Phillies GOAT- Shortstop

After last night's 8th inning meltdown against the Dodgers, it's time to turn to happier times. Let's visit the not-so-distant past and meet the Phillies GOAT at shortstop, Jimmy Rollins.

Why Rollins? He's the franchise's all-time hits leader with 2,306 and doubles with 479. He played in the second most games in team history (2,090). He's third all-time in triples (111) and second in stolen bases (453) and total bases (3,655). He had the highest career OPS of any shortstop in team history. His 2,455 career hits ranks him 114th in all of baseball history.

In the field, he handled 8,614 chances and made just 154 errors. His career fielding percentage is .983, which surpasses Larry Bowa's .980. A lot of people might have selected Bowa as GOAT, but for me, it's Rollins and it's not even close.

Rollins won the league MVP in 2007, after leading the league in runs scored and triples. He hit 30 home runs and drove in 94 runs that year, both career highs. Not bad for a 5-foot-7-inch leadoff hitter. He was a 3-time All-Star who won 4 Gold Gloves and a Silver Slugger.

I absolutely adored Rollins as a player. He was always smiling. He looked like he was having the time of his life doing what most of us can only dream of. Sure, he didn't run out every ground ball, which was maddening. But watching him play was pure joy. And speaking of joy, enjoy the video.

Phillies GOAT - Second Base

The Man vs. the Hall of Famer.

When considering options for second base, it really comes down to two guys–Chase Utley and Nap Lajoie. Utley played in more than 1,500 games in 13 seasons for the Phillies and was a fan favorite. He was so beloved that on his first visit back to Philadelphia after being traded to the Dodgers, he got standing ovations. It was thrilling and emotional. And he hit 2 homers that night. His first big league hit was a grand slam. Nobody played harder or smarter.

Lajoie played for the Phillies from 1896 to 1901. His lowest batting average as a Phillie was .324. He led the league in slugging and total bases in 1897 and in doubles and RBI in 1898. After 1 season and 1 game stint with the Athletics, Lajoie played for Cleveland. His Hall of Fame plaque reads "great hitter and most graceful and effective second baseman of his era." Lajoie's best years came after his time with the Phillies. He led the American League in hitting 5 times, including .426 in 1901, the highest batting average ever for a season.

Lajoie hit .345 in his Phillies tenure with an .894 OPS, while Utley hit .282 with an OPS of .826. But Lajoie only played 315 games as a second baseman for the Phillies. Utley gets the nod.

First place!

First time alone in first in 7 years!

Phillies GOAT - First Base

Ryan Howard.

From 2006 to 2009, The Big Piece averaged 52 home runs and 149 RBIs per season, with an OPS of .967. Jim Thome had an identical OPS in his only 2 full seasons with the Phillies.

There were others I considered. Dick Allen only played 315 games at first for the Phillies. John Kruk hit .309 with an .861 OPS in his Philadelphia career.

It's Howard in a landslide. The home runs he hit were absolutely majestic. I remember one Sunday game (it was the Phanatic's birthday, I can't remember which year) when he hit a ball over the brick wall batter's eye in center field at Citizens Bank Park. He hit 2 home runs in a game 28 times. He had 1 3-HR game. He hit 15 grand slams. He knocked in more than 100 runs for 6 consecutive years.

Phillies GOAT - Catcher

When thinking about choosing the Phillies GOAT at every position, I tried really hard to suppress emotion. I wanted to look at cold, hard data.

It would be easy to immediately put down Carlos "Chooch" Ruiz or Bob Boone, the only two catchers to win World Series with this team. Or the ultimate team leader, Darren Daulton. But one name kept coming up. Spud Davis. WHO?

Virgil Lawrence "Spud" Davis caught for the Phillies from 1928 to 1933. He was a big guy for that era, standing 6-1 and weighing nearly 200 pounds. He came to the Phillies in a 6-player trade with the Cardinals. And our pal Spud was an absolute machine at the plate.

Davis hit .321 in his 8 seasons with the Phillies, the ninth highest average in team history. His OPS as a Phillie was .823. He finished second in the batting title race to Hall of Famer Chuck Klein in 1933, .368 to .349. Davis holds the team record for highest single season batting average by a catcher who would qualify for the batting title with his 1933 performance.

And he made contact. The most times he ever struck out in a\ season was 39 in 1932. In fact, Davis walked more than he struck out in 13 of his 16 MLB seasons. Absolutely remarkable by today's standards. To put this in context, Phillies catcher Jorge Alfaro has struck out 49 times so far this season. In just 35 games.

Davis is by far the greatest offensive catcher the Phils have ever had.

GOAT - Phillies edition

My good friends Scotty Sawdust and Dr. Teeth have thrown down a gauntlet. They want to see my Phillies GOAT team. Not the Mitch Williams serving up a World Series losing homer to Joe Carter kind of goat. Greatest of All Time Phillies team.

Sawdust said to pick any Phillie from any time. Dr. Teeth, the moral compass, says I should limit the team to players from my lifetime, Quantum Leap style. I'm not sure what The Counselor wants me to do, since he was too busy doing lawyer stuff and getting exercise to join us for lunch.

I'll do a position a day over the next week or two. Some choices will be obvious. Some will make you think I fell down the steps and landed on my head one too many times. Some might make you realize I have no freaking clue what I'm talking about.

Feel free to chime in while I dive into the bowels (eeeew) of baseball-reference.com and my own memories to come up with this team.

And when it comes to the Phillies and GOAT, the conversation begins with the greatest mascot on the planet. The Phillie Phanatic has been doing his thing since 1978 and gets better every year. The San Diego Chicken? A hack. Orbit? Kind of cute for a newcomer. Youppi? What the hell was that? The Phanatic makes me smile and laugh every single game. Pound for pound (and there's a lot of pounds in there), he's the GOAT. Why? He's like us. He's a big fan.

Hindsight at the Quarter Pole

J.D. Martinez 

I really, really, really wanted the Phillies to sign J.D. Martinez over the winter and make him the everyday right fielder. Instead, the Phils surprised everybody and got first baseman Carlos Santana instead, forcing Rhys Hoskins into the outfield.

J.D. has averaged 33 HR and 103 RBI per season with an OPS of .870 over his 8-year career. And he's absolutely destroying the ball season–15 homers, 41 RBI and a 1.077 OPS. The Red Sox signed him for $110 million over 5 years.

Carlos Santana is a notoriously slow starter. He's up to .189 for the year with a .730 OPS. He's played better in May, but if you're shelling out big bucks for a free-agent first baseman, he better produce all year long. He's getting $60 million over 2 years. And Martinez is 2 years younger than Santana. Replace Santana with Martinez and the currently-anemic offense looks a lot more robust.

