#Phillies transactions series#

Since the beginning of the season, with an 8–2 start, the team had been in first place, and had led the National League all season, sometimes by as many as nine or ten games. Throughout the 1964 season, the Phillies seemed destined to make it to the World Series. His wishes were complied with, and he and Triandos were sent to the Phillies in exchange for outfielder Don Demeter and pitcher Jack Hamilton.

Denny McLain, a rising star with the Tigers, began to get Bunning's starts in September and by the end of the season after going 12–13, Bunning was asking the Tiger management for a trade. Also, Bunning was having a mediocre season with Detroit, and Dressen believed that Bunning's career was over at the age of 31. However, in 1963 he began having problems with the front office of the Tigers, and did not get along well with the Tigers' new manager, Charlie Dressen. Bunning had been with the Detroit Tigers since 1955 and was one of the best pitchers in the American League, throwing a no-hitter against the Boston Red Sox in 1958 and was a five-time All-Star. The most important acquisition by the Phillies in the off-season of 1963 was the acquisition of Jim Bunning. Covington was first platooned with rookie Danny Cater in left however, Cater suffered a broken arm in a game against Milwaukee on 22 July and didn't return to the lineup until late September. In the outfield Johnny Callison was in right field, Tony Gonzalez in center, and Wes Covington was in left field. Richie Allen (who years later would be called Dick Allen) came up in September 1963 as a rookie showing much promise, and during spring training, made the club as the starting third baseman. Mauch could and did platoon them depending on the pitcher they were facing. The infield had two fine shortstops in Bobby Wine and Rubén Amaro, and two fine second basemen in Tony Taylor and Cookie Rojas. The catching duties were platooned between Clay Dalrymple, who was the regular catcher since 1960 and Gus Triandos, who acted both as Bunning's personal catcher and as Dalrymple's backup, having come over from Detroit in the Bunning trade (below).

Rookie Rick Wise, primarily a reliever but also a spot-starter, joined the club in June. The bullpen had Ed Roebuck, who was purchased from the Washington Senators in April 1964, as the primary relief pitcher, along with John Boozer and Dallas Green. He was joined by Art Mahaffey in 1960, Dennis Bennett in 1962 and Ray Culp in 1963 as starters. Opening Day lineupĬhris Short was a rookie on the 1959 team, and by the end of 1963 was the ace of the staff. The front office, headed by John Quinn as General Manager, had replaced most of the players of the 1950s with new, young talent. Although the Phillies slumped to 47–107 in 1961 (including a 23-game losing streak), they began to climb back to respectability in 19. Things began to change slowly beginning in 1960 when Gene Mauch was hired as manager to replace Eddie Sawyer, who had resigned after the club's opening game of the regular season. A 1962 cartoon in a baseball magazine depicted a ballplayer arriving at a French Foreign Legion outpost, explaining, 'I was released by the Phillies!' įrom 1919 through 1947, the Phillies finished last a total of 17 times and next to last seven times.

December 5, 1963: Don Demeter and Jack Hamilton were traded by the Phillies to the Detroit Tigers for Jim Bunning and Gus Triandos.

Struck Out: The Fall of the 1964 Phillies, 6:42, Philadelphia:The Great Experiment The 'Phold of '64', as it became known, is one of the most infamous collapses in baseball history. The team is notable for being in first place in the National League since the opening day, and then suffering an unthinkable collapse during the final two weeks of the season.

Gene Mauch managed the Phillies, who played their home games at Connie Mack Stadium. Louis Cardinals, and just two games ahead of fourth-place San Francisco.

#Phillies transactions series#

Both posted a record of 92–70, finishing one game behind the National League (NL) and World Series champion St.

The Phillies finished in a second-place tie with the Cincinnati Reds. The 1964 Philadelphia Phillies season was the 82nd season for the franchise in Philadelphia. ( By Saam, Bill Campbell, Richie Ashburn) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (since 1883).