Spring Training Game 2 - Spring Brings First Schwarbomb

Pittsburgh Pirates	4
Philadelphia Phillies	3

2025 Topps Archives #167

Spring Training Game 2

Sunday Afternoon, February 22nd

BayCare Ballpark - Clearwater, FL

Record - 0-2

One Sentence Summary:  Kyle Schwarber homered in his first spring at-bat, but a sixth inning grand slam from the Pirates' Esmerlyn Valdez off reliever Jack Dallas sunk the Phils.

What It Means:  With the Blizzard of '26 bearing down on us, it was great to tune in to the first spring home game of the year.  The game itself was pretty boring, but the Phillies are playing baseball again, and that's good enough for me.

What Happened:  Schwarber launched his home run seemingly onto the highway behind BayCare Ballpark.  Carson DeMartini hit a solo home run in the sixth.  It was a bullpen game for the Phillies, with nine relievers slated to go an inning each.  Jonathan Hernandez couldn't get out of his inning, loading the bases for Dallas, a minor league call-up for the day.  Lefty Kyle Backhus looked strong in his audition for the final lefty reliever spot in the bullpen.

Featured Card:  Schwarber will be leaving the club shortly to join Team USA for the World Baseball Classic.  Here's his 1996 Topps inspired card from the 2025 Topps Archives set, released a week before Christmas.

Camp Head Count:  69

Game 80 - Houston, We Have No Offense

Philadelphia Phillies	0
Houston Astros	2

1996 Leaf Signature Series
Extended Series Autographs

Wednesday Night, June 25th

Daikin Park - Houston, TX
47-33, 1st Place, 1/2 game ahead of the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies were shut out for the second consecutive night, this time by Colton Gordon and four Astros' relievers in this 2-0 loss.

What It Means:  They'll try to avoid the three-game sweep this afternoon, and hope the Braves take care of the Mets tonight.

What Happened:  The offensive performance from the Phillies was only slightly better than Tuesday night.  The line-up managed seven singles, two each from Kyle Schwarber and Brandon Marsh, while going 1 for 5 with runners in scoring position.  Zack Wheeler gave up a run on four hits in his six innings of work, striking out eight.  Matt Strahm gave up a solo home run to Victor Caratini in the bottom of the eighth.

Featured Card:  The Phillies were shut out for the first time in consecutive games since August 13 and 14, 2022.  Had Strahm not allowed the eighth inning home run, they would have lost consecutive games by 1-0 scores for the first time since April 19 and 20, 1996, according to this post on Bluesky.  Those games came against the Cardinals and the losing pitchers were Russ Springer and Ricky Bottalico.

2025 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2025 Season Summary Index / 2025 Chachi Set Checklist

Game 13 - Phils Offense Didn't Meet Team in St. Louis

Philadelphia Phillies	0
St. Louis Cardinals	2

1996 Collector's Choice #32

Friday Night, April 11th

Busch Stadium - St. Louis, MO
8-5, 2nd Place, 1 game behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  Andre Pallante and two Cardinals' relievers held the Phillies to three singles in this quiet 2-0 defeat.

What It Means:  In a complete reverse of parts of last season, the only Phillies consistently hitting at this point are Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos.  Max Kepler (.220), Alec Bohm (.151) and Brandon Marsh (.125) are mired in lengthy slumps.

What Happened:  Provided with no run support, Aaron Nola dropped to 0-3 but did not allow any home runs.  The Cardianls scored their first run in the fifth inning when Thomas Saggese singled and came home on a Yohel Pozo double.  Nola then walked the second run of the game home, issuing a bases loaded free pass to Alec Burleson.  The Phillies offense was 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position.

Featured Card:  Yikes.  The game only took 2:17 to play, but I still turned it off early in frustration and given a busy weekend schedule ahead.  Connected to a successful college visit on Saturday by our family, here's a card of Villanova University alum and former Phillie player Gene Schall.  Excited that Schall and our oldest son will soon share the same alma mater.  Go Cats!

