The Philadelphia Phillies are one of the oldest franchises in baseball, having been established in 1883. They’re also one of the hardest-luck franchises in the sport, with only two World Series wins in nearly 150 years.
Both of those titles have come since 1980, which is why you’ll find three of the top five (and, if we stretched things, probably seven of the top 10) batters in franchise history making their biggest marks since that time.
Picking the No. 1 player on this list was easy. The other four? Well, you could swap in a handful of other players for the ones we have and we would have no quarrel.
Here are our picks for the top five hitters in Phillies history. Don't forget to vote on our list of the five best Phillies pitchers ever when you're done, too.
5. Bobby Abreu, Right Fielder
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Had Abreu played a few more seasons in Philadelphia, he might rank even higher on this list. He’s not a Hall of Famer, although his voting percentage has increased from his initial year of eligibility. Instead, Abreu is a team leader in the Hall of Very Good.
He played seven of his nine seasons with the Phillies, in which he achieved a WAR above 5.2. And while some of his career success came outside of Philadelphia, he’s still one of only seven players in MLB history to collect 900 extra-base hits and steal 400 bases.
4. Chase Utley, Second Baseman
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The choices for No. 4 and No. 5 came down to Abreu, Utley and Jimmy Rollins. We’re going with the second baseman here. Utley played 13 years with the Phillies, making six All-Star Game appearances, including five in a row in the late 2000s.
He also finished in the top 10 in Most Valuable Player voting three times and finished his Philadelphia career with a slash line of .282/.366/.481. Great numbers for a position not commonly known for its bat.
3. Ed Delahanty, Outfielder/Infielder
Delahanty ranks second in Phillies history in offensive WAR with a mark of 60.2, 10 points higher than the No. 2 player on this list. He played 13 years in Philly, socking 442 doubles and 1,288 RBIs over the course of the stint, which ran from 1888 to 1889, then from 1891 to 1900. Playing in that era means he isn’t quite as well known, but for his time, Delahanty was a star.
2. Richie Ashburn, Center Fielder
Ashburn set the standard for Phillies hitters until the arrival of the No. 1 player on the list. He was one of the best bat-to-ball hitters of his generation, perhaps all-time, who hit .300 or better in eight of his 12 seasons in Philadelphia while also leading MLB in walks in four seasons total (one with the Chicago Cubs).
Ashburn was named an All-Star four times as a Phillie, and while he never hit more than four home runs in a season while with the club, he remains a franchise icon.
1. Mike Schmidt, Third Baseman
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Schmidt is an easy choice for No. 1. His 106.9 WAR is almost 43 points higher than the second-place player in franchise history (Utley). Schmidt is the franchise leader in defensive WAR (18.4), games (2,404), plate appearances (10,062), runs (1,506), total bases (4,404), walks (1,507), RBIs (1,595) and home runs (548).
In all, Schmidt played all of his 18 years with the Phillies, making 12 All-Star Games, winning three MVPs and leading Philadelphia to the 1980 World Series title and the National League pennant in 1983.