The Santana signing has had a ripple effect. Last year's first baseman and instant sensation Rhys Hoskins has struggled big time over the last few weeks. In just 50 games last year, he hit 18 HR and drove in 48 runs. Now he's being asked to play the outfield full time, and I think the move has affected his offense. He's out of his comfort zone and is hitting just .212 with 4 homers since April 17.

Maybe 4 years and $100 million would have brought Martinez to Philly. There's no way to know.

Hoskins is a young player who was wildly successful last season. Moving him to a new, unfamiliar position was a bad idea. Every time I see Red Sox highlights and watch what J.D. Martinez has done, I shake my head and wonder what should have been.

Former Phillie of the Day - Pete Incaviglia

Imagine doing something that hadn't been done before and Major League Baseball creating a rule because of what you did. It happened to Pete Incaviglia.

He was first drafted by the Giants but didn't sign and was drafted by the Expos in the first round in 1985. Inky was a prolific college baseball slugger. In 1985, he hit 48 homers and drove in 143 runs. In only 75 games. Absolutely insane production. His 48 homers that year and 100 career homers are still NCAA records. He was named NCAA player of the century.

Incaviglia felt he didn't need minor league baseball and told the Expos he wanted to come straight to the majors. The Expos said "pas si rapide." Montreal finally signed him and traded him to the Texas Rangers, who would let him start his career in the majors. He was the Rangers cleanup hitter on Opening Day in 1986 and hit a career-high 30 home runs.

As a result of a Incaviglia's demand and subsequent trade, MLB instituted a rule that prohibited teams from trading a player they had drafted for one year. It's known as the Pete Incaviglia Rule. Clever, right?

Inky lasted 5 seasons in Texas and had 1-year stints in Detroit and Houston as a part-time player before signing a free agent deal with the Phillies before the 1993 season.

In a platoon role, he and his mullet shared left field with Milt Thompson. Inky tied Darren Daulton for the team lead with 24 home runs in just 116 games. He also drove in 89 runs. He homered once against the Braves in the NL playoffs, but didn't do much else. He was back in 1994 but left to play in Japan for the 1995 season. He came back to Philly in 1996 but was traded to Baltimore in August.

He bounced around for a while longer, playing briefly with the Yankees and second stops in Houston and Detroit. Incaviglia finished his career with 206 major league home runs. He spent 2008 to 2016 as a manager in independent leagues, leading the Grand Prairie Air Hogs and the Laredo Lemurs. 

Former Phillie of the Day - Kim Batiste

It's really cool when you drive in the wining run of an extra-inning playoff game. You know what's not so cool? Making an error that forces the game into extra innings in the first place.

Which brings us to today's Former Phillie of the Day, Kim Batiste. The third-round pick hailed from Louisiana and played shortstop and third base in a backup role for the Phils. His minor league numbers were OK, but he was a terrible base stealer. I mean, he stole a few bases. But he also got caught a lot. In the minors, he stole 93 bases, but was caught 57 times, a 62 percent success rate. I'm not sure if this is a case of a guy thinking he's faster than he actually is or what.

Batiste started 39 games at shortstop for the Phils at the beginning of the 1992 season. He handled 167 chances and made 13 errors. And he hit .206.  Which might explain why he was sent back to the minors in the middle of June.

But he was back with the big club in that magical 1993 season, and he hit .282 in a bench role. Now, .282 is pretty good. But his OBP for the season was just .298. In 161 plate appearances, Batiste walked 3 times. Yes, three. III. He was intentionally walked twice. When the object of your job is to get on base so you can score runs, 5 total walks kind of sucks.

In Game 1 of the 1993 National League Championship Series, Batiste came in as a defensive replacement for third baseman Dave Hollins in the top of the ninth inning, with the Phils ahead 3-2. In 190 chances during the 1993 regular season, Batiste made 15 errors. It was better than the year before, but not much. He didn't exactly have the kind of resume that made you think "defensive replacement."

Bill Pecota led off the 9th for the Braves against closer Mitch Williams with a walk. Shocking, I know. Then Mark Lemke hit a ground ball to Batiste at third, and he proceeded to throw wildly to second in an attempt to start a double play, and Pecota advanced to third. Rafael Belliard bunted pinch runner Tony Tarasco over to second. Otis Nixon followed with a grounder to short that scored Pecota. Jeff Blauser walked, and Ron Gant ended the inning by striking out. The Phillies hit 3 infield ground balls in the bottom of the ninth to send the game into extra innings.

Williams was still on the mound for the Phils and got the first 2 outs of the inning. Then Terry Pendleton singled to center and Greg Olson doubled to left, with Pendleton making it to third. Williams struck out Tony Tarasco to end the threat.

In the bottom of the 10th, Mariano Duncan led off by grounding out to third. John Kruk followed with a double to right and then Batiste hit a double down the left field line, scoring Kruk and propelling himself from goat to hero.

Batiste was eventually released by the Phils in 1995 and he played 54 games with the Giants in 1996 to end his major league career. He attempted a comeback by playing in independent leagues, with stops in Allentown, Sioux Falls, Camden, Atlantic City, Lehigh Valley, and Nashua, which sounds like the world's worst commuter bus route. Batiste was out of baseball after 12 games with the Atlantic City Surf in 2003.

First place!

For now. And tied. But still. After the last few years, this is incredible.  

Former Phillie of the Day - Juan Samuel

I've somehow managed to get 100 posts in this blog in about 2 months. Again, thanks to all who read and maybe smile and go "oh yeah, I remember that dude."

Anyway, for the 100th post, I wanted to write about someone who had something to do with the number 100. So I turned to the Phillies all-time home run leaders. And in 24th place, with 100 home runs as a Phillie, is Juan Samuel.

The thing I remember most about Juan Samuel is how fast he was. The native of San Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican Republic (which I believe is Spanish for really good ballplayer. Seriously. Look up how many players come from that town) stole 195 bases in 451 minor league games in the Phillies system. I vividly remember him being in a Phillies commercial where he says "I am the fastest" but I can't find it anywhere online.

Samuel's first appearance for the Phillies was in San Francisco against the Giants on Aug. 24, 1983. He tripled in his second at-bat and scored on an error. The speedy second baseman was with the team for the rest of the season, including the playoffs.

He had power and speed and he struck out. A lot. He led the National League in strikeouts from 1984 to 1987 and led the NL in triples in 1984 and 1987. He was a 2-time All Star in finished second to Dwight Gooden in Rookie of the Year voting in 1984, when he stole 72 bases. He held the team record for leadoff home runs with 14 until Jimmy Rollins broke it.

Samuel was traded to the Mets in June 1989 for Roger McDowell and Lenny Dykstra, who became one of the stars of the 1993 NL Champion team. He only lasted in New York for the rest of the 1989 season and was traded to the Dodgers. He made the All-Star team for LA in 1991. But his speed was declining, and he became a utility player. From LA, he went to Kansas City, Cincinnati, Detroit, back to Kansas City, and then Toronto. His last game was Sept. 26, 1998.

