Phillies All-Quarter Century Team: 26-Man Roster

Recently, ESPN made their All-Quarter Century NFL Team. I saw that Jimmy Kempski followed that up with his All-Quarter Century Eagles team. If I tried to make an Eagles Quarter-Century team, it would probably be way too close to what Jimmy did. So instead, I took my shot at doing the Phillies team.

A few ground rules. They had to have actually played the position for a decent period of time. So you might notice Jim Thome is not in the starting lineup, despite being a Hall of Fame player. I was not going to put him over Ryan Howard at 1st, and because the NL didn't have a DH back then, Thome hardly ever played DH. There were a few games in AL Ballparks, and that was it.

This is also mostly based on what they did in a Phillies jersey. So they could be a Hall of Fame player elsewhere, but I am only really considering what they did here.

Also, a reminder, this is the Quarter-Century team, not the All-Time team. We are only judging players based on what they did between the year 2000 and now.

Was there any other option for either Shortstop or Leadoff hitter? For my money, JRoll needs to be in the Hall of Fame. He is not only the Phillies best shortstop this century, he is the 3rd best SS period behind only Derek Jeter and AROD.

Jimmy is 1st in hits, 2nd in doubles, 2nd in triples, 6th in HRs, 3rd in runs, and 2nd in steals among Shortstops this century. He won an MVP, won a couple of Gold Gloves, and of course was the team's leader on the way to a World Series parade. I could make the case he is the best Phillies player period this century.

Again, an easy choice. Like with Jimmy, you can easily look at Chase Utley and call him one of, if not the best, 2nd Basemen in all of Baseball this century. He actually has the highest WAR for 2B since 2000. While Jimmy was the voice of the Phillies in that era, Chase might have been the silent face. He did not have much to say with his mouth. He let the bat do the talking.

Utley is 3rd among 2B in HRs and RBIs since 2000. He is also 1 of only 6 2B with 200+ HRs and 100+ steals. Utley is the only 1 of that trio of himself, JRoll and Howard to not win an MVP, but he is also probably the guy with the best shot at the Hall of Fame, with his numbers trending well in his 1st two years on the ballot.

When his career is done, we will likely remember Harper as a 1st Baseman. He moved there after Tommy John Surgery, and likely won't go back to the OF unless the Phillies have a chance to acquire an All-Star 1B. Still, Harper spent most of his time as a Phillie so far in RF, and won an MVP playing RF. Plus, this way we don't need to decide between him and Howard.

Harper, if his health holds up, will end his career as one of the Phillies' best hitters ever. He has 2 MVPs, though only 1 here, and will likely finish 3rd on the Phillies ALL-Time HR list, maybe 2nd, despite not playing his full career here. He is also their best post-season hitter ever. You can argue he is one of the best postseason hitters ever. Harper is 1 of only 8 players with 100+ postseason ABs and an OPS over 1.000. He is also 15th in MLB history with 17 playoff HRs, and with 3 more, he will enter the top 5.

The most prolific power hitter I have ever seen in a Phillies Jersey. His peak was short. Howard came up too late, and injuries ended his career too soon. But those 5 years of Peak Howard are hard to top.

Howard remains the fastest player to hit 100 HRs, needing only 325 games. He is the fastest player to 200 HRs, needing only 658 games. He is the 3rd fastest player to 300, doing so in 1,093 games. Howard sadly never reached 400. The guy was perhaps one of the scariest hitters in baseball from 2006 until 2011. Then he tore his achilles and was never the same player. But his 2006 MVP season is something we might never see a Phillies player top.

I know a lot of Phillies fans do not exactly love Scott Rolen. But you will have a hard time finding a better 3B in a Phillies Jersey this century. He played in 300 fewer games than the other 2 options, Placido Polanco and Alec Bohm, and was still competitive in nearly every stat. In fact, he had more HRs than either of those other guys. All while providing Golfd Glove defense at the Hot Corner.

I strongly considered Polanco here. But I had to give it to Rolen, despite him being here for only a few seasons this century. He outperformed every other Phillies 3rd Baseman in that limited time frame of 2.5 seasons.

This is partly by default, because there are not many players with a ton of experience at DH for the Phillies. It is Schwarber and Harper, and Harper is already in RF. I guess an honorable mention to Darick Hall, who is the next guy in line for games played at DH.

But this is not just a default honor. Because Schwarber is on a power run that is unrivaled by anyone in Phillies history short of Howard. This is his 4th season here, and barring injury it will be his 3rd with at least 40 HRs. Not even Mike Schmidt had 3 40 HR seasons in a 4-year span. He also has 21 postseason HRs, including 10 with the Phillies.

There are very few guys with any LF longevity for the Phillies this century. That is a trend that carries across the OF. There are a few guys who were good for a year or 2, like Andrew McCutchen and Raul Ibanez, but no one else can touch what Pat The Bat did here. He spent 9 years here and has the 4th most HRs in franchise history.

