My Top Ten Moments of the 2017 Phillies Season

10.  Pat Neshek’s 18 Inning Scoreless Streak

Let’s face it. There wasn’t much to cheer about in the beginning of the season. The Phillies were just plain awful. But one thing that did stand out was the pitching of reliever Pat Neshek. While the rest of the bullpen faltered, Neshek was solid. When the Phils needed a hold, they could count on Neshek to keep the score from getting worse. At one point, Neshek had an 18 Inning scoreless streak, that was broken on July 2nd. By the All-Star break, Neshek had an amazing 1.27 ERA. Alas, by the end of July, Neshek was no longer a Phillie, netting three prospects in a trade with the Rockies. 

9. Odubel Herrera Robs . . .

Odubel Herrera is an odd bird. His fans argue that his statistics prove he is a Gold Glove center fielder. His critics say that the statistics fail to account for some fundamental mistakes he makes while covering the outfield. Take, for example, Herrera’s misplay of a line drive on September 8th in Washington that lead to a rare inside-the-park grand slam for Michael Taylor. 

But Herrera has been responsible for several, amazing, against the wall, leaping plays that have some of the best hitters of extra base hits, if not home runs. On May 8th, Herrera leaped in the air against the wall in straight away center to rob the Nationals Ryan Zimmerman of a hit. On September 20th, Herrera went into that pesky corner if left center, and robbed the Dodgers Yasiel Puig of extra bases. Not content to end his clinic of how to make amazing catches there, a week later on September 27th, Herrera returned to the same corner to rob Jayson Werth. Love him or hate, fans have to admit that Herrera’s athleticism is amazing. 

8.  Freddy Galvis Plays 162 Games

Freddy Galvis was solid at shortstop this year. If he does not win the Gold Glove, his name should be in the conversation. But early in the year, Galvis let it be known to Manager Pete Mackanin that he wanted to play the full schedule of 162 games. So strong was his desire, that he played, and hit a home run, on the same day his daughter was born. Mackanin obliged, even finding ways to play Galvis after shortstop J.P. Crawford was called up from Lehigh Valley. The last Phillie to play the whole schedule was Ryan Howard in 2008. 

7.  J.P. Crawford

Phillies fans had been hearing about J.P.  Crawford for a couple of years now. He was touted as the best prospect in the Phillies minor league system. But his major league debut was delayed by his need to make adjustments when he reached AAA.  Crawford, a shortstop in the minors, made his debut against the Mets on September 5th, playing third base. He then spent the rest of the month showing that he can play almost anywhere in the infield, spending time at second, third and shortstop. Crawford’s play called attention to a crowded Phillies infield, which includes Maikel Franco, Freddie Galvis and Cesar Hernandez. With second baseman and Paul Owens Award winner, Scott Kingery, waiting for his opportunity to break into the majors, the Phillies will have some difficult choices to make next season. 

6.  Hoby Milner

Hoby Milner was selected from the Phillies by the Indians in the Rule 5 Draft during the off-season. But, the Indians returned Milner to the Phils before the season began. Although the Indians are in the post-season and won an incredible 22 games in a row, they just might be regretting their decision. 

Milner made his debut with the Phillies on June 24th. Along the course of the season, he pitched in 37 games, striking out 22 and posting an impressive 2.01 ERA. During the Phillies’ impressive run in September, Milner appeared to be the arm the Phils could count on out of the bullpen. 

5.  Phillies Get Two Wall-Off Hits in One Game

It was September 12th. The Phillies had to win 8 more games to avoid 100 losses for

the season, with 19 games left. For a team posting a winning percentage in the .300s, that seemed a tall order. But the Phils were starting a 10 game home stand, the first 3 with the Marlins. 

The Phillies fell behind early, with the score at 7-2 after six innings. But Rhys Hoskins hit a solo shot in the bottom of the seventh. In the eighth, Jorge Alfaro, J.P. Crawford and Freddy Galvis all had RBIs to pull the Phils within one.

In the bottom of the ninth, Hyun Soon Kim came to the plate, with Nick Williams and Cesar Hernandez on base. Kim hit a ground ball that poked through the infield to right fielder Giancarlo Stanton. Williams scored, tying the game. Hernandez rounded third, and slid to the outside of the plate to avoid the tag, apparently touching home for the walk-off win. The Phillies react by ripping off Kim’s jersey and dumping a container of gum over his head. 

But wait. The Marlins challenged the call. Replay showed that Hernandez was tagged out, sending the game into extra innings. The grounds crew then spent several minutes cleaning up the gum. 

The Marlins took the lead with a Marcel Ozuna home run in the tenth. But Rhys Hoskins responded with his own home run in the bottom half of the inning. The teams went scoreless for the next four innings. 

In the bottom of the fifteenth, Aaron Altherr reached base on a single. Nick Williams knocked him in on a game winning double. The Phillies won with their second walk-off hit of the evening. 

This is the game where Williams said of his teammate, Hoskins, “He’s an alien. He’s not human,” a quote Phils fans had fun with for the remainder of the season. 

4.  Maikel Franco Ends the Season Strongly

On the last game of the season, the Phillies ended Mackanin’s managerial mission by mangling the Mets 11-0.  Maikel Franco and Nick Williams both had three run shots. That of Franco I found more significant. 

By this point in the season, Williams had already established himself as an offensive power and a valuable piece in the Phillies outfield for the future. After being called up in late June, Williams batted .288, hitting 12 home runs and knocking in 55 RBIs. Williams impressed in his rookie season, and gave fans hope for the future. 

