Philadelphia Phillies

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

As one of the oldest baseball teams in America, the Philadelphia Phillies also hold the distinction of being the longest lasting continuous sports franchise in America, having resided in the same city since their inception well over 100 years ago.  Despite the longevity of the club, the Phillies actually haven’t experienced all that much success, only winning two World Series, but with a leadership dedicated to competing, Philadelphia has built a competitive team in the last decade and seem well poised for glory in the years ahead.

The team went through several periods with different names, first as the Quakers, and later as the Blue Jays during the 40s.  However, in between those times and ever since, the Phillies name just fit too well.  The first success came with a National League Pennant in 1915, thanks to team legends like Gravvy Cravath and Grover Cleveland Alexander.  Unfortunately, that team lost the World Series and the Phillies would struggle for the next 30 years!

In 1950, the Philadelphia Phillies enjoyed another strong year, led by a group of young players like Richie Ashburn, Robin Roberts, and Dick Sisler, known as the “Whiz Kids”.  After a tight pennant race, the Phillies dramatically won it on the final day of the season!  However, facing the New York Yankees in the Series, the team would be beaten again on the grandest stage. 

Another long period of failure continued, but in the 70s Philadelphia became competitive once again, led by guys like Greg Luzinski, Steve Carlton, and Pete Rose.  After several NL East divisional titles, the ultimate baseball glory would arrive in 1980.  A dramatic NLCS with the Houston Astros would see nearly all the games head to extra innings, but the Phillies held strong and would earn a trip to their 3^rd World Series!

In the Series, the Phillies squared off with the Kansas City Royals.  Behind a legendary performance by Mike Schmidt, who earned two game-winning hits, Philadelphia would finally claim their first title, nearly 100 years after their creation!  But once again the team would fade.  They earned another NL Pennant in 1983, but soon collapsed into the abyss of losing seasons.

A decade later, in 1993, the Phillies won another pennant behind Curt Schilling and Darren Daulton, but would eventually lost in the World Series again.  The end of the millennium would be uneventful for the club, but fortunes would certainly change following 2000!

After steady improvement, the team finally would become among the perennial contenders in the National League, featuring great players like Cole Hamels, Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, and Chase Utley.  2008 would be the glorious year, and the Phillies would earn their 2^nd World Series title! 

Since then, the team has usually been quite strong and has recruited several great pitchers like Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, and Pedro Martinez.  Despite another World Series appearance in 2009, fortune wouldn’t fall their way and the club entered a period of decline.  Looking forward, it seems that the Philadelphia Phillies have a strong core of star players but need just a few more pieces to the puzzle to move forward, especially since Halladay’s recent retirement.  But with just a few more quality players, the Phillies could become contenders once again!