1950 Philadelphia Phillies season
| 1950 Philadelphia Phillies | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1950 National League Champions | ||
 Granny Hamner, Del Ennis, and Richie Ashburn of the 1950 Phillies "Whiz Kids" in a promotional photo. | ||
| Ballpark | Shibe Park | |
| City | Philadelphia | |
| Owners | R. R. M. Carpenter, Jr. | |
| Managers | Eddie Sawyer | |
| Television | WPTZ WCAU WFIL (Bill Campbell) | |
| Radio | WPEN (Bill Brundige, Gene Kelly) | |
| ||
The 1950 Philadelphia Phillies won the National League pennant by two games over the Brooklyn Dodgers. Nicknamed the "Whiz Kids" because of the youth of their roster, they went on to lose the World Series to the New York Yankees in four straight games.
Previous off-season
- October 3, 1949: Schoolboy Rowe was released by the Phillies.[1]
- November 17, 1949: Milo Candini was drafted by the Phillies from the Oakland Oaks in the 1949 rule 5 draft.[2]
- Prior to 1950 season: Bob Bowman was signed as an amateur free agent by the Phillies.[3]
On January 10, 1950, owner Bob Carpenter announced that the club had officially abandoned the nickname "Blue Jays" and would be the "Phillies". The club had adopted the nickname in 1944 but it never caught on among fans.[4]
City Series
The pre-season 1950 City Series was planned for three games prior to Opening Day. Snow flurries and cold weather in Philadelphia caused the cancellation of the first game. The Athletics beat the Phillies 7–4 and the Phillies won the following game 11–2.[5]
Regular season
Season standings
| National League | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Phillies | 91 | 63 | 0.591 | — | 48–29 | 43–34 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 89 | 65 | 0.578 | 2 | 48–30 | 41–35 |
| New York Giants | 86 | 68 | 0.558 | 5 | 44–32 | 42–36 |
| Boston Braves | 83 | 71 | 0.539 | 8 | 46–31 | 37–40 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 78 | 75 | 0.510 | 12½ | 48–28 | 30–47 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 66 | 87 | 0.431 | 24½ | 38–38 | 28–49 |
| Chicago Cubs | 64 | 89 | 0.418 | 26½ | 35–42 | 29–47 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 57 | 96 | 0.373 | 33½ | 33–44 | 24–52 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BOS | BR | CHC | CIN | NYG | PHI | PIT | STL | |||||
| Boston | — | 9–13 | 9–13 | 17–5 | 13–9 | 9–13–1 | 15–7–1 | 11–11 | |||||
| Brooklyn | 13–9 | — | 10–12 | 12–10 | 12–10 | 11–11–1 | 19–3 | 12–10 | |||||
| Chicago | 13–9 | 12–10 | — | 4–17 | 5–17 | 9–13–1 | 11–11 | 10–12 | |||||
| Cincinnati | 5–17 | 10–12 | 17–4 | — | 11–11 | 4–18 | 12–10 | 7–15 | |||||
| New York | 9–13 | 10–12 | 17–5 | 11–11 | — | 12–10 | 16–6 | 11–11 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 13–9–1 | 11–11–1 | 13–9–1 | 18–4 | 10–12 | — | 14–8 | 12–10 | |||||
| Pittsburgh | 7–15–1 | 3–19 | 11–11 | 10–12 | 6–16 | 8–14 | — | 12–9 | |||||
| St. Louis | 11–11 | 10–12 | 12–10 | 15–7 | 11–11 | 10–12 | 9–12 | — | |||||
Roster
| 1950 Philadelphia Phillies | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
|
Catchers
Infielders |
Outfielders
|
Manager
Coaches
| ||||||
Player stats
Batting
Starters by position
Note: 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 | Andy Seminick | 130 | 393 | 113 | .288 | 24 | 68 |
| 1B | Eddie Waitkus | 154 | 641 | 182 | .284 | 2 | 44 |
| 2B | Mike Goliat | 145 | 483 | 113 | .234 | 13 | 64 |
| 3B | Willie Jones | 157 | 610 | 163 | .267 | 25 | 88 |
| SS | Granny Hamner | 157 | 637 | 172 | .270 | 11 | 82 |
| OF | Dick Sisler | 141 | 523 | 155 | .296 | 13 | 83 |
| OF | Del Ennis | 153 | 595 | 185 | .311 | 31 | 128 |
| OF | Richie Ashburn | 151 | 594 | 180 | .303 | 2 | 41 |
Other batters
Note: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stan Lopata | 58 | 129 | 27 | .209 | 1 | 11 |
