Phillies 2022 was an amusement park of refreshing baseball joy. A big part of that was the so-called “Phillies Daycare,” a selection of young, cheerful position players who invigorated the team with easy hits and good vibes.
But at some point, everyone has to finish kindergarten.
On Saturday, the Phillies said goodbye to two beloved members, sending infielder Nick Maton and outfielder Matt Vierling (along with Triple-A catcher Donny Sands) to Detroit in exchange for left-handed reliever Gregory Soto and reliever Kody Clemens.
Let’s get Sands out of the way quickly. As the first backup catcher to have a breakout year in Triple-A, Sands played just three games in the majors in 2022. He will be Detroit’s backup catcher in 2023, but has had no role in Philly behind J.T. Realmuto and Garrett Stubbs. He’s not a big loss.
Vierling and Maton’s departures, on the other hand, sent shockwaves through Phillies fans over the weekend, taking fans and players by complete surprise. While neither player was expected to be essential to the team in 2023, both became beloved club presences during Philly’s magical 2022 season.
Maton, who referred to himself solely as “Wolfie” for unknown and unknown reasons, often wandered around the clubhouse and dugout barking at teammates, coaches and members of the media. It was a wonderfully odd part, one that turned Maton into a beloved character at Citizens Bank Park.
Vierling, who started all of October in center field against left-handed pitchers, though a decidedly less strange phenomenon than Maton, was still one of the most beloved and entertaining players in the Phillies’ clubhouse. During the locker room celebration after the NLCS victory over the Padres, Vierling circled the clubhouse with a pack of cigarettes and offered heaters to all visitors.
Maton and Vierling’s contributions to creating such a dynamic club culture, however, overshadow how useful they were in guiding the Phillies through a series of debilitating regular-season injuries. Vierling had a 113 OPS+ in 134 plate appearances against lefties, while Maton caught fire in his 34 games with the big league club, posting a 138 OPS+.
You win a World Series with your best 15 players, but you’re surviving a 162-game season with your best 35. Just ask the Los Angeles Angels and their two MVPs without a postseason appearance since 2014. In 2022, Maton and Vierling gave the Phillies a key offensive depth at a time when they needed it most. Not to mention cigarettes and howling.
And now they’re both gone, sent to Detroit for the guy with the fifth-worst walk rate in baseball and a disgruntled utility infielder with a famous father. So what convinced Philly president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and general manager Sam Fuld to part ways with two of their most cherished chemistry characters?
It’s actually very simple: Soto throws 100 with his left hand.
Clemens is fine, a first base infielder with less upside and defensive value than Maton, but this trade is about Soto and what Soto can become.
Right now, the 6-foot-1 Dominican is an extremely erratic but effective pitcher. Soto throws absolute cheddar — the only left-handed pitcher with more pitches over 100 mph in 2022 was his new teammate, José Alvarado — but his lack of control means he’s not striking out as many batters as you might expect. And there is his love for walks; Soto was one of just six MLB pitchers last year to walk more than five batters in nine innings and strike out fewer than nine batters in nine innings. He also finished the year with the league’s fifth-worst average exit velocity allowed.
It’s usually a devastating combination: walking with people without hitting them at breakneck speed while giving up a ton of hard contact. But Soto somehow avoided danger and appeased the baseball gods just enough to finish the year with a 3.28 ERA. That number, in retrospect, shows how much potential it has. He was susceptible and worse in so many important categories in 2022, and still had a 3.59 FIP.
So for the Phillies, this is an upside game. Soto has shown flashes of dominance before, including a 49-game hitting streak in 2021 in which he posted a 2.47 ERA with 11.9 K/9. The Phillies helped Alvarado, a left-hander who struggled with control, discover enough consistency to develop into a reliable, high-leverage arm. They obviously hope they can do the same with Soto, who becomes another high-variation figure in a fascinating bullpen that now includes Craig Kimbrel.
Trade is therefore polarizing. For some, it’s trading two non-starters for a pitcher who could carry you through the postseason. For others, the loss of two valued and promising position players to an unstable player with control issues.
If you believe in Soto and Philly’s pitching coaches and the magic of a small sample size, the deal makes sense. But for those who pray at the altar of vibes (and position player depth), this trade could be a bitter pill to swallow.
Jake Mintz, the louder half of @CespedesBBQ , is a baseball writer for FOX Sports. He’s an Orioles fan who lives in New York and therefore spends most of October alone. If he’s not watching baseball, he’s almost certainly riding a bike. Follow him on Twitter at @Jake_Mintz.
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Who has the most perfect games?
Who threw the most perfect games? No pitcher threw more than one. The perfect game thrown by Don Larsen in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series is the only postseason perfect game in major league history and one of only three no-hitters in the postseason.
Who pitched the 23 perfect games?
| American League Perfect Games Official American League Perfect Games | ||
|---|---|---|
| AL | MLB | Thrower |
| 14. | 23. | Felix Hernandez |
| AL | MLB | Thrower |
| National League Perfect Games Official National League Perfect Games |
How many perfect games did Nolan Ryan have?
He is tied with Bob Feller for most singles, with 12. Ryan also has 18 doubles. See the article : How to save money when you buy video games and consoles. Despite this, he never pitched a perfect game, nor did he ever win a Cy Young Award.
Why did the Phillies change their name?
According to additional sources, Hans had a hand in the name change. He thought ‘Phils’ sounded better. This may interest you : Shohei Ohtani superfans unite: Ben Verlander’s Japanese diary, Day 2. Additionally, the Phillies had become synonymous with losing baseball and wanted to change the culture.
Why did the Philadelphia Phillies change their name? Originally known as the Philadelphia Quakers in their early years, the team eventually changed their name to the Philadelphians which was usually shortened to the Phillies. Ownership decided to freshen things up in the early 1940s and tried to change the team’s nickname to the Blue Jays.
Did the Phillies have a different name?
At some point in the 1880s, the team adopted the shorter nickname “Phillies” as its official nickname. To see also : Masahiro Sakurai’s new YouTube channel gives his thoughts on game design. “Quakers” continued to be used interchangeably with “Phillies” until 1890, when the team officially became known as the “Phillies”.
When did the Phillies change their name?
The Phillies were founded in 1883 and were informally known as both the Quakers and the Phillies (short for âPhiladelphiansâ) until they officially adopted the Phillies name in 1890.
Who is the most famous Phillies player?
1. Mike Schmidt (1972-1989) Schmidt is the greatest third baseman in MLB history and the greatest player to ever play for the Phillies.
Who is the best Phillies pitcher in 2022? Aaron Nola: While Zack Wheeler may be considered the Phillies’ ace, Aaron Nola was the workhorse in 2022. Nola finished fourth in National League Cy Young voting and led Philadelphia in virtually every category. Aaron finished his season with a 3.25 earned run average, an 11-13 record and pitched 205 innings.
Who were the Phillies 4 aces?
The Phillies entered the 2011 season with one of the most feared rotations in baseball history. Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt were named the ‘Four Aces’. The four pitchers combined for 13 All-Star appearances, three Cy Young Awards, two NLCS MVP Awards and one World Series MVP.
Who is the best pitcher in Phillies history?
| 1. | Steve Carlton | 241 |
|---|---|---|
| 2. | Robin Roberts | 234 |
| 3. | Pete Alexander | 190 |
| 4. | Chris Short | 132 |
| 5. | Curt Simmons | 115 |
