History of the Philadelphia Phillies

This page outlines the history of the Philadelphia Phillies National League baseball franchise in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Origins

In Baseball Year|1883, sporting goods manufacturer Al Reach (a pioneering professional baseball player) and attorney John Rogers won an expansion National League franchise for Philadelphia, one of what are now known as the "Classic Eight" of the National League. They were awarded a spot in the league to replace the Worcester Brown Stockings, a franchise that had folded in Baseball Year|1882. The new team was nicknamed the "Quakers," and immediately compiled a .173 winning percentage, which is still the worst in franchise history. Although many sources (including the Phillies themselves) claim that Reach and Rogers bought the Brown Stockings and moved them to Philadelphia, all available evidence suggests this is not the case. Significantly, no players from Worcester ended up with the 1883 Quakers.

In Baseball Year|1884, Harry Wright (the future Hall of Famer) was recruited as manager in the hope of reversing the team's fortunes. Also in 1884, the team changed its name to the "Philadelphias", as it was common for baseball teams in that era to be named after their cities (for instance, the "Bostons" and "New Yorks"). However, as "Philadelphias" was somewhat hard to fit in newspaper headlines, writers began shortening the name to "Phillies."cite book |title=The Team-by-Team Encyclopedia of Major League Baseball |last=Purdy |first=Dennis |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=2006 |publisher=Workman |location=New York City |isbn=0761139435 |pages= ] "Quakers" continued to be used interchangeably with "Phillies" until 1890, when the team officially became known as the "Phillies." This name is the longest continually used nickname in professional sports by a team in the same city. [http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/phi/history/timeline01.jsp]

In by|1887 they began play at what eventually became known as Baker Bowl. Despite a general improvement from their dismal beginnings, they never seriously contended for the title. The standout players of franchise in the era were Billy Hamilton, Sam Thompson, and Ed Delahanty, who in by|1896 set the major-league record (since tied by several others) with 4 home runs in a single game.

Due to growing disagreements about the direction of the team, Reach sold his interest to Rogers in by|1899.

Early 20th century

With the birth of the more lucrative American League in by|1901, the Phillies saw many of their better players defect to the upstart, including a number of players who ended up playing for their crosstown rivals the Athletics, owned by former Phillies minority owner Benjamin Shibe.

While their former teammates thrived (the AL's first five batting champions were former Phillies), the remaining squad fared dismally, finishing 46 games out of first place in Baseball Year|1902—the first of three straight years finishing either seventh or eighth. To add tragedy to folly, a balcony collapsed during a game at the Baker Bowl in by|1903, killing twelve and injuring hundreds. Rogers was forced to sell the Phillies to avoid being ruined by an avalanche of lawsuits.

The Phillies won their first pennant in Baseball Year|1915 thanks to the pitching of Grover Cleveland Alexander and the batting prowess of Gavvy Cravath, who set the major-league single-season record for home runs with 24. However, by by|1917 Alexander had been traded away when owner William Baker refused to increase his salary. Baker was known for running the Phillies very cheaply; for instance, during much of his tenure there was only one scout in the entire organization.

The effect of the Alexander trade was immediate. In Baseball Year|1918, only three years after winning the pennant, the Phillies finished thirteen games under .500. It was the start of one of the longest streaks of futility in baseball history. From 1918 to Baseball Year|1947, the Phillies had only one winning record (78-76 in Baseball Year|1932), only finished higher than sixth twice, and were never a serious factor past June. During this stretch, they finished last a total of 17 times and next to last seven times. This saddled the franchise with a reputation for failure that dogged it for many years. For instance, a 1962 cartoon in a baseball magazine depicted a ballplayer arriving at a French Foreign Legion outpost, explaining, "I was released by the Phillies!"

The team's primary stars during the 1920s and 1930s were outfielders Cy Williams, Lefty O'Doul, and Chuck Klein, who captured the vaunted Triple Crown in by|1933. Unfortunately, Philadelphia's cozy Baker Bowl proved to be a fertile hitting ground for Phillies opponents as well, and in by|1930, the team surrendered 1199 runs, a major-league record still standing today.

