How the Phils stack up in my lifetime

by The Navigator on Feb 15, 2009 11:46 PM EST

A guy on my Phils discussion listserv group reflected recently on something that I think a lot of Phillies phans have cause to consider: just how good, or bad, has the team been historically? At least, in recent times - cutting out the horrible 1918-1948 stretch where ownership was actively sabotaging efforts to compete? I decided to look at how the red pinstripes stack up against the other teams that have been around since the auspicious year of 1973.**

> in terms of what I can actually remember and experienced as a kid, the
> Phillies were a regular NL power who finally won a World Series - and
> got back there quickly too. But somehow I knew better, and we have
> listmembers in their 20s who also learned that. (Of course, saying
> this, you have to wonder - reduced to a 30 year period, it has in fact
> been a very successful franchise hasn't it? Two championships, two
> other WS appearances, a handful of other postseason berths).

My response went as follows:

That got me thinking, and I decided to do a chart for my lifetime -
dating back to the 1973 season. There were 24 teams then in the majors.
So how have those 24 compared over that 36-season stretch?

team                playoffs pennants championships
ATL                  15    5 1
CHC              6 0 0
CIN                6 3 3
HOU              9 1 0
LAD               12    5 2
MON/WAS        1 0 0
NYM                  6 3 1
PHI                 9 4 2
PIT                  6 1 1
SDP                  5 2 0
SFG                  6 2 0
STL                10    5 2
BAL                 6 2 1
BOS                  12    4 2
DET                 3 2 1
CHW               5 1 1
CLE                 7 2 0
KAN                    7 2 1
LAA/CAL            8 1 1
MIL                 3 1 0
MIN                 6 2 2
NYY                18    9 6
OAK                13    5 3
TEX                  3 0 0

Phils are tied for seventh in playoff appearances, with 7; tied for
sixth in pennants, with 4; and in a five-way tie for fourth in
championships, with 2. That's all out of 24 teams, so by all three
measures, we're in the top third of teams in baseball.

The teams most hurt by this cutoff would be the Orioles and Pirates,
both of whom won WS titles and multiple division titles in 1969-1973.
In fact, I hadn't realized before just how good the Pirates were
throughout the 1970s.

It's also interesting, looking at this chart, that the Royals looks like
a normal franchise, and that between Minnesota and Texas, it was the
former that baseball proposed to contract at one point.

** Actually 1973 seems to have been a generally rotten year all around.

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Comments

This is interesting, but I think there’s a column missing: “winning seasons.”

Unless I counted wrong (entirely possible), the Phils have had 18 since 1973. As we know, though, they are clustered between 1975 and 1983, and 2001 and 2008 (and hopefully counting).

Interestingly, the Mets have the same number, though a bit more evenly spread out—they haven’t been consistently awful since the late ’70s to early ’80s, or exactly the period when the Phils dominated. The current decade represents the first time both teams have been competitive for a sustained stretch.

The Braves have I think 20, including the 15 in a row.

The Yankees have 30 winning seasons in the last 36, as do the Red Sox. The Dodgers have 28, most in the NL; the Cardinals have 24. The Pirates and Expos/Nationals are at the low end (though the latter has three finishes at exactly .500, which I guess counts for something).

by dajafi on Feb 16, 2009 2:55 PM EST reply actions

I’m confused. The table says the Phillies have made the playoffs nine times, but then the next paragraph says they’ve made it seven times. And I count eight: 76, 77, 78, 80, 83, 93, 07, 08. Am I missing something?

by taco pal on Feb 16, 2009 3:49 PM EST reply actions

1981?

I’d think that that counts, too, even if they lost in that half-assed divisional round…

http://www.thegoodphight.com

by WholeCamels on Feb 16, 2009 4:00 PM EST up reply actions

Ah yes. That makes sense.

by taco pal on Feb 16, 2009 4:19 PM EST up reply actions

sorry, my bad

The table is right, my comment afterwards is wrong – it is indeed nine times, not seven; and WholeCamels is right, 1981 is one of the nine.

"I am the Walrus?..... I am the Walrus." - Donny Kerabatsos

by The Navigator on Feb 17, 2009 12:14 AM EST up reply actions

The 70s must have been a pretty incredible time to be a Pittsburgh sports fan in general. Six championships in a single decade (if you count the 1980 Super Bowl following the 1979 season), plus an NCAA football championship. I know LA won a lot of titles in the ’80s and the Bulls won six by themselves in the ’90s, but those cities have more than four teams apiece.

by taco pal on Feb 16, 2009 4:42 PM EST reply actions