birth defect or by Scheuerman's disease which causes an abnormal curvature during a child's growth spurt. Whatever the cause, Raoul's condition could not be corrected by any then available medical procedures. 

Raoul was a huge baseball fan who liked to hang around the Phillies home park, The Baker Bowl at Broad Street and Lehigh Avenue, when the Phillies were in town. One day in August of 1914, he noticed that the Phillies then mascot, Eddie Miller, was not around. While Naughton didn't know it, Miller had died. Hanging out by the fence surrounding the field, Naughton asked Phillies outfielder, Beals Becker, about it. Naughton told Philadelphia Evening Standard reporter M'Liss, "And I say, what about this mascot business. How can you ever expect to win a World Series when you haven't got a mascot?" Becker said he didn't know and promised to ask manager Moran about it. Becker, who Naughton described as "a mighty fine chap", kept his word and after Moran met with Raoul, he hired him to be the team's mascot.

The Evening Standard reporter speculated that Naughton may have gotten the job because of his physical disability, but it may also have been because he was in the right place at the right time. The job involved the duties we would nowadays attribute to a bat boy, retrieving bats from the field and chasing down errant balls and the like. Naughton received no pay for the job, but the players grew so fond of Naughton, that they chipped in at the end of each month to make sure he took home a substantial sum. Naughton said, "Of course, if I had the money and they would take it, I would pay to be the mascot of a team like the Phillies."

When the Phillies broke out of the gate in 1915 with a 12-3 record, Raoul Naughton got some of the credit for bringing the team good fortune. The Phillies rode the good luck of what reporters began to call "Moran's Lucky Piece" to the National League Pennant with a 90-62 record, seven games ahead of the Boston Braves. The Phillies earned the right to face the powerhouse of the American League, the Boston Red Sox, who had compiled a 101-50 record. With the "Great Alexander" on the mound, the Phillies beat Boston ace Ernie Shore, 3-1 in Game 1 played in Philadelphia.

The sight of "Raoul, the Real Rooter", as the Evening Standard dubbed him, retrieving bats and balls on the field during that game inspired one attendee, the poet and baseball fan, Berton Brayel, to pen this ode to Mr. Naughton and the Phillies team.

You won't find Raoul Naughton on the scorecard any place.
He's never sent a homer soaring proudly into space,
He's never scooped a grounder and he's never caught a fly
As it hurtled swiftly earthward from a clear and azure sky.
He's never in the coaching box to yammer and to howl -
In fact, that young Raoul Naughton ain't a player-guy at all.
But that gentle Raoul Naughton if you take him, by and large,
Has the fortunes of the Phillies almost wholly in his charge.
He's the little hump backed mascot of the Quaker City team
And he surely "put it over" with a bit of vim and steam.
For in this initial contest, he was on the job for fair - 
When it comes to lucky mascots, Raoul certainly was there.
As he scares away the jinxes with a horseshoe in each hand.

Brayel goes on for several more doggerel verses to expand on his theory that the Phillies were lucky to win the game. Indeed, they probably were. The Phillies scored their three runs on just five hits, four of which were infield hits or bloopers, while the Red Sox banged out eight hits on the mighty Alexander, who managed to hold them off despite not having his best stuff. 

Brayel's poem, written for the United Press, was published in newspapers from Pittston to Pomona and gave the mascot Raoul Naughton his fifteen minutes of fame. Alas, the luck did not last as the Phillies dropped the next four games to the Bosox, in mostly low scoring affairs all decided by just one run. The Phillies would not return to the World Series for 35 years and would not win another World Series game until 1980.

After his mascot days were over, Naughton had a successful career in the restaurant business. For 15 years, he managed the old Horn & Hardart Restaurant at 1601 Chestnut Street. Keeping his hand in the game he loved, he also managed the Horn & Hardart Baking Company baseball team for a number of years. He married and, with his wife Margaret, raised his three children, Raoul, Jr., Harry, and Dian, at his home on Syndenham Street in the Logan section of Philadelphia. Raoul Naughton died of a heart attack in 1941 at the age of 44.

Phillies Best Trade Deadline Deals

Cliff Lee

As I write this blog entry, I bask in the glow of the Phillies clinching their first post season appearance in 11 years. Some of the credit for where the Phillies find themselves can be laid at the feet of General Manager Dave Dombrowski who pulled off several trade deadline deals that helped the Phillies finish strong enough to get the last wild card spot. Pitchers Noah Syndegaard and David Robertson, centerfielder Brandon Marsh and utility infielder Edmundo Sosa all arrived via deadline deals. While the Phillies gave up some players of value (catcher Logan O'Hoppe, pitcher Ben Brown, forever prospect Mickey Moniak), they gave up none of their top pitching prospects and the trades filled glaring needs and provided a boost to the team. The Marsh trade may prove to be one of long-term value, as he looks poised to be the solution to the Phillies long-standing centerfield woes for several years to come.

Despite the Phillies reputation for making bad trades, the team has actually made a number of deadline deals that were difference makers for the team. Here are a few.

2009: Cliff Lee and Ben Francisco for Carlos Carrasco, Lou Marson, Jason Donald, and Jason Knapp

Lee was good down the stretch for the defending World Series Champions and absolutely incredible in the post season, going 4-0 in the playoffs and winning two games in the World Series, which included his iconic nonchalant catch of a popup. Francisco was a useful extra outfielder.

Carrasco has had a good major league career. He currently pitches for the Mets, but it took him a long time to become a consistent winner. Marson, Donald, and Knapp disappeared quickly. Side note: I thought Lou Marson was going to be a great catcher for the Phillies. I got to watch him in spring training and the ball came off his bat with a crack that was different from the other players down there. This is why I have never gotten a job as a player evaluator.

