25-21

The 25 Greatest Phillies Sluggers 20 - 16.

 #20 Lefty O'Doul.

Career With Phillies:  

54 homeruns(49) 219 RBIs(93)

Best Season:
1929 - 398 BA. 32 homeruns 122 RBI

Memorable Feats of Strength:
- 04/18/29 - 04/23/29 homers off Larry
Benton in back to back at bats in the bottom of the
9th of 1 game and the top of the 1st of Benton's next start 5 days later.

The story of Francis Jospeh "Lefty" O'doul ranks among the most interesting in MLB history. He actually began his career as a relief pitcher and not a very good one with just 1 win and a career 4.87 ERA. over 34 games for the Yankees and Red Sox from 1919 to 1923. He was then sent back to the minors and converted to a powerhitting outfielder. It was not until 1928 at age 31 that he reemerged in the majors with the New York Giants. Platooning in left he batted .319 with 113 hits in 114 games, including 8 homeruns. Apparently that was good enough for New York which traded him to the Phillies before the 1929 season. In 1929 and 1930 he gave the Phillies two of the greatest seasons in franchise history. In 1929 he batted a league leading and Phillies modern record .398 with 32 homeruns and 122 RBI and a still National League record 254 hits, while striking out just 19 times. In 1930 he batted .383 with 22 homeruns, 97 RBIs , 202 hits, and just 21 strikeouts. Unfortunately the cash strapped Phillies were forced to trade him away to the Brooklyn Dodgers after that and he finished his career in New York with the Dodgers and the Giants.  In all in roughly 5 full years as an outfielder, all after the age of 30, he racked up an astounding 1140 hits, 113 homeruns, and 542 RBIs. Prorate that over a full career and you've got a hall of famer. As it was, he had one of the greatest post 30 careers ever and if the Phils had been able to keep him just a little longer he would probably be higher on this list.

#19 Don Hurst.

Career With Phillies:
112 homeruns(21) 598 RBI (23)

Best Season:
1929 - .304 BA 31 homeruns 125 RBIs

Memorable Feats of Strength:
- 07/25/28 vs. Cincinnati homers in the bottom of the 5th of both sides of a doubleheader
- 8/13/33  vs. Giants homers twice off Carl Hubbell
- one of three Phillies to top 30 homers and 100 RBIs for the 1929 Phillies that allowed over 1000 runs and finished 5th in the National League

 

A power hitting first baseman, Frank O'Donnell Hurst, spent all but the 2nd half of his final season with the Phillies. Although that was ultimately only 6 full seasons he's still top 25 on the Phillies all-time homerun and RBI lists. It started with a solid rookie season in 1928 where he collected 19 homeruns and 64 RBIs. Then in 1929 he had an extraordinary sophomore season, blasting 31 homeruns and knocking in 125 runs. From there he went on to post 17 homeruns and 78 RBIs in 1930, 11 homeruns and 91 RBIs in 1931, and his last elite season in 1932 with 24 homeruns and 143 RBIs, still the 7th best single season RBI total in franchise history and the top mark in the national league that year. 1933 was his last full season and he managed just 8 homeruns and 76 RBIs. After just 2 homeruns and 21 RBIs through 40 games in 1934 the desperate Phillies decided to unload him while they still could. He was shipped to the Cubs for Dolph Camili, more on him later, where he played just another 51 games before Chicago realized he had nothing left and sent him down the minors. Hurst never returned to the majors after that, toiling in the minor leagues before retiring for good in 1939. Only the most ardent of Phillies historians know who he is now, but he was a truly imposing figure in his day and for that he fits right in on this list.

#18 Dolph Camili.

Career With Phillies:
92 homeruns(27) 333 RBIs (51)

Best Season:
1936 - .315 BA 28 homeruns 102 RBIs

Memorable Feats of Strength:
 - 6/16/34 vs. Cardinals  homers off Dizzy Dean in back to back at bats
- 9/11/37 vs. Dodgers  homers off Waite Hoyt in back to back at bats
- 9/30/37 vs.  Giants  hits final homerun as a Phillie off Carl Hubbell

A heavy hitting first baseman, Adolph Louis Camilli, was one of the greatest sluggers of the 30s and early 40s. Unfortunately he only got things started in Philadelphia before enjoying his best days with the Dodgers. After the Cubs foolishly traded him away to the Phillies in 1934 he delivered 12 homeruns to lead the team and 68 RBIs in just 102 games, but the hopeless Phillies still wound up at the bottom of the standings. From this point on in his career he would never again finish a full season without at least 25 homeruns and 80 RBIs. In 1935, his first full season with the Phils, he bashed 25 homeruns, knocked in 83 runs, and even received MVP votes despite the Phils again finishing at the bottom of the standings. He had his best season with the Phillies in 1936 batting .315, his first season over .300, with 28 homeruns and 102 RBIs. He again received MVP votes despite the Phils finding themselves back at the bottom of the standings. Finally, in 1937, his swan song with the Phils, he batted .339, slugged .587, and collected 27 homeruns and 80 RBIs. Once again despite Camili's heroics, the Phils finished in the back end of the standings. Desperate for cash and with no hope of contending anytime soon, the Phils traded Camili before the 1938 season to the Dodgers for outfield prospect Eddie Morgan, and $45,000. Morgan never made it to the majors for the Phillies whose fortunes would not turn for another 13 years, while Camili flourished for contending Brooklyn for the next 5 years. Sometimes life just isn't fair.      

