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Whiz Kids (baseball)
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Whiz Kids (baseball)
The Whiz Kids is the nickname of the 1950 Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball. The team had a number of young players: the average age of a member of the Whiz Kids was 26.4. The team won the 1950 National League pennant but failed to win the World Series.
After owner R. R. M. Carpenter, Jr. built a team of bonus babies, the 1950 team won for the majority of the season, but slumped late, allowing the defending National League champion Brooklyn Dodgers to gain ground in the last two weeks. The final series of the season was against Brooklyn, and the final game pitted the Opening Day starting pitchers, right-handers Robin Roberts and Don Newcombe, against one another. The Phillies defeated the Dodgers in extra innings in the final game of the season on a three-run home run by Dick Sisler in the top of the tenth inning. In the World Series which followed, the Whiz Kids were swept by the New York Yankees, who won their second of five consecutive World Series championships.
The failure of the Whiz Kids to win another pennant after their lone successful season has been attributed to multiple theories, the most prominent of which is Carpenter's unwillingness to integrate his team after winning a pennant with an all-white team.
Prior to 1950, the Philadelphia Phillies had made just one appearance in the World Series, which occurred in 1915. In that series, they were defeated by the Boston Red Sox in five games. From 1933 to 1948, the Phillies posted sixteen consecutive losing seasons, a record for the 20th century and a major league record that stood until 2009 (broken by the Pittsburgh Pirates).
Ben Chapman, who managed the Phillies from 1945 to 1948, bemoaned the loss of general manager Herb Pennock, who died during Chapman's final season. Bob Carpenter, the new owner of the team, replaced Chapman after his comments to media sources that Pennock needed to be replaced with "another strong baseball man". The new manager, Eddie Sawyer, arrived in the 1948 season and led the Phillies to a winning record in 1949 (81–73). Carpenter's team-building approach was built on provision of ample bonuses for players. Signing bonuses for the players on the 1950 squad ranged from $3,000 ($39,207 in present-day dollars) to $65,000 ($849,495 present-day).
The Dodgers, meanwhile, had appeared in the 1947 and 1949 World Series, losing to the New York Yankees in both. Indeed, the Phillies' appearance against the Yankees in the 1950 World Series was the only time in the Yankees' run of five consecutive championships (1949–1953) wherein they did not face one of the other teams from New York City (the Dodgers or the New York Giants).
The Phillies opened the season with a 9–1 defeat of the Dodgers on April 18. The starters in the game were Robin Roberts for Philadelphia and Don Newcombe, Brooklyn's 17-game winner from the prior season. After a split with the Dodgers, the Phillies played four games against the Boston Braves, losing two, tying one, and winning one; reliever Jim Konstanty earned his first win in the final game of the series. Three games in New York against the Giants and the Dodgers did not improve the team's record, but they took three of the next four from Boston. In May, the team amassed its longest winning streak of the season, when they won six consecutive games—one against the St. Louis Cardinals, a three-game sweep of the Cincinnati Redlegs, one against the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the last against the Giants. Konstanty earned another win against New York as the Phillies took two wins from the three-game set, and the end of the Phillies' May was strong with a five-game winning streak against Pittsburgh and the Giants. Two doubleheaders against New York and Brooklyn resulted in three losses to finish the month.
In the middle months of the season, the Whiz Kids played strongly, notching winning records of 14–11 in June and 21–13 in July. Early in July, the Phillies put together a four-game winning streak against the two National League teams from New York, sweeping the Giants in a two-game set and taking two of three from Brooklyn. The 1950 All-Star Game was played on July 11, with four Phillies selected to the roster. Willie Jones started at third base and led off the game, while Roberts was selected as the starting pitcher. Konstanty and Dick Sisler were named to the team as reserves out of the bullpen and in the outfield, respectively. The Phillies played twelve doubleheaders in June and July, including three sets on consecutive game days (July 16 and 18 against the Chicago Cubs and July 19 against Pittsburgh).
