These days, how can anyone write a baseball column without mentioning the Phillies?

Despite their troubles in Colorado over the weekend, the Phillies have been baseball’s top story.

Their 36-14 slate was the best 50-game start in their history, having surpassed their 35-15 starts in both 1976 and 1993.

Recently, the Philadelphia Inquirer highlighted the Phillies’ infield of Bryce Harper, Bryson Stott, Trea Turner, and Alec Bohm as one - if not the best - of the club’s all-time units.

Like pitching, infield defense wins games ... or does it?

In this week’s version of my Behind the Plate column - investigating past and present trends with the Phillies, Mets, and Yankees as well as the overall game - I’ll take a look back at some of the presumed good and bad infields.

Nothing Like the Present ... According to the Inquirer, the current Phillies’ infield was among the top eight at their respective positions based on Fangraphs’ wins above replacement. Harper and Bohm were first, Stott was sixth, and Turner, out with a hamstring, is seventh.

Considering Harper moved to first and Stott is a shortstop by trade, the transformation has been remarkable and a big part of the Phils’ success.

Harper had just one error and a .997 fielding percentage, Stott had three and is at .984, Turner has four and is at .963, and Bohm has six and is at .967.

Throw in catcher J. T. Realmuto with his two errors and a .995 clip.

That 70s Show ... Many fans believe the Phillies’ mid-70s infield units were the club’s best. They produced consecutive 101-win seasons, but how sound were they in the field?

Larry Bowa, Mike Schmidt and Bob Boone were the mainstays of the 1976-77 clubs, with Dick Allen and Rich Hebner, along with Dave Cash and Ted Sizemore the alternates, respectively.

In 1976, Allen had eight errors for a .989 percentage; Cash, 10, .988; Bowa, 17, .975; Schmidt, 21, .961; and Boone, nine, .991. Tommy Hutton didn’t make an error at his time at first.

In 1977, Hebner had 11 errors for a .989 percentage; Sizemore, 11, .964; Bowa, 13, .983; Schmidt, 20, .964; and Boone, eight, .989.

Many believed the 1977 club was a better fielding foursome than the previous years, but numbers can make an argument here.

Championship Casts ... There also have been plenty of chatter about the infields of the championship 1980 and 2008 teams.

The 1980 team was famous for its clutch hits and grit, but their infield numbers weren’t glowing.

Pete Rose was solid at first with just five errors (.997), but touted glove man Manny Trillo had 11 (.987), and Bowa (17, .975), Schmidt (27, .946) and Boone (18, .979) could have had some tighter grips.

The following season, the Phils’ four had a better year because Schmidt and Trillo both were tighter in the field.

In 2008, the script was a bit similar. Ryan Howard had 19 errors (.988); Chase Utley, 13, .984; Jimmy Rollins, seven, .988; Pedro Feliz, eight, .974; and Carlos Ruiz, five, .993.

Best of the Rest ... Over the past 50-plus years, there have been some notable infields noted for their fielding.

How good was the “Big Red Machine’s” infield of Tony Perez, Joe Morgan, Dave Concepcion, and Pete Rose? They were solid at both ends, and add Johnny Bench behind the plate.

Or how about the Dodgers’ 70s group of Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, Bill Russell, and Ron Cey? Like the Reds, they threw plenty of leather, especially Garvey and Russell.

Going back to the late 60s and early 70s, the Orioles’ cast of Boog Powell, Davey Johnson, Luis Aparicio/Mark Belanger, and Brooks Robinson certainly helped their vaunted staff.

The 1993 Blue Jays infield of John Olerud, Roberto Alomar, Tony Fernandez, and Ed Sprague helped them to a title. A year later, the Astros’ Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, Andujar Cedeno and Ken Caminiti were a solid group.

Big Apple Arounds ... When the Mets won the World Series in 1969, their infield was considered to be one of the league’s best.

Ed Kranepool (six errors, .993) always had a sharp glove, and Donn Clendenon, seven, (.984) could scoop it. Ken Boswell (18, .959) and Al Weis (13, .965), along with Bud Harrelson (13, .969), were steady up the middle, and Wayne Garrett (11,. 971) and Ed Charles (seven, .946) handled the corner. Jerry Grote was one of the better defensive catchers.

The Yankees’ 1977 title team had a high-profile lineup with Chris Chambliss (16, .983), Willie Randolph (16, .980) Bucky Dent (18, .934), and Craig Nettles (12, .974), but they all had double-digit miscues. Thurman Munson lived up to his reputation (four, .984)

In the Yankees’ 2009 title, they had a formidable foursome of Mark Texiera, Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez.

Less Prestigious Leaders ... There have been a number of Phillies who have led the league in errors.

Turner had a league-high 23 last season, and Jean Segura topped the league with 20 in 2019. Desi Relaford had 31 combined in 2000 with the Phillies and Padres.

Allen wasn’t known for his fielding early in his career, and he had 41 in his rookie year of 1964. He followed that up with 35 in 1967. Granny Hamner had 37 in 1953, and 38 in 1954.

In a mind-boggling thought, Jim Holdsworth had 98 in 1874. You wonder how?

Readers Write ... More Phillies’ “Blemishes” (May 20, 2024 column)

Hi Jeff!

That was quite a list of blemishes among the Phillies. That was, sadly to say, not a complete list of Phillies who never reached their potential. You may add the following:

Brock Stassi (1B), Tyler Greene (P), Mike Grace (P), Paul Brown (P), Dylan Couzins (OF), Rick Schu (3B), Darick Hall (1B), Dominic Brown (OF), Vance Worley (P), Tommy Joseph (1B) and Jeff Stone (OF).

It must be mentioned, however, that Stone had injury problems. I always thought that Clay Dalrymple (C) and Mike Anderson (OF) had good baseball sense and could show some leather at their respective positions.

Richard Ochs

Walnutport, PA

Jeff,

You can add Brad Baisley to the list. He said he had Randy Johnson’s height, but he didn’t pan out for the Phillies.

Andrew S.

Danielsville

Editor’s Note: The 6-9, 225-pound Baisley was the Phillies second-round pick in the 1998 draft. Baisley was 10-7 with a 2.26 ERA at Class-A Piedmont in 1999. He made it to Double-A Reading in 2002, and his final year was with the Yankees’ Class A club in 2004. His career record was 30-43 with a 4.02 ERA.

Time Passages ... Each week, I’ll look back at a game from our baseball past. In keeping with the recent Phillies-Rockies series, this one truly proved to be a memorable one.

The Phils opened the 1994 season in Colorado at Coors Field on April 4, fresh off their World Series run and also in the second year of Colorado’s existence.

The Rockies came off an inaugural 67-95 season, and added sluggers Ellis Burks and ex-Met Howard Johnson in the offseason in hopes of improvement. Morning temperatures unexpectedly hovered around 70 degrees, but the forecast predicted snow in the early evening.

Curt Schilling started for the Phils, and Armando Reynoso began for the Rockies.

The Phils won the game, 12-6, behind Mariano Duncan’s three hits - two homers - and four RBIs. Heathcliff Slocumb picked up the win. Andres Galarraga had three hits and three RBIs for Colorado.

The game lasted 3:36, and snow fell afterward at 29 degrees.

Final thoughts ... Is this the Phillies’ year? It appears to be with the Braves’ loss of Ronald Acuna Jr. But Atlanta has a lot of talent that hasn’t all surfaced yet.

I still like a Phillies-Yankees or Yankees-Dodgers World Series. The Mets? They will be sellers soon, and Pete Alonso’s situation will heat up.

Feedback … Your comments are always welcomed at tnsports@tnonline.com.