Best Month Ever for a Phillies Offense?
Best Month Ever for a Phillies Offense?
Assessing the state of franchise records after a blistering August
It’s hard to set new records for a franchise that dates back to 1883. But the Phillies did just that in August, most notably setting a new team high with 59 home runs in a calendar month.
That total blew away the previous Phillies single-month record of 46 home runs, set in September 2019. The August 2023 Phillies also posted the franchise’s highest monthly slugging percentage ever: .547, edging out a .526 mark from July 2007 and a .515 mark from May 1925. The July ‘07 team retains the top monthly OPS for a Phillies squad (.911), but the .905 OPS the August ‘23 group posted is the fourth highest in team history.
The Phillies’ 510 total bases last month tied their seventh-highest figure on record. Meanwhile, they scored 176 runs, tying their 16th-highest monthly run total, and they even came close to a new franchise mark in getting hit by pitches (20 HBP, second only to 22 in August 2006).
Sure, the relatively recent introduction of a National League Designated Hitter likely boosted some of these numbers. But the team’s historic OPS+ for the month (141, second only to April 1976’s 148) suggests that the August 2023 Phillies offense performed better relative to its DH-era competition than almost any other Phillies team ever performed relative to its competition, DH or no.
Impressive work all-around. And a true team effort: no significant individual player records fell despite the sparkling team-level numbers. Here’s a look at some of the records still standing.
All stats date back to at least 1901:
Most home runs in a month (individual): June 2004 Jim Thome and May 1923 Cy Williams
Thome and Williams are tied atop the Phillies monthly home run leaderboard with 15. June 2004 Thome played in three fewer games than May 1923 Williams and had 26 fewer at-bats. Surprisingly, the record-breaking August 2023 Phillies did not feature a single individual HR performance in the top 30. But Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber each hit ten (T-31st), Trea Turner hit nine (T-54th), and Nick Castellanos hit eight (T-88th).
Most runs scored in a month (team): July 1930
The 1930 Phillies lost 102 games and finished in last place, but it’s tough to blame that mess on the offense. Led by Chuck Klein, they scored 211 runs in July, the most runs all-time for a Phillies squad in a calendar month. For an encore, they scored 196 runs in August—the second-most of all time. The July 1934 Phils are in third place with 194, and the Whiz Kids are in fourth with 190 in July 1950.
Most runs scored in a month (individual): July 1930 Chuck Klein
Klein scored 44 runs in the Phillies’ record-breaking July 1930, giving him the franchise’s highest monthly total for an individual. Klein’s teammate, Lefty O’Doul, still owns the second-highest total in franchise history: he scored 39 runs for the Phils in the very same month. In fact, Klein and O’Doul together hold five of the top six spots for runs scored in a month. Richie Ashburn has the number four spot, however, after scoring 34 runs in May 1954.
Highest batting average in a month (team): June 1930
The Phillies hit .347 as a team in June 1930, setting a franchise record that will likely never be broken. Aside from the tenth-place July 2007 Phillies, who hit .314, no Phillies team in the 21st century has hit better than .289 in any given month.
Highest batting average in a month (individual): September 1924 Cy Williams
Cy Williams hit .463 in Sept. 1924 to take this crown. Players from the early 20th century dominate the category, with seven of the top ten individual monthly performances occurring before 1932. The exceptions are third-place Lonnie Smith (.449 in Sept. 1981), seventh-place Jim Eisenreich (.446 in August 1996), and tenth-place Pat Burrell (.435 in July 2007). Alec Bohm is in eleventh (.434 in July 2022).
Highest on-base percentage in a month (team): May 1929
The May 1929 Phillies hold this record with a .410 OBP. The Phillies have not posted a team OBP over .400 in any other month in history, and their July 2007 mark of .385 represents their highest OBP in a month post-1930 (as well as their fourth-highest in a month overall).
Highest on-base percentage in a month (individual): May 1910 Sherry Magee
Magee holds this record after posting a mind-boggling .578 OBP in May 1910. Behind him in order are: Sept. 1903 Roy Thomas (.575); July 2007 Pat Burrell (.564); Sept. 2006 Ryan Howard (.562); May 2005 Bobby Abreu (.535); May 1954 Richie Ashburn (.532); May 1929 Lefty O’Doul (.529); May 1992 Darren Daulton (.524); Sept. 1924 Cy Williams (.519); June 1938 Phil Weintraub (.518); and May 1993 John Kruk (.517).
Highest OPS in a month (team): July 2007
The only Phillies teams other than the July 2007 and August 2023 squads to post an OPS over .900 in a month are the teams from May 1929 and May 1925.
Highest OPS in a month (individual): July 1929 Chuck Klein
It’s not surprising to find Klein in the top spot here. He posted a 1.392 OPS in July 1929. It’s similarly unsurprising to see September 1924 Cy Williams in second place at 1.340. But there are some interesting names just behind him: Burrell (July 2007, 1.332), Klein again (June 1931, 1.330), and Bobby Abreu (May 2005, 1.327). Ryan Howard, Mike Schmidt (twice), Von Hayes, and Gavvy Cravath also claim top-ten months. Harper’s 1.236 OPS in August ‘23 ranks 17th.
