The Lost Season: 1994 Phillies

[jaa36]

This dynasty will hone in on one team, and one season: the 1994 Phillies. This was a memorable (or unmemorable) season for many reasons. First and foremost, it was the season of the infamous baseball strike in which the World Series was cancelled. Baseball stopped on August 12 and did not resume until the strike was resolved the following April. Second, it was the first season in which the current six-division format was employed. And third, it was the season in which my hometown team, the Phillies, collapsed after reaching the World Series the year before.

Here are the rules. I will manage the Phillies, set up lineups, make (reasonable) trades as needed, but let the AI play out the games. I will ONLY play out the 1994 season, but will still manage the team as if they have to think about the future. Scouting is off, coaching is on. Trades are set on hard and neutral. AI eval is adjusted to 50% ratings, 30/15/5 for stats. I have AAA active only, no fictional players. I'll provide some details of the goings-on about the league as well. Just so there are no surprises, the baseball strike will be averted in this universe. And there will be no zombies in this league.

[jaa36]

I started watching baseball in the twilight of the Mike Schmidt era. The Phillies, of course, had been a very good team in the late 1970s and early 1980s, winning their division in most of those seasons, and winning the World Series for the first time in franchise history in 1980. The team had fallen off in the mid-1980s, a victim of aging and atrophy not unlike the current edition of the Phillies. Starting with the 1984 edition, they had become a mediocre team, not so bad that they had to clean house, but not good enough to make the playoffs any more. Steve Carlton became ineffective and hung on for too long. By 1988, the Phillies had fallen to last place. Mike Schmidt suffered from injuries and retired suddenly the following season.

With almost twenty-five years hindsight, it's easy to look back at the era and say that things were not going well in Philadelphia as a city either. Philadelphia was at least a decade behind the renaissance that had swept through New York, and had received a lot of bad press from the missteps of the Wilson Goode administration. It was not thought of as a desirable place to live, or at least that was my perception. It would be anachronistic to think of teams as big or small market in that era, but the team seemed reluctant to pursue big-name free agents after having been burned by Lance Parrish, their biggest acquisition in 1987. There was a hopeless feeling about the team at the time.

But Lee Thomas, who had been in the front office of the Cardinals during their success in the 1980s, became the general manager in 1988 and proved that he was willing to make a big move. By 1989, staring at a 90-loss season for the second year in a row, Thomas realized he had to make a change. The team's nucleus of Juan Samuel, Chris James, and (believe it or not) former Cy Young winner Steve Bedrosian were shipped out, with the incoming players including Lenny Dykstra, John Kruk, and Terry Mulholland.

The team continued to scuffle along for the next several seasons, finished well out of the running in every season from 1988 through 1992, which in my youth felt like an eternity. (Though I recognize it must be unlike anything that present-day Pirates or Royals fans must experience.) They showed brief signs of life in 1991, winning 13 straight games out of nowhere, but still only won 78 games that season, and 70 in 1992. The Phillies parade of terrible shortstops was endlessly frustrating: Steve Jeltz, Luis Aguayo, Dickie Thon, Juan Bell, Kim Batiste, and my favorite, Joe Millette. Manager Jim Fregosi joined the team in 1991, players seemed to like him, and that edition of the team suddenly had decent pitching, but terrible hitting. In 1992, the hitting came together but the pitching was terrible, and the team finished in last yet again.

And then, in 1993, it all came together.

[Orcin]

Originally Posted by jaa36

And there will be no zombies in this league.

Oh darn. Well, I'll read this anyway.

[jaa36]

Before getting into the 1993 season itself, a few thoughts about Von Hayes. He was acquired by the Phillies in the infamous "five for one" deal in which the Phillies gave up the soon-to-be-ageless Julio Franco. Hayes was a good player- Fangraphs will tell you he accumulated 30 WAR over his career- but it always seemed like he could have been something more. He was quite adept at getting on base, but whenever he did, my father liked to say that it was a 50-50 chance he would get picked off. (To this day, whenever he sees a player get picked off, he says it reminds him, and now me, of Von Hayes.)
He seemed to have the potential to be a 30/30 player but never pulled it off.

He came across to me as somber and a bit aloof, though it is certainly possible that I projected those qualities onto him. I will say that he was involved in one of my favorite Phillies moments- Milt Thompson, he, and Mike Schmidt hit back-to-back home runs at one game at the Vet. After Schmidt got bad and retired, Hayes was probably the best player on the team. But in my mind, he was representative of the Bad Years that I've already described, a player that was good, but not good enough to win. He broke his arm in a game in 1991, was traded to the Angels in the offseason, and retired shortly thereafter.

[jaa36]

I honestly do not remember if I had any higher expectations for 1993 than I had for other seasons of that era. It's likely that I didn't, as no one else would have either. As I mentioned, the offense was expected to be solid- Darren Daulton had turned in an offensive star behind the plate, former rule 5 pick Dave Hollins had hit 27 home runs and third base, John Kruk had hit .323, and Lenny Dykstra was regularly hitting .300, though having a hard time staying in the lineup due to injuries. The pitching was another story, as Terry Mulholland and Curt Schilling were expected to be a decent top two, but it was a young rotation with a lot of uncertainty.

