DALLAS — There’s only so much oxygen available for big-payroll Northeastern teams that are in crisis despite a largely successful 2024 campaign. And the Yankees, as ever, have been sucking up most of the attention. But don’t underestimate the furor that’s been floating around Philadelphia since the Fightins’ ignominious four-game NLDS exit. Dave Dombrowski has been rumored to have his finger in many pots in the first month of the offseason — an Alec Bohm change-of-scenery trade here, a Garrett Crochet blockbuster there — but as of the opening of MLB’s Winter Meetings, nothing had yet materialized.
DALLAS — The collision of human mortality and baseball immortality is a jarring one that has resonated throughout the history of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and Sunday night’s announcement of the voting results of the Classic Baseball Era Committee was yet another reminder. Four years after dying of cancer at the age of 78, and three years after falling one vote short for his second straight ballot, Dick Allen finally gained entry. Also elected was 73-year-old Dave Parker, who has been rendered frail while waging a very public battle with Parkinson’s Disease in recent years.
The two sluggers were the only candidates from among a slate of eight elected by the 16-member committee, which met on Sunday at the Winter Meetings here in Dallas. The panel was charged with considering candidates from an overly broad swath of the game’s history. By definition, all eight candidates made their greatest impact prior to 1980, but weighing the merits of John Donaldson, who pitched in the major Negro Leagues from 1920–24 (and for Black baseball teams predating the Negro Leagues as early as 1915), against the likes of Parker, whose major league career ran from 1973–91, is a nearly impossible task, particularly within the limitations of a format that allows each voter to choose a maximum of three candidates from among the eight.
Parker, who had fallen short on three previous Era Committee ballots, received the most support from the panel, totaling 14 votes out of 16 (87.5%), while Allen received 13 (81.3%). Tommy John received seven (43.8%) in his fifth Era Committee appearance. The other five candidates — Ken Boyer, Donaldson, Steve Garvey, Vic Harris, Luis Tiant — each received less than five votes, according to the Hall.
To these eyes, Allen was the most deserving of the non-Negro Leagues candidates on this ballot. In a 15-year-career with the Phillies (1963–69, ’75–76), Cardinals (’70), Dodgers (’71), White Sox (’72–74), and A’s (’77), he made seven All-Star teams; led his league in OPS+ three times, in home runs twice, and in WAR once; and won NL Rookie of the Year and AL MVP awards (’64 and ’72, respectively) while hitting 351 homers and batting .292/.378/.534. Among players with at least 7,000 plate appearances, his career 156 OPS+ is tied with Hall of Famer Frank Thomas for 14th all time.
Allen accrued just 1,848 hits, and so he joins 2022 Golden Days honoree Tony Oliva as the only post-1960 expansion era players in the Hall with fewer than 2,000 hits. The marker has served as a proxy for career length, for better or worse, and in doing so has frozen out players whose careers were shortened for one reason or another, as well as those who built a good portion of their value via on-base skills and defense. BBWAA voters have yet to elect one such player, though Andruw Jones (1,933) is climbing toward 75%, and Chase Utley (1,885) made a solid debut on the 2024 ballot.
Not a particularly adept defender, Allen bounced from third base to left field to first base while traveling around the majors. He accrued his most value while playing third; he’s 17th in both WAR (58.7) and JAWS (52.3) at the position, slightly below Boyer (62.8 WAR, 54.5 JAWS), who had the advantage of a much less controversial career.
Allen’s career was shortened by what seemed to be a constant battle with the world around him, one in which the racism he faced in the minor leagues and in Philadelphia played a major role. Six years after governor Orval Faubus called in the Arkansas National Guard in order to prevent the court-ordered desegregation of Little Rock Central High School, the Phillies sent the 21-year-old Allen to become the first affiliated Black professional baseball player in the state. Faubus himself threw out the first pitch while picketers carried signs with slogans such as “Don’t Negro-ize baseball” and “N***** go home.” Though Allen hit a double in the game-winning rally, he was greeted with a note on his car: “DON’T COME BACK AGAIN N*****,” as he recounted in his autobiography, Crash: The Life and Times of Dick Allen.
