Former Phillies Killers Who Later Joined the Phils: Kent Tekulve
As a Philadelphia Phillies fan, you know when a certain baseball player consistently plays well against your team. It's the guy who gives you a sinking feeling in your stomach whenever he comes to the plate, or takes the mound against the Phils. We call them “Phillies Killers.” One such Phillies Killer back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, whom I remember giving me agita, was Pirates relief pitcher, Kent Tekulve. Kent Tekulve Was a Phillies Killer To set the stage, in the five season from 1976 through 1980, the Phillies won the NL East four times. The only year another team captured the division championship during that span was 1979, when the Pirates won the World Series. In fact, from 1976 to 1978, the Pirates finished second in the division, right on the tail of the Phillies. During that time, their late inning relief workhorse was one Kent Tekulve. Kent Tekulve’s Time with the Pittsburgh Pirates Hailing from Cincinnati, Ohio, Telkuve debuted for the P...