He became a coach with the Tigers in 1999 and stayed there until 2006, when he managed the Mets minor league team in Binghamton, N.Y. He joined the Orioles coaching staff in 2007 and served as interim manager for about 2 months in 2010. He joined the Phillies coaching staff in 2011, where he remained until the end of last season.

Former Phillie of the Day - Rick Wise

Rick Wise had a rare career double for the Phillies–he homered twice and pitched a no-hitter in the same game and he was traded in a very unpopular deal that brought back perhaps the greatest pitcher in team history.

Wise was a tremendous high school athlete in Portland, Oregon. He was an all-city basketball and football player and was all-city and all-state in baseball. He was signed by the Phillies when he was just 17 for $12,000. The MLB minimum salary that year was $7.000.

The 18-year-old Wise made his first appearance for the Phillies on April 18, 1964. He pitched 3 innings of relief against the Cubs, and gave up 1 run on 3 hits with 3 walks and 5 strikeouts. He got his first start on May 21 against the Giants and lasted 3 innings, allowing 4 runs, including a home run to Willie Mays.

Wise got his first win on June 21 in the second game of a doubleheader against the Mets. It's usually a big deal when a rookie gets his first win, but a guy named Jim Bunning pitched a perfect game against the Mets in the opener, overshadowing Wise's fine 6-inning, 2-run, 3-hit performance.

On June 23, 1971, Wise pitched a no-hitter against the Reds. The only blemish of the game for him was when he walked Dave Concepcion in the bottom of the 6th. Wise homered twice in the game–a 2-run shot off Ross Grimsley in the 5th and a leadoff homer against Clay Carroll in the 8th. I used to listen to all the games at night on the radio in bed when I was a kid, and I jumped around like a 9-year-old maniac when John Vukovich caught Pete Rose's line drive to third for the last out of the game. Wise was a one-man wrecking crew that night, and is the only player in baseball history to homer twice and pitch a no-hitter in the same game. Wise was an all-star that year, finishing 17-14 with a 2.88 ERA for an awful Phillies team.

In a trade that swapped pitchers unhappy with their contracts, Wise was traded to the Cardinals for a young lefty named Steve Carlton. Wise made $25,000 in 1971 and wanted a substantial raise, but the Phillies wouldn't budge. Carlton was having his own contract issues. So the 1-for-1 swap was made, and Carlton went an otherworldly 27-10 with a 1.987 ERA and 310 strikeouts in his first year with the Phils, leaving fans to say "Rick who?" Carlton won 241 games in 15 years for the Phillies, along with 4 Cy Young Awards. Wise outhomered Carlton during the careers, 15-13.

Wise pitched in St. Louis for 2 seasons and was traded to the Red Sox along with Bernie Carbo for Reggie Smith and Ken Tatum. Wise and Carbo would figure heavily in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series, called by some as the greatest game ever played. Wise got the win in the game in relief and Carbo hit a pinch-hit 3-run homer in the 8th. This game is also known as the Carlton Fisk Game, when the Sox catcher hit a walkloff home run to left which he famously waved fair in the bottom of the 12th.

Wise would also pitch for the Indians and Padres in his 18-season career, and won 188 games.

Former Phillie of the Day - Willie Montanez

When I think about Willie Montanez, today's Former Phillie of the Day, two things immediately come to mind. Bat flips and glove snaps.

The Phillies acquired Montanez from St. Louis in 1970 because Curt Flood refused to report to the Phillies when he was traded the previous winter. Flood wanted to be declared a free agent rather than play in Philadelphia. So the Phillies got Montanez, a left-handed hitting outfielder and first baseman, instead.

While walking to the plate, Montanez would flip his bat, from end to end, before arriving in the batter's box. It was cool. Everybody in the neighborhood would try to do it when we'd play ball. Here, the San Diego Chicken does his best impression of Willie.

Then there was the glove snap. When Montanez would catch a throw or a fly ball, he would close his glove and snap it down toward the ground. We all imitated that as well. The ball would often fall out of our gloves in the process. But it was still cool.

In 1971, his first full season with the Phils, Montanez clubbed 30 homers and knocked in 99 runs as a 23-year-old outfielder. He finished second in Rookie of the Year voting to Earl Williams of the Braves. In 1972, he led the National League in doubles with 39. In 1975, the Phillies traded Montanez to the Giants for Garry Maddox, who became a beloved member of the great Phillies teams of the late 70s and early 80s.

Willie got traded. A lot. He played for 9 different teams. He was even involved in trades for two Hall of Famers (Gaylord Perry and Bert Blyleven). He was part of a ridiculously complicated four-team, 10-player trade in 1977. He was an All-Star with the Braves in 1977. Check out this list of transactions from baseball-reference.com:

 


Some say Montanez was a hot dog. A show off. Flamboyant. I submit that he was too stylish for his time.

Former Phillie of the Day - Tom Underwood

Pitchers today are usually big guys–your prototypical starter is about 6-4, 200 pounds. Today's Former Phillie of the Day, Tom Underwood, was not prototypical. Underwood was undersized by today's standards.

The 5-11, 170-pound lefty was the Phillies second-round pick in the 1972 draft out of high school in Kokomo, Indiana. Underwood's father was also drafted by the Phillies, but he chose to join the military and fight in World War II. The younger Underwood rose quickly to the majors, winning 27 games at 3 levels in 1973 and 1974. The Phils found the then-20-year-old polished enough to join the big club in August 1974.

So Underwood, 2 years removed from high school, found himself pitching in the big leagues. On Aug. 19, Phillies starter Wayne Twitchell was hit hard by the Cincinnati Reds. Twitchell only lasted 2 innings, giving up 5 runs and 5 hits. Underwood was summoned from the bullpen.

I can't even imagine what was going through his mind. He's 20 years old and his first major league appearance is against the Big Red Machine. Things started out well–he struck out third baseman Dan Driessen for the first out. But Cesar Geronimo singled, Dave Concepcion doubled, and George Foster was intentionally walked to load the bases. Pitcher Don Gullett singled to right, and 2 runs scored. Pete Rose walked to load the bases, and Joe Morgan chased Underwood after hitting a grand slam. His ERA for the day was 162.00. Underwood went back to the minors and was back in Philadelphia in September.

He made the team out of spring training the next year. In his first start against the Cardinals on April 13, 1975, Underwood pitched a complete game 5-hit shutout. He'd throw another shutout on May 13 for revenge against the Reds, limiting them to just 6 hits. He started 60 games in 1975 and 1976, going 24-18 with a 3.89 ERA in 375 innings.

Underwood was moved to the bullpen in 1977 and was traded to the Cardinals along with Dane Iorg and Rick Bosetti on June 15 for outfielder Bake McBride and pitcher Steve Waterbury. McBride would be a key member of the pennant-winning Phillies teams for the rest of the decade and the 1980 World Series champs.

