The 1959 Philadelphia Phillies season was the 77th season in the history of the franchise. During spring training, manager Eddie Sawyer told the press, "We're definitely not a last place club... I think the biggest thing we've accomplished is getting rid of the losing complex. That alone makes us not a last place club."[1] The Phillies finished in last place in 1959, seven games behind seventh-place St. Louis and 23 games behind the pennant and World Series winning Dodgers. They attracted 802,515 fans to Connie Mack Stadium, seventh in the eight-team league.
1959 Philadelphia Phillies | ||
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League | National League | |
Ballpark | Connie Mack Stadium | |
City | Philadelphia | |
Owners | R. R. M. Carpenter, Jr. | |
General managers | John J. Quinn | |
Managers | Eddie Sawyer | |
Television | WFIL | |
Radio | WIP (By Saam, Gene Kelly, Claude Haring) | |
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Offseason
editIn early 1959, Phillies owner Bob Carpenter proposed building a new ballpark for the Phillies on 72 acres (290,000 m2) adjacent to the Garden State Park Racetrack in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Connie Mack Stadium was 50 years old, did not have sufficient parking, and the sale of alcohol was banned at sports venues in Pennsylvania. Beer sales were legal in New Jersey. The proposed ballpark would have seated 45,000 fans, been expandable to 60,000, and would have had 15,000 parking spaces.[2] The Phillies would eventually move to the South Philadelphia Sports Complex in 1971. On January 13, Carpenter also changed general_managers, replacing Roy Hamey with John J. Quinn, recruited from the defending two-time National League champion Milwaukee Braves.[3] Quinn would run the Phils' front office for almost 14 full seasons.
Notable transactions
edit- December 1, 1958: Johnny O'Brien was drafted by the Phillies from the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1958 rule 5 draft.[4]
- December 2, 1958: John Herrnstein was signed as an amateur free agent by the Phillies.[5]
- December 3, 1958: Chuck Essegian was traded by the Phillies to the St. Louis Cardinals for Rubén Amaro.[6]
- December 3, 1958: Jack Sanford was traded by the Phillies to the San Francisco Giants for Rubén Gómez and Valmy Thomas.[7]
- December 23, 1958: Rip Repulski, Jim Golden and Gene Snyder were traded by the Phillies to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Sparky Anderson.[8]
- March 31, 1959: Johnny O'Brien, Ted Kazanski and Stan Lopata were traded by the Phillies to the Milwaukee Braves for Gene Conley, Harry Hanebrink and Joe Koppe.[4]
- Prior to 1959 season: John Anderson was returned by the Phillies to the Miami Marlins after expiration of their minor league working agreement.[9]
Regular season
editOn April 11, coach Benny Bengough was removed from the coaching staff and reassigned to the front office where he worked in team public relations.[10]
Season standings
editTeam | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
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Los Angeles Dodgers | 88 | 68 | .564 | — | 46–32 | 42–36 |
Milwaukee Braves | 86 | 70 | .551 | 2 | 49–29 | 37–41 |
San Francisco Giants | 83 | 71 | .539 | 4 | 42–35 | 41–36 |
Pittsburgh Pirates | 78 | 76 | .506 | 9 | 47–30 | 31–46 |
Chicago Cubs | 74 | 80 | .481 | 13 | 38–39 | 36–41 |
Cincinnati Reds | 74 | 80 | .481 | 13 | 43–34 | 31–46 |
St. Louis Cardinals | 71 | 83 | .461 | 16 | 42–35 | 29–48 |
Philadelphia Phillies | 64 | 90 | .416 | 23 | 37–40 | 27–50 |
Record vs. opponents
editSources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] | |||||||||||||
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Team | CHC | CIN | LA | MIL | PHI | PIT | SF | STL | |||||
Chicago | — | 9–13 | 11–11 | 10–12 | 10–12–1 | 12–10 | 12–10 | 10–12 | |||||
Cincinnati | 13–9 | — | 13–9 | 11–11 | 9–13 | 9–13 | 8–14 | 11–11 | |||||
Los Angeles | 11–11 | 9–13 | — | 14–10 | 17–5 | 11–11 | 14–8 | 12–10 | |||||
Milwaukee | 12–10 | 11–11 | 10–14 | — | 13–9 | 15–7–1 | 12–10 | 13–9 | |||||
Philadelphia | 12–10–1 | 13–9 | 5–17 | 9–13 | — | 9–13 | 9–13 | 7–15 | |||||
Pittsburgh | 10–12 | 13–9 | 11–11 | 7–15–1 | 13–9 | — | 10–12 | 14–8 | |||||
San Francisco | 10–12 | 14–8 | 8–14 | 10–12 | 13–9 | 12–10 | — | 16–6 | |||||
St. Louis | 12–10 | 11–11 | 10–12 | 9–13 | 15–7 | 8–14 | 6–16 | — |
Notable transactions
