The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. From 2004 to the present, the Phillies have played their home games at Citizens Bank Park in the South Philadelphia section of the city. The organization is tied with the San Francisco Giants as the fifth-oldest team in Major League Baseball.
The Phillies have won one World Series Championship in their history, defeating the Kansas City Royals in 1980. Due in part to the age of the club, the Phillies became the first team in the four major American sports to surpass 10,000 losses in franchise history in 2007. The Phillies are known for their loyal and passionate fan base, and are also a league leader in environmental protection
Early History
After being founded in 1883 as the "Quakers," the team changed its name to the "Philadelphias", after the convention of the times. This was soon shortened to "Phillies.". "Quakers" continued to be used interchangeably with "Phillies" until 1890, when the team officially became known as the "Phillies." Though the Phillies moved into a permanent home at Baker Bowl in 1887, they did not win their first pennant until nearly 20 years later, after the likes of standout players Billy Hamilton, Sam Thompson, and Ed Delahanty had departed. Player defections to the newly-formed American League, especially to the cross-town Athletics, would cost the team dearly over the next several years. A bright spot came in 1915, when the Phillies won their first pennant, thanks to the pitching of Grover Cleveland Alexander and the batting prowess of Gavvy Cravath, who set the major-league single-season record for home runs with 24. Poor fiscal management after this World Series appearance, however, doomed the Phillies to sink back into relative obscurity; from 1918 to 1948 they only had one winning season. Though Chuck Klein won the MVP in 1932 and the National League Triple Crown in 1933, the team continued to flounder at the bottom of the standings for years.
Cox, Carpenter, and the "Whiz Kids" Era
After lumber baron William B. Cox purchased the team in 1943, the Phillies began a rapid rise to prominence in the National League, as the team rose out of the standings cellar for the first time in five years. The fans responded with an increase in attendance, but it soon became clear that not all was right in Cox' front office. Eventually, it was revealed by Cox that he had been betting on the Phillies, and he was banned from baseball. The new owner, Bob Carpenter, Jr., tried to polish the team's image by unofficially changing the name to the "Blue Jays"; however, the new moniker did not take, and it was quietly dropped by 1949.
Instead, Carpenter turned his attention to the minor league affiliates, devoting significant resources to the farm system for the first time in the history of the franchise. By the 1950s, the Phillies had gone from cellar-dwellers to pennant contenders thanks to the "Whiz Kids," led by a lineup of young players developed by the Phillies' farm system that included future Hall of Famers Richie Ashburn and Robin Roberts. Their 1950 season was highlighted by the last day, pennant-clinching home run by Dick Sisler to lead the Phillies over the Dodgers and into the World Series. The Phillies' popularity drove the Athletics to leave the city for Kansas City and, eventually, Oakland.
From Lows to Highs
As the Phillies sank back to mediocrity, a bright spot began to develop after the departures of the "Whiz Kids." The team seemed destined to make it to the World Series after strong showings in the early part of the decade; alas, it was not to be. The Phillies squandered a six-and-a-half game lead with a ten-game losing streak to close the 1964 season, and lost the pennant by one game to the St. Louis Cardinals. The "Phold of '64" is one of the most notable collapses in sports history. The Phillies moved out of Connie Mack Stadium and into Veterans Stadium, and their new maroon uniforms, at the end of the decade. While some members of the team had admirable performances during the 1970s, the Phillies still clung to their spot at the bottom of the National League table. Ten years after the Phold, they suffered another minor collapse over August and September of 1974, missing out on the playoffs yet again. However, the futility would not last much longer. After a run of three straight division titles from 1976 to 1978, the Phillies won the NL East in 1980 behind pitcher Steve Carlton, outfielder Greg Luzinski, and infielders Mike Schmidt, Larry Bowa, and Pete Rose. In a memorable NLCS, with four of the five games needing extra innings, they fell behind 2–1 but battled back to squeeze past Houston on a tenth-inning game-winning hit by center fielder Garry Maddox, and the city celebrated its first pennant in 30 years.
Facing Kansas City in the 1980 World Series, the Phillies won their first and only world championship in six games, thanks to the timely hitting of Mike Schmidt and Pete Rose. Schmidt, who was the National League MVP for the 1980 season, also won the World Series MVP finals award on the strength of his 8-for-21 hitting (.381 average), including game-winning hits in Game 2 and the clinching Game 6. Thus, the Phillies became the last of the 16 teams that made up the major leagues from 1901 to 1961 to win a World Series. The Phillies made the playoffs twice more after their Series win, in 1981 and 1983, where they lost to the Baltimore Orioles in the World Series, but they would find their near-misses followed by a rapid drop back into the doldrums of the National League basement. The 1992 season would end with the Phillies at the bottom of the barrel, at last place in the National League East. However, their fortunes were about to change.
Recent History
The 1993 Phillies started the season hot, going 17–5 in April and powering their way to a 97–65 season. The Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves in the 1993 National League Championship Series, four games to two, to earn the fifth pennant in franchise history, only to suffer defeat by the defending world champion Toronto Blue Jays in the 1993 World Series. Toronto's Joe Carter hit a walk-off home run in Game 6 to clinch another Phillies loss. The players' strike in 1994 was a blow to the Phillies' attendance and on-field success, as was the arrival of the Atlanta Braves in the division due to league realignment. Several stars came through Philadelphia, though few would stay, and the minor league system continued to develop its young prospects, who would soon rise to Phillies fame.
In 2001, the Phillies had their first winning season in eight years under new manager Larry Bowa, and would not dip their season record below .500 again from the 2003 season onward. In 2004, the Phillies moved to their new home across the street from the Vet, Citizens Bank Park. Charlie Manuel took over the reins of the clubs from Bowa in 2005, and general manager Ed Wade was replaced by Pat Gillick. Gillick reshaped the club as his own, sending stars away in trades and allowing the Phillies' young core to develop. Though the franchise lost its 10,000th game in 2007, that same core of young players, including infielders Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Jimmy Rollins, and pitcher Cole Hamels, responded by winning the East pennant the same season; however, they lost to the Colorado Rockies in the Division Series.
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Philadelphia Philiies Offical Home Page
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