NewsPhils 12th club with four 30-homer hitters
Ibanez hits pair, Utley swats one to join Howard, Werth
By Todd Zolecki / MLB.com
09/08/09 10:53 PM ET
WASHINGTON -- The Phillies hit five solo home runs Tuesday at Nationals Park.Doubles and triples? Forget about it.
"Win however you can," Raul Ibanez said following the 5-3 victory over the Nationals. "Just win."
The Phillies have scored a Major-League leading 46.6 percent of their runs this season from home runs. Ibanez homered twice Tuesday. Jayson Werth, Chase Utley and Carlos Ruiz each homered once. Ibanez and Utley each reached 30 homers for the season to give Philadelphia four players with 30 homers. Ryan Howard has 38, Werth has 32 and Ibanez and Utley each have 30.
The Phillies are the first team since the 2006 White Sox to have four players with 30 or more homers. They are the 12th team in baseball history to accomplish the feat.
"It's a potent offense," Ibanez said. "It's fun to watch these guys."
Here are the other 11 teams to accomplish that feat:
• 2006 White Sox: Joe Crede, Jermaine Dye, Paul Konerko, Jim Thome.
• 2004 Cubs: Moises Alou, Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, Sammy Sosa.
• 2000 Angels: Garret Anderson, Troy Glaus, Tim Salmon, Mo Vaughn.
• 2000 Blue Jays: Tony Batista, Jose Cruz Jr., Carlos Delgado, Brad Fullmer.
• 1999 Rockies: Dante Bichette, Vinny Castilla, Todd Helton, Larry Walker.
• 1998 Braves: Andres Galarraga, Andruw Jones, Chipper Jones, Javy Lopez.
• 1997 Rockies: Ellis Burks, Castilla, Galarraga, Walker.
• 1997 Dodgers: Eric Karros, Raul Mondesi, Mike Piazza, Todd Zeile.
• 1996 Rockies: Bichette, Burks, Castilla, Galarraga.
• 1995 Rockies: Bichette, Castialla, Galarraga, Walker.
• 1977 Dodgers: Dusty Baker, Ron Cey, Steve Garvey, Reggie Smith.
Utley, Ibanez and Howard have made this year's Phillies only the second team in Major League history with three left-handed batters to hit 30 homers in a season. The first was the 1929 Phillies trio of Lefty O'Doul, Don Hurst and Chuck Klein.
The Phillies twice had teams with four players with 25 or more home runs. They had Howard (58), Utley (32), Pat Burrell (29) and Jimmy Rollins (25) in 2006, and Howard (47), Rollins (30), Burrell (30) and Aaron Rowand (27) in '07.
Todd Zolecki is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