1930s–1940s

Baker died in 1930. He left half his estate to his wife and the other half to longtime team secretary Mae Mallen. Five years earlier, Mallen had married leather goods and shoe dealer Gerry Nugent, and Baker's widow gave control of the team to Nugent. Baker's widow died in 1932, leaving Nugent in complete control. Unlike Baker, Nugent badly wanted to build a winning team. However, he didn't have the financial means to do so. He was forced to trade what little talent the team had to make ends meet, and often had to use some creative financial methods to even field a team at all.http://www.sabr.org/cmsFiles/Files/Bill_Veeck_and_the_1943_sale_of_the_Phillies.pdf]

One problem was Baker Bowl. Once considered one of the finest parks in baseball, it was not well maintained from the 1910s onward. For instance, until 1925 the Phillies used a flock of sheep to trim the grass. Fans were often showered with rust whenever one of Klein's home runs hit girders. The entire right field grandstand collapsed in by|1926, forcing the Phillies to move to the A's Shibe Park for by|1927. For several years, the Phillies tried to move to Shibe Park on a permanent basis as tenants of the A's.

However, Baker Bowl's owner, Charles W. Murphy, refused to let the Phillies out of their lease at first. He finally relented in by|1938, and only then because the city threatened to condemn the dilapidated park. Despite the move, attendance rarely topped 3,000 a game.

The nadir came in by|1942, when the Phillies needed an advance from the league just to go to spring training. Nugent, unable to find a buyer, was forced to sell the franchise back to the league early in February Baseball Year|1943. A week later, the league sold the Phillies to a wealthy lumber broker named William B. Cox. A popular legend has it that Bill Veeck had agreed in principle to buy the Phillies from Nugent. As the story goes, Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis and National League President Ford Frick quashed the deal and engineered the sale to Cox when they found out that Veeck planned to stock the Phillies with Negro League stars. However, this story is likely false based on press accounts of the time; notably, Philadelphia's black press mentioned nothing about any prospective Veeck purchase.

For the first time in decades, the Phillies had an owner who was not only committed to building a winner, but was not afraid to spend the money it took to do so. He immediately poured some of his wealth into the team payroll. He also devoted significant resources to player development, including the farm system, for the first time in the history of the franchise. His efforts had an immediate impact. By June, they had won more games as the team rose out of the standings cellar for the first time in 5 years in 1943. Although they were still a long way from contention, the fans appreciated what Cox was trying to do, as attendance rose for the first time in nearly 30 years. However, Cox was a very hands-on owner. When his manager, Bucky Harris, objected to Cox's interference, Cox fired him. Out of revenge, Harris dropped a bombshell to the Philadelphia press in his hotel room: he had evidence that Cox was placing bets on his own team.

Cox initially claimed that the bets were made by his business associates. However, he eventually admitted to placing several small bets, not knowing it was against the rules. This made no difference to Landis, who banned Cox from baseball for life. Author Rich Westcott was quoted by "Sports Illustrated" as saying Cox knew "next to nothing about baseball. Otherwise, why would he have bet on the Phillies?" [ [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/baseball/mlb/06/25/phillies0702/ SI.com - MLB - Franz Lidz: The Beautiful Losers - Tuesday June 26, 2007 3:57PM ] ] Soon afterward, Cox sold controlling interest in the Phillies to DuPont heir Robert R.M. Carpenter, who turned control over to his son, Bob, Jr.

Carpenter's first act was to try to change the team's name (and vicariously, its image as a chronic loser) to the "Blue Jays" after a city-wide vote on a new nickname. "Blue Jays" was the winner, in part because, said Carpenter, "he had always admired the Blue Jay and its scrappy qualities." ["Jays Are Blasted For Lifting Johns Hopkins' Nickname," UP report in "Fresno Bee", March 9, 1944, p21] However, "Phillies" continued to appear on the team's jerseys, with a blue jay appearing on the sleeves. Students at Johns Hopkins University, whose teams are also known as the Blue Jays, vehemently protested Carpenter's decision, claiming that the change dishonored their school due to the Phillies' losing history. The nickname was quietly dropped in by|1949.

The Whiz Kids

Carpenter, like Cox, wasn't afraid to spend the money it took to build a contender. He immediately started signing young players and invested even more money in the farm system. By the 1950s, the Phillies had gone from basement to pennant contender thanks to the "Whiz Kids," led by a lineup of young players developed by the Phillies' farm system that included future Hall of Famers Richie Ashburn and Robin Roberts. This coincided with the final collapse of the A's. Philadelphia had been an "A's town" for most of the 20th century, even in years when they were just as bad or worse than the Phillies. However, a series of poor baseball and business decisions on the A's part allowed the Phillies to win the hearts of Philadelphia's long-suffering fans.