2025 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2025 Season Summary Index / 2025 Chachi Set Checklist

Game 44 - It's Not Going Well

1996 Circa #166

Cubs 10, Phillies 1
Game 44 - Friday Night, May 19th in Philadelphia
Record - 20-24, 4th Place, 8 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Nothing went well in this lifeless 10-1 loss to the Cubs.

What It Means:  Every time I think the Phillies have hit rock bottom for the season, a game like this happens and I reset the goalposts.

What Happened:  Phillies' starting pitcher Ranger Suarez lasted only two innings, giving up four runs on five hits and three walks.  Erich Uelmen made his Phillies debut in the fifth, and while he allowed four runs, three were unearned due to another error by Trea Turner at shortstop.  Utility player Kody Clemens had to enter the game in the ninth to record the final two outs.  It was Clemens' third appearance in May on the mound.

The Phillies offense was absent, managing three hits on the night, including a double from Bryce Harper.

Featured Card:  The Phillies have a seven-game losing streak against the Cubs, as the Cubs swept the season series last year, winning all six meetings.  As relayed by Scott Franzke last night at the end of the radio broadcast, that's the longest losing streak against the Cubs since the 1995 and 1996 seasons, when they also lost seven in a row.  That streak came to an end on June 4, 1996 when Gregg Jefferies went 4 for 5 at the plate and Pete Incaviglia drove in six runs as the Phillies routed the Cubs, 12-3.

2023 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2023 Season Summary Index / 2023 Chachi Set Checklist

Rolen Elected Into Hall of Fame

1996 Topps #434

1997 Topps #268

1998 Topps #25

1999 Topps #125

2000 Topps #328

2001 Topps #478

2002 Topps #610

2002 Topps #709

On Tuesday evening, and with 76.3% of the votes, Scott Rolen squeaked into the Hall of Fame and will be inducted in Cooperstown on July 23.  It was Rolen's fifth year on the ballot, and he saw a steady ascent since receiving just 10.2% of the votes during his initial year of 2018, when the ballot had been much more crowded.  He's a Hall of Famer on the strength of his combined offensive and defensive output, and his induction hopefully builds the case for Dick Allen, Dale Murphy and eventually Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley.

Rolen was drafted by the Phillies in the 2nd round of the June 1993 amateur player draft, and he'd make his big league debut on August 1, 1996, getting the call after third baseman Todd Zeile was dealt to the Orioles at the trade deadline.  Rolen was the team's opening day third baseman in 1997, ultimately winning the Rookie of the Year in the National League, after batting .283 with 21 home runs and 92 RBIs.  He'd win his first of eight Gold Gloves the following year in 1998.  Rolen was the Phillies' opening day and regular third baseman between 1997 and mid-2002, during some pretty lean years.  Not looking to sign a contract extension, and wanting to play for a winning team, he was dealt to the Cardinals on July 29, 2002 with Doug Nickle and cash for Placido Polanco, Bud Smith and Mike Timlin.

I was disappointed and upset with Rolen when the trade was announced, and I've since gotten over that.

In his seven seasons with the club, he appeared in 884 games, nearly 200 more than he appeared with the Cardinals.  Rolen batted .282 with 150 home runs and 559 RBIs with the Phillies, again surpassing his totals with the Cardinals.  He's not yet decided which hat his plaque will show when he's inducted, and while a Cardinals hat probably makes the most sense, I'm hoping he wears a Phillies hat.  Rolen also seems a natural candidate to be the team's Wall of Fame Inductee in 2023, but no official announcement has been made.

