The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League (NL). Since 2004, the team's home has been Citizens Bank Park which is located in South Philadelphia.
The Phillies have won two World Series championships (against the Kansas City Royals in 1980 and the Tampa Bay Rays in 2008) and seven National League pennants, the first of which came in 1915. The franchise has also experienced long periods of struggle. Since the first modern World Series was played in 1903, the Phillies played 77 consecutive seasons (and 97 seasons from the club's establishment) to win their first World Seriesâ€"longer than any other of the 16 teams that made up the major leagues for the first half of the 20th century. The 77 season drought is the fourth longest World Series drought in Major League Baseball history. The longevity of the franchise and its history of adversity have earned it the dubious distinction of having lost the most games of any team in the history of American professional sports. Notwithstanding the collectively poor performance over the years, the Phillies have performed much better in recent seasons, winning five consecutive division titles from 2007 through 2011.
The franchise was founded in Philadelphia in 1883, replacing the team from Worcester, Massachusetts in the National League. The team has played at several stadiums in the city, beginning with Recreation Park and continuing at Baker Bowl; Shibe Park, which was later renamed Connie Mack Stadium in honor of the longtime Philadelphia Athletics manager; Veterans Stadium; and now Citizens Bank Park.
The team's spring training facilities are located in Clearwater, Florida, where its Class-A minor league affiliate Clearwater Threshers plays at Bright House Field. Its Double-A affiliate is the Reading Fightin Phils, which plays in Reading, Pennsylvania, and its Triple-A affiliate is the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, which plays in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
History
Early history
After being founded in 1883 as the "Quakers", the team changed its name to the "Philadelphias", after the convention of the times. This was soon shortened to "Phillies". "Quakers" continued to be used interchangeably with "Phillies" from 1883 until 1890, when the team officially became known as the "Phillies". Though the Phillies moved into a permanent home at Baker Bowl in 1887, they did not win their first pennant until nearly 30 years later, after the likes of standout players Billy Hamilton, Sam Thompson, and Ed Delahanty had departed. Player defections to the newly formed American League, especially to the cross-town Philadelphia Athletics, would cost the team dearly over the next several years. A bright spot came in 1915, when the Phillies won their first pennant, thanks to the pitching of Grover Cleveland Alexander and the batting prowess of Gavvy Cravath, who set what was then the modern major-league single-season record for home runs with 24. Poor fiscal management after their appearance in the 1915 World Series, however, doomed the Phillies to sink back into relative obscurity; from 1918 to 1948 they only had one winning season. Though Chuck Klein won the Most Valuable Player Award in 1932 and the National League Triple Crown in 1933, the team continued to flounder at the bottom of the standings for years.
Cox, Carpenter, and the "Whiz Kids" era
After lumber baron William B. Cox purchased the team in 1943, the Phillies began a rapid rise to prominence in the National League, as the team rose out of the standings cellar for the first time in five years. As a result, the fan base and attendance at home games increased. But it soon became clear that not all was right in Cox's front office. Eventually, it was revealed by Cox that he had been betting on the Phillies and he was banned from baseball. The new owner, Bob Carpenter, Jr., scion of the Delaware-based DuPont family, tried to polish the team's image by unofficially changing its name to the "Bluejays". However, the new moniker did not take, and it was quietly dropped by 1949.
Instead, Carpenter turned his attention to the minor league affiliates, continuing an effort begun by Cox a year earlier; prior to Cox's ownership, the Phillies had paid almost no attention to player development. This led to the advent of 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. Their 1950 season was highlighted by a last-day, pennant-clinching home run by Dick Sisler to lead the Phillies over the Brooklyn Dodgers and into the World Series, where they were swept by the New York Yankees four-games-to-none (although each game was close).
Comparatively, the Philadelphia Athletics finished last in 1950 and long-time manager Connie Mack retired. The team struggled on for four more years with only one winning team, and then abandoned Philadelphia, under the Johnson brothers, who bought out Mack. They began play in Kansas City in 1955. As part of the deal selling the team to the Johnson brothers, the Phillies bought Shibe Park, where both teams had played since 1938.