Once again, the team had eschewed big-name acquisitions in favor of less impressive names, including Danny Jackson, Pete Incaviglia, Milt Thompson, Jim Eisenreich, Larry Andersen, and David West. On the other hand, you could argue that all five of these players were undervalued assets. Incaviglia was a bit fat slugger that killed lefties. Thompson got on base and ran well. Andersen was too old. Eisenreich had Tourette's disorder. West was a big tall lefty who couldn't throw strikes as a starter. And Jackson had one 23-win season out of the blue in 1988, but otherwise had a terrible won-lost record despite otherwise decent stats. You could make a case that the team itself was a sort of proto-Moneyball grab bag a la the early 2000's Athletics. The main inefficiency that Lee Thomas and Jim Fregosi were prepared to exploit was the platoon advantage- they had cobbled together platoons at three positions, left and right field and second base, and were one of the first teams to adopt the model of a defined lefty and righty setup man and closer.

The 1993 Phillies started hot and never really let up. They won their first three games, eight of nine, 23 of 30, 45 of 62, and the division title was never really in doubt. They developed a reputation as a gritty team, a team of misfits, a team with chemistry. Milt Thompson saved a game in April by stealing a grand slam, and Mitch Williams managed to drive in the game-winning run in a game that ended at 4:41 AM. They eventually finished at 97-65, taking the Eastern Division by three games over the Montreal Expos. (Meanwhile, this was the last season for the two-division format, and over in the West Atlanta eked out an amazing late-season comeback to keep the San Francisco Giants out of the playoffs despite winning 103 games.)

What went right? Well, the hitting was even better than the year before, as the team led the league with 877 runs scored. Lenny Dykstra had the finest season of his career, hitting .305 with a .420 OBP, with 19 home runs, 44 doubles, and 37 steals, and finished second to Barry Bonds in the MVP voting. John Kruk had an even higher OBP, at .430. Darren Daulton and Dave Hollins were outstanding again, with .392 and .372 OBPs respectively. (Do you notice a pattern here?) Kevin Stocker seemed to descend directly from heaven to fill the shortstop vacancy in midseason and even he had a .409 OBP. The platoons- Mickey Morandini and Mariano Duncan at second base, Milt Thompson and Pete Incaviglia in left, and Jim Eisenreich and Wes Chamberlain in right, were all productive. No one missed significant time to injury.

And the pitching wasn't too bad either. Lefty Terry Mulholland was reliable, going 12-9 with a 3.25 ERA. Curt Schilling didn't have an impressive ERA at 4.02, especially compared to his 2.35 of the year before, but his peripheral stats were great and he finished with a 16-7 record. Tommy Greene put things together and went 16-4 with a 3.42 ERA. And Danny Jackson was fine for a fourth starter at 12-11 with a 3.77 ERA. Out of the bullpen, Mitch Williams lived up to his reputation by walking 44 batters in 62 innings, but saved 43 games with a 3.34 ERA. David West and Larry Andersen, the setup men, had identical 2.92 ERAs. It turned out to be a team that could beat you in a variety of ways without any major weaknesses.

After falling to a 2-1 series deficit, the team went on to defeat the heavily-favored Atlanta Braves in six games to advance to the World Series, where they met the heavily-favored Toronto Blue Jays. Once again, the Phillies fell behind two games to one, but were ahead 14-9 in the eighth inning of game four before Mitch Williams imploded to give the Jays a 15-14 win and bringing them within a game of their second straight world championship. Schilling staved off elimination with a 2-0 masterpiece in game five.

And then, game six. The Phillies scored five runs in the seventh to take a 6-5 lead into the ninth inning. With Mitch Williams coming in, I remember standing on my couch, hoping for the best but being prepared for the worst. Williams walked leadoff batter Rickey Henderson (was there any doubt how that at-bat was going to turn out?), gave up a single to Paul Molitor, then gave up the famous Joe Carter home run. ("Touch em all, Joe, you'll never hit a bigger one in your life!") And that was how the season ended.

[jaa36]

As with most teams that reach the World Series, the Phillies did not change much entering 1994. The most notable trade was the one unceremoniously sending Mitch Williams, who had received hate mail and death threats after his role in the World Series, to Houston for closer Doug Jones, a soft-tossing righthander who had struggled the previous year. Starter Terry Mulholland was traded to the Yankees in the spring for prospects Bobby Munoz and Kevin Jordan. (In retrospect, I'm not sure why the team did this, unless it was a cost-cutting measure.) And of some historical interest, the team traded their future GM Ruben Amaro Jr. to Cleveland for reliever Heathcliff Slocumb, who managed somehow to be traded for Derek Lowe and Jason Varitek after that.

In real life, the 1994 team again started off 3-0, but this version lost the next four games, and even with winning 10 out of 12 games in a stretch in May, they could never push more than one game above .500. When the strike began in August, they sat at 54-61, more than 20 games behind the division-leading Expos. Dave Hollins, Pete Incaviglia, Lenny Dykstra, and Mariano Duncan all tailed off, and none of them would ever be the same again. Danny Jackson had the second-best year of his career in the rotation, and new acquisitions Munoz, Slocumb, and Jones pitched well, but Curt Schilling was hurt and had an off year, Tommy Greene was hurt and was never the same, and the rotation had to be filled out by mediocrities Shawn Boskie, Mike Williams, and the ghost of Fernando Valenzuela.

From then, the strike, and the team basically reverted to being terrible for the next six years. From 1987 through 2000, the Phillies had only one winning season, that magical 1993 season. The team won 86 games in 2001, then slipped below .500 the next year, but signed Jim Thome prior to the 2003 reason, a sign that management was finally ready to invest in the team as the moved out of Veterans' Stadium and into Citizens Bank Park. The team hung out in second place for a while, then finally broke through in 2007, when they started an annual tradition of beating up on the Mets in September, leading to a World Series win in 2008, the second in franchise history. Since then, the Phillies have slowly atrophied away, to a Series loss in 2009, an LCS in 2010, a division series in 2011, and of course, out of the playoffs in 2012.