Although the Phillies led in the standings for most of the Baseball Year|1950 season, a late-season tailspin (triggered by the loss of starting pitcher Curt Simmons to National Guard service) caused the team to lose the next eight of ten games. On the last day of the season, the Phillies hung onto a one-game lead when Dick Sisler's dramatic tenth-inning, three-run home run against the Dodgers clinched the Phils' first pennant in 35 years. In the World Series, exhausted from their late-season plunge and recipients of poor luck, the Phillies were swept by the New York Yankees in four straight games. In Baseball Year|1954, the Athletics moved to Kansas City, and sold Shibe Park (renamed Connie Mack Stadium in Baseball Year|1953) to the Phillies.

"Phold" of 1964

The Phillies remained competitive for most of the first half of the 1950s, only to sink back to mediocrity for most of the second half of the decade. However, during 1962 and Baseball Year|1963, the Phillies began to climb back to respectability, and throughout the Baseball Year|1964 season, they seemed destined to make it to the World Series, with excellent performances from players such as rookie third baseman Dick Allen, starters Jim Bunning (obtained from the Detroit Tigers at the start of the season to shore up the pitching staff) and Chris Short, and star right fielder Johnny Callison. "TV Guide" went to press with a World Series preview that featured a photo of Connie Mack Stadium. However, from a 6½-game lead on the Cincinnati Reds with 12 games remaining in the season, Philadelphia collapsed in a 10-game losing streak (the first seven played at home). The crucial series came when the now second-place Phillies traveled to St. Louis to play the Cardinals after their losing home stand. They dropped the first game of the series to Bob Gibson by a 5-1 score, their eighth loss in a row, dropping them to third place. The Cardinals would sweep the three-game set and assume first place for good. The Phillies still had a chance to force an unprecedented three-way tie for first after the Cardinals dropped the first two games of their last season series to the New York Mets. However, the Cardinals won their last game of the season, leaving the Phillies tied with the Reds for second place--just one game out of first. The "Phold," as it is known, is one of the most notable collapses in sports history.

1970s

By by|1970, Connie Mack Stadium was aging, and in the last day of the 1970 season at the stadium's last game the Phillies avoided last place by beating the Expos 2-1.

The Phillies opened the new Veterans Stadium in by|1971, with hopes of a new beginning. In their first season there, pitcher Rick Wise hurled a no-hitter. That same season, Harry Kalas joined the Phillies broadcasting team. In Baseball Year|1972, the Phillies were the worst team in baseball, but newly acquired Steve Carlton won nearly half their games (27 of 59 team wins). In that same year, Bob Carpenter retired and passed the team ownership to his son Robert III, known as Ruly.

By by|1974, the Phillies began their quest for a championship that would be theirs 6 years later. That year second baseman Dave Cash coined the phrase "Yes We Can" for the Phils. Indeed, for a while, it looked as if they could. They led the division for 51 days; however, in August and September, the Phillies went 25-32 and it was "No They Couldn't".

The Phillies achieved some success in the mid-1970s. With such players as Carlton, third baseman Mike Schmidt, shortstop Larry Bowa, and outfielder Greg Luzinski, the Phillies won three straight division titles (1976-78). However, they fell short in the NLCS, against the Reds in 1976 and the Dodgers in 1977-78. In Baseball Year|1979, the Phillies acquired Pete Rose, the spark that would put them over the top.

1980–1992

The Phils won the NL East in by|1980, but to win the league championship, they would have to defeat the Astros. In a memorable NLCS, with 4 of the 5 games needing extra innings, they fell behind 2–1 but battled back to squeeze past Houston on a tenth-inning game-winning hit by center fielder Garry Maddox, and the city celebrated its first pennant in 30 years. The entire series saw only one home run hit, a game-winning two-run home run by Phillies slugger Greg Luzinski in the Phillies' opening 3–1 win in Game 1 at Philadelphia.

Facing Kansas City in the 1980 World Series, the Phillies won their first and only world championship in 6 games, thanks to the timely hitting of Mike Schmidt and Pete Rose. Schmidt, who was the NL MVP for the 1980 season, also won the World Series MVP finals award on the strength of his 8 for 21 hitting (.381 average), including game-winning hits in Game 2 and the clinching Game 6. Thus, the Phillies became the last of the 16 teams that made up the major leagues from 1901 to 1961 to win a World Series. As of the 2008 season, they are one of four teams (and by far the oldest) with only one World Series title.