From lows to highs
The Phillies sank back to mediocrity during the mid-1950s after the departure of the "Whiz Kids", their competitive futility culminating in a record that still stands: in 1961, the Phillies lost 23 games in a row (a record since 1900). But from this nadir bright spots began to appear. Though Ashburn and Roberts were gone, younger pitchers Art Mahaffey, Chris Short, and rookie Ray Culp; veterans Jim Bunning and screwballer Jack Baldschun; and fan favorites Cookie Rojas, Johnny Callison, and NL Rookie of the Year Richie Allen brought the team within a hairsbreadth of the World Series in 1964 after strong showings in 1962 and 1963. However, the Phillies squandered a six-and-a-half-game lead during the final weeks of the season that year, losing 10 games in a row with 12 games remaining and losing the pennant by one game to the St. Louis Cardinals. The "Phold of '64" is among the most notable collapses in sports history. One highlight of the season occurred on Father's Day, when Jim Bunning pitched a perfect game against the New York Mets, the first in Phillies history.
At the end of the decade, in October 1970, the Phillies played their final game in Connie Mack Stadium and prepared to move into newly built Veterans Stadium, wearing new maroon uniforms to accentuate the change. While some members of the team performed admirably during the 1970s, the Phillies still clung to their position at the bottom of the National League standings. Ten years after "the Phold", they suffered another minor collapse in August and September 1974, missing out on the playoffs yet again. But the futility would not last much longer. After a run of three straight division titles from 1976 to 1978, the Phillies won the NL East in 1980 behind pitcher Steve Carlton, outfielder Greg Luzinski, and infielders Mike Schmidt, Larry Bowa, and Pete Rose. In a memorable NLCS, with four of the five games going into extra innings, they fell behind 2â€"1 but battled back to squeeze past the Houston Astros on a tenth-inning, game-winning hit by center fielder Garry Maddox, and the city celebrated its first pennant in 30 years.
Facing the Kansas City Royals in the 1980 World Series, the Phillies won their first World Series championship ever in six games thanks to the timely hitting of Mike Schmidt and Pete Rose. Schmidt, who was the National League MVP that 1980 season, also won the World Series MVP award on the strength of his 8-for-21 hitting (.381 average), including game-winning hits in Game 2 and the clinching Game 6. This sixth, final game was also significant because it remains "the most-watched game in World Series history" with a television audience of 54.9 million viewers.
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. The Phillies made the playoffs twice more in the 1980s after their Series win, in 1981 and 1983, where they lost to the Baltimore Orioles in the World Series, but they would soon follow these near-misses with a rapid drop back into the basement of the National League. The 1992 season, for example, would end with the Phillies in last place in the National League East. But their fortunes were about to change.
Recent history
The 1993 Phillies started the season by going 17â€"5 in April and finishing with a 97â€"65 season. The Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves in the 1993 National League Championship Series, four games to two, to earn the fifth pennant in franchise history, only to be defeated by the defending world series champion Toronto Blue Jays in the 1993 World Series. Toronto's Joe Carter hit a walk-off home run in Game 6 to clinch another Phillies loss. The 1994â€"95 Major League Baseball strike was a blow to the Phillies' attendance and on-field success, as was the arrival of the Braves in the division due to league realignment. Several stars came through Philadelphia, though few would stay, and the minor league system continued to develop its young prospects, who would soon rise to Phillies fame.
In 2001, the Phillies had their first winning season in eight years under new manager Larry Bowa, and their season record would not dip below .500 again from the 2003 season onward. In 2004, the Phillies moved to their new home, Citizens Bank Park, across the street from the Vet.
Charlie Manuel took over the reins of the club from Bowa after the 2004 season, and general manager Ed Wade was replaced by Pat Gillick in November 2005. Gillick reshaped the club as his own, sending stars away in trades and allowing the Phillies' young core to develop. After the franchise lost its 10,000th game in 2007, its core of young players, including infielders Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Jimmy Rollins and pitcher Cole Hamels, responded by winning the National League East division title, but they were swept by the Colorado Rockies in the Division Series. After the 2007 season, they acquired closer Brad Lidge.
