Philly Fluke

Part 3 of a four-part series on the 1993 Phillies

 

How the hell were they so good?!

I tried to search online for any other “one-hit wonder” MLB teams, but the only results were articles/posts about players who had one good season. A deeper search revealed that the Kansas City Royals had just one winning season between 1994 and 2013, which came in 2003, but they finished just four games over .500 that year. That’s quite different from a pennant-winning campaign. The 1993 Phillies were an anomaly of historic proportions, and I will try to explain how that happened.

For context, we need to look at 1992. The Phillies limped their way through a 70-92 season, but they were actually significantly better than that record. On the offensive side, they placed second in the National League in runs and third in home runs. The nucleus of Lenny Dykstra, John Kruk and Darren Daulton was already established, and Dave Hollins emerged as well. The ’92 team also had two solid starting pitchers in Terry Mulholland and Curt Schilling. The front office definitely had foundation from which to build heading into 1993.

A fair amount of luck was involved as well. The Pittsburgh Pirates dismantled their powerhouse team, and the Atlanta Braves were still a year away from joining a realigned NL East. As far as the pundits were concerned, the division was up for grabs, but no one was predicting a first-place finish from the ragtag Phillies.

The best way to describe the 1993 season is that the Phillies entered what I’m labeling a “Trisection of Success.” That year, the team was comprised of three different groups: new players, players who had their career year and players in their last full season. This flash-in-the-pan bunch brought all the right ingredients together at once.

The organization was busy in the offseason, adding an incredible six players who all had key roles during the ’93 season: starting pitcher Danny Jackson, outfielders Jim Eisenreich, Milt Thompson and Pete Incaviglia and relief pitchers David West and Larry Andersen, the latter two providing desperately-needed stability to the bullpen. The Phillies don’t win the division without those six guys, and they not only produced, but they bought into the crazy clubhouse culture. The 40-year-old Andersen and his unique sense of humor fit in particularly well with a group that was notorious for its practical jokes and hijinks.

West joined a group of career-year players that included Dykstra, Mulholland, Tommy Greene and Ben Rivera. With the latter three excelling at once, you suddenly had the most stable starting pitching rotation in baseball. Not only did all five starters reach double-digit wins (no Phillies team had done that since 1932, and no other team did that in ‘93), but they all had winning records and each recorded at least one shutout. They also led the league in complete games with 24, and the pitching staff as a whole placed first in strikeouts with 1,117. That alone is mind boggling, and I haven’t even talked about the offense yet.

The ’93 Phillies, likely more by accident than design, produced numbers championed by Bill James nearly 10 years before Billy Beane’s “Moneyball” A’s changed the baseball landscape. They led the NL in runs, walks, doubles, on-base percentage, on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) and OPS+. They also led the league in home runs for most of the season before a power drought in September. Walks were the hallmark of the offense. This team walked A LOT. The Phillies’ 665 walks were well above the runner-up Cardinals’ 588. Not even a pitcher like Greg Maddux, known for his surgeon-like precision, made it through a game against this lineup without surrendering a free pass or two.

A big reason for the Phillies’ base-on-balls prowess was that their lineup of mostly left-handed batters did not fall victim to a trap typically laid for lefty hitters - the breaking ball low and away (a trap Ryan Howard fell for more and more as his career progressed). You could almost see Kruk and Daulton give smirking, ‘nice try’ expressions as they’d watch those breaking balls fall harmlessly into the catcher’s glove out of the strike zone. The ’93 Phillies set a National League record, becoming the first team to feature three players - Dykstra, Kruk and Daulton - with at least 100 walks.

No one knew it at the time, but 1993 also wound up being the last hurrah for several players. Dykstra, Kruk, Daulton, Greene, Rivera and Mitch Williams never played a full season again after 1993, and Hollins didn't until after he was traded in 1995. Another major reason for the team’s success was that no one spent significant time on the Disabled List (now known as the Injured List). You could even see during that year how the season might have unfolded without that stability. The Phils hit a bad stretch in the early summer at the same time that Hollins and Mariano Duncan were injured, and their other dip in mid-September happened when Mulholland was shelved. No one denies the amazing team chemistry that group had, but they needed all 25 guys healthy to succeed, and for the most part, that’s what they got.

One last thing I will say about the ’93 team is that man, did those players hustle! Up and down that lineup, guys constantly took the extra base, especially in the first half of the season. It got to a point when if there was a runner on second, he was going home on a single, no matter what, and he made it nearly every time. That’s why they wore pitchers out all year. They’d work deep counts, draw walks and fly around the bases. It was so much fun to watch.

It’s a shame that the Phillies’ moment in the spotlight was so brief. Even if the 1994 season hadn’t ended in August with the strike, the Expos and Braves would have battled for the division title, leaving everyone else in the dust. The 1995 Phillies gave fans a thrill with a 37-18 start, but a pitching rotation full of rookies and a collection of position players well past their prime could not sustain that success. It was clear that the team had to break down and start again.

