Reds Rookie of the Year, Jonathan India called Bryce Harper the face of baseball. Harper says he’s A face of baseball and embraces the responsibility that it brings.
With the Top 25 still yet to be revealed, seven players with Phillies ties have appeared on ESPN's ranking of the Top 100 MLB players of all time.
The rankings, which include players from the early-1900s-onward in both the majors and Negro Leagues, are "based on career WAR, Hall of Fame status, peak performance and overall contributions to the game."
Mike Schmidt will certainly appear in the eventual Top 25. It's unclear if Hall of Famer Chuck Klein will make the list. Here are where some other notable ex-Phillies fell:
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- 98: Jim Thome
Thome spent only four seasons with the Phillies (three the first time, then a 30-game stint seven years later), but was an immediate fan favorite and his signing was the symbolic beginning to a new era of Phillies baseball. Thome led the majors with 47 home runs in 2003, his first season as a Phillie, and drove in a career-high 131 runs. Two years later, he was traded to the White Sox for Aaron Rowand and Gio Gonzalez as the Phils opened a spot for a young Ryan Howard.
- 94: Bryce Harper
Harper was one of just six active players ranked from 26 through 100, along with Albert Pujols (30), Clayton Kershaw (52), Miguel Cabrera (59), Max Scherzer (65) and Justin Verlander (72).
MLB
The only other active player likely to fall in the Top 25 is Mike Trout. Jacob deGrom has a case to go somewhere in the Top 100 but it's more likely that his peak has been deemed not long enough. He certainly shouldn't rank 30 spots higher than Kershaw and Scherzer.
As for the 2021 NL MVP Harper, his place on the list just shows how much he's accomplished a decade into his career. He's been significantly better in three seasons with the Phillies than he was his final three years in Washington. As a Phillie, he's hit .281/.402/.556 with full-season averages of 40 doubles and 38 home runs. The last three seasons with the Nationals, he hit .267/.391/.505 with full-season averages of 33 doubles and 34 homers.
- 92: Roy Halladay
Halladay had the two best seasons of his Hall of Fame career with the Phillies, going 21-10 with a 2.44 ERA in 2010 (Cy Young), then 19-6 with a 2.35 ERA in 2011 (runner-up to Kershaw).
- 91: Ryne Sandberg
Only the first six of Sandberg's 9,282 career plate appearances came with the Phillies before he was traded with Larry Bowa to the Cubs in 1982 for Ivan de Jesus, one of the worst deals in MLB history.
Sandberg later had an unsuccessful run as Phillies manager from 2013-15 that ended with his midseason resignation.
- 58: Steve Carlton
It may be surprising to some to see Carlton ranked six spots below Kershaw, but you have to consider the offensive climates during which they pitched. During Carlton's 15-year peak, his ERA was 24 percent better than the league average. During Kershaw's 12-year peak, his ERA was 63 percent better than the league average.
- 57: Grover Cleveland Alexander
Began and ended his career with the Phillies, going 94-35 with a 1.54 ERA the final three seasons of his first stint.
- 34: Pete Rose
With Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens officially off the BBWAA's Hall of Fame ballot after 10 years, Rose will no longer be the most accomplished baseball player omitted from Cooperstown.
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