Phillies

Sports Talk Philly to run top 25 Phillies of all-time countdown

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Matt Albertson
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Matt Albertson Sports Editor

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Published11 Oct 2016

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By: Matt Alberston, Historical Columnist Sports Talk Philly to run top 25 Phillies of all-time countdown

The Philadelphia Phillies were established 133 years ago in 1883 and remain the oldest, continuous, one-city, one name franchise in professional sports (and no, 'Quakers' was never an official moniker). They have finished last a total of 31 times and sixth or lower a total of 50 times, infamously losing more than 10,000 games along the way – more than any professional sporting franchise in the world.

Despite this, the Phillies organization is a resilient one, too. They've survived in National League while four official major league teams came to Philadelphia – and outdrew the Phillies at the gate more often than not – but subsequently either disbanded or moved to another city. The Fightin' Phils have survived two world wars, the Great Depression, and temporary ownership by the National League. Through all of this, the Phillies have appeared in the postseason on 14 different occasions, appeared in seven World Series, and won two championships. 

More than 2,000 players have donned a Philadelphia Phillies uniform between 1883 and 2016. In the coming days, Sports Talk Philly will boil those more-than 2,000 players down to the 25 best to ever lace up a pair of baseball spikes for the Phillies. Our list is unique in that each ranking is based on a points-based formula, explained below: 

The player rankings formula combines both traditional and advanced statistics/metrics and assigns a point total to each category. These statistics only reflect the player's Phillies career.

First, single season WAR is a primary factor in our rankings. According to WAR's calculations, 2+ WAR is considered a starter, 5+ WAR is All-Star caliber, and 8+ WAR is MVP level. We totaled the number of seasons that a player performed at a 2+ WAR, 5+ WAR, and 8+ WAR level and assigned a set point value for each category, (+1), (+3), and (+5) respectively. For example, in 1980, Mike Schmidt complied an 8.8 WAR. This was counted as a 2+ WAR season, a 5+ WAR season, and an 8+ WAR season. So, for 1980 alone, Mike Schmidt earned (9) points for WAR. 
 
Second, we assigned a point value for amount of years spent with the Phillies. In order to be considered for this list, a player must have been with the organization for a minimum of (5) years. 
 
Next, we assigned point values for being among the top 25 in particular statistical categories, such as batting average, hits, doubles, triples, RBI, home runs, and OPS for hitters, and ERA, Wins, and WPA (wins probability added) for pitchers. 
 
Finally, all statistical categories were totaled up using our point based system and ranked accordingly, with myself and managing editor Tim Kelly reserving the right to move players up the list, within reason. An explanation of why a player is ranked in a certain spot will be provided, as will an overall score breakdown.
 
We feel this scientific methodology will produce the most legitimate top Phillies of all-time list available anywhere on the internet or in print. We hope you enjoy the articles to follow and look forward to any and all comments from you, our readers.