edit- April 13, 1959: Bobby Del Greco was purchased by the Phillies from the New York Yankees.[11]
- June 5, 1959: Gary Kroll was signed as an amateur free agent by the Phillies.[12]
- June 6, 1959: Willie Jones was traded by the Phillies to the Cleveland Indians for Jim Bolger and cash.[13]
Game log
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April (6–8)
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May (11–21)
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June (9–17)
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July (16–12)
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August (12–21–1)
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September (10–11)
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Roster
edit1959 Philadelphia Phillies | |||||||||
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Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
Other batters
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Manager
Coaches
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Player stats
editBatting
editStarters by position
editNote: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
C | Carl Sawatski | 74 | 198 | 58 | .293 | 9 | 43 |
1B | Ed Bouchee | 136 | 499 | 142 | .285 | 15 | 74 |
2B | Sparky Anderson | 152 | 477 | 104 | .218 | 0 | 34 |
SS | Joe Koppe | 126 | 422 | 110 | .261 | 7 | 28 |
3B | Gene Freese | 132 | 400 | 107 | .268 | 23 | 70 |
LF | Harry Anderson | 142 | 508 | 122 | .240 | 14 | 63 |
CF | Richie Ashburn | 153 | 564 | 150 | .266 | 1 | 20 |
RF | Wally Post | 132 | 468 | 119 | .254 | 22 | 94 |
Other batters
editNote: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dave Philley | 99 | 254 | 74 | .291 | 7 | 37 |
Willie Jones | 47 | 160 | 43 | .269 | 7 | 24 |
Valmy Thomas | 66 | 140 | 28 | .200 | 1 | 7 |
Chico Fernández | 45 | 123 | 26 | .211 | 0 | 3 |
Harry Hanebrink | 57 | 97 | 25 | .258 | 1 | 7 |
Joe Lonnett | 43 | 93 | 16 | .172 | 1 | 10 |
Bob Bowman | 57 | 79 | 10 | .127 | 2 | 5 |
Granny Hamner | 21 | 64 | 19 | .297 | 2 | 6 |
Solly Drake | 67 | 62 | 9 | .145 | 0 | 3 |
Jim Hegan | 25 | 51 | 10 | .196 | 0 | 8 |
Jim Bolger | 35 | 48 | 4 | .083 | 0 | 1 |
John Easton | 3 | 3 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Pitching
editStarting pitchers
editNote: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Robin Roberts | 35 | 257.1 | 15 | 17 | 4.27 | 137 |
Jim Owens | 31 | 221.1 | 12 | 12 | 3.21 | 135 |
Gene Conley | 25 | 180.0 | 12 | 7 | 3.00 | 102 |
Don Cardwell | 25 | 153.0 | 9 | 10 | 4.06 | 106 |
Other pitchers
editNote: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
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Ray Semproch | 30 | 111.2 | 3 | 10 | 5.40 | 54 |
Rubén Gómez | 20 | 72.1 | 3 | 8 | 6.10 | 37 |
Chris Short | 3 | 14.1 | 0 | 0 | 8.16 | 8 |
Seth Morehead | 3 | 10.0 | 0 | 2 | 9.90 | 8 |
Ed Keegan | 3 | 9.0 | 0 | 3 | 18.00 | 3 |
Relief pitchers
editNote: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Turk Farrell | 38 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 4.74 | 31 |
Jack Meyer | 47 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 3.36 | 71 |
Taylor Phillips | 32 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 5.00 | 35 |
Humberto Robinson | 31 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 3.33 | 32 |
Curt Simmons | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.50 | 4 |
Jim Hearn | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5.73 | 1 |
Bob Bowman | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6.00 | 0 |
Al Schroll | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8.68 | 4 |
Freddy Rodríguez | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.50 | 1 |
Farm system
editNotes
edit- ^ Reichler, Joe (April 1, 1959). "'Last Place' Dirty Words to Phillies". Prescott Evening Courier. Associated Press. p. 5.
- ^ "Phillies' Owner Shows Interest in Jersey Land". New York Times. Associated Press. March 4, 1959. p. 37.
- ^ Costello, Rory. "John J. Quinn". Society for American Baseball Research Biography Project. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
- ^ a b Johnny O'Brien at Baseball Reference
- ^ John Herrnstein at Baseball Reference
- ^ Rubén Amaro at Baseball Reference
- ^ Rubén Gómez at Baseball Reference
- ^ Rip Repulski at Baseball Reference
- ^ John Anderson at Baseball Reference
- ^ "Phils Drop Bengough as Coach". New York Times. April 12, 1959.
