Who are the biggest All-Star snubs in Phillies history?

When the Major League Baseball All-Star Game comes to Citizens Bank Park on July 14, the hometown team will be well-represented on the field. As of Thursday, six Phillies have been selected to the National League All-Star roster. This would be the second-highest mark in franchise history, behind only 2024, when the Phillies sent eight players to the Midsummer Classic. 

This impressive team accomplishment has been slightly overshadowed by the controversial exclusion of ace Zack Wheeler from All-Star selection. Wheeler returned to the mound at the end of April, following surgery last fall to resolve thoracic outlet syndrome. And the 36-year-old pitcher hasn’t lost a step in his comeback, going 9-1 in 14 starts with a 2.28 ERA and 98 strikeouts over 87 innings pitched.

Still, Wheeler’s absence from the All-Star roster would not be the first glaring omission, nor the worst in the Phillies history. For some perspective, it’s worth looking at other dominant first halves by Phillies players who were similarly denied All-Star status. 

Jonathan Papelbon, 2014

The Phillies’ all-time leader in saves, Jonathan Papelbon was a reliable closer for some bad teams during his three and a half years in Philadelphia. Twice, he represented the Phillies in the All-Star Game. But 2014, his best full season with the team, was oddly not one of those seasons. At the All-Star break that year, Papelbon had a 1.21 ERA across 37 1/3 innings, with 22 saves and just two blown saves to that point. 

In a year that had strong pitching across baseball, Papelbon was simply unable to stand out from comparable relief pitchers on stronger National League teams, such as Washington’s Tyler Clippard and Milwaukee’s Francisco Rodríguez. 

Pat Burrell, 2008

Before the 2008 Phillies went on their legendary World Series run, they were carried in their first half by the bat of Pat Burrell. The Phillies left fielder hit .275/.404/.575 with 23 home runs and 57 RBI prior to the All-Star Game, with his 17.9% walk rate the second-highest in the National League, behind Adam Dunn. 

But 2008 also featured the strongest Chicago Cubs team in decades, and when it came to All-Star voting, their energized fanbase turned out accordingly. Burrell had much stronger stats than Chicago outfielders Kosuke Fukudome and Alfonso Soriano, but the two Cubs were ultimately elected starters over the Phillies slugger. Burrell was then named one of five NL candidates for the All-Star Final Vote ballot, but he lost that vote as well, to the Brewers’ statistically weaker Corey Hart. 

Antonio Bastardo, 2011

The Phillies’ greatest regular season came in 2011, and they were rewarded for that success with five All-Stars, tying a franchise high to that point. Three starting pitchers from Philadelphia’s legendary rotation were sent to the Midsummer Classic, but the club’s elite bullpen received no similar recognition. In an era when traditional bullpen roles remained ubiquitous, save totals often dictated All-Star selection. As a result, relievers like Phillies closer Ryan Madson – with a 2.03 ERA, but just 15 saves – missed the cut. As did arguably the NL’s best reliever.

Left-hander Antonio Bastardo was a mainstay of the Phillies bullpen for several years, but the beginning of 2011 was his most dominant stretch. As a middle reliever mostly brought in to face tough left-handed hitters, Bastardo threw 33 innings across 36 games that first half, striking out 38 batters while allowing just 11 hits. Those numbers were good for a 0.83 ERA, the lowest mark among all qualified relievers by the All-Star break. Bastardo was a lights-out weapon for the 2011 Phillies, but even the best middle relievers have trouble making the All-Star team, and even more so 15 years ago. 

John Denny, 1983

Helping to lead an aging team to the pennant, John Denny won the NL Cy Young Award in 1983, becoming the first Phillies pitcher not named Steve Carlton to achieve the honor. Yet, just a few months prior, he had been overlooked in All-Star selection.

By early July, Denny sported a 2.13 ERA over 109 2/3 innings pitched, putting him among the National League’s best statistically. But June was the weakest month of Denny’s season, as he failed to complete four innings three times in six starts. And his 6-4 record through 17 starts – in an era when pitching wins still reigned supreme – was simply not enough to land him a spot on the All-Star team.  

To date, Denny remains one of two pitchers in MLB history, along with Rick Porcello, to have won a Cy Young Award while never being named an All-Star.

Cristopher Sánchez, 2025

Cristopher Sánchez was made an All-Star for the first time during his breakout 2024 season. The following year, despite taking another step forward and emerging as a legitimate Cy Young contender, he did not receive another nod.

The Phillies ace reached the 2025 All-Star break with an 8-2 record, and a 2.50 ERA across 115 innings pitched in 19 starts. Sánchez wasn’t named to the initial NL team, and when Giants starter Robbie Ray was replaced on the roster, it was not by Sánchez, but by Mets starter David Peterson, who trailed Sánchez by nearly all statistical measures.

The exclusion, like Wheeler’s a year later, was a matter of scheduling. Sánchez was due to start for the Phillies the Sunday before the All-Star Game, meaning he would have been unavailable to pitch in the All-Star Game itself just two days later. This excluded Sánchez from consideration as an All-Star replacement player – not for performance reasons, but as a matter of bad luck with the calendar. 

Von Hayes, 1987

Von Hayes was the Phillies’ best young player in the late ’80s. And in 1987, the first baseman put together possibly the best two-month stretch of his entire career. The only trouble was, it came a bit too late to factor into early All-Star voting.

Through June 2, Hayes hit .238/.413/.350, a respectable line aided by a walk rate that would make Billy Beane blush. The following 36 games, however, he became the best hitter in the sport. From June 3 until the end of the first half on July 12, Hayes hit .385/.490/.769, good for a 1.260 OPS. Across that span, he hit 10 home runs, 18 doubles, and a triple, driving in 26 runs. Meanwhile, Hayes drew 29 walks, while only striking out nine times. By the end of the season’s first half, Hayes had a season slash line of .308/.448/.549.     

Even with this stretch, Hayes probably did not deserve the NL start at first base over Cardinals slugger Jack Clark, who had his own titanic first half. Still, he was deserving at least of a reserve spot over Mets first baseman Keith Hernandez, who made the All-Star team after hitting .285/.365/.436 in the first half. 

The 1987 Phillies sent three players to the All-Star game, including Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt and closer Steve Bedrosian in the midst of his Cy Young campaign. Still, the Phillies player who was arguably most deserving that season stayed home.