In 2008, the Phillies clinched their second straight division title and defeated the Milwaukee Brewers in the Division Series to record the franchise's first post-season victory since winning the 1993 NLCS. Behind strong pitching from the rotation and stellar offensive production from virtually all members of the starting lineup, the Phillies won the 2008 National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers; Hamels was named the series' Most Valuable Player. The Phillies would then go on to defeat the Tampa Bay Rays in 5 games for their second World Series title in their 126-year history. Hamels was named both NLCS MVP as well as World Series MVP after going 4â€"0 in the postseason that year.
Gillick retired as general manager after the 2008 season and was succeeded by one of his assistants, Ruben Amaro, Jr. After adding outfielder Raúl Ibañez to replace the departed Pat Burrell, the Phillies retained the majority of their core players for the 2009 season. In July, they signed three-time Cy Young Award winner Pedro Martinez and acquired 2008 American League Cy Young winner Cliff Lee before the trade deadline. On September 30, 2009, they clinched a third consecutive National League East Division title for the first time since the 1976â€"78 seasons. The team continued this run of success with wins over the Colorado Rockies in the NLDS (3 games to 1) and the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS (4 games to 1), to become the first Phillies team to win back-to-back pennants and the first National League team since the 1996 Atlanta Braves to have an opportunity to defend their World Series title. The Phillies were unable to repeat, falling to the New York Yankees, 4 games to 2. Nevertheless, in recognition of the team's recent accomplishments, Baseball America named the Phillies as its Organization of the Year.
On December 16, 2009, they acquired starting pitcher Roy Halladay from the Toronto Blue Jays for three minor-league prospects, and traded Cliff Lee to the Seattle Mariners for three prospects. On May 29, 2010, Halladay pitched a perfect game against the Florida Marlins.
In June 2010, the team's scheduled 2010 series against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre was moved to Philadelphia, because of security concerns for the G-20 Summit. The Blue Jays wore their home white uniforms and batted last as the home team, and the designated hitter was used. The game was the first occasion of the use of a designated hitter in a National League ballpark in a regular-season game; Ryan Howard was the first player to fill the role.
The 2010 Phillies won their fourth consecutive NL East Division championship despite a rash of significant injuries to key players, including Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, and Carlos Ruiz. After dropping seven games behind the Atlanta Braves on July 21, Philadelphia finished with an MLB-best record of 97â€"65. The streak included a 20â€"5 record in September, the Phillies' best September since winning 22 games that month in 1983, and an 11â€"0 run in the middle of the month. The acquisition of pitcher Roy Oswalt in early August was a key step, as Oswalt won seven consecutive games in just over five weeks from August 11 through September 17. The Phillies clinched the division on September 27, behind a two-hit shutout by Halladay.
In Game 1 of the 2010 National League Division Series, Halladay threw the second no-hitter in Major League baseball postseason history, leading the Phillies over the Cincinnati Reds, 4â€"0. The first no-hitter in postseason history was New York Yankee pitcher Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series. Halladay's no-hitter was the fifth time a pitcher has thrown two no-hitters in the same season, and was also the first time that one of the two occurred in the postseason. The Phillies went on to sweep the Reds in three straight games. In the 2010 National League Championship Series, the Phillies fell to the eventual World Series champion San Francisco Giants in six games.
On September 17, 2011, the Phillies won their fifth consecutive East Division championship, and on September 28, during the final game of the season, the team set a franchise record for victories in a season with 102 by beating the Atlanta Braves in 13 innings, denying their division rivals a potential Wild Card berth. Yet the Phillies lost in the NLDS to the St. Louis Cardinals â€" the team that won the National League Wild Card as a result of the Phillies beating the Braves. The Cardinals subsequently beat the Brewers in the NLCS and won the 2011 World Series in 7 games.