- ^ Bobby Del Greco at Baseball Reference
- ^ Gary Kroll at Baseball Reference
- ^ Jim Bolger at Baseball Reference
- ^ "Baseball". The Windsor Daily Star. Windsor, ON. April 13, 1959. p. 22. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
- ^ a b "Today in Baseball". Pittsburgh Press. Pittsburgh, PA. April 13, 1959. p. 21. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
- ^ "The Major Leagues". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, PA. April 21, 1959. p. 22. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
- ^ Hernon, Jack (April 21, 1959). "Bucs Nab 1-0 Lead, Rain Cancels Contest: Phillies Load Bases on Kline In First, But Fail to Score". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, PA. p. 22. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
- ^ "The Major Leagues". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, PA. April 28, 1959. p. 20. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
- ^ "Baseball in a Nutshell". Milwaukee, WI: Milwaukee Sentinel. April 29, 1959. p. 2, part 2. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
- ^ "Today in Baseball". Pittsburgh Press. Pittsburgh, PA. April 29, 1959. p. 41. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
- ^ a b "Nutshell". Milwaukee Sentinel. Milwaukee, WI. May 18, 1959. p. 3, part 2. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
- ^ "Baseball". Montreal, QC: The Gazette. June 3, 1959. p. 24. Retrieved April 17, 2016.
- ^ "Baseball in a Nutshell". Milwaukee, WI: Milwaukee Sentinel. June 6, 1959. p. 6, part 2. Retrieved April 17, 2016.
- ^ a b "Today in Baseball". Pittsburgh Press. Pittsburgh, PA. July 15, 1959. p. 37. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
- ^ a b "Baseball". Montreal, QC: The Gazette. July 15, 1959. p. 24. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
- ^ "Today in Baseball". Pittsburgh Press. Pittsburgh, PA. July 16, 1959. p. 29. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
- ^ "Phillies Win On Conley's Three Hitter: Twi-Night Game Called by Curfew In 12th, 7 to 7". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, PA. Associated Press (AP). August 20, 1959. p. 27. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
- ^ a b "The Major Leagues". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, PA. August 24, 1959. p. 20. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
- ^ a b "Phils, Frisco Rained Out". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, PA. Associated Press (AP). August 24, 1959. p. 20. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
- ^ a b "Giants, Phils Rained Out; Set Replay in S. F." Milwaukee Sentinel. Milwaukee, WI. United Press International (UPI). August 24, 1959. p. 3, part 2. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
- ^ a b "Giants and Phils Reset Twin Bill". Milwaukee Journal. Milwaukee, WI. August 24, 1959. p. 11. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
- ^ a b Lloyd, Larson (August 25, 1959). "Proper Ruling by Giles". Milwaukee, WI: Milwuaukee Sentinel. p. 2, page 2. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
- ^ "Philadelphia Phillies 10, Pittsburgh Pirates 5 (2)". retrosheet.org. April 26, 1959. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
[Hank] Foiles reached on a fielder's choice [Virdon out at home (pitcher to catcher)]; Bill Virdon and HP umpire Vic Delmore collided at HP; catcher Valmy Thomas ran over and tagged Virdon; Pirates Manager Danny Murtaugh and Don Hoak ejected by 3B umpire Shag Crawford; the Pirates played the game under protest[.]
- ^ "Phils Gain Split, But Bucs Protest". Milwaukee Sentinel. Milwaukee, WI. Associated Press (AP). April 27, 1959. pp. 4, 6, part 2. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
- ^ "Apr 26, 1959, Pirates at Phillies Play by Play and Box Score". baseball-reference.com. sports-reference.com. April 26, 1959. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
- ^ "Pittsburgh Protest Rejected by Giles". Milwaukee Journal. Milwaukee, WI. Associated Press (AP). April 29, 1959. p. 18. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
- ^ "The Major Leagues". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, PA. May 11, 1959. p. 24. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
- ^ Hernon, Jack (May 11, 1959). "Phillies Defeat Friend 6-3; Bucs Lead at Curfew, 6-4: Game Suspended in 8th After Burgess Clouts Homer, Double". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, PA. pp. 24, 26. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
- ^ "May 10, 1959, Phillies at Pirates Play by Play and Box Score". baseball-reference.com. sports-reference.com. May 10, 1959. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
- ^ "1959 Philadelphia Phillies Schedule, Box Scores and Splits". Baseball-Reference.com.
References
edit- 1959 Philadelphia Phillies season at Baseball Reference
- Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.