The Ultimate Tournament: The Top 16 Teams in Philadelphia Phillies History

If the best teams in Phillies history were to square off against one another, who would come out on top?

With the help of whatifsports.com, a tournament featuring the best 16 teams in Phillies history has been played out as a simulation. On the following slides are the pairings and results of each series leading to the Champion.

Writer's note:  The 2011 Phillies were not included in the tournament.

#1 Seed 2008 Phillies vs #16 Seed 1986 Phillies

Philly has enjoyed a successful run recently, but besides a late run in the 70's there really hadn't been much to shout about. Enter the 1986 Phillies, who finished 86-76 and snagged the 16th seed. They square off against the number one seed 2008 squad.

Here is how #1 vs #16 played out:

Game 1:  2008 Phillies 10   1986 Phillies  4

Game 2:  2008 Phillies  6    1986 Phillies  1

Game 3:  1986 Phillies  6    2008 Phillies  5

Game 4:  1986 Phillies  4    2008 Phillies  2

Game 5:  2008 Phillies  10   1986 Phillies  4

Series Highlights:  '08 SS Jimmy Rollins went 11-22 (.500) with 7 runs scored and 5 SB's.  1b Ryan Howard hit .333 with 2 HR's and 4 RBI while 2b Chase Utley knocked in 8 in the 5 games. SP Brett Myers tossed a complete game in game 2 while striking out 9 and Cole Hamels won games 1 and 5.

Surprisingly, Closer Brad Lidge could have iced the series in a 3-game sweep but gave up 3 runs in 2/3 of an inning to take the Game 3 loss.  For the '86 squad, C Darren Daulton hit .462 with 3 HR. 2b Juan Samuel slumped to go 2-22 in the series scoring only 1 run in the 5 games.  SP Kevin Gross was shelled in Games 1 and 5.

#8 Seed 1983 Phillies vs #9 Seed 1976 Phillies

Seeding includes post season success. The '76 Phils finished the regular season with 101 wins but were swept in the playoffs while the "Weez Kids" of '83 lost to the Orioles in the World Series.

Here is how this round played out:

Game 1:  1976 Phillies  12    1983 Phillies  8

Game 2:  1983 Phillies  3     1976 Phillies  2

Game 3:  1976 Phillies  10    1983 Phillies  7

Game 4:  1983 Phillies  1     1976 Phillies  0

Game 5:  1976 Phillies  20   1983 Phillies  9

Highlights:  The '76 Phillies were all or nothing in the series, averaging 14 runs a game when they won, and just 1 run per game when they lost.  Series MVP Bob Boone hit .579 (11-19) with a homer and 7 RBI. LF Greg Luzinski crushed 2 HR's and 1b Dick Allen hit .350.  Reliever Ron Reed pitched in 4 of the 5 games and didn't allow a run in 7 innings of work. The '83 squad only hit 2 HR's in the 5 games while reliever Ed Farmer allowed an astonishing 10 earned runs in just 1 2/3 innings in the series. Why did Paul Owens keep trotting him out there?

#4 Seed 2009 Phillies vs #13 Seed 1981 Phillies

Charlie Manuel's Pennant winning '09 squad vs Dallas Green's '81 team that was never the same after the strike.

Here is how the series played out:

Game 1:  2009 Phillies  10     1981 Phillies  5

Game 2:  2009 Phillies  5     1981 Phillies  4

Game 3:  1981 Phillies  20    2009 Phillies  9

Game 4:  2009 Phillies  11   1981 Phillies  6

Highlights:  Pitching was not a strength in this slugfest of a series. Each team averaged nearly 9 runs per game. Series MVP Jayson Werth went 10-16 (.625) with a HR and 6 RBI.  3b Pedro Feliz hit .500 with a HR and 8 RBI and Cliff Lee, Pedro Martinez, and JA Happ all pitched well to earn victories. The '81 gang was led by LF Gary Matthews who hit .471 with 2 HR and 6 RBI while 3b Mike Schmidt hit 3 HR and knocked in 10 but just hit .211. Steve Carlton and Dick Ruthven were both knocked around by the '09 team.

