The Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber hit a walk-off homer against the Dodgers Friday night, and it was his 17th of the season.

Since his arrival last season, Schwarber has hit primarily in the leadoff spot. After a slow start this season, Schwarber often has been portrayed as the team’s villain with his sub .200 batting average.

After Sunday’s game, Schwarber had four homers from his eight hits in June with eight RBIs and eight walks. June has been his month, as he has 49 of his 216 career homers in the month.

In this week’s version of my Behind the Plate column, I will take a look at some of the game’s greatest leadoff hitters as well as those on the Phillies, Mets, and Yankees. Also, I’ll look at some quirky facts about the game as well as some fantasy fillers.

Ricky Didn’t Lose Any Numbers ... Ricky Henderson arguably is the game’s greatest leadoff hitter. He played 25 seasons until age 44, and was the all-time base stealer with 1,406 thefts. Henderson also hit 81 career leadoff homers (297 career) among his 3,055 hits, and he scored a record 2,295 runs and had a record 2,129 unintentional walks. His status is hard to dispute with his overall longevity and numbers, and he always was a first-round fantasy pickup.

Not Too Far Behind ... Ichiro Suzuki and Tim Raines are both in the same discussion with Henderson.

Suzuki made his splash by winning the AL Rookie-of-the-Year and MVP both in 2001. He posted a career on-base percentage (OBP) of .355 and scored 1,420 runs in his 19-year career until age 45. Suzuki had a career .311 average and 509 stolen bases.

Raines also was a lifer with a .294 career average and 2,605 hits in 23 seasons. He had an OBP of .385, 808 steals, 980 RBIs, and 1,330 walks.

Others worth mentioning are Brady Anderson, Mookie Betts, Wade Boggs, Craig Biggio, Johnny Damon, Ron LeFlore, Kenny Lofton, and George Springer.

If you grew up in the 70s and 80s, you recall leadoff hitters Lou Brock, Maury Wills, Bobby Bonds, Vince Coleman, Paul Molitor, Pete Rose, Willie Wilson, and Devon White to name a few. I remember how you waited for Brock to steal second, and he set a record of 118 steals in 1974, before Henderson posted a new total of 130 in 1982.

Phillies’ Players ... In terms of Phillies’ leadoff hitters, you have to go back to Richie Ashburn in the 1950s and early 60s, as “Whitey” was known for his quick bat and deceiving speed.

In the early 70s, Larry Bowa held the spot until teammate Dave Cash solidified the role. From 1974-76, Cash led the league in at-bats and had 213 hits in 1975. In his 2,052 plate appearances with the Phils, Cash struck out only 80 times.

Don’t forget about Lenny Dyksta. “Nails” led the league in hits (192) and on-base percentage (.418) in 1990, and also in plate appearances (637), runs (143), walks (129), and hits (194) in 1993. In five seasons, he had an overall .289 average with a .388 OBP and 459 walks.

Jimmy Rollins was the team’s ultimate leadoff man in the late 90s and 2000s. He smacked 45 career leadoff homers and, like Cash, led the league in plate appearances for three consecutive seasons. Rollins also had six seasons with 100-plus runs.

Yankee Doodles ... Going back to the mid-60s to mid-70s, the Yankees’ Horace Clarke was an effective leadoff man whose average ranged in the .280s. Clarke had the distinction of leading the league in at-bats in ‘69-70, and in singles from ‘67-71.

In the mid to late-70s, Mickey Rivers had an adequate role there, hitting .299 with 73 walks and 168 strikeouts, 289 runs, and an OBP of .324. One forgotten player who did well in the role was Alfonso Soriano, who had a Yankee-record 13 leadoff homers in 2003 and has 54 for his career. In 2002, Soriano had a league-high 696 at-bats, 209 hits, 128 runs, and 42 steals.

Later, Derek Jeter and Brett Gardner should be included in the conversation, and Henderson, Suzuki and Raines all wore pinstripes at one time.

Currently, Aaron Judge and D.J. LeMahieu have flourished in the role.

Amazon’ Atop ... When I think of the Mets, Tommy Agee, Bud Harrleson, Mookie Wilson, and Jose Reyes come to mind. All played integral parts in the spot for their respective teams.

For the longest time, Agee held the club record in at-bats, hits, runs, stolen bases, and total bases. He was an early trend setter in the position, as he had power with 82 homers. What people forget about Agee is that he wasn’t part of the 1973 World Series team, and split that season - his final one - with Houston and St. Louis.

Harrleson was a catalyst at the top of the lineup with his ability to bunt and run. Even though his average was .234, he had an OBP of .324 with 573 walks (595 strikeouts). Harrleson also hit in the eight-hole, and spent the 1978-79 seasons with the Phillies as a backup.

Wilson was a key to the 1986 championship. Even though his stats weren’t overwhelming – .278 average, 1,112 hits, 512 runs, .318 OBP – Wilson had the club record for steals (281) before Reyes broke it.

Reyes is regarded as the most prolific lead off hitter aside from current holder Brandon Nimmo, who has been quite productive. In his 12 years with the Mets, Reyes led the league in triples four times, stolen bases three times, and at-bats twice. His career average was .282 and OBP was .334 with 428 walks (676 strikeouts).

Dysktra and Coleman should be mentioned, but their years with the Mets weren’t as productive as with their other clubs.

Leadoff to the Dugout ... Although I may be mistaken, Rose, Molitor, and Harrleson were the most notable leadoff hitters to become managers.

Trivia Time ... Who was the home run leader in the 1980’s? Don’t think too hard, it will come to you. Mike Schmidt hit 313 during the decade and there may be some among the top five that will trigger a memory. Dale Murphy followed with 308, Eddie Murray (274), Dwight Evans (256), and Andre Dawson (250). If you were a fantasy player, you’ll remember Darrell Evans (230) and Tony Armas (225).

Time To Play ... If you’re a fantasy league player, one man’s advice this week for pitchers to play can be Atlanta’s Charlie Morton and Spencer Strider, Tampa’s Zach Eflin, and Tyler Glasnow, and the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw, as they all are starting to peak in the right direction.

On the local front, it should be safe to play the Phillies’ Zack Wheeler, Ranger Suarez and Aaron Nola, the Mets’ Max Scherzer, and the Yankees’ Gerrit Cole. Scherzer could be a gamble and Justin Verlander should have a turn-around game after his outing.

Patience Is A Virtue ... With their 2-1 loss at Pittsburgh Sunday, the Mets fell to 31-35 overall. Since May 1, they are 16-23, and have lost eight of their last nine. They begin a 24-game trek at Yankee Stadium Tuesday before the All-Star Game. With a veteran roster, manager Buck Showalter and GM Billy Eppler will need to turn it around before impatient owner Steve Cohen reacts.

Keeping Them On Top ... A big reason for Atlanta’s, Baltimore’s, Tampa’s, and Texas’ success this season has been their leadoff men. Ronald Acuna, Cedric Mullins, Yandy Diaz, and Marcus Siemen, respectively, all are having All-Star seasons. You have to throw Miami’s Luis Arraez in the mix for the Marlins’ rise and the game’s top hitter (.402).

Trivia Two ... Who was the first-ever leadoff hitter at the Vet and the Bank? In 1971, Montreal’s Charles “Boots Day” struck out against Jim Bunning, and in 2004 Cincinnati’s D’Angelo Jiminez hit a double off Randy Wolf.

You gotta remember Boots Day.

Feedback ... Your comments, thoughts, and ideas are always welcomed at tnsports@tnonline.com