1986 Philadelphia Phillies season
Encyclopedia
The Philadelphia Phillies
season was the 104th season for the Phillies. Under second-year manager John Felske
, the Phillies stayed just below the .500 mark for roughly two-thirds of the season, until a charge after the All-Star break pushed the club past the St. Louis Cardinals
and Montreal Expos
into second place in the NL East. The eventual World Series champions rival New York Mets
finished with a Major League best 108-54 record, and finished 21 games ahead of the Phillies. The Mets and the Phillies were the only teams in the National League East to post winning records. Mike Schmidt
became the first third baseman
in the history of the National League
to win the MVP Award three times.
took a perfect game into the ninth inning against the San Francisco Giants
at Candlestick Park. Giants catcher Bob Brenly
hit a long drive into the gap in left-center field. Phillies center fielder Milt Thompson was positioned to make a running catch but the ball hit the base of his glove and was ruled a hit. Carman pitched nine innings, gave up one hit, and was the winner when the Phillies scored in the top of the tenth on a Juan Samuel solo homer to win the game 1 to 0.
The Phillies were the only team in the National League to post a winning record against the World Series champs, going 10-8 with a 7-2 mark at Veterans Stadium
. The high point of the season for the Phillies was the three-game sweep of the Mets in mid-September. On September 12, up by 22 games, the Mets needed to win one game to clinch the division and came to Philadelphia for a weekend series. The Phillies won all three games, finishing the weekend by beating the Mets 6-0 behind a six-hit shutout by Kevin Gross
who also tripled home two-runs. The sweep still left the Phillies down 19 games but was both especially satisfying given the significant number of Mets fans who had traveled to Veterans Stadium for the weekend hoping to see the Mets clinch, and necessary because they were swept in a three-game series in Chicago
preceding this series and did not want to see a visiting team's division-title celebration at Veterans Stadium. Had the Mets won one of the three games, it would have been the first time that a division title was won at Veterans Stadium. During the series, Mets fans at Veterans Stadium became unruly and damaged seats in the upper deck. One Mets fan was arrested after striking at two Philadelphia police
officers.
The club scored a season-high 19 runs in a 19-1 throttling of the Chicago Cubs
at the Vet
on June 23.
Hall-of-Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt
won the NL MVP for the third and final time in his career with a league-high 37 home runs with 119 RBI and a .290 average. The Phillies distant second place finish made Schmidt the first major-league MVP to have played on a team that finished at least 20 games first place.
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
season was the 104th season for the Phillies. Under second-year manager John Felske
John Felske
John Frederick Felske is a former catcher, coach and manager in American Major League Baseball. He was the manager of the Philadelphia Phillies from September 30, 1984, through June 18, 1987, posting a record of 190 victories and 194 defeats .After attending the University of Illinois, Felske...
, the Phillies stayed just below the .500 mark for roughly two-thirds of the season, until a charge after the All-Star break pushed the club past the St. Louis Cardinals
1986 St. Louis Cardinals season
The 1986 St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 105th season in St. Louis, Missouri and its 95th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 79-82 during the season and finished 3rd in the National League East division.-Offseason:...
and Montreal Expos
1986 Montreal Expos season
-Offseason:* October 24, 1985: Bill Laskey was traded by the Expos to the San Francisco Giants for George Riley and Alonzo Powell.* November 7, 1985: Mel Rojas was signed by the Expos as an amateur free agent....
into second place in the NL East. The eventual World Series champions rival New York Mets
1986 New York Mets season
The 1986 New York Mets season was the Mets' 25th season in the National League. They began the season looking to equal or improve upon their 98–64 record from 1985 and to try to win the National League East Division. They finished the season with a 108–54 record, cruising to the division title...
finished with a Major League best 108-54 record, and finished 21 games ahead of the Phillies. The Mets and the Phillies were the only teams in the National League East to post winning records. Mike Schmidt
Mike Schmidt
Michael Jack Schmidt is a Hall of Fame third baseman popularly considered among the greatest third basemen in the history of Major League Baseball. He played his entire career for the Philadelphia Phillies....
became the first third baseman
Third baseman
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...
in the history of the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
to win the MVP Award three times.
