Saturday, June 25, 2016

Phillies Missing Links of the 1980s - #16 Al Pardo

#31
Alberto Judas Pardo
Catcher

For two straight years in 1988 and 1989, when the Phillies needed to add an additional catcher to their bench in September, Al Pardo got the call.  Wearing #35 in 1988 and #31 in 1989, Pardo accumulated only three at-bats in his two stints with the Phillies, striking out twice and grounding out to second.  Prior to his brief Phillies career, Pardo was a back-up catcher for the Orioles, playing in 50 games in 1985 and 1986.

As of this writing, Pardo is one of only four players born in Spain to have reached the Majors.

Bats:  Both  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  187
Born:  September 8, 1962, Oviedo, Spain
Drafted:  Drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 2nd round of the 1980 amateur draft, June 3, 1980
Major League Teams:  Baltimore Orioles 1985-1986; Phillies 1988-1989
Professional Affiliations:  Baltimore Orioles 1980-1986; Atlanta Braves 1987; New York Mets 1987-1988; Phillies 1988-1989; Yucaton Leones 1993

Pardo also appears to have spent time playing in China and Japan.

Phillies Career
3 games, 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts
Acquired:  Purchased from the New York Mets, July 30, 1988
Debut:  September 5, 1988 (Game 1) - Entered the game in the sixth inning, replacing John Russell in a blow-out loss to the Cubs
Final Game:  September 9, 1989
Departed:  Released, October 11, 1989

1986 Donruss #489
 
1986 Topps #279
 
1989 CMC Scranton/Wilkes-
Barre Red Barons #21
1989 ProCards #711
 
2 Pardo Baseball Card in My Collection
First Card:  1989 CMC Scraton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons #21
Last Card:  1989 ProCards #711

Other Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1986 Donruss #489
First Topps Base Card:  1986 Topps #279
Last Mainstream Card:  1986 Topps #279
Other Notable Cards:  1981 TCMA Miami Orioles #2, 1988 ProCards #1594

Sources:  Baseball Reference and The Trading Card Database

This is a continuing series looking at those players who spent time with the Phillies but possess no baseball card proof of their time in Philadelphia.  I will make my way through the decade of the 1980s first and then work my way forward.  In some cases, the First and Last Mainstream cards listed above have been subjectively chosen if multiple cards were released in that year.

2 comments:

Burnell said...

I saw pictures of him from Topps on eBay a few months ago. I never knew he had pics of him in his Phillies uni.

Jim said...

I think I scanned the picture I used for this card from an old issue of The Phillies Report.