20-16

The 25 Greatest Phillies Sluggers 15-11.

#15 Chase Utley.

 Career With Phillies:
 188 homeruns(10) 694 RBIs(16)

 Best Season:
 2008 - .292 BA 33 homeruns 104 RBIs
  
 Memorable Feats of Strength:
  - record tying 5 homeruns in the 2009 world series
  - 2 run homer in 1st inning of game 1 of the 08 world series
  - 09/04/2006 vs. Houston  hits walk off homerun in the bottom of the 10th, prompting the late Harry Kalas to exclaim "Chase Utley you are the man!"
  -04/23/03 vs. Colorado  hits a grand slam for 1st major league hit

Given his struggles to stay healthy the last few seasons it is easy to forget just how great Chase Cameron Utley once was. If his knees will ever cooperate he can still be great as evidenced by his 11 homeruns and 44 RBIs in just 103 games last season and 16 homeruns and 65 RBIs in just 115 games in 2010. Armed with a short compact swing that Rays manager Joe Maddon once said you can't throw hard enough inside to get past, Utley was unequivocally, from 2005-2009, the best second baseman in baseball. After shuttling back and forth between and majors and AAA for 43 games in 2003, and the platooning with Placido Polanco for 94 games in 2004, Utley was finally given the starting nod at second for the 2005 season. He proved he was worthy of it with 28 homeruns and 105 RBIs, his first of 4 straight seasons with 100 RBIs and good enough to receive MVP votes for the first of 5 straight seasons. He reached another level in 2006 blasting 32 homeruns and driving in 102 runs, enough to earn his first of 5 straight all-star selections and first of 4 straight silver slugger awards. He lost 30 games to injury in 2007 but still managed 22 homeruns and 103 RBIs to help the Phils to their first postseason in 14 years. In 2008 he had his best season as a pro thus far, collecting 33 homeruns and 104 RBIs to help lead the Phils to their 2nd successive postseason. He would achieve cult status in the world series that year, with key homeruns in games 1 and 3 and flawless defense as the Phils captured their first world title in 25 years. In 2009 he had his last standout season to date bashing 31 homeruns and driving in 93 runs to help the Phils to a 2nd straight world series. There he furthered his cult status with a record tying 5 home runs, allbeit in a losing cause. Age and his do anything to help the team bravado, have caught up to him the last couple seasons and is still unknown when he'll return this season, but one can only hope that when he does he brings a little of the old magic back with him.         

#14 Johnny Callison.

Career With Phillies:
184 homeruns(11) 666 RBIs(18)

Best Season:
1964 - 274 BA. 31 homeruns 104 RBIs

Memorable Feats of Strength:
- hit 3 run walkoff home run to win 1964 all-star game.
- 9/27/64 vs. Milwaukee Braves 3 home runs in one game
- 6/6/65 vs. Chicago 3 home runs in one game
- homeruns off hall of famers Bob Gibson, Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Juan Marichal, Warren Spahn, and Phil Niekro
 

 

 

John Wesley "Johnny" Callison was the Phillies' most beloved star of the 1960s, despite playing for mostly losing teams. Initially a bust for the White Sox and even the Phillies, Callison finally blossomed in his 5th season in 1962, with 23 homeruns, 83 RBIs, and a National League leading 10 triples. He was even better in 1963 with 26 homeruns and 78 RBIs but again the Phils were losers. Finally in 1964, he had a chance to play for a contender and took full advantage, blasting to a career best 31 homeruns and 104 RBIs. Unfortunately, it would not be enough as the Phils infamously suffered the then greatest September collapse in history, causing Callison to be robbed of an MVP award. The Phils would never again contend with Callison, but he played on at a high level anyway. In 1965 he slammed a career best 32 homeruns, drove in 101 runs, and again led the National League in triples with 16. Sadly he began to decline after that, but still managed double digits in homeruns over the next 4 seasons with 11 homeruns and 55 RBIs in 1966, 14 homeruns and 64 RBIs in 1967, 14 homeruns and 40 RBIs in 1968, and 16 homeruns and 64 RBIs in 1969 at age 30. That proved to be the last straw for the aging Callison in Philadelphia and just after the season hearts were broken as he was traded to the Cubs for prospect Oscar Gamble and reliever Dick Selma. Neither panned out for the Phils while Callison enjoyed a brief resurgence with 19 homeruns and 68 RBIs in 1970, before flaming out for good. It was a tough call to put him ahead of Utley, but I just felt he was more of pure slugger whereas Utley is your good hitter who just happens to be able to hit homeruns.   

#13 Jim Thome.

Career With Phillies:
100 homeruns(23)  280 RBIs(64)
 
Best Season:
2003 - .266 BA 47 homeruns 131 RBIs

Memorable Feats of Strength:
- 47 home runs in 2003, tops in the NL and 3rd highest     total in franchise history
- one of only 3 Phillies to hit 40+ homeruns in consecutive seasons
- 06/14/04 - vs. Cincinnati hits 400th career homerun at the Bank 
- 06/21/03 - vs. Red Sox  "the Thome game" hits game tying homeruns in 8th and 12th innings before the Phils win in 13
 

