1973 Recap: I'd like to say I saw this coming but... the Phillies were competitive in 1972 and in fact had finished in the top half of the NL West every year since 1970. I saw them being competitive and I thought the Pirates were due for a fall (and the NL in general was Parity League 5000 in 72). I could have made a case for them pulling out a hard-won division and overcoming whoever was in the West to compete in the World Series, sure. 104 wins though? Yeah, this came out of nowhere. Even going into June... as of May 27th the Phillies were just 23-20 and in 5th place, albeit still only 2 1/2 games out. If anyone expected them to go 81-38 the rest of the way... come on now, you didn't.
Then of course all of that good will got shattered immediately when they got upset in the NLCS by the Padres. What a sad ending to a great year.
The Phillies combined a great offense (1st in the league with 759 runs scored) and a very good defense (3rd in runs allowed, 570). 100+ win teams just about always outperform their records based on run differential but the Phightin' Phils only did so by 2 games. This was legitimately an excellent team (and the #2 the Cards were not... but more on them in a bit). They had the odds-on bet for MVP in the outfield in Alberto Juantorena and a guy with an excellent case for the Cy Young in Ringo Starr. This was an incredibly good team and frankly I hope they get back because they deserve the hardware and the memorializing that comes with that.
1974 Outlook: This is still an awfully good team who is the super-hard frontrunner to repeat as NL East champs. The next best team, the Cardinals, were a full 17 games behind them in the standings. Yeah, I imagine Vince "The Eligible" Bachler and "young" Richard "Ringo Starr" Starkey won't repeat their amazing seasons, but it would take a loooot of tumbling combined with a great deal of St. Louis improvement to make this a close race. Will this team be a dynasty? They have to win a title first... but it seems likely.
On the downside, you can see where this a team who put everything together a year or two earlier than expected. That's mostly a good thing, right? Well... it also means that they've got a thousand good, young outfielders and only 3 slots to put them in but some real holes in the infield. They traded for Mike Brookes last offseason hoping that he'd become their long-term power-hitting solution at third but he just wasn't it and they shipped him off to the Angels for peanuts in the summer. Now they find themselves needing to engineer a similar trade or two; hopefully this time that will work itself out.
Vince Bachler
SP No. 31
RR, 5'11" 199 lbs.
Born 1946-08-29
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 STL MLB | 14 | 15 | 0 | 3.43 | 35 | 35 | 7 | 233.0 | 218 | 110 | 89 | 102 | 148 |
| 1972 PHI MLB | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2.90 | 17 | 17 | 5 | 127.0 | 110 | 44 | 41 | 62 | 100 |
| 1973 EUG AAA | 6 | 4 | 0 | 3.87 | 11 | 11 | 3 | 79.0 | 72 | 36 | 34 | 28 | 66 |
| 1973 PHI MLB | 16 | 7 | 0 | 1.91 | 25 | 25 | 7 | 188.0 | 135 | 51 | 40 | 80 | 145 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
Vince Bachler pitched well but missed the last 4 months of the season in 1972 undisclosed shoulder inflammation in his throwing shoulder. He wound up not having to get surgery but nevertheless found himself on the outside looking in at the Phillies' Opening Day rotation. So instead he went down to AAA Eugene, didn't even pitch particularly well, but still found himself recalled on June 2nd, where from then on he was the best pitcher in all of baseball.
Bachler, who, yes, I gave him a Bermanized nickname, sue me, hits the low to mid 90s on his 4 seam fastball and combines that with a nasty forkball and good straight change to pick up a good amount of strikeouts. The curve surprisingly hangs very little and Bachler's knack to keep the ball in the bottom half of the strike zone led him to allow just 4 HRs all year long, the lowest rate in baseball. His control has historically been more off and on; last year it was relatively on in Vince Bachler terms. The one knock on him - "knock" - is that he tires himself out relatively quickly. 5 of those 7 complete games Bachler threw were shutouts; when he's not literally shutting his opponents down he's a 6-7 inning starter at best.
Bachler will spend the entire year in the major leagues this year. Missing those first 2 months probably cost him the Cy Young but if he keeps this up, 1974 is a real possibility.
Lester Bangs
3B No. 6
LR, 5'11" 194 lbs.
Born 1948-12-17
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 SPA A | .241 | 87 | 294 | 43 | 71 | 12 | 3 | 8 | 28 | 28 | 44 | 5 |
| 1971 REA AA | .286 | 17 | 56 | 11 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 2 |
| 1972 SPA A | .275 | 65 | 182 | 25 | 50 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 35 | 3 |
| 1972 REA AA | .211 | 5 | 19 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 1973 EUG AAA | .274 | 72 | 201 | 23 | 55 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 22 | 23 | 8 |
| 1973 PHI MLB | .214 | 27 | 70 | 8 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 6 | 10 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
24 year old Lester Bangs had a real opportunity to show something in the majors with an August call-up but didn't. At first glance he doesn't really seem to do enough things to become a major league starter. Bangs should hit a lot better than .214 but he had zero power between AAA Eugene and the pros and getting just 10 extra-base hits in almost 300 combined at-bats is pretty bad. No pitcher in the league is going to nibble enough with him to make him a walk threat either so in order to be great he'll have to use his speed to hit for a good average. Bangs isn't even a good defensive third baseman: he moves well to his left but is all over the place with his throws to first. He committed 11 errors for a .904 fielding average in Euguene and although that got better in the majors (.977 and just one error), expecting him to keep that up is tempting fate.
Bangs nevertheless will fight for the job in spring training next year. The Phillies, for being a 104 win ballclub, are surprisingly short at the position.
Ed Begley Jr.
1B No. 37
RR, 6'4" 222 lbs.