Highest OPS+ in a month (individual): August 1913 Gavvy Cravath
When all monthly OPS figures in Phillies history are adjusted to set the league-average OPS to 100, Gavvy Cravath’s August 1913 comes out on top. Cravath slashed .396/.474/.802, good for a 278 OPS+. Mike Schmidt’s August 1981 is in second place with a .380/.482/.817 slash line and a 272 OPS+. And in third place… it’s April 1989 Von Hayes! Hayes hit .382/.505/.776 with a 270 OPS+.
Most stolen bases in a month (team): August 1901
The 1901 Phils stole 65 bases in the month of August, and in recent years no Phillies team has come close to that number. The post-1911 record is held by the September 1984 squad with 45 (ninth place overall). And the 21st-century record is held by the May 2001 team with 33 (38th place overall).
Most stolen bases in a month (individual): May 1982 Bob Dernier
Bob Dernier stole 21 bases in May 1982 to top this list. Behind him are Sept. 1984 Jeff Stone (19 SB), April 1984 Juan Samuel (16 SB), Sept. 1911 Hans Lobert (15 SB). Jimmy Rollins is tied for fifth place overall and holds the 21st-century team record with 14 SB in September 2007.
Here’s hoping the Phillies break a few more records this September!
Exclusive new artwork from Ragnaroktopus Ink.
Johan Rojas, the youngest Phillie on the team and a gold-glove caliber centerfielder:
Tweets of the week.
Trea Turner knows how to celebrate:
https://twitter.com/TalkinBaseball_/status/1699183819377500561?s=20
These numbers on Phillies pitchers are hard to believe. Feels like it’s hard to trust any of them right now, and yet:
https://twitter.com/PhilliesNotes/status/1698746936537551244?s=20
Phillies flying a kite:
https://twitter.com/StottHarper/status/1699186084746264647?s=20
I miss long baseball games, but the rule changes are working:
https://twitter.com/CodifyBaseball/status/1698891896410837156?s=20
Don’t like them at the Bank, but I’m fine with Eagles chants at Phillies road games:
https://twitter.com/BSP_Sully/status/1698865338958414288?s=20
This week (and last week) in 2008.
The 2008 Phils were 77-64 at the end of September 5, two games behind the Mets in the NL East.
On August 21, the Phillies lost to the Nationals. Ryan Madson uncharacteristically blew a 3-2 lead in the eighth inning. But that proved to be the Phillies’ only loss in a span of nine games.
The Dodgers visited Citizens Bank Park for a four-game series beginning August 22, and the Phils had revenge on their minds. LA had beaten the Phillies in four straight games earlier in August out on the west coast.
Things were different this time, as the Phillies won game one 8-1. Ryan Howard hit his 34th home run and Chase Utley hit his 31st. Game two was another laugher. Pat Burrell joined the 30-HR club in a 9-2 Phillies win. Cole Hamels picked up his 11th W.
The third game of the series was a little more interesting: Pedro Feliz tied things up with a two-out RBI single in the ninth inning. Then he hit a walk-off three-run home run in the 11th.
Finally, the Phillies finished the four-game sweep with a 5-0 win on August 25. Brett Myers threw seven scoreless innings and Jimmy Rollins went 3/3 with a double, a triple, and two RBI.
The Mets came to town the next night, and it was a good one. The Phillies started the day 1/2 game behind New York. And by the top of the fourth inning, starter Jamie Moyer was knocked out of the game and the Phillies were down 7-0. But the Phils roared back against Pedro Martinez, scoring eight unanswered runs and winning the game in the 13th inning on a Chris Coste walkoff single. Jimmy Rollins had five hits including a home run.
The Phillies leapfrogged over the Mets into first place with the win. But any celebration was short-lived, as New York took the next game 6-3 behind two Carlos Delgado home runs. Ryan Howard hit his 36th HR in the loss, off of Mets starter Johan Santana. One night later, on August 28, the Phillies lost to the Cubs in Chicago after Aramis Ramirez hit an eighth-inning grand slam off of Chad Durbin.
On August 29, news broke that the Phillies were acquiring Matt Stairs from the Toronto Blue Jays for a player to be named later (Fabio Castro would later go to the Jays to complete the trade.) **This will be important later.** But the Phils lost to the Cubs again that day, 3-2.
Strong pitching from Brett Myers and Jamie Moyer helped the Phillies salvage a split of the four-game series with the Cubs. Jayson Werth hit three home runs in those two games as the calendar flipped to September.
The Phillies kicked off the new month with a 7-4 loss in Washington as the Nationals roughed up Kyle Kendrick. The Phillies took the second game of the series as Hamels, JC Romero, Durbin, and Brad Lidge combined for a shutout. Sadly, their pitching let them down in a 9-7 loss to the Nats in the series finale. Joe Blanton didn’t get past the fourth inning.
After an off day on September 4, the Phils found themselves three full games behind the Mets. Luckily, they kicked off a series with New York the next night with a 3-0 win. Myers dominated, scattering three hits and two walks over eight innings while striking out ten. Lidge picked up his 34th save in 34 opportunities.
Phillie you forgot about.
You haven’t forgotten Greg Dobbs, but you may have forgotten how great he was in 2008 playing primarily off the bench. He hit .301/.333/.491 (.824 OPS) that season, with nine home runs and 40 RBI in 240 plate appearances.
In 2009 and 2010 he hit a combined .221/.273/.357 (.630 OPS) in 345 plate appearances, and he signed with the Marlins for the 2011 season. He never successfully recaptured his magic from 2008, but he’s a World F**king Champion forever.
This is the section of the newsletter where I make you look at dogs.
Thank you for reading and GO PHILS.
- John