The Main Event

  • Aaron Nola (born 1993) – Drafted out of Louisiana State University with the seventh overall pick in the 2014 Draft. Nola is 112-93 with a 3.89 ERA in 12 major league seasons.

Long before Aaron Nola threw his first professional pitch, scouts had already been tracking him for years. Nola caught the attention of evaluators while still at Catholic High School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he was named the 2011 Class 5A State Player of the Year and voted the state’s “Mr. Baseball.” Those efforts earned him a selection in the 22nd round of the 2011 Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays, but he decided to honor his commitment to Louisiana State University. His older brother Austin was also drafted by Toronto that same year, and both brothers turned down the Blue Jays to play the 2012 season together at LSU.

At LSU, Nola didn’t just develop — he dominated. He carved up hitters with incredible command of a three-pitch repertoire that included low-90s heat and a plus changeup. Pre-draft scouting reports raved about his polish and his unusually advanced feel for pitching at such a young age. Scouts noted his clean and efficient delivery, a deceptive three-quarters arm slot, and an impressive ability to repeat his release point. While evaluators acknowledged that other pitchers in the 2014 class boasted higher ceilings, none came close to matching Nola’s track record of success against top-flight SEC hitters over three seasons.

His final college campaign was exceptional. In 2014, Nola went 11-1 in 16 starts with a 1.47 ERA, striking out 134 and walking just 27 in 116.1 innings, with LSU going 15-1 in his starts. He finished his career at LSU with a 30-6 record and a 2.09 ERA and was honored as the SEC’s Pitcher of the Year in both 2013 and 2014. He was named the College Baseball Foundation’s National Pitcher of the Year in 2014 and was a finalist for the prestigious Golden Spikes Award.

From the Minors to Philadelphia: A Fast Track to the Majors

The Philadelphia Phillies selected Nola seventh overall in the 2014 Draft and wasted little time getting him started. He began his professional career with Clearwater, which was then a High-A team, and did not allow a walk in 19 consecutive innings at one point during his debut. He went 4-3 with a 2.93 ERA across 12 games between Clearwater and Double-A Reading in his first professional season. The following spring, he returned to Reading and went 7-3 with a 1.88 ERA in 12 starts before earning a promotion to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, where he was equally impressive.

The call to the majors came faster than almost anyone anticipated. The Phillies, struggling with the worst record in the major leagues, announced he would be called up to make his big league debut after the All-Star Game. In front of one of the largest crowds of the year at Citizens Bank Park, he gave up only one run in six innings while keeping hitters off balance with his assortment of pitches. By season’s end he had gone 6-2 with a 3.59 ERA in his rookie campaign — a clear signal that a front-of-the-rotation arm had arrived.

Elbow Trouble and the Road Back

Then came the turbulence. In 2016, Nola hit a wall. He stumbled to a 4.78 ERA in 20 starts before missing the last two months of the season with an injury to his pitching elbow. In his last eight starts of 2016, he had an ERA of 9.82 with a WHIP of 2.06. There was a fear that Nola would have to undergo Tommy John surgery, but the team decided to let the elbow heal without surgery, opting for a platelet-rich plasma injection and rehab instead. He began 2017 cautiously, then went back on the shelf with a back injury. After returning, however, Nola had the best stretch of pitching he had ever produced in his career, logging a 3.43 ERA with 10 strikeouts per nine innings and a 1.16 WHIP over 24 starts.

That resurgence set the stage for 2018, the season that firmly established Nola as an elite pitcher. He finished with a 17-6 record and a 2.37 ERA, earned his first All-Star selection, and finished third in NL Cy Young Award voting. It was a breakout year that validated everything the Phillies had believed when they drafted him. The team responded by signing him to a four-year, $45 million extension in February 2019.

