Gavvy Cravath did not make his MLB debut until he was 27 with the Red Sox but he was bemoaned as being too slow to be an effective player by fans, management, and teammates alike.  He would bounce around until a clerical error at the age of 31 gave him a second chance with the Phillies and he certainly made the most of the opportunity.

In the 1890s, Billy Hamilton was regarded as the greatest base stealer the game of baseball had ever seen.  Realistically, when you look at what “Sliding” Billy Hamilton has done, he is still among the game’s great at that feat.

At present, Jimmy Rollins is the all-time leader in Hits (2,306) for the Philadelphia Phillies, which might surprise you considering how many great players the franchise has had over their century-plus in the league.  This is certainly a testament to just how good Rollins was.

Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good.

Chuck Klein probably should not have debuted with the Philadelphia Phillies, as he was the property of the St. Louis Cardinals.  Klein was turning heads with Fort Wayne of the Central League and was likely to be called up.   The only thing was that the Redbirds also owned the Dayton club in the same league, which was against the rules of MLB and then Commissioner Kennesaw Mountain Landis forced St. Louis to sell the team and its players.  Philadelphia was the highest bidder for Klein.