Philadelphia Baseball History

At the end of the Nineteenth Century, the Phillies had one of the best outfields of all time: Ed Delahanty, Slidin' Billy Hamilton and Sam Thompson.  All three are in the Hall of Fame.  Nap Lajoie and Elmer Flick intimidated pitchers.  They are in the Hall of Fame.  For the 1930s, the Phillies are represented in the Hall by Chuck Klein.  Robin Roberts, Richie Ashburn, Jim Bunning, Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton, Roy Halladay.  Most eras have some Phillies representation. But then you think about the early Twentieth Century, from 1901 through 1928 (when Chuck Klein joined the team).  Yes, there is Grover Cleveland Alexander and Eppa Rixey.  But both spent a considerable amount of time pitching for other teams.  There is Dave Bancroft.  But his numbers for his time in Philadelphia aren't impressive at all.  He made the Hall of Fame due to the strength of his time with the New York Giants.  Really, there aren't any great Phillies hitters from this time period in the Hall of F

Shortstop is the most crucial defensive position in the infield.  Well, it used to be.  Before the era of the infield shift.  Sure the shift was cool, back when it was an innovative way  to counter the threat of legendary left-handed hitter Ted Williams.  Now the shift is everywhere.  Infield positions have pretty much become interchangeable.  If you have a left-handed hitter, move everyone over to the right side of the infield.  If you have a right-handed hitter, move everyone to the left side of the infield.  I hate the shift.  The shift just encourages left-handed power hitters, in particular, to swing for the fences.  Sure, you could bunt down the third base line, and likely get a base hit.  But modern hitting coaches discourage that.  Personally, I find the modern game of power hitting and power pitching boring.  Moving runners over, manufacturing runs, to me that's exciting baseball.  Don't get me wrong, home runs are fun.  Strategically using outs, however, made for a mu