The 2012 Phillies experienced an up and down season. They played .500 ball through the first two months, but then slumped through a 9â€"19 stretch in June where they ended up at the bottom of the NL East by midseason. With any hope dimming, the Phillies traded key players Shane Victorino and Joe Blanton to the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Hunter Pence to the San Francisco Giants before the trade deadline. However, a hot start in the second half of the season put the Phillies back on the postseason hunt, though any hope was eventually extinguished with a loss to the Washington Nationals on September 28, thus the Phillies missed the postseason for the first time since 2006.
During the 2013 season, the team struggled again, and was unable to consistently play well for the majority of the season. On August 16, 2013, with the team's record at 53-68, the Phillies fired manager Charlie Manuel, who had managed the team since 2005. Phillies third base coach, Ryne Sandberg, was promoted to Interim manager. Manuel spent over nine years as the manager, leading Philadelphia to its first World Series victory in nearly thirty years. Manuel amassed an overall record of 780-636, making him the winningest manager in the franchise's history. The 2013 Phillies ended up with a record of 73-89, their first losing season since 2002.
One of the few bright spots of the 2014 Phillies season happened on September 1 against division rival Atlanta Braves, when starter Cole Hamels, and relievers Jake Diekman, Ken Giles, and Jonathan Papelbon combined for a no-hitter in Turner Field, for 7-0 victory over Atlanta.
Team uniform
- See footnotes
Current uniform
The current team colors, uniform, and logo date to 1992. The main team colors are red and white, with blue serving as a prominent accent. The team name is written in red with a blue star serving as the dot over the "i"s, and blue piping is often found in Phillies branded apparel and materials. The team's home uniform is white with red pinstripes, lettering and numbering. The road uniform is traditional grey with red lettering/numbering. Both bear a script-lettered "Phillies" logo, with the aforementioned star dotting the "i"s across the chest, and the player name and number on the back. Hats are red with a single stylized "P". The uniforms and logo are very similar to those used during the "Whiz Kids" era from 1950 to 1969.
Along with its National League compadres, the St. Louis Cardinals, the Phillies are one of two teams in Major League baseball which utilize chain stitching in its chest emblem.
In 2008, the Phillies introduced an alternate, cream-colored uniform during home day games in tribute to their 125th anniversary. The uniforms are similar to those worn from 1946 through 1949, featuring red lettering bordered with blue piping and lacking pinstripes. The accompanying cap is blue with a red bill and a red stylized "P." The uniforms were announced on November 29, 2007, when Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins, pitcher Cole Hamels, and Hall of Fame pitcher Robin Roberts modeled the new uniforms.
For the 2009 season the Phillies added black, circular "HK" patches to their uniforms over their hearts in honor of broadcaster Harry Kalas, who died April 13, 2009, just before he was to broadcast a Phillies game. From Opening Day through July 26, 2009, the Phillies wore 2008 World Champions patches on the right sleeve of their home uniforms. In 2010, the Phillies added a black patch with a white "36" on the sleeves of their jerseys to honor Roberts, who died on May 6. Roberts' No. 36 had been previously retired by the team. In 2011, the Phillies added a black circular patch with a 'B' in honor of minority owners Alexander and John Buck, who died in late 2010.
The Phillies are one of four teams in Major League Baseball that do not display the name of their city, state, or region on their road jerseys, joining the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, St. Louis Cardinals, and the Tampa Bay Rays. The Phillies are the only team that also displays the player's number on one sleeve except on the alternate jersey, in addition to the usual placement on the back of the jersey.
Batting practice
The Phillies were an early adopter of the batting practice jersey in 1977, wearing a maroon v-necked top with the "Phillies" script name across the chest, as well as the player name and number on the back and a player number on the left sleeve, all in white. Larry Bowa, Pete Rose, and Mike Schmidt wore this maroon batting jersey in place of their road jersey during the 1979 All-Star Game in Seattle. Currently, during spring training, the Phillies wear solid red practice jerseys with pinstriped pants for Grapefruit League home games. The red jerseys are worn with grey pants on the road.