During the early 1980s, when baseball was becoming more drug-conscious, several Philadelphia players admitted to having used amphetamines from time to time. A memorable "Philadelphia Daily News" headline dubbed the team "The Pillies".

The team made the playoffs in the strike-shortened 1981 season losing to Montreal in the special pre-LCS playoff series. After the by|1981 season, the Carpenter family sold the team to a group of investors led by Bill Giles and Dave Montgomery. Two years later, the "Wheeze Kids" [cite web|url=http://www.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20031226&content_id=623315&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb|title=Paul Owens dies at age 79|last=Mandel|first=Ken|date=2003-12-26|publisher=Major League Baseball|accessdate=2008-07-26] would win another pennant, only to lose the 1983 World Series to Baltimore in 5 games.

The 1983 season was the Phillies' centennial year. On September 28, they defeated the Chicago Cubs, 13-6, at Wrigley Field. This victory gave the Phillies the National League East Division championship. It was also the 7000th win in team history.

The Phillies struggled for most of the rest of the 1980s and early 1990s. Aside from a distant second-place finish in by|1986, they were not a serious factor in a pennant race for the rest of the decade. A major factor in the Phillies' decline was when they acquired Ivan DeJesus from the Cubs in return for Bowa and a young prospect named Ryne Sandberg. It was one of the most lopsided trades in baseball history; Sandberg would go on to a Hall of Fame career.

The 1992 season would end with the Phillies at the bottom of the barrel, at last place in the National League East. However, their fortunes were about to change.

1993 National League Champs

The 1993 Phillies were led by stars such as Darren Daulton, John Kruk, Lenny Dykstra, and Curt Schilling. The team was often described as "shaggy," "unkempt," and "dirty." This team was known as a bunch of throw back, whatever it takes kind of players. The previous year, noting the presence of the clean-cut Dale Murphy, Kruk himself described the team as "24 morons and one Mormon" or a bunch of idiots and Murph. Their character endeared them to fans, and attendance reached a record high the following season. As a play on the legendary Baseball Year|1927 New York Yankees' Murderers' Row, the team's dirty, mullet-wearing look was dubbed "Macho Row." To the surprise of their city and the nation, the Phillies powered their way to a 97-65 record and an East division title, all thanks to a big April in which the Fightin's went 17-5.

The Phillies' major contributors on offense were OF Lenny Dykstra, 1B John Kruk, SS Kevin Stocker (a rookie who led the team in batting average, hitting .324), and OF Jim Eisenreich, all of whom hit over .300 for the season. Their pitching staff was led by 16-game winners Curt Schilling and Tommy Greene. Each member of the rotation posted at least 10 wins, while the bullpen was led by elder statesman Larry Andersen and closer Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams, who notched 43 saves and a 3.34 ERA.

The Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves (the two-time defending National League champions) in the 1993 National League Championship Series, four games to two, to earn the fifth pennant in franchise history. They faced defending world champion Toronto Blue Jays in the 1993 World Series. Philadelphia lost the Series in six games, with Toronto's Joe Carter hitting a walk-off three-run home run off of Mitch Williams in Game 6, to win a second consecutive championship for the Blue Jays. Following that loss, Williams was the subject of death threats and other hostile reaction from some irate Phillies' fans; he left for the Astros.

1994–2005

With the Baseball Year|1994 players' strike, most of the Phillies' fan base was greatly offended, and afterward, the team had little success either on the field or at the gate for a decade. Both were negatively affected by the realignment of the Atlanta Braves into the National League East in 1994, as the Braves won the division every year until Baseball Year|2006, often by wide margins. Despite the relative lack of success, many current baseball stars rose to prominence during this era in Phillies history, including Scott Rolen, Bobby Abreu, Randy Wolf, Plácido Polanco, and perhaps most notably Schilling. In addition, the nucleus of the current Phillies club (Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, Brett Myers, and Cole Hamels) was developed during this era.