Born 1949-09-18
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 TC S A | .389 | 33 | 126 | 24 | 49 | 15 | 0 | 6 | 30 | 22 | 17 | 0 |
| 1971 SPA A | .385 | 6 | 26 | 2 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| 1972 SPA A | .318 | 85 | 333 | 54 | 106 | 16 | 0 | 19 | 62 | 28 | 57 | 0 |
| 1972 REA AA | .239 | 41 | 138 | 18 | 33 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 22 | 27 | 12 | 1 |
| 1973 EUG AAA | .327 | 103 | 391 | 56 | 128 | 24 | 2 | 17 | 55 | 51 | 33 | 0 |
| 1973 PHI MLB | .326 | 54 | 187 | 24 | 61 | 11 | 1 | 5 | 27 | 22 | 19 | 1 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
It was looking like it was going to wind up being a really fraught battle between 1970 draftee Ed Begley Jr and incumbent Josh Coffey. Begley Jr was a mid-round pick who just suddenly figured out how to not strike out in 1972 and that elevated him into a potential superstar. At the same time, Coffey stopped being a .300+ hitter. Was magic involved?
Ed Begley Jr. looks like a movie star and plays like one on the field. That's not fair; William Bendix was a movie star and looked completely out of place. Begley Jr. looks like a ballplayer. Like Coffey, he doesn't strike out, ever. Unlike Coffey, everything that comes off of his bat turns into a line drive and it's easy to see how this could translate into multiple batting titles as his career progresses. He's got that same 15-18 HR power that Coffey does or at least did... but the point is, he still has it. Begley's even slower than Coffey afield and hit into a combined 25 GIDPs between AAA and the major leagues. That will probably always be an issue with him. He does do a decent job at first base, compensating for the lack of speed and range with relatively soft hands.
At this point you can fill Ed Begley Jr.'s name into the lineup with a pen. He mostly hit 5th and 6th last year but I'd expect him to move up to 3rd for 1974. The only bad news is, he exceeded rookie requirements this season.
John Belushi
RF No. 4
LL, 5'6" 206 lbs.
Born 1949-09-04
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 SPA A | .265 | 23 | 83 | 15 | 22 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 22 | 2 |
| 1971 REA AA | .316 | 81 | 307 | 52 | 97 | 15 | 1 | 7 | 38 | 39 | 43 | 8 |
| 1971 PHI MLB | .333 | 21 | 66 | 16 | 22 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 0 |
| 1972 PHI MLB | .263 | 122 | 414 | 63 | 109 | 19 | 10 | 15 | 58 | 54 | 78 | 9 |
| 1973 PHI MLB | .307 | 25 | 75 | 7 | 23 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 4 | 14 | 1 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
This time last year John Belushi was looking like one third of a fantastic, young outfield. Sure, he wasn't perfect in 1972 but for a kid who only turned 23 during the season, just holding his own in the major leagues was enough. He was off to a great start in 1973 when he fractured his knee in mid-April and missed the entire season. He came back to a team that was contending too much to give him anything more than 8 September pinch-hitting appearances. Belushi struggled with the lack of PT, going 0-8 with 5 Ks in those.
Wherever Belushi winds up in 1974, his new team should still see a good, solid player, albeit one who's now missed an entire year of development. He was never likely to keep up the .343 average he was holding in April and scouts are skeptical that he actually turned a corner as a contact hitter but if he did, that could be a thing that transforms him from league-average to better. The 15 HRs Belushi hit in 1972 were a career high, so don't expect too much power. He had good speed before the kneecap injury which helped him both in the field and on the bases. Spring training will be where we'll really be able to see if that injury robbed him or not.
I guess it's physically possible that the Phillies send, for example, Bryant Tarala out and keep Belushi on the team. He seems much, much better suited both for this club and for his own development to move on to someone who can live with the growing pains and, hopefully, wind up with a guy who is as talented as he is naturally funny.
Lee Citro
C No. 13
RR, 5'10" 198 lbs.
Born 1938-05-26
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 PHI MLB | .254 | 49 | 134 | 9 | 34 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 17 | 25 | 0 |
| 1972 PHI MLB | .251 | 102 | 327 | 41 | 82 | 14 | 0 | 6 | 47 | 34 | 56 | 0 |
| 1973 PHI MLB | .292 | 63 | 154 | 16 | 45 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 23 | 24 | 21 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Lee Citro put together his best offensive season in years and all it took was being placed into a semi-platoon with Nikolai Volkoff. They're both right-handers so it wasn't a platoon, exactly, but more of a situation where the Phillies used the elder statesman Citro when they needed a bit more pop than what the all-defense, no-offense Volkoff was able to provide. Citro struck out less than once every 10 at-bats, hit for his highest average since 1964 when he also hit .292, and even pinch-hit once (he went 0-1 but it's the thought that counts!). He's not anything great defensively, especially as he ages, and he's not really a mentor type either, but hey, he did throw out half of the guys who tried to steal on him as he overcame a weak arm to fool guys all year long.
Citro was only the Phillies' starter for one year in the 4 since he was traded away from the Cardinals after the 1969 season. Sam Rahn was their starter from 1970-71 and now he's given way to Volkoff. Citro's the kind of guy to complain publicly about just about anything but as long as the Phillies are winning 100 games a year, they can kind of tune that out.
Josh Coffey
1B No. 14
RR, 6'2" 198 lbs.
Born 1943-06-20
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 PHI MLB | .302 | 156 | 632 | 85 | 191 | 26 | 0 | 18 | 76 | 59 | 67 | 1 |
| 1972 PHI MLB | .261 | 154 | 610 | 63 | 159 | 22 | 1 | 14 | 79 | 59 | 57 | 0 |
| 1973 PHI MLB | .258 | 125 | 431 | 47 | 111 | 25 | 1 | 3 | 45 | 29 | 39 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Two years ago, Josh Coffey hit .300, got an All-Star invite, and looked like one of the young up and coming stars in this league. He's struggled to even hit .260 since and in 1973 found himself replaced in the lineup down the stretch by prospect Ed Begley Jr. What happened?
The easiest thing is to just look at the statline: Coffey stopped hitting for power. That really only explains 1973 though. He's never been a huge power guy but prior to 1973 he had 15-ish HR power at least. He's also always been a guy to swing at everything and last year pitchers just plain didn't give him anything really meaty, knowing he'd drop an outside pitch into play anyway. Coffey is slow on the basepaths so the lack of strikeouts make him a double play machine: he grounded into 20 of them last year and that was actually the lowest total of his 4 year starting stint. He's not a great fielder and fans should not expect him to move out into the outfield even if there's potentially a place for him (there isn't in Philly anyway): it's first or DH for this guy.