Former uniforms
From 1970 to 1991, the Phillies sported colors, uniforms, and a logo that were noticeably different from what had come before, or since, but that were widely embraced by even traditionally minded fans. A dark burgundy was adopted as the main team color, with a classic pinstripe style for home uniforms. Blue was almost entirely dropped as part of the team's official color scheme, except in one area; a pale blue (as opposed to traditional grey) was used as the base-color for away game uniforms. Yet the most important aspect of the 1970 uniform change was the adoption of one of the more distinctive logos in sports; a Phillies "P" that, thanks to its unique shape and "baseball stitched" center swirl, remained instantly recognizable and admired, long after its regular use had ended. It was while wearing this uniform style and color motif that the club achieved its most enduring success, including a World Series title in 1980 and another World Series appearance in 1983. Its continued popularity with fans is still evident, as even today Phillies home games can contain many fans sporting caps, shirts, and/or jackets emblazoned with the iconic "P" and burgundy color scheme. The current Phillies team has worn the burgundy and powder blue throwbacks whenever their opponents are wearing throwback uniforms from that era.
Controversial uniform changes
In 1979, the Phillies front office modified the uniform into an all-burgundy version with white trimmings, to be worn for Saturday games. They were called "Saturday Night Specials" and were worn for the first and last time on May 19, 1979, a 10â€"5 loss to the Expos. The immediate reaction of the media, fans, and players alike was negative, with many describing the despised uniforms as pajama-like. As such, the idea was hastily abandoned. Mike Schmidt did wear the uniform during the MLB All-Star Tour of Japan following the 1979 season. The final appearance on field (to date) of this uniform was during the closing ceremonies at Veterans Stadium on September 28, 2003. There was a rather large procession of players during the post game ceremony, most in uniform. Former pitcher Larry Christenson, the starting pitcher in the original game, came out wearing this old burgundy uniform, and was the only one to do so.
Another uniform controversy arose in 1994 when the Phillies introduced blue caps on Opening Day which were to be worn for home day games only. The caps were unpopular with the players, who considered them bad luck after two losses and wanted them discontinued. Management wanted to keep using the caps as planned, as they sold well among fans. A compromise was reached as the players agreed to wear them for weekday games while returning to the customary red caps for Sunday afternoon games. In all, the Phillies wore the "unlucky" blue caps for seven games in 1994, losing six (the lone victory a 5-2 triumph over the Florida Marlins on June 29). A different blue cap was introduced in 2008 as part of the alternate home uniform for day games, a throwback to the late 1940s.
Rivalries
New York Mets
The rivalry between the New York Mets and the Phillies was said to be among the "hottest" rivalries in the National League. The two National League East divisional rivals have met each other recently in playoff, division, and Wild Card races.
Aside from several brawls in the 1980s, the rivalry remained low-key before the 2006 season, as the teams had seldom been equally good at the same time. Since 2006, the teams have battled for playoff position. The Mets won the division in 2006 and contended in 2007 and 2008, while the Phillies won five consecutive division titles from 2007 to 2011. The Phillies' 2007 Eastern Division Title was won on the last day of the season as the Mets lost a seven-game lead with seventeen games remaining.
Historical rivalries
City Series: Philadelphia Athletics
The City Series was the name of a series of baseball games played between the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League and the Phillies that ran from 1903 through 1955. After the A's move to Kansas City, Missouri in 1955, the City Series rivalry came to an end. The teams have since faced each other in Interleague play (since its introduction in 1997) but the rivalry has effectively died in the intervening years since the A's left Philadelphia. In 2014, when the A's faced the Phillies in inter-league play at O.Co Coliseum, the Athletics didn't bother to mark the historical connection, going so far as to have a Connie Mack promotion the day before the series while the Texas Rangers were in Oakland.
The first City Series was held in 1883 between the Phillies and the American Association's Athletics. When the Athletics first joined the American League, the two teams played each other in a spring and fall series. No City Series was held in 1901 and 1902 due to legal warring between the National and American Leagues.
Pittsburgh Pirates
The rivalry between the Phillies and the Pittsburgh Pirates was considered by some to be one of the best rivalries in the National League. The rivalry started when the Pittsburgh Pirates entered National League play in their fifth season of 1887, four years after the Phillies.