#5 Seed 1915 Phillies vs #12 Seed 2007 Phillies

The "dead ball" era makes an appearance to take on the comeback kings from 2007.  Here is how this series played out:

Game 1:  2007 Phillies  12    1915 Phillies  6

Game 2:  1915 Phillies  9    2007 Phillies  7

Game 3:  2007 Phillies  2    1915 Phillies  1

Game 4:  2007 Phillies  4    1915 Phillies  2

Highlights: Amazingly, the '07 Phils won the series without hitting a HR as Pete Alexander and Co kept them in the yard. However, series MVP Aaron Rowand hit .389 with 4 runs scored and 5 RBI while SS Jimmy Rollins hit .353 with 4 runs scored. Jamie Moyer and Kyle Kendrick pitched well for W's in Games 3 and 4 while Brett Myers didn't allow a run in the series. Possum Whitted hit .421 with 1 homer and 2 RBI in 19 AB's for the '15 squad and swiped 2 bags. Alexander was rocked in game 1 giving up 10 runs in 7 innings.

#2 Seed 1980 Phillies vs #15 Seed 2005 Phillies

The Phillies 1st World Champions faced Larry Bowa's squad that nearly missed out on the playoffs. Here is how the series played out:

Game 1:  1980 Phillies  6    2005 Phillies  5

Game 2:  1980 Phillies  6   2005 Phillies  5

Game 3:  1980 Phillies  7   2005 Phillies  5

Highlights:  No surprise to see the first sweep here, as series MVP Mike Schmidt hit .417 with 3 HR's and 8 RBI in the 3 games. Lonnie Smith was on fire, hitting .786 (11-14) with 6 SB's and 5 runs scored. The '80 group got by with some shakey pitching but relievers Ron Reed, Kevin Saucier, and Dickie Noles combined for 10 1/3 IP's without a run in the 3 games. 1b Ryan Howard & RF Bobby Abreu both hit 2 HR's with 4 RBI in the losing cause but SS Jimmy Rollins and 2b Chase Utley hit only .125 between them. Reliever Aaron Fultz lost 2 games in the series.

#7 Seed 1977 Phillies vs #10 Seed 2010 Phillies

This much anticipated series was between two of the best regular season teams in Phils' history that failed in the postseason. This series went the distance:

Game 1: 2010 Phillies  3   1977 Phillies  2

Game 2: 1977 Phillies  6    2010 Phillies  5

Game 3:  1977 Phillies  8    2010 Phillies  5

Game 4:  2010 Phillies  10   1977 Phillies  7

Game 5:  2010 Phillies  8   1977 Phillies 3

Highlights:  The 2010 squad roared back from the brink of elimination, led by Jayson Werth who hit .450 with a homer and 4 RBI in the series. Starter Roy Halladay won games 1 and 5 in the series and went 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA to snag series MVP. Ryan Howard hit 2 bombs in the series while hitting .273. The '77 squad was let down by Steve Carlton who was outdueled by Halladay in games 1 and 5. Lefty hurled 16 innings allowing 8 runs while walking 9 and striking out 12.  Richie Hebner went deep 3 times in the series and Garry Maddox was on fire, going 12-22 (.545).

#3 Seed 1993 Phillies vs #14 Seed 1964 Phillies

Jim Fregosi vs Gene Mauch. The team that came out of nowhere vs the team that disappeared. Here is how this series played out:

Game 1:  1964 Phillies  10    1993 Phillies  8

Game 2:   1993 Phillies  5   1964 Phillies  0

Game 3:  1964 Philles  3   1993 Phillies  1

Game 4:  1993 Phillies  6   1964 Phillies  0

Game 5:  1993 Phillies  10   1964 Phillies  5

Highlights: Lenny Dykstra led the '93 gang from being down 2-1 to win the final 2 games to move on. Dykstra was named series MVP on his way to hitting .391 with a homer, 6 runs scored and 5 RBI. Kevin Stocker hit .450 with 7 runs scored and an RBI while Terry Mulholland tossed 6 shutout innings in game 2 and Danny Jackson hurled 8 shutout innings in Game 4. Dick Allen hit the only HR of the series for the '64 group and Jim Bunning was rocked allowing 12 earned runs in 9 1/3 innings pitched. Ruben Amaro Sr hit .286 with 2 runs scored and 3 RBI.

