Carlos Ruiz is the fan choice to become the next Phillies Wall of Famer

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'Chooch' is the clear favorite of fans for Wall of Fame enshrinement

A couple of weeks ago here at Phillies Nation, I published a piece speculating on which non-2008 players might be worth of a place on the Phillies Wall of Fame. Fans responded by tossing out a number of their own choices as commentary, either directly at the website or via social media.

Names not mentioned in my piece but suggested by fans included 1960’s-era players Rick Wise, Tony Gonzalez, and Cookie Rojas. The National League Most Valuable Player in 1950 and a key pitcher with the NL champions that year, Jim Konstanty was also mentioned. There was even someone who brought up some early-1900’s names such as Dave Bancroft, Jack Clements, and Jimmie Wilson.

As a result of the comments, I decided to actually reach out and poll the fan base to see who their favorite might be to become the next Phillies Wall of Famer.

I decided to run the polling in a two-phase process. I would run a pair of four-player semi-final polls to kick things off. Then would take those receiving the most support and put them into a three-player finals poll. This was a simple Twitter poll, so I am claiming no special scientific method used.

As criteria, I left out most of the early-1900’s players. Fact is, those players historically receive little to no support from modern fans in such polls. Though this recency factor working against them is unfair, it is also a genuine phenomenon. However, I’ve always been a big supporter for 1910’s first baseman Fred Luderus, so put him into one of the semis polls.

The results in those semis with 241 total fans responding were as follows:

Poll #1: Carlos Ruiz 55%, Pete Rose 35%, Bobby Abreu 8%, Fred Luderus 2%

Poll #2: Shane Victorino 39%, Dan Baker 27%, Cliff Lee 18%, Manny Trillo 16%

As you can see, the two 2008 players received the greatest support, something that I anticipated. I decided to move Chooch and The Flyin’ Hawaiian into the final poll.

As the third choice, I made it public address announcer Dan Baker, who now has nearly 50 years with the organization and whose voice is recognizable to generations of Phillies fans. I also factored in that the club is not likely to actually consider Rose again any time soon, if at all.

That final poll resulted in tremendous response as 2,107 individuals cast ballots. The final voting result was a little more lopsided than I had anticipated:

Some potential nominees for the 2019 Phillies Wall of Fame honors

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Manny Trillo of the 1980 World Series champs is a legit Wall of Fame candidate

Approximately one month from now the Philadelphia Phillies will announce the 2019 honoree who will be enshrined on the franchise Wall of Fame this coming summer.

Last year for the very first time the team honored two individuals, and in a rare occurrence, Phillies fans had no say in either selection. One of those was Pat Gillick, who has served for 14 years as general manager, president, and senior advisor. Gillick was the first “executive inductee” to the Wall of Fame.

The other honored a year ago was former pitcher Roy Halladay, who had died suddenly and tragically in Florida back in November 2017 while piloting his private plane. Publicly released ballots seem to reveal that ‘Doc’ is also about to be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame this coming summer.

Those two joined the manager of the 2008 World Series champions, Charlie Manuel (2014), the organization’s all-time greatest pitcher Steve Carlton (1989), and the greatest player in Phillies history, Mike Schmidt (1990) in becoming the only individuals honored without fan voting as part of the process.

The Phillies had honored no one in the prior summer of 2017. That year, Pete Rose had been scheduled to be enshrined on the Wall of Fame. In early-August, less than two weeks before that was to take place, the club cancelled the ceremony after Rose became embroiled in controversy surrounding allegations that he had sex with a minor while a player with the Cincinnati Reds back in the 1970’s.

Otherwise, the Phillies have honored one individual each year other than 1983. That year an entire “Centennial Team” was named and celebrated in honor of the 100th anniversary of the franchise.

Odds are that one individual will be honored when next month’s announcement is made, so who might that be? One thing that should be obvious is that with an increasing number of worthy individuals now retiring from the 2008 world championship team, we are going to see many of those players enshrined in the coming years.

