The Phillies were early contenders for the Wild Card but were unable to overcome injuries to players such as the eight time winner of what?
1999 Philadelphia Phillies season The Phillies were early contenders for the Wild Card, going a season-high 13 games over .500 on August 6 (61–48), but injuries to pitching staff ace Curt Schilling and third baseman Scott Rolen, as well as a struggling bullpen, proved too tough to overcome. In one particularly bad stretch from August 28 to September 14, the Phillies went 1–18.
Eppa Rixey Eppa Rixey Jr. (May 3, 1891 – February 28, 1963), nicknamed "Jephtha", was an American left-handed pitcher who played 21 seasons for the Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds in Major League Baseball from 1912 to 1933. Rixey was best known as the National League's leader in career victories for a left-hander with 266 wins until Warren Spahn surpassed his total in 1959.