The Philadelphia Phillies may have only won two World Series, but they have had some great players. The franchise started in 1883 as the Quakers, although that name only lasted until 1889. Since 1890 they have been known as the Phillies and have one of the longest-running team names in sports history.
Postseason success was few and far between for the team. In 1915, Pete Alexander won Game One of the World Series. Unfortunately, that would be the last World Series game they would win until 1980 when Bob Walk won Game One against the Kansas City Royals.
Make sure to check out all of our other All-Time Rosters.
Starting Nine
Darren Daulton, C
The catcher position was one of the toughest to pick. Daulton put himself at the top with a couple of excellent seasons in 1992 and 1993 where he finished sixth and seventh in MVP voting respectively. He led the league in RBI with 109 in 1992 and drove in another 105 in 1993 helping the Phillies take the NL Pennant. From 1992-1995 the left-handed slugger slashed .266/.381/.488 and made three All-Star teams.
Ed Delahanty, 1B
One of the best hitters at the turn of the century, Delahanty had a 10-year stretch to rival the best ever. From 1892-1901, he slashed .368/.438/.544 with an impressive .455 wOBA and 157 wRC+. Power wasn’t his only talent as Delahanty also stole 330 bases during that span and only struck out 4.2 percent of the time. He died mysteriously at age 35 when he was with the Washington Senators which is a strange story. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1945.
Chase Utley, 2B
Utley sits second on the Phillies all-time list for fWAR among position players at 62.9. The first-round pick in 2000 was a premier second baseman from 2005-2014. During that span, Utley was an All-Star six times and finished in the top 10 of MVP voting three times. He averaged 21 HRs and 13 SBs with a .374 wOBA and a 129 wRC+. He also averaged 6.4 fWAR/150 during that time. Utley will be eligible for the Hall of Fame in a couple of years and should get serious consideration.
Mike Schmidt, 3B
Considering Schmidt was the best third baseman ever, this was an easy choice. He has a long list of accomplishments including three MVP awards, a World Series MVP, 12 All-Star selections, and 10 Gold Gloves. Schmidt led the league eight times in homers, four times in RBIs, and five times in OPS. From 1974-1987, he averaged 7.3 fWAR/150 and never had a season below 5.2. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1995 when only 16 out of 460 ballots didn’t have his name on it.
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Utley’s double-play partner for a decade took home the NL MVP in 2007 when he became just the second player to have 30 doubles, 20 triples, and 30 home runs in a season (Jim Bottomley 1928). Rollins is also the franchise leader in doubles with 479 and is second in stolen bases with 453. In his prime from 2001-2009, the shortstop averaged 39 doubles, 10 triples, 17 homers, and 36 stolen bases. Rollins is on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time this year.
Chuck Klein, LF
In his first stint with the Phillies, Klein was an absolute monster at the plate. From 1929-1933, the lefty averaged 36 HRs, 139 RBIs, 132 runs, and had a .461 wOBA and a 157 wRC+. Klein won the MVP in 1932. He followed that up the following year by winning the triple crown. In 1930, the Indianapolis native had 445 total bases which is second all-time in the NL (Rogers Hornsby 450 in 1922). He is also one of seven players to have 250 hits in a season and one of only five to drive in 170. Klein was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1980 by the Veteran’s Committee.
Richie Ashburn, CF
Ashburn spent 12 of his 15 major league seasons in Philadelphia. He was as durable as they come playing in 150+ games in 10 of those seasons. The Phillies centerfielder led the NL in batting average twice and OBP four times. Ashburn slashed .311/.394/.388 in his time with Philly and played excellent defensive centerfield putting up a 99.2 dWAR over 10 seasons from 1948-1957. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1995 by the Veteran’s Committee.
