The Philadelphia Phillies struck gold when they traded for Hunter Pence midway through the 2011 season. GM Ruben Amaro Jr. – who has a penchant for pulling off trades that big high-profile players to Philly – was able to swap four prospects for Pence, a right-handed power bat the Phillies had so desperately lacked.
Pence posted a .324/.394/.560 statline in 54 games with the Phillies, finishing the year with 22 home runs, 97 RBIs, and an .871 OPS. He made the National League All-Star team and placed 16th in the MVP voting. Most importantly, he provided a strong upgrade over Domonic Brown and Ben Francisco, two players who had tried – unsuccessfully – to fill the right field void when Jayson Werth departed for Washington.
Pence was a spark in the clubhouse, and helped the Phillies to their fifth straight NL East title. He struggled in the playoffs, going just 4-for-19 (.211) with no extra-base hits but a five-game sample shouldn’t negate the strong performance he had down the stretch....
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