The Phillies themselves — the NL’s last team to integrate, 10 years after Jackie Robinson debuted — were far behind the integration curve, as was Philadelphia itself. Allen quickly became a polarizing presence, covered by a media contingent so unable or unwilling to relate to him that writers often refused to call him by the name of his choosing: Dick Allen, not Richie.
Allen rebelled against his surroundings. As biographer Mitchell Nathanson wrote in God Almighty Hisself: The Life and Legacy of Dick Allen, “He refused to pander to the media, refused to accept management’s time-honored methods for determining the value of a ballplayer, and, most explosively, refused to go along with and kowtow to the racial double standard that had evolved within Major League Baseball in the wake of the game’s integration in 1947.”
Allen struggled for support during his 1983–97 run on the BBWAA ballot, never reaching 20%, and he similarly lagged in the voting of the expanded Veterans Committee from 2003–09. However, thanks in part to a grassroots campaign by former Phillies groundskeeper Mark Carfagno, he received a fresh look from the 2015 Golden Era Committee and fell just one vote short of election. The change in Era Committee formats meant that his case wasn’t scheduled to be reconsidered until the 2021 Golden Day Era Committee ballot, but the COVID-19 pandemic led the Hall to postpone that election. In a cruel blow, Allen died of cancer on December 7, 2020, one day after his candidacy would have been considered. Crueler still for his family, he again fell one vote short when the committee finally met in December 2021. Thus his election is a bittersweet moment, one that would have been greatly enriched by his being able to enjoy it.
Whatever quibbles there are to be had with the election of Parker, we can be grateful he’s still around to savor it. A five-tool player whose power, ability to hit for average, and strong, accurate throwing arm all stood out, he spent 19 years in the majors with the Pirates (1973–83), hometown Reds (’84–87), A’s (’88–89), Brewers (’90), Angels (’91), and Blue Jays (’91). He hit 339 homers and collected 2,712 hits while batting .290/.339/.471 (121 OPS+) and making seven All-Star teams, and at his peak, he was considered the game’s best all-around player. In his first five full seasons (1975-79), he amassed a World Series ring (in the last of those years), regular season and All-Star MVP awards, two batting titles, two league leads in slugging percentage, and three Gold Gloves, not to mention tremendous swagger and a great nickname (“The Cobra”).
A 14th-round draft pick out of Cincinnati’s Courier Tech High School — he fell from the first or second round due to multiple knee injuries that ended his pursuit of football, his favorite sport — Parker debuted with the Pirates in July 1973, just seven months after the death of Roberto Clemente. He assumed full-time duty as the team’s right fielder a season and a half later, and appeared to be on course to join the Puerto Rican legend in Cooperstown, but cocaine, poor conditioning, and injuries threw him off course. While he recovered well enough to make three more All-Star teams, play a supporting role on the 1989 World Series-winning A’s, and compile hefty career totals while playing past the age of 40, his game lost multiple dimensions along the way.
Parker debuted with just 17.5% on the 1997 BBWAA ballot and peaked at 24.5% the next year, but only one other time in his final 13 seasons of eligibility did he top 20%. In appearances on the 2014 Expansion Era ballot and ’18 and ’20 Modern Baseball ones, only in the last of those did he break out of the “received less than X votes” group; he got seven (43.8%) that year.
Because his defense declined to the point that he was relegated to DH duty, Parker ranks just 41st in JAWS among right fielders (38.8), 17.9 points below the standard. Still, this is not Harold Baines Redux. While Baines collected 2,866 hits — and might have reached 3,000 if not for the two players’ strikes that occurred during his career — he never put up much black ink or finished higher than ninth in MVP voting, spent the vast majority of his career as a DH, and ranks 77th in JAWS among right fielders (30.1). He was never close to being considered the best hitter in the game, let alone the best all-around player. His 2019 election was a shock, and a result that felt engineered given the makeup of the panel.
