Game 154 - The Worst Phillies Baseball Card of 2018

2018 Topps Now Road to Opening Day Bonus #ODB-20

Braves 5, Phillies 3
Game 154 - Saturday Afternoon, September 22nd in Atlanta
Record - 78-76, 2nd place, 8 1/2 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Jake Arrieta lasted just two innings and Mike Foltynewicz no-hit the offense through six innings, as the Braves dropped the Phillies, 5-3.

What It Means:  The loss clinched the N.L. division pennant for the Braves.

What Happened:  This was the shortest outing of Arrieta's career in what should be considered a bust of a season for the offseason acquisition.  The Phillies rallied for three runs in the 8th with a two-run single from Cesar Hernandez and an RBI-single from Rhys Hoskins.  Maikel Franco flew out to left fielder Ronald Acuna, Jr. to end the game and eliminate the Phillies in the division.

Featured Card:  The Phillies have made me cranky and I thought this was as good an opportunity as any to showcase what I believe to be the worst Phillies baseball card of 2018.  I'm not one to complain too often about Topps, but it's no secret within the hobby that their quality control department is sometimes lacking and it's seemingly getting worse every year.  Their unintentional errors range from presenting incorrect information on the backs of some cards to using the wrong font or design elements when reproducing their vintage designs.

The background for this particular card is that Topps produced a 15-card set during spring training for each team and sold the team sets exclusively on their website for $50.  If you purchased a team's set, bonus cards would be unlocked for certain milestones, including your team being in first place in their division at the All-Star break.  As I purchased a Phillies team set in February, and since the Phillies were in first place way back on July 15th, I was rewarded a bonus card.

This is that bonus card, which I received on August 16th.  The photo used for the card is clearly from last season as it features Aaron Altherr (optioned to Triple-A shortly after the break), Odubel Herrera and Michael Saunders, released by the Phillies on June 23, 2017, a full year before the date this card celebrates.  This baseball card, much like the 2018 Phillies season, makes me irrationally angry.