#6 1950 Phillies vs #11 1978 Phillies

The NL Pennant winners from 1950 goes up against the '78 team that again lost in heartbreaking fashion to the Dodgers in the NLCS. This was not much of a series:

Game 1:  1978 Phillies  7    1950 Phillies  4

Game 2:   1978 Phillies  11   1950 Phillies  6

Game 3:   1978 Phillies  8    1950 Phillies  2

Highlights: Greg Luzinski snagged the series MVP in this 3-game sweep, hitting .462 (6-13) with a HR and 6 RBI. Mike Schmidt hit .429 with 4 RBI and Larry Bowa hit .308 while scoring 5 runs. Steve Carlton, Larry Christenson, and Randy Lerch all won their starts to easily down the Whiz Kids. Andy Seminick led the way for the '50 Phils hitting .417 with a homer and 3 RBI while scoring 4 runs. Richie Ashburn hit .357 but didn't have an RBI and scored 2 runs in the 3 games.

ELITE 8: #1 Seed 2008 Phillies vs #9 Seed 1976 Phillies

In the round of 8, the series were all 7-games. This series was a classic 7-gamer. The '76 squad went up 3 games to 1 only to see the resilient '08 team even it all up. Who took Game 7? Here's how it played out:

Game 1:  2008 Phillies  5    1976 Phillies  2

Game 2:  1976 Phillies  9    2008 Phillies  7

Game 3:  1976 Phillies  9    2008 Phillies  5

Game 4:  1976 Phillies  8    2008 Phillies  3

Game 5:  2008 Phillies  5    1976 Phillies  1

Game 6:  2008 Phillies  7    1976 Phillies  6

Game 7:  1976 Phillies  7    2008 Phillies  3

Highlights: Greg "The Bull" Luzinski was instrumental in leading the upset over the #1 seed. Luzinski hit .355 with 4 HR and 9 RBI in the 7 game series and added 8 runs scored. Garry Maddox hit .345 with a homer and 7 RBI while also swiping 4 bags. Dick Allen crushed 2 HR's and hit .382 for the series. Remarkably, the '76 Phils won the series with ace Steve Carlton going 0-2 with a 7.94 ERA.

Relievers Ron Reed (1 er in 11.1 IP), Gene Garber (1 ER in 6.2 IP) and Ron Schueler (3.1 hitless innings) stood out while starter Jim Kaat started 2 games and allowed just 3 earned runs. Cole Hamels tried to keep the Phils in the series all by himself, winning both of his starts and hurling complete games in both.  Hamels went 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA, striking out 12 in 18 IP's. Brett Myers was as bad as Hamels was good, allowing 10 earned runs in 7.2 IP.  Offensively the '08 Phils were led by Chase Utley who hit .429 with 2 HR and 5 RBI but it was the pitching—outside of Hamels—that ultimately let the '08 team down.

ELITE 8: #4 Seed 2009 Phillies vs #12 Seed 2007 Phillies

In this series, two teams from the same era squared off, and there were a lot of familiar faces in each dugout. However, one team was clearly superior to the other, winning in sweeping fashion:

Game 1:  2009 Phillies  3    2007 Phillies  2

Game 2:  2009 Phillies  7    2007 Phillies  6

Game 3:  2009 Phillies  10   2007 Phillies  6

Game 4:  2009 Phillies  10   2007 Phillies  1

Highlights: Raul Ibanez snagged the series sweeping MVP award, hitting .400 (6-15) with three HR, seven runs scored and five RBI. Chase Utley and Ryan Howard hit two HR's each while Carlos Ruiz hit .417 while knocking in five. Cliff Lee allowed only one hit in seven innings of work in game one while JA Happ didn't allow any runs either in seven innings during the Game Four clincher. 

For the '07 squad, Cole Hamels pitched effectively in game one but after that, Jamie Moyer, Kyle Kendrick, and Freddy Garcia were lit up.  Jimmy Rollins hit just .176 (3-17) in the series while Pat Burrell was just 2-15 with no runs or RBI.

ELITE 8: #2 Seed 1980 Phillies vs #10 Seed 2010 Phillies

The 2010 squad pulled the upset taking down the '77 Phils in the first round and their reward is the second seeded 1980 bunch. How did it play out?

Game 1:  1980 Phillies  8   2010 Phillies  2

Game 2:  2010 Phillies  6    1980 Phillies  2

Game 3:  1980 Phillies  4    2010 Phillies  3

Game 4:  1980 Phillies  9    2010 Phillies  3

Game 5:  1980 Phillies  8    2010 Phillies  5

Highlights: Steve Carlton took home the series MVP award, winning games one and five, hurling 15 innings and striking out 18 with a 2.40 ERA. Warren Brusstar won game 3 in relief and Bob Walk pitched effectively in game 4 to pick up the W. Offensively, Bake McBride hit .474 (9-19) with two HR and five RBI while scoring seven runs and stealing two bases.  Keith Moreland hit a HR in his only series AB and Mike Schmidt hit two dingers while hitting .273 for the series. 