There was a time not long ago when no free agent would even think of Philadelphia as an ideal landing spot. All that changed on December 2, 2005 when James Howard Thome accepted a 6 year $85 million deal with the Phillies. Although he never got them to the playoffs the Phils have not had a losing season since Thome signed that contract. That he was wildly successful in his first two seasons here only served to further Thome's legend with the Phils fans. Heck, we would have knighted him if he could have gotten the team to the playoffs, but he couldn't and yet still remains a beloved figure. The ultimate all or nothing hitter, he is top ten all time in homeruns and strikeouts, partnered with Pat Burrell and Bobby Abreu in the middle of the Phils lineup to form the ultimate all or nothing lineup which ultimately kept the Phillies from the playoffs during Thome's tenure. In his first season with the Phils in 2003 he blasted a league leading 47 homeruns, one shy Mike Schmidt's then team record, and knocked in 131 runs. In 2004, in his first season at the friendly confines of Citizens Bank Park, his numbers actually dipped a little with 42 homeruns and 105 RBIs. Sadly that would be his last full season, as injuries and some kid named Howard limited him to just 59 games and 7 homeruns in 2005, forcing the Phils to trade him away after the season. After experiencing enormous success over the next 6 seasons the Phils decided to bring the back Thome before this season with the hope of honoring the man who started it all with that elusive world series ring.

#12 Sherry Magee.

 Career With Phillies:
 75 homeruns(34) 886 RBIs(6)

 Best Season:
 1914 - .314 BA 15 homeruns 103 RBIs

 Memorable Feats of Strength:
 - Topped 10 homeruns 3 times in the middle of the deadball era 
 - Led the national league in RBIs 3 times(1907, 1910, 1914) 
 - 9 inside the park homeruns 
 - homeruns off hall of famers Christy Mathewson, Three Finger     Brown, Vic Willis, and Rube Marquard
- 10/08/04 vs. Boston Braves hits walkoff inside the park home run off Vic Willis



Sherwood Robert "Sherry" Magee was one of the Phillies and baseball's greatest stars of the early 20th century. He was signed by the Phillies as an amateur free agent in 1904 at just 19 years of age and was an immediate hit with 101 hits in just 95 games. In his first full season in 1905 he raised his numbers to 5 homeruns, 98 RBIs, and 180 hits. He continued his success in 1906 with 6 homeruns and 67 RBIs. Then in 1907 he had his first true standout year with 4 homeruns, a national league leading 85 RBIs, and a .328 batting average, his first time as a .300 hitter. After scuffling a bit in 1908 and 1909, he returned to stardom in 1910, leading the national league runs scored(110), RBI(123), batting average(.331), OBP(.445), slugging percentage(.507), OPS(.952), and total bases(263), while racking up 6 homeruns and 172 hits. In 1911 his power numbers exploded with 15 homeruns and 94 RBIs, but the rest of his numbers dropped a bit. So in 1912 and 1913 he went back to hitting with .306 average to go along with 6 homeruns and 66 RBIs, and a .306 average with 11 homeruns and 70 RBIs respectively. Finally in 1914 at age 29, he had arguably the best season of his career, leading the national league in hits(171), doubles(39), RBIs(103), slugging percentage(.509), and total bases(277), while batting .314 with 15 homeruns. Ironically this would be his last season in the Philadelphia as the Phils traded him to the Braves following the season. They may have been better served to keep him one year. Without Magee the Phils went on to reach their first world series in 1915, but lost to the Red Sox in 5 games thanks to an inability to score runs against Boston's pitching. One wonders if the outcome would have been different were Magee still in the lineup.     

#11 Fred Luderus.

Career With Phillies:
83 homeruns(32) 630 RBIs(21)

Best Season:
1913 - .262 BA 18 homeruns 86 RBIs

Memorable Feats of Strength:
- 4 straight seasons with 10+ homeruns in the middle of the deadball era
- 07/15/11 vs. Pirates homers twice off Babe Adams, with game tying home run in the 2nd inning and walkoff homerun in the 9th
- homeruns off hall of famers Three Finger Brown, Christy Mathewson, and Rube Marquard
- first Phillie to hit a homerun in the world series with solo shot off Rube Foster in the 4th inning of game 5 of the 1915 world series


Frederick William "Fred" Luderus was a key cog on the Phillies very first pennant winning team, joining forces with Gavvy Cravath to form a formidable middle of the lineup. Somewhat of a late bloomer for his day, Luderus did not truly come into his own until 1911 when at age 25 he enjoyed a stellar first full year in the majors batting .301 with 16 homeruns and 99 RBIs. It would be just his first of four consecutive years with 10 homeruns or more, with 10 homeruns and  69 RBIs in 1912, 18 homeruns and 86 RBIs in 1913, and 12 homeruns and 55 RBIs in 1914. At the beginning of the 1915 season he was 29 years old and slated to turn 30 before the end of the season so in effort to extend his career he sought to cut back on his power and rededicate himself to hitting. It worked as he batted .315, the highest average of his career, with just 7 homeruns and 62 RBIs, while helping to lead the Phils to their first ever World Series. He batted an astounding .438 in the series with 1 homerun and 6 RBIs, but it wasn't enough as the Phils lost to the Red Sox in 5 games. He kept hitting for average in the following years, batting .281 with 5 homeruns and 53 RBIs in 1916, .261 with 5 homeruns and 71 RBIs in 1917, .288 with 5 homeruns and 67 RBIs in 1918, and finally .293 with 5 homeruns and 49 RBIs in 1919. In 1920 at age 34 he could manage only 16 games before his career came to an end, but not before he had thrilled Phils fans for a decade and left a lasting enough impression to make this list.

coming soon - #10-6