In Philly, we tend to love the underdog. It starts with Rocky, but it carried into the actual teams in our city. We might love Bryce Harper, but the loudest cheer often goes to the guy who comes off the bench and delivers a big hit. But who are the best Phillies Bench players in franchise history?
What Makes A Great Bench Player?
Obviously if you are coming off the bench, you are not exactly an All-Star type player. If you were, you would be a starter.
Now in the modern era, with no DH, the role of the bench player has shrunk. Once you get to the playoffs, those bench bats, apart from guys in a platoon, shrink to barely anything. But playing in the NL, with no DH, for over 100 years, left a lot of room for big pinch hits moments.
As a bench player, you don’t need to put up huge numbers. You just need to show up when it counts. As you will see, many of the guys who made this list, did just that.
Others came off the bench to give you a great glove. Some were just great clubhouse guys who brought great vibes to the team.
The Best Phillies Best Bench Players
So who are the best Phillies bench players? That is what we are here to determine. We went position by position, and picked the best Phillies for each one.
Who is the best backup catcher in Phillies history? Which backup centerfielder made the list?
Bench player can be a fairly general term. Some player starting coming off the bench, but eventually earned a more full time job. Some guys can come off the bench, but really be part of a platoon and still get a lot of playing time.
I tried to keep it to actual bench players, but obviously in some cases the lines get murky, and you could argue these guys are more than just a bench player.
More Phillies All-Time Lineups
- The All-Time Roster of Homegrown Phillies Players
- 8 Philadelphia Phillies Who Were Good, That We May Forget
Here Is The All-Time Lineup Of Phillies Bench Players:
2B- Tomas Perez
The early 2000s was not the best era for the Phillies. It was far from the worst, but there was not much going on in terms of winning. But Super Utility Man Tomas Perez quickly became a fan favorite.
He had every thing Philly fans love in a player. Most notably, heart and effort. He was a bright spot in that era. He was not strictly a 2nd baseman, but with Jimmy cementing himself as the SS in that era, he played a lot of 2nd. Wherever he played, he won the hearts and minds on Philadelphia, and earned a spot on this list.
3B- Greg Dobbs
Dobbs has 330 fewer Pinch Hit plate appearances than the Phillies all-time leader. Despite that huge gap, he is only 6 off of having the most pinch hit RBIs in franchise history.
In 2007 he lead the league in pinch hit RBIs. He followed that up by hitting .355 the next year and leading the league with 22 pinch hits.
His career after 2008 went downhill, but he was a pretty important part of the 2007 and 2008 teams.
(Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