The Cardinals moved Underwood back into the rotation but was traded to Toronto after the season. He spent 2 years with the Blue Jays before being dealt to the Yankees in 1979. He was in New York until May 1981 when he was traded to Oakland. He signed with the Orioles as a free agent in 1984 and pitched his last game on Sept. 23.

He retired after the 1984 season, worked as a financial advisor, and married LPGA golfer Christine Morra. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2009 and passed away on Nov. 22, 2010. He was 55.

Former Phillie of the Day - Randy Lerch

Randy Lerch might be the only pitcher in baseball history to hit a home run in the top of the first inning and record just a single out before being taken out of the game in the bottom of the first inning.

Lerch, today's former Phillie of the Day, was selected by the Phillies in the eighth round of the 1973 draft. He was a tall, thin, lefthanded pitcher who had success in the minors before joining the Phillies starting rotation in 1977. I guess you could say he was effectively wild in his rookie season, because he won 10 games. But 22-year-old Lerch had a 5.07 ERA and gave up 207 hits and 78 walks in 168.2 innings.

His control improved in 1978 and his ERA dropped by more than a run. He pitched 184 innings and allowed 183 hits and 73 walks. In 1979, he pitched more innings, walked fewer guys, and saw his ERA drop again. But Lerch's ERA took a big hit on May 17, 1979.

The wind was blowing out from the south that day, and when the wind blows out at Wrigley Field, runs come in bunches. And did they ever. The Phillies had their hitting shoes on in the first inning. Bake McBride led the game off with a single to left and Larry Bowa followed with a double to left, with McBride stopping at third. Pete Rose grounded back to pitcher Dennis Lamp, and McBride was out at home.

Then the fun really started. Mike Schmidt crushed a 3-run homer to left, and Del Unser and Garry Maddox each singled. Up came Bob Boone, who hit the second 3-run homer of the inning, giving the Phils a 6-0 lead. Dennis Lamp's day was done, recording just one out. Reliever Donnie Moore caught Rudy Meoli looking for the second out, and then Lerch, launched a home run into the first row of the left field bleachers, putting the Phils up 7-0. McBride popped out to third to end the inning.

So fresh off his home run and staked to a 7-0 lead, Lerch gave up single to the first three Cubs hitters–Ivan DeJesus, Mike Vail, and Bill Buckner. Bucker's hit scored DeJesus, making it 7-1. Dave "Kong" Kingman was next, and he hit an absolute moon shot of a home run that landed somewhere in Wisconsin. The Phils lead was down to 7-4. Lerch got Steve Ontiveros to ground out for the first out, but Jerry Martin followed with a double. Lerch's day was done. He fared slightly better than Lamp, allowing 5 runs. Doug Bird came in and got Barry Foote to line out to right. Ted Sizemore singled, scoring Martin and closing the book on Lerch. Moore, the reliever, followed with a triple to score Sizemore, making it 7-6. DeJesus flied out to right to end the inning. Whew. Lerch's ERA rose from 3.19 to 4.00 after that inning.

Things calmed down in the second as both teams failed to score. In the third, Maddox doubled and then Boone singled him home. Meoli flied out, Bird walked, and McBride singled, plating Boone. Bowa singled to load the bases and Pete Rose drove in 2 more runs making the score 11-6. Exit Moore, enter Willie Hernandez, who intentionally walked Schmidt. Unser hit into a fielders choice and Bowa scored. Maddox followed with the the third 3-run homer of the day for the Phils, pushing the lead to 15-6. Boone was hit by a pitch, Meoli singled, and then Bird struck out to end the inning.

The Cubs went quietly in their half of the third, and the Phils added 2 more runs in the 4th, giving them a 17-6 lead. Kingman and Ontiveros hit back-to-back homers in the bottom of the 4th, cutting the Phils lead to 17-9.

The Phils scored 4 more runs in the 5th to take a 21-9 lead. But then the Cubs struck back. They scored 7 runs off Tug McGraw, including homers from Buckner and Martin, making it 21-16. The Phils were blanked in the 6th, and the Cubs drew even closer, scoring on 2 groundouts and another Kingman homer. It was now 21-19 Phillies after 6.

Greg Gross led off the Phillies 7th with a triple and Boone doubled him home, putting the Phils up 22-19. Ron Reed held the Cubs scoreless in the bottom of the 7th, and the Phils failed to score off Ray Burris in the 8th.

In the home half of the 8th, hit 5 singles and scored 3 runs, tying the game at 22-22. Both teams went scoreless in the 9th and Schmidt hit a solo homer to give the Phils a 23-22 lead in the 10th. Rawly Eastwick retired the Cubs in order to give the Phils the win.

A total of 11 pitchers were used in the game, allowing 45 runs and 50 hits, including 9 homers (2 by Schmidt and 3 by Kingman). Cubs pitchers walked 12 Phillies hitters. The game took 4 hours, 3 minutes to play. And here's a link to the highlights. 

Former Phillie of the Day - Wes Chamberlain

The lesser of the Philadelphia Chamberlains is today's Former Phillie of the Day–outfielder Wes, who toiled in the outfield for 315 games in 5 seasons in South Philly.

Originally drafted and signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates, Wes Chamberlain came to Philadelphia along with Julio Peguero and that pesky player to be named later for Carmelo Martinez on Aug. 30, 1990. Chamberlain was immediately added to the active roster and struck out in his first big league appearance on Aug. 31.

Chamberlain had posted solid minor league numbers the year before, while playing for AA Harrisburg. He hit 21 home runs and knocked in 87 runs, hitting .306 with an .855 OPS. His first big league home run came on Sept. 19, 1990, when he connected off Cardinals starter Joe Magrane in the second inning of an 8-4 Phillies win in St. Louis.

Chamberlain finished fifth in the National League Rookie of the Year voting in 1991 after he posted a .240 average with 13 HR and 50 RBI, which would end up being career highs. During the Phillies improbable 15-game winning streak that season, Chamberlain hit 3 homers and knocked in 13 runs, while batting .321. He hit 2 homers and knocked in 6 on July 31 and followed with another homer the next night.

He is probably best remembered as being part of the right field platoon with Jim Eisenreich on the Phillies 1993 National League Champion team. Eisenreich played against right-handed pitchers while Chamberlain took on the lefties. In 134 at-bats, Chamberlain mashed a remarkable .986 OPS and hit 9 of his 12 home runs. He had 3 doubles and a single against the Braves in the NLCS that year, and went hitless in 2 at-bats in the World Series.

Chamberlain was traded to the Red Sox in 1994 for pitcher Paul Quantrill and outfielder Billy Hatcher. In 1995, the Red Sox traded him to Kansas City for another former Phillies outfielder, Chris James. His last big league appearance was on June 7, 1995. Chamberlain played in Japan in 1996 and kicked around the minor and independent leagues until 2004.

