There is no doubt the Phillies are one of baseball’s marquee teams.
But that wasn’t always the case.
The team has a dreadful history. It’s nearly unavoidable to be reminded of that.
Take this year’s nominees for the Phillies Wall of Fame.
The cream of the crop is Curt Schilling, a likely Hall of Famer. Jim Konstanty – a one-time MVP – and Mike Lieberthal – an All Star and gold glove winner – had solid careers.
Rick Wise had the single best game in franchise history, pitching a no-hitter against the Big Red Machine and hitting two home runs himself.
Aside from Pinky Whitney, a long-forgotten thirdbaseman with a career .295 batting average, no one else overwhelms you.
Ron Reed was an important part of the Phillies bullpen, but he doesn’t belong in the Wall of Fame until at least Ryan Madson is on there.
Jim Fregosi helmed a Phillies team that went to the 1993 World Series. Yet he left the organization with an under .500 record.
Mike Ryan was a longtime coach, but did not have the impact of someone like John Vukovich.
Von Hayes? Let’s not even talk about him.
Why Jimmie Wilson is on the list is beyond me. He never drove in more than 60 runs in a season for the Phils. He never scored more than 50 either. And his career .288/.336/.370 line doesn’t impress me either.
And this brings us to Greg Gross.
The York product had a fine career. He was a fantastic pinch hitter. He spent 10 years in Philly, winning a World Series ring.
But that doesn’t get you on the Wall of Fame.
Maybe if he didn’t bat .143 in his postseason career. Maybe if he didn’t have a slugging percentage that was four points lower than Dontrelle Willis’.378.
Sure, the Phillies have a sad history.
But they should be able to do a better than Greg Gross as a Wall of Fame nominee.
Copy Editor Patrick Abdalla doesn't need performance-enhancing drugs to take a look at all things Major League Baseball. Whether it's arguing about the Hall of Fame, quizzing someone with a stat out of left field, discussing a good baseball book, or talking about "Field of Dreams," Pat always enjoys some infield chatter. 
Curt Shilling? really? Only 16 wins in his best year with the Phils; named an All Star 3 times in 8 years of service; and they never won the World Series while he was there. Finally, Shilling did great for the Red Sox in the World Series but that’s not enough to make the HOF – no way! It’s tough to rank baseball players objectively; as a baseball fan we tend to be bias to players we have an emotional attachment to.