And what has become of the players on that 1993 team? Most of them have fallen into vice or dissolution. Lenny Dykstra started a company designed to cater to athletes that quickly went bankrupt and was sentenced to three years in prison for grand theft auto and other shenanigans. Darren Daulton wrote a book about the occult. Curt Schilling went on to become The Man and a veteran OOTP player, but I understand from ESPN the poor guy is trying to sell a bloody sock to make ends meet for his business. And John Kruk and Mitch Williams have fallen the farthest of all, plying their trade as talking heads.

[jaa36]

A brief look at what really happened in 1994, then I'll start zooming in on the Phillies team as it stands in our parallel universe. The Montreal Expos had the best record in baseball at the strike at 74-40. They were led by outfielders Moises Alou and Larry Walker, and a crack starting rotation that was among the best in the league, including a 22-year-old Pedro Martinez. Although they reached the postseason in the strike-affected split season of 1981, this was the only time in Expos history they finished a season in first place in their division, and one could imagine that had they succeeded in the playoffs in 1994 that the trajectory of the franchise could have been very different. Believe it or not, this was also the first time since 1980 that the Yankees finished a season in first place, but they of course went on to four championships in five years from 1996-2000. Similarly, Cleveland was making a run at their first division title since 1954, but they went on to make the playoffs every one of the next five seasons.

From an individual player standpoint, there were a couple of major achievements that players were denied the chance of reaching because of the strike. Offense was on the rise, though had not yet hit the dizzying heights of the late 90's and early 2000's. Tony Gwynn was hitting .394 and had a realistic shot at .400. And Matt Williams had 43 home runs, which put him on pace for exactly 61 home runs, which of course would have tied Maris's record of the time. Jeff Bagwell was not far behind with 39 home runs to go with a .368 average, and won the MVP. Greg Maddux, at the height of his powers, went 16-6 with a 1.56 ERA. In the AL, Frank Thomas won his second straight MVP by hitting .353 with 38 home runs. Cal Ripken Jr. was slowed in his quest to surpass Lou Gehrig consecutive games record, but would reach 2131 in late 1995.

Will Williams, Bagwell, or Thomas crack the 61-homer barrier in our universe? Will Gwynn hit .400? Will the Expos make the playoffs? We shall see.

[jaa36]

As I play I'm going to the best I can to start with what I think Thomas/Fregosi would do. This means playing players with good season stats from 1993 but bad ratings and stats in 1994, like Tommy Greene and Dave Hollins, and then taking them out of the rotation of lineup when they start to get bad. So the rotation in particular will not be "optimized" but rather more consistent with where the team began in 1994.

Curt Schilling
27, RHP
Schilling had bounced around through three organizations- Boston, Baltimore, and Houston- getting traded for and with some big names in the process. He came to the Phillies as a bullpen arm that hadn't quite reached his potential, but the Phillies inserted him into the rotation in mid-1992 and he finished the season with a 2.35 ERA. He went 16-7 with a 4.02 ERA in 1993 and led the team in strikeouts with 186. He began to develop a name for himself as a big-game pitcher by giving up just three runs in 16 innings against the NLCS and throwing a shutout in the World Series in 1993. He wasn't The Man yet- that would happen in 1997, when he struck out 319 batters- but he was on his way.

Danny Jackson
32, LHP
Jackson had signed with the Phillies for two years and $5.3 million, though in this game it's four years at $4.4M/year. (I guess OOTP does not import historical salaries correctly- oh well.) His best year was several years in the distance (1988, in which he was 23-8 with a 2.73 ERA, and threw 15 complete games), but he was a decent mid-rotation pitcher in 1992, going 8-13 with a 3.84 ERA with the Cubs and Pirates.

Tommy Greene
26, RHP
Greene was a hard-throwing righty with control problems, who had been a throw-in in the deal in which the Braves sent Dale Murphy to the Phillies in 1990. He suddenly put it all together in 1991, going 13-7 with a 3.38 ERA and throwing one of the more remarkable no-hitters in history, in which he struck out ten and walked seven. He struggled in 1992, then pitched very well again in 1993, going 16-4 with a 3.42 ERA. In real life, he suffered an arm injury early in 1994 and was never the same, retiring just a few years later.

Ben Rivera
26, RHP
Rivera had also been acquired from the Braves- they were evidently just spewing out pitchers in that era. After coming over in 1992, he went 7-3 with a 2.82 ERA for the Phillies, but never fulfilled that promise. In 1993 he went 13-9 but had a 5.43 ERA, and stayed in the rotation only because the offense was so good and the team was winning. In real life he lasted only a few starts in the 1994 season and never pitched again after that.

Bobby Munoz
26, RHP
Munoz was acquired with infielder Kevin Jordan for Terry Mulholland after the 1993 season. He had pitched poorly out of the bullpen for the Yankees the year before but had some promise as a starting pitcher. The real Munoz pitched well in 1994 but flopped after that.

Waiting in AAA Scranton Wilkes-Barre are Jeff Juden, who came over from Houston with Doug Jones in the Mitch Williams deal; Mike Williams, who seemed like a AAAA pitcher throughout his tenure with the Phillies before inexplicably morphing into a successful closer later in his career; and Fernando Valenzuela, who hadn't been good in quite some time and actually signed with the team in mid-June. Juden actually started the year as the team's fifth starter, but was even worse than Greene and Rivera, and it seemed plausible that Munoz win the job. Williams and Valenzuela have better ratings than Greene or Rivera and will likely take their jobs at some point.

[Big T]

Go Expos Go !!!!

