Macho Row's All Time Phillies Nine

The Phillies are gathering votes from the fans to determine the All-Time 9, as part of a Major League Baseball promotion throughout the league (yes that means you can vote for the All-Time 9 for the Nationals, which will likely end up being all Montreal Expos). You can cast your Phillies vote here, but I thought I would share with you my ballot.

The concept takes into account individual seasons rather than an entire body of work in a Phillies uniform, but a player can only be nominated for one season. Take for instance the choices for third base. You could fill the ballot five times with seasons by Mike Schmidt but it is his 1980 season that makes the final cut.

FIRST BASE
Ryan Howard
2006 - .313 AVG, 58 HR, 149 RBI, 104 R, 0 SB

The 2006 National League MVP followed up his NL Rookie of the Year campaign in a big way. Howard lead the league in home runs with 58 round trippers and batted over .300 as he powered the Phillies to a run at the NL Wild Card. While the team fell short of the post season it was through no fault of Howard's. Howard became the first Phillie to hit 50 home runs, breaking Mike Schmidt's previous record with a deep shot at RFK Stadium against the Nationals.

We knew then that Howard was going o be fun to watch for years to come.

SECOND BASE
Juan Samuel
1987 - .272 AVG, 28 HR, 100 RBI, 113 R, 35 SB

The reason I picked Samuel, who has the lowest batting average among the candidates for second base, is because of his clear advantage in stolen bases. His power is not that much worse than Chase Utley (2006) and his other stats are in the same ball park, but his 35 stolen bases tie the total amount of stolen bases by the other three candidates. Also his run total would probably be higher if he had some decent players around him, Schmidt aside.

SHORTSTOP
Jimmy Rollins
2007 - .296 AVG, 30 HR, 94 RBI, 139 R, 41 SB

I have never seen a player in the mold of Jimmy Rollins have a season the way J-Roll did in 2007. The 2007 National League MVP made the bold statement that his team was the one to beat and he backed it up like few are capable of doing. Rollins became the fourth player in baseball history to hit 20 home runs, 20 triples, 20 doubles and record 20 stolen bases in one season. He did so by hitting his 20th triple on the final day of the regular season, the same day the Phillies clinched the NL East in dramatic fashion. Rollins was the reason the Phillies won the division that season, and it will be hard for any Phillie to ever have the same kind of season.

THIRD BASE
Mike Schmidt
1980- .286 AVG, 48 HR, 121 RBI, 104 R, 12 SB

I thought long and hard about this one actually. I tried to force myself to put aside my bias towards a player I regard as the best third baseman in baseball history. To do this I did not look at the names (and years) on the ballot but just the stats. In the end I found I had gone with Schmidt despite having the lowest batting average on the ballot.

Perhaps the fact that only one third baseman on the ballot had ever hit 48 home runs, a previous team record, was shouting in the back of my head, but you would be hard pressed to go against Schmidt. Remember, these ballots only show offensive stats. Schmidt was also a Gold Glove fielder and the NL MVP in the 1980 season.

He also won a World Series and World Series MVP. Just saying.

CATCHER
Mike Lieberthal
1999 - .300 AVG, 31 HR, 96 RBI, 84 R, 0 SB

This pick may surprise you at first (you probably expected me to go with Darren Daulton) but if you go with one season among catchers, Mike Lieberthal's 1999 season is certainly worth your consideration. The former Phillies catcher earned his first all-star appearance and picked up a Gold Glove at the end of the season, a feat never accomplished by Daulton.

My top two picks were between Lieberthal's 1999 season and Stan Lopata's 1956 season, but Lieberthal's .300 average compared to Lopata's .267 was where I drew my line, and voted for Lieberthal.

PITCHER
Rick Wise
1971 - .237 AVG, 6 HR, 15 RBI, 14 R, 0 SB

For this ballot you are supposed to base your votes solely on performance at the plate. Otherwise I would surely vote for Steve Carlton's 1972 season (not on ballot). Wise gets my vote solely based on his power as he hit six home runs in 1971. Can you imagine a Phillies pitcher hitting six home runs this year? Chan Ho Park currently leads with one.

Let's move on to the outfield...

OUTFIELD
Chuck Klein
1930 - .386 AVG, 40 HR, 170 RBI, 158 R, 4 SB

Lenny Dykstra
1993 - .305 AVG, 19 HR, 66 RBI, 143 R, 37 SB

Lefty O'Doul
1929 - .398 AVG, 32 HR, 122 RBI, 152 R, 2 SB

You are allowed to select any three outfielders regardless of actual position, much like an all star team. However, I wanted to try and field players in their actual positions, so with all due respect to some great players, most notably Richie Ashburn, I could not squeeze some players on.

No right fielder for the Phillies has ever had a season like Chuck Klein in 1930. the original power hitter for the franchise belted 40 home runs and recorded an astounding 170 RBI, which is by far the most by any candidate on the ballot for any position. Leaving Klein off your ballot would just be silly.

I went with Lefty O'Doul and his 1929 season based largely on that high batting average. Hitting close to .400 is impressive no matter what era you played. But he also hit over 30 home runs, and scored over 150 runs, the second most by any outfielder on the ballot for outfielders.

Finally I picked Lenny Dykstra as my center fielder. He was probably robbed of an MVP award but he sure deserved one. Much like Rollins sparking the 2007 Phillies, Dykstra was the engine of the 1993 team. The Dude was one of the best lead-off hitters in the league and he always seemed to set the table for the offense. He could also clear the table, like he did in the post season with his franchise record home run total of four.

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So that's my All-Time 9 for the Phillies. Look over the ballot for yourself and let me know who you would pick for your All-Time 9. Do you like my picks? Who would you replace on this list?