According to his LinkedIn page, Chamberlain runs a baseball training company outside Chicago.

Former Phillie of the Day - Jerry Martin

The thing I remember most about Jerry Martin, today's Former Phillie of the Day, is a game in which he didn't play when he should have.

I'm talking about Game 3 of the 1977 League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, known to Phillies fans as Black Friday. That season, Martin was frequently used as a late-inning defensive replacement for lumbering leftfielder and BBQ empresario Greg Luzinski.

Anyway, the series was tied 1-1 and the Phils were leading the Dodgers, 5-3 entering the ninth inning. This was a prime spot for manager Danny Ozark to send Martin out to replace Luzinski. He didn't. And of course everything went to hell.

Phils reliever Gene Garber got the first two outs of the inning. He got Dusty Baker to ground out to third, and then Rick Monday grounded to second. Vic Davalillo came on to pinch hit for catcher Steve Yeager and stunned everyone at Veterans Stadium by reaching base on a drag-bunt single with 2 strikes. They were 1 strike away from taking the series lead, and still needed just 1 more out.

Up next came 753-year-old outfielder Manny Mota, who hit a ball to deep left field, where Luzinski, not Martin, went back toward the wall. It looked like Luzinski made the catch–but he didn't. The ball bonked off Luzinski's glove, hit the wall, and bounced back to him. Luzinski finally picked it up and heaved the ball toward second base, but the throw was wild, and Davalillo scored, with Mota moving to third. The score was now 5-4.

The insanity continued. Davey Lopes smashed a ground ball that hit third baseman Mike Schmidt in the leg. The ball caromed to shortstop Larry Bowa who gunned it to first to get Lopes in time. But for some inexplicable reason, umpire Bruce Froemming said Lopes beat the throw. Mota scored, Bowa went insane, and the game was tied at 5.

Garber then tried to pick Lopes off first base, but the throw got past first baseman Richie Hebner and Lopes moved to second. Bill Russell drove Lopes home with a single to center, and the Dodgers led 6-5. Garber retired Reggie Smith for the third out but the damage had been done.

In the bottom of the inning, Bowa popped out to short and Schmidt was retired on a fly ball to right. Up stepped Luzinski, with a chance to redeem himself. He got hit by a pitch and was THEN replaced by Martin, who pinch ran for him. Hebner ended the game with a grounder to first baseman Steve Garvey.

The Phillies won 101 games in 1977. Had they won Game 3, they would have had the momentum to win the LCS in 4 games. But Vic Freaking Davalillo, Manny Freaking Mota, and Greg Freaking Luzinski, with an assist from Gene Freaking Garber, made things turn out differently.

The Dodgers won Game 4 and the series, but lost to the Yankees in the World Series, 4 games to 2.

I don't blame Luzinski for what happened. He's a great guy. His BBQ stand at Citizens Bank Park is top-notch. Manager Danny Ozark gets all the blame for this one.

Deep Breaths

Photo linked from philly.com

I was going to use Hector Neris as today's Former Phillie of the Day in a fit of wishful thinking after last night's gut-punch "performance." In a span of two hitters, he turned a 1-0 lead into a 3-1 loss. It reminded me a lot of last weekend's blown save against the Nationals. And the Opening Day loss to the Braves, where he gave up a walkoff homer to Nick Markakis.

Neris has already blown 3 saves this season. His first 2 saves came against truly awful teams, Cincinnati and Tampa. He had one good week–3 saves against the Pirates and Diamondbacks in April. He has the second-highest ERA on the team and the second-highest ERA among all closers in baseball. He's starting to remind me of Jose Mesa, who blew 9 saves in 2002.

His numbers are not good. In 15.2 innings, he's allowed 15 hits and 9 walks, which works out to 5.2 walks per 9 innings. If you had a starting pitcher who allowed that many walks, he wouldn't be starting for long. Neris has appeared in 17 games and has allowed a baserunner in all but 5 of them. He's allowed 2 or more baserunners 6 times so far this year. Last season, Neris had just 26 clean innings (no baserunners) in 74.2 innings. I'm just glad he's making a little more than the major league minimum. I can't imagine how angry I'd be if he was making big money.

It might be time to try Luis Garcia as the closer. A young team needs to be able to put games away when they're ahead in the 9th inning. Neris has been doing the closer thing full-time since last season. He's too erratic to count on.

But we need to focus on the positive. The Phillies are 22-16 and have the fifth-best record in the National League. They're a half-game out of first place. If they continue to win at the same rate they have so far this season, they'll finish with 94 wins. Which sounds like enough to make the playoffs.

Last year, the Phillies didn't win their 22nd game until June 15. This year's 22nd win came on May 10. That's 5 weeks earlier.

More positives–Odubel Herrera is an offensive machine. He has reached base in every game he's played in this season and leads the league in hitting at .360.

Carlos Santana and Maikel Franco have shaken off their early season slumps. Franco's average is up to .281 and he leads the team in RBI.  Santana has 26 RBI even though he's still hitting below .200, but his average is up 30 points in the last 2 weeks.

The pitching has been fantastic, except for Neris. Aaron Nola and Jake Arrieta have been tremendous and Nick Pivetta, Vince Velasquez, and Zach Eflin have had their moments. The bullpen, except for Neris, has been solid.

So there's lots of reason for optimism. Except for Neris.

Former Phillie of the Day - Pat Combs

Pat Combs was part of that not-so-elite Phillies club whose members were destined to be the next great thing but didn't quite make it. The lefthanded pitcher was a first-round pick out of Baylor University in 1988 and was in the majors less than 15 months later.

Combs blew through 3 levels of minor league play in 1989, giving up just 154 hits in 191 innings and posting a 2.54 ERA. He struck out 121 and walked 58. The 1989 Phillies were pretty awful, so Combs got a September call-up and did not disappoint.

His first start came on Sept. 5 against the Pirates, and he pitched 6 innings, allowing 3 unearned runs, 3 hits, 3 walks, and 4 strikeouts. He didn't figure in the decision, but the Phils won, 3-2.

His next start was Sept. 10 in Montreal against the Expos, and Combs was solid. He gave up just 1 run in 7 innings, striking out 8 and walking 1. He scattered 7 hits and got his first win, 4-2.

Combs had one of the best starts of his career in his next turn, shutting out the Cardinals on just 4 hits with 1 walk and 3 strikeouts on Sept. 15, 1989.  Combs finished his rookie year with a 4-0 record and a 2.09 ERA in 6 starts. The Phillies won every game he started.

Fans were anxious to see their new ace in action in 1990. Combs was nothing special that season, posting a 10-10 record with a 4.07 ERA. He gave up less than a hit per inning, but he walked more than 4 hitters per 9 innings. In an Aug. 9 start against the Mets, he touched off a huge brawl by hitting Mets pitcher Dwight Gooden with a pitch. It was probably retaliation for Gooden hitting 2 Phillies earlier in the game. As baseball fights go, this was a good one. Phils announcer Richie Ashburn even called for the police to intervene. Four Phillies and 3 Mets, including Combs and Gooden, were ejected.

