The Phillies Nation Top 100: #58 Terry Mulholland
The Phillies Nation Top 100 continues today with #58. Our mission is to assess the Top 100 Phillies players of all time using impact to the Phillies, individual achievement, team achievement, traditional stats, and analytics as our criteria. The list was compiled by Ian Riccaboni and Pat Gallen with input from the rest of the Phillies Nation staff.
From this point forward, each weekday, we will reveal two Phillies from the PN Top 100 in separate posts. To view the 2008 iteration of the list of Greatest Phillies of All Time as compiled by Tim Malcolm, please click here.
Please check back this afternoon for #57.
Years: 1989-1993, 1996
62-57, 3.81 ERA, 1.230 WHIP in 1070.1 IP
Previous Rank: 55 (-3)
fWAR Phillies Rank: 18th among pitchers, 58th among Phillies
Signature Moment: Pitched a no-hitter, facing the minimum 27 batters, on August 15, 1990 against the San Francisco Giants
Signature Season: Started the All-Star Game in Camden Yards in 1993 for the Phillies
Signature Record: Picked off 15 base runners in 1992
The pride of Uniontown, PA, Mulholland joined the Phillies on June 18, 1989 in a fortuitous trade that sent Mulholland, Charlie Hayes, and Dennis Cook from San Francisco to Philadelphia for Steve Bedrosian. Mulholland, a former first round pick, would pay dividends instantly for the slowly improving Phils. Mulholland would win 54 games in his first four-plus seasons with the Phillies. Those 54 wins include a very special win: a 1990 no-hitter against the San Francisco Giants where Mulholland faced the minimum 27 hitters. The only base runner reached on a Charlie Hayes error but would be retired in a double play.
Mulholland would be a key pitcher on the 1993 pennant-winning squad, winning 12 games with a then-career low 3.25 ERA and 1.132 WHIP. His performance earned him the nod as the starting pitcher for the National League in the All-Star game. Although Mulholland would earn the winning decision in Game 2 of the 1993 World Series, Mulholland struggled in the postseason, posting a 6.89 ERA and .375 OBP-against in 15.2 IP across three starts. Mulholland exited Game 6 down 5-1. The Phillies would pull ahead 6-5 but ultimately lose the game and the series.
Mulholland would return for a cup of coffee in 1996 before being dealt to Seattle for Desi Relaford. Mulholland’s ability to keep runners of the basepaths has him ranked 25th among Phillies starters all-time in WHIP and 13th among qualified/applicable starters in BB%.
(Edit: In my haste to complete this entry, I was neglected to include his not-soon-to-be-broken club record of 15 runners picked off in 1992. From 1992 through 2006, Mulholland would allow only 14 steals across 1,718 innings.)