Series Preview - Phillies at Reds: April 4th to April 7th

Monday 4:10, Wednesday 7:10 and Thursday 12:35
Great American Ballpark - Cincinnati, OH

From 2015
Phillies 63-99, 5th place in the N.L. East, 27 games behind the Mets
Reds 64-98, 5th place in the N.L. Central, 36 games behind the Cardinals

Phillies Probables:  Jeremy Hellickson (9-12, 4.62), Aaron Nola (6-2, 3.59), Charlie Morton (9-9, 4.81)
Reds Probables:  Raisel Iglesias (3-7, 4.15), Brandon Finnegan (5-2, 3.56), Robert Stephenson (0-0, 0.00)
Statistics from 2015

At the Ballpark:  On Wednesday, all fans will receive a 2016 Reds calendar and there are fireworks following the game.

Phillies Spring Training Leaders
Average:  Cesar Hernandez - .319
Runs:  Three tied with - 11
Home Runs:  Maikel Franco - 9
RBIs:  Maikel Franco - 23
Stolen Bases:  Cesar Hernandez - 6

Wins:  Three tied with - 2
ERA:  Vince Velasquez - 2.25
Strikeouts:  Vince Velasquez - 24
Saves:  Hector Neris and Reinier Roibal - 2

Reds Spring Training Leaders
Average:  Joey Votto - .455
Runs:  Five tied with - 12
Home Runs:  Adam Duvall - 4
RBIs:  Adam Duvall - 17
Stolen Bases:  Jose Peraza - 6

Wins:  A.J. Morris and Anthony DeSclafani - 2
ERA:  N/A
Strikeouts:  Anthony DeSclafani - 20
Saves:  Three tied with - 2

1970 Topps #539

1970 Topps #580

1970 Topps Appreciation:  Continuing with a feature that I began back in 2012, I'll be taking a look back at the Phillies related baseball cards from the set that inspired this year's custom Chachi cards. I'm looking forward to learning more about the former, current and future Phillies that appeared within the 1970 Topps set.

With that being said, there's not much to learn about the players featured in our initial 2016 series preview post.  Larry Bowa, the Phillies current bench coach, made his debut in 1970 as the team's every day shortstop.  He played in 145 games that season, hitting .250 and finishing third in the Rookie of the Year voting.  His double play partner for most of his games that season was Denny Doyle.  Doyle played 112 games at second in 1970, and he patrolled the infield with Bowa until he was traded to the Angels following the 1973 season.

Pete Rose had established himself as one of the best players in the game by 1970.  By the end of the 1969 season, Rose had already been a four-time All-Star and had won batting titles in 1968 and 1969.  He'll have his #14 officially retired by the Reds in a June ceremony.