#17 Deron Johnson.

Career With Phillies:
88 homeruns(28)  304 RBIs(56)

Best Season:
1971 - .265 BA. 34 homeruns 95 RBIs

Memorable Feats of Strength:
- 7/11/71 vs. Montreal  homers 3 times in one game, 4 consecutive at bats with a homerun going back to his final at bat the night before
- homeruns off hall of famers Tom Seaver, Juan Marichal, Don Sutton, and then Cardinal Steve Carlton
  

Well traveled Deron Roger Johnson gave the Phillies, his 5th of 8th MLB teams, a bright light in an otherwise dark era. He was a big swinging first basemen, are we sensing a pattern here, who gave the Phils 3 of his best seasons at a time when most thought his best years were behind him. A journeyman from the beginning, he failed as a prospect for the Yankees and A's before finally finding a home with the Reds in 1964. From 1964 to 1966 he topped 20 homeruns and 70 RBIs for 3 straight seasons. Then his numbers dipped to 13 homeruns and 53 RBIs in 1967, and Cincinnati, just beginning to assemble the big red machine, did not have room for a 28 year old possible has been. So they sent him to the Braves before the 1968 season. He was even worse in Atlanta with just 8 homeruns and 33 RBIs so before the 1969 season they let him go to the Phillies who needed him to replace the departed Dick Allen. Luckily for the Phils, Johnson rediscovered himself in a Philles uniform. In 1969 at age 30 he was reborn with 17 homeruns and 80 RBIs. In 1970 he upped that to 27 homeruns and 93 RBIs and received MVP votes despite playing for a team that narrowly avoided losing 100 games and finished ahead of only the expansion Expos. In 1971, the first year at the vet, he blasted a career best 34 homeruns and knocked in 95 runs, but this time the Phils finished dead last and the writing was on the wall for Johnson. He managed just 9 homeruns in 96 games the following season and the with Phils finally having pieces like Steve Carlton and some crazy kid named Schmidt to build around, he was dealt to Oakland for prospect Jack Backstable. The Phils were fortunate to have had him for the time that they did.

#16 Gavvy Cravath.

 Career With Phillies:
 117 homeruns(19) 676 RBIs(17)


 Best Season:
 1915 - 285 BA. 24 homeruns 115 RBIs


 Memorable Feats of Strength:
- Led the NL in homeruns a then record 6 times and 3 straight seasons from 1913-1915 and 1917-1919.
- Led the NL RBIs twice in 1913 and 1915
- Led the NL in slugging percentage twice in 1913 and 1915

- 8/14/13 vs. Cubs homers off 3 finger Brown in back to back innings
- 9/29/15 vs. Braves hits 3 run home run in pennant clinching game

Clifford Carlton "Gavvy" Cravath was the Phillies first true slugger and the national league's greatest slugger of the late deadball era. It is true that he was aided by the short right porch of his home field, the Baker Bowl, where he hit 92 of his 119 homeruns, but that should not take anything away from him. In any other era he would not have needed a short porch to hit homeruns and short porch or not what he accomplished in his career was nothing short of remarkable. He started out as an American League bust for the Red Sox, Senators, and White Sox from 1908-1909. He then went on to star for multiple minor league teams before finally getting a second chance in the majors with the Phillies in 1912 at age 31. He was an instant star for the Phils that year with 11 homeruns and 70 RBIs. The following year he assumed elite status in the National League, leading the way in hits(179), homeruns(19), RBIs(128), slugging percentage(.568), OPS(.974), and total bases(298), but the Phils just missed winning the pennant and he was subsequently robbed of an MVP award, finishing 2nd in the voting. He wasn't quite as good in 1914, but still lead the league in homeruns with 19 and knocked in another 100 runs. His 1915 season might just be the greatest in franchise history. At age 35 he led the NL in runs scored(89), homeruns(24) a then Phillies record, RBIs(115), walks(86), OBP(.393), slugging percentage(.510), OPS(.902), and total bases(266), all while helping the Phils to their first ever NL pennant. Despite all of that he was completely overlooked in the MVP voting, failing to secure a single vote. After a season like that there is no where to go but down and he did the next season with 11 homeruns and 70 RBIs while leading the league in strikeouts. He wasn't quite done yet though, returning to top the of the NL in homers in 1917 with 12 and 83 RBIs. He did it again in 1918 with 8 and 54 RBIs. Finally in 1919 at age 38 he led the league in homeruns one last time, blasting 12 homeruns, all at the Baker Bowl, and knocking in 45 runs in just 83 games. The end came the following season when he was fired as player-manager after just 46 games. At the time his 119 homeruns were the 4th highest total in history and his 117 as a Phillie was a franchise record before Cy Williams obliterated it. All of which begs the question why isn't he higher on the list? Well there is that short porch thing.

Coming soon : No.s 15-11.