At this point in his career, Coffey could probably use a change of venue. He's got the potential to be a nicer, slightly less liable to commit a huge error in the World Series version of Bill Buckner. Billy Buck was a .290 guy, not a .260 guy.
Tom Grohs
CL No. 22
LL, 6'0" 192 lbs.
Born 1942-09-18
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 PHI MLB | 9 | 7 | 20 | 3.54 | 67 | 0 | 0 | 86.1 | 84 | 41 | 34 | 25 | 60 |
| 1972 PHI MLB | 6 | 4 | 20 | 2.25 | 55 | 0 | 0 | 80.0 | 63 | 22 | 20 | 21 | 63 |
| 1973 PHI MLB | 3 | 10 | 27 | 3.03 | 57 | 0 | 0 | 80.0 | 94 | 38 | 27 | 23 | 45 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
Tom "The Hippie" Grohs is a great argument for why we should have long hair in OOTP. Also though he took an approach last year where he decided he wanted to democratize the late innings. His K rate fell to a career low 5.1/9 as he seemed to go out of his way to give all of his fielders a chance to shine. The real question here is, was this actually by design?
The scouts point out that while Grohs once got into the low to mid 90s on his fastball he now doesn't even hit 90 anymore. That's kind of a big deal for a guy who basically only throws fastballs (his "change of pace" is a 2 seamer). Expanding on this idea, it took hitters a couple of years to figure it out but they really did last year, with Grohs losing a career-high 10 games while blowing 8 of 35 save chances (I guess in fairness he's always been a bit mercurial when it comes to save situations; in 1972 for example he was only 20/31). Grohs allowed a .291 average as well; maybe the "democratize the 9th" approach would work for a good defensive team but the Phillies' porous infield is not it.
Grohs is a lefty so if he loses the closer job he might still fit in as a good LOIGY type. He had reverse splits last year but there's nothing about his stuff that indicates this should be the case; instead what probably happened was the only lefties who stayed in to face him were the cream of the crop. Leaving him as the closer seems untenable.
Bryant Gumbel
2B No. 2
RR, 6'2" 202 lbs.
Born 1948-09-27
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 REA AA | .296 | 101 | 415 | 55 | 123 | 14 | 6 | 4 | 35 | 35 | 47 | 2 |
| 1971 EUG AAA | .330 | 28 | 112 | 15 | 37 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 1 |
| 1972 EUG AAA | .239 | 98 | 309 | 25 | 74 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 17 | 14 | 41 | 6 |
| 1973 EUG AAA | .300 | 89 | 327 | 35 | 98 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 40 | 16 | 19 | 2 |
| 1973 PHI MLB | .253 | 52 | 174 | 15 | 44 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 11 | 18 | 1 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
25 year old Bryant Gumbel put himself on the map with a .330 month in AAA Eugene in 1971. Following a rough 72 he seemed to be back in action in 73 and that combined with the continued struggles of starter Nate Rowe led to the Phillies calling him up in midseason. A gutsy move, for sure, but considering how low Rowe had gotten to, it was a deserved one.
Gumbel probably isn't going to be a .300 hitter in the major leagues but he could hit .270 to .280. Unlike Rowe he does a decent job at avoiding Ks and he's got decent enough foot speed to turn the occasional groundout into a single, although the speed he flashed in college (30+ steals 2 straight seasons) seems to be a thing he left in the dormitory. Gumbel has no power to speak of and to his credit he understands this, generally taking an approach at the plate to go with the pitch. Defensively he is great at getting out of the way of sliding baserunners on DP tries and turned 114 of them between AAA and the major leagues. That number would have been 3rd best in the NL had it all happened in the bigs.
Gumbel was never ranked highly as a prospect and at this point probaby doesn't have a lot left to add to his game. He should be enough until 22 year old Japanese director / prospect Mamoru Oshii (.299, 4, 16 at A Rocky Mount) is ready to go.
Alberto Juantorena
LF No. 23
LL, 6'4" 201 lbs.
Born 1950-11-19
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 ASH AA | .260 | 43 | 169 | 15 | 44 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 22 | 14 | 12 | 0 |
| 1971 TUC AAA | .277 | 93 | 350 | 54 | 97 | 23 | 4 | 5 | 47 | 39 | 30 | 6 |
| 1972 EUG AAA | .264 | 93 | 292 | 37 | 77 | 9 | 1 | 12 | 42 | 39 | 30 | 27 |
| 1972 PHI MLB | .330 | 67 | 276 | 54 | 91 | 12 | 3 | 21 | 55 | 25 | 23 | 21 |
| 1973 PHI MLB | .311 | 155 | 585 | 126 | 182 | 38 | 14 | 29 | 113 | 84 | 55 | 38 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
A complete stud. The odds-on favorite for NL MVP. The best young player we've seen in a long, long time. What else is there to say about Alberto Juantorena? Oh yeah, he also is an Olympic level runner. He probably rescues puppies in his free time.
Juantorena led the NL in total bases, extra base hits, triples, runs scored, on-base percentage, and slugging, and finished in the top 10 in... everything. It would probably be faster to list any category he didn't top 10. Sacrifice hits? The ball simply flies off his bat and he likes to hit it to all fields. The White Sox' trade of him for backup catcher Zach Delisle (now retired) has got to go in the books as one of the worst trades of all time. Yikes. I noted that he's an Olympic sprinter - he runs the 400 and 800 meters for his native Cuba - and for once that speed does translate onto the bases. Juantorena is a good if not great left fielder who lacks a great first step to take advantage of that speed. This, it feels like, only serves to remind everyone of how great he is at everything else.
Pitcher Steven Tyler (17-10, 2.83 this year) won the Rookie of the Year award over Juantorena last season owing to the fact that he played the whole year and Juantorena did not. Will that be the greatest ROY snub of all time? It'll surely be up there. Juantorena will just have to content himself with multiple MVP awards and, let's just predict it now, 10+ All-Star trips by the time his career is over.