[jaa36]

Doug Jones
36, RHP
Jones had an odd career. He took a LONG time to establish himself, breaking into the majors for a cup of coffee at the age of 25, then returning at 29 and finally establishing himself as the Indians' closer at age 31 with a 2.27 ERA and 37 saves. He was known as a crafty pitcher with a great change-up. After three terrific seasons, he had a poor one in 1991, and went to the Astros as a free agent. In 1992, at the age of 35, he had a season that you may never see again from a reliever- 11-8 with a 1.85 ERA, 36 saves, 111.2 innings pitched. (He later had one of the last 100-inning reliever seasons in baseball history in 1999 at the age of 42.) But in 1993 he pitched poorly again, thus explaining the Astros' willingness to swap him for Mitch Williams. You could probably not have found a relief ace in baseball that was more Williams' opposite, which was probably the idea.

Larry Andersen
40, RHP
Andersen would become most famous for being traded for prospect Jeff Bagwell in late 1990, but he was an effective reliever for many years, and threw 15 impressive innings for Boston after that trade in a season the Red Sox reached the playoffs. Even at the age of 40, he had pitched quite well for the Phillies for his first season with them in 1993, with a 2.92 ERA and 67 strikeouts in 61.2 innings. The Phillies deployed him as their late-inning right-handed specialist, and he would generally pitch only one inning (or less) at a time, a la current bullpen usage patterns. Andersen was known as a clubhouse wit and would go on to become a broadcaster with the team.

David West
29, LHP
West had been one of the young pitchers the Twins acquired from the Mets for Frank Viola in 1989. He was a big tall lefty with loads of promise, but he walked everyone in sight with the Twins. By some miracle, he pitched extremely well as the Phillies' lefty specialist in 1993, going 6-4 with a 2.92 ERA. He still walked lots of guys but struck out more than a batter an inning as well. In real life, after 1993 the Phillies wanted to try him as a starter again, but he was always miscast as one and retired after 1996.

Heathcliff Slocumb
27, RHP
Slocumb was acquired from the Indians for future GM Ruben Amaro Jr. in the offseason. Not much was expected of him after a 4.03 ERA the year before, but in real life he developed into a very effective reliever and the Phillies' closer in 1995. Most famous for eventually being traded by Boston to Seattle for Jason Varitek and Derek Lowe.

Toby Borland
24, RHP
Borland was a sidearming righthander who made his debut with the Phillies in 1994. He was good in that season but got progressively more terrible every year. His greatest attribute was his mustache. Actually, Jones and Andersen also had mustaches, so this was a fairly mustache-heavy bullpen overall.

Roger Mason
36, RHP
Mason was acquired in midseason 1993 from the Padres as an extra bullpen arm. He had a nine-year major league career- with 1994 his final season- but was never particularly impressive.

The minor league relievers are Ricky Bottalico, Andy Carter, and Bob Wells. All three made their major league debut with the 1994 Phillies. Bottalico went on to pitch fairly well as the team's closer for two seasons. Wells's career was somewhat long and unimpressive; Carter's was just unimpressive.

[jaa36]

Darren Daulton
C, LHB
Daulton was the heart of Phillies in 1993, but looking back at his career it's remarkable he was still with the team. He was just a 25th-round draft pick, and first made the club in 1983, but was just a terrible hitter. In 1989, he finally became the starter. I remember thinking that year, I wish the Phillies would play Steve Lake instead. Steve Lake! Who hit .237 with 18 home runs in 11 seasons! That's how bad Daulton was, at the time. Well, in 1990, Daulton finally had a decent year, hitting .268 with 12 home runs, then he sucked again in 1991, hitting .196. Finally, in 1992 he turned into the best offensive catcher in the league at age 30, putting Steve Lake to shame, hitting .270 with 27 home runs and 109 RBI, and he essentially duplicated this performance in 1993. He didn't last much longer in real life, suffering from injuries the next two seasons, and he retired after a solid 1997 season, finishing his career with an unexpected World Series title with the Marlins.

Todd Pratt
C, RHB
Pratt had a reputation as a good hitter but terrible catcher. He came up in 1992 and served as the team's backup for a few seasons, then late in his career returned for five more seasons in the same role.

In the minors, Mike Lieberthal is hanging out waiting for a shot also. Lieberthal was the third overall pick in the 1990 draft and would go on to have a very good career with the Phillies, but was blocked by Daulton in his first few years.

[jaa36]

John Kruk
1B, LHB
If Daulton was the heart, Kruk was the soul. As you know from Baseball Tonight, he was a big fat guy who loved making fun of being a big fat guy. Kruk came over from the Padres in a classic buy-low moment- after hitting .300 in his first two seasons, he hit .241 in 1988 and was at only .184 in 1989 when the deal was made. He started hitting (.331 that season) and never looked back. Like Daulton, he became a more patient hitter as he aged, and racked up 111 walks to go along with a .316 average in 1993. He didn't last all that long, with only a ten-year career, but boy was he fun to watch.

Mariano Duncan
2B, RHB
Duncan was a speedy, undisciplined, free-swinging player who had never really his potential with the Dodgers or Reds. Nonetheless, he signed a big contract with the Phillies as a free agent in 1992. He actually played pretty well for the team, smacking 40 doubles in 1992 and hitting .282 in 1993.

Mickey Morandini
2B, LHB
OK, I have to list both second basemen. Morandini, you could say, was the reason that Duncan succeeded, and vice versa, as they both batted with the platoon advantage the vast majority of the time. He never hit much, but he sure was a good defender, and played hard. His best years with the team would come after 1993, but he was a valuable complementary part.