1996 Topps Phillies Team Set

#161 Ricky Bottalico

#85 Darren Daulton

#261 Len Dykstra

#66 Jim Eisenreich

#418 Tyler Green

#255 Charlie Hayes

#180 Gregg Jefferies

#97 Mike Mimbs

#370 Mickey Morandini

#128 Curt Schilling

#385 Heathcliff Slocumb

#44 Kevin Stocker

#240 Reggie Taylor DP

#11 Heathcliff Slocumb SP

#426 Kevin Jordan PROS

#430 Rich Hunter PROS

#431 David Coggin PROS

#434 Scott Rolen PROS

1995 Topps Phillies Team Set / 1997 Topps Phillies Team Set

Game 8 - It's Too Early to Panic, Right?

1996 Pacific
Crown Collection #152

Marlins 7, Phillies 1
Game 8 - Friday Night, April 15th in Miami
Record - 3-5, 5th Place, 3 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies looked lost again as the Marlins easily won, 7-1.

What It Means:  It's too early to panic, right?  The loss dropped the Phillies to last place in the division.

What Happened:  Let's focus on the few bright spots of the game.  Rhys Hoskins had a pair of doubles.  Simon Muzziotti collected his first big league hit, a line drive to left in the third off Marlins' pitcher Pablo Lopez, and he played stellar defense in center field.  Nick Castellanos hit a solo home run in the eighth.  James Norwood and Jeurys Familia threw two scoreless innings of relief, striking out a combined four batters.  Matt Vierling ended his 0 for 15 to start the season with a pinch-hit single in the ninth.

And now the bad stuff.  Zach Eflin didn't have it.  He lasted four innings, allowing four runs on six hits.  Reliever Nick Nelson didn't look great either.  Nelson pitched two innings, allowing three runs on four hits and three walks, while also hitting a batter.  The Phillies offense was 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position with Kyle Schwarber (.094), Bryce Harper (.138) and Bryson Stott (.190) going a combined 0 for 12 with five strikeouts.

Featured Card:  In celebration of the annual Jackie Robinson Day, both teams wore #42 in this game.  The new twist for 2022 being all teams not only wore #42, but the number is blue and in the style of Robinson's number during his Brooklyn playing days.  The Phillies broadcasters spent time during the game discussing the last active player to wear #42 for the Phillies, reliever Toby Borland.  I'm somewhat surprised this is the first time I've ever featured a Borland baseball card on this blog.

Borland wore the number during his first stint with the club between 1994 and 1996.  When he briefly returned in 1998, he had to assume #39, given #42 had been retired the year before.

2022 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2022 Season Summary Index / 2022 Chachi Set Checklist

1996 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

Number of Cards:  36
Card Size:  4" x 6"
Description:  The Phillies got wild and crazy with the design of their 1996 set, doing away with the red band and white lettering used since 1989 and instead using "scruffy" white lettering as described by the set's entry in the 2001 Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards.  The card backs feature biographical information along with complete career statistics, and the 1996 All-Star Game logo.

How Distributed:  The original 36-card set was available for sale at Veterans Stadium throughout the season.  The Catalog notes the set was sold for $9, which seems high given that recent team-issued photo card sets have sold for $5.  For the second year in a row, there was no update set issued.

The Lee Tinsley card is a rarity as it actually features a photo of outfielder Glenn Murray.  The Phillies realized their error early in the season, pulling the Tinsley/Murray card from the set.  When I bought my photo card set in the summer of 1996 at the Vet, my set had only 35 cards and was missing the Tinsley/Murray card.  I finally tracked my copy of this card down in January 2020 after searching for it for over 23 years.  I've indicated below that the Tinsley/Murray card should be considered a short-print.