As I noted in my write-up of Parker, the contemporary whose case bears the most resemblance to his is that of Dale Murphy, for as different as the two were off the field — and you can’t get much further apart than the distance between Parker’s drug-related misadventures and Murphy’s wholesome, milk-drinking persona. A two-time MVP, Murphy — who fell short on the 2023 Contemporary Baseball ballot and will be eligible again next year — had a peak that’s vaguely Hall-caliber, but he’s ranks 27th in JAWS among center fielders, 14.4 points below the standard, because myriad injuries prevented him from having much value outside that peak.
I had Allen atop my list as the most deserving non-PED-linked position player outside the Hall. While I was lukewarm on Parker, it’s impossible not to feel some amount of empathy for his hard-won wisdom — his autobiography Cobra: A Life in Baseball and Brotherhood, written with Dave Jordan, is frank and poignant — and his battle with Parkinson’s, not to mention his prominent role in raising money to fight the disease. Again, it is far better that he is alive to enjoy this honor than to have it granted posthumously, as would have been the case for Tiant, who died in October at age 83. Boyer died in 1983 at age 52. John is 81, Garvey 75. For as tiresome as it may sometimes feel to see their candidacies reheated every three years or so, one can understand the desire to honor them while they’re alive — but then again, the same goes for the candidates they’re crowding off the ballot.
The most frustrating aspect of this election is how little traction the two Negro Leagues candidates had, as they were the top returning members from the 2022 Early Baseball ballot, with Harris — the most successful manager in Negro Leagues history — having received 10 votes (62.5%) and Donaldson — a legendary pitcher who spent most of his playing years barnstorming endlessly out of economic necessity — getting eight (50%). The 16-member panel did include two bona fide Negro Leagues scholars in Larry Lester and Leslie Heaphy. However, in my opinion and those of many Negro Leagues experts, it would be far better for a full panel of such researchers and scholars to consider these candidates and the unique and difficult context of their careers without having to battle for attention and space with much more famous players from a relatively recent past.
Appointed by the Hall’s board of directors, this ballot’s 16-member committee consisted of Hall of Famers Paul Molitor, Eddie Murray, Tony Perez, Lee Smith, Ozzie Smith, and Joe Torre; major league executives Sandy Alderson, Terry McGuirk, Dayton Moore, Arte Moreno, and Brian Sabean; and veteran media members/historians Bob Elliott, Steve Hirdt, and Dick Kaegel as well as Heaphy and Lester. In contrast to years past, this group had far fewer obvious connections to candidates, with Torre having played with Allen in St. Louis in 1970, Alderson serving as the general manager of the A’s when they traded for John in mid-’85 and Parker in December ’87, and Sabean in the scouting department of the Yankees when John had his second go-round with the team starting in ’86. [Update: As readers have pointed out, I missed that Perez and Parker were teammates in Cincinnati from 1984–86, and Molitor and Parker were teammates in Milwaukee in ’90.] Where both the 2023 and ’24 Contemporary Era Committees (the latter for managers, executives, and umpires) had just three media members/historians, this one had five.
The Era Committee process is an imperfect one, and by some measures these were imperfect candidates. If they weren’t, they probably wouldn’t have been relegated to Era Committee ballots in the first place, though not necessarily through their own fault. The voting results won’t please everyone, but hopefully even critics of the process can see some value in Sunday’s result.
The following article is part of Jay Jaffe’s ongoing look at the candidates on the BBWAA 2025 Hall of Fame ballot. Originally written for the 2020 election, it has been updated to reflect recent voting results as well as additional research. For a detailed introduction to this year’s ballot, and other candidates in the series, use the tool above; an introduction to JAWS can be found here. For a tentative schedule and a chance to fill out a Hall of Fame ballot for our crowdsourcing project, see here. All WAR figures refer to the Baseball-Reference version unless otherwise indicated.