His control was almost completely gone in 1991 and 1992. In 83 innings, he walked 55, an average of 6 every 9 innings. Oof. His ERA in 1992 was 7.71. Double oof. And he'd never pitch in the majors again.

Former Phillie of the Day - Marvin Freeman

Originally drafted but not signed by the Montreal Expos, Marvin Freeman was the Phillies second-round pick in 1984 out of Jackson State University. Nicknamed Starvin' Marvin, the 6-7 righthander had a big arm. And big control problems.

In 405 minor league innings from 1984 to 1986, Freeman walked an astounding 251 hitters–1.61 per inning. He struck out 251 during that stretch. Still, the Phils saw enough of Freeman to call him up to the majors. His first start was against the Pirates on Sept. 16, 1986. Freeman's first 2 innings were scoreless, but he walked a hitter in each inning. In the third, Freeman retired the first hitter and then gave up singles to 4 of the next 5 hitters. A passed ball and a sacrifice fly helped the Pirates and Freeman was done after 3 innings, trailing 3-0.

He got another start against the eventual World Series winning Mets on Sept. 21. Freeman went 7 innings, allowing just 1 run and 1 hit. But he walked 5 and struck out 6 and got his first major league win, 7-1. He had one more start and finished his first big league tour with more walks than strikeouts.

Freeman was back in the minors for all of 1987, and the walks kept on coming. He walked 62 in 95.2 innings between AA and AAA, with a combined record of 3-10 and a 5.64 ERA.

From 1988 to 1990, he went back and forth between Philadelphia and the minor leagues. With the Phillies, he walked 62 in 86.2 innings. He was traded to Atlanta in July 1990 for pitcher Joe Boever. The Braves made him a reliever and he achieved some level of control, walking 55 in 151.2 innings from 1990 to 1993.

The Braves released him late in 1993 and he signed with the Rockies, where he returned to the starting rotation. He had his best year in the majors in 1994, posting a 10-2 record with a sparkling 2.80 ERA, walking just 23 in 112 innings. But his control eluded him again in 1995 and 1996, when he walked 101 in 226 innings. He was waived by the Rockies in late August 1996 and pitched for the White Sox for the last month of the season.

Former Phillie of the Day - Phil Bradley

Phil Bradley was the starting quarterback for the University of Missouri from 1978 to 1980, and was named Big Eight Offensive Player of the Year 3 times. He also starred for Mizzou's baseball team, leading them into the Big Eight Tournament in 1980 and 1981.

Bradley was a third-round pick of the Mariners in 1981 and made it to the majors in 1983. He became Seattle's starting left fielder in 1984 and his most productive year came in 1985, when he hit 26 home runs and knocked in 88 runs, to go along with a .300 batting average and 100 runs scored. He made the AL All-Star team.

The 1985 power surge was surprising, considering Bradley didn't hit any homers the previous year in 124 games. Bradley's best 3 seasons were from 1985 to 1987–he hit .302 with an .855 OPS.

Bradley came to Philadelphia in a December 1987 with Tim Fortugno in a trade that saw the Mariners receive Glenn (Glennbo) Wilson, Mike Jackson, and Dave Brundage. In his only year in South Philly, Bradley hit .264 and was hit by a then-team record 16 pitches. The 1988 Phillies went 65-96, dead last in the National League East. The team needed pitching, so Bradley was dealt in December 1988 to the Orioles for starter Ken Howell. The addition didn't really help, since the Phillies finished last in 1999 as well.

My inner Cliff Clavin discovered a little-known fact–Phil Bradley was just the ninth player in Phillies team history to be named Phil.

Former Phillie of the Day - Ivan DeJesus

When the Phillies traded fan-favorite shortstop Larry Bowa to the Cubs for shortstop Ivan DeJesus on Jan. 27, 1982. I was angry. When I learned that top prospect Ryne Sandberg was also going to the Cubs, and all the Phils were getting back was DeJesus, I was livid.

I instantly hated DeJesus, even though I all I knew about him was that he was fairly pedestrian shortstop, while Sandberg would end up in the Hall of Fame. At the time, I didn't know Sandberg would end up in Cooperstown, but I knew he'd be something special.

I was still working as a vendor at Veterans Stadium when the 1982 season began, and it took all of my energy to keep from booing DeJesus every time he came to the plate. But I honestly think he knew of my anger toward him and the trade. It seemed every time he was hitting, he'd foul a ball off into the section where I was working. He came close to hitting me a couple of times. I knew he wasn't that good and didn't possess that bat control to hunt me down. I But still.

Anyway, Ivan the Terrible played 3 undistinguished seasons in Philadelphia, where he hit .249 with a .319 OBP and a .637 OPS. Yawn. In those same 3 seasons, Sandberg would win a Gold Glove, make 2 All-Star teams, and an MVP. Sandberg would finish his career as a 10-time All-Star with 9 Gold Gloves and a career .795 OPS.

Dear God, what a horrific trade. And it only happened because former Phils manager Dallas Green had joined the Cubs as general manager. The Phils were anxious to get rid of Bowa, who was locked in a contentious contract dispute with the Phillies. Bowa, at 36 years old, wanted a 3-year contract extension. The Phillies didn't want to give it to him. So Green swapped shortstops with the Phils and got Sandberg as a throw-in. The Phillies wanted Luis Aguayo to be included in the trade instead of Sandberg, but Green insisted on Sandberg. He played one season at third before moving to second. And you know the rest.

Why the Phillies didn't give Sandberg a legitimate shot at shortstop is beyond me. But Ivan DeJesus for Larry Bowa AND Ryne Sandberg is one of the worst trades of all time in baseball. It still pisses me off. I'm sure DeJesus is a perfectly nice man who managed to play for 15 years in the majors. His biggest crime was being traded for Sandberg, something he had absolutely no control over. But still.

Former Phillie of the Day - Ron Reed

I'm still seething about yesterday's loss to the Nationals, thanks in large part to a blown save by closer Hector Neris. And it got me to thinking–who blew the most saves in Phillies history?

I searched as best I could and I came up with today's Former Phillie of the Day–Ron Reed. He was an outstanding high school athlete in LaPorte, Indiana, who decided to forgo a pro baseball career to play college basketball at Notre Dame.

Reed, a 6-6 forward, averaged 19 points and 14.3 rebounds a game for the Irish in his career, from 1962 to 1965. He was drafted by the Detroit Pistons and played two NBA seasons, averaging 8.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. When basketball season ended, he grabbed his glove and pitched for the Milwaukee Braves. He played both sports for 2 years before deciding to turn to baseball full-time.

