Phightin' Phils Phorum

Phightin' Phils Phorum Hall of Fame - Tug McGraw

Frank Edwin Tug McGraw earned his way into the Phightin' Phils Hall of Fame and every Philadelphia Phillies fan's heart with one pitch, a 1-2 pitch to Willie Wilson. McGraw helped silence 97 years of ghosts and jumped up in the air like a school boy as the Philadelphia Phillies became World Champions of baseball.

 When The Tugger joined the Phillies, he was named to his second career All-Star game in his first season in Philadelphia. After finishing second to the Pirates in 1975, the Phillies won the National League East division title the next three seasons. They were unable to reach the World Series as they were swept by Cincinnati's "Big Red Machine" in the 1976 National League Championship Series. They lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers the following two seasons.

McGraw went to the team's general manager Paul Owens and asked not to be traded because he wanted to be there when the Phillies won it all. The Pope heeded his request and Tug paid him back in dividends.

The Phillies were battling back and forth for first place with the Montreal Expos in 1980 when the Expos came to Veterans Stadium for a crucial three game series on September 25. The Phillies won two of the three with McGraw winning the second game to pull a half game ahead of Montreal. The Phillies went to Montreal for the final series of the season with the two teams tied for first place.

The Phillies won the opening game 2–1. McGraw earned the save by striking out five of the six batters he faced. The following day McGraw entered the game in the ninth inning with the score tied at four. McGraw pitched three innings striking out three and only giving up one hit. After Mike Schmidt's eleventh inning home run put the Phillies up 6–4, McGraw pitched a 1–2–3 eleventh inning striking out Larry Parrish to end the game and clinching the National League East for the Phillies for the fourth time since joining the club.

McGraw was 5–4 with a 1.46 ERA, 75 strikeouts, and twenty saves in 1980. McGraw received consideration in balloting for both the Cy Young Award and the MVP award finishing fifth in Cy Young balloting and sixteenth for league MVP. Teammates Steve Carlton and Mike Schmidt won those awards respectively.  McGraw pitched in all five games of the 1980 National League Championship Series against the Houston Astros. The Phillies won the first game 3–1 with McGraw earning the save. The Astros won game two with an extra inning victory to send the series to Houston tied 1-1.

McGraw entered game three in the eighth inning with a runner on second, and one out. He managed to get out of the inning and keep the Astros scoreless until the eleventh inning when Joe Morgan led the inning off with a triple. Rafael Landestoy entered the game as a pinch runner for Morgan and McGraw intentionally walked the next two batters to create a force at any base. The strategy didn't work as the following batter, Denny Walling, hit a sacrifice fly to Greg Luzinski in left field scoring Landestoy.

The final two games of the series also went into extra innings. Tug earned a save in game four to even the series. McGraw blew the save in the fifth and deciding game allowing it to go into extra innings. Dick Ruthven entered the game in the ninth and pitched two perfect innings. The Phillies came back with a run in the tenth to proceed to the 1980 World Series against the Kansas City Royals.

McGraw appeared in four of the six games of the 1980 World Series striking out ten batters in 7.2 innings. The Phillies swept the first two games in Philadelphia. McGraw earned the save in game one giving the team only their second win in a World Series and the first since 1915. The Royals came back to even the series after two games in Kansas City with McGraw picking up the loss in game three.

McGraw entered game five in the seventh inning with the Phillies behind 3–2. He pitched three scoreless innings while the Phillies scored two ninth inning runs off Royals closer Dan Quisenberry to head back to Philadelphia with a 3–2 series lead. McGraw entered game six of the World Series in the eighth inning with no outs, and runners on first and second, and the Phillies up, 4–0. He allowed one inherited base runner to score but managed to get through the inning relatively unscathed. After giving up a walk and two singles to load the bases in the ninth inning, he struch out Willie Wilson, clinching the Phillies' first World Series championship.

The next day, at a victory rally at John F. Kennedy Stadium, McGraw summed it all up for the fans after 97 years of futility for the Phillies franchise saying, "All throughout baseball history, Philadelphia has had to take a back seat to New York City. Well, New York can take this championship...and stick it! 'CAUSE WE'RE NUMBER ONE!” McGraw went 2–4 with a 2.66 ERA and ten saves in the strike shortened 1981 season. The Phillies won the first half season crown but lost the 1981 National League Division Series to the Montreal Expos. In 1982, McGraw moved to a set up man role as Ron Reed and Ed Farmer earned more saves than he did that season. Prior to the start of the 1983 season, the Phillies acquired Al Holland from the San Francisco Giants to assume the closer role. McGraw battled injuries in 1983 and 1984 and following the 1984 season, McGraw retired.

On March 12, 2003, McGraw was working as an instructor for the Phillies during Spring training when he was hospitalized with a brain tumor. When surgery was performed to remove it, it revealed the tumor was malignant and inoperable. Given three weeks to live by doctors, he managed to survive nine months. He attended the closing ceremonies of Veterans Stadium where he recreated the final out of the Phillies' World Series triumph. McGraw lost his battle with cancer on January 5, 2004. The Phillies wore a Shamrock on their sleeve during the 2004 season in his honor. His son Tim McGraw recorded "Live Like You Were Dying" (written by Tim Nichols & Craig Wiseman) in his father's honor and featured the memorable clip of McGraw recording the final out of the 1980 World Series in the music video. The song reached #1 on the U.S. Billboard country music charts and held that position for a total of seven weeks. It was named as the Number One country song of 2004 by Billboard.

McGraw was cremated after his death. Nearly five years later, his son Tim McGraw took a handful of his dad's ashes and spread them on the pitcher's mound at the Phillies current home park, Citizens Bank Park, in Game 3 of the 2008 World Series. The Phillies won the game, defeating the Tampa Bay Rays 5–4, en route to the team's second World Series Championship. Tug was on the mound for both Championships!

Phightin' Phils Hall of Fame

Phightin' Phils Phorum Hall of Fame - Pete Rose

There would be no World Championship in Philadelphia in 1980 if it were not for Peter Edward Rose. Rose may have only spent 5 years with the Phillies but his impact can not be understated. Pete not only belongs in the Phightin' Phils Hall of Fame, but in Baseball's Hall of Fame.

Rose's major league career began during a spring training game against the Chicago White Sox in 1963. The Reds' regular second baseman Don Blasingame pulled a groin muscle giving Rose a chance to show what he could do. Later that Spring against the New York Yankees, Whitey Ford gave him the nickname "Charlie Hustle" after Rose sprinted to first base after drawing a walk. Despite the manner in which Ford intended it, Rose adopted that nickname as a badge of honor.

