Sunday, July 23, 2017

Phillies Missing Links of the 1990s - #17 Mike Robertson

#34
Michael Francis Robertson
Outfield-First Base

In an under-the-radar offseason trade, the Phillies sent the homegrown Gene Schall to the White Sox for Mike Robertson on January 31, 1997.  Schall was a year older than Robertson and the recent acquisition of Rico Brogna from the Mets meant that he'd be without a position with the big club in 1997.  Robertson was also primarily a first baseman, but he had seen some time in the outfield while moving up through the White Sox system.  In 1996, he attained career highs in home runs (21) and RBIs (74) while hitting .258 for the Nashville Sounds.

Robertson started the 1997 season with the Triple-A Red Barons, appearing in 121 games and tallying impressive numbers - .298, 12 home runs, 72 RBIs.  Terry Francona's team was mired in last place when Gregg Jefferies injured his hamstring in mid-August and Robertson got the call on August 24th.  He'd appear in 22 games through the end of the season, hitting .211 (8 for 38) with two doubles and four RBIs.  Following the season, despite his decent numbers in the minors, Robertson was let go and he'd eventually sign with the Diamondbacks.

In 1998, he appeared in 11 games with the Diamondbacks and then bounced from the Pirates to the Astros to the Braves organizations between 1999 and 2001 before retiring.

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  180
Born:  October 9, 1970, Norwich, CT
Drafted:  Drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 3rd round of the 1991 amateur player draft.
Major League Teams:  Chicago White Sox 1996; Phillies 1997; Arizona Diamondbacks 1998
Professional Affiliations:  Chicago White Sox 1991-1996; Phillies 1997; Arizona Diamondbacks 1998; Pittsburgh Pirates 1999; Houston Astros 2000; Atlanta Braves 2001

Phillies Career
22 games, .211 (8 for 38), 2 doubles, 4 RBIs
Acquired:  Acquired from the Chicago White Sox for Gene Schall, January 31, 1997.
Debut:  August 24, 1997 - Pinch-hit for Mark Parent in the eighth inning against the Dodgers, popping out to second.
Final Game:  September 28, 1997 - In the final game of the season, entered the game in the fourth inning playing first base, and went 0 for 2 with a strikeout.
Departed:  Granted free agency on October 10, 1997, and signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks, January 12, 1998.

1992 Bowman #687
 
1993 Upper Deck #448
 
1994 Bowman #43
 
1997 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
Red Barons #18
1 Robertson Baseball Card in My Collection
1997 Best Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons #18

Other Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1992 Bowman #687
First Topps Base Card:  N/A
Last Mainstream Card:  1994 Bowman #43
Other Notable Cards:  1993 Bowman #315, 1993 Upper Deck #448, 1994 Fleer/ProCards #634

Sources:  Baseball Reference and The Trading Card Database

Phillies Missing Links of the 1990s
1 Louie Meadows
2 Dave LaPoint
3 Darrin Chapin
4 Mickey Weston
5 Bob Wells
6 Tom Edens
7 Omar Olivares
10 Chuck Ricci
11 Dennis Springer
12 Manny Martinez
13 Rafael Quirico
14 Bronson Heflin
15 Glenn Dishman
16 Rob Butler
17 Mike Robertson
18 Matt Whiteside
19 Robert Dodd
20 Joel Bennett
21 Joe Grahe
22 Domingo Cedeno
23 Torey Lovullo

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.  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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