Bobby Abreu could do just about everything. A five-tool player with dazzling speed, a sweet left-handed stroke, and enough power to win a Home Run Derby, he was also one of the game’s most patient, disciplined hitters, able to wear down a pitcher and unafraid to hit with two strikes. While routinely reaching the traditional seasonal plateaus that tend to get noticed — a .300 batting average (six times), 20 homers (nine times), 30 steals (six times), 100 runs scored and batted in (eight times apiece) — he was nonetheless a stathead favorite for his ability to take a walk (100 or more eight years in a row) and his high on-base percentages (.400 or better eight times). And he was durable, playing 151 games or more in 13 straight seasons. “To me, Bobby’s Tony Gwynn with power,” said Phillies hitting coach Hal McRae in 1999.
“Bobby was way ahead of his time [with] regards to working pitchers,” said his former manager Larry Bowa when presenting him for induction into the Phillies Wall of Fame in 2019. “In an era when guys were swinging for the fences, Bobby never strayed from his game. Because of his speed, a walk would turn into a double. He was cool under pressure, and always in control of his at-bats. He was the best combination of power, speed, and patience at the plate.” Read the rest of this entry »
The following article is part of Jay Jaffe’s ongoing look at the candidates on the BBWAA 2025 Hall of Fame ballot. For a detailed introduction to this year’s ballot, and other candidates in the series, use the tool above; an introduction to JAWS can be found here. For a tentative schedule and a chance to fill out a Hall of Fame ballot for our crowdsourcing project, see here. All WAR figures refer to the Baseball-Reference version unless otherwise indicated.
When the Phillies returned to contention following a slide into irrelevance in the wake of their 1993 National League pennant, shortstop Jimmy Rollins, first baseman Ryan Howard, and lefty Cole Hamels gained most of the attention. Howard all but ran Jim Thome out of town after the latter was injured in 2005, then mashed a major league-high 58 homers in ’06 en route to NL MVP honors. Rollins, the emotional center of the team, carried himself with a swagger and declared the Phillies “the team to beat” at the outset of 2007, then won the MVP award when the team followed through with a division title. Hamels debuted in 2006 and became their ace while making his first All-Star team the next season. In the middle of all that, as part of the nucleus that would help the Phillies win five straight NL East titles from 2007–11, with a championship in ’08 and another pennant in ’09, Chase Utley was as good or better than any of them, though the second baseman hardly called attention to himself.
Indeed, Utley seemed to shun the spotlight, playing the game with a quiet intensity that bordered on asceticism. He sped around the bases after hitting home runs, then reluctantly accepted high-fives in the dugout. “I am having fun,” he told the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Andy Martino in 2009. “When I’m on the baseball field, that’s where I love to be. I’m not joking around and smiling. That competition, that heat-of-the-battle intensity, that’s how I have fun.” Read the rest of this entry »
Tyler Holton got a 10th-place vote in American League MVP balloting, and as you might expect, social media reacted like social media is wont to do. Responses to the news leaned negative, with a number of people saying that they had have never even heard of him. Some were disrespectfully profane, offering variations of “Who the [expletive] is Tyler Holton?”
Needless to say, not everyone who posts on social media platforms is an especially-knowledgeable baseball fan. Which is perfectly fine. There are many different levels of fandom, so if you mostly just know the big names — the Judges, the Sotos, the Witts — all well and good. Follow the game as you see fit.
Those things said, it is high time that more people become familiar with Holton. Much for that reason, Toronto Star columnist Mike Wilner doesn’t deserve the brickbats he’s received for his down-ballot nod to the 28-year-old Detroit Tigers southpaw. What he deserves is applause. And not just because he was willing to go outside the box. Holton has quietly been one of MLB’s most effective pitchers.
The following article is part of Jay Jaffe’s ongoing look at the candidates on the BBWAA 2025 Hall of Fame ballot. Originally written for the 2016 election at SI.com, it has been updated to reflect recent voting results as well as additional research. For a detailed introduction to this year’s ballot, and other candidates in the series, use the tool above; an introduction to JAWS can be found here. All WAR figures refer to the Baseball-Reference version unless otherwise indicated.
Billy Wagner was the ultimate underdog. Undersized and from both a broken home and an impoverished rural background, he channeled his frustrations into throwing incredibly hard — with his left hand, despite being a natural righty, for he broke his right arm twice as a child. Scouts overlooked him because he wasn’t anywhere close to six feet tall, but they couldn’t disregard his dominance over collegiate hitters using a mid-90s fastball. The Astros made him a first-round pick, and once he was converted to a relief role, his velocity went even higher.