Rose made his major league debut on April 8, 1963 against the Pittsburgh Pirates. After going hitless in his first 11 at bats, Rose got his first Major League hit on April 13, a triple off Pittsburgh's Bob Friend. He hit .273 for the year and won the National League Rookie of the Year Award.

On April 23, 1964, in the top of the ninth inning of a scoreless game in Colt Stadium, Rose reached first base on an error and scored on another error to make Houston Astros rookie Ken Johnson the first pitcher to lose a complete game no-hitter. However, he slumped late in the season, was benched, and finished with just a .269 average. Rose came back in 1965, leading the league in hits (209) and at-bats (670), and finishing sixth in NL MVP balloting. It was the first of his ten seasons with 200-plus hits, and his .312 batting average was the first of nine consecutive .300 seasons. He hit a career-high 16 home runs in 1966, then switched positions from second base to right field the following year.

In 1968, Rose started the season with a 22 game hitting streak, missed three weeks with a broken thumb, then had a 19-game hitting streak late in the season. He had to finish the season 6 for 9 to beat Matty Alou and win the first of two close NL batting-title races with a .335 average. He finished second to St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Bob Gibson for the NL MVP award earning six first place votes.

 Rose had his best offensive season in 1969 setting a career high in batting with a .348 mark and tying his career best 16 homeruns. As the Reds' leadoff hitter he had 218 hits and led the league in runs with 120. He hit 33 doubles, 11 triples, drove in 82 runs, and had a .512 slugging percentage. His OBP was .432 and beat out Roberto Clemente for the batting title with a bunt base hit in his last at bat of the season. On July 14, 1970 Rose was involved in one of the most infamous plays in All Star Game history. Leading off against the California Angels' Clyde Wright in the 12th inning, Rose hit a single and advanced to second on another single by the Los Angeles Dodgers' Billy Grabarkewitz. The Chicago Cubs’ Jim Hickman then singled sharply to center. Amos Otis' throw went past Cleveland Indians catcher Ray Fosse, but Rose still barreled over Fosse to score the winning run. Fosse continued to hit for average but with diminished power. He had 16 homers before the break but only two after. He played through the 1979 season, but never approached his first-year numbers. The collision also caused Rose to miss three games with a bruised knee. Fosse did not miss any games immediately after the incident. As can be seen in a replay of the event, Rose initially intended to slide headfirst, but when Fosse blocked the plate prior to the throw reaching home, Rose came back up and knocked Fosse out of the way, clearing his path to home as the throw went by. In 1973, Rose led the league with 230 hits and a .338 batting average and won the NL MVP award leading "the Big Red Machine" to the 1973 National League Championship Series against the New York Mets. During the fifth inning of game three of the series, Joe Morgan hit a double play ball to Mets first baseman John Milner with Rose on first. Rose's slide into second attempting to break up the double play incited a fight with Mets shortstop Bud Harrelson resulting in a brawl. The game was nearly called off when, after the Reds took the field, the Shea Stadium crowd threw objects from the stands at Rose, causing Reds manager Sparky Anderson to pull his team off the field until order was restored. Mets Manager Yogi Berra and players Willie Mays, Tom Seaver, Cleon Jones and Rusty Staub were summoned by NL President Chub Feeney out to left field to calm the fans. The Reds ended up losing the game and the National League Championship Series despite Rose’s .381 batting average in the series. The Cincinnati Reds of the 1970s earned the nickname "the Big Red Machine," and is one of the greatest teams ever. On a team with many great players, Rose, along with Hall of Famers Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan and Tony Pérez, was viewed as one of the club's leaders.

In 1975, Rose earned the Hickok Belt as top professional athlete of the year and Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportsman of the Year" award. The following year, he was a major force in helping the Reds repeat as World Series champions. The 1976 Reds swept the Phillies 3–0 in the 1976 National League Championship Series, then swept the Yankees 4–0 in the World Series. The 1976 Cincinnati Reds remain the only team since the expansion of the playoffs in 1969 to go undefeated in the postseason. On May 5, 1978, Rose became the 13th player in major league history to collect his 3,000th career hit off Montreal Expos pitcher Steve Rogers. On June 14 in Cincinnati Rose singled in the first inning off Cubs pitcher Dave Roberts and proceeded to get a hit in every game he played in until August 1. When the streak reached 30 games the media accompanied Rose and the Reds to every game in mass. On July 19 against the Philadelphia Phillies, Rose was hitless going into the ninth. He ended up walking and the streak appeared over. The Reds managed to bat through their entire lineup giving Rose another chance. against Ron Reed. Rose laid down a bunt single to extend the streak to 32 games.

He would eventually tie Willie Keeler's single season National League record at 44 games but on August 1, the streak came to an end as Gene Garber of the Atlanta Braves struck out Rose in the ninth inning. The competitive Rose was sour after the game blasting Garber and the Braves for treating the situation "like it was the ninth inning of the 7th game of the World Series" and adding that "Phil Niekro would have given me a fastball to hit."  The Philadelphia Phillies had won the National League East in 1976, 1977, and 1978. Despite winning 101 games twice in that period, they were unable to make it to the World Series. In 1979, believing that he was the player who could bring them over the top, the Phillies temporarily made Rose the highest-paid athlete in team sports when they signed him to a four-year, $3.2-million contract as a free agent. With future Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt at third base, Rose made the final position change of his career to first base.

Although the Phillies missed the postseason in his first year with the team, they earned two division titles, a first half title, two World Series appearances and one World Series title.

The worst season of Rose's career was in 1983 when Phillies played in their second World Series in four years. Rose batted only .245 with 121 hits, and found himself benched during the latter part of the '83 season appearing periodically to play and pinch hit. Rose did blossom as a pinch-hitter, with 8 hits in 21 at bats for a .381 average.

Rose rebounded in the Postseason batting .375 during the N.L.C.S. against the Los Angeles Dodgers and .312 in the World Series . Pete collected only one hit in his first eight at bats in the first two games in Baltimore against the 1983 A.L. Champions. He found himself benched for game three back in Philadelphia ground out in a pinch hitting appearance. To make matters worse Rose showed some unsportsmanlike attitude toward's Phillies manager Paul Owens complaining about his benching. He did, however, collect four hits in his last seven at bats. Sadly the Phillies lost decisively to the Baltimore Orioles in the 1983 World Series, 4 games to 1 and the Pete Rose era in Philadelphia ended. Pete was granted an unconditional release from the Phillies in late October 1983. Phillies management wanted to retain Rose for the 1984 season but he refused to accept a more limited playing role. He signed a one year contract with the Montreal Expos later that offseason. On April 13, 1984, 21 years to the day after Rose's first career hit, Rose doubled off of the Phillies’ Jerry Koosman for his 4,000th career hit joining Ty Cobb to become only the second player to enter the 4000 hit club. Rose was traded to the Reds for infielder Tom Lawless on August 15, 1984 and was immediately named player manager. He only batted .259 for the Expos but his average jumped to .365 with the Reds as he managed them to a 19–22 record for the remainder of the season.