Former Phillie Larry Bowa was hired as manager for the by|2001 season, and led the Phillies to an 86-76 record, their first winning season since the 1993 World Series year. They spent most of the first half of the season in first place, and traded first place with the Braves for most of the second half. In the end, they finished two games out of first, the Braves' tightest division race in years. Bowa was named National League Manager of the Year. The Phillies continued to contend for the next few years under Bowa, with the only blemish being an 80-81 season in by|2002.

The following year, the Phillies were expected to contend for the World Series after adding such players as Jim Thome, Kevin Millwood, and David Bell to go along with the emerging nucleus of Rollins, Burrell, Wolf, and Vicente Padilla. However, Burrell and Bell slumped miserably at the plate, and the Phillies' inconsistent bullpen led to the team finishing 86-76 and in third place behind the Braves and eventual World Series winning Florida Marlins.

The opening of the new Citizens Bank Park brought fans new hope, and the team was expected to win the NL East. However, they finished a distant second, and Bowa was fired with two games to go in the season.

Charlie Manuel took over as manager for by|2005, and kept the Phillies in contention throughout the season; they were only eliminated from wild card contention on the next-to-last day. However, it was not enough to save the job of general manager Ed Wade; he was fired after his eighth season. Soon after, the Phillies hired Pat Gillick, who, ironically, was the general manager of the 1992 and 1993 Toronto Blue Jays' Championship teams. Despite another late-season disappointment, 2005 saw the Phillies core shift away from veterans such as Thome, Polanco, Abreu, and Wolf to younger home-grown stars such as Rollins, Utley, Brett Myers and Ryan Howard.

2006

Continuing what he had begun in the off-season, Gillick engaged in a flurry of trades in an effort to transform the character of the team and to obtain financial flexibility for what he termed "retooling." On July 26, Baseball Year|2006, the Phillies traded backup catcher Sal Fasano to the New York Yankees for minor league infielder Hector Made. Two days later, the Phillies traded third baseman David Bell, who was due to become a free agent during the off-season, to the Milwaukee Brewers for minor league pitcher Wilfredo Laureano. Gillick did not stop there, making a deadline deal that sent outfielder Bobby Abreu and pitcher Cory Lidle to the Yankees in exchange for Matt Smith, C.J. Henry, Carlos Monastrios, and Jesus Sanchez.

, both the Dodgers and Padres won their respective games and as a result, the Phillies were eliminated from playoff contention while two games behind with only one left to play.

Ryan Howard was named the National League's Most Valuable Player, narrowly edging the St. Louis Cardinals' Albert Pujols to claim the top honor in the National League.

2007: 10,000 losses and an incredible regular-season finish

The special assistant to the general manager and long-time Phils coach, John Vukovich, died of brain cancer on March 8, 2007, and was honored on August 10, 2007 by the Phillies organization, which installed a plaque bearing Vukovich's name and accomplishments on the "Wall of Fame" in the Ashburn Alley outfield concourse at Citizens Bank Park. For the 2007 season, the Phillies wore a black circular patch on their right uniform sleeves bearing the letters "VUK" in white.

The Phillies began the 2007 season with a 5-3 home loss on April 2 to the Atlanta Braves after 10 innings. After the first fifteen games, the Phillies limped to a 4-11 record, but then found a five game winning streak to put them back into contention in the National League East. After 40 games, the Phillies finally reached the .500 mark at 20-20.

Heading into the All-Star break, the Phillies split their win/loss record at 44-44, hampered by the loss of starting pitchers Freddy Garcia and Jon Lieber due to injuries that sidelined them for the remainder of the season. They found a bright spot in young pitcher Kyle Kendrick, who rose from the Phillies' AA team in Reading, Pennsylvania to the Phils starting rotation in 2007.

Three Phillies were named to the 2007 All Star Game in San Francisco, California. Chase Utley was the starting second baseman for the National League squad and center fielder Aaron Rowand was named as a backup (his first All Star appearance). Starting pitcher Cole Hamels also appeared in his first All Star Game.

On July 15, 2007, the Phillies lost their 10,000th game, 10-2 to the St. Louis Cardinals on a nationally televised ESPN game. [ [http://www.mlb.com/news/wrap.jsp?ymd=20070715&content_id=2088835&vkey=wrapup2005&fext=.jsp& The Official Site of Major League Baseball: News: Game Wrapup ] ] The Phillies became the first North American professional sports franchise to lose 10,000 games.