Thanks to outstanding lower-body strength, coordination, and extraordinary range of motion, the 5-foot-10 Wagner was able to reach 100 mph with consistency — 159 times in 2003, according to The Bill James Handbook. Using a hard slider learned from teammate Brad Lidge, he kept blowing the ball by hitters into his late 30s to such an extent that he owns the record for the highest strikeout rate of any pitcher with at least 900 innings. He was still dominant when he walked away from the game following the 2010 season, fresh off posting a career-best ERA. Read the rest of this entry »
For the 21st consecutive season, the ZiPS projection system is unleashing a full set of prognostications. For more information on the ZiPS projections, please consult this year’s introduction and MLB’s glossary entry. The team order is selected by lot, and the next team up is the Philadelphia Phillies.
Batters
The quick exit in the postseason at the hands of the New York Mets was a disappointing finale for the 2024 Phillies, but the season as a whole still has to be considered a successful one. Cristopher Sánchez convincingly evaporated any questions about whether his late-2023 performance was a fluke, Bryce Harper stayed healthy and proved to be a more-than-competent defender at first, and the bullpen stayed strong despite a few veteran losses from the year before. But that’s not to say there wasn’t some good fortune involved. I don’t mean that to diminish the Phillies; most great teams have more things go their way than not. The preseason NL East favorite, the Atlanta Braves, saw some of their best players lose most or all of the season with serious injuries, and along those lines, the Phillies didn’t have their depth tested to the same degree. Read the rest of this entry »
The following article is part of a series concerning the 2025 Classic Baseball Era Committee ballot, covering long-retired players, managers, executives, and umpires whose candidacies will be voted upon on December 8. It is adapted from a chapter in The Cooperstown Casebook, published in 2017 by Thomas Dunne Books. For an introduction to the ballot, see here, and for an introduction to JAWS, see here. All WAR figures refer to the Baseball-Reference version unless otherwise indicated.
2025 Classic Baseball Candidate: Dick Allen
Player
Career WAR
Peak WAR
JAWS
Dick Allen
58.7
45.9
52.3
Avg. HOF 3B
69.4
43.3
56.3
H
HR
AVG/OBP/SLG
OPS+
1,848
351
.292/.378/.534
156
SOURCE: Baseball-Reference
“Dick Allen forced Philadelphia baseball and its fans to come to terms with the racism that existed in this city in the ’60s and ’70s. He may not have done it with the self-discipline or tact of Jackie Robinson, but he exemplified the emerging independence of major league baseball players as well as growing black consciousness.” — William Kashatus, The Philadelphia Inquirer, April 2, 1996
At first glance, Dick Allen might be viewed as the Gary Sheffield or Albert Belle of his day, a heavy hitter seemingly engaged in a constant battle with the world around him, generating controversy at every stop of his 15-year career. It’s unfair and reductive to lump Allen in with those two players, however, for they all faced different obstacles and bore different scars from the wounds they suffered early in their careers.
In Allen’s case, those wounds predated his 1963 arrival in the majors with a team that was far behind the integration curve, and a city that was in no better shape. In Philadelphia and beyond, he was a polarizing presence, covered by a media contingent so unable or unwilling to relate to him that writers often refused to call him by the name of his choosing: Dick Allen, not Richie. Read the rest of this entry »
It was the perfect exemplar of a Friday news dump, a quiet transaction between frequent trading partners. The Phillies and Angels swap players so often it’s sometimes hard to remember whether Brandon Marsh got traded for Logan O’Hoppe or George Klassen or Ron Gant. And while the Angels also made a splashy swap with the Braves the day before to acquire Jorge Soler, Philadelphia slipped another move in while nobody was looking: minor league infielder Scott Kingery to Los Angeles for cash considerations.
With all the fanfare of your buddy paying you back for buying Taco Bell on the way home the other night, an era is over.
