Phillies WBC Round-Up: Philadelphia Across the Globe

Mar 22, 2023 - 9:30 PM

In the most dramatic batter and pitcher matchup since Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson during the 1942 Negro League World Series, Shohei Ohtani struck out Mike Trout, dethroning Team USA and handing Samurai Japan a record third World Baseball Classic title.

Overshadowed in that dream contest however, were the contributions of Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto, the trio of Philadelphia Phillies batting back-to-back-to-back in the heart of the Team USA lineup.

On the night of the final, both Schwarber and Turner hit home runs, while Realmuto’s eighth inning single raised his tournament batting average to .500. And though Garrett Stubbs played only one game, Israel’s first and only victory, his contributions too cannot go unnoticed.

Among the four WBC hitters currently on the Phillies active roster, their combined slash line was a wildly impressive .370/.462/.815. That OPS of 1.277 is 189 points higher than the highest single season OPS ever posted by Trout or Ohtani in both NPB or MLB.

Meanwhile, the Phillies’ two active pitchers in the WBC, Jose Alvarado and Taijuan Walker, pitched a combined 7.0 innings of scoreless baseball, walking only two and striking out 13. In his career Ohtani has never once struck out as many hitters in as few scoreless innings.

Though only six actively rostered Phillies participated in the tournament, a host of former-Phillies and former-Phillies farmhands also participated. Though they couldn’t possibly live up to their active counterparts, Philadelphia was represented by almost every nation, barring only China, Chinese Taipei, Cuba, Czech Republic and Japan.

Netherlands:

Didi Gregorius - 17 PA, .250/.438/.250, 3 RBI, 4 BB, SO (MLB: 2020 - 2022)

Joe Girardi… need I say more?

Italy:

Brian Marconi - DNP (Minors: 2019 - Active)

Marconi signed with the Phillies as an undrafted free agent in 2019 out of college. In 2022 he accumulated 18 saves for the Double-A Reading Fightin’ Phils.

Vinny Nittoli - 3.1 IP, 5.40 ERA, 0 BB, 7 K (MLB: 2022)

Nittoli threw a grand total of two scoreless innings for the Phillies in 2022. He signed a minor league deal with the Cubs in Jan. 2023.

Vito Friscia - 8 PA, .000/.545/.000, 5 BB, 3 SO (Minors: 2019 - Active)

Drafted in the 40th (!) round by Philadelphia in 2019. He had a .789 OPS as a 25-year-old at Double-A in 2022.

Panama:

Harold Arauz - 4.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, BB, 3 K (Minors: 2016-2018)

Acquired by the Phillies in the Ken Giles/Vince Velasquez trade, Arauz was dominant for Panama in his start against Italy.

South Korea:

Hyun-Soo Kim - 11 PA, .111/.273/.111, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K (MLB: 2017)

A waiver claim at the deadline in 2017 and a former mega-star in Korean baseball, he was once part of a Phillies outfield that surrendered an inside-the-park home run to J.T. Realmuto.

Australia:

Kyle Glogoski - 2.2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 3 BB, 5 K (Minors: 2018-2022)

After a very productive 2022 at both levels of A-ball, the 23-year-old Glogowski was claimed off waivers by the Cincinnati Reds.

Rixon Wingrove - 18 PA, .375/.444/.625, HR, 7 RBI, 2 BB, 4 SO (Minors: 2018-Active)

Wingrove is one of the few breakout hitting candidates for the Phillies in the upper minors this year. The 22-year-old hit a massive home run off semi-finalists Cuba in at the Tokyo Dome.

Tim Kennelly - 22 PA, .250/.400/.500, HR, 2 RBI, 3 BB, 5 SO (Minors: 2005-2012)

You probably remember Tim Kennelly a lot more for the cutest moment of the WBC rather than his 2005-2012 time in the minors with the Phillies. That’s his three-year-old daughter in the crowd starting a “Let’s go daddy!” chant.

USA:

Trea Turner - 25 PA, .391/.440/1.043, 5 HR, 11 RBI, 2 BB, 5 SO (MLB: Active)

Turner would be the most anticipated Phillies free agent signing in franchise history if not for a guy called Bryce Harper.

Kyle Schwarber - 20 PA, .214/.450/.643, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 5 BB, 1 SO (MLB: 2022-Active)

The best non-Ohtani/Trout at-bat of the tournament belongs to the Schwarber/Darvish rematch. Spoiler alert: the Phillies’ guy wins again.

J.T. Realmuto - 15 PA, .500/.533/.667, 2 2B, 2 RBI, BB (MLB: 2019-Active)

BCIB? BCIW.

Aaron Loup - 2.2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 2 K (MLB: 2019)

After pitching nine very impressive outings for Philadelphia in 2018, Loup has a 2.38 ERA in his next 143.2 innings.

Mexico:

Jojo Romero - 3.1 IP, 8.10 ERA, HR, 3 BB, 2 K (MLB: 2020-2022)

Seems like the Phillies got a good deal trading Romero for Edmundo Sosa at the deadline in 2022.

Taijuan Walker - 4.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, BB, 8 K (MLB: Active)

We haven’t gotten to see much of Taijuan Walker at Phillies spring training, but he was dominant in his one WBC outing, and would have started the final had Mexico not blown the semi-final.

