Philadelphia Phillies (1883-Present)

Historical Moments:
1883: The Inaugural season does not see much success as the Quakers only win 17 games in a 98 game season, an embarrassing winning percentage of .173, as pitcher John Coleman loses 48 games in the process.

1884: The Quakers bring in Harry Wright one of the pioneers in the development of professional baseball to lead the team, but success would not follow in his first season as the Quakers finish in 6th place with a 39-73 record.

1885: With a 56-54 record the Quakers boast their first winning season finishing in 3rd Place.

1886: The Quakers continue to improve finishing in 4th place with a solid 71-43 record.

1887: With a 75-48 record, the Quakers make their first serious run at the pennant. The Phils would end up falling three and half games short, losing out to the Detroit Wolverines.

1888: The Phillies continue to sit in the middle of the pack posting another winning season at 69-61, but finishing in a distant 3rd place.

1889: After 4 straight winning seasons the Quakers post a disappointing 63-64 record while finishing in 4th place.

1890: The team now known as the Phillies for the home fans in Philadelphia are in the running all year for the pennant fall 9 and half games short while finishing in 3rd place with a solid 78-54 record.

1891: The Phillies take a step backwards again finishing in 4th place with a 68-69 record.

1892: The Phillies rebound to post an 87-66 record but are no factor in the race for 1st place.

1893: In Harry Wright's final season as Manager the Phillies post another solid 72-57, but once again have nothing to show for it finishing a distant 4th.

1894: The Phillies continue to post winning record at 71-57, but finish way back in 4thj place nearly 20 games out.

1895: The Phillies are on the fringe of the race for the Championship as they finish in 3rd place within 10 games while posting another winning season at 78-53.

1896: The lone highlight of a disappointing season comes when Ed Delahanty hits 4 Home Runs in one game. However, the Phillies would suffer a 62-68 season while finishing in 8th place.

1897: The Phillies continue to fall in the standings finishing in 10th place with an awful 55-77 record.

1898: After 2 straight losing season the Phillies rebound to finish in 6th place with a 78-71 record.

1899: The Phillies post their best season to date finishing with an outstanding 94-58 record. However, they would still fall short of 1st place by 9 games settling for 3rd.

1900: The Phillies start the 20th Century in promising fashion finishing in 3rd place with a solid 75-63 record.

1901: At 83-57 the Phillies finish in 2nd place for the first time since 1887. However, it would be the high water mark for the Phils, after many of their star players leave for American League contracts, with most of the player landing deals with newly formed Philadelphia Athletics.

1902: With many of their stars now playing cross-town for the Philadelphia Athletics the Phillies would plummet to 7th placing finishing 46 games out of first with a record of 56-81.

1903: Mired in a miserable 49-86 season tragedy strikes the Phillies when a balcony collapse's a Philadelphia Park killing 12, and injuring 232 others. The resulting aftermath would see popular owner Al Reach and his partner John Rogers sell the team.

1904: The Phillies struggles continue as they finish in last place while losing 100 games for the first time in franchise history at 52-100.

1905: The Phillies rebound nicely off a 100-loss season to finish a respectable 4th Place with an 83-69 record.

1906: After a solid winning season the Phillies fall back to earth finishing in 4th place with a 71-82 record.

1907: The Phillies would post a solid 83-64 record under new Manager Bill Murray, while finishing a distant 3rd in the NL.

1908: The Phillies are not a factor in the race for 1st place, despite posting a solid 83-71 record.

1909: After 2 solid 83-win seasons the Phillies fall to 5th place with a record of 74-79.

1910: Sherry Magee leads the league in batting, RBI and runs scored, as the Phillies finish in 4th place with a 78-75 record.

1911: The Phillies continue to remain in the middle of the pack finishing in 4th place with a record of 79-73.

1912: After 2 straight winning seasons the Phillies would slip under .500 finishing in 5th place with a record of 73-79.

1913: Former New York City police commissioner William Baker becomes the Phillies 7th President in 10 years. One of his first moves was to rename Philadelphia Park, Baker Bowl in his honor. The Phils would put together a solid 88-63 record.

1914: The Phillies struggle all season finishing in 6th place with a disappointing record of 74-80.

