Baseball’s season once was 154 games with two teams reaching the postseason -- the World Series. Today, 162 games, followed by a 12-team postseason (Wild Card Series, Division Series, League Championship Series and finally the World Series).
Constructing a World Series roster isn’t easy. The most successful thread is signing and developing a core. That can become cyclical.
Examining the Phillies’ clubs that reached the World Series ….
1915
Scouting staffs and Minor League systems didn’t exist. Big league clubs would sign players but most often obtain them from Minor League teams. The Phils’ first pennant winner featured three future Hall of Famers and the league’s home run leader. Sixth place in 1914; second in 1916.
RHP Grover Cleveland Alexander, triple crown winner (31 wins, 1.22 ERA, 247 K’s); a 1910 Rule 5 draft from Syracuse . . . LHP Eppa Rixey (11-12), signed as an amateur free agent . . . Rookie SS Dave Bancroft, .254; 2nd in the National League with 77 BB; 1914 Minor League trade with Portland . . . 34-year old Gavvy Cravath, 24 HR, 115 RBIs, NL tops; player to be named later in a 1911 trade. Oldest player on the team.
Played entire season with 23 players (14 position players; nine pitchers), a club record for fewest players.
1950
When the 1950 Phillies -- known as the Whiz Kids -- won the pennant, a dynasty was expected to follow because of their youthful talent. History shows it didn’t happen. Their best finish for the rest of the decade was third place -- once. Yet for generations of fans, the Whiz Kids were very popular.
Future Hall of Famers Richie Ashburn and Robin Roberts anchored a heavily home-grown club, including C Stan Lopata, 2B Mike Goliat, 3B Willie Jones, RF Del Ennis, SS Granny Hamner, LHP Curt Simmons, RHP Bob Miller and reserves INF Putsy Caballero, OFs Jackie Mayo and Dick Whitman. Simmons, a 17-game winner, was not on the World Series roster. His National Guard unit was activated that September.
Management tried to build around this core during the decade. The end finally came when Ashburn, Hamner and Jones were traded in 1959, Simmons was released in 1960 and Roberts’ contract was sold that fall.
1980
Home-grown players dominated the team that won the franchise’s first World Championship. Of that 25-man roster, 16 were signed and developed by the Phillies.
Mike Schmidt developed into the greatest third baseman in MLB history. Wall of Famers include Greg Luzinski, Bob Boone, Larry Bowa, Manny Trillo, and John Vukovich. Other home-grown players included pitchers Warren Brusstar, Marty Bystrom, Larry Christenson, Dickie Noles, Dick Ruthven, Kevin Saucier, Bob Walk, C/OF Keith Moreland, and OFs Lonnie Smith and George Vukovich.
A 55-day players’ strike in 1981 robbed the Phils from repeating. MLB decided to create a Division Series pitting the first-half champs (Phillies) against the second-half winners (Expos). Montreal won the series, 3-2. A breakup of the champs began before the ‘81 season with the sale of Luzinski to the White Sox.
1983
Nicknamed the “Wheeze Kids,” because everyone in the starting lineup was 30 or older but Von Hayes (24). The oldest players were Pete Rose (42), Joe Morgan (39), Tony Perez (41), Steve Carlton (38) and Ron Reed (40).
Schmidt and Carlton were among six players from that 1980 team (Bystrom, Greg Gross, Garry Maddox and Reed).
Six homegrown players were Charles Hudson, Bystrom, Willie Hernandez, Ozzie Virgil Jr., Juan Samuel and Bob Dernier. A fourth-place finish in 1984.
1993
Along came a bunch that had more nicknames, mostly unflattering, “throwbacks,” “misfits,” “rejects,” “outlaws,” “wild," “crazy."
In the end, they were called the National League champions. After a last-place finish in 1992, they led all season long. A magical season ended in a Game 6 loss in the World Series. For the first time ever, the Phillies reached 3 million in attendance.
GM Lee Thomas did an unbelievable job of building the club through trades and free agency. None of the 10 pitchers were homegrown. Only players signed and developed were C Darren Daulton, 2B Mickey Morandini, SS Kevin Stocker and two reserves, Ricky Jordan and Kim Batiste.
A repeat in 1994 never materialized. They finished fourth (54-61) in a season cut short by a player strike that also canceled the World Series
2008
The core of this club was homegrown: Carlos Ruiz, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Pat Burrell, Cole Hamels, Brett Myers, Kyle Kendrick and Ryan Madson. J.A. Happ replaced Kendrick on the WS roster.
The result: five straight Red Octobers, a 2008 World Series championship and, for the first time in franchise history, a second consecutive pennant. Greatest postseason run in franchise history.
2009
Missing from the WS champion roster was homegrown Burrell, a free agent after the Broad Street parade in which he rode on the Budweiser wagon.
97 and 102 wins the next two seasons were followed by postseason eliminations (2010 NLCS and 2011 NLDS).
Howard, Utley and Rollins are undisputedly the greatest Phillies players in their respective positions. That being the case, you ride those horses as long as you can. Injuries and baseball age finally caught up. Rollins (35) departed after the 2014 season and Utley (36) in August of the next season. Howard (36) spent all 13 seasons in the Majors with the Phils. His ending was the final game in 2016.
2022
After 11 seasons of no Red Octobers, the drought ended with a trip to the World Series. The roster included 26 players.
This core was formed largely by trades (Jean Segura, J.T. Realmuto, David Robertson, Zach Eflin, Kyle Gibson, José Alvarado, Brandon Marsh, Nick Nelson, Edmundo Sosa, Garrett Stubbs, Noah Syndergaard) and free agents (Zack Wheeler, Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Nick Castellanos, Brad Hand, Andrew Bellatti). Homegrown products included Aaron Nola, Ranger Suárez, Rhys Hoskins, Bryson Stott, Alec Bohm, Seranthony Domínguez, Matt Vierling, Connor Brogdon, Nick Maton).
2022 was the first of four consecutive postseason appearances, second-longest streak in franchise history. Another trip to the World Series remains elusive.