Offseason
- December 6, 1985: Jerry KoosmanJerry KoosmanJerome Martin Koosman is a former left-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox and Philadelphia Phillies between 1967 and 1985...
was released by the Phillies. - December 22, 1985: Tim CorcoranTim Corcoran (first baseman)Timothy Michael Corcoran was a Major League Baseball player who played 9 seasons in the major leagues. Born in Glendale, California, Corcoran attended California State University, Los Angeles , and was signed as an amateur free agent by the Detroit Tigers in 1974. Corcoran played four seasons...
was released by the Phillies. - January 16, 1986: Ronn ReynoldsRonn ReynoldsRonn Dwayne Reynolds was a Major League Baseball catcher, who played for the New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Houston Astros and San Diego Padres. After playing college baseball at the University of Arkansas, Reynolds was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 5th round in 1979...
was traded by the New York Mets with Jeff Bittiger to the Philadelphia Phillies for Rodger Cole and Ronnie Gideon. - March 17, 1986: Alan KnicelyAlan KnicelyAlan Lee Knicely is a former professional baseball catcher. He played all or part of eight seasons in Major League Baseball from 1979 until 1986...
was released by the Phillies.
Regular season
On August 20, 1986, pitcher Don CarmanDon Carman
Donald Wayne Carman was a Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher.-Career:Signed by the Philadelphia Phillies as an amateur free agent in 1978, Carman would make his Major League Baseball debut with the Philadelphia Phillies on October 1, 1983, and appear in his final game on July 18,...
took a perfect game into the ninth inning against the San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
at Candlestick Park. Giants catcher Bob Brenly
Bob Brenly
Robert Earl Brenly is an American former professional baseball player, coach and manager in Major League Baseball. He played the majority of his career as a catcher with the San Francisco Giants and played half a season for the Toronto Blue Jays...
hit a long drive into the gap in left-center field. Phillies center fielder Milt Thompson was positioned to make a running catch but the ball hit the base of his glove and was ruled a hit. Carman pitched nine innings, gave up one hit, and was the winner when the Phillies scored in the top of the tenth on a Juan Samuel solo homer to win the game 1 to 0.
The Phillies were the only team in the National League to post a winning record against the World Series champs, going 10-8 with a 7-2 mark at Veterans Stadium
Veterans Stadium
Philadelphia Veterans Stadium was a professional-sports, multi-purpose stadium, located at the northeast corner of Broad Street and Pattison Avenue, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex...
. The high point of the season for the Phillies was the three-game sweep of the Mets in mid-September. On September 12, up by 22 games, the Mets needed to win one game to clinch the division and came to Philadelphia for a weekend series. The Phillies won all three games, finishing the weekend by beating the Mets 6-0 behind a six-hit shutout by Kevin Gross
Kevin Gross
Kevin Frank Gross , is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1983 through 1997.Gross played for five different teams during his career: the Philadelphia Phillies , Montreal Expos , Los Angeles Dodgers , Texas Rangers , and Anaheim Angels...
who also tripled home two-runs. The sweep still left the Phillies down 19 games but was both especially satisfying given the significant number of Mets fans who had traveled to Veterans Stadium for the weekend hoping to see the Mets clinch, and necessary because they were swept in a three-game series in Chicago
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Cubs since 1916. It was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park for the Chicago Federal League baseball team, the Chicago Whales...
preceding this series and did not want to see a visiting team's division-title celebration at Veterans Stadium. Had the Mets won one of the three games, it would have been the first time that a division title was won at Veterans Stadium. During the series, Mets fans at Veterans Stadium became unruly and damaged seats in the upper deck. One Mets fan was arrested after striking at two Philadelphia police
Philadelphia Police Department
The Philadelphia Police Department is the police agency responsible for law enforcement and investigations within the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
officers.
The club scored a season-high 19 runs in a 19-1 throttling of the Chicago Cubs
1986 Chicago Cubs season
-Offseason:* November 9, 1985: Ced Landrum was signed as an amateur free agent by the Cubs.* December 11, 1985: Dave Owen was traded by the Cubs to the San Francisco Giants to the Chicago Cubs for Manny Trillo....
at the Vet
Veterans Stadium
Philadelphia Veterans Stadium was a professional-sports, multi-purpose stadium, located at the northeast corner of Broad Street and Pattison Avenue, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex...
on June 23.
