Awards Won by Philadelphia Phillies Players
The Philadelphia Phillies have not enjoyed much team success in the past eight seasons. The team has produced a losing record every year since 2013 and has finished no better than third place in the five-team National League (NL) East division during that time. Before that, Philadelphia recorded at least a .500 winning percentage in 10 consecutive seasons and won the World Series in 2008.
Despite a lack of team success, a pair of Phillies players earned individual accolades during the past eight seasons. Catcher J. T. Realmuto, who the team acquired in a trade with the Miami Marlins in February 2019, won the NL Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Awards for his defensive and offensive proficiency at his position in 2019. He also was named to the NL All-Star Team that season. Realmuto played in 145 games in 2019 and recorded a .275 batting average to go with career-best totals in home runs (25) and runs batted in (83).
In defense, Realmuto had 67 assists and only 9 errors for a fielding percentage of .992. He also threw out 47 percent of prospective base stealers. He finished 14th in NL MVP voting in 2019.
Realmuto was the team’s first Gold Glove winner since Jimmy Rollins in 2012. A four-time Gold Glove recipient, Rollins played 156 games at shortstop in 2012 and made only 13 errors for a fielding percentage of .978. He was even better defensively during prior years in which he won the Gold Glove, recording fielding percentages of .990 (2009), .988 (2008), and .985 (2007).
Rollins also won the Silver Slugger Award and was named NL MVP in 2007. He finished that season with a league-leading 139 runs scored and 20 triples in addition to 30 home runs and 94 RBIs.
In addition to his success on the field, Rollins won the Roberto Clemente Award in 2014. Named in honor of Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder and humanitarian Roberto Clemente, the award is given each year to a player for his on-field performance and community support. Rollins earned the award for his work in the Rollins Family Foundation and charitable programs such as J-Roll’s Aces and J-Roll’s Readers.
Placido Polanco won the Gold Glove Award in 2011, the last year in which the Phillies made the playoffs. Outfielder Shane Victorino won the award the year before, while Roy Halladay won the NL Cy Young Award as the best pitcher in the league. Halladay, a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, recorded a win-loss record of 19–6 that season to go with a 2.35 earned run average (ERA) and 220 strikeouts. He also won the American League Cy Young Award in 2003 with the Toronto Blue Jays.
The year 2008 was the best year for Phillies’ individual and team success. The team defeated the Tampa Bay Rays to win the World Series, while four players won individual accolades. Pitcher Cole Hamels was named World Series and National League Championship Series MVP, while Rollins and Victorino won Gold Glove Awards.
Also in 2008, Chase Utley won the Silver Slugger Award, and Brad Lidge was named the top relief pitcher in the NL. Utley had 33 home runs and 104 RBIs that season, while Lidge recorded a career-best 41 saves and a 1.95 ERA.