1915: In their 33rd season the Philadelphia Phillies finally win their first pennant. Leading the way for the Phils is over powering pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander who wins 31 games while pitching four 1-hit games. Leading the offense was Gavvy Cravath who sets a Major League single season HR record with 24, while leading the league in RBI, and Runs scored. Cravath's record would stand five years before Babe Ruth claimed the record. In the World Series the Phillies face the Boston Red Sox. In Game 1 Grover Cleveland Alexander out duels Sox ace Ernie Shore 3-1. However the Red Sox would take a 3-1 series lead after 3 straight 2-1 victories. In Game 5 the Phillies would take a 4-2 lead top the 8th when Duffy Lewis hit a 2-run homer to knot the score. The Sox would go on to win the game and the series on a Harry Hooper HR in the top of the 9th.

1916: The Phillies battle the Brooklyn Dodgers down to the wire for the NL Pennant. However, the Phils would fall two and half games short with a 91-62 record.

1917: The Phillies finish in 2nd place again with an 87-65 record, as Grover Cleveland Alexander wins 30 games for the 3rd straight season. However, Alexander is dealt to the Chicago Cubs following the season, a club owner William Baker is afraid his star pitcher will not return form World War I.

1918: The depleted Phillies fall to 6th place with a 55-68 record, as the Alexander deal backfires; William Baker continues to sell off more of Phillies stars.

1919: The Phillies continue to plummet finishing in last place with a miserable 47-90 record.

1920: Outfielder Cy Williams earns the first of 3 consecutive NL Home Run Crowns, as the Phillies land in the cellar with a 62-91 record.

1921: Hitting home runs was easy at Baker Bowl where the right field wall stood just 272 feet down the line, as the Phils set a Major League team record with 88 homers. However, the Phillies still finish last with a 51-103 record.

1922: The Phillies struggles continue, as they finish with a 57-96 record. However they would be able to barley climb out of last place.

1923: Slugfest were a common occurrence at the Baker Bowl in one game the Phillies lost 26-23 to the Chicago Cubs, setting a single game combined runs scored record that still stands today. The Phils would go on to finish in last place again, with a 50-104 record.

1924: The Phillies continue to be one of the worst teams in baseball as they finish in 7th place with a record of 55-96.

1925: The Phillies would show slight improvement in their 7th straight losing season as they finish in 6th place with a record of 68-85.

1926: The Phillies would wind up back in last place while posting another miserable 58-93 record.

1927: The Phillies in the midst of another last place season are forced to play their final 12 home games at the Athletics' Shibe Park, after a section of the grandstand collapses at the Baker Bowl.

1928: The Phillies losing ways continue as the club finishes with a woeful 43-109 record, on the way to their 6th Last Place finish in the decade.

1929: The Phillies end a miserable decade with another losing record or 58-93 while finishing in 5th place, which was the best record posted by the Phillies in the decade of the 20's. Meanwhile cross-town the Athletics would dominate the American League on the way to a World Championship.

1930: With 5 regular players batting well over .300 the Phillies post an incredible .315 team average. However thanks to a pitching staff that had an ERA of 6.71 and gave up an all-time record 1199 runs, the Phillies finish in last place again with a 52-102 record.

1931: The Phillies post their 14th straight losing season finishing in 6th place with a 66-88 record.

1932: Chuck Klein wins the NL MVP with a .348 average, 38 HR, and 137 RBI, as the Phillies finish with a respectable 78-76 record while finishing 4th.

1933: Klein outdoes himself winning the NL Triple Crown. However, the Phils struggle to finish 7th with a 60-92 record.

1934: The Phillies struggles continue as they finish in 7th place again with a poor record of 56-93.

1935: The Phillies finish in 7th place for the 3rd straight season posting a record of 64-89.

1936: The Phillies fall back down into last place posting a miserable record of 54-100.

1937: The struggles of the Phillies continue as they finish in 7th place with a record of 61-92. It would be the Phillies 19th losing season in 20 years.

1938: The Phillies finally move out of the described Baker Bowl. The stadium's 43-year history was marred by two collapses, and was a pitchers nightmare with its short 272-foot fence down the LF line. Now sharing Shibe Park with Athletics the Phillies continue their losing ways with a 45-105 last place season.

1939: The Phillies finish more then 50 games out of first place while finishing in last place for the 2nd straight season with a record of 45-106.