On September 11, 1985, Rose broke Ty Cobb’s all time hits record with his 4,192nd hit, a single to left-center field off San Diego Padres pitcher Eric Show. According to MLB.com, Major League Baseball continues to recognize Cobb's final hit total as 4,191, though independent research has revealed that two of Cobb's hits were counted twice. Because of this, it has been suggested that Rose actually broke Cobb's record against the Cubs' Reggie Patterson with a single in the first inning of a Reds' 5–5 called game against Chicago on September 8. Because Rose broke Cobb's record, ABC's Wide World of Sports named Rose as its Athlete of the Year that year. Rose accumulated a total of 4,256 hits before his final career at bat, a strikeout against San Diego’s Rich Gossage on August 17, 1986.

Phightin' Phils Phorum Hall of Fame - Del Ennis

Del Ennis was the definition of homegrown talent. Born to George and Agnes Ennis in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he was signed by scout Jocko Collins out of Olney High School in 1942. His first season in the major leagues with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1946 after playing one season in the Interstate League in 1943 in Trenton, NJ. In 1944 and 1945 he served in the South Pacific in World War II where he played with a Navy Service team which included Johnny Vander Meer, Bill Rigney, Mickey Vernon, Johnny Mize, Gene Woodling, Buddy Blattner and Pee Wee Reese. After being discharged from the Navy on April 5, 1946, the Phillies signed him and put him on the opening day roster. Ennis got his first big league several days later in the outfield. Eleven weeks after his debut, Ennis became the first Phillies rookie ever to make an All-Star team and became the first ever Sporting News Rookie Award winner. He finished eighth in the MVP voting batting .313 with 17 home runs and 73 RBI's and placed second in the NL in slugging average (.485) behind only the great Stan Musial. 

Ennis became a premier slugger in 1948 hitting 30 home runs and driving in 95. At the time this was a Phillies record for right-handed hitters breaking Gavvy Cravath's 1915 total of 24. In 1949 he hit .302 with 25 homers and 110 RBI and he finished second in the NL in doubles both seasons. His best season came in 1950, when he hit .311 with career highs of 31 home runs and an NL-best 126 RBI's.

 As a member of the 1950 Whiz Kids, Del was the scourge of the National League and he helped the Phillies to win their first pennant since 1915 in an exciting finish that saw Philadelphia beat out the powerful Brooklyn Dodgers on the last day of the season. Ennis placed fourth in the MVP voting and was beat by teammate Jim Konstanty.

From 1952-1955, Ennis collected four 20+ HR, 100+ RBI seasons. He was named to three All-Star Games, in 1946, 1951 and 1955. In 1956 he passed Chuck Klein to become the Phillies' all-time home run leader, and he held the record until Mike Schmidt passed him in 1980. In 1956, he broke Ed Delahanty's record of 1,544 games with the Phillies. Richie Ashburn broke his record in 1958. At the end of the 1956 season Ennis was also among the NL's top ten career home run leaders. 

Ennis was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals before the 1957 season for Rip Repulski. In his first season in St Louis he had a .286 average, 26 home runs and 105 RBI's finishing second in the NL behind his teammate Stan Musial. His production dropped off sharply in 1958 and after two years in St. Louis he finished his career in 1959 playing for the Cincinnati Redlegs and the pennant winning Chicago White Sox. In a 14-season career, Ennis compiled a .284 batting average with 288 home runs, 2,063 hits, 1,284 RBI and 985 runs in 1,903 games.

Ennis endured one of the more hostile relationships any professional athlete has ever had in Philadelphia. He was routinely booed and heckled throughout his eleven seasons with the Phillies. One story that typifies his relationship and how he would get under the fans skin is this: In the second game of a doubleheader against the Cardinals on July 31, 1954, at Shibe Park in the top of the third inning, Ennis dropped an outfield fly with the bases loaded and all three runners scored. In the bottom half of the same inning with two on and two out, he hit the first pitch on the roof in left field and the Phillies won the game by a score of 6-5. Perhaps because he was a native Philadelphian, Ennis never let the fans get to him and was productive throughout his tenure in Philly.

Ennis' career ended after a mid-season release by the Chicago White Sox in 1959 after having been acquired from Cincinnati during the first week of the 1959 season. In the first eleven games that he played with the Sox, Del drove in seven runs including a game winner in mid-May in Yankee Stadium. Ennis had four game-winning hits in six games in early 1959 and the Sox went on to win the AL pennant that year. Del was not with the team that played the Dodgers in the 1959 World Series. To make room on the roster for Norm Cash, who had completed his service commitment, Ennis was waived by the White Sox in mid-June 1959. 

Del Ennis had a very productive career spanning fourteen seasons. Larry Doby who also played on the White Sox team in 1959 , Ralph Kiner, and Enos Slaughter are all in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Ennis' career stats are the equal of these players yet his votes for entry are pathetic compared with the great career that he had. He was among the top ten in batting average three times, homeruns eight times, RBI’s ten times, MVP Voting eight times, and total bases six times. In the decade from 1947 to 1957, only Stan Musial and Duke Snider had better overall production. Ennis belongs in the Hall of Fame!

After his retirement, Ennis operated a bowling alley named Del Ennis Lanes in Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania with the former traveling secretary of the Phillies John Wise. He bred greyhound race dogs. Ennis spent a year coaching baseball at the Penn State University Abington Campus. He remembered his 1950 Phillies days in his sports enterprise, calling three dogs scheduled to run in Florida racetracks Whiz Kids Ennis, Whiz Kids Ashburn and Whiz Kids Roberts. In 1983, during the Phillies' 100th anniversary year, he was named to the Philadelphia Phillies Centennial Team. There is a plaque on the Phillies Wall of Fame at the team's new ballpark honoring the career of Del Ennis as a Whiz Kid. Ennis died in 1996 at the age of 70 from complications irising from being diabetic.

Check out all of the Phightin' Phils Hall of Fame Inductees.

