Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity.  As such, we are very happy to present our pre-2022 revision of our top 50 Philadelphia Phillies.

As for all of our top 50 players in baseball we look at the following: 

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National League. 

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

The Phillies did not make the 2021 Playoffs, nor did anyone crack the top 50, however there was movement among one active Phillie.

As always, we present our top five.

1. Mike Schmidt

2. Robin Roberts

3. Steve Carlton

4. Ed Delahanty

5. Pete Alexander

You can find the entire list here.

The only elevation is Starting Pitcher, Aaron Nola, who advanced one spot to #38.

We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.

Bill Swift was a Pittsburgh Pirate for most of his career, first appearing in 1932, where he went 14-10 as a rookie and led the NL in BB/9 (1.1).  

Swift was never a permanent starter in his career, and was used wherever needed.  Winning 70 Games against 57 Losses in his first five years, Swift at least 200 Innings in all of those years, complied either as a starter or reliever, and was one of the better Pitchers in not allowing Walks.

He would be moved to more of a bullpen role in his later three years with the Pirates and was traded to Boston after.  Swift slid into the final spot on this list because he was a competent batter, hitting .230 with 132 Hits for Pittsburgh.  He had a 91-79 Record with a 3.57 ERA on the mound.

Playing all but his last two years in the Majors with Pittsburgh, Gus Suhr debuted in 1930 for the Pirates, where he was their starting First Baseman for the majority of the decade.

Suhr went to the 1936 All-Star Game and had eight 150-plus Hits years, twice batting over .300.  He would only have 79 Home Runs for Pittsburgh but was a good clutch hitter with 789 RBIs.   

Notably, Suhr was at one time the National League Iron Man, having played in 822 consecutive Games.   With the Pirates, he had 1,379 Hits and batted .278.

Tony Pena signed with the Pirates as an Amateur Free Agent in 1975, and five years later, the Dominican Catcher made his first appearance for the parent club.

Pena became Pittsburgh’s lead Catcher in 1982, and he was an All-Star that year.  Batting .301 with 15 Home Runs in 1983, Pena received the most MVP votes of his career, with an 11^th place finish.  Pena also won the Gold Glove, his first of three straight, and over the next two seasons he led the NL in Runners Caught Stealing.  He would also finish in the top ten Defensive bWAR four times, including a league-leading 2.5 in 1984.  

Pena went to three more All-Star Games as a Pirate and had five consecutive double-digit years in Home Runs (1982-86).  He was traded to St. Louis after the 1986 Season, leaving the club with 821 Hits, a .286 Batting Average, and 63 Home Runs.