Tim Tookey Selected for the Hall...

Yesterday, former Flyer Tim Tookey got the call to the Hall of Fame... the AHL Hall of Fame, that is.

Tookey, a 5' 10" forward, was the fourth leading scorer all-time in AHL history. He squeezed out two regular season games with the Philadelphia Flyers in 1986-87, and played in 10 games during the playoffs that year. You can see his career stats here.

So, hat's off (or should I say helmet's off?) to Mr. Tookey. See ya in the Hall...

Rollins Rolls, Hayes Hired

While most of you were rightfully celebrating the selection of Jimmy Rollins for the 2007 MVP Award, you may have missed another bit of news about a former Phillie. The Lancaster Barnstormers of the Atlantic League announced they have hired none other than (drum roll please...)Mr. Von Hayes to manage the team next year. Thus continues the trend of former Phillies landing coaching jobs, albeit a minor league job in this case. Things that make you go hmmmmmm.

An interesting subplot emerged in the hiring of Hayes, as the Philly Daily News reports:

Hayes, a 1989 All-Star with the Phillies, was chosen from a group that included Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter, former Baltimore catcher Andy Etchebarren, former Boston manager Butch Hobson, former Mets infielder and successful minor league manager Wally Backman and Tom Herr, who led the Barnstormers to the Atlantic League title in 2006.

Atta guy! Way to beat out a Hall of Famer in Gary Carter! You'll notice that he beat out two other former Phils-- Tommy Herr (who helped them win the title in 2006)and Wally Backman. Also notable is that Rick Wise will stay on as pitching coach for his fourth year in that position, according to said article.

Hayes, who may hold the record for having the widest batting stance in the history of the game, has a career minor league coaching record of 318-327, having coached in the Oakland A's and Arizona Diamondbacks organizations. He also was able to lead two different teams to championships.

According to Baseball-Reference.com, Hayes had a close-to-an-MVP year in 1986 when he hit .305 with 19 homers 98 RBIs, and 107 runs scored. He lead the league in runs, doubles, and extra base hits that year and made the All-Star team.

He may best unfortunately be remembered for being traded by the Indians in 1982 for Manny Trillo, George Vukovich, Jay Baller, Julio Franco, and Jerry Willard. That's a tough act to live up to, and Vonnie baby tried his hardest, but I don't think that most fans would consider that an even trade in retrospect. Such is life.

Good luck Von, and show them whippersnappin Barnstormers how to play ball... the Philly way.

Add One More to the "Ex-Phils Now Coaching" List

It was announced yesterday that Los Angeles Dodgers' manager Joe Torre has elevated Ken Howell to bullpen coach for his 2008 squad, thus continuing the trend of former Phillies jumping to the coaching ranks in recent times, as I covered in a recent post. Howell had previously served as a pitching coach for the Las Vegas 51s and two other Dodger farm teams.

Mr. Howell pitched for the Phillies in 1989-1990, after being traded from the Baltimore Orioles in the 1988 offseason (where he was officially on the team for just four days), in exchange for Phil Bradley. Interesting to note is that he came off of a shoulder injury and then pitched to a record of 30-29 for the beleagured squad Phils' squad over two years. During his seven year career, he went 38-48 with a 3.95 ERA, with 549 K's in 613.3 innings. It may be worth noting that the only major statistical category that he ever lead the league in for a season was for hurling 21 wild pitches in 1989.

So what's the conclusion here?

Clearly there's something in the Philly wudder (water) for all of these former players and coaches to be hired around the league as coaches. Further testing will need to be implemented.

Why the Popularity in Former Phillies as Coaches?

Whenever I catch a news clip that a former Phillie has joined the ranks of coach, I do my best to whip up a post right here to let you, my die-hard fan(s) know about it. It's a blog, it's free, and it's moderately enjoyable for me to do so, so I do it. Thanks for following along.

