Philadelphia Phillies World Series History
2008 Marks the Sixth Time the Phils Have Made the Fall Classic
Oct 19, 2008
The 1915 Philadelphia Phillies won the National League pennant by seven games over the defending world champion Boston Braves. The team's offense was led by outfielder Gavvy Cravath, who hit 24 home runs that year, which set a new modern Major League record. Their pitching staff was headed by future Hall of Famer Grover Cleveland Alexander, who led the Major Leagues with 31 wins, a 1.28 ERA and 248 strikeouts.
1915: Phillies vs. Red Sox
In the World Series, the Phillies faced the Boston Red Sox, a team whose starting rotation was a veritable Who's Who of dead ball pitchers: Smokey Joe Wood, Babe Ruth, Ernie Shore and Dutch Leonard. Each won at least 15 games and none had an ERA higher than 2.44.
Alexander held Boston in check in Game 1, and Philadelphia won 3-1. But the Sox won the next four games, all by one run, and took the Series in five games. Boston manager Bill Carrigan praised the vanquished: “We encountered masterful pitching from [the Phillies] staff. I wish the Phillies all kinds of luck and hope they win the pennant in their League next season.”
1950: Phillies vs. Yankees
Unfortunately, the Phillies didn’t win another pennant until 1950, when outfielder Richie Ashburn and pitcher Robin Roberts led the youngest team in baseball to the title on the last day of the season. Because the average age on the team was just 26 years old, writers dubbed the team The Whiz Kids. Their most outstanding player, however, was 33-year old Jim Konstanty, a reliever who won 16 games, saved another 22, had a 2.66 ERA, and won the National League MVP award.
The 1950 Series against the New York Yankees was reminiscent of the 1915 Fall Classic. The Phillies pitched well, but couldn’t hit a lick. The Yankees starting rotation of Vic Raschi, Allie Reynolds, Eddie Lopat and Whitey Ford shut down the Whiz Kids bats, holding them to just five runs in what turned out to be a four-game sweep.
1980: Phillies vs. Royals
The 1980 Phillies were led by third baseman Mike Schmidt, who won the MVP award by hitting .286 with 48 home runs and 121 RBI, and pitcher Steve Carlton, who won the Cy Young award on the strength of 24 wins, 286 strikeouts and a 2.34 ERA.
They faced the Kansas City Royals, who were led by MVP George Brett. Brett hit .390 that season, the highest average in the Major Leagues since Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941.
The Phillies won Game 1 by a score of 7-6. The hero was right fielder Bake McBride, who was 3 for 4 with a home run and three RBI. They also won Game 2, this time in dramatic fashion. Down 4-2 entering the bottom of the eighth inning, the Phillies put together a 4-run rally on hits from Del Unser, Bake McBride, Mike Schmidt and Keith Moreland. Ron Reed replaced Steve Carlton in the top of the ninth inning, and shut down the Royals, closing the game with a strikeout of John Wathan.
The Royals came back, winning Game 3 on a tenth-inning RBI single by Willie Aikens, and then winning the next night, 5-3, on the strength of two home runs by Aikens. In the pivotal Game 5, the Royals led 3-2 going into the ninth inning. Relief pitcher Dan Quisenberry surrendered a leadoff single to Schmidt, who scored on a double by pinch-hitter Del Unser. Quisenberry retired the next two batters, but gave up an RBI single to second baseman Manny Trillo. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Tug McGraw walked the bases loaded before finally striking out Jose Cardenal to end the game.
In Game 6, Mike Schmidt knocked home two runs, Steve Carlton pitched a gem, and Tug McGraw got the save in a 4-1 Phillies win. The Phillies had finally won the World Series.
1983: Phillies vs. Orioles
This group was the polar opposite of the 1950 Whiz Kids, as the Phillies’ 1983 team had an average age of 32, and featured 42-year-old Pete Rose, 41-year-old Tony Perez and 38-year-old Steve Carlton. Their relative old age prompted writers and fans to start calling this Phillies team “the Wheeze Kids.”
They may have been old, but they were also pretty good. The Phillies won 90 games and beat the Dodgers three games to one in the NLCS.
But they were no match for the American League Champion Baltimore Orioles, who won 98 games and had baseball’s deepest pitching staff. They also had a 22-year old shortstop named Cal Ripken who won his first American League MVP that season. The Orioles took the 1983 World Series in five games.
1993: Phillies vs. Blue Jays
This team should be remembered for more than just their big bellies and their terrible mullets. They won 97 games during the regular season, took out the heavily favored Atlanta Braves in six games in the NLCS, and played an unforgettable memorable World Series against the defending champion Toronto Blue Jays.
After splitting the first two games, the Blue Jays crushed Philly in Game 3, 10-3. In Game 4, the Phillies led 14-9 after seven innings on the strength of two Lenny Dykstra home runs and five Milt Thompson RBIs. But the Jays scored six runs in the top of the eighth inning, five of them while closer Mitch Williams was on the mound. The 15-14 win gave the Jays a dominating three-games-to-one lead in the Series. But in Game 5, Curt Schilling pitched a shutout and the Phillies won 2-0.
Game 6 ended with the most painful moment in Phillies' history. Down by a score of 5-1, Philly scored 5 runs in the top of the seventh. The score remained 6-5 until the bottom of the ninth inning, when Williams again took the mound. He put two men on and got one out before thunder struck in the form of a Joe Carter three-run walk-off World Series-winning home run. It was only the second time in history that a World Series ended on a home run.
