Former pitcher Rheal Cormier died Monday, today at the too young age of 53 due to cancer.

He has a unique place in franchise history as the last Phillies pitcher to record a victory at Veterans Stadium (Sept. 27, 2003 against Atlanta) and the first Phillie to win a game at Citizens Bank Park (April 15, 2004 against Cincinnati).

PhilliesNation.com

My thoughts go out to his family and friends.

Cormier pitched two careers. From 1991 to 1997 he pitched mainly as a starter, going 38-39 with a 4.18 ERA. His strength came from allowing few walks, 1.9 per nine innings. His low K rate, did lead to a ton of hits.

After a shoulder injury wiped out most of 1997 and 1998, Cormier came back in 1999 as a reliever. For the rest of his career he pitched out of the pen, going 33-25 with two saves and a 3.82 ERA. His walks were up, but batters, due to his use as a LOOGY, only collected 477 hits in 507 innings.