Complete Standard Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here alphabetically with uniform number on back of cards): 

1. Howard Battle (#34) 2. Mike Benjamin (#5) 3. Toby Borland (#42) 4. Ricky Bottalico (#52) 5. Larry Bowa CO (#2) 6. Dave Cash CO (#30) 7. Carlos Crawford (#54) 8. Darren Daulton (#10) 9. Lenny Dykstra (#4) 10. Jim Eisenreich (#8) 11. Sid Fernandez (#50) 12. Jim Fregosi MG (#11)

13. Steve Frey (#37) 14. Mike Grace (#44) 15. Tyler Green (#28) 16. Pete Incaviglia (#9) 17. Gregg Jefferies (#25) 18. Kevin Jordan (#23) 19. Dave Leiper (#43) 20. Mike Lieberthal (#24) 21. Denis Menke CO (#14) 22. Michael Mimbs (#47) 23. Mickey Morandini (#12)     24. Terry Mulholland (#45)

25. Johnny Podres CO (#46)         26 Joe Rigoli CO (#59) 27. Ken Ryan (#51) 28. Benito Santiago (#18) 29. Russ Springer (#33) 30. Kevin Stocker (#19) 31. Lee Tinsley SP (#26) 32. John Vukovich CO (#3) 33. Mark Whiten (#22) 34. Mike Williams (#41) 35. Todd Zeile (#27) 36. Phillie Phanatic

One and Only Phillies Baseball Card (4):  Benjamin, Crawford, Frey, Leiper

First Appearance in Phillies Team Issued Set (10):  Battle, Fernandez, Grace, Jordan, Ryan, Santiago, Springer, Tinsley, Whiten, Zeile
Returning Players in Phillies Team Issued Set (14):  Borland, Bottalico, Daulton, Dykstra, Eisenreich, Green, Incaviglia, Jefferies, Lieberthal, Mimbs, Morandini, Mulholland, Stocker, Williams

This is the only place to find Phillies cards for short-timers Benjamin, Crawford, Frey and Leiper.  The back of Frey's card indicates a uniform number of 37, but he had switched to 29 for the start of the regular season.

Manager (1):  Fregosi
Coaches (6):  Bowa, Cash, Menke, Podres, Rigoli, Vukovich
Phillie Phanatic (1):  The Phanatic returns to the set after a one year absence.
Broadcasters (0)
Commemorative Cards (0)

Surprises:  Every member of the opening day roster is in the set with the exception of Kevin Sefcik and Rich Hunter.  Also somewhat surprising is the Phillies had five players start the season on the disabled list and only two of them, Benjamin and Green, have cards in the set.  The other three players, Bobby Munoz, Curt Schilling and David West, do not.

Omissions:  Hunter, Murray and Munoz would eventually get cards (see below) but Sefcik, Schilling and West would not.  There are a ton of players who could have received update cards as 53 different players suited up for the 1996 Phillies.  If we just tally up those players on the active roster for 50 games or more, there could have been cards for Ron Blazier, Ruben Amaro Jr., Ricardo Jordan, David  Doster and J.R. Phillips.

Variations/Rarities:  When I originally ran this post almost six years ago, fellow collector Rick provided information on seven cards available outside the standard 36-card set.

ALS Autograph/Auction Party        1. Bobby Munoz (#35)  2. Glenn Murray (#56) 3. Ricky Otero (#15) 4. Jim Wright CO (#58)

Late Season Additions 1. Rich Hunter (#39) 2. Desi Relaford (#17) 3. Scott Rolen (#6)

The three players (Munoz, Murray and Otero) and interim coach Jim Wright were all active on June 20th, the date of the annual ALS Autograph/Auction Party in 1996.  Other players active that date that could have cards (maybe?) are Blazier, Doster, Jordan, Phillips, Schilling and Sefcik with West on the disabled list at the time.

Scott Rolen was recalled on August 1st and Desi Relaford was acquired from the Mariners that same day.  Hunter returned from the minors on August 10th.  I have copies of the Rolen and Otero cards in my collection and these are both printed on thicker card stock than the rest of the set.

Also See:  1996 Phillies - The Missing Links; 1996 Topps Phillies, includes recollections from the 1996 All-Star Game at the Vet.

