1959 Philadelphia Phillies season


The 1959 Philadelphia Phillies season was the 77th season in the history of the franchise. During spring training, manager Eddie Sawyer told the press, "We're definitely not a last place club... I think the biggest thing we've accomplished is getting rid of the losing complex. That alone makes us not a last place club." The Phillies finished in last place in 1959, seven games behind seventh-place St. Louis and 23 games behind the pennant and World Series winning Dodgers. They attracted 802,515 fans to Connie Mack Stadium, seventh in the eight-team league.

Offseason

In early 1959, Phillies owner Bob Carpenter proposed building a new ballpark for the Phillies on adjacent to the Garden State Park Racetrack in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Connie Mack Stadium was 50 years old, did not have sufficient parking, and the sale of alcohol was banned at sports venues in Pennsylvania. Beer sales were legal in New Jersey. The proposed ballpark would have seated 45,000 fans, been expandable to 60,000, and would have had 15,000 parking spaces. The Phillies would eventually move to the South Philadelphia Sports Complex in 1971. On January 13, Carpenter also changed general managers, replacing Roy Hamey with John J. Quinn, recruited from the defending two-time National League champion Milwaukee Braves. Quinn would run the Phils' front office for almost 14 full seasons.

Notable transactions

On April 11, coach Benny Bengough was removed from the coaching staff and reassigned to the front office where he worked in team public relations.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

Roster

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
PosPlayerGABHAvg.HRRBI
2B152477104.218034

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
PlayerGABHAvg.HRRBI
6614028.20017

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
PlayerGIPWLERASO
251801273.00102
251539104.06106

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
PlayerGIPWLERASO
2072.1386.1037

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
PlayerGWLSVERASO

Farm system