Kingery could be a useful player for the Angels. He hit .268/.316/.488 in Triple-A last season, with 25 home runs and 25 stolen bases, playing mostly at shortstop with appearances at second, third, and in center field. The Phillies are pretty well set on the infield, but Kingery hasn’t appeared in the majors since June 8, 2022, when he went out to second base for a single defensive inning in a 10-0 blowout in Milwaukee. He hasn’t taken a major league at-bat since May 16, 2021, which is the last time he had anything like a regular roster role. Read the rest of this entry »
Department: Baseball Development Report: Manager, Major League Hitting Strategy Status: Temporary Seasonal Dates: 2/1/2025 – 10/31/2025 Location: Allentown, Pennsylvania
Job Description
The AAA Strategy Associate will support the daily production of material that enhances the strategy and preparedness of AAA coaches and players. This position will work closely with ML Strategy to promote continuity, while integrating critical thought, organizational research and resources to provide the highest quality information.
Responsibilities
Production of advance reports and other materials covering all aspects of opposing players and in-game strategy
Internal player analysis support, with a focus on individual development goals
In-game dugout and/or bullpen support as requested by AAA coaches
Participation in group discussions to innovate and optimize internal processes
Ad hoc projects to support AAA coaches and Baseball Development
Assistance with carrying out player training and preparation routines
Assistance with daily data and video review sessions
Required Qualifications
Bachelor’s Degree
Strong foundational knowledge in modern baseball analysis and evaluation
Experience working in professional and/or collegiate baseball
Strong oral, written and visual communication and presentation skills
Able to work with and protect highly confidential information
Able to interact professionally with players, coaches, front office and support staff
Able to multitask and meet strict deadlines in a fast-paced environment
Able to work flexible hours, including nights, weekends and holidays
Preferred Qualifications
Fluent or conversational Spanish
Proficiency in SQL, R, and/or Python
Experience working with sports technology, video and/or data collection
Playing background and ability to support on-field work (batting practice, hitting fungos, infield routines, etc.) is preferred
Experience building models and/or making rigorous predictions about on-field outcomes
Experience interacting with statistical forecasts and providing information additive to existing processes
You will be required to answer the following question along with the submission of your application:
Which active pitcher has the best pitch in baseball (e.g. Pedro Martinez’s changeup) and why? Please limit your response to 300 words.
The Phillies are proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and are committed to growing a workforce diverse in perspective and background. We proudly strive to build a group of employees who represent the fans and communities we currently, and aim to serve.
Department: Baseball Development Reports to: Hitting Development Analyst Status: Temporary Seasonal Dates: 1/15/2025 – 10/31/2025 Location: Clearwater, FL
Job Description
The primary purpose of this position is to support the Hitting Department’s development, implementation, and tracking of individual player development plans. The position should promote cross-departmental integration and facilitate consistent communication between coordinators, coaches and players.
Responsibilities
Player plan tracking and management using internal resources
Ad hoc performance analysis and report development
Player-facing meeting support via creation and presentation of supplemental materials
Dissemination of daily postgame reports and curated leaderboards to coaches, players, and front office staff
Game planning process support across levels
Required Qualifications
Experience working in professional and/or collegiate baseball
Strong oral, written and visual communication and presentation skills
Strong foundational knowledge in modern baseball analysis, evaluation and progressive training methodology
Able to work with and protect highly confidential information
Able to interact professionally with players, coaches, front office and support staff
Able to multitask and meet strict deadlines in a fast-paced environment
Able to work flexible hours, including nights, weekends and holidays
Preferred Qualifications
Proficiency in SQL, R, and/or Python is strongly preferred
Fluent or conversational in Spanish
Statistical modeling experience
Playing background and ability to support on-field work (batting practice, hitting fungos, infield routines, etc.)
In addition to your resume, you will be required to submit a response to the following question with your application:
What are the pillars of your hitter evaluation framework? Explain why these are important to your evaluation process. (400 words or less)
The Phillies are proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and are committed to growing a workforce diverse in perspective and background. We proudly strive to build a group of employees who represent the fans and communities we currently, and aim to serve.
