Do the Phillies have the best starting staff in the majors? And why will the game unlikely see a season like Billy Martin once guided anytime soon?

The Phillies recently ended April with an overall 22-11 record, and 13 wins in their last 16 games before Saturday’s game against the Giants.

It has been a rather quiet ascent, as the Phils were hitting a seemingly mediocre .253, yet still ranked fourth overall among teams in hitting.

Alec Bohm and Trea Turner both have been among the league leaders in hitting, but the team had the fourth-best total of 40 homers. Turner, however, suffered a possible prolonged hamstring injury that could develop into a major problem.

The Phillies’ 20 wins in April set a new club record.

In this week’s version of my Behind the Plate column - investigating past and present trends with the Phillies, Mets, and Yankees as well as the overall game - I’ll take a look at some starting pitching facts from the past and present, as well as a Phillies-A’s connection.

Philling It Up ... The starting staff of Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suarez, Spencer Turnbull, and Cristopher Sanchez have posted a combined ERA of 2.50, best in the National League and second best behind the Red Sox (2.03).

Taking it a bit further, Nola and Wheeler rank one and two in overall innings pitched since 2020, with Nola having 690 and Wheeler tallying 666. Also, Wheeler has the best WAR mark at 20.6 since 2020. The emergence of Suarez - who had a 1.32 ERA through his first six starts - Turnbull, and Sanchez have solidified a staff that continues to shuffle through its bullpen.

On average, the starters have been able to pitch into the sixth inning to help produce a league-leading overall 3.36 ERA. The bullpen has recorded a league second-best 11 saves, and the staff also led the league in strikeouts (314), and was fourth in walks issued (98). Taijuan Walker is back from the injured list, and his presence should elevate the situation.

A Complete Season ... Once a constant, the complete game began to rapidly vanish in the 70s with the emergence of the long reliver and the closer.

But Martin took baseball back in time with the A’s in 1980 when an eye-opening season - and “Billyball” - began.

He came on the scene after being fired by the Yankees for the fifth time, and joined an A’s team that had lost 108 games the previous season under Jim Marshall - who had a three-year stint as the Cubs’ skipper from 1974-76 (You have to be a true die-hard to remember him.)

Martin’s starting staff of Rick Langford, Mike Norris, Matt Keough, Steve McCatty, and Brian Kingman threw a combined 94 complete games and accounted for 79 of the team’s 83 wins. The bullpen mustered a total of 13 saves.

Langford went 19-12, 3.36 ERA, 28 complete games; Norris, 22-9, 2.53, 24 complete games; Keough 16-13, 2.92, 20 complete games; McCatty, 14-14, 2.86, 11 complete games; and Kingman 8-20, 3.83, 10 complete games. The staff’s overall ERA was 3.46. Bob Lacey had six saves and Jeff Jones followed with five. How many of you remember all of those guys?

Offensively, Dave Revering was the team’s leading power hitter with 15 homers and 62 RBIs, and Ricky Henderson hit .303 with 100 stolen bases. Former Phillie Jim Essian was the primary catcher.

“Billy Ball” involved the team’s pitching staff being ranked in the top 10 in every category except home runs (12), and of course, saves (13). On the other side of the ball, the team ranked second in stolen bases (175) and seventh in walks (506).

The following season, the A’s were 64-45 and won the AL West in the strike-shortened season. Beleaguered owner Charlie Finley sold the club to Walter Haas, who sought to upgrade the club. The A’s swept the Royals in the divisional round, but they lost in three to the Yankees in the championship series. Former Phillie Tom Underwood appeared in 27 games out of the bullpen.

Like most of his stops, Martin’s stay was short as he was fired after his club dipped to fifth in 1982.

Oakland stumbled through a few more seasons before Tony LaRussa took over in 1998, and the Mark McGwire-Jose Canseco “Bash Brothers” period began.

It is very unlikely that baseball will ever see another season like Oakland’s 1980 one anytime soon.

From Coast to Coast ... Most of us can recollect some semblance of the old Philadelphia A’s before they made their moves to Kansas City and eventually Oakland. Upon research, I discovered that Connie Mack wasn’t just involved with the A’s.

Looking back, there have been some interesting players who wore both the A’s and Phillies’ uniforms through the years.

Locally, Palmerton’s legendary Elmer Valo spent time with the A’s and Phillies from 1940-56.

Others on both coasts besides Essian and Underwood were Dick Allen, Joe Morgan, Stan Bahnsen, Joe Blanton, Ollie Brown, Deron Johnson, Rick Joseph, Jeff Parrett, and Manny Trillo to name a few.

Not That Complete ... The Phils’ 1977 staff that featured Steve Carlton (23 wins), Larry Christenson (19) and Jim Lonborg (11) totaled 31 complete games. The previous season, the staff accumulated 34 complete games.

The 1998 A’s won 104 games and had 22 complete games, while the 1990 A’s won 103 games and had just 18 complete games.

History Books ... Since 1969, the complete game has been steadily fading. In the aforementioned year, baseball had 982 complete games, paced by the Cardinals’ 69.

Bob Gibson had a 20-13 record with 28 complete games and Carlton was 17-11 with 12.

Pick’em Up ... We’re seven weeks into the baseball season, and starting pitchers have been at a premium in rotisserie leagues due to the rash of arm injuries.

However, Wheeler should be a pickup along with Baltimore’s Corbin Burnes, the Dodgers’ Tyler Glasnow, Detroit’s Tarik Skubal, Minnesota’s Pablo Lopez, and Kansas City’s Cole Ragans.

Time Passages ... On May 4, 1973, the Phillies won a 20-inning, 5-4 contest over the Atlanta Braves at 12:55 a.m. at the Vet. It was the Phils’ longest game since 1918.

Jose Pagan’s sacrifice fly scored Denny Doyle, who had tripled. The Braves had 17 hits, as Darrell Evans went 3-for-9 with four RBIs, and Mike Lum went 3-for-8. The Phils had just nine hits, while Doyle and Mike Anderson each had a pair.

Dick Ruthven and future Phillie Ron Reed were the starters. Jim Lonborg picked up the win, and Tom Kelley took the loss.

Farewell to a Friend ... I recently learned of the passing of Reading Eagle longtime baseball writer Tony Zonca. He was one of the most knowledgeable baseball scribes I ever met, and had a true passion for the game.

See you one day, Tony, in the field of dreams.

Feedback ... Your comments, ideas, and thoughts are welcomed at tnsports@tnonline.com