Phillies Featured In Book About Bad Baseball
By John Ostapkovich
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Phillies season is about to begin, and their fans are hoping for the best, but a book by a New York Daily News columnist looks at the other side of the coin.
In Filip Bondy's "Who's on Worst?", Philadelphia figures are prominently featured.
The book is a series of bottom ten lists that begins with worst hitters, fielders and pitchers.
It lists Horace Fogel, who tried to change the Phillies team name to the "Live Wires," as worst owner ever.
He was banished by other owners in 1912.
The book features Gene Mauch as the worst manager and 1964's epic Phillies Phold was not his only sin.
In oddities, there's Allan Travers, who was recruited from St. Joseph's for an all-replacement Tigers squad against the A's, also in 1912.
"He pitched the game and gave up 24 runs and 26 hits and 7 walks." Bondy says, "it is the worst major league debut and, by the way, the worst major league finale by a pitcher. He pitched only one game."
Travers went on to become a priest and a Dean at St. Joseph's University.
Bondy says reaction to the replacement squad led to formation of a precursor to the Players Association.
