Phillies Alumni: '3' anniversary seasons: Part one
Is it true that good things come in threes? Bryce Harper, No. 3, won the National League MVP Award in his third season with the Phillies, becoming the third MVP winner for the club this century and putting him within striking distance of the franchise's record-holder for MVP Awards, Mike Schmidt, who garnered (drum roll) three such awards during his Hall of Fame career. As a team, the Phillies will put this “three” theory to the test this year (2023). How'd the club fare in their previous "three" anniversaries? Part I of a two-part series takes a look at the club's first eight seasons that ended in a "three."
It all began 140 years ago. A one-column headline on page eight of the May 2 Philadelphia Inquirer:
PROVIDENCE WINS
The Philadelphias Lose Their First Championship Game
1883
Yes, the “Philadelphias” first National League game is on May 1, a 4-3 loss to the Providence Grays at Recreation Park before an estimated crowd of 1,000. Left fielder Blondie Purcell gets the franchise’s first hit and scores the first run. He singles to left-center in the first inning and eventually scores on a groundout. After 17 games (4-13 record), the 29-year-old Purcell replaces Bob Ferguson as manager.
The first win comes after eight losses, 12-1, at Chicago, May 14. The 0-8 start, final record (17-81) and percentage (.172) are all club records that have withstood time. Oh, a 0-13 road trip also remains the franchise’s worst. Not a very solid foundation on which to build.
John Coleman, a 20-year-old right-hander, sets club records that will never be broken: 61 starts, 59 complete games, 48 losses, 538 innings pitched. But, hey, he singled in his second start which happened to be the next game. So, he’s the franchise’s first pitcher to get a hit!
By the way, pitchers were required to throw underhanded (overhanded began in 1884).
1893
72-57-4 (ties), 4th place; manager Harry Wright; attendance, 293,019, 1st in the 12-team league
MLB moves pitching mound from 50 feet to 60 feet, 6 inches to bolster the offense ... Phillies outfield of Billy Hamilton (.380), Sam Thompson (.370) and Ed Delahanty (.368) finishes 1-2-3 in the NL ... Delahanty leads NL in home runs (19), RBIs (146), total bases (347) and slugging percentage (.583) ... Thompson becomes first Phillies player with 200+ hits (league-leading 222) ... Little known P-OF John Sharrott leads the NL in pinch-hits, two (The Official Rules of Baseball Illustrated). Most simple explanation for only two pinch-hits, pinch-hitters were seldom used.
1903
49-86-4, 7th place; manager Chief Zimmer; attendance, 151,729, 7th in eight-team league.
Twelve fans are killed and 232 injured on Aug. 6 after they crowded a balcony in the left-field bleachers to watch a neighborhood fire, causing the wooden structure to collapse. During the reconstruction period, the Phillies move to Columbia Park, home of the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League, for 16 games (Phillies Encyclopedia) ... RHP Chick Fraser no-hits the Cubs in Chicago, 10-0, Game 2 of a doubleheader. He walks five and survives a defense that commits four errors ... RHP Bill Duggleby allows 17 runs, a club record that still stands, in a 17-7 whipping at Cincinnati, Game 1 of a doubleheader, Sept. 19 ... RHP Fred Mitchell sets a club record which has been matched once by walking 12 vs. Brooklyn, July 27. Hits 19 batters to set another club record for a season. And he leads the staff with 17 wild pitches ... Manager Zimmer leaves after the season to become an umpire.
1913
88-63-8, 2nd place; manager Red Dooin; attendance, 470,000, 2nd in eight-team league. Second-most wins in franchise history and second second-place finish. Two years later, the first pennant.
Club leads NL on June 25 while the Philadelphia Athletics are atop the American League. Closest ever for an All-Philadelphia World Series. (A’s win pennant and WS) ... Roy (Doc) Miller has 20 pinch-hits, a club record that stood until 2008 (Greg Dobbs, 22). Post-career Miller was a doctor in New York City (skin disease and cancer specialist). A Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductee (2009) ... Hans Lobert steals 41 bases, most ever by a Phillies third baseman ... Pitching staff has seven 1-0 wins, a club record that still stands ... Phillies' 73 homers lead the league.
1923
50-104-1, 8th place; manager Art Fletcher; attendance, 228,168, 8th.
CF Cy Williams drives in 44 runs in May, still a club record for that month. His NL-leading 41 homers set a club record for a CF as are his 114 RBIs ... Philadelphia native Lefty Weinert hits .322, highest batting average ever for a Phillies pitcher.
1933
60-92, 8th place; manager Burt Shotton; attendance, 156,421, 8th.
RF Chuck Klein and SS Dick Bartell start in the first All-Star Game, Comiskey Park, Chicago ... Klein wins NL batting title, .368; hits three home runs in a doubleheader twice, an unmatched club record; is franchise’s lone triple crown winner, .368, 28 homers and 120 RBIs ... Despite Klein’s lofty numbers he finishes second to LHP Carl Hubbell in MVP voting in a bid for back-to-back Awards ... Harry McCurdy draws 16 walks as a pinch-hitter, unmatched until Matt Stairs in 2009 ... Phillies' 112 homers lead the league.
On the verge of bankruptcy during the Great Depression, owner Gerald Nugent had no choice but to unload his most valuable player to help satisfy the club’s debts. Klein is traded to the Cubs for three players and $65,000 in cash, Nov. 21.
1943
64-90-3, 7th place; managers Bucky Harris, Freddie Fitzsimmons; attendance, 466,975, 6th.
William Cox purchases the Phillies as Spring Training is about to begin. After being called “Phils” the previous season, Cox announces the team would officially be called “Phillies” again. Cox is banned from baseball at the end of the season for betting on his team. The Carpenter family purchases the club in November for a reported $400,000. By the way, the Phillies were also sold in 1903 and 1913.
Teams are required to hold Spring Training in the north because of World War II. The Phillies open Spring Training on March 18 in Hershey, PA, using the high school field for practice and the arena as a clubhouse.
The first All-Star night game is played at Shibe Park, July 13. NL 5, AL 3.
1953
83-71-2, 3rd; manager Steve O’Neill; attendance, 853,644, 4th.
LHP Curt Simmons allows a single to the lead-off hitter (Bill Bruton) and retires the next 27 at Milwaukee Braves, May 16, a Phillies first. A week later he is sidelined for a month when he cuts off the end of one of his toes while mowing the lawn ... 2B Connie Ryan has six hits in six at-bats (April 16), still a club record ... Robin Roberts (23-16) earns Major League Pitcher of the Year (Cy Young Award didn't exist) ... Four Phillies are on the NL All-Star team: Simmons, Roberts, Richie Ashburn and Granny Hamner.
(Part II, will include 1963 to 2023).