Dave Hollins
3B, SHB
Hollins was one of my favorite Phillies, a guy they got off the Rule 5 scrap heap from the Padres in 1990. He hit well in 1991, won the starting job in 1992 and suddenly turned into the hitting reincarnation of Mike Schmidt. Unlike Schmidt, he was an awful fielder. But he was one of the best baserunners on the team and yet another dangerous hitter. In real life, he would go steadily downhill from here.

Kevin Stocker
SS, SHB
Stocker, as I mentioned, was a revelation in 1993, plugging a huge hole at shortstop when he came out of nowhere to hit .324 as a rookie. In real life, he lived off of that performance for the next four years with the Phillies, before he gave them the ultimate parting gift of being traded to Tampa Bay for Bobby Abreu.

The two reserves are first baseman Ricky Jordan, a good right-handed pinch hitter who could spell Kruk, and Kim Batiste, a utility infielder who was Hollins' "defensive replacement" even though he was probably just as bad.

The minor leaguers are Randy Ready, who was 34 and actually come over with Kruk from San Diego in 1989 and had some good years with the team, left, and re-signed with the club midway through 1994; and Tom Quinlan, a third baseman who had played a few games for the Blue Jays.

[jaa36]

Pete Incaviglia
LF, RHB
Inky was a classic right-handed slugger, who fits well into a long tradition of Phillies Left Fielders Who Were Terrible Fielders: see Greg Luzinski, Pat Burrell, Raul Ibanez. He hit 30 home runs as a rookie in 1986, but struck out 185 times, which at the time was just four short of the record. He hit at least 20 home runs every year with Texas, which was a lot at the time, but hit for a low average, then bounced around to Detroit and Houston before signing with the Phillies in 1993. That year was the finest of his career, as he hit .274 with 24 home runs playing against mostly lefthanded pitching. Not surprisingly, in real life he never had another season like it.

Milt Thompson
LF, LHB
Thompson was in every way Inky's opposite. He was a speedy, wiry, lefthanded batter, a good defender, with no power. He the perfect platoon complement to Incaviglia, who could play against righties and in late innings for defense. He had played three seasons with the Phillies earlier in his career, then joined the Cardinals, and returned to the Phillies as a free agent in 1993.

Lenny Dykstra
CF, LHB
The Dude, before Lebowski. Dykstra came up with the Mets and was a part of their memorable 1986 team. He hit for a good average and stole a lot of bases, but the Mets traded him and reliever Roger McDowell for Juan Samuel in 1989. After struggling through that season, he had a big year in 1990, hitting .325 and leading the league in hits. He was injured for much of 1991 (due to wrecking his car when intoxicated) and 1992. But 1993 was a magical year for him- he hit .305, led the league in hits again, scored 143 runs, stole 37 bases. To top it off, he hit six home runs in the postseason. His only flaws, it seemed at the time, were a noodle arm, fragility, and his own recklessness. In real life, Dykstra's career would fall off in every imaginable way- poor play, steroid allegations, failed business, legal problems.

Jim Eisenreich
RF, LHB
Eisenreich took a while to establish himself in the majors, reaching the bigs in 1983 but not becoming a starter until 1989 with the Royals. He joined the Phillies prior to the 1993 season at age 34 and had the best season of his career, hitting .318. In real life, he hit over .300 in all four seasons with the Phillies, including a .361 average in 1996. He famously suffered from Tourette's Syndrome.

Wes Chamberlain
RF, RHB
Chamberlain was a decent hitter against lefties, terrible against righties. Like so many Phillies, he had the best year of his career in 1993 as Eisenreich's platoon partner, hitting .282 with a .493 slugging percentage. In real life, he would last just a couple more seasons before flaming out.

The minor league system includes Tony Longmire and Tom Marsh, who had played a bit with the team in 1993 and 1992, respectively.

[jaa36]

The first week is in the books, and the Phillies are 4-2.

The Phillies were projected to finish only 77-85, a full 26 games behind the Expos! Danny Jackson was the only Phillie to be projected among the league leaders, at 17-9 with a 2.96 ERA.

-April 4: Phillies 12, Rockies 5. The Phillies score five runs in the first on four hits and a walk to chase starter Marvin Freeman. Curt Schilling managed only four innings, giving up four runs, but the bullpen was effective, with Heathcliff Slocumb pitching two shutout innings to get the win. Dave Hollins had three hits, and every Phillies starter (including Schilling) had at least one.
-April 6: Phillies 14, Rockies 5. Lenny Dykstra hits a leadoff home run, the Phillies went out to a 7-0 lead, then scored seven runs on five hits in the 8th inning to take an 11-run lead. This time every starter except pitcher Danny Jackson got a hit, and Jackson went seven effective innings to get the win.
-April 7: Phillies 5, Rockies 4. The game is knotted up at 1-1 through six innings. Milt Thompson hits a solo homer in the seventh and Kevin Stocker in the ninth to go up 3-1. Doug Jones doesn't walk anyone, as Mitch Williams might have, but gives up four hits to tie the score at 3-3. In the tenth, John Kruk and Kim Batiste reached base and are singled in by pinch hitter Todd Pratt. Reliever Roger Mason gives up a sac fly in the bottom of the inning but the Phillies hold on for the extra-inning win.
-April 8: Phillies 6, Reds 5. Ben Rivera gives up a three-run homer to Barry Larkin, and the Reds go up to a 5-2 lead through eight innings. Reds closer Jeff Brantley gives up two hits and two walks, Lenny Dykstra reaches on an error, and Mickey Morandini singles in the game-tying run in the top of the ninth. In the tenth, Milt Thompson doubles home Darren Daulton to give the Phillies the lead. Jones retires the side in the ninth. It appears that the 1993 magic has stuck around.
-April 9: Reds 6, Phillies 2. Curt Schilling gives up six runs in 6.1 innings. Lenny Dykstra gets two doubles, but otherwise the Phils can't muster much offense.
-April 10: Reds 12, Phillies 11. A wild one in which the Reds jumped out to a 7-0 lead off Bobby Munoz. The Phillies clawed their way back, cutting the lead to 10-7 on a sixth-inning three-run homer by Jim Eisenreich. The Phillies knotted the score at 11-11 on a wild pitch by Jeff Brantley in the ninth. Reds infielder Jeff Branson drove in the winning run off Doug Jones with no one out in the bottom of the inning.

