PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
ANALYSIS OF THE PHILS
STRONG POINTS
Relief Pitcher Dick Farrell and the right side of the infield look good. Fast-baller Farrell, a failure in 1959, regained his effectiveness in 1960, won 10 games in relief, saved 15 others. First Baseman Pancho Herrera (6 feet 3 inches, 220 pounds), a flop as an infielder in previous trials, settled down at first base, batted .281, hit 17 home runs and drove in 71 runs. Herrera's sidekick—both on the field and off—Second Baseman Tony Taylor, is fine fielder, steady hitter (.284) and a flash on the bases (26 steals).
WEAK SPOTS
Pitching and hitting. Biggest winner for the Phils in 1960 was Robin Roberts with 12 victories—but he lost 16. With the exception of Dick Farrell, no one else on the staff was in double figures. The pitchers' troubles were partly caused by a woeful lack of batting (last in league in hits, home runs, runs scored). Typical was the plight of John Buzhardt, a young right-hander with some promise (3.87 ERA). Philly hitters could score only 25 runs in the 16 games he lost.
THE BIG IFS
Since John Quinn became general manager 27 months ago, Phils have concentrated on young players. Quinn's first dividend of talent will show up in the outfield—maybe this year, maybe next. Outfielder John Callison, obtained from White Sox in a trade of December 1959, was called a "can't miss" prospect in the Sox spring camp three springs ago, is young (22), still has tremendous potential. Speedsters Tony Gonzalez, Bobby Gene Smith and Ken Walters looked good in the field last year, promising at bat. Another youngster, Art Mahaffey, a big, strong right-handed pitcher, came up to Phils in July, had 7-3 record to end of season, with impressive 2.32 ERA. Quinn is counting on him to pitch that well over an entire season.
ROOKIES AND NEW FACES
Big (6-foot-7) Frank Sullivan came over to the Phils from Boston after disastrous season. By using his fast ball more, he hopes to become a winner again. Rookie Ted Savage is a young outfielder with good credentials (.284, 40 stolen bases at Williamsport). With weak-hitting holdovers Ruben Amaro (.231), Lee Walls (.223), Bob Malkmus (.211) and Joe Koppe (.171) as their only competition on the left side of the infield, rookie Shortstop Bob Wine and rookie Third Baseman Bob Sadowski have an excellent chance to make the team.
OUTLOOK
At least the Phils are trying. This should take the onus off another dismal year.
A PAIR OF PROUD PHILLIES
While the Phillies were taking batting practice Manager Gene Mauch stood on the infield dirt between first and second. Suddenly a hard grounder zipped by. Mauch, an ex-infielder who spent most of his career in the minors, took a quick, instinctive step to his right and made the stop bare-handed. It must have stung, but Mauch didn't even look at his hand. Perhaps the manager of an eighth-place club feels that he has to put up a brave front. Perhaps he feels no pain.
Near the end of the workout Mauch watched Coach Al Vincent run the players through a back-and-forth drill. This is a simple exercise in which the coach rolls the ball first on one side of the player and then the other. The player retrieves and returns it. When Vincent ran out of customers, Mauch said to him, "Lemme have a couple."
Vincent rolled the ball to his left. Mauch jogged over, retrieved it and lobbed it back. Then, possibly out of mock deference to Mauch's age (35), Vincent asked, "Should I bounce 'em so you won't have to bend so far?"
"I can get down," panted Mauch, a man of pride. And so it went: left, right, left, up, down, up. When Mauch was grooved in this routine, Vincent carefully rolled the ball so it went between Mauch's legs.
"You son of a gun," Mauch said. He fielded two more grounders before going to the clubhouse.
There he sat atop a wooden desk in his cubicle, his spikes scraping across the seat of the metal chair in front of him, and lit a cigarette. A newspaperman asked a question. Mauch took a long drag on his cigarette before he answered. "Are we better?" Mauch said. "All I can tell you is that we're a year older, so we should be a year smarter." Then, after searching for something to be optimistic about, Mauch added, "There's a lot of talent out there, especially in the outfield.
"It's hard to say. You take a pitcher like this kid Marcelino Lopez. He's something. Last year as a 17-year-old he had a real good record in his first try at organized ball. [With Tampa he struck out 221 batters in 190 innings and led the Florida State League with a 2.33 ERA). Who knows, the kid's just liable to make the team."
Someone asked Mauch how old he was when he made the majors. "I never really made it," he replied. Under prodding, Mauch admitted he was 18 when he broke in with the Dodgers. "That was one of the few mistakes Leo Durocher ever made," he said.
Frank Sullivan, who was traded from the Boston Red Sox to the Phillies last December, knows the meaning of both feast and famine. In 1955 he had an 18-13 record, a 2.91 ERA and was an All-Star Game pitcher. Last season he won only six, lost 16. "It's not so much that you mind losing," he said, "as it is that you mind not winning. I miss winning so much I could bawl. I thought about baseball all winter. This year has got to be it. I just hope that if I make good for Philadelphia that the fans in Boston won't think I wasn't trying for them. I gave them all I had. I just wish I knew what I was doing wrong. Those fans were wonderful. They were even nice to me when I was losing. You can't ask for anything more. But six and 16," he murmured as he shook his head, "it's hard to believe."
THE FRONT OFFICE
Robert Ruliph Morgan Carpenter Jr., a Du Pont of Delaware (on his mother's side), played football at Duke, was president of Phillies at 28, is now 45. Given the ball club by his father (who bought it in 1943 when Judge Landis kicked then owner William Cox out of baseball for betting on his Phils), Carpenter has always had strong say in operation of club, though he delegates much authority to General Manager John Quinn. Quinn became GM in 1959 after 14 years with Braves (12 first-division finishes, three pennants), has made good trades. Minor league outlook is improving under Farm Director Gene Martin and Chief Scout Jim Gallagher, though top prospects are still a couple of years away. Organization more efficient now that Carpenter has accepted fact that Whiz Kid era (1950 pennant) is over.
THE BALL PARK
For many winters Phillies have talked of playing in another part of Philadelphia or even in neighboring New Jersey. But this year, as it has since 1938 (when club moved from tiny Baker Bowl), team will use 33,608-capacity Connie Mack Stadium (formerly Shibe Park)—a 20-minute drive from center of city (ill-advised since parking is bad), five minutes longer by bus. Stadium got needed refurbishing in 1955 when Phils took it over after Athletics moved to Kansas City, is clean, well painted. Ushers like tips, but don't press for them. Specialty of the house: hoagie (Italian hero sandwich) 50¢. No beer sold, but many fans bring it into park. Popcorn is served in cardboard containers, which transform into megaphones when empty. Philadelphia boo-birds (worst in the league, according to players) use them freely against rabbit-eared outfielders.
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PHOTO
TONY TAYLOR
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PANCHO HERRERA
PHOTO
ART MAHAFFEY
PHOTO
TONY GONZALEZ
ILLUSTRATION
BILL CHARMATZ