Game 26 - Losing Streak Reaches Double Digits

Philadelphia Phillies	3
Atlanta Braves	5

1999 Blueline Scranton/
Wilkes-Barre Red Barons #25

Friday Night, April 24th

Truist Park - Atlanta, GA
8-18, 5th Place, 10 1/2 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Home runs from Trea Turner and Bryce Harper weren't enough as the Phillies fell to the Braves, 5-3, dropping their 10th game in a row.

What It Means:  This is definitely alarming.

What Happened:  During this losing streak, any lead held by the Phillies has been frustratingly brief.  Turner hit his two-run home run in the top of the third, giving the Phillies a momentary 2-0 lead.  Ronald Acuna, Jr. countered with a two-run home run of his own in the bottom of the inning, tying the score.  Harper hit a solo home run, his sixth of the season, in the fifth.  But the Braves stormed back with three runs in the bottom of the sixth, chasing starter Andrew Painter in the process.  Painter fell to 1-2, allowing five runs on nine hits in 5 2/3 innings.

Featured Card:  The losing streak is the longest from the Phillies this century.  They last lost at least 10 games in a row back in 1999, when they had an 11-game losing streak that September with manager Terry Francona at the helm.  The pitchers on the mound on September 13, 1999, when the Phillies lost 13-2 to the Astros, their 10th loss in a row, were Joe Grahe, Cliff Politte, Chad Ogea, Steve Schrenk and Steve Montgomery.  Ron Gant had a pair of doubles for the Phillies in the loss.

Transaction:  Alex McFarlane (rhp) was recalled from Double-A Reading to briefly take Taijuan Walker's spot on the roster.  McFarlane wouldn't see any game action and would be on his way back to Reading following this game.

2026 Virtual Phillies Wall (Coming Soon) / 2026 Season Summary Index / 2026 Chachi Set Checklist

Game 106 - Yanks Demolish Floundering Phils

1999 Upper Deck #456

Yankees 14, Phillies 4
Game 106 - Monday Night, July 29th in Philadelphia
Record - 65-41, 1st Place, 8 1/2 games ahead of the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisolm both belted a pair of home runs as the Yankees dismantled Zack Wheeler and the Phillies, 14-4.

What It Means:  Nothing is going right and the entire team looks lost.

What Happened:  Wheeler fell to 10-5 by allowing seven runs on seven hits, including three home runs, in five innings of work.  Yunior Marte gave up two more runs, Gregory Soto allowed three to score and Garrett Stubbs gave up the final two.  Stubbs has pitched twice in the past two weeks, so that's a good indication of how poorly things are going.  Brandon Marsh hit a solo home run in the fourth.

Featured Card:  The last time the Phillies were beat this badly by the Yankees at home was June 9, 1999, when Phillies starter Chad Ogea was roughed up.  The Yankees had an eight-run sixth inning, with the Phillies burning through four pitchers to record three outs - Chad Ogea, Mike Grace, Robert Person and Jim Poole.  The final score in that game was 11-5.

Transaction:  Carlos Estevez (rhp), acquired on Saturday, was added to the active roster and Michael Rucker (rhp) was optioned to Lehigh Valley.  Rucker was on the active roster for three games and did not throw a pitch for the Phillies.

2024 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2024 Season Summary Index / 2024 Chachi Set Checklist

1999 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

Number of Cards:  36
Card Size:  4" x 6"

Description:  The fronts of the photo cards once again feature full color photos with the player's, coach's or manager's name in white letters against a blue band.  Scott Rolen's card celebrates his 1998 Gold Glove win with a picture of a Gold Glove on the front of his card.  The card backs feature biographical information and complete career statistics.

How Distributed:  The 36-card set was available for sale at Veterans Stadium throughout the season.  For the fifth year in a row, there was no update set issued.

