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Showing posts with the label Gene Mauch

Phils Win, Make History

With the Phillies' 7-1 victory over the Braves on Tuesday night, milestones were reached. Not only did the Phillies tie their single season wins record by matching the 1976 and 1977 teams that had 101 wins, the win also tied Charlie Manuel with Gene Mauch on the all-time managerial wins list in team history with 645. Manuel began managing the Phillies in 2005 and has helped the franchise take command of a division that had previously been dominated by Atlanta and New York. Manuel reached the landmark win total in two fewer seasons than Mauch needed. Mauch's tenure as skipper of the Phillies lasted from 1960-1968. Additional highlights from Tuesday's win were the solid outings from righty starter Roy Oswalt and left-handed reliever Antonio Bastardo. The 6 IP/0 run outing by the veteran Oswalt completed a foursome of excellent showings by the projected Phillies playoff rotation in their final starts of the regular season. As pointed out by Phillies.com's Todd Zolecki ,...

Sunday School: Phillies History Lesson 66

Ray Culp was a right-handed pitcher with the Phillies from 1963-1966. Culp was signed right out of high school in Austin, TX for $100,000. He struggled somewhat with his command through two seasons in the minors, but won 13 games for the Phillies A-Level team in Williamsport. The very next Spring, Culp landed in the Phillies' starting rotation when several other pitchers became sidelined with injuries. In his second Major League start, Culp shut out Houston 7-0, allowing just 3 hits. In 6 June starts, Culp went 4-2. The wins included two shut outs, one each against the Metropolitans and the Cardinals. Culp had 10 wins by mid-season and he was honored as a National League all-star in his rookie season. Culp finished the year with a 2.97 ERA. He was also honored as The Sporting News Rookie of the Year, which is the same award J.A. Happ won in 2009. In 1964, Culp posted a record of 8-7 in 30 games and his ERA shot up to 4.13 for the season. In June of that season, he threw a one-hi...

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 reco...

Sunday School: History Lesson 31

Chris Short was a Phillies pitcher from 1959-1972. Short was a big strong left hander who spent two seasons in the Phillies' minor league system before making his debut with the big club. In his early years, Short would work mainly out of the bullpen. Phils manager Gene Mauch did not care for Short much because he was a young pitcher who had a tough time with his control, thus Short only got on occasional starting assignment early in his big league career. Short would later add a curveball to his pitching repertoire, and his career took a turn for the better. In 1964, Short was given a chance to start regularly and he surely made the best of it. For the season, Short would go 17-9 in 42 games (31 starts). Short won 8 of his first 12 starts that year, including 3 shut outs. Short's 2.20 ERA that season was 3rd lowest in the National League...behind only Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax. The next season, Short would go 18-11 with a 2.82 ERA. Short opened the 1965 season by throwing ...