1940: The Phillies misery continues as they finish in last place for the 3rd straight year finishing 50 games out of first with a record of 50-103.

1941: The Phillies losing was continue as the club posts its worst record ever at 43-111, topping 100 losses for the 4th season in a row.

1942: The Last Place Phillies lose 109 games extending their embarrassing string of 100-loss seasons to 5 straight.

1943: Wearing predominately blue uniforms, the Phillies are dubbed Blue Jays by the Philadelphia Press. The Blue Jays end their string of 100-loss seasons by finishing 7th with a 64-90 record.

1944: The Blue Jays fall back to last place posting a 61-92 record as they finish more then 30 games out of first for the 12th straight season.

1945: Returning to their red look, and the name Phillies, Philadelphia also see a return of 100-loss seasons, as the Phillies finish in last with a 46-108 record.

1946: The Phillies climb out of last place and end a string of 13 season of finishing 30 or more games out of first place while finishing in 5th place with a record of 69-85.

1947: The Phillies post their 16th straight losing season and 39th in 40 years while finishing in 5th place with a record of 62-92.

1948: The Phillies through 3 managers as they climb up to 3rd place despite their 17th straight losing record at 66-88.

1949: The Phillies post their first winning season in 17 years finishing in 3rd Place with an 81-73 record.

1950: The Whiz Kids were Robin Roberts, Richie Ashburn and Del Ennis. They were Granny Hamner, Willie Jones and Curt Simmons. All were products of the Phillies farm system, young, exciting players who with a handful of key veterans gave the franchise one of its most beloved teams. The Phillies led most of the way, and with 11 games left to play had a seven-game lead. The team, however, went into a late-season tailspin, losing 8 of 10 games. On the last day of the season, the Phils had a one-game lead. Playing the final game against the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field, the Phillies won, 4-1, in 10 innings on Dick Sisler's dramatic three-run homer. With a 91-63 the Phillies had their 2nd Pennant and were on the way to the World Series. However, In the World Series the Wiz Kids are swept by the New York Yankees. However the Phillies did not embarrass themselves losing 4 straight 1 run games, as the Yankees pitchers out dueled the young Phillies by scores of 1-0, 2-1, 2-1, and 3-2.

1951: The Phillies are unable to recapture their previous year's magic fading to 5th place with a 73-81 record.

1952: With Robin Roberts putting up an impressive 28-7 record, the Phillies bounce back and finish in 4th Place with a solid 87-67 record.

1953: The Phillies finish 22 games out of first place despite a respectable 83-71 record.

1954: With the Athletics moving to Kansas City the Phillies have Philadelphia all to themselves as they struggle to finish with a 75-79 record while finishing in 4th place.

1955: OF Richie Ashburn wins the first of two batting crowns. However, the Phillies would struggle to finish 4th Place with a 77-77 record.

1956: The Phillies return to the struggles that have plagued them for 30 years as they fall to 5th place with a record of 71-83.

1957: The Phillies are a non-factor in the pennant race again as they finish 22 games out of first while posting a 77-77 record ands placing 5th.

1958: The Phillies return to the cellar with a 69-85 record, as Richie Ashburn collects his 2nd Batting Crown.

1959: The Phillies struggles continue as they finish in last place again with a record of 64-90.

1960: In the middle of another miserable 59-95 last place season manager Eddie Sawyer abruptly quits: while bluntly saying. "I'm 49, and I want to live to be 50."

1961: Gene Mauch's first full season as manager is marred by a Major League Record 23-game losing streak. The Phillies would go on to finish last place for the 4th year in a row with a 47-107 record.

1962: With pitcher Art Mahaffey winning 19 games the Phillies climb back to respectability finishing 7th Place with an 81-80 record.

1963: The Phillies continue to improve finish 4th Place with a solid 87-75 record, only 12 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers for the NL Pennant.

1964: The Phillies looked destined all season for a trip to the World Series with Richie Allen exploding on to the scene earning the NL Rookie of the Year. The season was full of magic moments such as Jim Bunning's Perfect Game during a Father's Day Double Header in New York against the Mets. The Phillies would make more magic in Shea that summer when Johnny Callison won the All-Star Game with a walk off Home Run. The Phillies looked unstoppable as their lead for the NL Pennant grew though out the summer. With 12 games remaining in the season the Phillies held a 6 and half game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals, as World Series tickets were going on sale. However the Phillies would begin to struggle, causing manager Gene Mauch to shorten the pitching rotation to two. However, Jim Bunning, and Chris Short got tired fast, and the Phillies began a historic collapse losing 10 straight, as the Cardinals flew past and into a memorable Fall Classic, while the Phillies could only had a remember a classic fall and a second place 92-70 record.