Phightin' Phils Phorum Hall of Fame: Jim Konstanty

 Jim Konstanty played for the Cincinnati Reds (1944), Boston Braves (1946), Philadelphia Phillies (1948-1954), New York Yankees (1954-1956) and St. Louis Cardinals (1956). Konstanty batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Strykersville, New York. Konstanty started as a physical education teacher in St. Regis Falls, NY. Then, he had played for five major league teams between 1944 and 1956, but his outstanding seasons were with the Philadelphia Phillies from 1948 through 1953. During that period, he became a relief specialist who employed a slider and a change-up with great effectiveness. The son of a farmer, Konstanty starred in sports in high school and also at Syracuse University, where he earned a bachelor of science degree. He pitched briefly with the Cincinnati Reds in 1944 and Boston Braves in 1946, and spent three seasons in the minors until 1948, when the Phillies called him up. In 1950, when Whiz Kids won the National League pennant, Konstanty was named the Most Valuable Player. He appeared in 74 games (then a major league record), winning 16 games with an NL-high 22 saves. In that season, he made the NL All-Star team and received the AP Athlete of the Year and the TSN Pitcher of the Year awards. In a surprise move, he was named to start Game One of the 1950 World Series against the New York Yankees. Konstanty gave up only four hits in eight innings but lost 1-0, his efforts outdone by Vic Raschi's two-hit shutout. Konstanty is still the only National League relief pitcher ever to win the MVP Award. Konstanty seemed to lose his pitching sharpness after his spectacular 1950 season and was sent to the Yankees in the 1954 midseason. He played two seasons in New York and the half a season for the St. Louis Cardinals before retiring at end of 1956. In an 11-season career, Konstanty posted a 66-48 record with 74 saves and a 3.46 ERA in 433 games. Konstanty died of stomach cancer in Oneonta, New York at age 59.

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	BK	WP	BF	ERA+	WHIP	H/9	HR/9	BB/9	SO/9	SO/BB	Awards
1944	27	CIN	NL	6	4	.600	2.80	20	12	4	5	1	0	112.2	113	46	35	11	33		19	1	0	1	468	125	1.296	9.0	0.9	2.6	1.5	0.58
1946	29	BSN	NL	0	1	.000	5.28	10	1	3	0	0	0	15.1	17	9	9	2	7		9	0	0	2	67	65	1.565	10.0	1.2	4.1	5.3	1.29
1948	31	PHI	NL	1	0	1.000	0.93	6	0	5	0	0	2	9.2	7	1	1	0	2		7	0	0	0	33	425	0.931	6.5	0.0	1.9	6.5	3.50
1949	32	PHI	NL	9	5	.643	3.25	53	0	27	0	0	7	97.0	98	38	35	9	29		43	1	1	1	386	122	1.309	9.1	0.8	2.7	4.0	1.48
1950	33	PHI	NL	16	7	.696	2.66	74	0	62	0	0	22	152.0	108	51	45	11	50		56	0	3	1	593	152	1.039	6.4	0.7	3.0	3.3	1.12	AS,MVP-1
1951	34	PHI	NL	4	11	.267	4.05	58	1	45	0	0	9	115.2	127	58	52	9	31		27	0	2	0	494	95	1.366	9.9	0.7	2.4	2.1	0.87
1952	35	PHI	NL	5	3	.625	3.94	42	2	25	2	1	6	80.0	87	44	35	9	21		16	0	0	1	342	93	1.350	9.8	1.0	2.4	1.8	0.76
1953	36	PHI	NL	14	10	.583	4.43	48	19	20	7	0	5	170.2	198	90	84	18	42		45	3	0	1	735	95	1.406	10.4	0.9	2.2	2.4	1.07
1954	37	TOT	MLB	3	4	.429	3.01	42	1	25	0	0	5	68.2	73	29	23	7	18		14	0	0	1	285	128	1.325	9.6	0.9	2.4	1.8	0.78
1954	37	PHI	NL	2	3	.400	3.75	33	1	19	0	0	3	50.1	62	27	21	7	12		11	0	0	1	215	107	1.470	11.1	1.3	2.1	2.0	0.92
1954	37	NYY	AL	1	1	.500	0.98	9	0	6	0	0	2	18.1	11	2	2	0	6		3	0	0	0	70	349	0.927	5.4	0.0	2.9	1.5	0.50
1955	38	NYY	AL	7	2	.778	2.32	45	0	30	0	0	11	73.2	68	28	19	5	24	2	19	0	0	0	308	162	1.249	8.3	0.6	2.9	2.3	0.79
1956	39	TOT	MLB	1	1	.500	4.65	35	0	21	0	0	7	50.1	61	26	26	7	12	1	13	0	0	0	220	82	1.450	10.9	1.3	2.1	2.3	1.08
1956	39	NYY	AL	0	0		4.91	8	0	5	0	0	2	11.0	15	6	6	3	6	0	6	0	0	0	53	79	1.909	12.3	2.5	4.9	4.9	1.00
1956	39	STL	NL	1	1	.500	4.58	27	0	16	0	0	5	39.1	46	20	20	4	6	1	7	0	0	0	167	82	1.322	10.5	0.9	1.4	1.6	1.17
11 Seasons				66	48	.579	3.46	433	36	267	14	2	74	945.2	957	420	364	88	269	3	268	5	6	8	3931	112	1.296	9.1	0.8	2.6	2.6	1.00

See all of the inductees in the Phightin' Phils Hall of Fame!

Phightin' Phils Phorum Hall of Fame: Jim Bunning

 Jim Bunning pitched in the Major Leagues for 17 seasons. His first game as a major league pitcher was on July 20, 1955 with the Detroit Tigers. After having toiled in the minor leagues from 1950–1954 and part of the 1955 season. The Tigers scouts described him as having "an excellent curve ball, a confusing delivery and a sneaky fast ball". Bunning pitched for the Tigers from 1955 through 1963. He pitched for the Philadelphia Phillies from 1964 through 1967, the Pittsburgh Pirates 1968 to mid-1969, and finished the 1969 season on the Los Angeles Dodgers. Bunning then returned to the Phillies in 1970 and retired in 1971. He wore uniform number 15 on the 1955 Tigers, and then switched to 14 in 1956 for the rest of his time with Detroit. He stayed with number 14 on his jersey with the Phillies and Pirates. When he was traded to the Dodgers in 1969 he wore number 17. The Phillies, retired his number 14 jersey after his election to the Hall of Fame in 1996.

Bunning is remembered for his role in the pennant race of 1964, in which the Phillies held a commanding lead in the National League for most of the season, eventually losing the title to the St. Louis Cardinals. Manager Gene Mauch used Bunning and fellow hurler Chris Short heavily down the stretch, and the two became visibly fatigued as September wore on. The collapse of the 1964 Phillies remains one of the most infamous in baseball history. With a six and a half game lead as late as September 21, they lost 10 games in a row to finish tied for second place.

Bunning would routinely shake off catchers' pitch signs that he knew to be signaled into the game   from the dugout by Mauch. This would have the effect of irritating Mauch, who broadly applied the practice of signalling pitches from the dugout to his catchers at a time when this was not typically done.

