100 Greatest Phillies: 48 – Steve Bedrosian
Relief Pitcher
1986-1989
Career w/Phillies: 287.1 IP / 21-18 / 103 SV / 3.28 ERA / 241 K
Steve Bedrosian came to the Phillies in 1986, when the Phillies traded Pete Smith and Ozzie Virgil to Atlanta for the 28-year-old late-innings reliever. He was erroneously converted to the rotation in 1985, and thinking he was a lost cause, the screaming Indians traded him, getting Virgil as their starting catcher (coming off an All-Star season). Bedrosian didn’t disappoint in Philadelphia, being one of the better closers in baseball for a surprisingly good 1986 team. In 1987, however, he was the best closer in the game, winning the NL Cy Young with a 40-save, 2.83 ERA season (to be fair, it wasn’t a particularly strong pitching year in the National League). He suffered a little in 1988 but still finished fourth in league saves. He was traded to San Francisco despite a solid start to 1989. The Phillies got Terry Mulholland, Charlie Hayes and Dennis Cook in return, beginning a run of moves that would lead the Phils to the 1993 pennant.
Comment: Bed. Rock. Everyone affiliates him with Atlanta, but his best years were clearly with the Phillies. He was an igniter for that ’86 team that gave the Mets a run for about a minute, finishing in second place 21.5 games behind. His ’87 season remains the most one of the most obscure Cy Young seasons ever played.
