100 Greatest Phillies: 69 – George Wood

George Wood
Outfielder
1886-1889

Career w/Phillies: .261 AVG / 29 HR / 217 RBI / 65 SB

So you’re asking yourself “How does a guy with 29 home runs and a .261 average reach No. 69 on this list?” Well, my friend, George Wood was actually one of the top hitters of his day. As a Phillie, he was one of the better line drive hitters in baseball, even striking the top 10 in home runs one season. In his best season of 1887, he recorded 19 triples, good for fifth in the National League. Also a strong base stealer, Wood was a complete hitter. And get this: In 1888 he led the National League in saves. He had two.

Comment: Remind yourself that the very early days of baseball weren’t big hitting days, and you’ll realize that Wood was a very good player. He was an above-average hitter for three of his four seasons with the Phils; moreover, he pulled the city trifecta, playing for the Phillies, Athletics and short-lived Quakers (who became the A’s, of course).

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.