For the third time in their history, the Phillies have the cornerstones for a pennant-winning run, and general manager Matt Klentak’s next major deal will involve his All-Star catcher.

Championship foundation:

Another lightning strike: The Philadelphia Phillies have recently acquired their third and fourth cornerstones: one through a trade and the other via free agency. Yes, the past and present front offices have produced a core four, and the current execs have picked up the last two stars since Feb. 7 during a spectacular offseason.

IN OTHER WORDS: “Any structure must have a strong foundation. The cornerstones anchor the foundation. For some reason the cornerstones that I chose to begin with I never changed.” – John Wooden

Since the MLB Draft began in 1965, franchises selecting early in the first round had the worse records in the previous 162. Consequently, those organizations picked the top talent during their losing window, and foundational players were the result in many cases. However, some disagree.

Here’s a clue! From the 1980 squad, who do you see more now in Clearwater and/or Philadelphia? Well, Mike Schmidt, Greg Luzinski and Larry Bowa were the cornerstones along with Steve Carlton. And the 2008 representatives were Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard along with Cole Hamels.

Other than the aces, those championship core members are the ones you still hear the most about, even if they’re still active. And foundations from the red pinstripes and the late-1990’s New York Yankees had number ones, a starter, a closer, a catcher, shortstops and one-two offensive punches.

For the Fightins, Aaron Nola is more than the head of the pitching staff like Carlton and Hamels before him. Right away, you knew those aces were all business for their starts, and Nola has that same magic of putting zeros up on the scoreboard.

Regarding certain up-the-middle positions like shortstop or receiver, those two spots are pivotal. As for game speed, the fastest position is short, and the backstop calls plus handles every pitch. Well, Bowa and Rollins were the vocal cords of those teams, so will J.T. Realmuto play a similar role this year?

And while the stopper and the helmsman dictate their part of the game, the consecutive threat in the lineup is responsible for run production. In ’80, it was Schmidt and Luzinski prior to Utley and Howard in ’08. Now, Bryce Harper will hit third and Rhys Hoskins will bat cleanup.