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The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They play in the Eastern Division of the National League.
- Founded: 1883
- The team's name is the longest continuous name in all professional sports. Newspaper writers tried to change the name to "Quakers" or "Live Wires" in the 1910's, and the team took a fan poll giving them the secondary name of "Blue Jays" in 1943, but neither of them caught on as an official tream name.
- Home ballpark: Citizens Bank Park (2004-), a baseball-only field next to the former location of Veterans Stadium.
- Former home ballparks: Veterans Stadium (1971-2003), Connie Mack Stadium/Shibe Park (July 4th, 1938-1970), Baker Bowl/Philadelphia Park/Philadelphia Baseball Grounds (1887- June 30th, 1938), Recreation Park (1883-1886)
- Uniform colors: Scarlet and white with blue trim.
- Logo design: A blue baseball infield trimed in white and scarlet red with a white Liberty Bell inside and "Phillies" in scarlet red script and underscore with blue stars dotting the "I"s in white trim.
- Teams in Division: Atlanta Braves, Florida Marlins, New York Mets, Washington Nationals
- Playoff appearance (9): 1915, 1950, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1993
- Wild Card titles won (0): none
- Division titles won (6): 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1983, 1993
- National League pennants won (5): 1915, 1950, 1980, 1983, 1993
- World Series championships won (1): 1980
The Phillies are the losingest team in all of professional sports in the United States with a 8591-9805 (.467) record through 2004.
Franchise history
Founded in 1883, the National League's Philadelphia Phillies are the longest standing, one-name, one-location team in all professional American sports. Also, amongst franchises having played enough all time games to have eliminated most statistical anomalies, they are the worst team in the history of all American professional sports (in terms of winning percentage.)
Imaginitively named for a verbal shorthand of their city of residence ("Philly"), the Phillies replaced the Worcester, Massachusetts Brown Stockings in the National League. However, the team was not relocated - the Worcesters were expelled from the league, and the new Phillies were given their spot. The name has absolutely nothing to do with horses. Their initial owners were John Rodgers and Al Reach, the first ever professional baseball player according to many definitions.
The Phillies Franchise historically had four strong winning periods:
- the 1890s, when they featured one of the strongest outfields of all time in Hall of Famers Billy Hamilton, Sam Thompson and Ed Delahanty. The 1894 team set an all-time mark for team batting average, but finished low in the standings due to weak pitching. The team still contended throughout the decade.
- the 1910s, winning the National League pennant in 1915 and contending for another three. These team featured Hall of Fame pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander and hitting stars Gavvy Cravath and Sherry Magee.
- the "Whiz Kids" of the 1950s, pennant winners in 1950 and contenders throughout. Hall of Famers Richie Ashburn (center fielder) and Robin Roberts (pitcher) played here.
- the late 1970s and early 1980s, winning quite a few division titles, two pennants, in 1980 and 1983, and one World Series, in 1980. This stands as the only World Series victory in the Phillies' 121 year history. This was a team with such notable names as Steve Carlton, Mike Schmidt, Pete Rose, Greg Luzinski, and Larry Bowa.
After Mike Schmidt retired in 1989, the Phillies had a decade of losing seasons, save for a World Series berth in 1993. Beloved by the city of Philadelphia, this team with names such as Darren Daulton, John Kruk, Lenny Dykstra also known as Nails, and Curt Schilling surprised the city and the nation with their achievements. Losing to the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series, giving the Canadians two consecutive World Series titles, was nonetheless disappointing. The team was often described as "shaggy," "unkempt" and "dirty." The previous year, noting the presence of the clean-cut Dale Murphy, Kruk himself described the team as "24 morons and one Mormon." Their character endeared them to Philadelphia, and attendance records were set the following season. But with that season's (1994) players' strike, most of the Phillies' fan base was greatly offended, and since then the Phillies have had little success either on the field or at the gate - the realignment of the Atlanta Braves into the National League East in 1994 having had a negative effect on both as the Braves have won the division every year since joining it, often by lopsided margins. Indeed, following their 1983 World Series loss to the Baltimore Orioles, the team neglected to post back-to-back winning seasons until finally doing so in 2003 and 2004; the 2004 team also was second in the NL East, only the third time the Phillies have finished that high since the 1994 realignment (including a joint second-place finish with the New York Mets in 1995).
One hallmark of the Phillies throughout history is losing and inept management. From 1919 to 1947, a stretch of 29 seasons, the Phillies finished last 17 times and next to last in 7 of the seasons. And of course, the famous collapse in 1964 is legendary. Up by six games with ten days left, the Phillies went into a swoon, losing the division crown to St. Louis on the season's last day. During this stretch, the Phillies found new ways to lose. Manager Gene Mauch was criticized for panicking down the stretch. This collapse is widely known as one of the most notable collapses in all of sports history.
Other elements often noted in the team's history are its reputation for racism and the occassionally rowdy behavior of its fans. Jackie Robinson was heckled by players and fans alike during his visits to Philadelphia. In 1969, when the St. Louis Cardinals attempted to trade Curt Flood to the Phillies, Flood fought the move to a city he viewed as racist. Flood ended up toppling the infamous reserve clause that left players tied to their teams and opened the door to free agency. The Phillies were also the last team in the National League to integrate, in 1957.
Phillie fans also have quite a reputation. When JD Drew, the Phillies 1997 first-round draft pick, failed to sign a contract with the club, the fans began to hurl batteries at him from the stands when his new team, the St. Louis Cardinals, were in town.
Since the 1980s, team management has been consistently criticizes as being cheap and uninterested in winning. A series of terrible managers and general managers was briefly interrupted by 1993's magical run. The opening of the new ballpark brough hope to fans but the hope has quickly faded as general manager Ed Wade has one again been the target of criticism as the team has failed to meet expectations in the '00 decade.
Players of note
Current players
Pitchers
- Terry Adams
- Rheal Cormier
- Gavin Floyd
- Aaron Fultz
- Geoff Geary
- Cory Lidle
- Jon Lieber
- Pedro Liriano
- Ryan Madson
- Brett Myers
- Vicente Padilla
- Amaury Telemaco
- Billy Wagner
- Randy Wolf
- Tim Worrell
Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
Not to be forgotten
Retired numbers
Award Winners
Minor League Affliates
External link
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