1965: The Phillies followed up their late season collapse by finishing in a 5th Place tie with an 85-76 record.

1966: The Phillies play solid baseball all season finishing in 4th place with a respectable 87-75 record, while finishing just 8 games of first place.

1967: The Phillies play mediocre baseball all season on the way to finishing in 5th place with an 82-80 record.

1968: Manager Gene Mauch is let go in the middle of disappointing 7th Place 76-86 season. Mauch who was deemed most responsible by the Philadelphia fans and press for the 1964 collapse, could never get the team back up to that level again, as the Phillies faded back into mediocrity.

1969: During a miserable 63-99 season, the lone bright spot comes when pitchers Jerry Johnson, Woodie Fryman, Larry Jackson and Rick Wise hurl four consecutive shutouts.

1970: A trade made after the 1969 season saw the Phillies acquire OF Curt Flood and several others for Richie Allen. As soon as the trade was announced Flood, said he would refuse to play for the Phillies, sighting Philadelphia's past poor relations with minority players. When spring training rolled around in 1970 Flood was a no show, as he brought a suit against baseball challenging its reserve clause. Flood stated that the reserve clause was equal to slavery, and that he was not property. Flood would never wear a Phillies uniform, as his fight went to the Supreme Court. Although Flood lost his case, and basically gave up his career the fight laid the groundwork for the birth of Free Agency in 1975. On the field the Phillies would struggle as well finishing in 5th place with a 73-88 record.

1971: A new era dawns in Philadelphia as the Phillies begin play in Veterans Stadium. The Vet is in line with trend of the times boring faceless circular cookie cutter multipurpose stadiums being built for both baseball and football. The Phillies would go on to finish in last place with a 67-95 record.

1972: The Phillies acquire Left-handed pitcher Steve Carlton form the St. Louis Cardinals. In his first season with Phillies Carlton would win the NL Cy Young by winning27 games, while posting a 1.98 ERA, and striking out 310 batters. However, Carlton's' 27 wins are nearly half the Phillies total for the season as the club finishes last again with a 59-97 record.

1973: In a year in which the entire NL east struggled the Phillies are the only team that is not a factor in the late season push for the pennant as they finish in last place with a 71-91 record.

1974: With 3B Mike Schmidt coming of age and leading the NL in Homers with 36, the Phillies rise up out of the cellar and contend for the Eastern Division Title most of the season. However, the Phillies would fade into a 3rd place 80-82 finish that saw them fall 8 games short of the Division Winning Pirates.

1975: With Mike Schmidt and Greg Luzinski becoming a potent force in the middle of the lineup the Phillies improvement continues. The Phillies challenge the Pirates all season for the Division Title before falling 6 and half games short with an 86-76 record.

1976: As America celebrated the Bicentennial, Philadelphia the place where it all began was a focal point. One of the events even was the All-Star Game, which the Phillies proudly hosted as the NL, continued its winning ways 7-1. The Phillies were also playing with spirit of 76 as Mike Schmidt captures his 3rd straight HR title. This time there was no denying the Phillies, who break the 100-win mark for the first time ever finish in 1st with a 101-61 record. However, the success does not translate to the postseason as the Phillies are swept by the eventual World Champion Cincinnati Reds in the NLCS.

1977: With Steve Carlton capturing his second Cy Young with 23 wins, and a powerful lineup that saw 7 players reach double digits in Homers, the Phillies repeat their 101-61 performance to capture their 2nd straight division title. In the NLCS the Phillies faced the Los Angeles Dodgers. After splitting the first 2 games in Los Angeles the Phillies blew a 5-3 lead with 2 outs in the 9th inning. The Dodgers would go on to win the series in 4 games with a 4-1 victory in the finale.

