2017 Phillies Wall of Fame Breakdown – Steve “Bedrock” Bedrosian

By: Matt Alberston, Historical Columnist

In recent weeks, Pete Rose's name has been tied to the 2017 Phillies Wall of Fame ballot. At first a rumor and possibility, the Phillies announced last week that Rose's name would indeed appear on the ballot. (The 2017 Wall of Fame ballot can be found here.)

While it's essentially a foregone conclusion that Rose will be the next man inducted onto the Wall of Fame, providing the rebuilding club with a guaranteed sellout crowd on August 12, we figured it would be nice to provide some background on the other candidates from the relatively weak candidate list. I'll begin the rundown with Steve "Bedrock" Bedrosian.

Steve Bedrosian was drafted by the Atlanta Braves out of the University of New Haven in 1978. He debuted in August 1981 and compiled a 34-39 record during his first stint with the Braves (1981-1985). In his only season as a full time starter, Bedrock went 7-15 with a 3.83 ERA in 37 starts.

Between 1982-1984, Bedrosian saved a total of 41 games; this is what attracted the Phillies to trade All-Star catcher Ozzie Virgil and their top pitching prospect Pete Smith for Bedrosian and outfielder Milt Thompson after the 1985 season. Club president Bill Giles told the Philadelphia Inquirer that the price to obtain Thompson and Bedrosian was high but he felt like it was worth it, being as the team needed a solid late inning relieve and adequate leadoff hitter. Inquirer writer Peter Pascarelli noted:

"That price might seem especially high when one considers that the Phillies gave up a catcher who hit 19 home runs and knocked in 55 runs last season and are left with major league catching that consists of two basically unproven commodities – Darren Daulton and John Russel." 

As it turned out, the Phillies won the better part of the deal. Virgil made another All-Star game in 1987, but proved to be no more than a mediocre hitter, never hitting .300 or more than 30 home runs in a season. Pete Smith was also a mediocre player, completing an 11-year career with a 47-71 record with an ERA of 4.55. In Thompson, the Phillies acquired a good hitter who was a component of the 1993 National League champions team. In Bedrosian, the Phillies got a Cy Young winner.

Bedrosian saved a total of 103 games in his four-year Phillies career with his best season being his Cy Young year of 1987. In 1987, he saved a league-leading 40 games with a 2.83 ERA and also made his only All-Star appearance. In what was the closest Cy Young ballot to date, Bedrock edged out Rick Sutcliffe by two points and Rick Reuschel by three points. The New York Times noted that "the voting indicated the lack of strong candidates in the league." Interestingly, Bedrosian was the fourth Phillies pitcher who had won the Cy Young Award since 1980 – Steve Carlton won the award in 1980 and 1982 and John Denny won in 1983.

The Phillies traded Bedrosian in 1989 to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for Terry Mulholland and Dennis Cook. 

Bedrosian was a good closer for a few bad Phillies teams. His four year club service satisfies the minimum requirement for Wall of Fame induction. However, I don't think one great season qualifies him as a bronze-plaque equal to Chuck Klein, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton, or Dick Allen. Once again, Bedrock is a member of a weak candidate list, but unlike 1987, he will not win the election.