Reed was traded by the Cardinals to the Phillies in December 1975 for outfielder Mike Anderson. Reed, a starting pitcher, was moved to the bullpen in Philadelphia. He pitched in Philadelphia from 1976 until 1983, where he went 57-38 with 90 saves in 121 opportunities. So by my math, that's 31 blown saves. Yuck. But he did pitch 2 scoreless innings in the 1980 World Series.

He was voted into the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990. He's also a member of the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame. So there's that.

Former Phillie of the Day - Ozzie Virgil Jr.

Children often enter the same line of work as one of their parents. It's natural. They've seen mom or dad be successful and have grown up around the vocation, so it makes sense. Both of my parents were in education, and I considered changing my major in college so I could become a teacher.  But my dad convinced me to stick with journalism, convincing me I'd have a much more lucrative and stable career. Yeah. Thanks, dad.

There have been many sons who have followed their dads into the family business of major league baseball. Ken Griffey Jr. even got to play on the same team with his father, Ken Sr. Barry Bonds was the more famous son of Giants outfielder Bobby Bonds.

The Phillies have connections to the father-son phenomenon. Former manager Terry Francona's dad was a successful outfielder. The father of Bob Boone, starting catcher for the 1980 World Champion Phillies, Ray, was a two-time All-Star. Bob's sons Aaron and Bret, also played, and Bret was the first third-generation MLBer in history. Former Phils outfielder and broadcaster Gary Matthews' son, also named Gary, played for 12 seasons. Hall of Famer George Sisler's son, Dick, was an outfielder for the Whiz Kids of 1950. David Bell and his father Gus were also big leaguers.

Ozzie Virgil Sr. was the first-Dominican born athlete in the majors. His son, Ozzie Jr., is today's Former Phillie of the Day.

Young Ozzie was a sixth-round draft pick out of high school in Arizona in 1976 and was a catcher
. The younger Virgil could hit for for power, mashing 29 home runs in 1979 in the Carolina League (where he was league MVP that year) and 28 homers in 1980 for Reading of the Eastern League.

Virgil shared catching duties with Bo Diaz in 1982 and 1983 and became the everyday catcher in 1984. Virgil responded with 18 homers and 68 RBI in 141 games. In 1985, he made the All-Star tream and hit 19 HR.

He was traded to Atlanta in December 1985 in a deal that worked out well for both teams. The Phils got outfielder Milt Thompson, was a key part of the 1993 pennant-winning team, and reliever Steve Bedrosian, who won the Cy Young Award in 1987 with 40 saves. Virgil made another the All-Star team as a member of the Braves in 1987.

Former Phillie of the Day - Alan Bannister

Alan Bannister was a versatile guy. In his 12-year big league career, he played every position but pitcher and catcher.

The shortstop was drafted by the Angels in the first round in 1969, but decided to play college ball at Arizona State, where he became a two-time All-American. The Phillies made him their first round pick in 1973, but when he arrived in Philadelphia a year later, he was stuck behind some guy named Larry something. Bowa, I think it was. Yeah.

Bannister split time between Philadelphia and AAA in 1974 and 1975, playing in just 50 games and hitting .221. In December 1975, Bannister and pitcher Dick Ruthven were traded to the White Sox for 37-year-old pitcher Jim Kaat and shortstop Mike Buskey. 

The not-so-slick fielding Bannister became the Sox regular shortstop in 1977, and he made 40 errors that season, while hitting .275. Injuries limited his playing time in 1978, but in 1979, he played both second base and center field and had his best season as a starter, hitting .283.

Bannister was with the White Sox until a June 1980 trade sent him to Cleveland. He remained with the Indians through the 1983 season, and had stops with the Astros and Rangers before his career wrapped up in 1985.

Maybe Call a Timeout?

I usually reserve my TV yelling for Phillies games. But last night, I was screaming at Brett Brown to call a timeout while the Sixers were seeing their 20-point lead disappear in the second quarter.

Just call time. Maybe it slows Boston's momentum. Give your guys a chance to regain their composure. Nope. Didn't happen. And now the Sixers are down 2-0 in the series, which looks like it's gonna be over a lot sooner than people thought. Sigh.

Former Phillie of the Day - Jim Morrison

Jim Morrison had a minor league career that would light my fire. But the Phillies didn't wait long enough for him to break on through and sent him packing after two big league seasons. People are strange, especially baseball people. This is the end. Of The Doors references. For now.

And another thing. This Jim Morrison baseball card looks like it was taken as an afterthought. It's like the photographer was walking on the field during batting practice, spotted Morrison, and thought "oh crap, I can't believe I almost forgot to take this guy's picture."

Anyway, on to Morrison, our Former Phillie of the Day. The Pittsburgh Pirates really liked infielder. They liked him so much they drafted him twice. Both times he refused to sign with them. But Morrison signed with the Phillies in 1974 as a fifth-round draft pick.

Morrison spent 6 seasons in the minors before getting the call to the big leagues. He was a solid offensive performer in the minors, hitting .289 with a .364 on-base percent and an OPS of .838 to go along with 87 HRs and 346 RBI in 601 games.

He got called up at the end of the 1977 season and had just 108 at-bats in 1978, when he hit just .157. He was back in the minors in 1979 when the Phillies did him a huge favor–they made him the player to be named later to complete a trade with the White Sox. He became Chicago's everyday third baseman in July and finished the season with 14 HR, 37 RBI and a .275 average.

The Sox moved him to second base in 1980 and he played in all 162 games, hitting .283 with 15 HR and 57 RBI. He was back at third in 1981, but struggled after the strike was settled and finished at .234. In 1982, he was hitting just .223 when he was traded to the Pirates in June.

Morrison was a platoon guy with the Pirates until 1986, when they made him the starting third baseman. He hit 23 HR with 88 RBI and a .274 average. He was traded to the Tigers in 1987, who released him a year later. He finished his career with the Braves in 1988.

After his playing days, he was a manager in the minors, mostly with the Rays organization. He is in charge of the Rays Florida State League team this season, the Charlotte Stone Crabs.

Former Phillie of the Day - Baudilio "Bo" Diaz

Baudilio "Bo" Diaz is one of just 28 major league players to hit a "super" grand slam. What makes a grand slam super? It comes in the bottom of the 9th inning (or the bottom of any extra inning) with the home team down by 3 runs. Fifteen of those super grand slams, including Diaz's, came with 2 outs. I'm not sure if those are called Super Duper Grand Slams or Ultimate Tremendous Really Cool Grand Slams or what, but Bo Diaz hit one. And if you hit one with 2 strikes and 2 outs, it's called a Royale With Cheese. 

And Harry Kalas had an amazing call to document the feat. 

Diaz, from Venezuela, was signed by the Red Sox organization and entered their minor league system in 1971 as an 18-year-old. He languished in the minors for years, because Boston had some other catcher named Carlton Fisk blocking his path. Late in spring training in 1978, Diaz was sent to Cleveland as part of trade that brought future Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley to the Red Sox. 