1978: Even tough no players batted above .300 the Phillies finish with a 90-72 record to edge out the Pittsburgh Pirates by a game and a half for the division title in a year that saw the debut of the Phillie Phanatic. In another disappointing NLCS, the Phillies again bowed to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Phillies lost the first 2 games, at home, as they faced elimination heading to LA. After Steve Carlton won Game 3 in LA, the Phillies lost 4-3, in the finale with a dropped fly ball by the usually sure-hand Garry Maddox.

1979: The Phillies sign future hit king Pete Rose away from the Cincinnati Reds. However, despite the addition of Rose the Phillies struggle all season finishing in 4th Place with an 84-78 record. Meanwhile, GM Dallas Green replaces Manager Danny Ozark near the end of the season.

1980: In a season full of outstanding performances, Mike Schmidt leads the league in home runs with 48 and RBI with 121 while winning the NL MVP. Meanwhile Steve Carlton wins the Cy Young Award for a 3rd time with a 24-9 record. After floundering through the first half of the season, the Phillies caught fire in mid-August, winning 21 of 27 games to catch the first place Montreal Expos. The Phillies would clinch division title on the next to last day of the season as Schmidt's 2-run HR in the 11th inning defeated the Expos, 6-4. In the NLCS the Phillies faced the upstart Houston Astros, and after 3 games were in danger of another disappointment. Down 2 games to 1, the Phillies had to win the last 2 games in the hostile Astrodome. After winning Game 4 the Phillies luck looked like had run out trailing the Astros and Nolan Ryan 5-2 in the 8th Inning of Game 5. The Phillies would explode for 5 runs that inning to take a lead, but the Astros battle back and sent the game to extra innings tied at 7. Garry Maddox would give the Phils an 8-7 lead with a RBI single in the 10th that Dick Ruthven was able to nail down for the save, as the Phillies won their first NL Pennant in 30 years. An air of anticipation surrounded the World Series in Philadelphia, as Phillies fans were hungry for their first World Championship in their 97-year existence. Phillies fans could not help but feel the doubts of old creep in as the Kansas City Royals jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the opener. However the Phillies would erupt for 5 runs in the 3rd thanks to a Bake McBride 3-run Homer to take a 5-4 lead, the Phils would go on to win the game 7-6 as Tug McGraw got the save. The Phillies would rally to score 4 runs in the 8th inning off ace reliever Dan Quisenberry to win Game 2 by a score of 6-4. As the series moved to Kansas City the Royals would rebound to take the next 2 and tie the series 2 games apiece. In Game 5 the Royals took a 3-2 lead to the 9th inning and had Quisenberry on the mound to close things out. However a lead off walk by Mike Schmidt would prove the spark as Del Unser drove him home a Pinch Hit double down the 1st Base Line. Unser himself would with 2 outs on an infield single by Manny Trillo. However it looked as if the Phillies themselves would blow the game when Tug McGraw walked the bases loaded, but Tug would buckle down and strike Jose Cardnale out to end the ballgame. Back in Philadelphia Game 6 would be the day Phillies fans waited nearly a century for. With Steve Carlton on the mound the Phillies gripped a 4-0 lead thanks timely hitting from World Series MVP Mike Schmidt. However, the game would not come without its herring moments. With Tug McGraw on to relive the Royals loaded the bases in each of the final 2 innings, but only scored once. In a sign that it was their year the second out of the 9th inning saw 1B Pete Rose catching a ball after it popped out of Catcher Bret Boone's glove. Tug then would strike Willie Wilson out for the final out as the city of Philadelphia went nuts. The Phillies were finally on top of the baseball world for the first time in their 97-year history.

1981: The Phillies jump out in front again are in 1st Place with a 34-21 record when a strike interrupts the season for 50 days. When baseball returned it was decided to break the season in to 2 halves meaning the Phillies were already in the playoffs. This was a good thing as the Phillies struggled with a 25-27 record in the 2nd half. However the regular season saw Mike Schmidt take the HR crown and NL MVP again. Meanwhile Pete Rose gets his 3,631st career hit breaking Stan Musial's career NL hit record. After the season the Phillies faced the 2nd half Champion Montreal Expos in a 5 game series that saw Expos end the Phillies hopes for a repeat in 5 games.

1982: Steve Carlton wins 23 games, and becomes the first picther ever to win his 4th Cy Young Award, as the Phillies make another run at the NL East Title. However, the Phillies would fall 3 games short with an 89-73 record.