The Phillies and the Pirates had remained together after the National League split into two divisions in 1969. During the period of two-division play (1969 to 1993), the two National League East division rivals won the two highest numbers of division championships, reigning exclusively as NL East champions in the 1970s and again in the early 1990s, the Pirates 9, the Phillies 6; together, the two teams' 15 championships accounted for more than half of the 25 NL East championships during that span.
After the Pirates moved to the National League Central in 1994, the teams face each other only in two series each year and the rivalry has diminished. However, many fans, especially older ones, retain their dislike for the other team and regional differences between Eastern and Western Pennsylvania still fuel the rivalry. The rivalry between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Pittsburgh Penguins in the National Hockey League is also fiercely contested.
Achievements
Awards
Five Phillies have won MVP awards during their career with the team. Mike Schmidt leads with three wins, with back-to-back MVPs in 1980 and 1981, and in 1986 as well. Chuck Klein (1932), Jim Konstanty (1950), Ryan Howard (2006), and Jimmy Rollins (2007) all have one. Pitcher Steve Carlton leads the team in Cy Young Award wins with four (1972, 1977, 1980, and 1982), while John Denny (1983), Steve Bedrosian (1987), and Roy Halladay (2010) each have one. Four Phillies have won Rookie of the Year honors as well. Jack Sanford won in 1957, and Dick Allen won in 1964. Third baseman Scott Rolen brought home the honors in 1997, while Howard was the most recent Phillies winner in 2005. In doing so, Howard became only the second player in MLB history to win Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player in consecutive years, Cal Ripken, Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles being the first.
Of the fifteen players who have hit four home runs in one game, three were Phillies at the time (more than any other team). Ed Delahanty was the first, hitting his four in Chicago's West Side Park on July 13, 1896. Chuck Klein repeated the feat nearly 40 years later to the day, on July 10, 1936, at Pittsburgh's Forbes Field. Forty years later, on April 17, 1976, Mike Schmidt became the third, also hitting his in Chicago, these coming at Wrigley Field.
Team captains
- Jimmy Wilson 1927-1928
- Fresco Thompson 1928-1930
- Granny Hamner 1952-1959
- Mike Schmidt 1978-1979
Wall of Fame
From 1978 to 2003, the Phillies inducted one former Phillie and one former member of the Philadelphia Athletics per year. Since 2004 they have inducted one Phillie annually. Players must be retired and must have played at least four years with the Phillies or Athletics. The last six years' inductees to the Wall of Fame are listed below:
The following inductees have also been elected to the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame: Richie Ashburn, Steve Carlton, Robin Roberts, Mike Schmidt, broadcaster Harry Kalas, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Del Ennis, Chuck Klein, Ed Delahanty, Larry Bowa, Tug McGraw, Dick Allen, Curt Simmons, Johnny Callison, Greg Luzinski, and Curt Schilling.
Centennial Team
In 1983, rather than inducting a player into the Wall of Fame, the Phillies selected their Centennial Team, commemorating the best players of the first 100 years in franchise history. See Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame#Centennial Team.
Hall of Famers
- See footnote
Ford C. Frick Award recipients
Retired numbers
The Phillies have retired six numbers, and honored two additional players with the letter "P." Grover Cleveland Alexander played with the team in the era before Major League Baseball used uniform numbers, and Chuck Klein wore a variety of numbers with the team during his career. Of the six players with retired numbers, five were retired for their play with the Phillies and one, 42, was universally retired by Major League Baseball when they honored the fiftieth anniversary of Jackie Robinson's breaking the color barrier.
Community
Charitable contributions
The Phillies have supported amyotrophic lateral sclerosis research (also known as Lou Gehrig's disease) with the "Phillies Phestival" since 1984. The team raised over US$750,000 for ALS research at their 2008 festival, compared with approximately $4,500 at the inaugural event in 1984; the event has raised a total of over $10 million in its history. The ALS Association of Philadelphia is the Phillies' primary charity, and the hospitals they support include Pennsylvania Hospital, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, and Hahnemann University Hospital. Former Phillies pitchers Geoff Geary, now with the Houston Astros and who lost a friend to the disease, and Curt Schilling, who retired with the Boston Red Sox, are both still involved with the Phillies' cause.