| Dick Whitman | 75 | 132 | 33 | .250 | 0 | 12 |
| Jimmy Bloodworth | 54 | 96 | 22 | .229 | 0 | 13 |
| Bill Nicholson | 41 | 58 | 13 | .224 | 3 | 10 |
| Jackie Mayo | 18 | 36 | 8 | .222 | 0 | 3 |
| Putsy Caballero | 46 | 24 | 4 | .167 | 0 | 0 |
| Stan Hollmig | 11 | 12 | 3 | .250 | 0 | 1 |
| Johnny Blatnik | 4 | 4 | 1 | .250 | 0 | 0 |
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: 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 | 40 | 304.1 | 20 | 11 | 3.02 | 146 |
| Curt Simmons | 31 | 214.2 | 17 | 8 | 3.40 | 146 |
| Russ Meyer | 32 | 159.2 | 9 | 11 | 5.30 | 74 |
| Ken Heintzelman | 23 | 125.1 | 3 | 9 | 4.09 | 39 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Miller | 35 | 172 | 11 | 6 | 3.57 | 44 |
| Bubba Church | 31 | 142 | 8 | 6 | 2.73 | 50 |
| Ken Johnson | 14 | 60.2 | 4 | 1 | 4.01 | 32 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Konstanty | 74 | 16 | 7 | 22 | 2.66 | 56 |
| Milo Candini | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.70 | 10 |
| Blix Donnelly | 14 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4.29 | 10 |
| Hank Borowy | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.68 | 3 |
| Paul Stuffel | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.80 | 3 |
| Jack Brittin | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.50 | 3 |
| Jocko Thompson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 |
| Steve Ridzik | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.00 | 2 |
1950 World Series
AL New York Yankees (4) vs. NL Philadelphia Phillies (0)
| Game | Score | Date | Location | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yankees – 1, Phillies – 0 | October 4 | Shibe Park | 30,746 |
| 2 | Yankees – 2, Phillies – 1 (10 innings) | October 5 | Shibe Park | 32,660 |
| 3 | Phillies – 2, Yankees – 3 | October 6 | Yankee Stadium | 64,505 |
| 4 | Phillies – 2, Yankees – 5 | October 7 | Yankee Stadium | 68,098 |
Awards and honors
- Jim Konstanty, Associated Press Athlete of the Year, National League MVP
- Eddie Sawyer, Associated Press Manager of the Year.[6]
- Eddie Waitkus, Associated Press Comeback Player of the Year.[7]
Records
- Jim Konstanty, Major league single-season record (since broken), most wins by a relief pitcher (16)[8]
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Terre Haute, Wilmington
Vandergrift club folded, July 20, 1950[9]
References
- ^ Schoolboy Rowe page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Milo Candini page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Bob Bowman page at Baseball Reference
- ^ "Blue Jay Nickname Junked by Phillies". Spokane Daily Chronicle. January 10, 1950. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
- ^ Roberts, Robin; C. Paul Rogers, Pat Williams (1996). The Whiz Kids and the 1950 Pennant. Temple University Press. p. 214. Retrieved May 22, 2009.
- ^ "Eddie Sawyer Honored in Baseball Vote". Prescott Evening Courier. November 8, 1950. p. Section 2, Page 1.
- ^ "Waitkus, Who Beat Death Rap, 'Comeback King'". Ellensburg Daily Record. November 10, 1950. p. 3.
- ^ Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p. 290, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
- ^ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007
Further reading
- Stan Hochman (November 1969). "Phillies Recall Year They Won Their Last Pennant". Baseball Digest. pp. 34–36.
- Joe O'Loughlin (November 2002). "1950: when Philadelphia's Whiz Kids won the N.L. pennant; memories still rich for those who brought Phillies their first National League title in 35 years – Turn Back The Clock". Baseball Digest.
- Van Lindt, Carson (1998). Fire and spirit: the story of the 1950 Philadelphia Phillies. Marabou Pub. ISBN 0-9632595-1-2.
- Phillies Media Relations (October 26, 2009). "The 1950 Philadelphia 'Whiz Kids'". Phillies.com.