He played sparingly with the Indians, but made the American League All Star team in 1981 when he hit .313 in a strike-shortened season. He joined the Phillies in 1982 after a three-team trade with the Indians and Cardinals. That was the trade that sent the popular Lonnie Smith to the Cardinals. To say fans were unhappy with the trade would be an understatement. Columnist Bill Conlin wrote that Diaz had been greeted by Philadelphia fans "with the warmth reserved for axe murderers." Another writer called Diaz moody, injury-prone, and as slow as the legislative process. 

Diaz became the Phillies starting catcher in 1982 after Bob Boone signed with the Angels. He had a great season with the Phils, hitting 18 HR with 85 RBI and a .288 batting average. Diaz hit his super slam on April 13, 1983 against the Mets. With this Phils trailing 9-5 in the bottom of the 9th inning, Pete Rose led off and flied out to left. Gary Matthews and Joe Morgan followed with walks, and Mike Schmidt hit a fly ball to left for the second out. 

Len Matuszek (a FPOTD) pinch-hit for Porfi Altamirano (another FPOTD) and drew a walk to load the bases. Jesse Orosco was called in from the bullpen to pitch to Von Hayes (yet another FPOTD), but Bill Robinson hit for Hayes. Robinson drew a walk, forcing in Matthews, making the score 9-6. Neil Allen replaced Orosco and Diaz then connected with his walkoff super slam, giving the Phils a 10-9 win.

Diaz didn't have the same success as the year before and hit just .236 for the 1983 season with 15 HR. But the Wheeze Kids, as the Phillies were known that year, won the NL pennant but lost to the Orioles in the World Series.

He loved to play Winter Ball in his home country of Venezuela. But in 1984, he was slowed by back pain. He was hurt for most of spring training but was able to avoid the disabled list. Diaz was off to a great start for the 1984 season, but a collision at the plate required knee surgery and he missed almost 6 weeks. Other injuries cost him big chunks of time in June and July, and another knee surgery in August ended his season.

Ozzie Virgil took over as the starting catcher while Diaz was hurt, and Virgil was the starter as the 1985 season began. Diaz still couldn't stay healthy, and was hit by a pitch that broke two bones in his wrist in April. In May, while still on the DL, he was hospitalized with kidney stones. 

Diaz was traded to the Reds in August 1985, where he was reunited with former teammate and Reds manager Pete Rose. Diaz played well for the Reds and was healthy. He had another niche accomplishment–he threw out would-be base stealer Robby Thompson 4 times on June 27, 1986. He made the All-Star team again in 1987. He was slowed by shoulder and knee problems in 1988 and knee issues in 1989. He played his last game on July 9, 1989. He tried to come back from his injuries, but by now he was in his late 30s and his body would no longer cooperate. 

Diaz died tragically on Nov. 23, 1990 at home in Venezuela. He was adjusting a satellite TV dish on his roof on a windy day when the dish fell on him, crushing his neck and killing him instantly. 

Former Phillie of the Day - Rick Schu

Pete Rose's departure from the Phillies after the 1983 season left a big hole at first base. Len Matuszek and others just couldn't make the same contributions at the position in 1984. I mean, we're talking about replacing Pete Freaking Rose.

In May 1985, another Hall of Famer, Mike Schmidt, agreed to move from third base to first base. That opened up a spot at third for our Former Phillie of the Day, Rick Schu.

Schu was signed as an amateur free agent out of high school in California in 1980. The young third baseman had a little power and drove in some runs. His best year in the minors was in 1984, when he hit .301 with 12 HR and 82 RBI. That earned him a promotion to Philadelphia in September and he hit .276 with 2 HR in 29 at-bats.

It took Schu a little while to get going following his promotion in 1985. He joined the team May 29 but didn't really break out offensively until June 12. But then again, everybody in the lineup broke out that night, as the Phils obliterated the Mets, 26-7. Schu went 4-for-7 with a double, a triple, and 2 RBI. He was having a good year, until a September slump dropped his average for the season to .252, with just 7 HR and 24 RBI in 112 games.

The lack of offense from Schu made the Phils move Schmidt back to third for the 1986 season, with Von Hayes taking over at first and Schu moving to a bench role. The move agreed with Schmidt, who won his third MVP after hitting .290 with 37 HR and 119 RBI.

But Schu would never be a regular again and never appeared in more than 100 games in a season. He was traded to the Orioles in 1988 and also spent time with the Angels, Tigers, and Expos. He came back to the Phillies briefly in 1991 after having a good year in AAA. He spent all of 1992 in AAA and moved to Japan for the 1993 and 1994 seasons, where he played for the Nippon Ham Fighters.

He came back to the U.S. and spent 1995 with the Rangers AAA team in Oklahoma City and Montreal's AAA team in Ottawa in 1996. But his last appearance in the majors was with the Expos on Aug. 14, 1996. Schu retired while playing for Ottawa in 1997.

Schu now serves as the assistant hitting coach for the San Francisco Giants. He also held coaching spots with the Diamondbacks and Nationals.

Former Phillie of the Day - Rico Brogna

Rico Brogna's name seems more appropriate for a European soccer player, Hollywood tough guy, or a 1930s boxer. But he was an excellent defensive first baseman who could also hit who was with the Phillies in the late 1990s.

Brogna was the Detroit Tigers first round pick in 1988 out of high school in Watertown, Conn. He was a three-sport star in high school, and planned to play quarterback for Clemson University, but decided on baseball instead.  He appeared in 9 games for the Tigers in 1992 and was traded to the Mets just before the 1994 season. He was the Mets starting first baseman in 1995, where he hit .289 with 22 home runs and 76 RBI. He also hit the first home run ever at Coors Field in Denver.

He was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis (a type of spinal arthritis) early in his career, but he took medication and was able to keep playing. He became spokesperson for the Spondylitis Association of America.

Brogna was traded to the Phillies after the 1996 season for Toby Borland and Ricardo Jordan, a pitcher, not to be confused with Ricky Jordan, a first baseman. Anyway, Brogna was the Phillies everyday first baseman from 1997 through the first half of 2000. In 496 games, he hit 65 home runs and knocked in 300 runs. He is a Phillies record-holder as well. He hit 2 of the Phillies team record 7 home runs against the Mets on Sept. 8, 1998.

The Phillies put him on waivers in July 2000, and he was signed by the Red Sox. He signed as a free agent with the Braves in 2001 but retired before the end of the season.

Brogna had a number of coaching gigs after he retired, in baseball, basketball and football. He coached Post University's baseball team, his alma mater's basketball team, and high school and college football. He was hired by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Who Play in California on the West Coast of the United States as a special assistant to the general manager in 2014, and he was the Angels player information coach in 2015. He was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2015 and had surgery to get rid of it.

Today, Brogna is back in the Phillies organization, where he's a coach with AA Reading.