Philadelphia Baseball History

The Phillies ended the 2017 season with a bang, defeating the Mets 11-0. In winning their final game, the Phillies have given their fans several storylines to follow going into 2018.  One of the biggest questions for 2017 was whether Maikel Franco would step up his game, living up to his potential and the fans' expectations. For most of the season, that question was answered in the negative. But General Manager Matt Klentak refused to give up on Franco, asserting that he has too much talent.  Franco's late season surge may have proven Klentak right. After hovering at a little over .200 for most of the season, Franco increased his average to .275 for the month of September. In his last five games, he hit 4 home runs and drove in 7 runs, which included a three-run blast in the last game of the season. Franco ended the season leading the team in home runs, with 24.  If nothing else, Franco's late season performance has made a statement that he is not ready to fade ...

While understandably, most of the attention has been on the incredible feats of Rhys Hoskins in the last two months of the Phillies' season, it has, to a degree, overshadowed the accomplishments of his teammates.  Take Aaron Altherr, for instance. In the first half of the season, Altherr was the Phillies offense, with speculation as to whether he would be the team's All-Star representative. Injuries cooled down his season, and forced him to the disabled list. Now that Altherr has returned, he has added to the explosive potential of the young Phillies line-up.  Last night, Altherr ripped Clayton Kershaw for the first ever grand slam against the Dodgers' ace, made possible, in part, by a Hoskins walk. It was the second grand slam in Altherr's career. Both have been historic; the first being a rare inside-the-park slam against the Nationals in 2015. Altherr's blast gave the Phillies all the runs they needed to give Nick Pivetta his sixth win of the season. The ...