Top 5 First Basemen in Phillies History

Offense.  First basemen are known for providing their team with much needed offense.  Often, a team will put a power-hitter on first, or even convert a good-hitting outfielder to the position, making the first baseman one of the strongest hitters of the team.

The Phillies have had a number of good first basemen in their history.  What follows are the five players that stand out as the top first basemen to play for the Phillies, in our opinion.  If you believe any players belong on this list, or that the order in which he placed the following players is incorrect, please let us know in the comments.

5.            Fred Luderus

Born on September 21, 1885 in Milwaukee, WI, Fred Luderus joined the National League in 1909 at age of 23 with the Chicago Cubs.  After a year and a half with the Cubs, Luderus was batting only .242 with an OPS of .644.  On July 29, 1910, the Cubs traded Luderus to the Phillies for left handed pitcher Bill Foxen.  Foxen only lasted another two seasons in the big leagues, meanwhile Luderus found his prospects rising.  In 21 games with the Phillies in 1910, Luderus batted .294.  His batting average rose as a full-time player in 1911 to .301, with 99 RBIs.

Luderus’ best season was in 1915, the year the Phillies won their first pennant.  He hit .315 with 7 home runs, and driving in 62 runs.  In the World Series, Luderus hit an impressive .438 with a home run and 6 RBIs.  His OPS was a remarkable 1.250.  Unfortunately, this was in a losing effort, as the Boston Red Sox beat the Phils in five games.

In total, Luderus played 10½ seasons with Philadelphia, batting .278 during that period, knocking in 630 runs, and maintaining an OPS of.744.

Luderus was clearly a bright spot in a period where the Phillies tended to play miserably, and finish in the second division.

4.            Jim Thome

Left handed slugger and Hall of Famer Jim Thome is known mostly for his time with the Indians.  Thome became a free agent and signed with the Phillies in December of 2002.  He quickly became a fan favorite for his play on the field, and personality off the field.   In his first year with the Phils, Thome hit an MLB leading 47 Home runs.  He also gained 131 RBIs and had an OPS of .958.  In 2004, Thome made an All-Star appearance, and ended the season with 42 home runs, 105 RBIs, and an OPS of .977.

The Phillies traded Thome in the 2005 off-season, but re-signed him in November of 2011, after Ryan Howard tore his Achilles tendon in the play-offs.  Unfortunately, back problems plagued Thome, and prevented him from playing first base every day.  At his request, the Phillies traded Thome to the American League, where he could act as a designated hitter for Baltimore.

In 4 years with the Phillies, Thome hit 101 home runs, and 281 RBIs, while maintaining a .925 OPS.

3.            John Kruk

Part of the beloved group of blue collar, throw-back players of the 1993 magical Phillies National League Championship season, John Kruk was traded to the Phillies in 1989 along with Randy Ready of the San Diego Padres.  The left hander initially played in the outfield, but eventually moved to first base.  From 1991 through 1993, he was a three time All-Star.  His most memorable All-Star performance came at the 1993 Baltimore All-Star Game, when Kruk face giant Hall of Fame pitcher Randy Johnson for the first time.  Johnson’s first pitch was a wild fast that went over Kruk’s head. Kruk comically swung at the next three pitches just to end his at-bat against the intimidating fast-ball hurler.

In the wild 1993 World Series, despite a nearly impossible season where most of the team seemed to have career years, the Phils fell down to the Toronto Blue Jays in six games.  In that series, Kruk hit .348 with a .500 on base percentage. 

Kruk frequently changed his uniform number with the Phillies.  He wore number 11 in 1989-90 and 19 in 1990.  When Mitch Williams joined team, Kruk was wearing 28.  Kruk traded the number to Williams for a case of beer.  It was rumored that Kruk was sympathetic to the fact that William’s wife already had jewelry with the number28 emblazoned on it, and wanted to go easy on the Wild Thing.  Kruk wore 29 for the rest of his career.

In his six years with the Phillies, Kruk had a .308 batting average, scoring 403 runs, and posting 390 RBIs and an .861 OPS.

Currently Kruk acts as a TV broadcaster with the Phillies occasionally sharing the airways with Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt.