Joey Meneses - 27 PA, .370/.370/.593, 2 HR, 6 RBI, SB, 2 SO (Minors: 2018)

Isn’t Meneses that Phillies-killer from the Nationals I can hear you saying? And you’d be correct, but Meneses also hit 23 homers with an .870 OPS for the IronPigs in 2018.

Colombia:

Jorge Alfaro - 16 PA, .267/.313/.400, 2 2B, BB, 3 SO (MLB: 2016-2018)

Alfaro has turned his poor catcher defense and 70-grade raw power into one of the best clubhouse guys in MLB, and become a leader for Team Colombia.

Canada:

Phillippe Aumont - 3.0 IP, 3.00 ERA, 4 BB, 4 K (MLB: 2012-2015)

Welcome to your nightmare and one of the worst trades in Phillies history. Remember when Ruben Amaro Jr. once traded Cliff Lee for this guy? He had a 6.80 ERA in 43.2 innings as a Phillie.

Scott Mathieson - 1.0 IP, 0.00 ERA (MLB: 2006-2011)

Taking a trip even further back down memory lane, Mathieson was a 22-year-old when he debuted for the Phillies in 2006. He threw his last MLB pitch in 2011 as a 27-year-old, also for the Phillies.

Adam Loewen - 0.2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 2 BB, K (MLB: 2015)

Loewen threw 19.1 innings for the Phillies in 2015, his outings were as unremarkable as the Phililes themselves that year.

Noah Skirrow - 5.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, BB, 5 K (Minors: 2020-Active)

An unsigned free agent out of the shortened 2020 Amateur Draft, Skirrow could theoretically find himself in the Major this year if the Phillies starting depth continues to thin. He made four starts at Lehigh Valley in 2022 for a 3.00 ERA.

Great Britain:

Vance Worley - 2.2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 3 BB, K (MLB: 2010-2012)

Worley was the fourth best pitcher in the greatest starting rotation of the 21st century. He was 23 then, and now at 35 years old, five years removed from his last Major League service, he struck out Mike Trout.

Darnell Sweeney - 15 PA, .364/.533/.545, 2 2B, RBI, CS, 4 BB, 5 SO (MLB: 2015)

The man Philadelphia got in return for Chase Utley never panned out. He played only 39 big league games, 37 coming with the Phillies in 2015, and all will be overshadowed by his performance in the WBC.

Puerto Rico:

Yacksel Rios - 3.2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 5 SO (MLB: 2017-2019)

If there’s one thing imprinted upon my mind from Rios’ time in Philadelphia, it won’t be his uninspired pitching, but instead his awful neck tattoos.

Vimael Machin - 11 PA, .222/.364/.222, 2 BB, SO (Minors: Active)

Machin signed a minor league deal with the Phillies this offseason, and behind Stubbs and Realmuto, doesn’t project for much Big League playing time in 2023.

Venezuela:

Ranger Suarez - DNP (MLB: 2017-Active)

It’s a shame we weren’t afforded the opportunity of watching one of the most charismatic Phillies pitch in a tournament that brought charisma back to baseball.

Jose Alvarado - 3.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, BB, 5 K (MLB: 2021-Active)

From June 16 through the end of the 2022 regular season, Alvarado struck out 64 batters, walked only 12 and surrendered only five runs. If his WBC performance is anything to go by, it seems like the Phillies will get that pitcher rather than the one they saw in the first half of 2022.

Dominican Republic:

Jean Segura - 2 PA, .500/.500/1.000, 2 2B, 2 RBI, SO (MLB: 2019-2022)

It sure felt weird seeing Segura play in Miami not wearing a Phillies uniform. It’s something Philadelphia will have to get used to.

Hector Neris - 2.1 IP, 0.00 ERA, BB, 4 K (MLB: 2014-2021)

Team USA lost to Samurai Japan because they couldn’t hit the splitter. It’s what has made Neris so effective for all these years.

Israel:

Bubby Rossman - 2.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, 3 K (MLB: 2022)

Rossman made his Major League debut in 2022 at age-30. He pitched one inning and gave up two runs. It might be his only opportunity besides the WBC on the big stage.

Ty Kelly - 7 PA, .000/.143/.000, BB, 3 SO (MLB: 2017)

Kelly is 34 now and hasn’t played a full season professionally since 2018. It showed in this tournament.

Garrett Stubbs - 5 PA, .400/.400/.600, 2B, 2 RBI (MLB: 2022-Active)

One of just a few bright spots for Team Israel, Stubbs had their biggest hit of the tournament before injury sent him back to the Phillies in Clearwater.

Rob Kaminsky - 1.1, 0.00 ERA (Minors: 2021)

Kaminsky threw a grand total of one inning for Lehigh Valley in 2021. I guess it makes him count as a former-Phillie…

Nicaragua:

JC Ramirez - 3.0 IP, 15.00 ERA, 3 BB, 2 K (MLB: 2013)

The other part of the deal with Phillippe Aumont that sent Cliff Lee to Seattle, he had a 7.50 ERA across 18 Major League games for the Phillies. It’s a miracle they kept him around that long.