Department: Baseball Development Reports to: Lead Pitching Development Analyst Status: Temporary Seasonal Dates: 1/15/2025 – 10/31/2025 Location: Clearwater, FL
Job Description
The primary purpose of this position is to support the Pitching Department’s development, implementation, and tracking of individual player development plans. The position should promote cross-departmental integration and facilitate consistent communication between coordinators, coaches, and players.
Responsibilities
Player plan tracking and management using internal resources
Ad hoc performance analysis and report development
Player-facing meeting support via creation and presentation of supplemental materials
Dissemination of daily postgame reports and curated leaderboards to coaches, players, and front office staff
Game planning process support across levels
Required Qualifications
Experience working in professional and/or collegiate baseball
Strong oral, written and visual communication and presentation skills
Strong foundational knowledge in modern baseball analysis, evaluation, progressive training methodology and pitch design
Able to work with and protect highly confidential information
Able to interact professionally with players, coaches, front office and support staff
Able to multitask and meet strict deadlines in a fast-paced environment
Able to work flexible hours, including nights, weekends and holidays
Preferred Qualifications
Proficiency in SQL, R, and/or Python is strongly preferred
Fluent or conversational in Spanish
Statistical modeling experience
Playing background and ability to support on-field work (batting practice, hitting fungos, infield routines, etc.)
In addition to your resume, you will be required to submit a response to the following question with your application:
What are the pillars of your pitching evaluation framework? Explain why these are important to your evaluation process. (400 words or less)
The Phillies are proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and are committed to growing a workforce diverse in perspective and background. We proudly strive to build a group of employees who represent the fans and communities we currently, and aim to serve.
Baseball Video & Technology Associate (Multiple Locations Available)
Reports to: Coordinator, Minor League Video & Technology Status: Full-Time, Seasonal Locations:
Lehigh Valley, PA
Reading, PA
Jersey Shore, NJ
Clearwater, FL
Please Note – Housing will be provided by The Phillies for this role for all locations
Position Overview
Oversee the daily video, sports technology, and advance scouting operations at assigned minor league affiliate. Duties will include, but not be limited to: filming and logging home and road games, as well as assisting in daily instructional film/data review sessions with coaches, players, and staff. In addition, the Video & Technology Associate will be responsible for maintaining all sports technology equipment including setup, logging, and uploading all data each day.
Essential Duties
Open and oversee operations of affiliate video room on a daily basis
Film and accurately log all home and road games using BATS video system
Film and capture data for bullpens, batting practices, and workouts based on requests by Phillies coaches and staff
Efficiently set up and run various sports technology equipment, including but not limited to: bat sensors, motion capture tools, and ball flight tracking technology
Operate, troubleshoot, and support IP and high speed video cameras, computer networks, and network hard drives
Assist with daily data and video review sessions with Phillies coaches and players
Provide regular status reports to Minor League Video & Technology Coordinators and other Player Development staff in Philadelphia and Clearwater
Assist with various Baseball Development, Player Development and Amateur Scouting initiatives as needed
Qualifications
Bachelor’s Degree or currently enrolled college student
Must be able to interact professionally with players, coaches, front office personnel and medical/training staff, and be a good team player
Must be detail oriented, organized and a strong communicator
Must be active, quick-thinking, and a good technology troubleshooter
Must have the ability to work with and protect highly confidential information
Must be able to work flexible hours, including nights, weekends and holidays
Previous experience working with BATS video system and/or sports technology is preferred
Previous experience working in professional or college baseball is preferred
On-field skills such as throwing BP is a plus
Must be based in or willing to relocate for the duration of the 2024 season (approximately February through up to end of September) to one of the following locations:
Lehigh Valley, PA
Reading, PA
Jersey Shore, NJ
Clearwater, FL
Physical Demands and Working Conditions
Must be able to stand and walk in hot conditions for long periods of time
To be considered, all candidates must submit a response for the prompt below:
Please list the different types of baseball technology you have experience working with. Only a list format is requested and if you wish to elaborate on any of this experience in more detail please include it below your baseball technologies list.