At least we had 1993. Had everything not come together just right, it could have easily been 15 straight years of losing seasons. The long-suffering fans got a brief respite, and I believe we’re all the better for it. I certainly know that I am.

Hell of a Week

This may very well be my last post on Red Pinstripe Explosion. While I don't doubt my abilities as a writer in general, I have come to the realization that most of my musings on the Philadelphia Phillies were little more than glorified summaries of what fans already knew. I'll resign myself to the experts who are much more eloquent and dedicated in their knowledge of Major League Baseball. Oddly enough, the following has nothing to do with the big leagues.

As most of you know, I am leaving the sports writing world behind and entering the non-profit field, but my job at the Gettysburg Times saw fit to reward me with a nice sendoff; a reminder of what made this position I held for three-and-a-half years so special.

The magical high school baseball season of 2010 notwithstanding, June is the time of the year when things really slow down at the office. Our coverage mainly consists of American Legion and South Penn League baseball games (for those who don't know, the latter is a local nine-team, men's league).

I recently experienced a unique stretch consisting of four Legion and two South Penn contests over an eight-day period, and they reopened my eyes to the wonderful randomness of baseball. In nearly every game, I saw something I had never before witnessed, and I stumbled upon a few cool story lines. I now happily share them with you:

June 13 & 15 - Hanover's Legion team laughed in the face of conventional offense in back-to-back wins over Bermudian and Dallastown. In the two games combined, Hanover scored 18 runs and a whopping 10 of them were scored on either wild pitches, passed balls or sacrifice flies. Numerous walks and stolen bases came into play here as well. In the 14-3 win over Bermudian, Hanover had just seven hits, four of which came in one inning. The team took an early 8-0 lead on the strength of just two hits, both from the No. 9 hole guy. I've never been so confused looking at my own scorebook.

June 14 - The Cashtown Pirates beat the Biglerville Black Sox 1-0 in an unlikely South Penn pitchers' duel. Cashtown starter Paul Price was still getting used to longer outings again after spending his college freshman season as a freqently-used reliever. The deeper he went into this game, however, the better he looked. After giving up two hits in the first inning, he held the Sox hitless the rest of the way, striking out 11 (6 from the 5th inning on) and walking just one. Even more impressive, however, was the gutsy performance by Biglerville pitcher Kyle Knouse, who hadn't ascended a mound in nearly a year, and did so at the last minute because no other pitchers were available. He spent most of the outing pitching out of the stretch through pain in his throwing arm, but he allowed only one run to score on an RBI single in the fourth inning. His defense helped him out with some great plays, including the lovely, but seldom seen 5-2-3 double play. One of those games where you're sorry one of the teams has to lose.

June 18 - Unless you're the 2010 Bermudian Springs Eagles (they made an art out of crushing first-pitch fastballs), if you don't work the count, you're going to lose. New Oxford's Legion team, mostly made up of sophomore JV players due to Senior Week, learned this painful lesson through the first six innings of its game against Bermudian. The players were facing a 3-1 deficit going into the seventh and final inning. They hadn't drawn their first walk until the sixth and had worked just one three-ball count in the previous five innings. It was now up to the No. 8 and 9 hitters to laugh in the face of their team's nearly-evaporated win expectancy. Low and behold, they each got on with a base on balls. Bill James had finally coaxed the players into removing the gun barrel from their collective temple. However, they then shot sabermetrics in the foot with a bunt attempt that got the lead runner thrown out at third. Lucky for them, it was only the first out. During the following at-bat, Bermudian's reliever threw THREE STRAIGHT wild pitches that allowed the tying runs to score. The batter then tripled to deep right and trotted home with what proved to be the winning run on a throwing error. Baseball, don't ever institute a timer! As an interesting side note, this game was the first time I had seen the losing pitcher on the mound since he pitched that very same 2010 Bermudian team into the state finals.

June 20 - We're all taught from a very young age that sportsmanship and dignity are essential components to a successful team. Sure, heated moments can pop up, but when all is done, you shake hands and congratulate the other team on a game well played. In this particular Legion game, however, one player decided to use his hands to express himself in quite a different way. I can say with both certainty and relief that I will never see another thing like this on a baseball diamond. It was the top of the fifth inning and Glen Rock was pounding Hanover 11-1 and threatening for more with the bases loaded and two outs. The next batter up hit a grounder to the third baseman. After he fielded it, he pivoted toward home for what should have been an inning-ending forceout, but instead he hit the baserunner in the back. It was such a bizarre event that I didn't even realize it was intentional. The home plate umpire did and tossed the aggressor. His ejection forced a premature end to this blowout because Hanover had no substitutions left. The players on both sides had to shake hands with a mix of resentment and incompletion. Maybe I'm crazy, but there are more mature ways of handling conflict than throwing a baseball at someone while his back is turned. Pure Bush League, man. I must admit as journalist, though, it turned a nothing story into something.

