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Philadelphia Phillies

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Philadelphia Phillies
Established 1883
Based in Philadelphia since 1883

Major league affiliations
Current uniform

Ballpark
Major league titles
World Series titles (1) 1980
NL Pennants (5) 1993 • 1983 • 1980 • 1950
1915
East Division titles (6) [1] 1993 • 1983 • 1980 • 1978
1977 • 1976
Wild card berths (0) None
[1] - In 1981, a players' strike in the middle of the season forced the season to be split into two halves. Philadelphia had the best record in the East Division when play was stopped and was declared the first-half division winner. The Phillies had the third best record in the division when considering the entire season, two and a half games behind St. Louis and Montreal.
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. They are based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Since the 1969 season, they have played in the Eastern Division of the National League. Their most common nicknames revolve around a central theme and include, The Phils, The Fightin' Phils, and even simply The Fightin's.

Contents

Franchise history

Founded in 1883 as the Philadelphia Quakers[link][link] (a name they held until 1890), the National League's Philadelphia Phillies are the longest-standing one-location team in all professional American sports. The name, which has nothing to do with horses, is taken from a nickname of their city of residence ("Philly"). While the Phillies replaced the Worcester, Massachusetts Brown Stockings in the League, the team was not relocated; Worcester had been expelled from the league, and the new Phillies were given their spot. The initial owners were John Rodgers and Al Reach, the sporting-goods magnate and the first professional baseball player according to many definitions. Reach was the man to give the Phillies their name. The time-honored team name in the city had been "Athletic of Philadelphia", but that name was already taken by the American Association entry and would later be adopted by the new entry in the American League.

Citizens Bank Park, current home of the Phillies
Enlarge
Citizens Bank Park, current home of the Phillies

The Phillies franchise has historically had four strong winning periods:

Phillies catcher Mike Lieberthal, Phillies former third baseman Scott Rolen, and Phillies right fielder Bobby Abreu
Enlarge
Phillies catcher Mike Lieberthal, Phillies former third baseman Scott Rolen, and Phillies right fielder Bobby Abreu

There is some irony to the fact that the Athletics were generally the much stronger and more popular team in the city for decades. By the 1940s, though, neither team was in contention very often. The Phillies' resurgence in the early 1950s apparently tipped the scales in their favor, and the A's soon took the opportunity to head west, leaving the city's senior team as a solo act in Philly.

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 or The Dude, and Curt Schilling surprised the city and the nation with their achievements. Losing to the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series, giving the Canadian team 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 failed to post back-to-back winning seasons until they did so in 2003 and 2004, and even followed it up with a third winning season in 2005; 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).

Throughout their long history, the Phillies organization has been marked by losing seasons and inept management. From 1919 to 1947, a stretch of 29 seasons, the Phillies finished last 17 times and next to last in 7 other seasons. The small size of Baker Bowl used to be blamed for their problems, but the continuation of their losing ways after moving to the normal-sized Shibe Park undercut that theory.

In a 1962 baseball magazine, there was a cartoon showing a ballplayer arriving at a French Foreign Legion outpost. His explanation: "I was released by the Phillies!"

And of course, the famous collapse of 1964, or "Phold," is legendary. Up by 6 1/2 games with 12 left to play, the Phillies dropped 10 consecutive games, dropping behind. Then they started to win again, and if the St. Louis Cardinals had lost on the final day, the Phillies would have been included in a tie (along with the Cincinnati Reds), forcing an unprecedented 3-team playoff for first place. It was not to be. The Cardinals won that last game, and the Phillies had lost their chance at the National League crown.

During this 10-game period, the Phillies found new ways to lose. Manager Gene Mauch was criticized for panicking down the stretch. The Phold is widely known as one of the most notable collapses in all of sports history, only surmounted by the Brooklyn Dodgers' memorable fall to the New York Giants in 1951 and the Boston Red Sox blowing a 14-game lead to the New York Yankees during the month of September, 1978. The Phillies' recent failures have contributed a resurgence in the belief of the Curse of Billy Penn.

A rare distinction in baseball is to have hit four home runs in one game. Only fifteen players have accomplished this feat, including three Phillies, more than any other team.

Phillies fans have endured a reputation for generally rowdy behavior. It's often joked that, on days where there is no scheduled game, the fans go to the nearby Philadelphia International Airport and boo safe landings. Visiting team radio announcers in the 1960s would regularly report over the airwaves about fights breaking out in the stands at Connie Mack Stadium. In one 1999 incident, after J. D. Drew (the team's #1 overall pick the previous year who had refused to sign with the team, played a year in the independent Northern League and was re-drafted and signed by the St. Louis Cardinals) made negative statements about the team and their fans, he was loudly booed and a single fan threw a small battery at Drew during his first appearance as a Cardinal in Philadelphia. Though they may boo heavily, the majority of fans are well-behaved and even welcoming of fans of other teams. 
Since the 1980s, team management has been consistently criticized as being cheap and uninterested in winning. A series of terrible managers and general managers was briefly interrupted by 1993's magical run, which ended in a World Series defeat to the defending champions, the Toronto Blue Jays. The Phillies or the Jays have not returned to the post-season since. The opening of the new ballpark brought hope to fans, but the hope has quickly faded as the team has failed to meet expectations in the '00 decade. On October 10, 2005, general manager Ed Wade 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.


