Philadelphia Baseball History

In a season marred with over ninety losses, a heroic pitching performance stood out for the Phillies. But the man who through a no-hitter for an otherwise dismal team did not return the following season. Instead, he was dealt in a trade that turned around the franchise.  No, I'm not talking about Cole Hammels and the 2015 Phillies. This is the story of Rick Wise and the 1971 Phillies.  When you look closely, there are a lot of similarities between the Phillies of the early 1970s and today's Phillies. 1971 marked the first of three seasons in a row when the Phillies lost more than ninety games. Likewise, the Phils lost more than ninety games in each season from 2015 through 2017.  But even in the early 1970s there was hope. After obtaining Steve Carlton in the Rick Wise trade, the Phillies began to inject new life into the major league team from its farm system. Larry Bowa debuted in 1969. He was followed by the Bull, Greg Luzinski, in 1971, and Bob Boone and M...

At 18-14, this Phillies team has been fun to watch.   Some might even say surprising.   Although, for those who were paying attention in Spring Training, this early season success isn’t that surprising.   This was a team that, according to some pundits, was supposed to be tanking.   Yet the Phils sprinted out to a 10-3 record in the early Spring, and it looked like they didn’t know that they were supposed to lose.   Now, just as the early Spring Training success signaled cautious optimism, so too should this early season success.   There are still over 100 games to go in the regular season.   Nonetheless, watching the pundits react with surprise has been amusing.   Sportswriters, quite frankly, are not known for original thought.   Pre-season prognostication of gloom and doom appeared to be nothing more than lazy group think.   Many of the predictions were based on the dismal 2015 season.   Indeed, ESPN in one article noted...