June 21 - Even if it is more common at this level, a no-hitter is a remarkable achievement and such a thrill to watch. In this South Penn contest, New Oxford Twins pitcher Charlie Werner was in total control from start to finish, and his secret was really no secret at all: keep the ball down. He had Littlestown's hitters biting at his fastball all evening. He struck out just three batters, while 14 of hits 21 outs came on the ground. His middle infielders showed impressive range and accuracy, while his left fielder made the play of the night, chasing down a blooper in shallow left that was fading toward the line for the first out of the sixth inning. It was the first no-hitter of Werner's life and even more amazing, he pitched with a cold and before this season, he was New Oxford's starting catcher.

This crazy game of baseball always keeps me on my toes, and it's without the doubt the sport I'll miss writing about the most when I leave Gettysburg in a few days for greener pastures. Then again, I will always have this blog to come back to if the urge becomes overwhelming. Thank you so much for reading and I apologize for this post's crazy length. I guess that's what happens when you don't write a true one for several months. I hope you all have found it entertaining and insightful! Until next time.

Schmidt or Roberts?

Sorry to my readers for the overload of posts today, but this is one I've been holding for a few weeks. I decided against running it as a column in my paper, and it was ignored by a blogging site, so I'll share it with all of you now. We're no longer preoccupied with the Trade Deadline, and I think this is an interesting topic over which to mull. Enjoy.

Earlier this year, Bob Costas conducted an interview with Phillies great Dick Allen. As predicted, Costas asked him all about playing during the turbulent 1960s, the controversy he often stirred up as an outspoken athlete and his reputation for hitting tape-measure blasts.

At the end of the interview, Allen gave his opinion on who he thought the better Phillie was, Robin Roberts or Mike Schmidt. It’s generally an unfair comparison between a pitcher and position player, but much like he did during his playing days, Allen gave the controversial answer when he said Roberts. Costas pressed him on that briefly, but Allen simply replied that Roberts took the mound for nine innings every time out and dominated hitters.

In retrospect, Allen’s opinion is understandable, considering that he played when Roberts was already a pitching legend and Schmidt wasn’t on the map yet. It’s not surprising Allen would defer to the elder Hall of Famer.

But who really was a greater Phillie?

Several Top Ten Phillies lists found online all rank Schmidt higher than Roberts, though lists like that always tend to favor hitters over pitchers. Schmidt also helped Philadelphia to win its first-ever World Series title, and he added three MVP awards and numerous Gold Gloves. To be fair, Roberts guided Philly to its first World Series in 35 years in 1950, and the Gold Glove and Cy Young awards didn’t exist during his prime.

The only way to truly compare a pitcher and a hitter from two different eras is to see how they match up with their top contemporaries. Roberts’ were likely Warren Spahn and Whitey Ford, while Schmidt’s top competition were fellow third basemen Brooks Robinson and Darrell Evans.

Roberts was widely considered the best pitcher in baseball from 1950-1955, but his career ERA of 3.41 was significantly higher than Spahn (3.09) or Ford (2.75). His winning percentage was also the worst of the three, but he also had the lowest run support.

Allen wasn’t exaggerating about Roberts’ durability. He led the league in innings pitched for five straight years, and his 346 2/3 innings in 1953 are second-most by a Hall of Fame pitcher in a single season after World War II. He threw more than 300 innings in a season six times.

However, Spahn managed to pitch at a high level later into his career. He only threw more than 300 innings in a season twice, but he was still easily cracking the 200-inning mark into his 40s. Spahn pitched more seasons and innings than Roberts, while allowing 71 fewer home runs. That was perhaps Roberts’ biggest drawback; he wasn’t a ground-ball pitcher. He also never struck out 200 batters in a season – not as dominant as Allen originally suggested.

Saber-metrically speaking, one aspect of pitching that Roberts did dominate throughout his career was control. Though Ford posted the highest career strikeout rate of 5.6 per nine innings, Roberts’ strikeout per walk rate of 2.61 was far ahead of Ford and Spahn, who both posted a 1.8 mark. Roberts had the best WHIP (1.17) among the three, and his BB/9 rate of 1.7 is ranked 45th all-time and ninth among Hall of Fame pitchers.

Those final numbers help Roberts’ case, but Schmidt’s comparisons to Robinson and Evans aren’t nearly as hazy.

Robinson, dubbed “The Human Vacuum Cleaner,” was a better fielding third baseman than Schmidt, with a higher career range factor and fielding percentage, but Schmidt trumps the other two in nearly every offensive category. Phillies fans know about his 548 home runs, but Schmidt’s career OPS of .908 ranks 27th all-time among Hall of Fame hitters. Schmidt also set all-time team marks in runs, hits, RBI, walks and total bases.

According to the numbers, you can make an argument for and against Roberts’ superiority over his peers, but Schmidt was clearly the best. He also played during one of the organization’s most successful periods, further brightening his spotlight.

Sorry, Dick, looks like you got this one wrong. The best pitcher in baseball for a brief time doesn’t compare to arguably the best hitting third baseman in history, regardless of the discrepancy between pitching every fourth day and playing every day. Maybe Costas should have asked Allen’s opinion about a more sensible pitcher-hitter comparison like Schmidt and Steve Carlton. I put it to all of you to hash that one out.