1950 Philadelphia Phillies: Whiz Kids

1950 Philadelphia Phillies: Whiz Kids

1950 Philadelphia Phillies: Whiz Kids

For much of their history in baseball the Philadelphia Phillies were mostly known as that “other team” in the city of Brotherly Love. The team that had the hearts of Philadelphia baseball fans were the Athletics of the American League, whereas the Phillies demonstrated futility in comparison. At the start of the 1950’s, however, optimism had filled the Phillies organization with just a few simple moves. In 1948 Eddie Sawyer had been named the new manager of the Phillies, and he helped turn around a team that had plenty of talent, and young talent to be exact.

In 1950 the Philadelphia Phillies, who also went by the nickname of “Blue Jays”, which never caught on, and the “Whiz Kids”, which did catch on because of their exciting young players, went 91-63. They finished just 2 games ahead of the Brooklyn Dodgers to win the National League pennant. The Phillies went 11-11-1 against the Dodgers in head-to-head play. The Phillies went 48-29 at Shibe Park, their beautiful home field, and they went 43-34 on the road. With the exception of September, every month of the regular season went well for the Phillies as they went 6-6 in April, 17-9 in May 14-11 in June, 21-13 in July and 20-8 in August.

Left fielder Del Ennis batted .311 with 31 home runs and 126 RBI’s off 185 hits, 34 doubles and 8 triples. Center fielder Richie Ashburn batted .303 with 180 hits, 25 doubles, 14 triples and 14 stolen bases. First baseman and outfielder Richard Allan “Dick” Sissler batted .296 with 13 home runs and 83 RBI’s off 155 hits, 29 doubles and 4 triples. Catcher Andy Seminick batted .288 with 24 home runs and 68 RBI’s off 113 hits and 15 doubles.

First baseman Eddie Waitkus batted .284 with 182 hits, 32 doubles and 5 triples. Shortstop Granville “Granny” Hamner batted .270 with 11 home runs and 82 RBI’s off 172 hits, 27 doubles and 5 triples. Third baseman Willie Jones had 25 home runs and 88 RBI’s off 163 hits, 28 doubles and 6 triples. Second baseman Mike Goliat had 13 home runs and 64 RBI’s off 113 hits, 13 doubles and 6 triples.

The Phillies were carried by solid pitching on the mound, the kind of stuff that would leave an impression on baseball fans many years down the road. Starting pitcher Robin Roberts went 20-11 with 146 strikeouts and a 3.02 ERA, recording 21 complete games, 5 shutouts and 1 save. Curt Simmons went 17-8 with 146 strikeouts and a 3.40 ERA, recording 11 complete games, 2 shutouts and 1 save. Bob Miller went 11-6 with a 3.57 ERA, recording 7 complete games, 2 shutouts and 1 save. Russ Meyer had 74 strikeouts, 3 complete games and 1 save despite going 9-11. Emory Nicholas “Bubba” Church went 8-6 with a 2.73 ERA, recording 8 complete games, 2 shutouts and 1 save.

Closer Jim Konstanty set a record for most wins by a relief pitcher in a single season as he went 16-7 with 22 saves and a 2.66 ERA. Relief pitcher Ken Johnson went 4-1 with 3 complete games and 1 shutout in 9 starts. Milo Candini went 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA.

The average age of the Philadelphia Phillies in 1950 was 26.4 years, which meant that their youth could serve as a factor for their success. Their 6-game winning streak early in the season proved that becoming young actually had its benefits. This winning streak started with an 11-7 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on May 6, and it ended with a 7-1 victory over the New York Giants on May 13.

Another good example of the Whiz Kids making some noise in baseball would be their convincing 10-0 shutout victory over their Keystone State rivals, the Pittsburgh Pirates, on July 30 at Shibe Park. Robin Roberts pitched a complete game, giving up 4 hits and 3 walks while recording 1 strikeout. In the bottom of the 1st inning Del Ennis started the flurry of scoring with an RBI double, and then Granville Hamner followed with a 2-run single. In the bottom of the 3rd Willie Jones hit a solo home run, and in the bottom of the 4th Richie Ashburn had an RBI single. In the bottom of the 6th Mike Goliat hit a solo home run, and then finally in the bottom of the 8th Ennis came back to hit his own solo home run.

The Phillies were not able to capitalize on the momentum that their young roster created as they would be swept 4 games to none by the New York Yankees in the 1950 World Series. The Yankees won their 2nd out of 5 straight World Series Championships at the expense of the Whiz Kids. Despite this result the Phillies made the rest of the baseball world take notice.

Jim Konstanty was named the Associated Press Athlete of the Year and the National League Most Valuable Player. Eddie Waitkus was named the AP Comeback Player of the Year. Eddie Sawyer was rewarded for guiding the Phillies back in the right decision as he was named the AP Manager of the Year. Robin Roberts was the starting pitcher for the NL in the 1950 MLB All-Star Game while Willie Jones was the National League’s starting third baseman.