Sunday School: History Lesson 46

Bobby Wine played with the Phillies for 8 years in the 1960's, but recurring back issues limited him to just 5 full season as the team's everyday shortstop. Originally signed as an amateur free agent in 1957, Wine was a gem of a prospect, hitting well over .300 in each of his first two season in the minor leagues, but he began pulling off on everything inside after he was hit by a pitch. His batting average suffered a considerable amount and it became clear that Wine's defense would be his ticket to the Major Leagues.

Initially, Wine spent time playing both shortstop and third base, but a permanent shift to shortstop in 1963 resulted in a Gold Glove Award. Manager Gene Mauch thought so highly of Wine's glove and range that Mauch kept him in the starting lineup despite an anemic performance at the plate. Wine's best season batting average in the Majors was .244 and he only reached 100 hits in a season one time.

In 1966 Wine missed time with a back injury, but he recovered and led all National League shortstops in fielding in 1967. A year later, in 1968, back trouble returned and he played in just 27 games and missed the remainder of the season following back surgery. It also ended his time with the Phillies as Wine was selected by the Montreal Expos in the 1969 expansion draft, where he was reunited with Mauch who had left the Phillies following the 1968 season and joined Montreal as manager.

Whenever Wine was ribbed about his lack of bat power and low career homerun total, Wine would always reply, "That's okay. I had one more than Ashburn." Of course, he meant Richie Ashburn, the Phillies' Hall of Fame centerfielder, who hit just 29 homeruns in his career.

Wine would spend three full seasons as Montreal's everyday shortstop. After he retired in 1972, he immediately joined the Phillies as a coach, where he stayed through the 1983 season. Wine later coached with the Atlanta Braves, and even filled in temporarily as interim manager following the firing of Eddie Haas in 1985.

Wine's grandson, Cory Wine, was drafted by the Phillies in 38th round of the 2009 amateur draft. He played in 34 games for the Gulf Coast League Phillies last year.

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

Follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter HERE !

Comments

Rappers in Phillies Caps

Weekend greetings to you phine pholks out there. Today's post features pictures of rappers wearing Phillies caps. Why rappers in Phillies caps, you ask? Because... Any other questions? We will start things off properly by going with a highly recognizable hip hop star. 50 Cent stays constantly relavant by consistantly creating radio friendly material to help sell (G) units, while he "keeps it real" by still rapping about the thug life he lived before becoming the 2nd highest earning black entertainer in America. 50 is seen here in a recent interview rocking a throw-back Phillies cap. Next up we'll use a throw-back screen cap from what may be the very first major appearance by a rapper wearing Phillies gear. Chuck D, of legendary rap group Public Enemy, wore a Phillies cap in the music video for rap anthem Fight The Power in 1989. The song was the lead single from the soundtrack for Spike Lee's film Do The Right Thing . Next up we'll go with some home grown tal...

Drabek Preparing For Next Step

The transition has been easy for Kyle Drabek. In December, he was part of a package of young prospects that was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for ace pitcher Roy Halladay. Now, as though nothing has changed, he's right back where he was last season...the star prospect on the pitching staff of a team in the Double A Eastern League. Drabek has often stated that he wanted to stay in the Philadelphia organization, who drafted him in the first round of the 2006 amateur draft. The 22-year-old thought after the midseason trade rumors, that surrounded him possibly going to Toronto last year, passed with no action that all the turmoil was over and that he could simply relax and focus on getting to the big leagues with the Phillies. That wasn't the case, as the deal eventually came to fruition over the off-season. In the Blue Jays system this season, Drabek doesn't have to worry about being dealt. He only has to concern himself with opposing batters and working on his secondary pit...

Anthony Gose Q&A

A prospect who has been talked about a whole lot lately is outfielder Anthony Gose. Gose, a 2nd round pick of the Phillies in the 2008 amateur draft played just 11 games for the Gulf Coast League Phillies last year, before getting hurt. Gose, an 18 year older, stole his minor league leading 36th base on Tuesday night, is batting .253 with 21 RBI and 29 runs scored, in 49 games with the Lakewood BlueClaws. Gose took some time to answer some questions for PhoulBallz.com, and here's how that went down... -I've spoken with the coaching staff and they're impressed with you this year. Tim Gradoville even compared your baserunning to Shane Victorino. Can I get your response to the coaches' positive view of your game and speed? I think it's great. I don't watch too many Phillie games. I'm from LA, I'm a big Dodger fan. So, I've never seen too much of how Victorino steals bases. I know they call him the Flyin' Hawaiian. I know he's fast. -Travis D...

PhoulBallz.com

Search This Blog