Skip to main content

Sunday School: Phillies History Lesson 61

By
Thomas "Tully" Sparks was a pitcher with the Phillies in 1897, then again from 1903-1910. Sparks made his Major League debut with the Phillies, allowing 9 earned runs in 8 innings pitched, and didn't start another game with Philadelphia for more than five years. In the meantime, he saw stints with Pittsburgh, the New York Giants, the Boston Americans and Milwaukee.

When Sparks rejoined the Phillies, he posted an unimpressive record of 11-15, which overshadowed his solid 2.72 ERA on the season. 1903 was the first of 7 straight seasons in which Sparks posted an ERA for the Phillies under 3.00. In 1904, Sparks' ERA improved, but his record slipped to a dismal 7-16.

The following season, Sparks posted a winning record, going 14-11 and his 2.12 ERA was best on the team. In 1906, Sparks won 19 games with Philadelphia and threw a career high 6 shutouts, including one against Giants ace Christy Mathewson in late August. Also in 1906, Sparks completed 29 games in 37 starts.

Sparks' best season came in 1907 when he reeled off 10 straight victories, beginning in July, and finished with a 22-9 record and a 2.00 ERA. Sparks' hot streak included wins in 14 of his final 16 starts that season.

Some pitchers are at their best when they face off against the best and Sparks was one of those pitchers. In 4 starts against the eventual 1907 World Champions, that season, Sparks went 3-1. The lone loss was a 1-0 defeat. In those 4 games, Sparks allowed 5 runs in 36 innings (1.25 ERA).

Unfortunately for Sparks, his numbers would slide after that career year. In 1908 he posted a 16-15 record and in 1909 he went 6-11. The following season, Sparks struggled in 3 starts and did not earn a win. He was released by the Phillies in early June and retired from baseball.


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

Follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter HERE.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rappers in Phillies Caps

By
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...
3 comments
Read more

Michael Taylor Q&A

By
Michael Taylor is currently leading the Reading Phillies' offense and is near the top of the Eastern League in most stat categories (3rd in batting avg- .342, 3rd in HR- 14, tied for second in RBI- 55, 2nd in OPS.- .994, tied for 1st in runs scored- 49, tied for 1st in hits...). The 23 year old Taylor is 6 feet 6 inches tall and has quickly grabbed the attention of phans and media alike as a top prospect to watch. I spoke with Mike Taylor over the weekend, and here is that interview. With all the big stats and being among the league leaders in so many categories, do you think you're ready for the next step? It's kind of a difficult question. Do you have anything left to prove here? There's always something to prove. There's stuff to prove every game. I mean that's one thing that's very interesting about this game. It's such a numbers oriented game. You're only as good as your last "whatever statistical category that someone's valuing". ...
2 comments
Read more

Ibanez Makes Hall of Fame History

By
It's every player's dream to be enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. For Raul Ibanez , who hasn't had the sort of career that would ensure his face would one day be cast in bronze and displayed on the Hall walls, it was necessary to find a less common way to earn a spot in the annals of baseball history. Recently, Ibanez became the very first big league player to spend the night in the plaque gallery at the storied Hall of Fame. As detailed on the National Baseball Hall of Fame's website , Ibanez accompanied his son's Little League travel team to the Hall, where they participated in the Museum's "Extra Innings Overnight", a program that allows groups to travel to Cooperstown, NY in order learn more about the great game of baseball. Ibanez's son, Raul Jr., is 11-years-old and plays baseball in Lower Merion, PA. The article on the Hall of Fame's website quoted Ibanez as being excited to see some recent Phillies milestones represent...
Post a Comment
Read more