Next up: home series against the Rockies and Reds.

Around the league:
-First baseman Wally Joyner was traded from the Royals to the Giants.
-Outfielder Ruben Sierra was traded from Oakland to Milwaukee.
-Outfielder Willie McGee was traded from St. Louis to Boston.
-Toronto's Paul Molitor notched his 2500th hit, and Minnesota's Kirby Puckett got to 2000.
-Deion Sanders is out for six weeks with a sports hernia. Too many sports for that guy!
-The Yankees' Paul O'Neill and the Braves' Fred McGriff were the players of the week.

[jaa36]

Week 2 saw the Phillies go 2-4 to fall to 6-6 overall. We sit in third place, three and a half games behind Atlanta and three behind Montreal.

April 11: Phillies 17, Rockies 2. No need for Mile High Stadium in this one. The Phillies scored eight runs on five hits and three walks in the first inning in their home opener at Veterans Stadium, chasing a Rockies starter in the first for the second time in a week. The team would extend their lead to 15-0 by the bottom of the sixth. Incredibly, the Phillies didn't hit a single home run in the game. Lenny Dykstra drove in six runs, Milt Thompson had four hits, and both Jim Eisenreich and Dave Hollins had three. Danny Jackson pitched a complete game for his second win.

April 13: Rockies 5, Phillies 3. The game was knotted at 3 through eight innings. Heathcliff Slocumb gave up the go-ahead run on a double by Dante Bichette in the ninth. Tommy Greene went eight innings in the loss.

April 14: Rockies 14, Phillies 7. The Phillies were up 5-0 by the end of the second, but this time it was the Rockies turn to notch a blowout win. The Rockies scored seven runs in the fifth inning, and Ben Rivera managed only 4 1/3 innings, giving up seven runs. Relievers Heath Slocumb, Toby Borland, and Roger Mason poured gasoline on the fire, giving up six runs in two innings. Former Phillie Charlie Hayes did the most damage, going 4 for 5 with a homer. Lenny Dykstra hit his second homer in the loss.

April 15: Phillies 12, Reds 6. The Phillies had yet another huge inning, plating eight in the seventh to turn a 6-4 deficit into a blowout. This is a team that can put up runs in a hurry. Patience paid off for the team yet again, as they had three walks in the inning, leading to three extra-base hits. Again, no home runs in the big inning, but Dykstra hit his third, a solo shot, and reached 16 RBI, tops in the league. Curt Schilling gave up all six Reds runs in a no-decision.

April 16: Reds 9, Phillies 2. Bobby Munoz was shelled in the first inning again, and gave up seven runs in one-plus innings. All six bullpen arms had to chip in, with David West providing 3 2/3 scoreless innings. The Phillies put up two runs in the bottom of the first on a Darren Daulton home run, but couldn't score any more in the rout.

April 17: Reds 6, Phillies 3. Danny Jackson took his first loss of the season, giving up four earned runs over six innings. Daulton had two hits and his second home run.

Transactions: Bobby Munoz has been absolutely atrocious, giving up 14 earned runs in 2.2 innings over two starts, for an ERA of 47.26. Wow. That earns a demotion to Scranton Wilkes-Barre. The ageless Fernando Valenzuela comes up to join the team as the fifth starter.

Next up: Two games at home against the Dodgers, then out to San Francisco for two and to San Diego for three.

Around the league:
-Indians starter Charles Nagy is out for the season with radial nerve compression.
-Catcher B.J. Surhoff was traded from the Brewers to the Mariners.
-California's Chili Davis won the AL Player of the Week.
-Colorado's Charlie Hayes won the NL award, going 12 for 19 and doing much of his damage against the Phillies.

[jaa36]

The Phillies were 3-4 this week and stand at 9-10 overall, in fourth place, four games behind division-leading Atlanta.

April 18: Phillies 6, Dodgers 4. The Phillies tied the score at 4 in the sixth, and scored the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly by Mickey Morandini in the seventh. Doug Jones pitched two innings to notch his first save of the year. Kevin Stocker provided most of the offense, going three for three with a home run.

April 19: Dodgers 7, Phillies 2. Fernando Valenzuela gave up all seven runs, though only three earned, in his Phillies debut. The Phillies could muster only two runs off Pedro Astacio on a two-run homer by Darren Daulton, his third of the season.

April 20: Giants 1, Phillies 0. John Burkett bested Ben Rivera in this pitchers' duel. Burkett went eight innings and allowed only four hits and a walk, shutting down the Phillies' league-leading offense. Rivera pitched out of trouble often, allowing five hits and five walks in 6 1/3 innings but only the one run.

April 21: Giants 8, Phillies 4. Curt Schilling was shelled again, allowing five runs in only 3 2/3 innings, with Matt Williams collecting a three-run homer. Dave Hollins and Darren Daulton both had three hits, with Daulton collecting his fourth home run. The Phillies dropped their third game in a row for the first time this season.