PARADE TO THE WALL COULD CONTINUE FOR '08 CHAMPS

Already on the Wall of Fame from that team, joining general manager Gillick and manager Manuel, is outfielder Pat Burrell. The Phillies already have individual ceremonies scheduled for this summer to honor Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, and Chase Utley due to the announcement of their formal retirements as players.

If the honor goes to another member of those 2008 World Series champions this time around, the leading candidates would be Shane Victorino, Carlos Ruiz, Jayson Werth, Brad Lidge, and Jamie Moyer. The favorite might be Victorino after the popular Flyin’ Hawaiian was fetted just last season at Citizens Bank Park upon his formal retirement from baseball.

But the Phillies could also take another tack, choosing to honor some other worthy individuals before beginning what should prove to become a veritable parade to the Wall of Fame for a half-dozen or more of those 2008 players during the decade of the 2020’s.

Possible Future Non-2008 Phillies Wall of Famers

The Philadelphia Phillies honor the greatest players and other figures in franchise history with a place on their Wall of Fame.

In 1978, the Philadelphia Phillies began what has become one of the great traditions for this now 134-year-old franchise. 

That summer the Phils honored “Whiz Kids” pitcher and Baseball Hall of Famer Robin Roberts as the initial inductee into the Phillies Wall of Fame.

The Wall of Fame was created as a place to honor individuals who have contributed excellence on and off the field to the success of the team. It also allows the club and its fans to celebrate the history of the team.

Since inducting Roberts, the Philadelphia Phillies have honored one individual with induction each year, with the exception of 1983 when the Phillies celebrated 100 years of play, and instead honored a “Centennial Team” of stars from those first 100 seasons.

The players honored on the Wall of Fame now include 19th century stars such as Sherry Magee, Sam Thompson, and Billy Hamilton. The Wall of Fame also includes more contemporary star players such as Pat Burrell and Jim Thome.

You will find all of the expected Baseball Hall of Famers on the Wall including Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton, Jim Bunning, Grover Cleveland Pete Alexander, Richie Ashburn, and Chuck Klein. 

Non-players such as beloved broadcaster Harry Kalas, 1970s team architect Paul Owens, and World Series-winning managers Dallas Greenand Charlie Manuel are also on the Wall.

With Thome’s induction this past summer, there are now a total of 38 individuals who have been honored with plaques on the Wall of Fame. 

Phillies 2016 Wall of Fame Nominee Fred Luderus

Luderus was Phillies starting first baseman during the 1910's

The Philadelphia Phillies Wall of Fame is a wonderful tradition of honoring the great individuals who have made Phillies baseball more enjoyable for fans of the team over its 133-season existence.

Beginning with Hall of Fame pitcher Robin Roberts in 1978, the Phillies have honored one player, coach, or other individual each season with a place on the Wall with a plaque, similar to those received by inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The location for display of these plaques was originally a section of wall on the inner concourses at Veteran’s Stadium. 

The construction of Citizens Bank Park included a more distinctive place, an actual specially built Wall of Fame, which can be found just off Ashburn Alley in the center field concourse.

In its current format, the Phillies allow fans to vote online from a group of a dozen candidates, specially selected for their service to the team. 

These nominees must have spent at least four years with the team, and be retired at least three years. 

Consideration is given by the team for longevity, ability, character, statistics, special achievements, and contributions to the Phillies and baseball.

Fans vote from that list of a dozen candidates for their top three choices. The results of that fan voting are then sent on to a special panel, which chooses the actual final Wall of Fame honoree. 

That fan voting ends at 5pm on Monday, March 7th this season at the Phillies website.

Last year, the Phillies honored Pat Burrell with that place on the Wall of Fame. While “Pat the Bat” is certainly a deserving honoree, he was not my selection for that honor at this time. 

I firmly believe that, while he would have made it eventually and deservedly, it was too soon to be honoring a player who recently retired when a number of deserving individuals have waited far longer.

Leading that list remains Fred Luderus, who I championed last January in the run-up to the fan voting. 

Phillies Fall Classics I: 1915 World Series Game One

My 14-part series examining each of the games won by the club in the World Series over the franchise' history begins here with Game One of the 1915 series against the Boston Red Sox.