But Franco’s season had been something of a disappointment. This was the second season in a row where Franco seemed to underachieve at the plate. Franco went into September batting a mere .222 with an OPS of .667. 

While fans expressed frustration with Franco, General Manager Matt Klentak remained convinced of his raw talent. As the season came to a close, Klentak’s patience appeared vindicated as Franco finished strongly. By October 1st, Franco had hit home runs in three straight games, and four in his last five games. He finished the season leading the team with 22 home runs, despite yielded some playing time at third base to J.P. Crawford. Franco gave the Phils justification to stick with Franco for at least one more season, with the potential of Manny Machado becoming a free agent at the end of 2018. 

3.  Rhys Hoskins Starts a Triple Play

The defending World Champion Cubs came in for their only visit to Philadelphia

over Players Weekend, August 25-27. The teams split the first two games. The third proved to be an exciting finale. 

In the top of the fifth inning, the Cubs were up 3-0, with no outs and men on first and second. Pitcher Nick Pivetta was battling, but appeared to be on the verge of being yanked. Javier Baez hit a line drive to left field.  Rhys Hoskins, who played most of his minor league career as a first baseman, was playing in left field to make room for his bat in the line-up. Hoskins came charging in, and made a remarkable shoe-string catch. The runners, having taken off on what looked like a sure hit, were caught in no man’s land. Hoskins got up, toss the ball to second to get the runner off second out. The ball was then tossed to first the complete the triple play. 

On a personal note, I was at Citizens Bank Park along the third base line. My seat afforded me a perfect view of Hoskins’ catch. The Marlins challenged, claiming the ball was trapped. Replay confirmed the call. 

The triple play sparked a rally in the bottom of the fifth, the Phils scored five runs, including a Nick Williams two run home run. Hoskins added an insurance run with a solo shot in the eighth. It was his fifth game in a row with a home run, and his eleventh in only eighteen major league games. Hoskins has already set a record for reaching 11 home runs in the shortest period of time. It was a record he would build on for the rest of the season. 

2.  Aaron Altherr Taps Kershaw for a Grand Slam

You can argue that the Dodgers let up in the last month of the season. But that last series with the Dodgers at Citizens Bank Park was a significant challenge for the Phillies. The Phils were still fighting to avoid 100 losses on the season. And the Dodgers, with the best record in baseball, was within a few games of clinching their their division. 

The first game on September 18th seemed to live up to expectations. Clayton Kershaw pitched five scoreless innings. Meanwhile, Nick Pivetta battled, giving up only two solo homers in the first. But the Phils were behind 2-0. But Kershaw seemed to lose his magic in the sixth. Kershaw gave up a walk to Ty Kelly, a single to Freddy Galvis and a walk to Rhys Hoskins to load the bases with two outs. With the count at 1-1, Aaron Altherr unloaded on a slider on a monster shot that reached 418 feet. This was the second grand slam of Altherr’s career. But both had been historic. The first was a rare inside-the-park home run off the Nationals in 2015. This one was the first Kershaw had given up in his remarkable career. It proved to be the only offense the Phillies needed, as they beat the Dodgers 4-3. 

1.  Rhys Hoskins Hits His 18th Home Run

Fans clamored for Hoskins’ promotion to the majors as he tore apart pitchers in the

International League. Once he got here, we were not disappointed. Hoskins showed that he was the rare breed of a patient, selective hitter, with power. Hoskins was not afraid to make a pitcher work deep into the count, and seemed to be a better hitter when he had two strikes on him. 

It took a few games for him to get used to major league pitching. But once he did, it was a fireworks show. In late August and early September, there didn’t seem to be a ballpark that could contain his home runs. He made it to his first eleven home runs in record time. And then he kept going. 

On September 14th, Hoskins came to bat in the second inning against Marlins pitcher, and former Phillie, Vance Worley, with Odubel Herrera on base. Jorge Alfaro and Freddy Galvis has already hit home runs in the inning. With a two-strike count, Hoskins hit a shot to center field for his eighteenth home run. It was the most home runs a player had hit in his first 44 games in the major leagues. Except Hoskins did it in 34. He was also the fastest player to reach 39 RBIs. 

At the time, Hoskins was only 3 behind the team leader for the season, Tommy Joseph, who had 21 dingers. But as the league caught up to the young phenom, and began pitching him differently, it was Hoskins last of the season. 

Nonetheless, the rest of the season was still impressive for Hoskins. He remained a patient hitter, and continued to knock in runs. By the end of the season, he had 48 RBIs, and an OPS of 1.014. The question now is whether Hoskins can adjust now that the league has a plan of how to pitch to him. The penultimate game of the season when he hit a long shot against the Mets, which some speculate would have left the ballpark if not for the strong winds that knocked it down. 

Bonus.  Phillie Phanatic Gets a Date

Even the world’s greatest mascot deserves to find love. When the Dodgers came to

town, the Phanatic took a liking to Dodgers beat writer Alanna Rizzo (no relation to Frank). The Phanatic attempted to woo Rizzo with flowers during the first three games, only to be spurned. But persistence paid off, as the Phanatic had a table with flowers brought onto the field. After an initial blunder of knocking the table over with his big, green belly, and thereby knocking the vase and water onto Rizzo, the two shared a romantic toast with milk over a candle-lit table. 

William J. Kovatch, Jr.