April 22: Phillies 10, Padres 3. Another big inning for the Phillies as they scored six in the third inning, including Lenny Dykstra's fourth homer. Dave Hollins has been torrid and collected four more hits. Danny Jackson went the distance for the second time this season.

April 23: Padres 6, Phillies 1. Tommy Greene gave up four runs in four innings to take the loss. Dave Hollins committed two errors and is up to six on the season.

April 24: Phillies 4, Padres 2. The Phillies made the most out of four hits and a walk in besting the Padres. Darren Daulton hit his fifth home run and led off the ninth with a double to help the Phils to an insurance run. Fernando Valenzuela pitched eight terrific innings, striking out eight and walking only one, and Doug Jones got his second save.

Next up: two games at LA, three games at home vs San Francisco.

Around the league:
-Lonnie Smith announced his retirement.
-Al Martin suffered a torn labrum and will retire at only 26 years old.
-Rockies "ace" Marvin Freeman is out for the season with a damaged elbow ligament.
-Cleveland's Kenny Lofton and New York's Ryan Thompson were the players of the week.

[jaa36]

After April, the Phillies are at 10-13. (The latest weekly update is soon to follow.) The offense has been great and currently rates second in the league. Darren Daulton has been the team's best hitter, with seven home runs and 19 RBI to go along with a .366 average. Lenny Dykstra is hitting only .226 but has five home runs. Kevin Stocker and Dave Hollins have been no slouches either, hitting .375 and .374 respectively.

Meanwhile, the pitching has been terrible, and the starters currently have a 6.70 ERA, which is somehow not the worst in the league. (That would be Colorado, at 7.32.) Curt Schilling is 0-3 with a 10.97 ERA, but gets to stick around in the rotation a bit longer to figure things out. Ben Rivera is also 0-3, with an 8.41 ERA, but he gets the boot to AAA. Mike Williams joins the rotation to replace him.

Around the league:
-Oakland has the top record in baseball at 16-8, with the Yankees, Expos, and Reds all at 15-8.
-Kansas City's Bob Hamelin won the Player of the Month with 13 home runs and a .366 average- who would have guessed?
-Cincinnati's Kevin Mitchell won the NL award with a .375 average and seven homers.
-Todd Van Poppel was 4-0 with an 0.61 ERA to win the AL Pitcher of the Month- could he reach his potential?
-Greg Maddux was 5-1 with a 1.22 ERA to win the NL award, no surprise there.

[jaa36]

The Phillies went 1-4 on the week and are now 10-14. We are only 24th out of 28 in the latest power rankings. Lenny Dykstra asked to hit in the middle of the order; is it the steroids talking?

April 26: Dodgers 10, Phillies 5. The Dodgers scored all ten runs in the fourth inning, with three coming on a home run by rookie Raul Mondesi. Ben Rivera was responsible for seven of those runs, resulting in his demotion, and Roger Mason gave up three without recording an out. Lenny Dykstra hit his fifth home run, and Kevin Jordan his second.

April 27: Dodgers 6, Phillies 5. Curt Schilling couldn't make it through the first inning, allowing a three-run homer to Mike Piazza and a two-run blast to Eric Karros. The six pitchers in the bullpen did not allow an earned run, but the Phillies' offense could only close to within one run.

April 29: Giants 4, Phillies 3. Danny Jackson allowed six hits and four runs in six innings to take his second loss. Mark Portugal pitched seven effective innings for the Giants. Kevin Stocker hit a ninth-inning home run off closer Rod Beck, but the Phillies fell a run short again.

April 30: Phillies 6, Giants 5. Darren Daulton was the hero, hitting a two-run homer in the seventh to take a 5-4 lead, then a tenth-inning walk-off shot, his seventh of the season. Doug Jones blew his second save on a sac fly but pitched the tenth to get the win.

May 1: Giants 8, Phillies 4. Another lackluster performance from the pitching staff, with Fernando Valenzuela giving up four runs by walking five in six innings and Toby Borland giving up three runs in a third of an inning. Lenny Dykstra suffered an injury while running the bases- uh oh.

Next up: three games at home vs San Diego, then four games at Florida. We should go 7-0.

Around the league:
-Roger Clemens is out for the season! He was 2-0 with a 3.38 ERA on the year.
-Cal Ripken hit his 300th home run, and yes, his consecutive games streak is still intact.
-Bob Hamelin and Kevin Mitchell won the player of the week awards; no surprise since they were also the players of the month.

[jaa36]

The Phillies had a 4-3 week and are now 14-17 overall. Up to 19th in the power rankings- woo!

-Lenny Dykstra's injury was officially diagnosed as "knee soreness." He is out for a week and was placed on the 15-day DL since he had already missed three games.
-Roger Mason, struggling with a 6.92 ERA, was demoted to the minors, with Bob Wells called up to replace him. The bullpen is desperate for fresh arms.

May 2: Phillies 10, Padres 5. The Phillies score runs in bunches yet again, with two five-run innings. Milt Thompson takes over as leadoff man for the injured Lenny Dykstra and went four for five. The Phillies had three doubles and a Darren Daulton home run in the eighth inning to put it away. Mike Williams pitched six solid innings in his season debut, but the team still burned through every pitcher in the bullpen.

May 3: Padres 11, Phillies 3. Curt Schilling was bludgeoned yet again, this time by the sad-sack Padres, giving up seven runs in five innings. At least he struck out eight. The Phillies scored a few garbage time runs after they were out of it. Schilling is now 0-4 with a 10.94 ERA; he gets ONE MORE CHANCE before getting pulled from the rotation.