On September 21, Jimmy Rollins became the first player in major league history to collect 200 hits, 15 triples, 25 home runs, and 25 stolen bases in the same season. Rollins also became the 4th player to have at least 20 home runs, 20 triples, 20 doubles, and 20 stolen bases in a season on September 30, securing the feat on the last day of the season with a sixth inning RBI triple.

On September 12, the Phillies were seven games behind the New York Mets in the National League East, and it appeared as if their division hopes were dashed. However, the Mets suffered an epic collapse on the likes of the "Phold of 1964," going 4-11 over the next fifteen games while the Phillies parried with a strong 12-3 record. The Phillies had defeated the Mets in eight consecutive encounters (between July 1, 2007 and September 16, 2007) and ultimately overtook the Mets by one game on September 28. The Phillies fell back into a first-place tie the following day with a Mets win and a Phillies loss, with only one game remaining in the regular season to decide the champion of the National League Eastern Division.

The Mets would lose their final game of the season. Only minutes later, the Phillies defeated the Washington Nationals, clinching the division for the Phillies for the first time in 14 years. The Phillies won the final game behind 44-year old Jamie Moyer, who in 1980 skipped a day of high school to attend that year's Phillies championship parade down Philadelphia's Broad Street.

After their historic comeback, they were swept in three games by the Colorado Rockies after losing 2-1 in Game 3 on October 6, 2007. It was the first time since 1976 that the Phils were swept in a postseason series.

On November 20, 2007, Jimmy Rollins was named National League MVP, edging out Colorado Rockies left fielder Matt Holliday by 17 votes, making it one of the closest contests since the voting format was adopted in 1938. Along with Ryan Howard's 2006 win, they became the first baseball club with back-to-back MVP winners since the San Francisco Giants's Jeff Kent and Barry Bonds in 2000 and 2001, respectively.

2007–08 offseason: Philly favorites

Even though their sweep from the playoffs was a disappointment, the Phillies started on their quest for October baseball in 2008 by trading OF Michael Bourn, RHP Geoff Geary, and 3B Michael Costanzo (since traded to the Baltimore Orioles) to the Houston Astros for RHP Brad Lidge and IF Eric Bruntlett. They also re-signed LHP J.C. Romero to a three-year deal, in addition to bringing back manager Charlie Manuel and the rest of the coaching staff.

The Phillies signed OF Geoff Jenkins to a two-year deal, to be the left-handed part of a platoon with right-handed OF Jayson Werth. They also signed OF So Taguchi to a one-year deal, as a pinch hitter/backup outfielder. With these new outfielders coming into town, the Phillies sold OF Chris Roberson to the Baltimore Orioles. Most recently, the Phillies acquired free-agent 3B Pedro Feliz, formerly of the San Francisco Giants, inking him to a two-year contract worth $8.5 million. [ [http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080131&content_id=2360671&vkey=news_phi&fext=.jsp&c_id=phi The Official Site of The Philadelphia Phillies: News: Phillies solidify hot corner with Feliz ] ] These additions relegated IF/OF Greg Dobbs to a utility role, where he excelled in the previous season as the team's primary left-handed pinch hitter. On February 21, by|2008 an arbitrator ruled in Ryan Howard's favor, giving him a $10 million salary for the 2008 season.

Major League Baseball's website also named the Phillies as the favorites for the National League East championship for 2008. [ [http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article_perspectives.jsp?ymd=20080201&content_id=2362282&vkey=perspectives&fext=.jsp The Official Site of Major League Baseball: News: Phillies, Mets, Braves to go back at it ] ] Meanwhile, in the wake of the 2007 season and Carlos Beltran's calling out of the 2008 Phillies' team, the Mets-Phillies rivalry now stood as one of the most intense in baseball.

2008: A second consecutive championship

Though the Phillies were named in some sources as the favorites to repeat as division champions, they did not get off to the blazing April start that many had hoped for. Still, they managed their first winning opening month since 2003, and only their fourth since their last World Series appearance. With a batting average of .360 and his MLB-leading 11 home runs, Chase Utley paced the team's offense, followed closely by a resurgent Pat Burrell and his 25 runs batted in. Though team speed was hampered by the loss of Shane Victorino and Jimmy Rollins to the disabled list, the latter for the first time in his career, the Phillies still pushed forward to a 15–13 record. The pitching rotation was led by ace Cole Hamels, who led the team in wins (3), ERA (2.70), and innings pitched (43⅓). Reliever J. C. Romero and new closer Brad Lidge both went the entire month without sacrificing a single run, over 12⅓ and 11 innings respectively.