1983: With a roster full of older players the Phillies are dubbed the "Wheeze Kids" by the local press. However, the old guys do alright as Steve Carlton collect his 300th career win and becomes the all-time strikeout king, a position he would only hold temporally, before being passed by Nolan Ryan. However, Carlton was out done on the pitching staff as John Denny capture the Cy Young with a 19-6 record. The Phillies would reclaim the NL East tike by winning 14 of their last 16 games to finish with a 90-72 record. In the NLCS the Phillies would face the Los Angeles Dodgers who beat them 11 out of the 12 times they met in the regular season. However with Steve Carlton winning twice, and timely hitting from NLCS MVP Gary Matthews the Phillies would stun the Dodgers in 4 games to make a return trip to the Fall Classic. In the World Series the Phillies would face the Baltimore Orioles, and with the stellar pitching of John Denny captured the opener in Baltimore 2-1. However the Orioles would win the next 4 games to take the series 4 games to 1.

1984: With the Phillies going through a youth movement many of the veterans that helped lead the teams to the World Series are allowed to sign elsewhere. The younger Phillies would struggle finishing in 4th Place with an 81-81 record.

1985: The lone highlight of a disappointing 5th place 75-87 season comes in June when the Phillies clobbered the Mets 26-7 behind 2 first inning HRs by Von Hayes, including a Grand Slam. This marked the first time ever that a player homered twice in the same inning.

1986: The end of an era in Philadelphia comes when Steve Carlton, who is clearly past his prime, is released after following up a 1-8 season with a 4-8 start. However, another legend Mike Schmidt keeps rolling along winning his 3rd MVP and NL record 7th career HR title. The Phillies would go on to finish a distant 2nd to the eventual World Champion New York Mets with an 86-75 record.

1987: Mike Schmidt has another big season smacking 35 HR on the way to breaking the 500-career barrier. Meanwhile on the mound Steve Bedrosian saves 40 games on the way to earning the Cy Young. However, the Phillies would struggle to finish 4th with an 80-82 record.

1988: The Phillies finish in last place for the first time in 15 years posting a lousy record of 65-96.

1989: Mike Schmidt, sighting sore knees suddenly retires during Memorial Day Weekend. Schmidt, who ended his career with 548 career HR more than any other 3B. As a tribute to Schmidt, fans still vote him to start at 3rd in the All Star Game. The Phillies would go on to finish in last place with a 67-95 record.

1990: The Phillies struggles continue as they post their 4th straight losing season while finishing in 4th place with a 77-85 record.

1991: Manager Nick Leva is fired after just 13 games, as the Phillies again finish belo0w .400 with a 78-84 record.

1992: The lone highlight of another last place season comes when Mick Morandini turns an unassisted triple play in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. However, the Phillies 70-92 record camouflaged a strong finish that saw the Phillies come close to climbing out of the cellar where they stood all season long.

1993: Led by a colorful group of hard-charging players headed by Lenny Dykstra, Darren Daulton, and John Kruk, the Phils fielded an exciting team that captured the fancy of fans throughout the country. After a blazing 45-17 start, the Phillies coasted to the Eastern Division title, holding first place all but one day. During the season, the Phils played a memorable doubleheader with the San Diego Padres that because of three rain delays ended at 4:40 a.m. Dykstra led the NL in runs (143) and hits (194), and for the first time the team drew more than 3 million fans. The underdog Phillies would face the Atlanta Braves in a pulsating NLCS. After falling behind 2 games to 1 the Phillies came from behind to win the last 3 games to stun the Braves in 6 games. Curt Schilling (was named Most Valuable Player in the series, as the Phillies became only the third team to leap from last place the previous season to the World Series the next year. After dropping 2 of the first 3 games to the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series the Phillies looked to tie the series in Game 4. With Milt Thompson belting a three-run triple in the first inning while driving in five runs and Dykstra poling two homers in a four-RBI night, the Phillies took a 14-9 lead after seven innings, were well on the way to even the series. However the Phils pen would unravel and the Phillies would end up losing to the Blue Jays 15-14 in the highest scoring game in World Series history. The loss put the Phillies down 3 games to 1 in the series. However, a stellar pitching performance by Curt Schilling sent the series back to Toronto. The Phillies would overcome a 5-1 defect in Game 6 to take a 6-5 lead, but the Mitch Williams would blow it again yielding a series winning 3-run HR to Joe Carter in the bottom of the 9th.

