The Phanlot: Favorite Players
The Phanlot took to social media asking 9 simple questions….
Who is your favorite player? The answers we received per position was a trip down memory lane as a Phillies fan.
So let’s get started with the Phillies greats that have touched the base ball diamond of Veteran Stadium and Citizens Bank Park.
At 1ST base, the grit players of their time came up. John Kruk and Pete Rose from the old school baseball, where if you didn’t produce you didn’t want to walk into that locker room. To the new generation of first basemen that excited a stadium with their homeruns, Ryan Howard and Rhys Hoskins were frequently mentioned.
Now this one I expected to see the fans choices range the same way. He is an obvious favorite, but no matter the age range, Chase Utley stole the vote for 2nd base. I for one agree with this. The fans roar at the slightest picture of him on the Jumbotron. After all, he IS the man!
So this brings us to the dumb question apparently. You can’t have one without the other. If Chase is at second, then the obvious fan favorite, Jimmy Rollins is going to be at short stop. I don’t think I would have it any other way to be honest, and neither would the fans.
Who else, but the man that lives and breathes the Phillies, Michael Jack Schmidt, an overall Phillies icon holding down third base as the fan favorite. If there is a huge moment with the Phillies, you know this man will be there. It’s called “Sunday’s with Schmidt” for a reason.
In left field holding it down for the fan’s favorite, and a common response of, “Definitely Pat the bat Burrell” with a strong second for Raul Ibanez. This is a fun pair and these two players brought a lot of young kids to love baseball.
For center field, I don’t think I was able to finish typing this into social media before, “Flyin’ Hawaiian” started coming in. Shane Victorino was a complete heart-stealing, fan favorite at CBP. Between the excitement he brought to each game, and his love for Phillies baseball, we can completely see why.
It’s Bedlam at the Bank in Right field, with Bryce “MV3” Harper. With superstars like Harper on the team, you can imagine he will be loved for generations to come. Bobby Abreu was a close second in this race for Right field. Honestly, you can’t go wrong with either.
I would like to handle this one as a pitching rotation because all of these guys deserve the recognition. Roy Halladay, Jamie Moyer, Cole Hamels, Steve Carlton and Ranger Suarez. Those were the most popular choice for favorite pitcher. That is a destructive force on the mound if these 5 guys could have played together. They all brought something amazing to Philadelphia and we are forever grateful for them.
Behind home plate stands a man with the most antagonizing job. Two players stand out here. J.T. “BCIB” Realmuto, and Carlos “Chooch” Ruiz have both been blessings to the Phillies. Bringing amazing batting, and you better not try to steal on this duo.
So many great players through the history of the Phillies and a million memories along the way. We all love our Phillies and the players who have contributed throughout the years, but your favorites stick with you for a lifetime. We forget about the all time great players sometimes, but if they were in a Phillies uniform, they are in our hearts and minds.
With this new group of Phillies coming in and a younger generation beginning to watch, we get to be the ones to tell these kids about the great Phillies players of the past and enjoy the players of the future. We love this ball club and we love this city. Here’s to another amazing season for our Phills! We’ll see you all at the bank!
Special note: Thank you to every one that answered our questions and took time out of their days. We appreciate all the support you continuously give us. GO PHILLIES!!!
Vincent DiCarlantanio- Olde City Sports Network- The Phanlot/Delco Dive
Rachele Shea- Olde City Sports Network- The Phanlot/Flyers Alley