Major League Baseball 2025 MLB All-Star Game: Building the Best Phillies Lineup Published Jul. 12, 2025 1:09 p.m. ET share facebook x reddit link

The Philadelphia Phillies’ baby blue-and-maroon look is among the best in sports. Might say we’re Phanatics of it?

This franchise has also left a rich legacy on the diamond, paving the way for today’s stars to keep lighting up that Liberty Bell replica overlooking center field.

Manager: Charlie Manuel

Two-plus years after getting fired midseason in Cleveland, Manuel got his career back on track by becoming Philadelphia’s manager in 2005. Taking over a team that was buzzing in wild-card contention, the Phillies won 85-plus games in each of Manuel’s first seven seasons in the dugout, highlighted by two National League pennants (2008 and 2009), five consecutive NL East division titles (2007-11), a 102-win 2011 campaign and, of course, winning the 2008 World Series. Manuel is first among Phillies managers with 780 wins.

(Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

Starting pitcher: Steve Carlton

After seven high-caliber seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, Carlton joined the Phillies for the 1972 season and took his game to the next level. In his first season in Philadelphia, Carlton posted an MLB-best 12.1 WAR, an NL-best 1.97 ERA and claimed the 1972 NL Cy Young, which would be one of four times that he won the award. On the Phillies’ road to winning the 1980 World Series, the left-hander recorded a 2.30 ERA in four starts (27.1 innings). Carlton, who played 14-plus seasons in Philadelphia (1972-86), is first in Phillies history with 3,031 strikeouts, 241 wins and second among pitchers with 39 shutouts, a 64.6 WAR and 3,697.1 innings pitched.

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Reliever/closer: Tug McGraw

After nine sharp seasons with the New York Mets, McGraw joined the Phillies in 1975 and continued to be one of the elite relievers in the sport. McGraw, who was part of Philadelphia’s 1980 title team and posted a career-best 1.46 ERA and 0.92 WHIP that season, posted a combined 3.10 ERA over 722.0 innings pitched with the Phillies from 1975-84. McGraw is first in Phillies history with 313 games finished and sixth with 94 saves.

(Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)

Catcher: Darren Daulton

Daulton got more and more productive at the plate across his 13-plus seasons in Philadelphia (1983-1997). Midway through his career, the catcher broke out for a pair of mammoth seasons, averaging 26 home runs, an NL-high 107 RBIs and a 5.9 WAR per season from 1992-93, while boasting a .263/.389/.503 slash line. Daulton was an All-Star three times and a Silver Slugger Award recipient once with the Phillies, who gradually moved the catcher to the outfield near the end of his career, and his 6.9 WAR in 1992 is a franchise best for a catcher.

(Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)

1B: Ryan Howard

Howard, who spent his entire career with the Phillies (2004-16), hit baseballs very, very far — and tried to dabble in the publishing industry in “The Office,” but that’s a story for another day. In just his first full season at the MLB level (2006), Howard uncorked 58 home runs and 149 RBIs, which each led MLB and helped him win the NL MVP Award. Furthermore, across his first six complete seasons (2006-11), Howard led the NL in RBIs three times, home runs twice and averaged an absurd 44 home runs and 133 RBIs per season, while boasting a combined .559 slugging percentage. A torn Achilles tendon suffered on the final play of the 2011 season began to spiral Howard’s career, though, he still hit 23.7 home runs per year across his last three seasons (2014-16). Howard, who started at first base for Philadelphia’s 2008 World Series team, is second in Phillies history with 382 home runs, third with 1,194 RBIs, seventh with both a .515 slugging percentage and 709 walks and 10th with 277 doubles.

(Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images)

Utley was a stone-cold killer. A four-time Silver Slugger and six-time All-Star, Utley is one of the best second basemen of all time and one of the faces of an electric Philadelphia team in the late 2000s, highlighted by the 2008 championship season. The second baseman had a tall, impact power swing from the left side, posted a slugging percentage north of .500 in five seasons and was a vacuum at the middle-infield position. While the Phillies lost the series in six games, Utley launched five home runs in the 2009 World Series. Utley is second in Phillies history with a 62.0 WAR, fifth with 346 doubles, sixth with both 233 home runs and 949 runs scored, seventh with 916 RBIs and ninth with 1,623 hits.

(Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images)

3B: Mike Schmidt

Schmidt is the best player to put on a Phillies uniform for a prolonged period of time. The third baseman spent his entire 18-year career in Philadelphia (1972-89), earning three NL MVP awards, six Silver Slugger honors, 10 Gold Gloves and 12 All-Star nods. Schmidt, who led the NL in home runs eight times, was an impact hitter who slugged at an elite rate his entire career; he’s one of the best players in MLB history. The third baseman was the face of the 1980 Phillies’ championship team, which saw Schmidt win the World Series MVP. Schmidt is first in Phillies history with 548 home runs, 1,595 RBIs, 1,506 runs scored and a 106.9 WAR, second with 2,234 hits, third with 408 doubles and tied for fourth with a .527 slugging percentage.

(Photo by: John Williamson/MLB via Getty Images)

SS: Jimmy Rollins

Rollins was a demon at shortstop, in the batter’s box and on the basepaths. A four-time Gold Glover and three-time All-Star, Rollins spent the majority of his career in Philadelphia (2000-14), with whom he won the 2008 World Series and was a net at the middle-infield position. Furthermore, Rollins, who posted a career 55 DRS at shortstop, led MLB in triples four times, including an absurd 20 triples in 2007, a year which saw the shortstop win the NL MVP Award. Rollins and the aforementioned Utley formed one of the best double-play duos of all time in Philadelphia, and the two reunited in 2015 on the Los Angeles Dodgers. Rollins is first in Phillies history with both 2,306 hits and 479 doubles, second with 453 stolen bases, third with both 111 triples and 1,325 runs scored, eighth with 887 RBIs and ninth with 216 home runs.

(Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)

OF: Bobby Abreu

One of the best players not in the Hall of Fame, Abreu was one of the best all-around outfielders and left-handed hitters of his generation. Spending eight-plus seasons in Philadelphia (1998-2006), Abreu, who frequently worked the count and had a great deal of power, averaged 23 home runs and 94 RBIs per season from 1998-2005, while posting a combined .305/.415/.519 slash line. A two-time All-Star with the Phillies, Abreu is second in franchise history with 947 walks, fourth with both a .416 on-base percentage and 348 doubles, seventh with both 254 stolen bases and a 47.2 WAR and eighth with a .513 slugging percentage across his entire stay with the team.

(Photo by Brad Mangin/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

OF: Lenny Dykstra

Dykstra worked the count, got on base and scored runs, and one could argue that the Phillies are the team that got the best version of him. Acquired midway through the 1989 season and playing for the franchise through 1996, Dykstra led the NL in hits twice (1990 and 1993) and raked in the Phillies’ 1993 run to the World Series, totaling six home runs and 10 RBIs, while posting a .313/.450/.729 slash line in the playoffs. Dykstra, who earned each of his three All-Star honors with the Phillies, had a career .289/.388/.422 slash line for the franchise.

(Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images)

OF: Richie Ashburn

Ashburn put the ball in play like nobody’s business. A six-time All-Star who spent 12 of his 15 seasons with the Phillies (1948-59), Ashburn consistently got on base by means of raw contact hitting, leading the NL in hits three times, triples twice and winning two NL batting titles (1955 and 1958). Ashburn, who helped the Phillies reach the 1950 World Series, is third in franchise history with 2,217 hits, fourth with both 1,114 runs scored and a 58.1 WAR, fifth with 97 triples and eighth with a .394 on-base percentage.

The Phillies gave Harper a $330 million contract in 2019, and he has been worth every penny of that deal. In his first season with the Phillies (2019), the power, left-handed hitter totaled 35 home runs and a career-high 114 RBIs. Two seasons later, he won the 2021 NL MVP, boasting a .615 slugging percentage. And the following year, Harper helped lead the Phillies to the 2022 World Series in a postseason that saw him hit six home runs and post a .746 slugging percentage. Harper, who has primarily played right field for the Phillies but began playing first base in 2023, is fifth in franchise history with a .526 slugging percentage and tied for ninth with a .389 on-base percentage. He has earned two Silver Slugger awards and two All-Star nods in Philadelphia.

(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Honorable mentions:

Robin Roberts (starting pitcher)

Cole Hamels (starting pitcher)

Curt Schilling (starting pitcher)

Grover Cleveland “Pete” Alexander (starting pitcher)

Brad Lidge (reliever/closer)

Carlos Ruiz (catcher)

Bob Boone (catcher)

Scott Rolen (3B)

Dick Allen (3B)

Johnny Callison (OF)

Greg Luzinski (OF)

Pat Burrell (OF)

Del Ennis (OF)

Garry Maddox (OF)

Billy Hamilton (DH)

Ed Delahanty (DH)

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