Greg Lake
RF/CF No. 25
LL, 6'2" 196 lbs.
Born 1947-11-08
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 REA AA | .208 | 58 | 221 | 37 | 46 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 21 | 24 | 40 | 5 |
| 1971 EUG AAA | .237 | 77 | 283 | 34 | 67 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 30 | 30 | 39 | 6 |
| 1972 EUG AAA | .260 | 105 | 365 | 48 | 95 | 15 | 7 | 13 | 64 | 37 | 46 | 7 |
| 1972 PHI MLB | .255 | 28 | 51 | 15 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 1 |
| 1973 PHI MLB | .294 | 140 | 486 | 71 | 143 | 31 | 9 | 18 | 90 | 43 | 66 | 9 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Greg Lake has got himself a great case for Rookie of the Year. The 25 year old guitar player and singer for the rock band King Crimson flirted with .300 and the century mark in RBIs, held down a middle of the lineup spot for a 100 win team, and oh by the way had excellent range in right field. It took the former 1969 10th overall pick a few years to get there but oh boy did he ever in 1973.
Lake will turn on the high inside fastball and crush it but unlike a lot of power guys he won't look for that pitch to the detriment of everything else. His 18 HRs tied a career high at any level of baseball and scouts... just aren't listing his power for some reason so that's probably about as good as it'll get. Lake has got some pure speed although he needs to learn to control it, going just 9/19 in steal attempts last year. That speed absolutely translates into the field though where he's got 80 grade range and the only reason he's not in CF already is the presence of Bryant Tarala over there. In fact, right does highlight one of Lake's few issues out there: he has an only average arm and didn't even manage to get a baserunner kill in 101 starts at the position last season (he did ace 3 runners in 19 starts in CF).
Lake is the 3rd best outfielder in the best outfield in baseball. Whatever issues the Phillies' infield might have, when you have three guys this good... man oh man.
Tim Natalie
MR/LR No. 16
LL, 6'6" 203 lbs.
Born 1946-03-20
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 EUG AAA | 10 | 10 | 0 | 2.85 | 27 | 27 | 15 | 205.0 | 177 | 74 | 65 | 84 | 61 |
| 1971 PHI MLB | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2.80 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 25.2 | 22 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 11 |
| 1972 EUG AAA | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.80 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 35.0 | 20 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 11 |
| 1972 PHI MLB | 11 | 10 | 0 | 3.68 | 29 | 29 | 6 | 200.1 | 198 | 84 | 82 | 57 | 93 |
| 1973 PHI MLB | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2.89 | 30 | 5 | 0 | 65.1 | 55 | 24 | 21 | 20 | 34 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
Natalie went from being a finesse back of the rotation guy to a finesse lefty out of the bullpen in 1973. It was if anything a little surprising that he pitched as well as he did, as his K rate was horrible low (just 4.7/9, including 5.5/9 in relief). He only had a few spot starts and fairly demonstrated why the move to the bullpen was the best of ideas - a 3.93 ERA as a starter with a K/W ratio barely positive (15-13 in 34.1 IP) but a 1.74 as a reliever. He also pitched in pretty low leverage situations, especially in the first half of the season, but he did so well that he probably deserves more opportunities when the game is on the line.
Natalie did a decent job of shutting down both lefties and righties in relief, inducing a good amount of groundball outs in spite of a pitching arsenal that has been downgraded from lowkey really good when he was the #12 prospect in the game in the late 60s to barely adequate for the major leagues now. Still, if relief works for him, it works for him, right?
Mark O'Connor
CF No. 17
LL, 5'10" 185 lbs.
Born 1944-08-19
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 PHI MLB | .198 | 33 | 81 | 8 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 27 | 2 |
| 1972 EUG AAA | .191 | 42 | 115 | 11 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 19 | 17 | 3 |
| 1972 PHI MLB | .250 | 16 | 20 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 1973 EUG AAA | .333 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1973 PHI MLB | .173 | 45 | 75 | 8 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 8 | 13 | 1 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Mark O'Connor is a guy who's been given lots of chances to play at the major league level but now at age 29 he's in serious danger of seeing his career end as the Phillies have a glut of younger and much better outfielders. O'Connor was never a massive prospect. He's always had serious contact issues that negated his speed and didn't have the kind of power that would make a minor league hitting instructor want to try to work with him more. He's been a solid centerfielder in the past but as of late he's lost a step or two so even there he's not really an asset you'd want to depend upon.
O'Connor was the team's 5th or 6th outfielder for around the first half to two-thirds of last year. Then guys like Billy Ocean and John Belushi got called up and his services were no longer needed. He's still on the roster at this point because... the roster is 40 men in size, I guess. I can't think of a better reason.
Chris Olivares
SP No. 20
RR, 5'11" 190 lbs.
Born 1947-01-13
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 MIL MLB | 9 | 15 | 0 | 4.17 | 32 | 30 | 10 | 217.2 | 219 | 112 | 101 | 73 | 125 |
| 1972 MIL MLB | 8 | 19 | 0 | 3.45 | 31 | 31 | 12 | 234.1 | 228 | 92 | 90 | 64 | 137 |
| 1973 PHI MLB | 19 | 4 | 0 | 2.83 | 31 | 30 | 8 | 228.1 | 197 | 77 | 72 | 56 | 166 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
Thanks, Milwaukee! At the low, low cost of Marius Gaddi, backup 3rd baseman Francisco Carrasco (.230, 2, 11), and OF prospect Richard Dean Anderson (.190, 3, 11 at AAA Evanston but he's only 23 I guess), the Phillies put together half of their starting rotation. Olivares along with Vince Bachler represents the power half: his heater gets up into the mid 90s and he finished 8th in the NL with 6.5 Ks/9.... oh and also 1st in winning percentage but that's not power so much as just overall successful pitching. He even, unlike a lot of Phillies pitchers, did well in October; his lone outing was a heartbreaking 1-0 loss at San Diego when his team for some reason couldn't solve Cesar Barreras (13-15, 3.57 in the regular season) where he threw 7 innings of 5-hit (and, sadly, 1 run) ball.
