Philadelphia Baseball History

When you look back at Connie Mack's time in Philadelphia, you see a lot of elephants.  There were elephant on the Athletics' uniforms.  There were elephants on the hats.  Connie Mack had elephant statues.  There was an elephant in the Athletics' logo.  The A's Christmas cards even had an elephant.  Now, most fans of Philadelphia baseball history can tell you that the elephant originated from a comment by John McGraw, the famous manager of the New York Giants.  He called the Philadelphia Athletics a white elephant.  Connie Mack was so amused by the comment, that he adopted the white elephant as the team's mascot.  But, what exactly does all of this mean? White elephants were revered in southeast Asian culture.  They were seen as a sign of wealth and opulence.  Rulers kept white elephants as a symbol of their power.  Because white elephants were revered, they were protected from performing labor.  But this meant that a g...

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...

Pete Rose.  To say that he is a controversial figure is an understatement.  The mere mention of his name evokes strong emotional reactions, and not just from baseball fans.  Some people are extremely loyal to him.  He belongs in the Hall of Fame, and nothing will change their minds about that.  Some believe that he is a deeply flawed person, who doesn't deserve to be honored in his lifetime.  But, because his accomplishments on the field are so impressive, he does deserve enshrinement in the Hall, but only posthumously.  And then you have the people who feel betrayed by Rose, who find his moral character repugnant, that they have concluded that he should never be honored with Hall of Fame enshrinement.  Some in this category go so far as to try to minimize his professional accomplishments. For example, in 2016, Ichiro Sukui, an incredible hitter in his own right, passed 4,257 hits in his entire professional career.  Of course, this included...

Major League Baseball has been reported to be considering a unique plan to start the baseball season as early as May.  Multiple media outlets report that MLB is considering starting the major league season with all thirty teams playing in Arizona, essentially contained in an isolated bubble.  Should the plan be implemented, the league would restrict travel of all personnel from the hotel to the stadiums and back.  There would be no fans in the stands.  The players would not crowd together in the dug-out, but sit in the stands at least six feet apart when not on the field playing. Executing this plan would also require several changes to the way baseball is currently played.  There would be an electronic strike zone, for example, to eliminate the need for an umpire to peer over the shoulder of the catcher at home plate.  The automatic strike zone was tested in 2019 in the Arizona Fall League to mix reviews.  Commissioner Rob Manfred had planned on t...

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...

The middle infield positions are the key to a team's defense.  With the ball coming at you fast, the second baseman mus be quick on his feet, and sure with his glove.  Of course it helps if the second baseman is talented with the bat, too.  Here are our top five picks for the best Phillies second basemen of all time. 5.            Juan Samuel Juan Samuel was fast.  In his first full season with the Phillies, 1984, he stole 72 bases.  He also batted .272, and made the All-Star team.  Over the next three seasons, he batted .264, .266 and .272 respectively, stealing 53, 42 and 35 bases.  He was an All-Star again in 1987.  In 1988, The Phillies tried to switch Sammy to the outfield, and his offensive number suffered because of it.  He hit .243 in 1988 and .246 in 51 games in 1989.  With his offensive numbers dwindling, Samuel likely brought his greatest value to the team in 1989, when the Phillies traded h...

It was late in the season in 2017.  The Phillies had already traded away the last of the members of the 2008 World Championship team.  Despite a fast start in April, including a six game winning streak at the end of the month, this was clearly a rebuilding year.  This was the second full season for team President Andy MacPhail and General Manager Matt Klentak, and while fans were asked to endure some difficult times, there was supposedly promise in the years to come.  Analysts promised fans that there was talent in the minor league system, just waiting to burst through and bring contention to the Phillies.  One such prospect was Rhys Hoskins. A fifth round draft pick in 2014, Hoskins impressed with his offensive prowess in the minors.  In 2015, spending half his season each at low A Lakewood, and high A Clearwater, Hoskins batted .319 with 17 home runs.  In the next season, he developed his power with AA Reading, hitting 38 home runs, just 2 behind...

This week, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported that MLB was considering a proposal for a new playoff format .  Pursuant to the proposal, each league would send seven teams to the playoffs, as opposed to the current five.  The three division winners would be joined by four wild card teams.  The team with the best record in each league would earn a first round bye.  The division leaders, as well as the wild card team with the best record, would host a first round play-off series, which would be a best-of-three series.  That's right.  They would host all three games, not merely two out of the three. But so far, we have not reached the most unusual part of the proposal.  Two of the three teams hosting the first round of playoffs would get to choose their opponent from the bottom three wild card teams.  The division winner in this first round with the best record would have first choice.  The final division winner would get the second c...