1989: Lenny Dykstra and Roger McDowell for Juan Samuel

Trading away fan favorite Juan Samuel to the New York Mets did not endear General Manager Lee Thomas with Phillies fans, but Dykstra became one of the keys that led the Phillies back to the top in 1993, with his inspired play in the leadoff spot. McDowell pitched well for the Phillies in the two years he was here. Samuel struggled in New York and was traded away after only one season.

2008: Joe Blanton for Matthew Spencer, Adrian Cardenas, and Josh Outman

Blanton may be best remembered for his World Series home run in fourth game of the 2008 World Series, but he was a very effective pitcher for the Phillies in both 2008 and 2009. Less effective in his final 2 1/2 seasons with the club, Blanton was, nonetheless, 34-25 in his time with the Phillies, with two post season victories. Cardenas and Outman had marginal major league careers. 

2008: Matt Stairs for Fabio Castro

Matt Stairs, central casting for pinch hitter/designated hitter, wrote his name into the hearts of every Phillies fan with his playoff blast off Jonathan Broxton of the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 4 of the 2008 NLDS. The home run, which Joe Buck said was "launched into the night" at Dodger Stadium was a majestic Ruthian blast that no Phillies fan will ever forget. The homer provided the margin of victory for the game and set the stage for the Phillies to take the series 4-games-to-1 at home two nights later. 

2008: Scott Eyre for Brian Schlitter

When 36-year-old Scott Eyre came over from the Cubs in an August 2008 deal with the Chicago Cubs, the deal didn't make much of ripple in the news, but Eyre proved to be a very valuable "LOOGY" (left-handed one out guy) for the future World Champions. Eyre went 3-0 for the 2008 Phillies with a 1.86 ERA in 19 games and just 14.1 innings pitched. Eyre was great for the 2009 NL pennant winners as well, compiling a 1.50 ERA in 42 appearances. Eyre worked in 12 post season games for the Phillies allowing just two earned runs in 7 1/3 innings. For his efforts he has been enshrined forever in The Relief Room. 

As we go into the playoffs in 2022, Syndegaard seems likely to be relegated to long relief, Sosa is injured, and Robertson has been struggling with control. Marsh seems likely to be a key player with his centerfield defense, speed, and better than advertised hitting. Just how good the 2022 deadline deals turn out to be is yet to be determined, but it already seems they helped the Phillies get this far.

A Plea for the Return of the Complete Game

Ferguson Jenkins               Steve Carlton

This article first appeared in Here's the Pitch, the newsletter of the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA).

Since 1900, 34 pitchers have thrown 250 or more complete games in their Major League careers. The leader, Walter Johnson, completed 531 games between 1907 and 1927. Complete games were, of course, much more common in the early days of baseball. Only seven pitchers who started the majority of their games during or after the 1950 season appear on this list: Warren Spahn (382), Robin Roberts (305), Gaylord Perry (303), Early Wynn (289), Ferguson Jenkins (267), Bob Gibson (255), and Steve Carlton (254). Carlton, the youngest of this bunch, threw his last complete game in 1987. Since the year 2000, Hall of Famer Roy Halladay leads all pitchers with 65 complete games. Livan Hernandez is second with 39. Likely Hall of Famer Zach Greinke, who was a rookie in 2004, has just 17.

As a baseball loving kid growing up in the 1950s, I was a huge fan of the complete game. I would pour over the backs of my baseball cards looking for that CG column or a note in the blurb like, “Last year Robin led all of baseball with 33 complete games.” That “Robin”, of course, would be Robin Roberts, the Hall of Fame Phillies pitcher who accomplished that feat in 1953. From July of 1952 to June of 1953 Roberts threw 28 consecutive complete games. In those days management valued pitchers who completed what they started. Salaries were low, pitching staffs were smaller, and pitchers were expected to complete what they started.

Under baseball’s indentured servitude rules at the time, contracts were signed year-to-year. With no long-term contracts, front offices tended not to think long term. No matter really that after six straight seasons of tossing 300+ innings, Roberts lost the edge on his fastball. The object was to get the most out of your “horse” pitchers as you could and then move on. Some pitchers, like Warren Spahn, adapted well as they aged, others like Roberts struggled.

Of course, no one needs to know these statistics to know that baseball no longer values the complete game. The game has become increasingly specialized, with set-up men, closers, and even relief pitchers as “openers” for ball games over the past 40+ years. The death of the complete game is completely understandable. The object of the game of baseball is to win the game. If a team has a better chance to win the game throwing a starter for six innings and following with three relief pitchers firing 97+ mph bullets, that is the way they are going to go.

Draftee signing bonuses and long-term contracts also play a role. When you have invested a few million dollars in a young arm, you want to protect your investment. Young pitchers are kept on strict pitch counts as they progress through the minors and when and if they do get to the major leagues, the instructions are to go as hard as you can for as long as you can and then we’ll bring in the specialists. Five innings? No problem. Six innings? A quality start. Seven innings? A Hall of Famer.

I get it, but still I wonder if something more than just nostalgia value is lost when we devalue the complete game. Back when pitchers were expected to pitch complete games, they were, out of necessity, forced to learn a wide variety of pitches. Pitchers wanted to give the hitters a different “look” when facing them for the third or fourth time in a game. Pitchers like Spahn, his teammate Lew Burdette, and others developed a broad repertoire of curveballs, sliders, change ups and screwballs (and in Burdette's case a spitball) to keep the hitters off balance and extend their effectiveness on the mound beyond the sixth inning.