Bunning pitched his first no-hitter on July 20, 1958, for the Detroit Tigers against the Boston Red Sox. His second, for the Philadelphia Phillies, was a perfect game, which came against the New York Mets on June 21, 1964, Father's Day. Bunning's perfect game was the first in the National League in 84 years. He is one of only six pitchers to throw both a perfect game and a no-hitter. the others are Randy Johnson, Sandy Koufax, Addie Joss, Cy Young, and Mark Buehrle. He is also one of only five players to throw a no-hitter in both leagues. He played in the All-Star Games in 1957, 1959, 1961,1962, 1963, 1964, and 1966.

On August 2, 1959, Bunning struck out three batters on nine pitches in the ninth inning of a 5–4 loss to the Boston Red Sox. Bunning became the fifth American League pitcher and the 10th pitcher in Major League history to accomplish the nine pitch three-strikeout half-inning. Bunning's 2,855 career strikeouts put him in second place on the all-time list at the time of his retirement, behind only Walter Johnson. His mark was later surpassed by a number of other pitchers, and he is currently 17th all-time. He ended his career with a 224-184 record and a 3.27 ERA in 591 games.

In 1996 he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Phightin' Phils Phorum Hall of Fame: Grover Cleveland Alexander

Grover Cleveland Alexander was one of the greatest pitchers ever to wear a major league baseball uniform. He holds Philadelphia Phillies records that will never be broken. It is a shame that there is not more of a tribute to him at Citizens Bank Park. 

Grover Cleveland Alexander was born in Elba, Nebraska on February 26, 1887. Alexander was one of thirteen children and played semi pro ball in his youth, signing his first professional contract at age 20 in 1907 for $50 per month. He had a good first season, but his career was almost ended when he was struck by a thrown ball while base running. This incident set his career back, but he had recovered by 1910, become a star pitcher again, and was sold to the Philadelphia Phillies for $750. Alexander made his Philadelphia debut during the pre-season 1911 City Series. Alexander pitched five-innings of no-hit, no-run baseball against the defending World Champion Philadelphia Athletics. He would make his official Major League debut on April 15, 1911.  In his rookie campaign, Alexander led the league with 28 wins which still stands as the modern day rookie record, 31 complete games, 367 innings pitched, and seven shutouts. He finished second in strikeouts and fourth in ERA. From 1912 to 1920, Alexander led the league in ERA five times (1915, 1916, 1917, 1919, and 1920), wins five times (1914-17, 1920), innings pitched six times (1912, 1914-17, 1920), strikeouts six times (1912, 1914-1917, 1920), complete games five times (1914-1917, 1920), and shutouts five times (1915, 1916, 1917, 1919). His 1916 total of 16 is a major league record. He won pitching's Triple Crown in 1915, 1916, 1917 and 1920. In 1915, he was instrumental in leading the Phillies to their first pennant and he pitched a record four one hitters. After the 1917 season, the Phillies sold Alexander to the Cubs in fear that he would be lost to the army in World War I, but as Phillies owner William Baker admitted later, "I needed the money". Alexander was drafted, and spent most of the 1918 season in France as an artillery officer where he suffered from shell shock, partial hearing loss, and increasingly worse seizures. Known as a drinker, Alexander hit the bottle particularly hard after the war. He still gave Chicago several successful years and pitched for a triple crown in 1920. Finally tiring of his increasing drunkenness and insubordination, the Cubs sold him to the Cardinals in the middle of the 1926 season for the waiver price. The Cardinals won the National League pennant that year and met the New York Yankees in the World Series, where Alexander had his finest moment. He pitched complete game victories in Games 2 and 6. According to teammate Bob O'Farrell in The Glory of Their Times, after the game six victory, Alexander    managed to get drunk throughout the night and was still feeling the effects when he was sent out to pitch in relief in game 7. Alexander came to the game in the seventh inning after starter Jesse Haines developed a blister, with the Cardinals ahead 3-2, the bases loaded and two outs. Facing Yankee slugger Tony Lazzeri, Alexander struck him out and then held the Yankees scoreless for two more innings to preserve the win and give St. Louis the championship. He had one last 20-win season for the Cardinals in 1927, but his continued drinking finally did him in. He left major league baseball after a brief return to the Phillies in 1930, and pitched for the House of David until 1938.

Alexander attended game three of the 1950 World Series at Yankee Stadium where he saw the Phillies lose to the Yankees. He died less than a month later on on November 4, 1950 in St. Paul, Nebraska at the age of 63. A movie was produced about Alexander's Life in 1952 called "The Winning Team". Ronald Reagan played Alex while his wife was played by Doris Day. Much was made of Alexander's drinking but as the movie portrayed and many believe, he did not drink as often as many believed and used drunkenness as an excuse to hide his many seizures and health problems related to them.

Grover Cleveland Alexander's Phillies Records:

Single Season

ERA - 1.22 1915

Shut Outs - 16 1916

All Time

Winning Percentage - .676

Shutouts - 61

Phightin' Phils Phorum Hall of Fame: Chuck Klein

Charles Herbert Klein was an old fashioned hitter according to broadcasting legend John Facenda. He worked in a steel mill in his youth, and played semipro baseball. The St. Louis Cardinals soon noticed his talent, and signed him to a minor league contract. He eventually worked his way up to the Cardinals' farm team in Fort Wayne. After hitting 26 homers in 88 games in 1928, Klein was slated to be called up to St. Louis midway through the season. However, Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis discovered that the Cardinals owned a team in Dayton, Ohio that played in the same league as Fort Wayne. Landis ordered the Cardinals to sell off the Fort Wayne team and give up the rights to its players. The Phillies outbid the New York Yankees for Klein's services, and Klein joined the Phillies in July.

Klein was the top hitter in Phillies' history until the arrival of Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt, and one of the few bright spots on an otherwise dreadful team. He accumulated most of his numbers during his first six-year stint in Philadelphia, where he was an instant success as the starting right fielder and left-handed hitting slugger. A conscientious worker and hustler, Klein captured four home run championships, two RBI titles, and a batting title for the Phillies. Unlike most sluggers, Klein was a competent baserunner, topping the senior circuit in 1932 in stolen bases and coming in third in triples with 15. The same year, he was the last player to lead in homers and steals in the same season, when he paced the National League with 38 and 20, respectively. Jimmy Sheckard and Hall of Famer Ty Cobb are the only other players to do so in the majors. After the season, he was named the NL MVP.

Klein won the National League home run title in 1929, his first full year in the majors. However, he was helped along by his teammates on the last day of the season. In this game, the Phillies faced the New York Giants. The Giants' star slugger, Mel Ott, was tied with Klein for the lead with 42. In the first game, Klein homered to put him one ahead of Ott, who was held to a single. In the second game, the Phillies' pitchers walked Ott five straight times including once with the bases loaded.

Along with his batting prowess, the strong right-armed Klein was also a superb defensive right fielder who still holds the single-season mark with 44 assists in 1930.

