From the horse’s mouth: Leftover 2012 memories

If you didn’t get enough 2012 goodness during last week’s 2012 Week, I have good news: I’m bringing you some more 2012-related stuff today. And if you’ve had your fill of 2012 content...well, can anyone really get enough 2012 content?

The debut of Phillippe Aumont

2012 gave us the Major League debut of one of the most auspicious names in Phillies history. Considering he was the centerpiece of one of the worst trades the team has ever made, and the fact that he turned out to be dreadful, Phillippe Aumont could take a claim for being the worst Phillie of all time.

But in 2012, he was considered one of the team’s top pitching prospects (we didn’t know just how bad the Phillies system had become at the time), so it was somewhat of a big deal when he reached the majors.

When he debuted in late August, manager Charlie Manuel immediately started using him in late-inning situations. And it actually went pretty well at first. There were a couple of rough outings, but he earned five holds and two saves, and the Phillies thought they actually might have a good young reliever on their hands.

They did not. Things went downhill quickly after 2012, mostly because of his lack of control. After a few failed years as a reliever, in 2015, the team made one last attempt to salvage Aumont by making him a starter. He made one start for the team, putting up this line: 4 IP, 6 R, 5 H, 7 BB, and two home runs allowed.

The Phillies released him shortly after, and he bounced around both the Major Leagues and the Canadian Baseball League where he was actually successful to the point where he was a member of the Canadian National Team.

Great for Canada, I guess, but in hindsight, I don’t think he was a great return for Cliff Lee.

Retro commercial

In 2012, it was apparently considered unpatriotic not to support the Phillies:

Random 2012 video

While trying to find a commercial from 2012, I came across this:

Trivia answers

For those who wanted answers to last week’s 2012 trivia, here you go:

1. Which outfielder had the most plate appearances? John Mayberry, Jr.
2. Excluding two bullpen games, seven different pitchers started games for the Phillies. Name them. Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee, Kyle Kendrick, Roy Halladay, Joe Blanton, Vance Worley, Tyler Cloyd (Raul Valdes and B.J. Rosenberg started bullpen games)
3. Who led the team in home runs? Jimmy Rollins (23)
4. Name the seven Phillies who had double digit home runs. Rollins, Hunter Pence, Carlos Ruiz, Ryan Howard, Mayberry, Chase Utley, Ty Wigginton
5. One Phillies player had two multi-home run games? Who was he? Pence
6. Which player recorded a seven RBI game? Ruiz
7. Which player recorded a five-hit game? Juan Pierre
8. Name the players who made the All-Star team? Ruiz, Hamels, Jonathan Papelbon
9. At their peak, how many games over .500 did the Phillies reach? Three
10. Of the nine players the Phillies received in trading away Shane Victorino, Hunter Pence, Joe Blanton, and Jim Thome, only one was still active in 2021. Who is he? Josh Lindblom
11. What pitcher suffered the first loss of the season? Blanton
12. In addition to Jonathan Papelbon, who were the three Phillies to record saves? Antonio Bastardo and Josh Lindblom
13. In the Phillies’ final win of the season, four pitchers threw a combined shutout. Name two of the four. Kendrick, Justin De Fratus, Jeremy Horst, Phillippe Aumont
14. How many home runs did Michael Martinez have for the season? Two
15. Three different opposing players hit six home runs against the Phillies over the course of the season. Name one of them. Scott Hairston, Ryan Braun, and Brian McCann
16. One player hit home runs in three consecutive games against the Phillies. Later in his career, he joined the Phillies and hit one (game-winning) home run for them. Tyler Plouffe
17. A former Phillie made seven appearances against the team without allowing a single run. Who was he? Chad Durbin
18. The team scored nine runs in a single game against which future Phillies pitcher? Jake Arrieta
19. In Cliff Lee’s ten-inning start, which pitcher eventually took the loss? Bastardo
20. The Nationals nicknamed their stadium “Natitude Park” when facing the Phillies at home in 2012. What was the Phillies’ record in nine games at the lamely re-named stadium? 4-5

Featured baseball card

Here’s Aumont’s rookie card from back when we still had high hopes for him. I hope nobody grabbed too many of these, expecting them to be worth much one day.

Closing thought

2012 wasn’t the best season in Phillies history, but at least they played a full season. Based on the current state of labor negotiations, I’m not sure we’ll be able to say the same about 2022.