This one was tough. My heart wanted to put Carlos Ruiz here. But my brain said it has to be JT Realmuto. JT's bat has diminished. But for the majority of his team here, JT was by far the best catcher in baseball. Both at the plate and behind it. Carlos Ruiz, as great as he was behind the plate, was never the best at either in the league.

The only option. CF has been a major problem for the Phillies this entire century. The only exception was when Shane was here. Shane played a great CF and was no slouch at the plate. He leads all Phillies Center Fielders this century in literally every stat except strikeouts. Shane has the 2nd-lowest strikeout rate for Phillies CFs this century, behind only Ben Revere.

I might get some flak for making him the staff Ace over Halladay. But I am going off longevity. Wheeler is into his 6th season with the Phillies, and still looks like a Cy Young. I explained in this article why he is not only the Phillies best pitcher, but the best MLB pitcher of this entire decade so far in this article.

Wheeler's peak is not as good as Halladay's. But he has longevity in a Phillies jersey, which Halladay lacked. And by the way, Wheeler is also lights out in the playoffs

A perfect game, a Cy Young, a playoff no-hitter. His time here was short. But those 1st two seasons are the best pitching this city has ever seen. The only reason he is not the Ace of this staff is a lack of longevity with the Phillies. he is a Hall of Fame Pitcher, and one of the best pitchers period this century. But Wheeler is more accomplished with the Phillies.

We might not give Cole enough credit for how great he was. Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay overshadowed his greatness. But outside of his bad 2009 season, Cole Hamels is probably the best Homegrown pitcher in franchise history outside of Robin Roberts.

Obviously, he has the World Series MVP under his belt, but he also made 4 All-Star teams, and had 5 seasons with a SUB 3.10 ERA, and 2 with a sub 3.0 ERA. The guy was the picture of consistency in a Phillies jersey. That carried into the playoffs. Again, outside of that 2009 season, he was pretty much lights out in October.

When Cliff Lee was at his best, no one was better. Just go back to June 2011 when he pitched 3 straight complete game shutouts, all part of a 34-inning scoreless streak. That is unheard of in these days. And while the 2009 season did not end in glory, his performance in those playoffs was legendary, including a complete game win in the World Series.

People are very down on Nola. He did it to himself with the awful start to this season before going on the IL. But look at his career, and it is hard to find many better homegrown pitchers.

Nola has the 2nd-best WAR for Phillies SPs this century, behind only Hamels. He is also 2nd behind Hamels in wins and strikeouts. His ERA is up and down, but more often than not, Nola gets the job done and goes deep into games. When all is said and done, we will look back on Nola and see him as one of the best starters to come through this city.

I loathe putting Papelbon here. But you can't argue with the stats. Not only does he have the most saves in Phillies history, but he has a 2.31 ERA to go with it. He was a fantastic pitcher here, just not a great person. He has the 2nd highest WAR (5.1) of any Phillies RP this century.

Do you know who has the best WAR for Phillies relievers? Ryan Madson. Brad Lidge gets so much love for his perfect season, but Madson was the real picture of consistency. He appeared in 473 games for the Phillies, and had an ERA of 3.04. That ERA dropped to 2.31 in the playoffs.

Neris is 4th in saves this century, has the 3rd highest WAR, and had a solid 3.42 ERA. People have bad memories of him. But he was a reliable arm in an era where the Phillies' pen severely lacked them. He was forced into the closer role, but if he got to be a setup man or high-leverage guy like he should be, Phillies fans would likely have loved him.

Another guy Phillies fans have mixed feelings for. Especially after he screwed his team this season with a PED suspension. But look at his production, and it is hard to argue he is not one of their best bullpen arms this century. The 4th best WAR, the 2nd best K/9, and the 9th best ERA among qualified pitchers.

You will sense a trend of us not loving most of these RPs. But Billy Wagner was a stud while he was here, 59 saves and a sub-2.0 ERA, over 126 innings.

Body of work drags Lidge down. But the guy had a perfect season and got the save in the World Series clinching win. For that alone, he had to make the list. Even if it went downhill after 2008.

A forgotten hero. I considered putting Ken Giles here, who was fantastic for a short period of time. But JC Romero was great too, and what put him over the top was the 0 earned runs he gave up in the 2008 postseason over 7.1 innings.

Some of these guys you could argue should start. Jim Thome is one of the most talented players to ever wear a Phillies jersey. Bobby Abreu is one of the most underrated players in MLB history. Carlos Ruiz was a dependable backstop for years, and caught several no-hitters. Trea Turner is still making his mark, but he is one of the best shortstops in the league. And while Werth's time here was short, he made a big impact in that limited time.