Though several fill-in players, including Brad Harman and T.J. Bohn, substituted nicely during Victorino's and Rollins' absence, perhaps none was more valuable to the team during the month of May than Jayson Werth. Expected to be primarily a platoon player coming into the season, Werth showed flashes of the form that once made him such a highly-regarded prospect with the Dodgers. While Utley's bat cooled, Werth had a game with three home runs [ [http://www.latimes.com/sports/baseball/mlb/la-sp-ilroundup17-2008may17,0,4773935.story Jayson Werth hits three home runs in Phillies' 10-3 win over Blue Jays - Los Angeles Times ] ] and stole four bases in the month. Unfortunately, as Rollins and Victorino returned, Werth was lost to the disabled list. Ryan Howard broke out of his early-season slump, hitting .245 in May, nearly an 80 point increase from his average in April, and slugging ten home runs. Hometown pitcher Jamie Moyer also became the sixth pitcher in Major League Baseball history to defeat all 30 teams in the league on the 26th of May, in a 20–5 Phillies win over Colorado. [ [http://mlb.mlb.com/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20080526&content_id=2776620&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb The Official Site of Major League Baseball: News: Major League Baseball News ] ] June was a tale of two halves for the Phillies, as they ended May and started June with a strong run of offense and excellent pitching. From May 26 to June 13, the Phillies posted a 14–4 record, starting their run with a 15–6 win over the Astros and ending with a 20–2 win over the Cardinals. However, the offense took a downturn as the Phillies pitchers began to sacrifice more runs in the latter part of the month. The Phillies went 3–11 over the remainder of June, with the pitchers allowing an average of 4.79 runs per game, to the offense's 3.36 runs scored per game. This was punctuated by a season-high 6-game losing streak. The poor records coincided with the Phillies' stretch of interleague play for 2008, as they were swept by the Angels, and lost their series with the Red Sox, A's, and Rangers, in addition to dropping two NL series against the Cardinals and Marlins. While Hamels and Kyle Kendrick each managed to post a 3–1 record in the rotation, the other starters (Moyer, Adam Eaton, and Brett Myers) were not so lucky. Myers' poor performance received arguably the most scrutiny, based on management's decision to move him back to the rotation from the bullpen after the 2007 season. [cite web|url=http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080629&content_id=3031406&vkey=news_phi&fext=.jsp&c_id=phi|title=No decision from Phils on Myers' status|last=Mandel|first=Ken|date=2008-06-29|publisher=Philadelphia Phillies|accessdate=2008-06-30] Myers would eventually accept a demotion to AAA Lehigh Valley to work on his confidence and mechanics.

July began with the announcement that Chase Utley and Brad Lidge would represent the team at the 2008 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, [cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/all_star/y2008/roster_league.jsp|title=2008 All-Star Game: Rosters by League|publisher=Major League Baseball|accessdate=2008-07-15] with Utley garnering the most votes of all National League players. [cite web|url=http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/allstar/voting|title=MLB Baseball - CBSSports.com (All-Star Game)|publisher=CBS|accessdate=2008-07-15] The Phillies went 8–4 in July before the All-Star break, compiling a four-game win streak, a four-game losing streak, and winning four of their last five. In a move to bolster their starting rotation in preparation for the pennant race, the Phillies traded three minor league players, including second baseman Adrian Cardenas, pitcher Josh Outman, and outfielder Matthew Spencer to the Athletics for starting pitcher Joe Blanton on July 17. [cite web|url=http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080717&content_id=3145193&vkey=news_phi&fext=.jsp&c_id=phi|title=Phillies land workshorse Blanton|publisher=Philadelphia Phillies|accessdate=2008-07-18]

On September 27th the Phillies clinched the National League East for the second year in a row, once again helped by a late September slump from the New York Mets, who had been leading by 3 1/2 games with 16 games left to play. After the dissapointing NLDS of 2007, the Phillies redeemed themselves by winning both of the first two games against the Milwaukee Brewers at home. Game 1 was dominated by pitcher Cole Hamels, who went 8 innings with no runs and 2 hits. The second game saw the Philly offense take advantage of C.C. Sabathia, scoring 5 runs in the first 4 innings, including a grand slam by Shane Victorino.

References