In 1933 Klein won the Triple Crown (.368, 28, 120), though Carl Hubbell took MVP honors. On July 6 of that year, he also became the first Phillies ever to bat in an All-Star Game.

Traded to the Cubs for the 1934 season, Klein was a disappointment in Chicago by his previous standards. Even so, he hit 20 and 21 HR in two seasons and batted .301 and .293. These were far below the numbers he posted in Philadelphia, leading to claims that Klein wouldn't have hit nearly as many homers had he not played in notoriously hitter-friendly Baker Bowl. The Phillies reacquired him two years later.

On July 10, 1936, Klein became the first NL player to slug four home runs in a game in the 20th century. He is one of only twelve players in baseball history to accomplish that.

Klein went to the Pirates during the 1939 season, but was back in Philadelphia the following season. For the last five years of his career, he was a part-time player, often used as a pinch-hitter. He retired after getting one hit in seven at-bats in 1944.

In his 17-year career Klein batted .320, with 398 doubles, 1201 runs batted in, 1168 runs, 2076 hits (870 extra-bases), and 300 home runs. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1980.

• MVP (1932)
• Triple Crown (1933)
• Twice All-Star (1933-34)
• 4-time led league in home runs (1929, 1931-33)
• 3-time led league in runs batted in (1931, 1933, 1936)
• 3-time led league in runs (1930-32)
• 5-time collected more than 200 hits (1929-33)
• Twice led league in hits (1932-33)
• Twice led league in games played (1930, 1932)
• Twice led league in doubles (1930, 1933)
• Led league in batting average (1933)
• Led league in triples (1932)
• Led league in stolen bases (1932)
• 4-time led league in extra-bases hits (1929-30, 1932-33)
• 4-time led league in total bases (1930-33)
• Twice led league in OPS (1932-33)
• Twice 26 consecutive-game hitting streak in the same season (1930)
• Hit safely in 135 of his team's 156 games (1930)
• Twice hit for the cycle (1931, 1933)
• Holds the single-season record of assists for a right fielder (1930)

Phightin Phils Phorum Hall of Fame: Robin Roberts

Robin Evan Roberts had his major league debut on June 18, 1948 with the Philadelphia Phillies.

In 1950 Roberts led the Whiz Kids, the youngest major league baseball squad ever fielded, to its first National League pennant in 35 years. Roberts started three games in the last five days of the season, defeating the heavily favored Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field, in a pennant-deciding, 10-inning game. It was his 20th victory, becoming the Phillies' first 20-game-winner since Grover Cleveland Alexander did it in 1917.

Between 1950 and 1955 Roberts won 20 games each season, leading the NL in victories from 1952 to 1955. Six times he led the league in games started, five times in complete games and innings pitched, and once pitched 28 complete games in a row. During his career, Roberts never walked more than 77 batters in any regular season. In addition, he helped himself as a fielder and with his bat, hitting 55 doubles, 10 triples, and 5 home runs, and 103 RBI.

His 28 wins in 1952, the year he won the The Sporting News Player of the Year Award, are the most in the National League since 1935, the year Dizzy Dean won 28 games.

Despite his 28 victories in 1952, Roberts enjoyed his best season in 1953, posting a 23-16 record and leading NL pitchers in strikeouts with 198. With a career-high 346⅔ innings pitched he walked just 66 batters. His 2.75 ERA was second in the league behind Warren Spahn's 2.10, narrowly missing the Triple Crown for pitchers.

One of the most memorable highlights of his career occurred on May 13, 1954, when Roberts gave up a lead-off home run to Cincinnati Redleg Bobby Adams and then retired 27 consecutive batters to win 8-1.

After the conclusion of the 1961 season, Roberts was released by the Philadelphia Phillies. Roberts then tried out in spring training with the New York Yankees but was released shortly after the season began. The Baltimore Orioles signed him and he had several successful seasons for the Orioles, going 42-36 in 3 1/2 seasons before moving on to the Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs to finish his career. His final major league game was on September 3, 1966 but he pitched in the minors during 1967.

In his 19-season career, Roberts compiled a 286-245 record with 2,357 strikeouts, a 3.41 ERA, 305 complete games, 45 shutouts, and 4,688 innings pitched in 676 games. He holds the Major League record for home runs allowed by a pitcher (505). He holds the major league record for most consecutive Opening Day starts for the same team with 12, between 1950 and 1961.

The Phillies retired Robin Roberts' number in 1962. He was the only pitcher in major league history to defeat the Boston Braves, the Milwaukee Braves and the Atlanta Braves. Robin Roberts was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1976.

Check out all of the Phightin' Phils Phorum Hall of Famers!

Year	TEAM	G	CG	SHO	IP	BB	SO	W	L	ERA
1948	Phi	20	9	0	146.2	61	84	7	9	3.19
1949	Phi	43	11	3	226.2	75	95	15	15	3.69
1950	Phi	40	21	5	304.1	77	146	20	11	3.02
1951	Phi	44	22	6	315.0	64	127	21	15	3.03
1952	Phi	39	30	3	330.0	45	148	28	7	2.59
1953	Phi	44	33	5	346.2	61	198	23	16	2.75
1954	Phi	45	29	4	336.2	56	185	23	15	2.97
1955	Phi	41	26	1	305.0	53	160	23	14	3.28
1956	Phi	43	22	1	297.1	40	157	19	18	4.45
1957	Phi	39	14	2	249.2	43	128	10	22	4.07
1958	Phi	35	21	1	269.2	51	130	17	14	3.24
1959	Phi	35	19	2	257.1	35	137	15	17	4.27
1960	Phi	35	13	2	237.1	34	122	12	16	4.02
1961	Phi	26	2	0	117.0	23	54	1	10	5.85
1962	Bal	27	6	0	191.1	41	102	10	9	2.78
1963	Bal	35	9	2	251.1	40	124	14	13	3.33
1964	Bal	31	8	4	204.0	52	109	13	7	2.91
1965	Bal	20	5	1	114.2	20	63	5	7	3.38
1965	Hou	10	3	2	76.0	10	34	5	2	1.90
1965	--	30	8	3	190.2	30	97	10	9	2.79
1966	Chi	11	1	0	48.1	11	28	2	3	6.15
1966	Hou	13	1	1	63.2	10	26	3	5	3.82
1966	--	24	2	1	112.0	21	54	5	8	4.82
Total	--	676	305	45	4688.2	902	2357	286	245	3.41

Phightin' Phils Phorum Hall of Fame: Richie Ashburn

Don Richie Ashburn spent 12 (1948-1959) of his 15 major-league seasons as the Phillies' center fielder. He was a .308 lifetime hitter, won the National League batting title twice, and routinely led the league in fielding percentage. In 1950, in the last game of the regular season, he threw Dodgers' runner Cal Abrams out at home plate to preserve a 1–1 tie and set the stage for Dick Sisler's home run that clinched the pennant for the Whiz Kids.