Major League hitters get to the Major Leagues because they can hit a fastball. Eventually, I believe they will adapt to the 100 mile an hour fastball, just as they adapted to the 95 mile an hour fastball just a few years ago. The key to getting batters out consistently is keeping them off balance. All the great flamethrowers from Christy Mathewson to Sandy Koufax to Nolan Ryan have needed more than just the fastball and each developed devastating breaking pitches. If today’s pitchers are forced to go longer in games, they are going to be required to develop a more complete repertoire of pitches and ultimately, I think the game will be better for it.

In fact, I think it is already happening. Probably the most talked about pitch in the last two years has been the cutter. The cutter, a sort of half fastball, half slider, is meant to upset the batter’s timing enough to keep the ball of the barrel of the bat. It is more of a weak contact pitch than a strikeout pitch. Another slight change off the fastball that is occurring more and more in pitcher’s repertoire is an old pitch in new clothing – the sinker. A sinker used to be a pitch for pitchers who didn’t have quite enough on their fastball, so they got movement on the ball by throwing a two-seam fastball that sunk down on the strike zone. Now hard throwers like Miami’s Sandy Alcantara have added the power sinker to their arsenal. Alcantara throws his about 96-97 mph, compared to his 98-100 fastball. The Phillies Zach Wheeler is another elite pitcher who has gone to the power sinker. Even the hardest throwing starting pitchers are recognizing that pure gas is not the only answer.

Alcantara is the poster boy for my argument for having pitchers go deeper into games and for putting the complete game back in play. He leads the major leagues in innings pitched and complete games this year. And while his complete game total of four is modest by 1950s standards, his workload has allowed him to refine an incredibly balanced pitch repertoire. Alcantara throws each of his pitches, four-seam fastball, sinker, slider, and changeup, about 25% of the time. Both Alcantara’s power and his change of speeds keep hitters off balance and have made him the premiere pitcher in the National League this year.

I would not argue that pitchers should pile up 300+ innings a year as they did in the old days. The five-man rotation, with the occasional sixth starter, seems a smart way to go, limiting the top pitchers to 30 starts and 225 or so innings seems about right. But expecting the very best pitchers to stay on the mound, attempting to finish the task they started every time out seems to me to be an unqualified good. The best pitchers get better, and the fans can look forward to discussions about their favorite pitchers throwing those two-hitters, or working out of a late inning jam, or pitching a nine-inning shutout.

The complete game is deeply rooted in the popular lore of baseball. It has had its own column in baseball statistical charts since the beginnings of the game. Time for it to make a comeback.

 

Two Guys Named Pinky Went to Third Base

Pinky Whitney and Pinky May

In their long, often frustrating, often losing history, the Phillies have nevertheless been blessed with some fine third baseman with considerable staying power. Of course, for most of the finest sustained period of excellence for the team in the 1970s and early 80s, the Phillies had the GOAT third baseman, Mike Schmidt (1972-1989). But they have also had the near Hall of Famers, Scott Rolen (1996-2002), and Dick Allen (1964-1969), and the clutch hitting Whiz Kid Willie Jones (1947-1959). Defensively, current hot corner habitue, Alec Bohm, will never make us forget any of these players, but he may eventually prove to be a solid member of this roll call. Less well known may be the two "Pinkys" who held down third base for most of 16 seasons for the Phillies during their most sustained period of awfulness, 1928-1943. The two were Arthur Carter (Pinky) Whitney, (1928-33 and 1936-39) and Merrill (Pinky) May, (1939 - 1943).

No less an eminence than Grover Cleveland Alexander called Pinky Whitney, "the greatest third baseman in baseball." Whitney, who got his nickname from a cartoon character when he was a boy, had above average range for a third baseman and was consistently among the league leaders in fielding percentage, leading the league four times. Not a power hitter, like today's prototypical third sacker, Whitney was a more than solid contact hitter. He averaged .295 in his ten years with the Phillies and reached a high of .342 in 1930. He was also an excellent RBI man, knocking in over 100 in four of his Phillies' seasons. Alexander called him "one of the most dangerous hitters in the game."

Pinky Whitney had one of his finest games at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, on July 30, 1929. After lining out to first in the second inning, Whitney followed a Chuck Klein homerun with a home run of his own off Buccos hurler Ray Kremer in the Phillies seven run fourth. In the fifth, Whitney doubled and followed that with triples in both the seventh and eighth innings. When the smoke had cleared, Whitney had gone 4-for-5, with 3 runs scored, 2 RBIs, a double, two triples, and a home run, just a single short of the cycle. The Phillies won the game. 13-5. 

Whitney was the roommate and lifelong friend of Phillies great Chuck Klein. Klein and Whitney were rookies with the Phillies in 1928. When Whitney was traded from the Phillies to the Boston Braves in 1933, Klein is said to have broken down and cried. The Phillies brought Whitney back in 1936 and he managed one more great season, hitting .341 in 138 games. For all the losing he experienced in Philadelphia, Whitney enjoyed his time in the city and remained a fan favorite. Recalling his time there long after he retired from baseball, he said, "Old Philly, lowly Philly, it had the worst water, best ice cream, and most loyal fans in the game."

When age and injury caught up with Whitney in 1939, 28-year-old, Merrill "Pinky" May took over third base for the Phillies. May got his moniker while playing for the Cumberland (Maryland) Colts in the Mid-Atlantic League as a 21-year-old out of Indiana University. Reporters there asked him what his nickname was, and May told them a few players at Indiana called him "Pinky", so the scribes called him Pinky from there on. May had several excellent seasons in the New York Yankees minor league system but was never able to earn a spot on the Yankee roster, because veteran All-Star Red Rolfe was a fixture there. Finally, the Phillies acquired May in the Rule 5 draft after the 1938 season. He immediately took over in 1939 as the Phillies starting third baseman. 

