Good thing Steve Carlton refused to speak with reporters about his pitching excellence through much of his career. Otherwise we might never hear the end of it. Carlton ranked among baseball’s elite for more than a decade. He became the first pitcher to win four Cy Young Awards, capturing the

What are the five best individual seasons by a player in Phillies history? Well, it depends on the criteria. If we wanted, Mike Schmidt’s five best seasons could make the list. Or maybe some combination of Schmidt and Dick Allen, anyway. But that would be no fun. So we came

PHILADELPHIA -- The Hall of Fame unveiled its 2021 ballot on Monday, which has several players with strong and not-so-strong Phillies ties. The strong ties include Curt Schilling and Scott Rolen. The ballot got MLB.com wondering about the best players from every team not in the Hall of Fame. Here

PHILADELPHIA -- The Phillies played their inaugural season in 1883, meaning they are one of baseball's oldest franchises. Still, they have retired only five numbers in that time. Well, seven, if you include Grover Cleveland Alexander and Chuck Klein. Alexander never wore a number with the Phillies, so the Phillies

PHILADELPHIA -- The Phillies have had their share of Hall of Famers over the years. They have had their share of National League MVP Award winners, NL Cy Young Award winners and All-Stars, too. Some like Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton, Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard are unforgettable. They

What are the five best individual seasons by a pitcher in Phillies history? Well, it depends on the criteria. If we wanted, it could be a list with only Steve Carlton’s and Grover Cleveland Alexander’s best seasons. But what is the fun in that? So we came up with two

PHILADELPHIA -- Maybe real Phillies fans will replace cardboard cutouts and artificial crowd noise at Citizens Bank Park in 2021. If they do, fire up the deep fryers at Federal Donuts. MLB.com’s top 10 moments in Citizens Bank Park history would not have been the same without fans in the

If you peruse Baseball Reference long enough, you might stumble onto the Phillies’ franchise page. The Phillies played their inaugural season in the National League in 1883, but according to the site they were known as the Quakers through '89. It is interesting then that the Phillies are sometimes called

The Phillies retired Dick Allen’s No. 15 in 2020, a high honor to recognize a great player. It got us wondering about the best players to wear every number in Phillies history. Here is our stab at it: 0: Al Oliver He played only 28 games for the 1984 Phillies,

PHILADELPHIA -- The best trade in Phillies history is easy: Steve Carlton from the Cardinals for Rick Wise. There is no argument there. None. But what about the other top trades in franchise history? That gets a little complicated. Does Roy Halladay slot ahead of Curt Schilling and Jim Bunning?

We recently wrote about the top five individual seasons by players and pitchers in Phillies history. The lists included familiar names like Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton, Dick Allen and Roy Halladay. The exercise got us wondering about the greatest individual seasons in franchise history by position, so we took a

When Fernando Tatis Jr. signed a 14-year extension worth $340 million with the Padres in February, it set a new standard for the longest pact in MLB history. Tatis' megadeal was followed by Francisco Lindor's 10-year, $341 million extension with the Mets, Wander Franco's 11-year, $182 million extension with the

Here is a look at the first player the Phillies selected in every Draft (specifically, the Rule 4 Draft -- typically in June) since 1965:

PHILADELPHIA -- The Phillies are scheduled to play the Braves on Opening Day on April 1 at Citizens Bank Park. Here are five of the most memorable moments in Phillies’ Opening Day history: 1. April 5, 2010: Halladay’s debut In perhaps the most highly anticipated Opening Day in franchise history,

PHILADELPHIA -- The best teams do not always win the World Series. Case in point: the Phillies. Here is a look back at the five best regular seasons in franchise history: 1. 2011 The Phillies won a franchise-record 102 games behind arguably the greatest rotation in baseball history. The greatest?

PHILADELPHIA -- The Phillies’ two most successful eras in franchise history started because they drafted and developed well. From 1976-83, the Phils won one World Series, two National League pennants and five NL East titles. They won 101 games in both ‘76 and ‘77. From 2007-11, Philadelphia won one World

The Phillies will open their 75th Spring Training in Clearwater, Fla., next week. It is a place every Phillies fan should visit at least once. “Most of us feel like it’s a second home,” the late Paul Owens told The Tampa Tribune in 1996. “It’s always been a good relationship,

PHILADELPHIA -- “Field of Dreams” made Moonlight Graham famous because he appeared in one game for the 1905 New York Giants and never played again. But what made Graham’s story truly special is that he never hit. He entered the game as a late-inning defensive replacement and finished it standing

PHILADELPHIA -- I get plenty of feedback on these top five lists. Namely, how could you leave this player/pitcher/moment/game off it? Are you an idiot or something? The debate is what makes these lists fun. Here is our latest top five: greatest debut seasons in Phillies history. It includes any

PHILADELPHIA -- Sometimes baseball is a family business. Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola’s brother Austin plays for the Padres, for example. Ruben Amaro Sr. and Ruben Amaro Jr. each played for the Phillies. Bob Boone was the second in a three-generation baseball bloodline. David Bell was the third. Jayson Werth’s grandfather

PHILADELPHIA -- Last week, MLB.com took a look at the five greatest single-game hitting performances in Phillies history. This week we present the top five pitching performances. Tell us where we went wrong. 1. Roy Halladay (Oct. 6, 2010) Halladay’s no-hitter in Game 1 of the 2010 National League Division

PHILADELPHIA -- What makes the greatest single-game performance by a player in Phillies history? It is a mix of the objective (lots of hits, preferably home runs) and the subjective (a big day by a lesser-known player does not outweigh a big day by a Hall of Famer or All-Star).

PHILADELPHIA -- Quick, what are the best nicknames in Phillies history? The bet here is that almost everybody’s list is different because everybody has different memories and criteria. Should a top nickname be one that includes a player’s actual name (i.e. J-Roll)? Should it be unique? Steve Carlton is famously

Dave Dombrowski has never been afraid of making a big splash. Over more than 30 years running front offices, Dombrowski has pulled off one blockbuster trade after another, whether he's been buying, selling or swapping established players. Now he is bringing that extensive history with him to Philadelphia, which officially

PHILADELPHIA -- MLB’s annual Rule 5 Draft was Thursday, with the Phillies selecting Yankees shortstop Kyle Holder 11th overall. The organization has made its share of Rule 5 picks over the years. Philadelphia selected Hall of Fame right-hander Grover Cleveland Alexander in 1910 (though the rules behind the Rule 5