Resources:  The Trading Card Database; Beckett.com; Phillies collector Rick (@rickphils)

This set was originally featured in a post back in November 2014, and I'm going to slowly go through some of these team issued set posts and update them with new information gleaned (if any) over the past six years.

1995 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards / 1997 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

1980-1999 Phillies Team-Issued Photo Cards Want List / Phillies Team Issued Sets Index Page

Phillies Photo Cards: The White Whales

1996 Phillies Team Issue #26

1989 Tastykake Phillies Update #11

As a lifelong Phillies baseball card collector, one of my favorite sets has always been the team-issued photo card sets.  These are oversized cards produced by the Phillies and sold at the ballpark annually for a reasonable price - $5 a set in recent years.  The sets feature players, coaches, the manager, occasionally the announcers and usually a card for the Phanatic.  The photography is consistently excellent and my favorite part of the set is it's usually where a number of short-time Phillies players receive their one and only Phillies baseball card appearance.

I began a project a few years' back to catalog and checklist these sets, and I've created a page to serve as a table of contents for all of the team-issued sets dating back to the 1950s.  When I started the project, I was confident I had every Phillies photo card issued since at least 1983 as I had diligently tracked down a set or two each year at the Vet or later, Citizens Bank Park. 

I was wrong.  I had nowhere near every card. 

Fellow collectors Rick and Steve, along with a few other helpful fans, educated me on the team's practice of issuing cards for their annual ALS Phestival, or producing cards solely for players to honor autograph requests, be it through the mail or at scheduled appearances.  There were late season update sets I didn't know existed and variations of cards featuring different photos.  The Phillies' marketing department has been haphazard in its approach to producing these cards over the years, so knowing what I know now, I'm on high alert for variations or the possibility of a new card appearing in seemingly random situations.  I have many White Whales listed in my want lists, particularly in my want list of Phillies photo cards issued since 2000.

I can go months or years without seeing any of these cards available for sale at shows or in eBay auctions, and then as was the case last week, I found two a few days apart.  In 1996, the Phillies issued a 36-card team set that included a card of new outfielder Lee Tinsley, but featuring a picture of another new outfielder, Glenn Murray.  The card was pulled from the set, and I when I bought my set mid-summer at the Vet, it wasn't included and I only had 35 cards.  I've searched for this card for years and then a few weeks ago, two separate auctions from different buyers popped up on eBay for the 36-card team-issued photo card set from 1996.  I finally have my Tinsley/Murray card.

In 1989, a 9-card update set was released featuring the many players the Phillies had added over the summer.  I've never seen the set sold together, and I've added individual cards from the set over the years with the John Kruk card eluding me.  I finally found it via an eBay auction shortly after the two 1996 sets were listed.  That's two cards down in a decades' long hunt, and I've listed below a few other White Whales.  If you have any of these, I'd be happy to give them a good home.

• 1996 Glenn Murray - Murray did ultimately receive his own card, issued late in the 1996 season.
• 1998 Yorkis Perez - I have the Jon Zuber and Mike Welch cards issued at the team's annual ALS Phestival, but I haven't found Perez's card yet.
• 2000 11-Card Update Set - I've never seen these cards for sale, either together or individually.  Travis Lee, Marlon Anderson, Omar Daal and Vicente Padilla are included in this set.
• 2001 7-Card Update Set - Features the only Phillies baseball card for Felipe Crespo.
• 2004 Lou Collier - A late season addition?  This is the only Phillies card for Collier.
• 2012 Broadcasters - From the first edition set, there's a broadcasters card in some sets, but most sets for sale don't include this card.

Phillies Missing Links of the 2000s - #22 Russell Branyan

#4
Russell Oles Branyan
Pinch-Hitter/Third Base

First a disclaimer . . . In the course of drafting this post, I discovered for the first time, that Russell Branyan does in fact have a Phillies baseball card!  Unbeknownst to me until now, Topps included him within their Year in Review insert set in 2008.  Please consider this Missing Links card an Uncorrected Error, as Branyan is not in fact a Missing Link.  Carry on.