May was the regular Phillies third baseman for the next five years. He was very much a singles hitter, averaging fewer than 25 extra base hits a season, including a stretch where he went more than 1400 at bats without a home run. May was, however, an excellent defensive third baseman. He led the league in both fielding percentage and range factor in three of his five major league seasons. He was selected to play in the 1940 All-Star game. He appeared in the game as a defensive replacement for Cookie Lavagetto and was plunked by a Bob Feller fastball in one of his two at bats in the game. 

May had one of his finest offensive games on July 15, 1939, in a Phillies. 8-5 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Shibe Park. May chipped in with four hits, including a double, and three runs batted in. His double off Charlie Root in the eighth inning drove in a run as the Phillies rallied from a 4-3 deficit to win the game. On October 3, 1943, May had four hits in a doubleheader sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates, bringing his season average to .282.  It would be the last game May would play in the Major Leagues. He enlisted in the Navy at the end of the season. He spent the war stationed on islands in Southeast Asia. 

May returned to the Phillies in 1946 but was released in May, another fine ballplayer whose career was interrupted, and in May's case, ended, by the war. May then embarked on a 26-year career as a minor league manager with several organizations. His son Milt spent 15 years as a Major League catcher.

Two Society for American Baseball Research biographies were very helpful in writing this story. To find out more about these "two Pinkys." Pinky Whitney, by Seven V. Rice and Pinky May, by Alan Cohen.

Pinkey Whitney – Society for American Baseball Research (sabr.org)

Pinky May – Society for American Baseball Research (sabr.org)

Who’s on First: A Look at the Top First Basemen of the 1950s

Clockwise from top left: Gil Hodges, Mickey Vernon,
Ferris Fain, Earl Torgeson

This article originally appeared in Here's the Pitch, the newsletter of the Internet Baseball Writers of America Association (IBWAA)

A recent poll on twitter asked readers to choose their favorite decade of baseball. The clear winner was the 1950s. Former New York Herald Tribune baseball writer Harold Rosenthal agrees. He called his book about the national pastime in the 1950s, The 10 Best Years of Baseball. The 1950s famously had “Willie, Mickey, and the Duke”, that is Mays, Mantle, and Snider, in centerfield, Jackie Robinson in Brooklyn, Stan Musial in St. Louis, Henry Aaron and Eddie Mathews in Milwaukee, Ernie Banks in Chicago, and Ted Williams in Boston. For pitchers we could count on a roll call that included Warren Spahn, Robin Roberts, Whitey Ford, Early Wynn, and Billy Pierce. What the 1950s didn’t have was a Hall of Fame first baseman. That oversight has at long last been corrected with the belated election of Gil Hodges to the Hall this past winter.

Hodges induction, which happened in July, stirred a question in my head. If he is the first first baseman from the 1950s to be enshrined, who were the other players of note manning the first sack in that greatest of all baseball decades? I went to find out. My criteria: Players who spent more than 60% of their time on the field at first base and who played a significant chunk of their career in the 1950s. I did not include Musial because he was mostly an outfielder, playing only 40% of his games at first. I did not include Banks because he was a shortstop before moving to first base in the 1960s. I did not include Orlando Cepeda because his major league career began in 1958, making him mostly a 1960s player.

Here are the other very good first baseman from the 1950s. Not exactly “Willie, Mickey. and the Duke,” but a worthy aggregation, nonetheless. Hodges by the way, had a 41.2 WAR during the 50s, better than any in the group below. All WAR scores are for the 1950s only.

Mickey Vernon (WAR 21.8.) – Of all the players on this list, Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania’s Vernon may have the best argument for Hall of Fame consideration. A left-handed thrower and hitter, Vernon played from 1939 until 1960, mostly in the obscurity of a Washington Senators uniform. Like many players of his era, he lost two of his prime seasons, ages 26 and 27, to service in World War II. He won two batting titles (1946 and 1953) and was one of the most accomplished hitters of his time. Not a big home run hitter, Vernon was annually among the top players in both doubles and triples. Vernon was no slouch as a first baseman either, leading the league in fielding percentage four times. He still holds the major league record for most double plays turned by a first baseman, 2,044. Vernon had 2,495 hits in his career with a .286 lifetime batting average. He was a seven-time All-Star. He made his last All-Star team in 1958 at age 40, when he hit .293 in 119 games for the Cleveland Indians.

Ted Kluszewski (WAR 28.6) Big Klu was certainly one of the most intimidating hitters of the 1950s. With his hulking build and bulging biceps accentuated by his sleeveless Cincinnati Reds uniform, he was a daunting presence in the batter’s box. For four seasons in the mid-1950s, Kluszewski was the premiere power hitter in the game. In those four seasons he hit 171 home runs, compiled 464 RBIs, and batted .315. One amazing stat from those years shows that he struck out just 140 times, one of the few power hitters in history to have more home runs than strikeouts over a sustained period. A back injury that occurred during a scuffle in the clubhouse robbed Kluszewski of his power and his numbers fell off precipitously after his four-year peak. Big Klu had one last hurrah, however, with the 1959 “Go-Go” White Sox, when he hit .391 with three home runs in the 1959 World Series that the Sox lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4 games to 2.

