Presented by the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame
The Phillies have now won a season-high five in a row. I’m not sure what was said in the hitting meeting everyone’s talking about, but I’m here for it. They look to sweep the Marlins tonight. The Eagles are in New England for the first of two joint practices. This is the true preseason to see how far the team has come.
August 19 has seen some old-school pitching feats, a rare Phillies feat and the beginning and end of a golden era.
The Original Philly Lefty
On this day in 1931, the A’s beat the White Sox 4-2 in Chicago. Lefty Grove picked up his 25th win of the season, his 16th consecutive victory, tying the American League record.
For some perspective, Cristopher Sánchez just picked up his 16th total win earlier this week.
Grove would lose his next start, but he was in the middle of one of the greatest seasons by a pitcher in baseball history. He finished 31-4 as the A’s won a franchise-record 107 games.
The A’s were looking for a third consecutive World Series championship, but they fell to the Cardinals in the World Series after beating St. Louis in 1930 and the Cubs in 1929.
To this day, the A’s remain tied with the Eagles for the most championships in Philadelphia professional sports history with five.
Foxx the Pitcher?
On this day in 1945, the Phillies swept a doubleheader against the Reds at Shibe Park, winning 5-0 and 4-2. The Phillies were in the middle of their “Blue Jays” era at the time, but Game 2 featured a very familiar name taking the mound.
Making his first professional start as a pitcher was 37-year-old former A’s slugger Jimmie Foxx. Foxx pitched 6⅔ innings, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out five.
Because of player shortages caused by World War II, it was all hands on deck for the Phillies. Foxx was primarily known for his legendary hitting, but manager Ben Chapman asked him to make the start after he had already made some relief appearances.
Foxx delivered. In nine appearances that season, he went 1-0 with a 1.59 ERA in 22⅔ innings.
Not too shabby for a guy who was known for power hitting, not power pitching.
Schmidt Leads off the Day
On this day in 1978, the Phillies beat the Giants 3-0 at the Vet. Hitting leadoff that day was Mike Schmidt, who didn’t disappoint.
Schmidt hit his only career leadoff home run, setting the tone for the Phillies offense.
The Beginning of an Era
On this day in 2006, after a resurgence following the Bobby Abreu trade, the Phillies beat the Nationals 11-2. Ryan Howard hit a three-run bomb, Shane Victorino drove in three runs, and rookie Cole Hamels continued to impress, going six solid innings and striking out six.
The win kept the Phillies 2½ games back in the NL Wild Card race. And while Pat Gillick had recently told the team and fans not to get their hopes up for 2007, the late-season push forced his hand.
That same day, Gillick bolstered the Phillies’ rotation, trading Andrew Baldwin and Andrew Barb to the Mariners for Sellersville native and Souderton High graduate Jamie Moyer.
The Phillies came up short in 2006, but the move paid off. Moyer became an important part of the rotation as the Phillies won the NL East in 2007 and then the World Series in 2008.
Trivia – Which teams did Jamie Moyer play for? (Answer below)
The End of an Era
If this day in 2006 was the beginning of the Phillies’ golden era, this day in 2015 marked the end of it.
The Phillies traded Chase Utley to the Dodgers for Darnell Sweeney and John Richy. While other members of the 2008 championship team had already left, the trade of Utley—the heart and soul of that team—signified the end of the run.
Only Ryan Howard and Carlos Ruiz remained from the core of the 2008 team.
On the field, there was a rare bright spot. Andrés Blanco, Jeff Francoeur and Aaron Altherr all homered as the Phillies beat the Blue Jays 7-4.
Trea Does it Twice
On this day in 2023, the Phillies found themselves down 3-0 to the Nationals after six innings. They scored three in the seventh on a Nick Castellanos three-run homer before exploding for eight runs in the eighth.
Bryson Stott homered, and Trea Turner went deep not once, but twice in the inning. Turner became just the third Phillie to homer twice in the same inning, joining Andy Seminick and Von Hayes. Kyle Schwarber would do the same earlier in 2026.
The Phillies went on to win 12-3.
Trivia Answer – Jamie Moyer played for the Cubs, Rangers, Cardinals, Orioles, Mariners, Phillies, Red Sox, and Rockies.
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