The Philadelphia Phillies signed Vicente Padilla in 1998, an international free agent from Nicaragua.
He made the majors in 1999 and would spend 14 seasons in the big leagues. During his peak in the big leagues, roughly from 2002-2009, he was a classic #3 starter. Eating up 200 innings and generally being a league-average pitcher. He was selected to the 2002 All-Star team, a season he would go 14-11.
My memory of him was that he epitomized what a Phillie pitcher should be like. What he lacked in talent he seemed to make up in grit, and his penchant to throw the occasional inside pitch seemed…just like the kind of thing that I would expect from a Phillies pitcher.
| Year | Age | Tm | W | L | ERA | G | GS | GF | IP | H | BB | SO | ERA+ | FIP | WHIP | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 21 | ARI | 0 | 1 | 16.88 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2.2 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 30 | 11.38 | 3.750 | |
| 2000 | 22 | TOT | 4 | 7 | 3.72 | 55 | 0 | 16 | 65.1 | 72 | 28 | 51 | 129 | 3.50 | 1.531 | |
| 2001 | 23 | PHI | 3 | 1 | 4.24 | 23 | 0 | 5 | 34.0 | 36 | 12 | 29 | 101 | 2.78 | 1.412 | |
| 2002 | 24 | PHI | 14 | 11 | 3.28 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 206.0 | 198 | 53 | 128 | 118 | 3.72 | 1.218 | AS |
| 2003 | 25 | PHI | 14 | 12 | 3.62 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 208.2 | 196 | 62 | 133 | 110 | 4.25 | 1.236 | |
| 2004 | 26 | PHI | 7 | 7 | 4.53 | 20 | 20 | 0 | 115.1 | 119 | 36 | 82 | 99 | 4.63 | 1.344 | |
| 2005 | 27 | PHI | 9 | 12 | 4.71 | 27 | 27 | 0 | 147.0 | 146 | 74 | 103 | 94 | 5.24 | 1.497 | |
| 2006 | 28 | TEX | 15 | 10 | 4.50 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 200.0 | 206 | 70 | 156 | 103 | 4.26 | 1.380 | |
| 2007 | 29 | TEX | 6 | 10 | 5.76 | 23 | 23 | 0 | 120.1 | 146 | 50 | 71 | 79 | 5.26 | 1.629 | |
| 2008 | 30 | TEX | 14 | 8 | 4.74 | 29 | 29 | 0 | 171.0 | 185 | 65 | 127 | 94 | 5.03 | 1.462 | |
| 2009 | 31 | TOT | 12 | 6 | 4.46 | 26 | 25 | 0 | 147.1 | 156 | 54 | 97 | 101 | 4.45 | 1.425 | |
| 2010 | 32 | LAD | 6 | 5 | 4.07 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 95.0 | 79 | 24 | 84 | 95 | 4.21 | 1.084 | |
| 2011 | 33 | LAD | 0 | 0 | 4.15 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 8.2 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 93 | 2.68 | 1.385 | |
| 2012 | 34 | BOS | 4 | 1 | 4.50 | 56 | 0 | 10 | 50.0 | 59 | 15 | 51 | 94 | 3.96 | 1.480 | |
| 14 Y | 14 Y | 14 Y | 108 | 91 | 4.32 | 386 | 237 | 37 | 1571.1 | 1612 | 551 | 1121 | 100 | 4.41 | 1.377 | |
| 162 | 162 | 162 | 12 | 10 | 4.32 | 42 | 26 | 4 | 172 | 176 | 60 | 122 | 100 | 4.41 | 1.377 |