Ashburn was an on base hitter rather than a slugger, accumulating over 2,500 hits in 15 years with only 29 home runs. In his day he was regarded as the arch typical "spray hitter," stroking the ball equally well to all fields making him harder to defend against. Ashburn had the most hits, 1,875, of any batter during the 1950s. He was very proud of this as he characterized the 50's as the golden age of baseball, post segregation but pre expansion.

After the 1959 season, Ashburn was traded to the Chicago Cubs for three players, and went on to anchor center field for the Cubs in 1960 and 1961. Although Ashburn had planned to go into politics after retirement as opposed to being behind a microphone, Ashburn sometimes conducted a post game baseball instruction clinic at Wrigley Field for the benefit of the youngsters in the WGN TV viewing audience.

Ashburn was drafted by the expansion New York Mets for the 1962 season. He had a good year offensively, batting .306, and was the team's first-ever All-Star Game representative. However it was a frustrating year for the polished professional, who had begun his career with a winner and found himself playing for the worst team in baseball history. Their record was 40-120 which is still unprecidented. He retired at the end of the season.

In his last five seasons, Ashburn had played for the eighth place Phillies, the seventh place Cubs and the tenth place Mets. The infamous first-year Mets club won only a quarter of its games, and Ashburn decided to retire from active play. The last straw might have been during the Mets' 120th loss, when Ashburn was one of the three Mets victims in a triple play pulled offby his former teammates the ninth place Cubs.

Check out all of the Phightin' Phils Phorum Hall of Famers!

Year   Team  G     AB   R      H    2B 3B HR RBI BB   SB   BA

1948	PHI	117	463	78	154	17	4	2	40	60	32	.333
1949	PHI	154	662	84	188	18	11	1	37	58	9	.284
1950	PHI	151	594	84	180	25	14	2	41	63	14	.303
1951	PHI	154	643	92	221	31	5	4	63	50	29	.344
1952	PHI	154	613	93	173	31	6	1	42	75	16	.282
1953	PHI	156	622	110	205	25	9	2	57	61	14	.330
1954	PHI	153	559	111	175	16	8	1	41	125	11	.313
1955	PHI	140	533	91	180	32	9	3	42	105	12	.338
1956	PHI	154	628	94	190	26	8	3	50	79	10	.303
1957	PHI	156	626	93	186	26	8	0	33	94	13	.297
1958	PHI	152	615	98	215	24	13	2	33	97	30	.350
1959	PHI	153	564	86	150	16	2	1	20	79	9	.266
1960	CHI	151	547	99	159	16	5	0	40	116	16	.291
1961	CHI	109	307	49	79	7	4	0	19	55	7	.257
1962	NY	135	389	60	119	7	3	7	28	81	12	.306

Red Denotes League Leader

Phightin' Phils Phorum Hall of Fame: Steve Carlton

Steven Normann Carlton debuted with the St. Louis Cardinals as a 20-year-old in 1965 and by 1967 was a regular in the Cardinals rotation. An imposing 6'4" man with a hard fastball and slider, Carlton was soon known as an intimidating and dominant pitcher. Carlton enjoyed immediate success in St. Louis, posting winning records and reaching the World Series in 1967 and 1968. On September 15, 1969, Carlton struck out 19 New York Mets, while losing to the Mets, 4-3, setting the all-time modern-day record at that time for strikeouts in a nine-inning game. That season, he finished with a 17-11 record with a 2.17 ERA, second lowest in the NL, and 210 strikeouts. A contract dispute with the Cardinals made Carlton a no-show at spring training in 1970. He proceeded to go 10-19 with a 3.73 ERA, leading the NL in losses. He rebounded in 1971 by becoming a 20-game winner for the first time, going 20-9 with a 3.56 ERA.

Following a salary dispute, Cardinals owner Gussie Busch ordered Carlton traded. Eventually, he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies before the 1972 season for pitcher Rick Wise. The trade is now considered one of the most one-sided deals of the 1970s, as well as one of the worst trades in Cardinals history.

Carlton's first season with the Phillies was among the greatest a pitcher ever had. He led the league in wins (27), complete games (30), strikeouts (310), and ERA (1.97), despite playing for a team whose final record was 59-97. His 1972 performance earned him the Hickok Belt as the top professional athlete of the year. His having won 46% of his team's victories is a record in modern major league history when he won 27 games for the last-place (59-97) 1972 Phillies. He is still the last National League pitcher to win 25 or more games in one season. Carlton attributed his success to his grueling training regime, which included Eastern martial arts techniques, the most famous of which was twisting his fist to the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket of rice.

He started the 1972 campaign with 5 wins and 1 loss, then lost 5 games in a row, during which the Phillies scored only 10 runs. After the first third of the season, he was only 5-6. From this point on he began a famous 15 game winning streak. After finishing this winning streak with a record of 20-6, Steve finished the final third of the year with 7 more wins and 4 losses finishing the year with 27 wins and 10 losses. He completed 30 games.

During the 18 games of the streak (15 wins, 3 no decisions), Carlton pitched 155 innings, allowed 103 hits, 28 runs (only 17 in the winning games), issued 39 walks, and had 140 strike outs. From July 19, 1972 to August 13, 1972 he pitched six complete games, won six games, allowed only 1 earned run and had four shutouts. Over this period he pitched 56 innings allowing only one unearned run. Carlton had three pitches, a fastball, slider, and curve ball. Baseball commentators during 1972 regularly remarked that Steve's slider was basically unhittable.

Carlton slumped in 1973, losing 20 games. The media's open questioning of his unusual training techniques led to an acrimonious relationship between them and Carlton. He severed all ties with the media, refusing to answer press questions for the rest of his career with the Phillies. This reached a point where, in 1981, while the Mexican rookie Fernando Valenzuela was achieving stardom with the Los Angeles Dodgers, a reporter remarked, "The two best pitchers in the National League don't speak English: Fernando Valenzuela and Steve Carlton."

Carlton continued to enjoy many years of success with the Phillies, winning the Cy Young Award in 1972, 1977, 1980, and 1982, and pitching the Phillies to the best string of post-season appearances in club history. Carlton was the first pitcher to win four Cy Young Awards, a mark later matched by Greg Maddux, and exceeded by Roger Clemens and Randy Johnson. His Cy Young Award in 1972 was by unanimous vote, and he finished fifth in balloting for the National League MVP. Gradually the Phillies improved their team, and won the National League East three consecutive times from 1976-78. In 1980, Carlton helped the Phillies win their first World Series, personally winning the final game.