Over the course of his 14-year big league career, Branyan played for 10 teams teams and the Phillies hold the distinction of being his shortest stop.  The Indians sold Branyan to the Phillies on August 9th in a move presumably designed with the intention of Branyan being used as a left-handed bat off the bench.  The move resulted in one big win for the team as Branyan hit a pinch-hit, two-run home run in his first at-bat for the Phillies on August 14th, giving the team a 3-2 win over the Nationals.  He'd have one more hit in a Phillies uniform (another home run) and it came during his only start with the team (at third base) on August 19th.  On August 27th, Chase Utley was activated from the disabled list and Branyan was designated for assignment.  He'd land with the Cardinals on August 31st - his fourth organization of the season.

Branyan's best season was on the horizon, as he hit 31 home runs and drove in 76 with the 2009 Mariners.  His last Major League appearance came in 2011 with the Angels, and he played professionally through the 2014 season during his fifth (!) stint within the Indians organization.

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'4"  Weight:  235
Born:  December 19, 1975, Warner Robins, GA
Drafted:  Drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 7th round of the 1994 amateur draft, June 2, 1994
Major League Teams:  Cleveland Indians 1998-2002; Cincinnati Reds 2002-2003; Milwaukee Brewers 2004-2005; Tampa Bay Devil Rays 2006; San Diego Padres 2006-2007; Phillies 2007; St. Louis Cardinals 2007; Milwaukee Brewers 2008; Seattle Mariners 2009; Cleveland Indians 2010; Seattle Mariners 2010; Arizona Diamondbacks 2011; Los Angeles Angels 2011
Professional Affiliations:  Cleveland Indians 1998-2002; Cincinnati Reds 2002-2003; Atlanta Braves 2004; Cleveland Indians 2004; Milwaukee Brewers 2004-2005; Tampa Bay Devil Rays 2006; San Diego Padres 2006-2007; Cleveland Indians 2007; Phillies 2007; St. Louis Cardinals 2007; Milwaukee Brewers 2008; Seattle Mariners 2009; Cleveland Indians 2010; Seattle Mariners 2010; Arizona Diamondbacks 2011; Los Angeles Angels 2011; New York Yankees 2012; Toros de Tijuana (Mexico) 2014; Cleveland Indians 2014

Phillies Career
7 games, .222 average (2 for 9), 2 home runs, 5 RBIs, 6 strikeouts
Acquired:  August 9, 2007 - Purchased from the Cleveland Indians.
Debut:  August 14, 2007 - Pinch-hitting for Antonio Alfonseca in the 8th inning in a game the Phillies were trailing 2-1 against the Nationals, hit a home run off Jon Rauch to give the Phillies a 3-2 lead.  Brett Myers struck out the side in the 9th to record his 10th save, pulling the Phillies to within 3 games of the Mets in the division.
Final Game:  August 25, 2007 - Pinch-hit for Tom Gordon in the 8th and struck out against the Padres' Heath Bell.
Departed:  August 31, 2007 - Traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for a player to be named later.

3 Branyan Baseball Cards in My Collection
2007 Topps Heritage #195
2007 Topps Update #US19
2007 Upper Deck #910

Complete Chachi Checklist
2007 Chachi #52

1996 Bowman #342

1998 Topps #262

2007 Topps Heritage #195

2007 Chachi #52

2011 Topps #116

Other Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1996 Bowman #342
First Topps Base Card:  1998 Topps #262 (with Eric Chavez and Russ Johnson)
Last Mainstream Card:  2011 Topps Heritage #364
Other Notable Cards:  1999 Upper Deck #358, 2000 Topps #208, 2001 Topps #599, 2001 Topps Heritage #263, 2002 Topps Traded #T32, 2005 Bowman Heritage #87, 2008 Topps Year in Review #YR134, 2011 Topps #116