Phanatic about Education
The Philadelphia Phillies have shown to be a big supporter of reading and overall education. The Phillies want to use baseball in a positive way to help support education for students. The Phillies have a reading incentive program called Phanatic About Reading which is designed to encourage students from kindergarten to eighth grade to read for a minimum of 15 minutes a night. This reading program is to help students with their literacy skills and comprehension. Phillies Phundamentals is another educational program that is designed to make learning fun and support academic skills by using baseball. This program is offered through after school and summer camps.
The Phillies club will celebrate teachers during the 12th Annual Teacher Appreciation Night.
Fan support
- See footnote
Phillies fans have earned a reputation over the years for their occasional unruly behavior. In the 1960s, radio announcers for visiting teams would frequently report on the numerous fights breaking out in Connie Mack Stadium. Immediately after the final game at the old park, many fans ran onto the field or dislodged parts of the ballpark to take home with them. Later, at Veterans Stadium, the 700 Level gained a reputation for its "hostile taunting, fighting, public urination and general strangeness."
Phillies fans are known for harsh criticism of their own stars such the 1964 Rookie of the Year Richie Allen and Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt. The fans, however, are just as well known for heckling the visiting team. Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Burt Hooton's poor performance during game three of the 1977 National League Championship Series has often been attributed to the crowd's taunting. J. D. Drew, the Phillies' first overall draft pick in the amateur draft of 1997, never signed with the Phillies following a contract dispute with the team, instead re-entering the draft the next year to be drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals. Phillies fans were angered over this disrespect and debris, including two D batteries, was hurled at Drew during an August 1999 game. Subsequent visits by Drew to Philadelphia continue to be met with sustained booing from the Phillies fans.
Many sports writers have noted the passionate presence of Phillies fans, including Allen Barra, who wrote that the biggest roar he ever heard from Philadelphia fans was in 1980 when Tug McGraw, in the victory parade after the World Series, told New York fans they could "take this championship and shove it."
When the Phillies moved to Veteran's Stadium, they hired a group of young ladies to serve as ushers. These women wore maroon-colored outfits featuring hot pants and were called the Hot Pants Patrol. The team also introduced a pair of mascots, attired in colonial garb and named Philadelphia Phil and Phyllis. In addition to costumed characters, animated Phil and Phylis figures mounted on the center field facade would "hit" the Liberty Bell after a Phillie home run. This pair of mascots never achieved any significant level of popularity with fans and were eventually discontinued. In 1978, the team introduced a new mascot, the Phillie Phanatic, who has been called "baseball's best mascot", which has been much more successful and has become closely associated with the marketing of the team.
In Phillies fan culture, it is also not unusual to replace an "f" with a "ph" in words, such as the Phillie Phanatic.
The club surpassed 100 consecutive sellouts on August 19, 2010, selling out over 50% of their home games and averaging an annual attendance of over 3.1 million fans since moving to Citizens Bank Park; on April 3, 2011, the team broke the three-game series attendance record at the ballpark, having 136,254 fans attend the opening weekend against the Houston Astros.
In 2011 and 2012, the Phillies led the league in attendance with 3,680,718 and 3,565,718 fans, respectively, coming out to watch Phillies baseball.
Season-by-season records
The records of the Phillies' last eight seasons in Major League Baseball are listed below.
These statistics are current as of the conclusion of the 2014 Major League Baseball season.
Current roster
Team managers
Over 126 seasons, the Phillies franchise has employed 51 managers. The duties of the team manager include team strategy and leadership on and off the field. Seven managers have taken the Phillies to the postseason, with Danny Ozark and Charlie Manuel each leading the team to three playoff appearances. Manuel and Dallas Green are the only Phillies managers to win a World Series: Green in 1980 against the Kansas City Royals; and Manuel in 2008 against the Tampa Bay Rays. Gene Mauch is the longest-tenured manager in franchise history, with 1,332 games of service in parts of eight seasons (1960â€"1968). The records and accomplishments of the last five Phillies' managers are shown below.