Oliveras's big out pitch is a nice curveball that breaks straight down thanks to his over-the-top demeaner. In addition to that and the aforementioned 4 seamer he also throws both a straight change and a splitter to keep hitters off guard. He's got excellent control, arguably the best in the rotation and that's potentially saying a lot. He was 17-34 the previous two seasons with Milwaukee but that was mostly due to a lack of support, especially in 1972. In 1971 the Brewers also might have tried to stretch him a bit too far into games but Olivares sure looked like he could handle what the Phillies did with him last year - even in September he was 5-0, 2.92. This is a good team when it comes to hitting and Olivares is part of that: he hit .241 last year and has a lifetime average of close to .200 (.195).
Olivares went from leading the AL in losses in 1972 to leading the NL in winning percentage in 1973. That's a nice turnaround.
Billy Ording
SP/LR No. 38
RR, 6'2" 201 lbs.
Born 1943-10-16
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 PHI MLB | 10 | 15 | 0 | 4.21 | 33 | 33 | 4 | 213.1 | 208 | 105 | 100 | 87 | 121 |
| 1972 PHI MLB | 11 | 6 | 0 | 3.72 | 30 | 22 | 3 | 169.1 | 166 | 72 | 70 | 63 | 97 |
| 1973 PHI MLB | 10 | 8 | 1 | 4.01 | 33 | 22 | 3 | 159.0 | 158 | 77 | 71 | 63 | 92 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
Someone had to be the odd man out when Vince Bachler got recalled from AAA Eugene and the Phillies were dead-set on sticking with the 4 man rotation all year long. That man was Billy Ording. He was simply, as the season progressed, the 5th best starter on the team. A lot of the time you will have injuries that put a guy like this back into your rotation but Philadelphia was pretty injury free last year so Ording mostly appeared in long relief from August onwards. He was quite a bit more effective in that role both in terms of ERA (3.38 in relief vs 4.09 as a starter) and in terms of the stuff he showed off (7.3 K/9 vs 5.0, and he's never been much of a strikeout guy). Still, that has the giant caveat that those innings were pretty low leverage. Still, when Ording throws in relief he can drop the "anything that works" approach he normally uses and instead rely on an excellent forkball and a decent enough if slow-ish (it'll hit 90 on a good day) fastball.
The other downside of using Ording as a relief pitcher is that it takes away his single biggest asset as a pitcher: his hitting. Ording is a career .286 hitter with 7 HRs and 52 RBIs in 381 career at-bats and that's even with an off year in 1973 (.214, 1, 6). As a pitcher, though, Ording... the Phillies care most about his, you know, pitching.
Ivan Perez
SS/2B No. 47
RR, 5'11" 191 lbs.
Born 1944-06-02
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 CAL MLB | .238 | 23 | 63 | 11 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 0 |
| 1972 CAL MLB | .186 | 51 | 102 | 11 | 19 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 14 | 11 | 27 | 1 |
| 1973 CAL MLB | .237 | 47 | 131 | 15 | 31 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 11 | 36 | 1 |
| 1973 PHI MLB | .238 | 15 | 42 | 9 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 15 | 1 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Ivan Perez is a 29 year old pretty nondescript utility infielder and it's a little bit crazy that the Phillies are even entertaining thoughts of using him as the regular shortstop in 1974. He had a lot of problems connecting with the ball, especially after he landed in the NL in the Mike Brookes trade, and only some basepath speed and a bit of luck kept his average from diving lower. Perez has actually shown a fair bit of power - in a now-7 year, 425 at-bat career he has 13 doubles, 5 triples, and 10 HRs, with 7 of those homeruns coming in the spacious Big A in Anaheim. He has an uppercut to his swing which cuts down on extra base opportunities. Defensively he's a definite plus, with a pivot move that would potentially make him a Gold Glove candidate should anyone be crazy enough to play him full-time at second base.
If Perez does get regular playing time it'll be because the Phillies have a real need for something productive in the infield aside from Tony Shannon. Defensive excellence is one way of producing.
Danny Plaunt
SP No. 45
RR, 6'3" 201 lbs.
Born 1944-10-25
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 MIL MLB | 6 | 6 | 23 | 3.42 | 67 | 0 | 0 | 97.1 | 88 | 38 | 37 | 28 | 70 |
| 1972 MIL MLB | 15 | 10 | 0 | 3.08 | 32 | 32 | 9 | 236.1 | 204 | 87 | 81 | 90 | 132 |
| 1973 PHI MLB | 13 | 10 | 0 | 3.61 | 35 | 35 | 9 | 246.1 | 236 | 110 | 99 | 84 | 151 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
Plaunt, acquired over the offseason in the trade that moved troubled former Cy Young Award winner Marius Gaddi (6-19, 4.33) to Milwaukee, spent the entire season in the Phillies' rotation but when it came time for the playoffs he was the odd man out. He came out of the bullpen twice in the NLCS, most notably becoming the pitcher of record in that ugly 13-10 Game 1 loss to the Padres. Plaunt gave up 5 runs on 4 hits and a walk as the Phillies' closer Tom Grohs was unable to stop pinch-hitter Matt Gelinas (.250, 2, 8 in the regular season) and SS Joe Wicker (.256, 7, 51) from driving in the runners he inherited from Plaunt. I'm not saying Danny Plaunt secretly had a good series but that 12.27 postseason ERA is slightly better than it looks.
The Phillies acquired Plaunt as a more stable option to the up-and-down Gaddi and that's pretty much what he got. In his 2nd straight season since moving back into the rotation he equalled his 22 quality starts from the year before and even though the numbers say his ERA climbed by half a run, a 3.61 in the Vet is still pretty solid. Plaunt throws a circle change that keeps his platoon splits about equal (.248 vs LHs to .255 against righties). He can sometimes be prone to miss a little more than a top-line pitcher might and he had a pretty rough April (1-3, 4.89) as a result, but when everything is working well he's solid. Plaunt has finished in the top 10 in lowest HRA rate and that includes a 0.37 mark last year - just 10 HRs allowed all season long. He's a career .176 hitter with 3 HRs and 20 RBIs, so for a pitcher isn't a guy you can just ignore.