The 2010 group played shoddy defense as Roy Halladay gave up 5 unearned runs in his 2 starts, and simply didn't pitch very well, going 0-2 with a 6.39 ERA.  Roy Oswalt was masterful in a Game 2 complete game in which he gave up five hits and no walks while striking out seven. Shane Victorino paced the '10 group at the plate with a .444 avg (8-18), two doubles, two triples, a HR and SB.

ELITE 8: #3 Seed 1993 Phillies vs #11 Seed 1978 Phillies

The '78 squad upset the Whiz Kids of '50 and they get another surprising bunch, the '93 Phillies.  Danny Ozark vs Jim Fregosi.  Here is how it played out:

Game 1:  1978 Phillies  6    1993 Phillies  3

Game 2:   1993 Phillies  11    1978 Phillies  1

Game 3:  1993 Phillies  10    1978 Phillies  7

Game 4:  1993 Phillies  8    1978 Phillies  3

Game 5:  1993 Phillies  9    1978 Phillies  3

Highlights:  Not much of a series here as the '93 team absolutely pummelled Danny Ozark's bunch after Game 1 by a combined score of 38-14.  3b Dave Hollins took the MVP award for the series hitting .381 (8-21) with a homer and 8 RBI.  Kevin Stocker hit .444 with a surprising dinger and Curt Schilling, Terry Mulholland, Tommy Greene, and Danny Jackson all won starts while Mitch Williams picked up a save in the pivotal Game 3.  Some ugly ERA's were put up by the '78 staff- Warren Brusstar (18.00), Larry Christenson (9.00), Rawley Eastwick (20.22), Randy Lerch (12.26) & Dick Ruthven (15.75).  They looked more like a slow-pitch softball staff.  Greg Luzinski was the only regular to hit over .286 for the series at .400.  Bake McBride, Richie Hebner, and Jerry Martin were a combined 4-42 in the series.

FINAL FOUR: #9 Seed 1976 Phillies vs #4 Seed 2009 Phillies

And then there were four. In the first series, the 1976 team that won 101 regular season games only to be swept by the Big Red Machine squared off vs the 2009 Phillies who lost in six games to the NY Yankees in the World Series. Here is how this series played out:

Game 1: 2009 Phillies  4     1976 Phillies  3

Game 2:  2009 Phillies  6    1976 Phillies  1

Game 3:  2009 Phillies  6   1976 Phillies  3

Game 4:  1976 Phillies  6    2009 Phillies  2

Game 5:  1976 Phillies  6   2009 Phillies  3

Game 6:  2009 Phillies  10   1976 Phillies 1

Highlights: The 2009 version of Pedro Martinez pitched like he was 10 years younger and won his game two and six starts. Pedro pitched 13 innings and allowed two earned runs, walked one and struck out 10, finishing with a 1.38 ERA. Cole Hamels pitched well in Game Three to put the '09 team up three games to none but the '76 Phillies hung tough to win the next 2.

The '09 Phils were led offensively by Raul Ibanez who hit .417-2-8 and Jayson Werth who hit .381-2-8. Carlos Ruiz hit .400 and Chase Utley .393. The '76 Phils were crushed by the inept pitching of Jim Lonborg. Lonborg started 2 games and allowed 12 earned runs in 8 innings.  Jay Johnstone and Garry Maddox were the only regulars to hit over .300 but amazingly Mike Schmidt hit five HR's in the six game series, but only had six hits total.  This propelled the 2009 Phillies to the Championship Series.

FINAL FOUR: #2 Seed 1980 Phillies vs #3 Seed 1993 Phillies

Two of the most beloved teams in Philadelphia Phillies team history square off for a chance to face the 2009 Phillies for all the marbles. The series featured Dallas Green vs Jim Fregosi,  Carlton vs Schilling, Schmidtty vs Nails, and Tugger vs Wild Thing. This is how it all played out:

Game 1:  1993 Phillies  8   1980 Phillies  1

Game 2:  1980 Phillies  12   1993 Phillies  6

Game 3:  1993 Phillies  15   1980 Phillies  0

Game 4:  1993 Phillies  6    1980 Phillies  1

Game 5:  1993 Phillies  9   1980 Phillies  5

Highlights:  In the pivotal 3rd game, the '93 bats exploded for 15 runs while Tommy Greene allowed just 1 hit over 8 innings to basically demoralize the 1980 squad who never recovered.  In the 5 games, Darren Daulton hit .381 with 2 HR and 10 RBI to capture the series MVP award. 