Carlton won a Gold Glove Award for his fielding in 1981, and helped the Phillies to another pennant in 1983.

Over a three year period between 1982-1984, Carlton was involved in an interesting pitching duel with Nolan Ryan, then of the Houston Astros, in which they often traded places at the top of the all-time strikeout list.

At the start of the 1982 season, the 55 year old mark of the great Walter Johnson still stood at 3,509 strikeouts, but now there were three pitchers who would start the season within 100 strikeouts of Johnson: Nolan Ryan (3,494), Gaylord Perry (3,452), and Carlton (3,434). Ryan would be the first to surpass Johnson on April 22, 1983 against the Montreal Expos. However a stint on the disabled list shortly after setting the record, combined with a spectacular season by Carlton, allowed him to make up ground rather quickly and on June 7, 1983, Carlton passed Ryan as the all time strikeout king with 3,526 to Ryan's 3,524. There would be a total of 14-lead changes and one tie that season, often after each of their respective starts. The season ended with Carlton leading 3,709-3,677. Gaylord Perry, aging and in his final season, was never a factor, although he did eventually pass Johnson to finish his career with 3,534 strikeouts. Since then five other pitchers have surpassed Johnson's mark and he has now plummeted to ninth place on the all time strikeout list.

There would be five more lead changes and a tie in 1984 before Carlton lost the lead for good. His last ever lead in the all-time strikeout race was after his start on September 4 1984 when he struck out four Cubs to lead Ryan by three (3,857-3,854). Although the season ended with a mere two-strikeout lead for Ryan (3,874-3,872), Carlton had an injury-plagued season in 1985 and an even worse season in 1986 before being released by the Phillies just 18 strikeouts short of 4,000. Carlton claims he never competed for the strikeout record with Ryan, would rather be remembered for the 329 games he won and his four Cy Young awards (Ryan won none) than the number of players he struck out, and claims Ryan's former teammate, Tom Seaver, was a better pitcher than Ryan, and "not just a thrower."

Lefty caught on with the San Francisco Giants, but pitched ineffectively except for seven shutout innings in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in which he also hit a 3-run homer for his only win as a Giant. He would pitch for the Giants just long enough to collect his 4,000th strikeout (against Eric Davis) before retiring. He went 1-3 with a 5.10 ERA in six games for the Giants. He did however break his self imposed boycott of the media, giving a press conference after signing with the Giants.

His retirement was brief. He almost immediately signed with the Chicago White Sox for the remainder of the 1986 season. He was surprisingly effective, going 4-3 with a respectable 3.69 ERA, but was not offered a contract for 1987.

Carlton caught on with the lowly Cleveland Indians in 1987, where his most notable achievement was teaming up with Phil Niekro in a game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium where they became the first teammates and 300-game winners to appear in the same game. Both were ineffective in a 10-6 Yankee victory. It would be his first and only pitching appearance in Yankee's Stadium, having spent the majority of his career in the National League before the inception of interleague play. He was selected to the 1977 National League All-Star team which was held in Yankee Stadium, but he didn't appear in the game.

He was traded to the Minnesota Twins, where he was again ineffective. He went a combined 6-14 with a 5.74 ERA for both the Indians and Twins in '87. However the Twins, who had been a bad team for most of the 1980s, would go on to a surprising win in the 1987 World Series. Carlton was left off of the postseason roster but earned him a third World Series ring and a trip to the White House to meet President Reagan with his teammates. When Carlton was photographed with his teammates at the White House, newspapers listed each member of the team with the exception of Carlton. Instead, Carlton was listed as an "unidentified Secret Service agent." The Twins brought him back in 1988 but he lasted only a month (0-1 16.76 ERA in four games) before the Twins released him.

Lefty attempted to find work in 1989 but found no takers. He retired for good after spending Spring Training at the Yankees camp. Nolan Ryan would pitch until 1993 and would extend his strikeout lead over Carlton to almost 1,600 before retiring. He would eventually fall to third and then fourth place on the all time strikeout list after Roger Clemens and Randy Johnson passed him.

A ten-time All-Star, Carlton led the league in many pitching categories. He struck out 4,136 batters in his career, setting a record for a left-handed pitcher (since surpassed by Randy Johnson), and holds many other records for both left-handed and Phillies pitchers. His 329 career wins are the eleventh most in baseball history, behind Greg Maddux, Roger Clemens, and Warren Spahn among pitchers of the live-ball era (post-1920).

Carlton picked 144 runners off base, by far the most in Major League Baseball since pickoff records began being collected in 1957. Jerry Koosman is second with 82.

Carlton was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994 with 96% of the vote, one of the highest percentages ever. The Phillies retired his number 32, and honored him with a statue outside Citizens Bank Park. In 1999, he ranked number 30 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was a nominee for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

Check out all of the Phightin' Phils Phorum Hall of Famers!

Year  Team   G    CG  SH     IP       H       K      W    L     ERA

1965	StL	15	0	0	25.0	27	21	0	0	2.52
1966	StL	9	2	1	52.0	56	25	3	3	3.12
1967	StL	30	11	2	193.0	173	168	14	9	2.98
1968	StL	34	10	5	231.2	214	162	13	11	2.99
1969	StL	31	12	2	236.1	185	210	7	11	2.17
1970	StL	34	13	2	253.2	239	193	10	19	3.73
1971	StL	37	18	4	273.1	275	172	20	9	3.56
1972	Phi	41	30	8	346.1	257	310	27	10	1.98
1973	Phi	40	18	3	293.1	293	223	13	20	3.90
1974	Phi	39	17	1	291.0	249	240	16	13	3.22
1975	Phi	37	14	3	255.1	217	192	15	14	3.56
1976	Phi	35	13	2	252.2	224	195	20	7	3.14
1977	Phi	36	17	2	283.0	229	198	23	10	2.64
1978	Phi	34	12	3	247.1	228	161	16	13	2.84
1979	Phi	35	13	4	251.0	202	213	18	11	3.62
1980	Phi	38	13	3	304.0	243	286	24	9	2.34
1981	Phi	24	10	1	190.0	152	179	13	4	2.42
1982	Phi	38	19	6	295.2	253	286	23	11	3.11
1983	Phi	37	8	3	283.2	277	275	15	16	3.11
1984	Phi	33	1	0	229.0	214	163	13	7	3.58
1985	Phi	16	0	0	92.0	84	48	1	8	3.33
1986	Ch Ph SF	32	0	0	176.1	196	120	9	14	5.10
1987	Cle Min	32	3	0	152.0	165	91	6	14	5.74
1988	Min	4	0	0	9.2	20	5	0	1	16.76
		G	CG	SH	IP	H	SO	W	L	ERA
24 Seasons		741	254	55	5217.1	4672	4136	329	244	3.21