Plaunt will likely slide right back in as thee #4 starter again in 1974. The only real alternative would be to replace Tom Grohs as the team's stopper. I think he's got more value as a starter than a reliever.
Aaron Rhoades
RF No. 43
RR, 5'9" 199 lbs.
Born 1944-02-13
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 TUC AAA | .529 | 6 | 17 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 1971 CHW MLB | .203 | 35 | 59 | 7 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 0 |
| 1972 EUG AAA | .244 | 78 | 172 | 25 | 42 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 20 | 25 | 16 | 8 |
| 1972 PHI MLB | .500 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1973 PHI MLB | .196 | 33 | 97 | 11 | 19 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 11 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Aaron Rhoades is your classic AAAA player who collects major league at-bats when someone in a team's top 5 outfielders are hurt or otherwise unavailable. Rhoades got a major-league high 97 at-bats last year and hit at the Timonen Line, which is pretty well in line with what he did in his previous stops in New York and Chicago in the AL. He's got the knock on being injury prone himself although he hasn't gotten a major injury in 6 years now, probably because teams just don't use him all that often. If you squint you can kind of see a guy who has okay contact ability, but the complete lack of power means he's unlikely to even see a lot of playing time in the minor leagues.
Rhoades has to be super bummed that his team didn't advance any further than the NLCS this year; this was clearly his best shot at winning a World Series ring and probably his last gasp of significant PAs in the major leagues.
Nate Rowe
2B/IF No. 24
RR, 6'1" 200 lbs.
Born 1945-03-20
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 PHI MLB | .337 | 80 | 276 | 39 | 93 | 13 | 3 | 11 | 54 | 20 | 35 | 1 |
| 1972 PHI MLB | .254 | 150 | 595 | 63 | 151 | 17 | 3 | 16 | 70 | 56 | 103 | 0 |
| 1973 PHI MLB | .216 | 95 | 329 | 38 | 71 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 45 | 34 | 49 | 2 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Nate Rowe is a good example of how even a 104 win team can have players struggle at some positions. Rowe hit .337 in half a year in 1971 and maybe got fans' hopes up a bit too much. His average fell more than 80 points the next year and perhaps more ominously he finished 3rd in the NL in strikeouts. That led to yet another tumble in 1973, dropping his average all the way down to .208 before prospect Bryant Gumbel took over in early August. Then Gumbel got hurt in the NLCS and forced the Phils to use Rowe again as their starter for the final 2 games. He went 1 for 7 and the team lost both.
You obviously can't blame Rowe for the abrupt end to the Phillies' year. There are some very legitimate questions to be had about this player though. Rowe strikes out too much to be a .330 hitter; in fact, .250 is likely closer to his expected batting average. He did show some nice power for a middle infielder in 71 and 72 but last year tried to choke up on his swing to avoid the Ks and that just lost the power without giving him any contact back. He's zero threat to steal and still wants to pull everything. Whoever winds up as Rowe's hitting coach, whether it's Philadelphia's Matt Robinson or someone else, will have a lot to work on. Rowe has sure hands and filled in adequately at short and third last year; obviously with the way he hit you don't want to put him at 3B for long. He could practically teach a class on how to bunt.
Rowe is a natural born leader although in baseball guys tend not to rally behind .216 hitting utility infielders. A change of venue seems like the way to go for him, especially with Bryant Gumbel around.
Omar Sanchez
SU No. 29
LR, 6'5" 201 lbs.
Born 1942-06-10
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 PHI MLB | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2.70 | 42 | 0 | 0 | 56.2 | 46 | 20 | 17 | 10 | 40 |
| 1972 PHI MLB | 6 | 1 | 6 | 2.24 | 54 | 1 | 1 | 76.1 | 56 | 20 | 19 | 13 | 51 |
| 1973 PHI MLB | 4 | 3 | 6 | 4.04 | 53 | 0 | 0 | 62.1 | 65 | 28 | 28 | 16 | 46 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
Omar Sanchez had a horrible, horrible June that cast a ball on the rest of his season. You remove that one month and he had a 3.09 ERA last season, still a tough worse than what he'd established the previous two years but more or less in line. That July, though... 10 games, 12 innings pitched, 17 hits allowed, a .315 average allowed, and an 8.25 ERA. Sanchez carries that same "I throw two fastballs" approach that closer Tom Grohs does; he also throws a whole lot harder, for better or for worse. He still gets the Ks but he can also miss the cut fastball out over the plate sometimes and guys will knock those out of the park.
Sanchez was the team's closer in 1969 but at 31 that probably isn't a move he's ready to make. Barring another July collapse (and to his credit, recovery), you should expect him to provide solid setup innings in 1974.
Tony Shannon
SS/2B No. 1
RR, 6'1" 202 lbs.
Born 1945-07-06
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 PHI MLB | .330 | 150 | 575 | 100 | 190 | 30 | 4 | 14 | 76 | 92 | 79 | 39 |
| 1972 PHI MLB | .281 | 122 | 469 | 68 | 132 | 19 | 4 | 12 | 43 | 83 | 66 | 26 |
| 1973 PHI MLB | .280 | 143 | 547 | 96 | 153 | 27 | 13 | 8 | 61 | 72 | 68 | 18 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Tony Shannon made his 3rd straight All-Star Game and is the best player at the position. His days at shortstop are numbered and even last year he played 26 games at second base. On a per-game basis, Shannon might have been the worst defensive shortstop in the game, at least among those who started the majority of the year. Thing is, even with his iffy arm and not-so-great hands, it's not easy to find a guy who can hit so well and play the position to a semi-passable level and that's the conundrum the Phillies find themselves in.
Offensively Shannon had his worst season since his first year with the Phillies in 1970. It's still pretty great. He has all the tools on offense: speed, contact, plate discipline, and power. Shannon concentrated more on line drives to the gaps compared to previous seasons; his combined 40 doubles and triples were a career high and he finished 2nd in the NL in triples, 1 behind teammate Alberto Juantorena. He moved around between the top 3 slots in the lineup and for good reason: he's got natural leadoff tools, he's got the bat control to hit 2nd, and he has that pure contact to hit 3rd. That said, the 3 hole was a bit of a sore point for him: even though Shannon hit over .300 batting 1st or 2nd he dropped to .232 hitting 3rd.
