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 72 acre 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

 * December 1, 1958: Johnny O'Brien was drafted by the Phillies from the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1958 rule 5 draft.
 * December 2, 1958: John Herrnstein was signed as an amateur free agent by the Phillies.
 * December 3, 1958: Chuck Essegian was traded by the Phillies to the St. Louis Cardinals for Rubén Amaro.
 * December 3, 1958: Jack Sanford was traded by the Phillies to the San Francisco Giants for Rubén Gómez and Valmy Thomas.
 * December 23, 1958: Rip Repulski, Jim Golden and Gene Snyder were traded by the Phillies to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Sparky Anderson.
 * March 31, 1959: Johnny O'Brien, Ted Kazanski and Stan Lopata were traded by the Phillies to the Milwaukee Braves for Gene Conley, Harry Hanebrink and Joe Koppe.
 * Prior to 1959 season: John Anderson was returned by the Phillies to the Miami Marlins after expiration of their minor league working agreement.

Regular season
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.

Notable transactions

 * April 13, 1959: Bobby Del Greco was purchased by the Phillies from the New York Yankees.
 * June 5, 1959: Gary Kroll was signed as an amateur free agent by the Phillies.
 * June 6, 1959: Willie Jones was traded by the Phillies to the Cleveland Indians for Jim Bolger and cash.

Game log

 * style="font-size:88%" |
 * undefinedThe second game on April 26 was protested by the Pirates in the top of the first inning. The protest was later denied.
 * undefinedThe second game on May 10 was suspended (Sunday curfew ) in the bottom of the eighth inning with the score 4–6 and was completed July 21, 1959.
 * undefinedThe second game on May 10 was suspended (Sunday curfew ) in the bottom of the eighth inning with the score 4–6 and was completed July 21, 1959.


 * · ·  ·  · Bold: Phillies team member Source:
 * · ·  ·  · Bold: Phillies team member Source:

Starters by position
''Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Other batters
''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

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

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

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