Skip to main content

Vote For Phillies Immortality

The following is my half of the content swap I did last week with Macho Row. The majority of this post appeared over on that site on Friday. I've updated it with details directly from the Phillies about the secondary voting process. Read and vote.

Phans...want to have a say in Phillies' history? Do you feel like you know your team, and the sport, better than most people? Do you feel as though your loyalty through the years qualifies you to weigh in on historic team matters? Now is your chance. The annual Phillies Wall of Fame ballot is available online and voting is underway. The ballot is active through 5pm on Tuesday, March 23rd, so vote!

The ballot, found HERE, lists 12 former Phillies. Some were players, some were managers. Phans are able to vote for three different Phillies alumni and each vote is applied points, based on placement. A first place vote gets 5 points, a second place vote gets 3 points, and a third place vote gets 1 point. Following the deadline, the top 5 point getters will be placed on the official ballot, which will be voted on by the official Wall of Fame Selection Committee, who will determine this year's lone inductee.

Vice President of Alumni Relations, Larry Shenk, told PhoulBallz that, "The Phillies Wall of Fame Selection Committee is composed of 15 persons. It includes Phillies executives, baseball writers both locally and nationally, Phillies historians, one of our broadcasters, someone from Comcast SportsNet, ESPN 950 radio and WIP radio. Sometimes there are changes from one year to another, changes being in the person but not the media outlet." The voting process is the same point process that the phans get, with the committee ranking their top three choices, and, when all voting is complete, the highest point total will indicate this year's inductee.

Before moving on, the Philles listed on the preliminary ballot for phan voting are...
Jack Baldschun
Larry Christensen
Darren Daulton
Lenny Dykstra
Jim Fregosi
Greg Gross
Von Hayes
Jim Konstanty
John Kruk
Ron Reed
Jimmy Wilson
Rick Wise

There are plenty of deserving men on that list, but only three stand out as being most deserving to be officially immortalized in Philadelphia's great baseball history. Induction will occur on August 6th. No more delay...let's get into who deserves your vote.

#1- Jim Konstanty...A right handed pitcher with the Phils from 1948-1954, Jim won National League MVP Award in the pennant winning 1950 season. That season, he was also an all-star, led the league in saves (22) and set the team record for most innings pitched by a reliever in a season (152) and most wins by a reliever in a season (16). In 1952, Konstanty pitched in relief 40 times and started two games, both of which he completed. In 1953, he completed 7 more games while still performing primarily as a reliever. In parts of seven seasons a Phillie, Konstanty pitched in 314 games, had a 51-39 win-loss record and a 3.64 ERA.
Mike Schmidt and Chuck Klein are the only other retired Phillies who have won the NL Most Valuable Player Award and they are both on the Wall of Fame...why isn't Konstanty?

#2- Von Hayes...Of the nominated position players, Hayes has hundreds more hits than the nearest nominee. An all-star in 1989, Hayes was a standout player for the Phils for 9 years. In 1,208 career games with the Phillies, Hayes hit 124 homers, stole over 200 bases and had a .274 batting avg. Hayes was also the first player in MLB history to hit two homeruns in the first inning of a game when he pounded the Mets on 6/11/1985.
To me, Hayes is a necessary addition to the Phillies' Wall of Fame.

#3- Ron Reed...Another reliever? YES! Reed is 5th all-time on the Phillies saves list (90) and 5th all-time in games pitched (458). Also, among Phils' relievers, Reed has the most career wins (54) and innings pitched (763). Most importantly, Reed was a key member of the Phillies throughout their great streak, when they made the postseason 6 times in 8 years from 1976-1983. Reed appeared in 21 post season games with the Phils, posting a 4.15 ERA. From 1976-1979, Reed threw over 100 innings each year, being used primarily as a reliever. In 8 years with Philadelphia, Reed posted a 57-38 win-loss record and a 3.06 ERA.
More than the remaining nominees, Reed holds a place in Phillies history that should be recognized with a permanent spot in Memory Lane at Citizens Bank Park.

Be sure you remember to vote.

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

Maple bat ban to be implemented at minor league level. Read about it here.

Click this link and read some baseball writers' opinions on whether or not the Phillies will pay up and re-sign Jayson Werth.

Be sure to follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter HERE!


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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. ...

A Letter to This Guy

Dear Cardinals fan, When a homerun ball is hit in your direction, do not close your eyes and raise both hands far above your head, leaving your face/chest/neck/head defenseless. Jayson Werth long balls to the cranium are probably not very comfortable. Next time, let the guy in the pajama pants behind you take a crack at it. He may not know how to dress well, but he keeps his eyes open in the face of killer shots from World Champion outfielders. Love, PhoulBallz.com PS- Stay hot.

Kendrick & LaGrossa- Second Phils/Survivor Marriage

On Saturday, Phillies pitcher Kyle Kendrick married 3-time Survivor contestant and former Flyers employee Stephenie LaGrossa. The couple exchanged vows in front of 105 guests at the Silverado Resort in Napa, California. Their special day featured many personalized aspects, including cocktail hour snacks modeled in the fashion of mini Philly cheesesteaks, as well as the couple's two dogs, Bebe and Champ, serving as flower girl and ring bearer during the ceremony. The pets wore a white dress and a tuxedo, respectively. Kendrick is now the second Phillies pitcher to marry a former contestant of the CBS reality competition program, as lefty Cole Hamels wedded Heidi Strobel, who appeared on the sixth season of Survivor, in 2007. _________________________________________________________________ Be sure to follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter, for updates, stats and info, by clicking HERE . Photos- People.com