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Whiz Kids (baseball)
The Whiz Kids is the nickname of the 1950 Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball. The team had a number of young players: the average age of a member of the Whiz Kids was 26.4. The team won the 1950 National League pennant but failed to win the World Series.
After owner R. R. M. Carpenter, Jr. built a team of bonus babies, the 1950 team won for the majority of the season, but slumped late, allowing the defending National League champion Brooklyn Dodgers to gain ground in the last two weeks. The final series of the season was against Brooklyn, and the final game pitted the Opening Day starting pitchers, right-handers Robin Roberts and Don Newcombe, against one another. The Phillies defeated the Dodgers in extra innings in the final game of the season on a three-run home run by Dick Sisler in the top of the tenth inning. In the World Series which followed, the Whiz Kids were swept by the New York Yankees, who won their second of five consecutive World Series championships.
The failure of the Whiz Kids to win another pennant after their lone successful season has been attributed to multiple theories, the most prominent of which is Carpenter's unwillingness to integrate his team after winning a pennant with an all-white team.
Prior to 1950, the Philadelphia Phillies had made just one appearance in the World Series, which occurred in 1915. In that series, they were defeated by the Boston Red Sox in five games. From 1933 to 1948, the Phillies posted sixteen consecutive losing seasons, a record for the 20th century and a major league record that stood until 2009 (broken by the Pittsburgh Pirates).
Ben Chapman, who managed the Phillies from 1945 to 1948, bemoaned the loss of general manager Herb Pennock, who died during Chapman's final season. Bob Carpenter, the new owner of the team, replaced Chapman after his comments to media sources that Pennock needed to be replaced with "another strong baseball man". The new manager, Eddie Sawyer, arrived in the 1948 season and led the Phillies to a winning record in 1949 (81–73). Carpenter's team-building approach was built on provision of ample bonuses for players. Signing bonuses for the players on the 1950 squad ranged from $3,000 ($39,207 in present-day dollars) to $65,000 ($849,495 present-day).
The Dodgers, meanwhile, had appeared in the 1947 and 1949 World Series, losing to the New York Yankees in both. Indeed, the Phillies' appearance against the Yankees in the 1950 World Series was the only time in the Yankees' run of five consecutive championships (1949–1953) wherein they did not face one of the other teams from New York City (the Dodgers or the New York Giants).
The Phillies opened the season with a 9–1 defeat of the Dodgers on April 18. The starters in the game were Robin Roberts for Philadelphia and Don Newcombe, Brooklyn's 17-game winner from the prior season. After a split with the Dodgers, the Phillies played four games against the Boston Braves, losing two, tying one, and winning one; reliever Jim Konstanty earned his first win in the final game of the series. Three games in New York against the Giants and the Dodgers did not improve the team's record, but they took three of the next four from Boston. In May, the team amassed its longest winning streak of the season, when they won six consecutive games—one against the St. Louis Cardinals, a three-game sweep of the Cincinnati Redlegs, one against the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the last against the Giants. Konstanty earned another win against New York as the Phillies took two wins from the three-game set, and the end of the Phillies' May was strong with a five-game winning streak against Pittsburgh and the Giants. Two doubleheaders against New York and Brooklyn resulted in three losses to finish the month.
In the middle months of the season, the Whiz Kids played strongly, notching winning records of 14–11 in June and 21–13 in July. Early in July, the Phillies put together a four-game winning streak against the two National League teams from New York, sweeping the Giants in a two-game set and taking two of three from Brooklyn. The 1950 All-Star Game was played on July 11, with four Phillies selected to the roster. Willie Jones started at third base and led off the game, while Roberts was selected as the starting pitcher. Konstanty and Dick Sisler were named to the team as reserves out of the bullpen and in the outfield, respectively. The Phillies played twelve doubleheaders in June and July, including three sets on consecutive game days (July 16 and 18 against the Chicago Cubs and July 19 against Pittsburgh).