At the beginning of the 2005 season, as confirmed by The Sporting News Baseball Record Book, the Phillies' lifetime record from 1883-2004, was 8606-9805, a .467 winning percentage. After the 2005 season, their lifetime record is 8694-9879, a .468 winning percentage. At over a thousand games under .500, the Phillies have lost more games than any other "major" professional team in the history of sports in the United States. At their current pace, the Phillies will reach the 10,000 lost games plateau sometime during the middle of the 2007 season.


The trade and free agent wires for the Phillies were hot during the second half of November 2005.  On November 23, 2005, the Phillies traded first baseman Jim Thome to the Chicago White Sox in return for center fielder Aaron Rowand. Only five days later, on November 28, 2005, Phillies closer Billy Wagner left Philadelphia and signed with the New York Mets for a 4-year, 43 million dollar contract.


On January 5, 2006, the Phillies signed ex-Seattle pitcher Ryan Franklin to a 1 year contract worth 2.6 million dollars. On January 26, they added veteran reliever Arthur Rhodes to the bullpen in a trade with the Cleveland Indians, for outfielder Jason Michaels.


On June 6, 2006, the Phillies drafted Kyle Drabek, son of the 1990 NL Cy Young winner, Doug Drabek.  Kyle became the fourth pitcher selected by the Phillies number 1 in the past eight years.


In June 2006, the organization faced criticism from members of the media and women's groups for allowing pitcher Brett Myers to make his scheduled start against the Boston Red Sox on June 25, 2006, just one day after being arrested for assaulting his wife on a Boston street.  GM Pat Gillick was quoted by the New York Times as saying "I think it's in the best interest of the club, he's our best pitcher". [link] At that point the team was 10 games behind the first place New York Mets.



Trivia






Season-by-Season Records



Quick facts


Current uniform colors: White with red pinstripes for home games and grey for away games. Both with the word "Phillies" across the front and name and number on the back. Red hats with the letter "P".  For Interleague play, the cap sports a blue visor, with a blue star in the middle of the "P."


Current logo design: A blue baseball infield trimmed 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.


Team motto: Red Means Go ->


Current mascot:  Phillie Phanatic (1978-present), Philadelphia Phil & Phillis before 1978.


Current Broadcasters:


:Television: Harry Kalas, Chris Wheeler


:Radio: Scott Graham, Scott Franzke, and Larry Andersen (former phillies pitcher).


Current Local Television Outlets:


:Cable - Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, CN8 Philadelphia (some April games).


:Broadcast: KYW-TV (Opening Day game), WPSG Philadelphia.


Current National Television Outlets:


:Broadcast - Fox.


:Cable: - ESPN's "Sunday Night Baseball". Some games against the Chicago Cubs air nationally on Superstation WGN.


Current Radio Station: 1210 AM (WPHT)


Famous Fans: Will Smith, Art Garfunkel, Beanie Sigel, Gov. Ed Rendell, Jerry Garcia, Kevin Bacon, Bill Cosby, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, Daryl Hall, John Oates, Tim McGraw (son of former Phillies reliever Tug McGraw)


Spring Training Facility: Bright House Networks Field, Clearwater, FL




Philadelphia Phillies Hall of Famers




 





Retired numbers



Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame

From 1978 to 2003, the Phillies inducted one former Phillie and one former member of the Philadelphia Athletics per year.  Starting in 2004 they induct one Phillie annually.  Players must be retired and have played at least four years with the Phillies or A's.




Roberts, Ashburn, Alexander, Schmidt, Carlton and broadcaster Harry Kalas have also been elected to the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame.



Current roster




Minor league affiliations



See also



External links




MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL







AMERICAN LEAGUE


EASTERN DIVISION

Baltimore Orioles

Boston Red Sox

New York Yankees

Tampa Bay Devil Rays

Toronto Blue Jays

CENTRAL DIVISION

Chicago White Sox

Cleveland Indians

Detroit Tigers

Kansas City Royals

Minnesota Twins

WESTERN DIVISION

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Oakland Athletics

Seattle Mariners

Texas Rangers









NATIONAL LEAGUE


EASTERN DIVISION

Atlanta Braves

Florida Marlins

New York Mets

Philadelphia Phillies

Washington Nationals

CENTRAL DIVISION

Chicago Cubs

Cincinnati Reds

Houston Astros

Milwaukee Brewers

Pittsburgh Pirates

St. Louis Cardinals

WESTERN DIVISION

Arizona Diamondbacks

Colorado Rockies

Los Angeles Dodgers

San Diego Padres

San Francisco Giants





World Series | NLCS | ALCS | NLDS | ALDS | All-Star Game | MLB awards | Hall of Fame | MLBPA | Negro Leagues | Minor Leagues | History of baseball | Major League Baseball television contracts |  | World Baseball Classic





























 





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