Bobby Abreu, RF
Abreu came to Philadelphia in 1998. From that season to 2005, he averaged 23 homers, 29 stolen bases, 105 runs, and 94 RBIs. He was quite consistent going 20-20 seven times in those eight years while going 30-30 twice. Abreu slashed .305/.415/.519 with a .400 wOBA and a wRC+ during that time. The 18-year veteran managed to stay on the Hall of Fame ballot with 8.7 percent of the votes last year. For a look at why Abreu should be inducted check out the article here.
Dick Allen, DH
Along with Abreu, Allen is extremely underrated. In a pitching environment during the ’60s, the Phillies slugger still raked. He won the ROY in 1964 and for the next six years slashed .300/.380/.555 with a .406 wOBA and a 162 wRC+. He led the NL twice in OPS and finished fourth in the 1966 MVP voting. Allen is another player who was snubbed by Hall of Fame voters. For more on Allen and a few others check out the article here.
Starting Rotation
Pete Alexander, RHP
Alexander was the best pitcher in the National League from 1911-1917. During that time he led the league in strikeouts five times, wins five times, and ERA three times. Old Pete was 190-88 and had a minuscule 2.12 ERA while averaging 200 K’s a year. He won the pitching triple crown three years in a row from 1915-1917 finishing with 30 wins and a sub-2.00 ERA in each of those seasons. Alexander was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1938.
Steve Carlton, LHP
Carlton started his Philly career in 1972 after coming over from the St. Louis Cardinals. He made an immediate impression winning the triple crown with 27 wins, a 1.97 ERA, and 310 strikeouts which were all career-best marks. It was truly amazing considering the Phillies only won 59 games as a team that year. He went on to win three more Cy Young awards, leading the league in wins three more times, and strikeouts four more times. In 1980, Carlton was 3-0 with a 2.30 ERA in four starts, helping the Phillies win their first World Series after nearly 100 years of existence. The southpaw made it to Cooperstown easily on his first ballot in 1994.
Robin Roberts, RHP
Roberts was the ace of the Phillies staff throughout the ’50s. In his prime from 1950-1956, the right-hander threw 300+ innings and won 20+ games each year. He led the league four times in wins and twice in strikeouts. During those years Roberts won 138 games and posted a 2.93 ERA while completing 161 of his 232 starts. The Phillies ace also had excellent control, leading the league three times in fewest walks-per-nine. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1976.
Curt Schilling, RHP
Although Schilling started his career with Baltimore and Houston, he became a full-time starter with the Phillies in 1992. While he battled some injuries for a couple of years, The big righty did throw over 225 innings four times in eight years between 1992 and 1998. In 1997, he struck out a career-high 319 batters, leading the league, and finishing fourth in CYA voting. He followed that up with another 300 K’s in 1998 while leading the league with 268.2 IP.
Schilling also started what would become a prolific career in the playoffs with Philadelphia. In 1993, he won the NLCS MVP allowing just three runs in 16 innings over two starts. While Schilling is famous for the “bloody sock” in Boston and his few years in Arizona with Randy Johnson, he had a solid career with the Phillies. On merit alone, he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. This will be his last year on the ballot and it will be interesting to see if he can make the final jump to 75 percent.
Cole Hamels, LHP
Hamels was the ace of the staff in Philadelphia’s rise to success in the 2000s. From 2008-2014, the lefty started at least 30 games each year and threw 200 innings in six of those seven seasons. During that time, the southpaw had a 3.19 ERA and an impressive 3.83 K/BB rate. In 2008 during the Phillies’ march toward their second championship, Hamels was NLCS MVP and World Series MVP going 4-0 with a 1.80 ERA and a 0.914 WHIP.
Bullpen
Jonathan Papelbon, RHP
Believe it or not, Papelbon is the franchise leader in saves with 123. He is more remembered for his time with the Red Sox, but the closer had a solid run with Philly. He posted a 2.31 ERA and had a nearly five-to-one K/BB rate. While the Phillies weren’t very good during Papelbon’s time there, he is set as the all-time closer.