Earl Torgeson (WAR 25) – With his dark rimmed glasses and broad features Earl Torgeson looked like Superman's friend mild-mannered Clark Kent, but in his behavior, he more resembled a street brawler. Torgeson might be remembered today as a great first baseman if he could have held his temper and avoided injury. Instead, he is best remembered for his fights. Torgeson once slugged Boston Red Sox infielder Billy Hitchcock during an exhibition game. He broke his own glasses in the ensuing bench-clearing melee. A few years later, having learned his lesson, Torgeson first took his glasses off before he charged into the opposing team’s dugout to slug “his good friend” catcher Sal Yvars. Off the field Torgeson was bright and funny. On the field he was a crazed demon. He also had a good bit of talent. In 1950, he hit .290 with 23 home runs for the Boston Braves. He had a couple of decent years with the Philadelphia Phillies and the Detroit Tigers and split time at first with Ted Kluszewski on the pennant winning Chicago White Sox in 1959, but he never reached what many thought was his great potential. A knee injury early in his career flared up often and likely robbed him of the career he might have had. And then there was his personality. Former teammate Gene Mauch summed up Torgeson well, “He refused to be dull, in his conversations, his actions, or anything else.”

Joe Adcock (WAR 19.8) – When Joe Adcock first came to the major leagues with the Cincinnati Reds, he had to play left field because Ted Kluszewski was the Reds established first baseman. Unhappy in the outfield in Cincinnati, where the Crosley Field banked outfield bothered his already creaky knees, Adcock was traded to the Braves just as they moved to Milwaukee, where he established himself as one of the most feared power hitters in the game. He is one of just 18 players to ever hit four home runs in a game. He hit the home run that broke up Harvey Haddix’s 12-inning perfect game in the 13^th. He was the first right-handed batter to hit a ball over the Ballantine Beer scoreboard in Connie Mack Stadium’s right-centerfield. For his career, Adcock hit 336 home runs. The total would doubtless have been higher if he could have stayed healthy. He had knee problems from his earliest days in the minor leagues and was constantly being hit by pitches on the hands and in the head. Adcock was one of the first players to adopt the batting helmet. It is a good thing he did. The day after he hit four home runs against the Dodgers, pitcher Clem Labine beaned him. Sportswriters noted the helmet likely saved his life.

Ferris Fain (WAR 17.8) – Fain may be one of the least known five-time All-Star, two-time American League batting champions in baseball history. His anonymity can be blamed, in part, on the fact that he played his best years for the woebegone Philadelphia Athletics of the late 1940s and early 50s, and also to the relative brevity of his major league career, cut short at the beginning by World War II and at the end by injury. Fain was another feisty first sacker who became as well known for his drinking and fighting as he was for his prodigious line drive hitting. He came up to the A’s in 1947 and by 1951 was one of the top hitters in the league. He led the league in batting average two straight seasons, 1951 and 52, with marks of .344 and .327 respectively. He was also selective at the plate, drew a lot of walks, and was perennially among the league leaders in OBP. Fain ranks 15^th all-time in career OBP with a .424 mark. He was traded to the Chicago White Sox after the 1952 season for another fine first baseman, Eddie Robinson. The trade was likely precipitated by concerns over Fain’s drinking. By 1955, with his knees aching and his batting average plummeting, Fain played his final season in the major leagues with Detroit and Cleveland.

Honorable Mention – Other first basemen from the 1950s deserve our attention. The Yankees had two solid first basemen during their run of eight pennants in the 1950s, Joe Collins (WAR 12.1) and Bill (Moose) Skowron (WAR 14.8). Puerto Rico native Vic Power (WAR 13.4) came up through the New York Yankee system, where he was blocked by Skowron and the prejudice of the Yankee management. Traded to Kansas City he proved to be a dependable hitter and in the estimation of his manager Lou Boudreau, “the best defensive right-handed first baseman in the league.” Slugging Eddie Robinson (WAR 10.1) bounced around among seven different teams in the 50s, averaging 20 home runs a year wherever he went. Robinson eventually became the general manager of the Texas Rangers. Finally, Luke Easter (WAR 9.5) who never got a chance to play major league ball until he was 33 years old because of baseball’s color bar, had three outstanding seasons for the Cleveland Indians in the early 50s, averaging .271 and 29 home runs a year, before age and injury caught up with him.

Lee Thomas and the 1993 Phillies: "Mad Dog" Assembles that "Wacky, Wonderful, Bunch of Misfits."

Perhaps no team in Phillies history captures the hearts of Philadelphia Phillies fans more than the 1993 National League pennant winners. The team was made up a cast of castoffs, misfits, and baseball journeymen, who somehow jelled into, not only a winner, but as entertaining a baseball team as the world is ever likely to see. It is amazing to consider that 20 of the 25 players on that team were acquired by Phillies General Manager Lee Thomas. Thomas passed away this week at the age of 86 in his adopted hometown of St. Louis. Newspaper reports said he had been battling several illnesses for the past few years.

When Thomas came from the St. Louis Cardinals front office to be the general manager of the Phillies in June 1988, the team was well on its way to a 96-loss season. Thomas said he didn't make many trades immediately, because he thought his counterparts on other teams were trying to take advantage of the new GM on the block. After about a year though Thomas began the wheeling and dealing that put the 93 team together. Thomas thought the late 80s Phillies were listless and he went looking for players to give the team some intensity. 

In one week in June 1989, Thomas traded away fan favorite Juan Samuel to the New York Mets for Lenny Dykstra and Roger McDowell and sent Chris James to the San Diego Padres for John Kruk and Randy Ready. A week later he sent star reliever Steve Bedrosian to San Francisco for Terry Mulholland, Dennis Cook, and Charlie Hayes. He snatched up Dave Hollins as a Rule 5 draftee from the Padres that winter. He got Wes Chamberlain and Tony Longmire in a 1990 trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 1991, closer "Wild Thing" Mitch Williams came over from the Cubs. In 1992 he got Curt Schilling in a trade for Jason Grimsley. When he thought he was getting close to a good team he added a few more pieces to the puzzle just before the 1993 season: Jim Eisenreich, Pete Incaviglia, Milt Thompson, Danny Jackson, Larry Andersen. As Andersen put it, "It was kind of like they had a puzzle with some missing pieces. And they knew exactly what those pieces were and where they fit."

