Phillies All-Time Team: First Base
It’s up to you to tell us who should be part of the Phillies All-Time team. During the winter, we’ll unveil one position at a time for you to vote on. After all the votes are tallied, and all the position filled, we’ll release the results. Make your vote count!
Below are the top choice and their totals as a member of the Phillies. WAR is used from Baseball-Reference.
- Ryan Howard (7+ seasons, 2005 ROY, 2006 MVP, 3x all star, 1 WS champ): .271 avg, .915 OPS, 300 HR, 920 RBI, 16.8 WAR
- John Kruk (6 seasons, 3x all star): .309 avg, .861 OPS, 62 HR, 390 RBI, 17.3 WAR
- Pete Rose (5 seasons, 4x all star, 1 WS champ): .291 avg., .726 OPS, 8 HR, 255 RBI, 0.3 WAR
Who we’re voting for:
-Ian Riccaboni: For me, Ryan Howard is the Phillies Greatest First Baseman ever, primarily based on his impressive first five seasons in the Major Leagues. Yet Howard’s body of work is less important in Philadelphia than, say, his comparative longevity – Howard already has played the second most games at first base among Phillies all-time despite not reaching the Majors until age 25, which is either a testament to Howard’s durability up until 2012 or a tribute to the fact that the Phillies almost never had a consistent threat at first base.
-Pat Gallen: The numbers above speak loudly. Ryan Howard helped change the face of the Phillies franchise, helping lead them to a title in championship-starved town. He put up one of the best offensive seasons ever by a first baseman in 2006. Pretty easy choice.
Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.