In 1915, the Phillies played in just their 33rd season of existence since the franchise had been founded back in 1883. 

Not once in the prior 32 years had the club finished in 1st place, and they had just three 2nd place finishes. 

One of those had been just two years earlier, in 1913, when the Phils won 88 games, the 2nd-highest total in franchise history to that point.

The club was unable to put it together in 1914 due largely to defections to the rival Federal League, finishing 74-80 and in 6th place of the 8 teams then playing in the National League.

Then on Christmas Eve of that disappointing year, the Phillies traded away star outfielder Sherry Magee to the defending World Series champion Boston Braves for players to be named later, and cash.

Fred Luderus Deserves Place on Phillies Walk of Fame

The Phillies have announced that fan voting is now open in the first step towards naming a 2015 honoree on the franchise Wall of Fame. 

Of all the names on the ballot, possibly the least well-known is also the most worthy: Fred Luderus.

Many Phils fans are probably asking themselves "Who?" when confronted with that statement. But for anyone with a sense of the history of this 132-year old team, the name should indeed be familiar.

Fred Luderus was the Philadelphia Phillies regular 1st baseman every season from 1911-1919, pretty much the entirety of the 2nd decade of the 20th century. 

He helped lead the team to its first-ever NL Pennant in 1915, and hit the first World Series homerun in franchise history that year. He has played more games (1,326) at 1st base than any player in franchise history. 

Luderus' offensive numbers might seem low when compared with modern players, such as Ryan Howard, who is 2nd on the club all-time Games list at 1st base, or Pat Burrell, another Wall of Fame nominee this time around who played just 5 fewer career games with the Phils.

But it must be remembered that Luderus had a significant handicap, playing his entire career during baseball's "dead ball era" in the early 20th century. During these years, the balls themselves were actually softer, and were often used nearly until the laces fell off.

Another factor during this period working against hitters like Luderus was that pitchers could "doctor" the ball. The spitball, for instance, was legal during the entirety of his career, not outlawed until 1921, a year after he retired.

Unlike today when a number of modern ballparks have generous hitting dimensions, in those days many ballparks were nightmares for hitters with 500+ foot deep fences. 

Even the rules were against homerun hitters. Prior to Luderus' last season of 1920, balls hit over the fence in fair territory, but landing in foul, were ruled foul balls.

Because of these factors, Luderus' homerun totals are dwarfed by Howard and Burrell, and his rbi totals significantly behind theirs. But he actually has more doubles than Howard, and his total is just 4 behind Burrell's on the Phillies list.

Luderus' career batting average of .270 is better than both players, and his 55 career Phillies stolen bases dwarfs their career Phillies totals combined.

In fact, a reasonable look at the regular starting 1st basemen during the 1910's shows that only Jake Daubert, who played for the National League's Brooklyn Spiders during the majority of the decade, was more productive at the position in that decade than Luderus was for the Phillies.

Pat Burrell is the favorite in
Phillies Wall of Fame voting

In the current round of balloting, fans are asked to vote at the Phillies website, choosing their top three favorites from among a dozen candidates: Luderus, Burrell, 1920's-30's 3rd baseman Pinky Whitney, 1920's-30's catcher Jimmy Wilson, 1950 NL MVP Jim Konstanty, 1960's outfielder Tony Gonzalez, late-60's-early 80's eras pitchers Rick Wise, Larry Christenson, Gene Garber, and Ron Reed, catcher/coach Mike Ryan, and 1993 NL Pennant-winning manager Jim Fregosi.

The team will accept votes through February 6th at 5pm. The top five vote-getters will then be sent on in a final ballot to a special Wall of Fame Selection Committee, who will make the final choice of this year's honoree.

The excellent play provided to the Philadelphia Phillies franchise by Luderus has largely been lost to time. Certainly modern voters are more likely to instinctively vote for Pat 'the Bat', or maybe the popular 'Macho Row' coach Fregosi.

But the contributions of Fred Luderus, the player who manned 1st base more often than any other in that 132-year team history, and who was effective during an extremely difficult hitting era, deserve for him a plaque on the Phillies Wall of Fame.