Complete Set Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here alphabetically with uniform number and position from the back of cards): 

1. Bobby Abreu (#53 - OF) 2. Marlon Anderson (#16 - 2B) 3. Alex Arias (#26 - INF) 4. Gary Bennett (#14 - C) 5. Jeff Brantley (#45 - RHP) 6. Billy Brewer (#49 - LHP) 7. Rico Brogna (#2 - 1B) 8. Paul Byrd (#34 - RHP) 9. Galen Cisco (#43 - Pitching Instructor)      10. Chuck Cottier (#3 - Bench Coach) 11. Dave Doster (#15 - INF) 12. Rob Ducey (#25 - OF)

13. Terry Francona (#7 - MG) 14. Ron Gant (#5 - OF) 15. Doug Glanville (#6 - OF) 16. Wayne Gomes (#61 - RHP) 17. Mike Grace (#44 - RHP) 18. Ramon Henderson (#59 - Bullpen Coach)      19. Kevin Jordan (#23 - INF) 20. Mike Lieberthal (#24 - C) 21. Carlton Loewer (#46 - RHP) 22. Hal McRae (#56 - Hitting Instructor) 23. Brad Mills (#9 - First Base Coach) 24. Steve Montgomery (#57 - RHP)

25. Chad Ogea (#33 - RHP) 26. Yorkis Perez (#48 - LHP) 27. Jim Poole (#41 - LHP) 28. Tom Prince (#12 - C) 29. Desi Relaford (#8 - SS) 30. Scott Rolen (#17 - 3B) 31. Ken Ryan (#51 - RHP) 32. Curt Schilling (#38 - RHP) 33. Kevin Sefcik (#11 - OF) 34. Paul Spoljaric (#50 - LHP) 35. John Vukovich (#18 - Third Base Coach)      36. Phillie Phanatic

One and Only Phillies Baseball Card (2):  Poole, Spoljaric

First Appearance in Phillies Photo Card Set (13):  Anderson, Bennett, Brantley, Byrd, Doster, Ducey, Gant, Loewer, Montgomery, Ogea, Perez, Prince, Ryan
Returning Players in Phillies Photo Card Set (13):  Abreu, Arias, Brewer, Brogna, Glanville, Gomes, Grace, Jordan, Lieberthal, Relaford, Rolen, Schilling, Sefcik

I'm not counting Yorkis Perez's fairly rare photo card issued at the 1998 ALS Autograph and Auction Party as his first appearance.

Manager (1):  Francona
Coaches (6):  Cisco, Cottier, Henderson, McRae, Mills, Vukovich

Phillie Phanatic (1):  The Phanatic gets a close up on his 1999 card.

Broadcasters (0):  N/A

Set Composition:  The entire 25-man opening day roster makes it into the set, along with catcher Tom Prince who began the year on the disabled list.  Relievers Billy Brewer and Steve Montgomery also receive cards, although they began the season in Triple-A.

Omissions:  It's fairly easy to piece together an imaginary update set checklist, as the injury prone 1999 Phillies team made fairly frequent roster moves and acquisitions throughout the season.  Seven additional players suited up for the Phillies prior to the All-Star break, and an update set released in early July could have consisted of Joel Bennett, Joe Grahe, Robert Person, Cliff Politte, Steve Schrenk, Amaury Telemaco and Randy Wolf.  On the day of the ALS Autograph Party and Auction, June 21st, Person, Telemaco and Wolf were all on the active roster.

Variations/Rarities:  Fellow collector Rick confirmed there are no rarities to be found with this set's design, although in a comment to the original post for this set he mentioned there are a few variations available with facsimile autographs.

Also See:  The Phillies produced three Stadium League sets, and these have proved to be somewhat difficult for me to track down.

• Stadium League SGA - This is a standard-sized, 9-card set with gray borders, given away on Fan Appreciation Day, October 3rd.  The backs of the cards contain individual player highlights from the 1999 season.
• Stadium League Phillies Finest - This is a standard-sized, 9-card set with no borders and Phillies Finest written on the back.  The 14,000 Phillies database entry for the set states the cards were given away as prizes to kids playing a card flipping game in the Fun Zone at Veterans Stadium.
• Stadium League Phillies Finest (5 x 7) - This is a larger version of the 9-card Fun Zone giveaway set, and the origin of these cards is (so far) unknown.

