The Top Phillies of All Time and How You Can Be One
Let’s take a quick break from looking at the latest updates and reminiscing about the 2008 Phillies and the amazing season that year. We’ve had great players, amazing historic moments and a lot of milestones over the years. In this article, however, we are going to look back at some of the best Phillies of all time and how you can start your journey to becoming one too.
Mike Schmidt
It’s hard to argue with this one; Mike Schmidt is definitely one of the best – if not THE – best first and third baseman we have ever had. Born on the 27th of September, 1949, Schmidt joined the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2nd round of the 1971 amateur draft. He spent his first two years playing in the Phillies’ contracted farm team and was called to be part of the main team in 1972.
As a twelve-time All Star and having won three National League championship trophies, Schmidt was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1995. Until today, many believe that he was the best third baseman the league has ever seen.
Schmidt’s signature batting style is rather unique. He normally stood further back and turned his back towards the pitcher. The same unique batting stance was what made it difficult to beat him on the field.
Chase Utley
He was, quite simply, one of the players who brought Philadelphia its 2008 World Series win. Chase Utley joined the main Philadelphia Phillies team in 2003 and has since left quite a mark. He filled the position of second baseman and was often switched to the first base, showing his immense ability in the process.
Utley is also a six-time All Star and has one World Series trophy under his belt, winning it with the Phillies during the 2008 series mentioned earlier. Anyone who saw his major league debut on April 4, 2003, saw a historic moment all of us fans will always remember.
It is also worth mentioning that Utley played for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. In fact, he was chosen to start as the second baseman for the National League.
Ed Delahanty
We had a bit of a debate trying to find the right player to feature in this last entry of our list, but we decided to go with Ed Delahanty, also known as Big Ed, for a few important reasons. For starters, Big Ed is one of the players who reminds us of the Phillies long history. He was drafted as a rookie in the late 1880s and was quickly signed as a main player as the 1888 season started.
He currently holds the fifth-highest batting average, and batted over .400 several times – three to be exact – in his career. We really can’t look back at the Phillies’ history without remembering Big Ed and the amazing stories behind his career with the team.
Today, there are a lot of opportunities to join the Phillies. You can be drafted as a rookie or get the attention of the team’s scouts by getting an athletic scholarship. Sites like athletes-usa.com can help you get started with a scholarship. Want to join these legendary players? Make that first step and you might just make it.