2.            Pete Rose

One of the top prizes of the early days of free agency, Pete Rose signed with the Phillies for the 1979 season.  The Phillies placed the switch-hitting Rose at first base, replacing Richie Hebner.  The Phillies had won 3 straight Eastern Division Championships, but each year failed to get beyond the first round of the play-offs.  The Phillies brought Rose in to push the team over the hump, and make it to the World Series.  However, the Phillies had a disappointing 1979 season, finishing fourth in the division.  Rose, however, hit .331, with 208 hits, and a National League leading .418 on base percentage, earning an All-Star appearance.

In 1980, Rose helped lead Phillies to their first ever World Championship, batting .282, and scoring 95 runs.  In the 1980 NLCS against Houston, Rose hit .400, with an on base percentage of .520. 

In the strike shortened 1981 season, Rose hit .300 in a losing effort against the Expos in the Eastern Divisional play-offs.  1983 found Rose reunited with former Reds teammates Tony Perez and Joe Morgan.  The team was seen as aging by the sports press, and pejoratively called the Wheeze Kids, a play on the Whiz Kids knick-name of the 1950 Phillies.  The Wheeze Kids surprised the league by earning another pennant.  In the 1983 NLCS against the LA Dodgers, Rose hit .375, with a .412 OBP.  In the World Series, Rose hit .313, but the Phillies fell to the Orioles.

In five years with the Phillies, Rose earned 4 All-Star appearances.

Rose was banned from baseball due to gambling while managing the Reds.  Despite being the all-time MLB hit leader, Rose is excluded from the Hall of Fame due to his gambling on baseball.  In 2017, Rose was scheduled to be honored by the Phillies by being placed on the team’s Wall of Fame.  However, Testimony by Rose from a defamation lawsuit leaked.  In that testimony, Rose admitted that he had an affair with a 16 year old when he was 34.  Rose rationalized the affair by claiming that 16 was age of consent in Ohio at the time.  By mutual agreement, the Phillies and Rose cancelled ceremony to place Rose on Wall of Fame.

1.            Ryan Howard

Left handed power hitter Ryan Howard burst onto the scene in 2005, after the Phillies traded Jim Thome.  Howard earned the 2005 Rookie of the Year Award, batting .288, with 63 RBIs and an OPS of .924 in 88 games.  In 2006, Howard led the major leagues in home runs, and set a team season home run record with 58.  Howard also led the majors with 149 RBIs.  He hit an impressive 1.084 OPS. His performance earned him an All-Star appearance and the National League MVP award.

Howard hit 45 or more home runs for next 3 years, and drove in 136 runs or more for the season during same period.  He made All Star appearances in 2009 and 2010.

Howard’s play-off performance was mixed.  In 2008, after slow start in the NLDS, Howard hit .300 in NLCS against Dodgers, and .288 in World Series against Tampa Bay, with 3 home runs.  Howard dominated the 2009 National League play-offs, hitting .375 and driving in 6 runs in NLDS vs. Colorado, and batting .333, with 2 home runs and 8 RBIs in NLCS against Los Angeles, where named MVP.  Howard’s performance dropped off in the World Series, with his batting average falling to .240 and hitting only 1 home run in losing effort against the Yankees.

Unfortunately, in the 2011 NLDS against St. Louis, Howard tore his Achilles tendon running out a ground ball for the last play of the series.  Although the Phillies had won 102 game during the season on the backs of the four aces, Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels, the Phillies lost to St. Louis in the first round of the play-offs.

With Howard facing a difficult recovery, the Phillies signed Jim Thome to return to Philadelphia for the 2012 season.  Howard played in 71 games that season, but his batting average dropped to .219, and he hit only 14 home runs.  Sadly, Howard never fully recovered from injury.  In addition, by that time, the use of the defensive shift against left-handed power hitters had spread through the league, which affected Howard’s hitting.

Howard played until 2016, spending all 13 years with the Phillies.  Howard is second in Phillies history in home runs with 382, behind only Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt.  He is also third in team history in RBIs with 1,194, behind Hall of Famers Schmidt and Ed Delahanty.

Honorable Mentions

Notable players to play first base for the Phillies, who did not make this list include:  Von Hayes, Richie Hebner, Don Hurst and Eddie Waitkis.  Waitkis is known for being the inspiration for the character of Roy Hobbs as Waitkis was shot early in his career by an obsessed fan, Ruth Ann Steinhagen.

By:  William J. Kovatch, Jr.

References

Statistics were all obtained from http://www.baseball-reference.com.

Photos used for the purpose of criticism, commentary, education, and/or research, and as such their use is protected by the Fair Use Doctrine.