10 (or more) Philadelphia Phillies You Never Knew About: Part One

Since the dawn of the Philadelphia sports in 1883 with the Philadelphia Phillies, Philadelphia has been blessed with great and hall of fame athletes. Many of those athletes who have played for the Phillies, are not known about. Here are ten Phillies you may not of known about.

From the comically bad to the legendary in their own time, these ten should bring to light more about the Phillies past players. So, after hours of tireless research and question asking... without further posturing, here are ten Philadelphia Phillies that you never knew about.

Number Ten: Bob Uecker, Catcher, 1966-1967

That's right the comedic genius of the color commentator from The Major League movies was a Phillie. Was he any good? Uecker makes Mario Mendoza look like a hall of fame caliber hitter. The only thing more funnier than his acting was his hitting.

Career with Philadelphia stats: 96 Games, 242 AB, 49 Hits, 37 RBI, .202 BA

But not all was bad with Uecker. He was a solid defensive player behind the plate. Here's a quote of comedic value by Uecker on catching a knuckleball: "I always thought the knuckleball was the easiest pitch to catch. Wait'll it stops rolling, then go to the backstop and pick it up."

Career fielding with Philadelphia: 73 Games, 481 Total Chances (TC), 435 Put Outs (PO), 8 Errors (E), .972 FPCT

Number Nine: Julio Franco, Short Stop/ Second Baseman/ Infielder, 1982

One of the "5 for 1" players traded for Von Hayes. It was said that Julio Franco had problems turning the double play. But if you look at Franco's career fielding numbers at turning the double play, you will see that he had no problem turning it.

Comparing Von Hayes to Julio Franco

Julio Franco career offensive numbers (23 seasons): 2527 Games, 8677 AB, 2586 Hits, 1194 RBI, 173 Home Runs, 281 SB, .298 BA

Von Hayes career offensive numbers (12 seasons):1495 Games, 5249 AB, 1402 Hits, 143 Home Runs, 696 RBI, 253 SB, .267 BA

You tell me who got the better of that "five for one" deal.

Number Eight: Tito Francona, Outfielder, 1967

Yes, the father of current Red Sox and former Phillies manager, Terry Francona. He did not play many games with the Phillies. Francona was later released by the Phillies in 1967 and his contract was purchased by the Atlanta Braves.

Career with Philadelphia: 27 Games, 73 AB, 15 Hits, 3 RBI, .205 BA

Career (total): 1719 Games, 5121 AB, 1395 Hits, 125 Home Runs, 656 RBI, .272 BA