These players seemingly all had three things in common. They had failed in other major league cities; they were intense on and off the field; and they were quirky. Somehow, they all molded together under the leadership of holdover catcher Darren Daulton and former Thomas teammate, manager Jim Fregosi. 

What fascinates me about Lee Thomas is this: What made him think that this bunch of castoffs and cutups could mold themselves into a winning baseball team? To get to the answer, I decided to look at Thomas' playing career.

Lee Thomas was a promising left-handed hitting prospect in the New York Yankees organization. He made his way steadily up the minor league ladder until he finally found himself on the Yankees opening day roster in 1961. Unfortunately for Thomas, his path to playing time was blocked by a couple of pretty good outfielders named Mantle and Maris. He rode the bench in New York in April, getting just two pinch hitting at bats, and singling in his first big league appearance. With no room at the inn, the Yankees traded Thomas to the expansion Los Angeles Angels for former Yankee, Bob Cerv. Thomas thrived in his rookie campaign with the Angels. Dividing his time between the outfield and first base, he hit .285 with 24 home runs. 

On September 5, 1961, in a doubleheader against the Kansas City A's at Municipal Stadium in Kansas City, Thomas had his greatest day in the major leagues and one of the greatest doubleheader hitting performances in major league history. In Game 1, Thomas went five-for-five with four singles and a double, as the A's beat the Angels, 7-3. In the second game, Thomas went four-for-six with three home runs and eight RBIs. The A's prevailed again, 13-12. Thomas' nine hits in a doubleheader tied a major league record that still stands. The last player to achieve the feat, and the first since Thomas did it, was Christian Yelich of the Florida Marlins in 2015.

Thomas had another fine season in 1962, hitting .290, with 26 home runs and 104 RBIs. He was named to the 1962 American League All-Star team for the only time in his career. After the 1962 season, Thomas had knee surgery to correct an old high school football injury. After the surgery, he was never the same player. His batting average and power production both fell off precipitously. He bounced from the Angels to several other teams and even spent one season in Japan, but he could not recapture the magic of his first two seasons. He retired from playing at age 34 in 1970 and went to work as a coach and minor league manager for the Cardinals. Eventually he moved to the Cardinals front office, where Bill Giles found him and brought him to Philadelphia.

During his playing days, Thomas' temper earned him the nickname "Mad Dog." He once was so incensed that what he considered inferior players were being promoted ahead of him that he stormed out of Yankees spring training, vowing to quit. He cooled down and came back. He was occasionally known to throw equipment around when he thought an umpire missed call. The legend goes that he once threw all his golf clubs into a lake during a charity golf tournament. When the caddie retrieved them, he threw them back into the lake again. 

Here, I believe, is the clue to what attracted Thomas to players like Dykstra, Kruk, and Hollins. Lee Thomas was an intense competitor, and he was looking for that sort of intensity from his players. The team he assembled for the 1993 Phillies, were certainly intense. As Harry Kalas memorably called them, this "whacky, wonderful, bunch of throwbacks." 

That 1993 team is a key part of Lee Thomas' legacy in Philadelphia. Another is Ed Wade, the architect of the 2000 teams, who was Thomas' protege. Old "Mad Dog" apparently curbed the temper when he got his front office jobs. Tributes to Thomas all indicated what a genuinely nice guy he was. Baseball lifer Lee Thomas is survived by his wife and four sons.

Take out the Brooms: The 1953 Phillies Sweep Three Four-Game Series

With the recent four game sweep of the lowly Cincinnati Reds, the 2022 Philadelphia Phillies became the first Phillies team to sweep three four-game series in a season since the 1953 team. This little factoid, gleaned from a recent Phillies TV broadcast, sent the researchers here at The Faith of a Phillies Fan scrambling to the record books for a little 1953 research. In 1953, the Phillies were a good, but not very good team, under manager Steve O'Neill. O'Neill had replaced 1950's pennant winning manager Eddie Sawyer mid-season in 1952. The Phillies played well under O'Neill, and he was brought back for 1953. 

This core of the Phillies team that won the 1950 pennant was still in place. Richie Ashburn and Del Ennis still patrolled the outfield. Granny Hamner and Willie "Puddin' Head" Jones were still on the infield. Robin Roberts, Curt Simmons, and Jim Konstanty were still the heart of the mound crew. Added to this mix were veterans picked up from other teams like catcher Smoky Burgess, first baseman, Earl Torgeson, second baseman Connie Ryan, right fielder Johnny Wyrostek and starting pitcher Karl Drews. The team looked to be a contender for the pennant.

The team's first four game sweep came April 24-26 at home against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates would win only 50 games in 1953. The Phillies were 15-7 against them for the season. In the Friday night game on April 26, Jim Konstanty, normally a reliever. but who made 19 starts for the Phillies in 1953, twirled a two-hitter to beat the Bucs, 5-3. Konstanty flirted with a no-hitter until Danny O'Connell singled in the seventh. Ennis contributed a two-run home run to the cause. On Saturday afternoon the Phillies slugged three home runs (Torgeson, Hamner, and Ennis again) as Curt Simmons, who gave up 10 hits and six walks in 7 1/3 innings, managed to win, 7-6. Andy "Swede" Hansen got the save. 

