A recent Sotheby’s sale of 55 Old Masters works, collected over decades by Jordan and Thomas A. Saunders III, yielded just $64.7 million, far below the initial estimate of $80 million to $120 million.

For years, the Phillies were known as an organization that let their minor league players die on the vine, so to speak. They were so cautious about moving players up a level that many of them started ...