Dave Hollins carried over his hot streak from the previous round to hit .524 and Lenny Dysktra scored 9 runs and hit .429 for the series. Curt Schilling won games one and five to go 2-0 with a 1.20 ERA. The 1980 squad was led by Lonnie Smith who hit .350 with a HR and two stolen bases while Mike Schmidt hit two HR and knocked in six runs while hitting .263. Steve Carlton was a tough luck loser in games 1 and 5, going 0-2 for the series with a respectable 2.70 ERA. Lefty struck out 13 in 13.1 IP. This set up the championship between the '93 Phils and the '09 Phils.

PHILLIES CHAMPIONSHIP: #3 Seed 1993 Phillies vs #4 Seed 2009 Phillies

Each of these teams made it to the World Series only to lose in 6 games. The '93 squad fell to the Toronto Blue Jays while the '09 gang failed to deliver back to back Championships against the NY Yankees. One of these teams will finally have the chance to rewrite history and win their elusive championship. Here is how the Championship series played out:

Game 1:  2009 Phillies  8    1993 Phillies  5  W Lee   L Schilling  S Lidge

Game 2:  1993 Phillies  7    2009 Phillies  5  W Anderson  L Condrey

Game 3:  1993 Phillies  4    2009 Phillies  3   W Mason  L Condrey   S Williams

Game 4:  1993 Phillies  12   2009 Phillies  1   W Jackson   L  Happ

Game 5:  1993 Phillies  3    2009 Phillies  0   W Schilling   L  Lee    S Williams

Highlights:  The '09 Phillies progressively became worse as the series went along. This is their run totals in succession: 8-5-3-1-0. 1b John Kruk was named the series MVP after his 2-run homer in game 3 turned the series around as the '93 team never looked back.  Closer Mitch Williams nailed down 2 saves in the series in Game 3 and Game 5. Kruk hit .438 with a HR and five RBI and five runs scored. Curt Schilling pitched seven shutout innings in Game One to make up for a poor Game One start. 

The '09 team struggled at the plate after Game One. Jimmy Rollins only reached base four times in the 5 games, all singles. Ryan Howard went just 1-17 with zero RBI. Cliff Lee had a solid Game One performance but couldn't duplicate it in Game Five. Reliever Clay Condrey lost two games in the series with a bloated 12.00 ERA in 3 IP but he wasn't alone. Lefty Scott Eyre carried a 26.87 ERA, Chan Ho Park sported a 27.27 ERA and JA Happ was rocked in game 4 allowing 8 earned runs in 5.2 IP.

Congrats to the 1993 Philadelphia Phillies who took down the 1964, 1978, 1980, and 2009 Phillies.

Tournament Leaders

In compiling the offensive numbers, here were the overall leaders:

At bats:  Mike Schmidt (235), Jimmy Rollins (230), Chase Utley (219), Garry Maddox (219)

Runs: Mike Schmidt (51), Jimmy Rollins (46), Chase Utley (39), Larry Bowa (38)

Hits: Chase Utley (68), Jimmy Rollins (65), Garry Maddox (65), Mike Schmidt (63)

Doubles:  Carlos Ruiz (15), Shane Victorino (14), Garry Maddox (14), Larry Bowa (13)

Triples: Shane Victorino (7), Jimmy Rollins (6), Mike Schmidt (4), Mickey Morandini (3)

Home Runs:  Mike Schmidt (19), Chase Utley (12), Greg Luzinski (12), Ryan Howard (11)

RBI: Mike Schmidt (57), Chase Utley (47), Ryan Howard (34), Greg Luzinski (32)

Walks: Mike Schmidt (29), Ryan Howard (27), Chase Utley (23), Jayson Werth (22)

Strikeouts: Mike Schmidt (56), Ryan Howard (54), Jayson Werth (42), Chase Utley (36)

Stolen Bases: Jimmy Rollins (22), Garry Maddox (19), Shane Victorino (10), Lonnie Smith (9)

Caught Stealing: Garry Maddox (4), Shane Victorino (3), Bake McBride (3)

Batting Average: Dave Hollins 33-77 (.429), Kevin Stocker 30-72 (.417), Lonnie Smith 23-57 (.404), Lenny Dykstra 32-80 (.400)