The Phillies are proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and are committed to growing a workforce diverse in perspective and background. We proudly strive to build a group of employees who represent the fans and communities we currently, and aim to, serve.
Department: Baseball Development Reports to: Manager, Major League Hitting Strategy Status: Temporary Seasonal Dates: 1/15/2025 – 10/31/2025 Location: Philadelphia, PA
Job Description
The Major League Strategy Intern will support the daily production of material that enhances the strategy and preparedness of Major League coaches and players. The Major League Strategy Intern will integrate critical thought, organizational research and resources to provide the highest quality information.
Responsibilities
Breakdown of responsibilities may vary depending on the background and strengths of the candidate. We hope to develop the selected individual based on their goals and how they can best help The Phillies. Previous responsibilities covered by this role and areas in which this role might be able to make an impact include:
Production of advance reports and other material covering all aspects of opposing players and in-game strategy
Research and analysis to guide player development at the Major League and Minor League levels
Participation in group discussions to innovate and optimize internal processes
Ad hoc projects to support Major League coaches and Baseball Development
Assistance with carrying out player training and preparation routines
Required Qualifications
Bachelor’s Degree
Strong foundational knowledge in modern baseball analysis and evaluation
Experience working in professional and/or collegiate baseball
Strong oral, written and visual communication and presentation skills
Able to work with and protect highly confidential information
Able to interact professionally with players, coaches, front office and support staff
Able to multitask and meet strict deadlines in a fast-paced environment
Able to work flexible hours, including nights, weekends and holidays
Preferred Qualifications
Fluent or conversational Spanish
Proficiency in SQL, R, and/or Python
Experience working with sports technology, video and/or data collection
Playing background and ability to support on-field work (batting practice, hitting fungos, infield routines, etc.) is preferred
Experience building models and/or making rigorous predictions about on-field outcomes
Experience interacting with statistical forecasts and providing information additive to existing processes
You will be required to answer the following question along with the submission of your application:
Who do you project to be the most valuable defender in MLB in 2025 and why? Please limit your response to 300 words.
The Phillies are proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and are committed to growing a workforce diverse in perspective and background. We proudly strive to build a group of employees who represent the fans and communities we currently, and aim to serve.
Department: Baseball Development Reports to: Manager, Major League Video & Technology Status: Temporary Seasonal Dates: 2/1/2025 – 10/31/2025 Location: Philadelphia, PA
Job Description
The Major League Video and Technology Associate will work closely with the Manager, Major League Video & Technology and the Manager, Major League Hitting Strategy. Primary objectives are to support the Video & Technology and Major League Strategy departments with daily responsibilities. The position is based in Philadelphia.
Responsibilities
Film, capture and process video and data for bullpens
Compile pre-series advance scouting playlists
Process video requests from Major League players, coaches and support staff
Monitor Major League video pre-series and in-game to identify tendencies
Monitor relevant internal Minor League video to identify tendencies
Assist with ad hoc projects to support Major League Strategy at the direction of Manager, Major League Hitting Strategy
Qualifications
Bachelor’s Degree
Experience working with BATS video system, Edgertronic cameras, Trackman Mobile and other sports technology
Experience working in professional and/or collegiate baseball
Proficiency in video editing software
Able to work with and protect highly confidential information
Able to interact professionally with players, coaches, front office and support staff
Able to multitask and meet strict deadlines in a fast-paced environment
Able to work flexible hours, including nights, weekends and holidays
Proficiency in SQL, R, and/or Python is preferred
Playing background and ability to support on-field work (batting practice, hitting fungos, infield routines, etc.) is preferred
Fluent or conversational Spanish is preferred
Application Question (All interested applicants must submit a response to the following question):
Please list the different types of baseball technology you have experience working with. Only a list format is requested and if you wish to elaborate on any of this experience in more detail please include it below your baseball technologies list.
The Phillies are proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and are committed to growing a workforce diverse in perspective and background. We proudly strive to build a group of employees who represent the fans and communities we currently, and aim to, serve.