1994: Ravaged by injuries the Phillies struggle all season and stand in 4th place with a 54-61 record on August 12th when the season ended prematurely due to a Player's Strike.

1995: The Phillies finish a distant 2nd in the NL East posting a 69-75 record, as baseball struggles to get on its feet following the devastating strike.

1996: Veteran's Stadium hosts the All-Star Game as the Phillies return to the cellar posting a terrible record of 67-95.

1997: 3B Scott Rolen has a spectacular first season earning the Rookie of the Year, while Curt Schilling has an impressive season eclipsing the 300 strikeout mark. However the individual success does not translate to team success as the Phillies finish in last again with a 68-94 record.

1998: Curt Schilling repeats his 300-strikeout performance, as the Phillies continue to struggle, finishing in 3rd place with a 75-87 record.

1999: The Phillies post their 6th straight losing season finishing in 3rd place with a record of 77-85.

2000: In the midst of another last place 65-97 season, the Phillies comply to Curt Schilling's request and deal him before the trade deadline to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Pitchers Vincente Padilla Omar Daal, and 1B Travis Lee.

2001: With new manager Larry Bowa at the helm the Phillies get off to a fast start, and lead the Eastern Division for much of the 1st Half of the season. In the middle of the season the Phillies weak pitching would begin to catch up with them as the Braves zoomed past them. However, the Phillies would stay close to the Braves all season finishing in 2nd with an 86-76 record. Larry Bowa would go on to claim the Manager of the Year, as the Phils posted a 21-game improvement over 2000.

2002: The Phillies get off to a miserable start as they find themselves nearly 20 games below .500, and in last place early in the season. Along the way it becomes obvious the Phillies would not be able to re-sign 3B Scott Rolen who turned down a big money contract extension in spring trading, as a rift between him and Manger Larry Bowa begins to distract the rest of the team. Shortly after the All-Star break Rolen would be traded to the St. Louis Cardinals. Without Rolen the Phillies would actually play better down the stretch climbing out of last place and briefly above .500 before finishing in 3rd place with a 80-81 record. Following the season the Phillies would use the money they offered Rolen to sign Free Agent slugger Jim Thome.

2003: The Phillies entered their final season in Veterans Stadium amidst an air of optimism with their prize free agent Jim Thome. However in April it would be their big pitching acquisition Kevin Millwood that would steal the show pitching a no hitter on April 27th against the San Francisco Giants. However Millwood would not live up to expectations most of the season posting a mediocre 14-12 season as the Phillies hopes for challenging for the division title faded early with the Atlanta Braves pulling out in front by more then 10 games. However, the Phillies would find themselves in the thick of the race for the Wild Card as Jim Thome went on a second half tear on his way to a NL high 47 homers. However down the stretch the Phillies weak bullpen would cost them several key games as closer Jose Mesa, who had a terrible 6.52 ERA was publicly criticized and benched by Manager Larry Bowa. Needing to win a key series against the Florida Marlins in the final week to keep their playoff hopes alive the Phillies are swept as they lose 7 of their last 8 games finishing in 3rd place with an 86-76 record. Following the season the Phillies addressed the weakness in the bullpen by acquiring closer Billy Wagner from the Houston Astros.

2004: With the highly anticipated opening of their new stadium on the horizon the Phillies started the season on the road, where the struggled losing 5 of 6. On April 12th Phillies fans finally had the state of the art ballpark the dreamed of as Citizen's Bank Park hosted its first game. However, Phillie fans would go home disappointed as they lost to the Cincinnati Reds 4-1, on the way to a mediocre April and a 10-11 record. In May the Phillies would play better as they spent much of the month battling for first place. However, the next two months would see the Phillies continue to underachieve as the Atlanta Braves climbed their way to first place after a poor start. The Phillies would continue to struggle in August as their hopes of winning the division faded. Through it all a growing tension between the players and Manager Larry Bowa, was cited as one of the reason the Phillies were not playing up to their potential. In September the Phillies would put together their finest month with a 19-8 record. However, it was too little to late as they had to settle for 2nd Place and an 86-76 record, as Bowa was fired prior to the final 2 games of the season.