The seasons that followed were a mixed bag. Nola remained durable and productive — he has not missed a single start since a handful of missed starts in 2017 and has pitched at least 180 innings in each of the past five full seasons — but he couldn’t quite recapture the magic of 2018. In 2021, his ERA ticked up to 4.63, and questions lingered about whether he would develop into a big-game pitcher. Some fans grew impatient with a man who had been a Cy Young contender by age 25 but hadn’t always been so warmly embraced at Citizens Bank Park.

The 2022 Postseason and a Long-Term Commitment to Philadelphia

The 2022 postseason run changed that narrative. Nola was instrumental in Philadelphia’s Cinderella run to the World Series, delivering his finest October baseball. He posted a 2.36 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, and 45 strikeouts over his final six regular-season starts, and continued that dominance into the playoffs. He finished fourth in NL Cy Young voting that year, his third time receiving votes.

Nola’s loyalty to the organization was cemented in November 2023, when he signed a seven-year, $172 million contract with the Phillies rather than testing the open market. He also climbed the franchise’s all-time strikeout list, surpassing Robin Roberts for second in franchise history during the 2024 season.

Now in 2026, at 33 years old, Nola is coming off a difficult 2025 campaign in which he posted a 6.01 ERA across 17 starts, raising questions about whether his best days are behind him. It is a sobering chapter for a pitcher who, at his peak, was as good as anyone in the National League — a homegrown ace who has spent his entire career in Philadelphia and given the Phillies’ faithful more than a decade of memories worth cheering for, however quietly he walked off the mound.

Philadelphia Baseball Events for June 4

  • June 4, 1897 – Leading 4-0 in the fourth, the visiting Pittsburgh players began throwing the ball around the field to delay the game and force a rain out. The visitors were upset over an earlier call on a foul ball and the resulting ejection of the their team captain. The umpire called the game, but awarded the Phillies the win.
  • June 4, 1951 – Pirate Gus Bell hits for the cycle in a 12-4 win over the Phillies at Shibe Park. His grandson, David, will hit one for the Phillies in 2004.
  • June 4, 1953 – Curt Simmons cuts off part of his left big toe while mowing his lawn. His injury might have been worse had he not been wearing heavy shoes he got during his service in the Army. He missed a month of playing time, but still won 16 games in the season.
  • June 4, 1990 – Lenny Dykstra makes his only appearance as a Phillie on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
  • June 4, 2013 – John Mayberry Jr. became the first Phillie to collect two extra-inning home runs in the same game. He tied the game with a 10th inning solo shot, then won it with a walk-off grand slam in the 11th for a 7-3 win over Miami.

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Philadelphia Baseball Birthdays for June 4

  • George Watkins (born 1900) – An outfielder, Watkins played for the Phillies in 1935 and ’36. In 169 games he hit .267/.317/.410/.728 before being purchased by the Brooklyn Dodgers.
  • Orville Jorgens (born 1908) – A right-hander who pitched three seasons in the majors, all of them with Philadelphia. In 1935 – his first year in the majors – he led the NL with 53 games pitched. In 54 starts and 90 relief appearances, Jorgens posted a 4.70 ERA.
  • Joe Holden (born 1913) – A left-handed hitting catcher, Holden also played in three MLB seasons, all of which were with the Phillies. He appeared in only 17 games and hit .083 (2-24).
  • Art Mahaffey (born 1938) – A right-hander, Mahaffey pitched for the Phillies from 1960-1965. In 173 games – 143 starts – he was 58-60 with a 4.09 ERA.
  • Phil Linz (born 1939) – An infielder, Linz is best known for his time with the Yankees from (1962-1965). He played 67 games with the 1966 and 1967 Phillies and hit .205.
  • Steve Searcy (born 1964) – A left-hander originally drafted by Detroit in the third round of the 1985 Draft. Finished his career with the Phillies in 1991 and 1992. Went 2-1, 4.65 with Philadelphia.
  • J.C. Romero (born 1976) – A reliever who pitched for the Phillies from 2007-2011 with a 2.73 ERA in 237 games.

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