Best duos in Philadelphia Phillies history
In Major League Baseball, it takes more than one skilled player to field a championship contender. It takes talent all over the field at a variety of positions, both in terms of pitchers and hitters. While having a star pitcher and a star hitter at the same time is no guarantee of success, it does put your team in a position to have the type of season that fans will talk about for generations.
While it's not quite the same as the NBA, where one standout duo can take a team from the cellar to playoff contention, it's not uncommon for an outstanding season from a pitcher and position player duo to add 20 wins or more, according to Baseball Reference's wins above replacement player metric. The number is designed to illustrate the difference between a star player and the type of player that would be considered "replacement level"—that is, one who could be easily signed as a midseason free agent or called up from the minor leagues.
The following is a list of the top pitcher/position player duos in Philadelphia Phillies history. Using wins above replacement, Stacker compiled a list of the seasons in franchise history that had a pitcher and hitter with the most combined value. Note that, for the purpose of capturing and examining the game's "modern era", only seasons after 1969 were used for this list.
#10. 1981 Philadelphia Phillies
- Mike Schmidt: 7.7 WAR (#1 position player in 1981)
- Steve Carlton: 5.5 WAR (#2 pitcher in 1981)
- Total: 13.2 WAR
#9. 2008 Philadelphia Phillies
- Chase Utley: 9 WAR (#2 position player in 2008)
- Cole Hamels: 4.3 WAR (#25 pitcher in 2008)
- Total: 13.3 WAR
#8. 2021 Philadelphia Phillies
- Bryce Harper: 5.9 WAR (#14 position player in 2021)
- Zack Wheeler: 7.5 WAR (#1 pitcher in 2021)
- Total: 13.4 WAR
#7. 1972 Philadelphia Phillies
- Don Money: 1.9 WAR (#101 position player in 1972)
- Steve Carlton: 12.1 WAR (#1 pitcher in 1972)
- Total: 14 WAR
#6. 1983 Philadelphia Phillies
- Mike Schmidt: 6.9 WAR (#9 position player in 1983)
- John Denny: 7.4 WAR (#1 pitcher in 1983)
- Total: 14.3 WAR
#5. 2010 Philadelphia Phillies
- Chase Utley: 5.8 WAR (#18 position player in 2010)
- Roy Halladay: 8.5 WAR (#1 pitcher in 2010)
- Total: 14.3 WAR
#4. 2011 Philadelphia Phillies
- Shane Victorino: 5.5 WAR (#20 position player in 2011)
- Roy Halladay: 8.8 WAR (#1 pitcher in 2011)
- Total: 14.3 WAR
#3. 1974 Philadelphia Phillies
- Mike Schmidt: 9.8 WAR (#1 position player in 1974)
- Steve Carlton: 4.8 WAR (#19 pitcher in 1974)
- Total: 14.6 WAR
#2. 1977 Philadelphia Phillies
- Mike Schmidt: 8.9 WAR (#2 position player in 1977)
- Steve Carlton: 5.9 WAR (#9 pitcher in 1977)
- Total: 14.8 WAR
#1. 1980 Philadelphia Phillies
- Mike Schmidt: 8.9 WAR (#2 position player in 1980)
- Steve Carlton: 10.2 WAR (#1 pitcher in 1980)
- Total: 19.1 WAR
