Phillies: NL East coast-to-coast bias

Coaster ride:   

Finishing first at 90-62 by seven games, the 1915 Phillies were mostly in second from May 28 through July 12. Totalwise, they were atop the National League for 139 days. That stated, locals probably cheered on their first NL entrant all summer and were happy just to be in the hunt.

In ’50, the Whiz Kids had their first taste at the top on May 11, but it was a six-club competition early on. Even so, the faithful appreciated the shot at a pennant because Philly’s last Fall Classic had been in 1931. And gradually the Fightins opened up a 7.5-game lead on Sept.17 with an 87-54 record.

But going 3-9 from Sept. 18 to their final contest whittled their advantage down to one game. Also, the season-ending 154th was an away affair against the second-place Brooklyn Dodgers. And a loss would have produced a tie atop the NL and a game 155. For good measure, it took 10 innings to capture the Senior Circuit flag.

Winning their first World Series, the ’80 Phils prevailed in early October with a 91-71 record, but they had mostly been in second or third place. In fact, they were a half game out on Oct. 1 behind the Montreal Expos (now the Washington Nationals). And they were only atop the division for 25 days.

Like Hector Neris in any role, Ron Reed was the setup man the faithful dreaded, but they had pennant fever despite the standings. Regardless, the cardiac kids went from six out on Aug. 11 (56-52) to a one-game lead after a solid 162. But locals preferred these highs and lows to waiting for another year.

With core pieces from 1980 and the Big Red Machine, the 1983 squad –to our surprise– won the NL East by six games at 90-72 including 74 days in first. The Wheeze Kids had spent most of the summer in the top three spots but were in first place from Sept. 14 on. Yes, these wily veterans were playing for their last hurrah.