100 Greatest Phillies: 86 – Clay Dalrymple

Clay Dalrymple
Catcher
1960-1968

Career w/Phillies: .233 AVG / 50 HR / 312 RBI / 3 SB

The catcher for the 1964 Phillies, Dalrymple led the National League in sacrifice flies that season. Really, though, Dalrymple was an ace defensive player. He led National League catchers in assists three times, threw out 49 percent of baserunners for his career and set a league-record 99-game errorless streak between 1966 and ’67. After nine seasons as the Phils’ primary pitching handler, Dalrymple helped the Orioles become a stout pitching team from 1969 to ’71. A simple player with astute defensive skills, he sort of reminds one of a current Phillie backstop.

Comment: Highly underrated in Phils’ history, Dalrymple was one of the main reasons that ’64 team was so good — he handled that pitching staff to a 3.36 ERA. Sure he wasn’t a big-time offensive player, but catchers have to be position players first, and he certainly was a good one.

Tim Malcolm

Tim first found the Phillies as a little infant at Veteran’s Stadium, cheering on a Juan Samuel game-winning home run in his very first game. With the pinstripes in his blood, he witnessed Terry Mulholland’s 1990 no-hitter, “Steve Carlton Night” at the Vet, game three of the 1993 World Series, countless games during the charmed 2008 championship season and various road excursions. Since November 2007 Tim’s been writing about them daily at Phillies Nation, becoming one of the world’s most popular Phillies scribes. You can catch him on Twitter and Facebook, as well. When he’s not talking about the Phils he’s relaxing with a St. Bernardus ABT 12 or one of his many favored brews.