Monday, June 27, 2016

Phillies Missing Links of the 1980s - #18 Steve Stanicek

#33
Stephen Blair Stanicek
Pinch Hitter

The older brother of the Orioles' Pete Stanicek, Steve Stanicek accumulated nine pinch-hit appearances with the Phillies as a September call-up in 1989.  A first baseman with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons, Stanicek never took the field while with the Phillies.  He had one hit in nine pinch-hit appearances, an RBI single off the Expos' Zane Smith.

In nine seasons in the minor leagues with the Giants, Brewers and Phillies organizations, Stanicek hit 108 home runs.  His best season by far was 1987, when he hit .352 with 25 home runs and 106 RBIs for the Triple-A Denver Zephyrs, earning him a promotion to the Brewers.  His brief appearances with the Brewers in 1987 and the Phillies in 1989 were to be his only Major League action.

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  190
Born:  June 19, 1961, Lake Forest, IL
Drafted:  Drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 1st round of the 1982 amateur draft, June 7, 1982
Major League Teams:  Milwaukee Brewers 1987; Phillies 1989
Professional Affiliations:  San Francisco Giants 1982-1985; Milwaukee Brewers 1986-1988; Phillies 1989-1990

Phillies Career
9 games, 1 for 9 (.111) with an RBI single and 3 strikeouts
Acquired:  Signed as a free agent formerly with the Milwaukee Brewers, January 11, 1989
Debut:  September 5, 1989 - Pinch-hit for Dwayne Murphy in the seventh inning and flied out to left
Final Game:  October 1, 1989
Departed:  Released by the Phillies, October 11, 1989, but came back to play the 1990 season in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre

Just for the heck of it, here are the nine batters Stanicek pinch-hit for during his Phillies career: Dwayne Murphy, Todd Frohwirth, Lenny Dykstra, Ken Howell (x 2), Don Carman, Tom Barrett, Jason Grimsley and Pat Combs.

1988 Fleer #174
 
1989 CMC Scranton/Wilkes-
Barre Red Barons #12
1990 CMC #242
 
1990 ProCards #608
 
3 Stanicek Baseball Card in My Collection
First Card:  1989 CMC Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons #12
Last Card:  1990 ProCards #608

Other Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1988 Fleer #174
First Topps Base Card:  N/A
Last Mainstream Card:  1988 Fleer #174
Other Notable Cards:  1984 First Base Shreveport Captains, 1988 Kenner Starting Line-Up Talking Baseball Orioles #16, 1989 ProCards #717, 1990 CMC Pre-Rookie #242

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.

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