May 4: Padres 6, Phillies 3. Danny Jackson pitched well, giving up only two runs in seven innings, and Wes Chamberlain gave the Phillies a 3-2 lead with a seventh-inning home run. Doug Jones was brought in for a two-inning save and was pitched a good eighth inning, but coughed up a game-tying double to Derek Bell in the ninth and then a single to Eddie Williams to give up the lead.

May 5: Phillies 4, Marlins 1. Fernando Valenzuela gave up just one run in six innings, though suffered an injury coming off the mound and will miss a few days. This time the bullpen held, with David West collecting his first save. Mickey Morandini had three hits, including a home run, and Milt Thompson hit his third homer.

May 6: Marlins 7, Phillies 6. Most of the scoring happened early in this one, with the game knotted at six through four innings. Kevin Stocker provided a three-run home run, and both he and Wes Chamberlain had three hits. Tommy Greene lasted only two innings and gave up five runs. In some interesting managing, closer Doug Jones entered the game in the fourth inning and pitched three scoreless innings. Roger Mason, pressed into service as the last available pitcher in the ninth inning, gave up a bases-loaded single to light-hitting Kurt Abbott for the Marlins win.

May 7: Phillies 13, Marlins 6. The bullpen needed a break, and the Phillies scored 9 runs through four innings to allow Mike Williams to labor through seven unimpressive innings. Williams allowed six runs on six hits and four walks, but got his second win. Six doubles and a Dave Hollins home run helped the team to an easy win. Milt Thompson and Darren Daulton both had three hits, and the Phillies had sixteen total hits.

May 8: Phillies 7, Marlins 2. Dave Hollins hit his second home run in two games to give the Phillies a 2-0 first inning lead. Danny Jackson, pitching on three days' rest, gave up two runs in eight innings to leave the score tied at two entering the ninth. Ninth-inning doubles by Darren Daulton, Mariano Duncan, and Milt Thompson broke the game open in the ninth, and Jackson collected his fourth win.

Next up: three at Atlanta, then four vs Pittsburgh.

Around the league:
-Matt Williams signed a six-year extension for $28.8 million with the Giants. Williams hit 38 home runs and has 11 already this year.
-Rangers second baseman Jeff Frye had a 21-game hitting streak snapped.
-The Expos acquired Paul Molitor from the Blue Jays- as if they needed any more weapons. Molitor is 37 and can only play first base, but he can sure still hit, as evidenced by a .322 average last year and .355 so far this year.
-Giants starter Bill Swift is out for four months with a torn triceps.
-Yankees reliever Jeff Reardon announced his retirement.
-Baltimore third baseman Leo Gomez won the player of the week in the AL.
-Cardinals outfielder Ray Lankford won the NL award.
-The Mets traded infielder Fernando Vina to the Pirates for aging catcher Lance Parrish.

[jaa36]

The team was 5-2 on the week, bring us all the way back to .500 at 19-19. We are seven games back of first-place Montreal.

-At the end of the week, Lenny Dykstra returned from the DL. Outfielder Tony Longmire was optioned to Scranton-Wilkes Barre.
-Mickey Morandini was diagnosed with shoulder tendinitis and will be on the DL for five weeks. Randy Ready was brought up from AAA, where he was hitting .318.
-Mariano Duncan demanded a starting spot. Ask, and you shall receive!

April 9: Phillies 4, Braves 3. Curt Schilling won his first game on the season, pitching seven effective innings. Schilling allowed three runs and struck out seven against one walk. Milt Thompson had three hits.

April 10: Braves 11, Phillies 6. Tommy Greene had another poor start and was chased in the third inning. He allowed eight runs (seven earned) in 2 1/3 innings. The Phillies got some offense in the late innings, but not enough.

April 11: Braves 5, Phillies 0. Tom Glavine pitched 7 2/3 shutout innings, and the Phillies could muster only six hits. Fernando Valenzuela took the loss.

April 12: Phillies 11, Pirates 3. Wes Chamberlain hit a two-run home run in the second inning, and the Phillies plated five runs in the third to go up 7-0. Danny Jackson gave up three runs in eight innings, and late home runs by Mariano Duncan and Ricky Jordan put the game out of reach.

April 13: Phillies 7, Pirates 6. This was a see-saw game in which the Phillies took a 5-1 lead into the seventh, then coughed it all up. Jeff King hit a two-run home run in the eighth, a triple by Jay Bell tied the score, and a double by Will Pennyfeather gave the Pirates the lead in the ninth. But the Phillies loaded the bases against Pirates closer Jeff Tabaka, who came into the game with 8 saves and an 0.98 ERA. With one out, Kim Batiste walked to tie the game, Pete Incaviglia hit into a 6-2 forceout, and Jim Eisenreich hit a walk-off single. Torrid Milt Thompson had four hits.

April 14: Phillies 9, Pirates 3. The bats were at it again, with the Phillies totaling 15 hits on the night, including five doubles. The top three hitters in the lineup (Milt Thompson, Wes Chamberlain, and John Kruk) all had three hits. Curt Schilling went the distance for his second straight win.

April 15: Phillies 6, Pirates 4. The Phillies were down 4-1 in the seventh, but four walks and three hits led to five runs in the bottom of the inning. Pete Incaviglia drove in the go-ahead run, and John Kruk provided insurance.

Next up: Three games vs Montreal, then three games vs the Mets.

Around the league:
-Greg Gagne will miss 4-5 months with a ruptured Achilles tendon.
-Montreal starter Ken Hill will be out 6-7 weeks with a broken finger.
-Mr. Angel Tim Salmon hit three home runs in a game.
-SP Andy Ashby tore his UCL and is out for the season.
-Cal Ripken won the AL player of the week. He is hitting .401, and the streak is still alive!
-Reggie Sanders won the NL Player of the Week.