Sunday was Robin Roberts Day at the stadium. Robin was honored for his amazing 28-7 1952 season. After the plaudits and gifts were distributed, Roberts pitched and beat the Pittsburgh ace Bob Friend, 7-5. Ralph Kiner and Eddie Pelligrini touched Roberts for two-run homers in the 8th and 9th respectively to make it close. Ryan went five-for-five for the Phillies including a homerun, two RBIs, and three runs scored. Roberts added two hits of his own, but after one of them, he was picked off first base by Pirate catcher Joe Garagiola. The Phillies completed the sweep of the doubleheader and the series with an 8-1 blowout. Jones had three hits, including a two-run home run off the Buccos' Elroy Face. Drews pitched the complete game for the win. The Phillies were riding an eight-game winning streak and were atop the National League standings in the early going. 

The second four-game series sweep came June 8-10 against the Chicago Cubs, again at the newly renamed Connie Mack Stadium. The Cubs were not as bad a team as the Pirates, but in their third and final season under manager Phil Cavaretta, they would finish in seventh place, with a 65-89-1 record. The Cubs now featured two players who had been playing for the Pirates when the Phillies swept them in April, Ralph Kiner and Joe Garagiola. The Pirates and Cubs had pulled off a multi-player trade just four days before this series began. 

The first game of the series, a Monday day game, saw the Phillies jump out to a 4-0 lead on four unearned runs in the second inning. With two outs and Ennis and Jones on base, Cubs second baseman, Eddie Miksis, dropped a pop fly off the bat of Phillies catcher Stan Lopata. Ennis scored and Jones moved up. The next batter, pitcher Bob Miller, singled to center field, Jones scored and Lopata attempted to move to third on the hit. Frank Baumholtz's throw was wild, and Lopata picked himself up and headed home. Pitcher Paul Minner backed up the play and threw home in an attempt to get Lopata. This throw was also wild. Lopata was safe and Miller was awarded home on the overthrow. That tour of the bases seemed to take something out of Miller and he only lasted 3 2/3 innings. before being replaced by Steve Ridzik. Ridzik picked up the win with 5 1/3 innings of shutout relief. The final was Phils 7, Cubs 3.

The next day the Phillies won a wild, see-saw affair, 10-9. Ennis won the game in walk off fashion with a ninth inning home run against his former Phillie teammate Dutch Leonard. Phillies' rookie Thornton Kipper won his first ever major league game with one inning of scoreless relief. Kipper would win a total of three games in his brief major league career. Wednesday brought a doubleheader, that included a makeup game that had been rained out on May 5. In the first game, Roberts was masterful in shutting down the Cubs, 9-1. The only run Roberts allowed was a Kiner solo home run. Torgeson was the hitting star for the Phillies with three hits and 4 RBIs, including a three-run home run. In the second game, Jim Konstanty won his fifth of the year with the help of relievers Ridzik and Drews, 8-5. Ennis and Ryan homered. The Phillies were 28-18, in third place, four games behind the Milwaukee Braves.

In July the Pirates came to town again and the Phillies feasted again. The Friday night, July 10 game featured 10 errors (six by the Phillies) and nine unearned runs, as the Phillies prevailed, 13-3. Simmons picked up his eighth win of the season. Rookie shortstop, Ted Kazanski, had three hits to raise his season average to .227. Kazanski also made two errors. On July 11, the Phillies rallied from a 4-3 deficit to win, 8-5. The big blow was another Del Ennis home run, this time a three-run dinger off the Pirates Murry Dickson. Ridzik got the win in relief of Konstanty.

The Phillies swept the July 12 doubleheader to complete the second four-game shellacking of the Pirates. In game one, Roberts bested Roy Face, 6-4. Ennis was again the hitting star, banging out three hits, including two home runs and three RBIs. In the nightcap, the Phillies scored six early runs and then hung on to win, 6-5, as Ridzik contributed another strong 5 1/3 inning relief stint for his fifth win of the season. While the Phillies were beating up on these weak teams, however, they were treading water in the standings. At 45-35, they were now in fourth place, 4.5 games behind the surging Brooklyn Dodgers. 

Robin Roberts slides in headfirst to score from first base on an Eddie Waitkus triple.
The catcher is Vic Janowicz. The umpire is Frank Secory.

 

The Phillies finished the 1953 season 83-71-2, good enough for third place in the National League, but 22 games behind the pennant winning Brooklyn Dodgers. The great hopes for the "Whiz Kids" was beginning to fade as teams like the Dodgers fielded Black players like Jackie Robinson, Don Newcombe, Roy Campanella, and 1953 Rookie of the Year, Jim Gilliam. The Phillies stood pat, and all white, and paid the price. 

One of the things that stands out as we look over these twelve games as a whole, however, is the importance of Del Ennis to this Phillies lineup. During these twelve games, Ennis hit .367 (18 for 49), with seven home runs, 21 RBIs, and 13 runs scored. Numbers like this show that Ennis was the most important bat in the Phillies lineup in the 1950s. Ennis was to the 1950s Phillies what Dick Allen was in the 60s, Mike Schmidt was in the 70s and 80s, and what Bryce Harper is today. Like Schmidt and Allen, Ennis was booed unmercifully by Phillies fans. The reasons for this are unclear. I looked at the booing of Ennis in this post.

Ennis was, of course, a Philly boy. He went to Olney High School, signed with the Phillies although the New York Yankees offered him more money, served in the army during World War II, played 11 years for the hometown team and settled here after his retirement. Del Ennis is on the Phillies Wall of Fame as he should be, but when his number 14 was retired, it was to honor another great Phillies' 14, Jim Bunning. Del Ennis remains one of the most underrated great Phillie ballplayers of all time. 

Digging Up an Old Scorecard: Baseball Connects Us

This past weekend I attended the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) Conference in Baltimore, MD. One of the perks of attending the conference was a ticket to see the Orioles play the Boston Red Sox at Orioles Park at Camden Yards. I had never been to a game at this iconic stadium, the one that set the model for other modern "throwback" ballparks like Citizen's Bank Park, so after a full day of meetings, I planned to go early so I could get a good tour of the park. 