Tug McGraw, LHP
McGraw was the main piece out of the bullpen for the Phillies in the late ’70s to early ’80s. In his first four seasons for Philadelphia from 1975-1978, he averaged 92 innings and had a 2.83 ERA to go along with 43 saves. After an off-year in 1979, McGraw had his best season as the Phillies made their run to a World Series title in 1980. The southpaw threw 92.1 innings and had an impeccable 1.46 ERA while saving 20 games. He allowed only three homers that season and finished with a 0.921 WHIP. He also was top-five in CYA voting that year.
Ron Reed, RHP
Reed was McGraw’s right-handed counterpart out of the Philly bullpen during those seasons. In his eight years with the team, Reed averaged 101 innings and held a 3.06 ERA while going 57-38 with 90 saves.
Brad Lidge, RHP
Lidge only pitched for the Phillies for four seasons but notched 100 saves. He was Mr. Automatic in 2008 saving all 41 chances in the regular season and another seven in the playoffs including the World Series clincher. That year he had a 1.95 ERA and struck out 31.5 percent of the batters he faced. What helped him also was that he kept the ball in the park, surrendering just two home runs in 69.1 innings.
Ryan Madson, RHP
While Lidge was closing games, Madson was setting up. From 2007-2011, the former ninth-round pick had a 2.89 ERA while also being stingy with the long ball, allowing just 24 homers in 329.2 innings. He did save 32 games in 2011 when he took over the closer’s role.
Chris Short, LHP
Short pitched for 15 years in the majors, 14 of them with Philadelphia. While he was mostly a starter, he did make 158 appearances out of the bullpen for the Phillies. From 1963-1968, the lefty posted a 2.84 ERA and was an All-Star twice. He won 92 games during that stretch and was a 20-game winner in 1966.
Jim Bunning, RHP
I have to put Bunning in here even though he was mainly a starter. In his first stint with Philadelphia, the righty was really good. From 1964-1967, Bunning had a 2.48 ERA while averaging nearly 300 innings per year. He led the league in strikeouts in 1967 with 253 and finished second in CYA voting to Mike McCormick which remains a travesty. Bunning was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1996 by the Veteran’s Committee.
Bench
Sherry Magee, OF
Magee was the Phillies’ left fielder for 11 years from 1904-1914. He led the league in RBIs three times and had a career-high 123 in 1910. That season he also led the NL in runs, batting average, and OPS. During his time in Philadelphia, Magee stole 387 bases and slashed .299/.371/.447.
Billy Hamilton, OF
Hamilton played just six years with Philadelphia but accumulated an impressive 36.4 rWAR. In those six seasons from 1890-1895 stole 100+ bases three times and led the league in OBP three times. His best season was in 1894 when he hit .403 with an insane .521 OBP. He also scored 198 runs and stole 100 bases while striking out just 19 times. Hamilton was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1961 by the Veteran’s Committee.
Gavvy Cravath, OF
Cravath was the top power hitter in the NL from 1913-1919 leading the league six times in those seven years. In 1913, he finished second in MVP voting as he led the NL in HRs (19), RBIs (128), and OPS (.974).
Scott Rolen, 3B
Rolen started his career with the Phillies. From 1997-2001 he averaged 26 HRs, 94 runs, and 95 RBIs while slashing .286/.378/.514. He won the ROY award in 1997 and three Gold Gloves over those five seasons. This will be Rolen’s fifth year on the ballot. He should eventually get into the Hall of Fame after garnering 52.9 percent of the votes last year. For more on Rolen and his case for the HOF, check out the article here.
Ryan Howard, 1B
The big first baseman gets the final bench spot mainly because of his four-year peak when he was one of the most feared hitters in the NL. From 2006-2009, Howard hit 198 homers and had a .967 OPS. He won the MVP in 2006 blasting 58 HRs and driving in 149 while batting .313. He finished in the top five over the next three years and holds the franchise’s single-season record for homers.
Honorable Mentions
Johnny Callison, OF
Sam Thompson, OF
Del Ennis, OF
Cy Williams, OF
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