Sunday School: History Lesson 32

Del Ennis was an outfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies from 1946-1956. Ennis, a Philadelphia native, played for the "Class B" Interstate League team in Trenton, NJ for one season prior to enlisting in the Navy to serve during World War II. While serving, he played on a Navy Service team which included Pee Wee Reese, Mickey Vernon and other big name ball players.

Ennis was released from the Navy in early April 1946, and within a couple weeks was playing baseball with the Phillies. Ennis would become the Phillies' first rookie to be named an all star. By the end of the season, his .313 batting average and 73 RBI got him named The Sporting News Rookie of the Year.

The following season, Ennis' 81 RBI led the team. The next best total by a Phillie was 51. In 1949, Ennis was part of a record setting inning, when the Phillies struck 5 homers in the same inning. Ennis, Andy Seminick (who hit 2), Willie Jones and Lynwood "Schoolboy" Rowe completed the feat.

Ennis had his greatest season in 1950. A member of the famed Whiz Kids team, Ennis helped lead the Phillies into the post season that year with his .311 average, 31 HR and league leading 126 RBI. That year, when Del had 39 RBI in July, he drove in 7 in a single game against the Cubs. Ennis had two separate streaks where he bashed homeruns in 4 straight games, in 1950. In the World Series, Ennis was just 2-for-14 as the Phillies were swept by the Yankees.

In his 11 years as a Phillie, Ennis drove in over 100 runs 6 times. On top of that, he exceeded 25 homers 7 times with Philadelphia. Until Mike Schmidt came along, Del Ennis was the Phillies all time team leader in homeruns. Schmidt and Ennis are the only Phillies to drive in over 1,000 runs.

Following the 1956 season, Ennis was traded to St. Louis for Bobby Morgan and Rip Repulski. Ennis made a big impact with the Cardinals offense in '57 with 24 HR, 105 RBI and a .286 average. He played two more seasons in the majors before retiring. Del Ennis was inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame in 1982.

---------------------------------

It has been a terrific season, thus far. PhoulBallz has had a great first year of running daily content. Part of that content has been our outstanding exclusive interviews. Be sure to CLICK HERE to read Q&A's you may have missed with current Phillies like Pedro Martinez, JC Romero and Greg Dobbs, as well as big name prospects like Kyle Drabek and Michael Taylor, and of course your SAL Champion BlueClaws like Justin De Fratus, Travis Mattair and Travis D'Arnaud.

Be sure to follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter HERE!

Comments

Lidge Shaky, T-Mac Honored in Trenton

TRENTON, NJ- Brad Lidge made his second rehab appearance for the Double A Reading Phillies on Thursday night and it didn't go as well as the veteran reliever or the team had hoped. Lidge struggled with his command and turned in a rather poor outing for the club that entered the night in a playoff race, 1 game behind division rival Trenton for the Wild Card spot in the Eastern Division. On the disabled list since spring training with a strained right rotator cuff, Lidge experienced an elbow strain when he was working back from that issue in late May. In his outing against the Yankees affiliate in Trenton, Lidge displayed difficulty with his control as he threw three wild pitches, hit two batters, walked another and gave up a single, all while letting up two earned runs on 28 pitches in 2/3 of an inning. After the disappointing performance, Lidge was composed and focused on some positive aspects, having reached 89 and 90 MPH on scouts' radar guns, according to some reports. ...

Jason Knapp Q&A

PhoulBallz .com was fortunate enough to meet with Phillies prospect Jason Knapp just one day after he caught the attention of the baseball world with his 7 shut out innings, 14 strike out performance against the Indians' Lake County team. - I asked Jason, the Lakewood BlueClaw , for some thoughts about his big game... I had pretty good command of three pitches (fastball, curve, change up). I was on the same page with my catcher, D'Arnaud , and I ended up, ya know, I felt pretty good. - In a great performance like that, how much credit goes to Travis D'Arnaud , the catcher? More than you might expect, definitely. I didn't shake him off once. He told me what to throw and I do what I'm told. And if it works out, a lot of the credit goes to the catcher. - Does the lack of run support (Lakewood has scored 3 total runs in his 3 starts), in your few starts, increase your stress level, or enhance your focus? No, I just try to go out and do my job every outing. Ya know, we...

Eric B Needs to be Cut (and My Name is Rakim)

While the Phillies are on a hot streak this month, one player on the team is not. Eric Bruntlett is 1-for-12 in July. Since the start of May, Bruntlett's apex in batting average has been .167 on June 14th. Bruntlett's ineptitude can be tolerated no longer. Get rid of this guy NOW! Eric B. is the 2009 Endy Chavez. Remember Endy...the guy who in 2005 managed just 2 hits in his final 42 games played as a Phillie? That is about the sort of output the Phillies are getting from Bruntlett, and it's time to fix this void. Julio Lugo was designated for assignment last week by the Red Sox and is expected to become a free agent. The Metropolitans are rumored to be interested. Why wouldn't the Phillies be interested in a guy who could surely outhit Bruntlett? Lugo was hitting .284 through 37 games played this season with Boston. Suspended Lehigh Valley IronPig Pablo Ozuna is eligible to return next Wednesday. Ozuna is batting .294 through 51 games at triple A. Miguel Cairo is also...

PhoulBallz.com

Search This Blog