The Phillies tried Jose Singleton last year and it didn't work out well at all. This year they have Cecil Womack (.252, 6, 37 with AAA Eugene but 3-30 with 1 RBI in a September call-up) and former Angels utility man Ivan Perez to try and fill in.
Jose Singleton
SS/2B No. 17
RR, 6'2" 194 lbs.
Born 1944-01-30
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 EUG AAA | .234 | 122 | 380 | 53 | 89 | 16 | 2 | 8 | 32 | 72 | 60 | 7 |
| 1972 EUG AAA | .192 | 22 | 26 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 0 |
| 1972 PHI MLB | .165 | 31 | 79 | 9 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 15 | 20 | 2 |
| 1973 EUG AAA | .319 | 15 | 47 | 3 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 5 | 12 | 3 |
| 1973 PHI MLB | .178 | 49 | 135 | 13 | 24 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 11 | 40 | 3 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Jose Singleton has gotten 220 at-bats over the last two seasons and has hit .177 in that time. At this point it's save to assume that this is the 29 year old's level of major league hitting. He has major issues handling major league pitching - balls just go right on by him. He has good speed but it's kind of a moot point when the contact is this low. Defensively he's fine, definitely better than Tony Shannon, but doesn't have the kind of flash that would make you even think about using him as anything but a stopgap solution up the middle and a temporary one at that.
I sincerely doubt we'll see Singleton again in one of these writeups, unless, like, the league expands to 60 teams next year.
Richard Starkey
SP No. 36
LL, 6'2" 179 lbs.
Born 1949-05-29
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 PHI MLB | 19 | 8 | 0 | 3.51 | 36 | 36 | 10 | 258.1 | 237 | 111 | 101 | 68 | 139 |
| 1972 PHI MLB | 18 | 9 | 0 | 2.91 | 30 | 30 | 11 | 231.1 | 200 | 81 | 75 | 72 | 125 |
| 1973 PHI MLB | 23 | 12 | 0 | 2.44 | 40 | 40 | 20 | 317.0 | 298 | 111 | 86 | 86 | 184 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
Look, it's been some time since I finished this season to write these reports. I know I claimed a couple of other guys in this league were the top lefthanders. I might have forgotten completely about the "24" year old Ringo Starr. With peace and love, he was an absolute beast. The only other pitcher since 1958 to complete at least 20 games was Tracy Mosher with the Yankees in 1970 (25-12, 2.67) and Mosher was almost a decade older (in baseball years) at the time. The IP list is filled with recent guys because the OOTP defaults to a 5 man rotation for the 50s and 60s for some reason but Starkey's 317 was still the 8th highest of all time and only 14 innings behind what Santos Arango worked for the Pirates in 1972 (20-15, 2.63). And for all that usage, Ringo was still 6th in the league in ERA.
Starkey got all those Ks - 6th in the NL - from all the work to be honest. He's actually a bit of a finesse pitcher who's best pitches are a forkball that can break into the dirt and a 12-to-6 curve. He tends to get more groundouts than strikeouts with that selection. You do need to have some pinpoint control to be as successful has Ringo has been since he broke through to the major leagues in 1971 and he has; in fact, he even improved slightly on his walk rate in his 3rd year, dropping from 2.8 BB/9 to 2.4. Occasionally that forkball will break off a bit too hard and will go back to the backstop; Starkey has thrown 30 wild pitches in his 3 year career including a league-leading 14 last season. That said, he sure doesn't miss much, not outside of the strike zone or over the plate, as he allowed just 14 HRs all year long too.
Starkey is the real deal. The one thing he might lack, being a drummer from Liverpool as opposed to a guy with a long and storied baseball career, is an intuitive knack for the game. He definitely needs a good batterymate to help him there. Fortunately both of the Phillies' backstops, Lee Citro and Nikolai Volkoff, understand the game in and out.
Bryant Tarala
CF No. 41
LR, 6'0" 197 lbs.
Born 1942-01-12
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 PHI MLB | .224 | 123 | 446 | 81 | 100 | 13 | 4 | 17 | 58 | 87 | 96 | 24 |
| 1972 PHI MLB | .233 | 101 | 326 | 46 | 76 | 17 | 3 | 14 | 37 | 54 | 73 | 11 |
| 1973 PHI MLB | .239 | 125 | 457 | 91 | 109 | 10 | 4 | 22 | 50 | 83 | 108 | 22 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
When Bryant freaking Tarala plays the whole season for you, you know you're living in rareified air. The injury-prone, hellbent for leather centerfielder played his most games in a year since 1968 when he was still in Baltimore. He still missed 3 weeks with a broken rib he suffered, predictably, crashing into an outfield wall, but even that happened in April and in spite of a couple of minor, nagging injuries Tarala never succumbed to anything major the whole year long.
Tarala is a man with a big uppercut swing who likes to sit and wait for his pitch and knock it 50 miles. He's been coached in the past to try to use his prodigious speed but he's never become a particularly good bunter and at 31 and with his offensive profile, can you blame him? What Tarala does instead of collecting a lot of singles (and doubles and triples) is coax pitchers into walks. Even as a leadoff guy, where he sat for most of the season, Tarala walked 78 times for a .356 on-base percentage that's especially nifty compared to that low batting average. Once he's on base he's not necessarily a threat to lead the league in steals anymore (like he did in 1968) but he does have 20+ steals a year in him any year he stays healthy. Tarala's a Gold Glove quality centerfielder; in fact, he's won two of them in 1969 and 1971 and could very well add a 3rd this year.
You just plain can't expect Bryant Tarala to stay healthy again in 1974. The Phillies do have Greg Lake as a more than adequate replacement plan when (not if) he gets hurt. But for as long as he is healthy... I just realized that the tandem of Tarala and Lake is an insanely rangey, lockdown defensive duo, maybe the best CF/RF combo of all time when it comes to chasing down flies.
