Wising up in South Philly

Rick Wise batting in 1971 for the Phillies

Long before Shohei Ohtani dominates the major leagues both as a pitcher and designated hitter in Los Angeles first for the Angels and now the Dodgers, the Philadelphia Phillies have their own unicorn of a sort in pitcher Rick Wise.

Unlike Ohtani, Wise strictly is a pitcher who happens to be quite good at throwing a baseball.

He is quite good at hitting a baseball, too.

Just two months and five days after homering twice while pitching a no-hitter against the Reds in Cincinnati, Wise again homers twice in a game.

Rick Wise pitching in 1971 for the Phillies

That game comes 54 years ago tonight as Wise drives in five runs with a pair of home runs while also striking out 11 in a complete-game, 7-3 victory over San Francisco.

Before a Saturday night crowd of 33,012 in the second game of a doubleheader at Veterans Stadium, Wise hits his first homer of the night with two outs in the fifth inning.

The solo homer to deep left field off Giants starter John Cumberland snaps a 2-2 tie.

The Giants then tie the score at 3 before Wise again unties that score and gives the Phillies a 7-3 lead on a grand slam – again on a drive to deep left field – off relief pitcher Don McMahon with one out in the seventh inning.

The victory is Wise’s 14th in a 1971 season in which he finishes with 17 wins as a pitcher and six homers as a hitter.

Wise then spends the offseason looking for a new contract from the Phillies, who eventually tire of his demands for more money and trade him during spring training in 1972 for another disgruntled pitcher also looking for a pay raise.

And, just like that, the Phillies trade Wise to the St. Louis Cardinals for Steve Carlton.

Philadelphia fans initially are irate at the Phillies for trading away their beloved Wise.

That angst soon dissipates as Carlton wins 27 games for Philadelphia in 1972 and then another 214 games for them over the next 14 seasons on his way to the Hall of Fame.

Wise does just fine, too, putting together an 18-year career with his best work coming between 1967-79, a span over which he posts 168 victories. 

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