This set was originally featured in a post back in November 2014, and I'm going through these older team-issued photo card set posts to update them with new information learned (if any) over the past nine years.

1998 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards / 2000 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

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

Spring Training Game 5 - Wheeler Perfect in Debut

1999 Sports Illustrated #15

Phillies 7, Blue Jays 2
Spring Training Game 5 - Tuesday Afternoon, February 28th in Clearwater
Record - 4-1

One Sentence Summary:  Zack Wheeler threw two scoreless innings and Trea Turner had a pair of hits and two more RBIs in this 7-2 win over the Blue Jays.

What It Means:  Five games into the exhibition schedule, and this marks the first game I didn't follow for at least a pitch.  I'll try to get back on track today.

What Happened:  Wheeler struck out two and didn't allow a baserunner, throwing just 19 pitches in his spring debut.  Turner is now 4 for 6 this spring with two runs scored and three RBIs.  Johan Rojas, Vito Friscia, Turner and Nick Castellanos all had RBIs in the five-run fourth inning.  Rojas would make a nice diving catch in center field in this game as well.  Vimael Machin added a two-run double in the eighth for the Phillies.

Featured Card:  Roger Clemens was invited into the Phillies clubhouse by manager Rob Thomson to give the team a pre-game pep talk.  Clemens and Thomson were both employed by the Yankees in the early 2000s, and Clemens' son, Kody Clemens, is trying to make the Phillies' team as a utility player.  One of the all-time greatest pitchers in the game, Clemens' PED use has led to his exclusion from the Hall of Fame so far.  I have two Clemens baseball cards in my Phillies collection, and on both he's paired with another controversial pitcher from the same era - Curt Schilling.  This card is from the 1999 Sports Illustrated set and the pair is included on another card in the 1998 Collector's Choice set.

Camp Head Count:  65

I'll still listing this as 65, even though Bryce Harper won't report for another week or so.

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.

1999 Topps Phillies Team Set

#181 Bob Abreu

#321 Rico Brogna

#33 Doug Glanville

#159 Mike Lieberthal

#336 Desi Relaford

#125 Scott Rolen

#385 Curt Schilling

#427 Marlon Anderson PROS

#428 Randy Wolf PROS

#444 Pat Burrell / Eric Valent DP

#453 Scott Rolen AT

#447 Curt Schilling SK

Traded & Rookies

#T91 Jeff Brantley

#T44 Pat Burrell

#T93 Ron Gant

#T45 Eric Valent

1998 Topps Phillies Team Set / 2000 Topps Phillies Team Set

Spring Training Game 6 - 2021 Topps Project 70 #15 Bryce Harper

Phillies 3, Pirates 0
Spring Training Game 6 - Friday Afternoon, March 5th in Clearwater
Record - 3-2-1

One Sentence Summary:  Eight Phillies pitchers held the Pirates to two hits and Bryce Harper made his spring debut with a two-run home run in this 3-0 win.

What It Means:  After last season's relief pitching debacle, it was slightly jarring (but incredibly refreshing) to witness seven innings of scoreless relief pitching from the remade bullpen.

What Happened:  Chase Anderson started the game, throwing two perfect innings and striking out three.  The seven relievers that followed combined for 10 more strikeouts against a lifeless Pirates line-up.  Harper homered to the opposite field in his first spring at-bat, and Andrew McCutchen added a solo home run in the fifth.

Featured Card:  Hard to believe, but Harper is already entering his third season with the Phillies.  This is his new Project 70 card, which arrived in the mail yesterday, a few weeks after it had gone on sale on the Topps website.  Throughout the season, Topps will be selling cards produced by various artists depicting a player on one of the company's flagship baseball card set designs from its 70 year history.  This Harper card is supposed to pay tribute to the 1999 Topps set.  To date, there have already been three Phillies represented in the Project 70 set - this Harper card, a McCutchen card (paying tribute to 1959 Topps) and a Mike Schmidt card (paying tribute to 2008 Topps).