Hall-of-Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt
Mike Schmidt
Michael Jack Schmidt is a Hall of Fame third baseman popularly considered among the greatest third basemen in the history of Major League Baseball. He played his entire career for the Philadelphia Phillies....
won the NL MVP for the third and final time in his career with a league-high 37 home runs with 119 RBI and a .290 average. The Phillies distant second place finish made Schmidt the first major-league MVP to have played on a team that finished at least 20 games first place.
Notable transactions
- April 19, 1986: Tom Gorman was signed as a free agent by the Phillies.
- May 9, 1986: Dave Stewart was released by the Phillies.
- June 2, 1986: Chuck KnoblauchChuck KnoblauchEdward Charles "Chuck" Knoblauch is a retired Major League Baseball player. He played all or part of twelve seasons in the majors, from until , for the Minnesota Twins , New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals...
was drafted by the Phillies in the 18th round of the 1986 Major League Baseball Draft1986 Major League Baseball DraftThe 1986 Major League Baseball Draft was the 22nd MLB draft that took place in 1986. During this draft, five all-stars were drafted in five different teams.-First round selections:...
, but did not sign. - June 24, 1986: Steve CarltonSteve CarltonSteven Norman Carlton , nicknamed "Lefty", is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He pitched from 1965-1988 for six different teams in his career, but it is his time with the Philadelphia Phillies where he received his greatest acclaim as a professional and won four Cy Young Awards...
was released by the Phillies. - July 24, 1986: Tom Foley and Lary SorensenLary SorensenLary Alan Sorensen is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Milwaukee Brewers , St...
were traded by the Phillies to the Montreal ExposWashington NationalsThe Washington Nationals are a professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals are a member of the Eastern Division of the National League of Major League Baseball . The team moved into the newly built Nationals Park in 2008, after playing their first three seasons in RFK Stadium...
for Dan SchatzederDan SchatzederDaniel Ernest Schatzeder is a former professional baseball player who pitched in the major leagues from - for nine different teams. Schatzeder played college baseball at the University of Denver...
and Skeeter BarnesSkeeter BarnesWilliam Henry "Skeeter" Barnes is a retired Major League Baseball utility player for the Cincinnati Reds , Montreal Expos , St...
.
Roster
| 1986 Philadelphia Phillies | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers Infielders |
Outfielders | Manager Coaches |
||||||
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3B | 160 | 552 | 160 | .290 | 37 | 119 | |
| CF | 96 | 299 | 75 | .251 | 6 | 23 | |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 87 | 101 | 25 | .248 | 0 | 8 | |
| 39 | 61 | 18 | .295 | 0 | 5 | |
| 6 | 7 | 3 | .429 | 0 | 1 |
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 37 | 241.2 | 12 | 12 | 4.02 | 154 | |
| 21 | 146.1 | 9 | 4 | 2.46 | 70 | |
| 16 | 83 | 4 | 8 | 6.18 | 62 | |
| 5 | 25.2 | 0 | 2 | 3.51 | 20 | |
| 3 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 2.25 | 8 | |
| 3 | 14.2 | 1 | 1 | 5.52 | 8 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 134.1 | 10 | 5 | 3.22 | 98 | |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 68 | 8 | 6 | 29 | 3.39 | 82 | |
| 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.26 | 9 | |
| 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.57 | 9 | |
| 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7.71 | 8 | |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.75 | 1 | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 |
Awards and honors
- Garry Maddox, Roberto Clemente AwardRoberto Clemente AwardThe Roberto Clemente Award is given annually to the Major League Baseball player who "best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual's contribution to his team", as voted on by baseball fans and members of the media. It is named for Hall of Fame...
- Mike SchmidtMike SchmidtMichael Jack Schmidt is a Hall of Fame third baseman popularly considered among the greatest third basemen in the history of Major League Baseball. He played his entire career for the Philadelphia Phillies....
, National League MVP