The stadium was just fifteen-minute walk from the conference hotel, so I set out on foot, decked out in Phillies t-shirt and hat and serendipitously passed a pub about two blocks from the stadium. Suddenly realizing I was hungry and thirsty, I dropped inside. The place was crowded and noisy, with seemingly hundreds of Orioles fans in bright orange shirts. After looking around a few minutes, I noticed a seat open at the bar and grabbed it. A voice around the corner of the bar from me said, "Are you lost?" I looked up to see an older man in orange t-shirt smiling at me and pointing to my shirt. I smiled back and said, "No just a Phillies fan here for the SABR conference and excited for my first visit to Camden Yards." The response was, "Oh yeah, I read that that conference was in town. Welcome to Baltimore."

This was Steve. Steve is a huge sports fan, who lives a half hour north of Baltimore. His first sport is hockey (he attends Hershey Bears games), but he also has season tickets to the minor league Harrisburg Senators (Double-A), attends Aberdeen IronBirds (High-A) games, and comes into Baltimore for the occasional Orioles game. I ordered a beer and a crab cake sandwich; Steve ordered a beer and a chicken tenders platter, and we settled into some baseball conversation while we waited for our food.

Steve, it turns out, grew up in New York City on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in the 1940s and 1950s. He was a regular at the Polo Grounds and Yankee Stadium and occasionally travelled crosstown on the subway to Ebbets Field. Steve had a habit of always keeping score at every game he attended. In fact, he had scorecards with him there on the bar ready for the Orioles/Red Sox game. "You can't buy scorecards at this park anymore. I bring my own."

Steve says, "I remember those Phillies teams of the late 1940s and 1950s. In fact, I saw Richie Ashburn during his rookie season. They had some great players. I remember Granny Hamner, Dick Sisler, Johnny Blatnick." Johnny Blatnick! I am willing to bet that even with a baseball conference in town there were not more than a handful of people in all of Baltimore who knew who Johnny Blatnick was and two of them were sitting here talking in this bar. 

I couldn't contain my enthusiasm. "I can't believe you know about Johnny Blatnick. He had like one good month in his brief Phillies career. In fact, I wrote about it. I write a blog about Phillies history, and I wrote about Johnny's one great month. I thought nobody remembered him."

Steve said, "I'd like to read that." He gave me his phone number and I sent him the link to the article. You can read it here, too, if you'd like.     We polished off our food, drained our beer glasses and decided to walk to the game together. Halfway there, Steve remembered he had left his scorecards on the bar and went back to retrieve them. We said goodbye. Steve's scorecards got quite a workout at that game as the Orioles won, 15-10. The score was 15-9 after five innings until the back end of the bullpen for each team restored some order.

The next day I was on the train returning to Philadelphia, when I got a text from Steve. First, he complimented my article and then he sent me an absolute treasure. When he got home, he dug through his files and found the scorecard he kept of a July 5, 1954, game at the Polo Grounds between the Giants and Phillies. Steve was 14 years old at the time. 

This scorecard is a treasure for many reasons. First of all, the 1954 New York Giants were a great team, who would win the World Series in four straight over the Cleveland Indians. Second of all, the names that appear on the scorecard are sure to stir memories for any long-time baseball fan. For the Giants there were Hall of Famers Willie Mays (batting sixth!) and winning pitcher Hoyt Wilhelm, as well as Hank Thompson, Don Mueller, and World Series hero to be, Dusty Rhodes. For the Phillies there was Hall of Famer Richie Ashburn, as well as fellow Whiz Kids like Granny Hamner and Willie "Puddin'head" Jones. The obscure Danny Schell was the Phillies' cleanup hitter. Del Ennis was on the shelf with a thigh injury. Here's Steve's 68-year-old scorecard.

The scorecard tells the story of the game itself, of course. The Phillies scored in the first when Schell singled home Jones with two out off Giants starter Ruben Gomez. The Phillies extended their lead in the second, scoring two runs on singles by Earl Torgeson, Ashburn, and Smoky Burgess along with a Gomez error. Mays homered off Phillies starter Murry Dickson in the bottom of the second. In the fourth, Ashburn walked (one of four walks he had in the game) and was gunned down by Willie Mays trying to go first-to-third on another Burgess hit. The crowd roared as Mays grabbed Burgess' looper on one hop in his bare hand and fired to third baseman Thompson to nip the speedy Ashburn. The scorecard notation 8-5, shows, in elegant baseball shorthand, one Hall of Fame centerfielder (Mays) cutting down another (Ashburn) with a great throw. This would be the year that the marvelous Mays won his first MVP award. In the fifth, Rhodes delivered the big blow of the game, a three-run home run that put the Giants ahead for good. Wilhelm pitched three innings of one-hit relief to earn the victory.

A week after this game was played the Phillies new General Manager, Roy Hamey, fired manager Steve O'Neill and replaced him with former St. Louis Cardinal player, Terry Moore. It did no good. The Phillies finished the season 75-79, in fourth place, 22 games behind the pennant winning Giants.  Moore was fired at the end of the year. Ennis' replacement, the rookie Schell, had a good season for the Phillies, appearing in 92 games and hitting .283 with seven home runs. The following year Schell appeared in two games in April, was optioned to the minors, and never returned to the major leagues. 

In the pantheon of the tens of thousands of baseball games played through the years, this was a pretty insignificant game. But this one was made significant because a 14-year-old boy went to the game, kept a scorecard, and 68 years later chose to share it with a new friend. In a time of deep divisions in the country, baseball continues to connect us. It is a national shared experience to treasure.