Sources:  Baseball Reference and The Trading Card Database

Phillies Missing Links of the 2000s
1 Kirk Bullinger
2 Chris Pritchett
3 Bryan Ward
4 Mark Holzemer
5 Turner Ward
6 P.J. Forbes
7 Matt Walbeck
8 Kelly Stinnett
9 Valerio de los Santos
10 Josh Hancock
11 Brian Powell
12 Paul Abbott
13 Todd Jones
14 A.J. Hinch
15 Ramon Martinez
16 Matt Kata
17 Aquilino Lopez
18 Adam Bernero
19 Jose Hernandez
20 Randall Simon
21 Anderson Garcia
22 Russell Branyan

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.

Phillies Missing Links of the 2000s - #11 Brian Powell

#51
William Brian Powell
Pitcher

Even though he wasn't even a non-roster invitee in spring training, Brian Powell was one of the first pitchers to be recalled early in the 2004 season when injuries started to hit the Phillies bullpen.  Unfortunately, Powell pitched in just one game for the Phillies that May before an injury claimed him as well.  He returned from the disabled list on June 15th, taking a young Chase Utley's spot on the active roster.  After receiving two spot starts, Powell was sent back to the bullpen pitching middle relief and serving as the occasional long man until he landed on the disabled list again on August 19th.  He was activated on September 3rd as part of the roster expansion, but pitched only once more (on September 24th) the rest of the season.

In 2005, Powell pitched in 29 games for the Nationals' Triple-A team before his professional playing career ended.  He played in parts of six seasons in the majors with the Tigers, Astros, Giants and Phillies, compiling a career record of 7-18 and a 5.94 ERA.

For the second Missing Link in a row, we have a young baseball player who left us way too soon.  Powell committed suicide in 2009 at the age of 35.

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  205
Born:  October 10, 1973, Bainbridge, GA
Died:  October 5, 2009, Tallahassee, FL
Drafted:  Drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 2nd round of the amateur player draft, June 1, 1995.
Major League Teams:  Detroit Tigers 1998; Houston Astros 2000-2001; Detroit Tigers 2002; San Francisco Giants 2003; Phillies 2004
Professional Affiliations:  Detroit Tigers 1995-1998; Houston Astros 1999-2001; Detroit Tigers 2002; San Francisco Giants 2003; Phillies 2003-2004; Washington Nationals 2005

Phillies Career
17 games, 2 starts - 1-2, 5.03 ERA, 39 1/3 innings pitched, 16 walks, 24 strikeouts
Acquired:  Purchased from the San Francisco Giants, July 24, 2003.
Debut:  May 15, 2004 - Relieved Jim Crowell and pitched the ninth inning of a 16-5 win over the Rockies in Denver.  Allowed one walk.
Final Game:  September 24, 2004 - Relieved Amaury Telemaco in the fifth inning, pitching two innings and allowing a solo home run to the Expos' Termel Sledge.
Departed:  October 9, 2004 - Granted free agency, signed as a free agent with the Washington Nationals, January 11, 2005.

1996 Topps #244

1998 Upper Deck #581

2004 Choice Scranton/ Wilkes-Barre Red Barons #24

1 Powell Baseball Card in My Collection
2004 Choice Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons #24

Other Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1996 Topps #244
First Topps Base Card:  1996 Topps #244
Last Mainstream Card:  1998 Upper Deck #581
Other Notable Cards:  2003 Multi-Ad Fresno Grizzlies #19

Sources:  Baseball Reference and The Trading Card Database

Phillies Missing Links of the 2000s
1 Kirk Bullinger
2 Chris Pritchett
3 Bryan Ward
4 Mark Holzemer
5 Turner Ward
6 P.J. Forbes
7 Matt Walbeck
8 Kelly Stinnett
9 Valerio de los Santos
10 Josh Hancock
11 Brian Powell

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.