Phillies Essential: Everything You Need to Know to Be a Real Fan! - Hardcover

"I loved playing in Philly. I have nothing but positive feelings. The first time that I walked out of the clubhouse onto the field at Shibe Park, I thought it was the most beautiful sight I’d ever seen. Talk about your field of dreams. The Phillies gave me the opportunity to pitch, and playing in Philadelphia has always meant something very special to me." —Robin Roberts

"It was like a family. We pulled for each other, and when we won games, it was not an individual effort. We went out together at night. Sometimes we’d be sitting around talking baseball, and [Eddie] Sawyer would come by and buy us a beer. We had 25 guys on that club, and everyone stuck up for one another. It was wonderful to play with a bunch of guys like that." —Del Ennis on the Whiz Kids

"I don’t think I ever enjoyed watching a first-year player as much as I did Allen. I loved watching him play. I have also never seen a more enthusiastic, more talented offensive player in my life. And I have never seen anybody endear himself, without trying, to his teammates with such great élan than Richie did." —the late former manager Gene Mauch on Dick Allen

The City of Brotherly Love can feel like anything but that to a ballplayer in an opposing uniform. The same goes for a ballplayer in a Phillies uniform if baseball’s most knowledgeable and passionate fans aren’t enthralled with his performance or suspect that he’s dogging it out there. But put forth the effort and put up the numbers, and there’s virtually no more gratifying job in sports than to play baseball for the Philadelphia Phillies.

With one of the best pedigrees in professional sports, the 123-year-old franchise boasts a remarkable history that ranges from the grim to the glorious. They’ve managed to do a little bit of everything over the years, both enrapturing and enraging their notoriously vociferous following. Whether they are winning National League pennants or floundering in the NL East cellar, the Phillies have always managed to keep things interesting both on and off the field.

If you were to ask a real Phillies fan which Major League team can boast the longest use of its current nickname, which team once had three outfielders finish the same season with batting averages above .400, and which team once hired sheep as part of its ground crew, chances are they would know who you were talking about. More than likely, they would know that it is the same team that won one pennant on the final day of the season but lost another after blowing a six-game lead with 12 games to play.

Whether you are the serious fan in search of previously undiscovered informational nuggets or the casual fan looking to upgrade your status, Phillies Essential gives you more of what you crave and serves it up on an appetizing platter. From the Whiz Kids to the Wheeze Kids, everything you ever wanted to know about the Phillies is included in this handy reference.

Mike Schmidt, Chuck Klein, Robin Roberts, Tug McGraw, and Richie Ashburn are included, along with the oddities, the flukes, and the flakes. There’s trivia, special top 10 lists, and much more, all contained in the compelling story of one of baseball’s most entertaining franchises.