Nelson Vargas
OF No. 50
RL, 6'4" 199 lbs.
Born 1943-02-16
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 CAL MLB | .249 | 108 | 410 | 49 | 102 | 16 | 9 | 5 | 31 | 36 | 56 | 7 |
| 1972 CLE MLB | .290 | 139 | 552 | 88 | 160 | 17 | 1 | 14 | 54 | 52 | 70 | 11 |
| 1973 EUG AAA | .333 | 5 | 21 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1973 PHI MLB | .317 | 45 | 123 | 22 | 39 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 16 | 16 | 12 | 3 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Nelson Vargas was shipped off from Cleveland to Philadelphia in a cost-cutting move for the Tribe and a championship-intensifying move for the Phillies. As it turned out, the Phillies did win their division easily but it wasn't because of Vargas. The 30 year old right fielder, coming off of his 2nd All-Star appearance in 1972 with Cleveland, missed the first two months of the season with a strained groin, played for about a month, missed another six weeks in July with a partially torn labrum in his throwing shoulder, and by the time he finally came back, Philadelphia had a completely full outfield and relegated Vargas to pinch-hitting duties.
It's a mark of how incredibly strong the Phillies' outfield is that they don't have a place for Vargas anymore. A .296 hitter, he's finished in the top 10 in his league in hitting twice and is always a dark horse to win a batting title. He's got good speed and hits a lot of line drives. That combined with a low K rate - even with the injuries and the new league, Vargas struck out less than once every 10 at-bats - makes him one of the better contact hitters in the game. His hitting profile is more spray-hitting contact guy than pull-hitting slugger but he does have the ability to punish a pitcher if they disrespect his power. On defense he's played all three outfield positions in his career and gives you the versatility of an adequate centerfielder, a solid right fielder, and a guy who'd win Gold Gloves in left field if they gave out Gold Gloves specifically for that position (which, I know the game does but I don't differentiate).
Nelson Vargas has trade chip written all over him. It would be extremely surprising and a sign of a serious lack of ambition in the Philadelphia front office if he's not moved along somewhere in exchange for infield help by Opening Day of 1974.
Marco Villafana
3B/1B No. 12
RR, 5'12" 184 lbs.
Born 1945-11-08
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 DAN A | .286 | 30 | 112 | 20 | 32 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 20 | 20 | 9 | 1 |
| 1971 EVA AAA | .258 | 13 | 31 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| 1971 PHO AAA | .211 | 31 | 76 | 9 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 0 |
| 1971 MIL MLB | .172 | 15 | 29 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| 1972 EUG AAA | .228 | 114 | 346 | 30 | 79 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 30 | 36 | 56 | 1 |
| 1973 PHI MLB | .240 | 96 | 300 | 42 | 72 | 13 | 2 | 14 | 46 | 22 | 64 | 6 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
The Phillies fully expected Mike Brookes (.233, 5, 44) to be their man in 1973 and for years to come. Instead, Brookes, a 4 time AL homerun champion, proved unable to hit for any kind of power in the senior circuit and this led the Philles to ship him to California and promote Marco Villafana, a guy acquired in February of 1972 for non-prospect Joel King (.257, 3, 10 at AAA SLC in 1973), to starter. Villafana was... fine, good enough, and not an embarassment.
Theoretically Villafana has 20+ HR power but that comes with the big caveat that he has to make contact with those pitches in order to smash them. Last year's .240 average feels like a high water mark rather than something to expect, and his relative lack of ability to draw walks left him at a .295 OBP even in a good year. When he does get on base, Villafana is something of a threat to steal and doing it successfully: he was 6/7 in that role. He's a solid defensive third baseman who can also play some first if you need him to.
Villafana is practically in the dictionary as "Mister Right Now", if dictionaries contained colloquialisms that is. 26 year old Darius Broom (.261, 6, 17 in AAA Eugene) and 24 year old music critic Lester Bangs (.274, 2, 15 at AAA) will push him for the starting job in 1974 if Philadelphia doesn't acquire someone else.
Nikolai Volkoff
C No. 39
RR, 6'4" 225 lbs.
Born 1947-10-17
Code:
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| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 REA AA | .223 | 96 | 282 | 32 | 63 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 42 | 64 | 57 | 0 |
| 1971 EUG AAA | .244 | 29 | 90 | 8 | 22 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 12 | 26 | 0 |
| 1972 EUG AAA | .182 | 108 | 296 | 24 | 54 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 19 | 50 | 61 | 1 |
| 1972 PHI MLB | .250 | 11 | 28 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| 1973 PHI MLB | .238 | 121 | 362 | 40 | 86 | 14 | 0 | 5 | 41 | 58 | 87 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
I feel like there were a lot of attempts in this vein that were unsuccessful, so credit to both the Phillies and 25 year old future wrestling heel Nikolai Volkoff for making a successful vet-to-rookie transition at catcher. Volkoff is unlikely to win Rookie of the Year - that's going to go down to either Pittsburgh's LF Jerry Sherk (.277, 22, 89) or the Padres' CF Dr. Phil McGraw (.323, 5, 54) - but it was nevertheless a good, solid season for the Croatian (who is about to be mis-countried as Russian in just a few years).
Volkoff is a defense-first catcher. He strikes out too much to hit for average and doesn't back that up with a lot of power. He does do a pretty OK job at waiting for his pitch.... although that just makes the lack of power look even worse if you think about it. He's athletic behind the plate, quick to get out and block pitches in the dirt, and somehow, we don't know how, gets the job done calming pitchers down when he has to visit the mound. He has a good if not great arm although him and backup Lee Citro combined to throw out nearly 50% of runners last year (Nikolai had a 48.6% RTO%). Volkoff runs like a catcher, which is to say he doesn't. He's really slow and that plus the fact that he hits a lot of groundballs meant he hit into 18 double plays in 362 at-bats last season.
Catchers last forever in this league and there's nothing at least defensively to indicate that Volkoff won't be one of those decade-plus guys. It's hard to project him into the All-Star Game but hey, maybe he'll pop in a good year or two, who knows?