2005: As the season began under new Manager Charlie Manuel, the Phillies had an immediate concern as Jim Thome was dealing with elbow and back pain that would have him struggling from the start. As Thome struggled the Phillies struggled with a 15-21 record through 36 games. Eventually the Phillies decided to put Thome on the Disabled List and called up Rookie Ryan Howard from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. With Bobby Abreau and Pat Burrell leading the way on offense the Phillies caught fire on Memorial Day Weekend as they ran off a string of 17 wins over their next 20 games to climb out of last place and into a tight NL East battle as all 5 teams were above or at .500 almost the entire season. Through much of the next two months the Phillies were in a giant jumble of teams battling for the NL East with the Wild Card as nice consolation gift, despite the continued absence of Thome who was quickly beginning to resemble Wally Pipp as Ryan Howard began to get hot in the second half smashing 22 homers on his way to become a new fan favorite and winning the NL Rookie of the Year. As September began the Phillies led the Wild Card race and were only a few games behind the Atlanta Braves for 1st Place in the NL East. However, a 5-game losing streak which included a sweep at the hands of the Houston Astros would have the Phillies playing catch up the rest of the year. There were several bright moments in September as the Phillies won 5 of 7 against the Braves to keep the division title hopes alive. However, it would not be enough as the Phillies fell 2 games short of the Division Title and 1 game short of the Wild Card with a solid record of 88-74. Following the season the Phillies would end any debate over who was their 1B as they traded Jim Thome to the Chicago White Sox for CF Aaron Rowand.

2006: The Phillies stumbled out of the gate dropping six of their first seven games as they put themselves in an early hole. After closing April with a 10-14 record, the Phillies turned things around in May as they embarked on a seven game winning streak igniting a stretch in which they won 12 of 13 games. One of the games a 2-0 rain shortened win over the Mets made new CF Aaron Rowand an instant fan favorite as he ran down a long fly ball by Xavier Nady with the bases loaded and two outs giving up his body. Rowand would suffer a broken nose and would be forced to go on the DL, but he would only miss two weeks as he became a symbol for the never quit spirit of the Phillies. Despite the never give up mentality of the players on the field the team continue to struggle and when they ended July at 49-55, management looked toward the future trading Bobby Abreau and Corey Liddle to the New York Yankees for prospects, while David Bell was sent to the Milwaukee Brewers. The deals would have killed an ordinary team's spirit, but instead reenergized the Phillies, as Ryan Howard already on a post All-Star tear was nearly impossible to get out while Chase Utley embarked on a 35-game hitting streak as the Phillies won 15 of 22 to climb back over .500 and into the thick of the Wild Card race. This forced the same front office that was waving the white flag, to reverse course and acquire Jamie Moyer a veteran left hander from the Seattle Mariners. The Phillies would battle for the Wild Card until the end of the season. However, the Phillies started out the final week of the season losing two of three games on the road to the Washington Nationals as they fell just three games short of the postseason with a record of 85-77. Despite falling short, Ryan Howard was rewarded for his monster year as he followed up his Rookie of the Year with a NL MVP thanks to a franchise record 58 homers along with 149 RBI. Sadly the Phillies would be touched by tragedy following the season as former Corey Liddle who was traded on July 31st was killed in a plane crash just following the season.

2007: At the start of the season SS Jimmy Rollins boastfully declared the Phillies the team to beat in the NL East. However, when the season began they were simply the team that got beat as they dropped 10 of their first 13 games. The Phillies would begin playing better baseball as April came to a close, but were still below .500 and a distant 3rd Place as June began. However, a 3-game sweep of the New York Mets on the road in early June would foreshadow the Phillies, second half turnaround, as they entered the All-Star break with a 44-44 record. The Phillies also entered the All-Star Break one loss away from history, as they became the first team to lose 10,000 games in their franchise history on July 15th when they were beaten by the St. Louis Cardinals at home 10-2. However, as July came to a close the Phillies began to make their move winning nine games in a ten game stretch, as Rookie pitchers like Kyle Kendrick called up from AA Reading helped fill the void left by the injuries of Freddy Garcia and Jon Lieber. However, the Phillies have yet to make a serious move on the Eastern Division leading Mets until the end of August when they swept them four straight at Citizen's Bank Park to cut the Mets season long lead to two games. However, a rough start to September had t