Spring Break
Phillies successful season measured in numbers
Mike Mazzeo
Issue date: 10/5/07 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 2 next >
It has been said records were meant to be broken.
The Philadelphia Phillies had been working on a mark of their own. The Phightin' Phils had not tasted the playoffs since 1993, but that all changed last Sunday.
How did they do it?
Simple. They had more wins (89) than their rivals from the Big Apple, the Mets, who compiled 88 victories.
But wait a minute… isn't there more to a baseball season than numbers? What about that whole Jimmy Rollins guarantee? What about the Manuel-Eskin feud?
For the purpose of this article: no. I'm doing this as only a sabremetrician knows how; recapping the 2007 Phillies season by the numbers.
Plus, Brett (the Fisch) gave you the season recap, no need to read the same thing twice.
1: The number of stolen bases by Ryan Howard this season.
8: The number of saves by Antonio Alfonseca at a time the Phillies needed them the most. With Brett Myers and Tom Gordon on the disabled list, Alfonseca was surprisingly able to hold down the fort in their absence.
12-6: The record the Phillies compiled against their heated rivals the New York Mets. The Phillies swept their I-95 foes three times, including back to back sweeps in August and September that put life into the Phils, and may have taken some out of the Mets.
14: The number of years since the Phillies had been to the postseason. Back in 1993, a team led by the likes of John Kruk, Lenny Dykstra, and some guy named Schilling made it all the way to the World Series, before losing in six heartbreaking games to the Toronto Blue Jays.
20-20-20-20: The elite club that Jimmy Rollins joined when he hit his 20th triple in the sixth inning against the Nationals last Sunday. Rollins joined Curtis Granderson, Willie Mays and Frank Schulte as the only players to ever hit 20 homers, 20 doubles, 20 triples, and steal 20 bases in a single season. Rollins 2007 season included a .296 average, 30 homers, 95 runs batted in, 212 hits, 38 doubles, 20 triples and 41 stolen bases.
The Philadelphia Phillies had been working on a mark of their own. The Phightin' Phils had not tasted the playoffs since 1993, but that all changed last Sunday.
How did they do it?
Simple. They had more wins (89) than their rivals from the Big Apple, the Mets, who compiled 88 victories.
But wait a minute… isn't there more to a baseball season than numbers? What about that whole Jimmy Rollins guarantee? What about the Manuel-Eskin feud?
For the purpose of this article: no. I'm doing this as only a sabremetrician knows how; recapping the 2007 Phillies season by the numbers.
Plus, Brett (the Fisch) gave you the season recap, no need to read the same thing twice.
1: The number of stolen bases by Ryan Howard this season.
8: The number of saves by Antonio Alfonseca at a time the Phillies needed them the most. With Brett Myers and Tom Gordon on the disabled list, Alfonseca was surprisingly able to hold down the fort in their absence.
12-6: The record the Phillies compiled against their heated rivals the New York Mets. The Phillies swept their I-95 foes three times, including back to back sweeps in August and September that put life into the Phils, and may have taken some out of the Mets.
14: The number of years since the Phillies had been to the postseason. Back in 1993, a team led by the likes of John Kruk, Lenny Dykstra, and some guy named Schilling made it all the way to the World Series, before losing in six heartbreaking games to the Toronto Blue Jays.
20-20-20-20: The elite club that Jimmy Rollins joined when he hit his 20th triple in the sixth inning against the Nationals last Sunday. Rollins joined Curtis Granderson, Willie Mays and Frank Schulte as the only players to ever hit 20 homers, 20 doubles, 20 triples, and steal 20 bases in a single season. Rollins 2007 season included a .296 average, 30 homers, 95 runs batted in, 212 hits, 38 doubles, 20 triples and 41 stolen bases.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
jimbo
posted 10/06/07 @ 2:33 AM EST
thers an error:
716: The number of at bats this season for Jimmy Rollins, which broke the former single season mark held by Willie Nelson of the Royals, who had 705 in 1980. (Continued…)
Mike Mazzeo
posted 10/06/07 @ 11:29 PM EST
Ouch, that was a bad mistake. Sorry about that. Thanks for the correction though.
Post a Comment