At any rate, I have a real hankering to understand what the fascination is with former Phillies blossoming into coaches around the league. I did a rough scan over every MLB team's coaching roster and came across the following coaches who at one time or another played for the Phillies:

John Russell, Pirates
Lee Elia, Mariners
Nick Leyva, Brewers (formerly)
Dale Sveum, Brewers
Mike Maddux, Brewers
Rick Schu, Diamondbacks
Larry Bowa, Dodgers (as of today actually)
Terry Francona, Red Sox
Juan Samuel, Orioles
Ron Roenicke, Angels
Roger McDowell, Braves
Ivan DeJesus, Cubs
Mariano Duncan, Dodgers
Norm Charlton, Mariners
Tom Nieto, Mets
Pat Corrales, Nationals
Darrel Akerfelds, Padres
Milt Thompson, Phillies
Billy Hatcher, Reds
Andy Van Slyke, Tigers

That's quite a list. 20 coaches. That seems like a very high proportion, considering the average team had roughly 6 coaches listed. That's about 120 coaches in the league, meaning that 1 in every 6 coaches was a former Phillie player or coach. Quite enthralling data there.

So here's the question... why are so many former Phillies now coaches, despite the team's minimal success over the past 3 decades or so?

Some theories:

1. Flipping through some of their playing records on Baseball-Reference.com, I noticed that most of these guys played for a good 5 teams or more. AKA- journeymen. So, not only were they former Philles, but they were former "everythings".

2. Perhaps playing on the infamous Veterans Stadium turf taught these gents the nitty gritty of how to play baseball better. Note that this theory is quickly rebuked after considering the Phils' dismal collective record over the past 30-odd years.

3. Maybe these teams want coaches with plenty of experience in dealing with adversity. As mentioned, most of these guys played on the Vet's turf. They also dealt with futile teams. And hostile fans. And weather that went from ice cold in April to 100 degrees with 99% humidity in the summer. Talk about survivors, these guys have seen it all.

4. Or perhaps there's a mysterious missing link. Was/is there a great mentor that these guys learned from while in Philly? Was there a secret network that these guys had to help them get hooked up with coaching jobs? Or something else altogether?

5. Lastly, the most likely cause: the Phanatic. I don't know what his effect could possibly be, but he's the only constant in the past 30+ years. Can we get a scientific link to his powers of getting former Phils to become coaches all over the league?

You be the judge.

John Russell Joins the Buccos

So another former Phillie has landed himself a coaching job.

John Russell, a Phightin' from '84 to '88, has been hired as the next whipping boy, errr, manager of the beleagured (and perhaps "de-league-ered" in the future) Pittsburgh Pirates. Tough task at hand trying to rebuild a team that hasn't had a winning season since 1992. Obviously the other side of Pennsylvania also hasn't fared all that well in baseball in the past decade, though at least the Phils have shown some promise as of late. Russell had been managing the Red Barons, errr, Iron Pigs in the Phils' farm system and will be making his first stop as a Big League manager.

During his playing years, Russell put together a Sal Fasano-like career (according to BaseballReference.com) with a .225 career batting average, 34 homers, 129 RBIs and one-third of an inning pitched for the Braves in '89 (he has a career 0.00 ERA, in fact, as he gave up no runs). A multi-position fielder, Russell camped out in the outfield most often but also played catcher fairly often.

We wish you well Coach Russell. Good luck in the Steel City. You might need it.

Lee Elia's Back on the Scene

Lee Elia, the native Philadelphian who managed the Phillies from 1987 to 1988 and compiled a 111-142 record during that time, has been hired as, and I quote: "an on-field consultant" for the Seattle Mariners.

If this doesn't sound like a cushy job, then I don't know what does. The job description, according to SI.com:

"He (will)work with the team for approximately half of spring training. Periodically throughout the season, he will assist manager John McLaren and the coaching staff while in uniform."

I guess when you're 70 years old and have 50 years of baseball experience, you can pull off jobs like that. Congrats Lee and good luck with the Mariners.

For those of you wondering, here's a summary of Elia's stats as an infielder for his Major League years of 1966 and 1968:

.203 batting average
3 home runs
25 RBIs
17 runs scored

And now for the best entertainment of the day!... Lee Elia's expletive-filled rampage in 1983 when he was managing the lowly Cubs... click here and be sure to scroll to the bottom and listen to the WAV file. AMAZING. That's true Philly 'tood right there folks.