Statistics current through April 5, 2015
Minor league affiliations
Radio and television
As of 2014, the Phillies' flagship radio stations are WIP-FM (94.1 FM) and WPHT (1210 AM), both owned by CBS Radio. Scott Franzke and Jim Jackson provide play-by-play on the radio, with Larry Andersen as the color commentator. Meanwhile, NBCUniversal (a unit of Philadelphia-based Comcast) handles local television broadcasts through its properties Comcast SportsNet, WCAU, and Comcast Network. Tom McCarthy calls play-by-play for the television broadcasts, with Jamie Moyer and Matt Stairs providing color commentary.
Spanish language broadcasts are on WDAS (1480 AM) with Danny Martinez on play-by-play and Bill Kulik and Juan Ramos on color commentary.
Other popular Phillies broadcasters through the years include By Saam from 1939 to 1975, Bill Campbell from 1962 to 1970, Richie Ashburn from 1963 to 1997, and Harry Kalas from 1971 to 2009. Kalas, a 2002 recipient of the Ford Frick Award and an icon in the Philadelphia area, called play-by-play in the first three and last three innings on television and the fourth inning on the radio until his death on April 13, 2009.
At Citizens Bank Park, the restaurant built into the base of the main scoreboard is named "Harry the K's" in Kalas's honor. After Kalas's death, the Phillies' TV-broadcast booth was renamed "The Harry Kalas Broadcast Booth". It is directly next to the radio-broadcast booth, which is named "The Richie 'Whitey' Ashburn Broadcast Booth". When the Phillies win at home, Kalas' rendition of the song "High Hopes", which he would sing when the Phillies had clinched a playoff berth or advanced in the playoffs, is played as fans file out of the stadium. In addition, when a Phillies player hits a home run a recording of Kalas' famous "That ball is outta here!" home run call is played. The only player the call is not played for is Chase Utley, who was once the subject of another famous Kalas call, "Chase Utley, you are The Man!" When Utley hits a home run, that call is played.
In 2011, the Phillies unveiled a statue of Harry Kalas at Citizens Bank Park. The statue was funded by Phillies fans and the statue was designed and constructed by a Phillies fan.
The Phillies' public-address (PA) announcer is Dan Baker, who started in the 1972 season.
In 2011, the Phillies spent $10 million to upgrade the video system at Citizens Bank Park, including a new display screen in left field, the largest in the National League.
See also
- List of Philadelphia Phillies first-round draft picks
- List of Philadelphia Phillies Opening Day starting pitchers
- South Philadelphia Sports Complex
- Sports in Philadelphia
- Tony Lucadello
- List of Philadelphia Phillies broadcasters
Footnotes
Article
- a In 1981, a mid-season players' strike split the season. Philadelphia, with the best record in the East Division when play was halted, was declared the first-half division winner. They would, however, lose to the second half-winning Montréal Expos in the NLDS, losing the overall division title. The Phillies' record over the entire season was third-best in the division, 2½ games behind St. Louis and Montréal.
- b The Phillies are the only National League team with two perfect games. Four American League teams have accomplished the feat: New York Yankees (3), Chicago White Sox (2), Cleveland Indians (2), and Oakland Athletics (2).
Retired numbers
- a Grover Cleveland Alexander played in the era before Major League players wore numbers; the Phillies have honored him with the "P" logo from the 1915 season, their first World Series appearance.
- b Chuck Klein wore many numbers while with the Phillies, including 1, 3, 8, 26, 29, and 36. The Phillies wore the Old English "P" during his first six seasons; thus, they chose to use it to honor Klein.
Season records
- a The Finish column lists regular season results and excludes postseason play.
- b The Wins and Losses columns list regular season results and exclude any postseason play.
- c The GB column lists "Games Back" from the team that finished in first place that season. It is determined by finding the difference in wins plus the difference in losses divided by two.
Team managers
- a #: running total of the number of Phillies' managers. Thus, any manager who has two or more separate terms is only counted once.
- b #49: Larry Bowa won the Manager of the Year Award in 2001.
References
External links
- Philadelphia Phillies official web site
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