If you are a Phillies fan over the age of 18, you probably have a fondness and affection for former Phillies Hall of Fame broadcaster, Harry Kalas (I sure do). His legendary "Outta Here!" home run call harmonized with some of the greatest shots in franchise history, playing perfectly and appropriately in its cadence, like the club's own private reveille. But there were two versions of Kalas' trademark call — one of which we might not hold as dear.
Chop the exclamation point off the end, add a pinch of frustration and a dash of disappointment, and you would have the subdued "outta here" of an opposing team's four-bagger. Naturally, we don't remember these moments as fondly, if at all, but they're nonetheless a part of Phillies — and baseball — history. Considering the Phillies are responsible for more MLB losses than any other single team in the game's near-150 year existence, low points on a Philadelphia playing field should not come as a shock. They are inevitable. Consequently, there are sometimes moments just as beautiful and poignant in shaping the game and some of its greatest players.
Last week, three players were voted in to Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame. None of them spent time in a Phillies' uniform, but all of them spent time in and against Philadelphia, with varying degrees of success.
Reluctant home run calls and all, here is a look at how the Hall's newest inductees fared against your Philadelphia Phillies:
Tim Raines
Career: .294/.385/.425; 2,605 hits; 808 stolen bases.
It is fair to say that "Rock" is not typically thought of as an historically major Phillies rival, but his resumé is very impressive against the team.
Raines had more plate appearances against the Phillies than any other club (701), besting each category of his career slash line, hitting .310/.394/.440. He currently holds the Major League record for stolen base efficiency among players with over 350 stolen bases (84.7 percent), but, amazingly, he actually bested this mark against Philadelphia, swiping 90 bases while being caught just 11 times (89.1 percent).
Over a full season — which 701 plate appearances would measure up to — only seven players in the history of the game had a stolen base percentage that high (min. 50 stolen bases) — and Raines was one of them, with 50 swipes to just six outs in 1987 (90.9 percent).
Over the past 100 years, "Rock" and Lou Brock are the only players with 90-plus stolen bases against Philadelphia.
Listen to Harry The K make his signature call of a "Rock" home run.
Jeff Bagwell
Career: .948 OPS; 449 home runs.
The Phillies did not really bring out the best or worst in Bagwell. In fact, the lifetime Astro played astonishingly close to his career averages when pitted against the Phils.
| Career | vs. PHI | |
| Slash line | .298/.408/.540 | .297/.401/.552 |
| PA/HR | 21 | 22.7 |
Against no other team in baseball was Bagwell even remotely as close to mimicking his career marks.
The Astros career home run leader also leads all Astros in homers against Philadelphia, with 24 in 532 career plate appearances.
In a 14-7 win over the Phillies on August 13, 2000, Bagwell accrued seven RBI, setting a personal single-game record, and Astros franchise record that would stand until J.R. Towles knocked in eight in 2007.
Ivan Rodriguez
Career: .296/.334/.464; 13-time Gold Glove winner — most among catchers.
Truth be told, "Pudge" played in the American League most of his career, so there is sparse significance in his splits against Philadelphia. His final two seasons were in the National League East with the Washington Nationals, where he totaled 558 plate appearances, but the Hall of Fame backstop batted just .255/.291/.341 during that span.
All that being said, the trend continues; "Pudge," too, was a Phillie-killer.
Rodriguez bested every leg of his career slash line, batting .315/.360/.493 against Philadelphia (162 plate appearances). This includes a .357 batting average in 15 games at Citizens Bank Park, his highest career mark for any ballpark in the majors (min. 50 plate appearances).
"Pudge" knocked in more runs against Philadelphia than any other team in the National League (31), and in his penultimate season in the majors (2010), during which he batted just .266/.294/.347 overall, he was vintage in his 12 games against Philly, batting .354/.380/.458.
No easy outs in this Hall of Fame trio, but what a collection of talent we got to see against our Phils.
To cleanse the pallet, some consolation: In his first year of HOF eligibility in 2017, J.D. Drew received zero votes and is officially off the ballot.
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Kevin Reavy (@76Pack) is the author of 2016's "Incredible Baseball Stats" with co-author Ryan Spaeder (@theaceofspaeder), available in book stores and on Amazon.
"There is stuff in here about my career I didn't even know! The stats and stories in this book are really eye-opening." – Tim "Rock" Raines