I think I like these?  They're definitely different, and after a Phillies-less year with the Topps Project 2020 offering, I'm glad to see the team getting some representation early and often this year.  I'm not sure yet how to store them as they come encased in a think slab with a protective piece of tape across the top.  The cards themselves are super thick, so even if I removed it from the slab it wouldn't fit well into a 9-pocket page.  Anyone have any thoughts on these cards?  Are you collecting them?

Camp Head Count:  73

2021 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2021 Chachi Set Checklist

Phillies Missing Links of the 2000s - #34 Paul Hoover

#24
Paul Chester Hoover
Catcher

Paul Hoover is the rare player who appeared in parts of two different seasons with the Phillies, but still never appeared on a Phillies baseball card.  His first Phillies stint came as a September call-up in 2009, appearing in three games but with his only start coming on September 25th.  On October 4th, in the final game of the regular season, Hoover delivered a 10th inning RBI single to score John Mayberry, Jr. and deliver a 3-2 walk-off win for the Phillies.

He returned to the Phillies twice in 2010.  First, he was recalled on May 9th when back-up catcher Brian Schneider landed on the disabled list with a left Achilles strain.  Hoover appeared in six games, starting three games in a row in mid-May to spell the banged up Carlos Ruiz.  He returned to Lehigh Valley when Schneider was activated on May 24th, but he came back up in September for the second year in a row.

In total, Hoover played in parts of seven big league seasons but never appeared in more than 13 games in any of those seasons.  He had brief tenures with the Devil Rays (8 games in 2001 and 2002), Marlins (20 games in 2006, 2007 and 2008) and Phillies (12 games in 2009 and 2010).

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  210
Born:  April 14, 1976, Columbus, OH
Drafted:  Drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 23rd round of the 1997 amateur draft, June 3, 1997
Major League Teams:  Tampa Bay Devil Rays 2001-2002; Florida Marlins 2006-2008; Phillies 2009-2010

Phillies Career

12 games, .308 (8 for 26), 3 RBIs
Acquired:  January 7, 2009 - Signed as a minor league free agent formerly with the Florida Marlins organization.
Debut:  September 25, 2009 - Started behind the plate, catching Cliff Lee, and went 2 for 3 with a strikeout against the Brewers.
Final Game:  September 29, 2010 - As the starting catcher for Joe Blanton, went 0 for 4 with a pair of strikeouts against the Nationals.
Departed:  October 28, 2010 - Granted free agency and signed as a free agent with the Boston Red Sox, February 1, 2011

3 Hoover Baseball Cards in My Collection
2009 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs #10
2010 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs #9
2010 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs Update #11

Complete Chachi Checklist
2009 Chachi #56
2010 Chachi #36

1999 Bowman #158

1999 Topps Traded & Rookies #T19

2008 Topps Updates & Highlights #UH149

2009 Chachi #56

2010 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs Update #11

Other Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1999 Bowman #158
First Topps Base Card:  1999 Topps Traded & Rookies #T19
Last Mainstream Card:  2008 Topps Update & Highlights #UH149
Other Notable Cards:  2006 Topps 52 #212, 2006 Upper Deck #1077

Sources:  Baseball Reference and The Trading Card Database

Phillies Missing Links of the 2000s
Gallery - Cards 1 to 34

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.

Game 113 - 1999 Multi-Ad Reading Phillies #19 Jimmy Rollins

Diamondbacks 8, Phillies 4
Game 113 - Late Tuesday Night, August 6th in Phoenix
Record - 59-54, 3rd place, 7 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Bullpen failure, missing clutch hits lead to Phillies latest loss, 8-4 to to the Diamondbacks.

What It Means:  And somehow the Phillies still have a hold on the second N.L. Wild Card spot.

What Happened:  Jake Arrieta allowed two runs in his five innings of work before giving way to the bullpen.  Ranger Suarez entered in the sixth and quickly gave up the 3-2 Phillies lead on a pair of walks and a pair of singles.  Blake Parker didn't fare any better in the seventh, giving up three more runs.  The offense went a horrendous 2 for 17 with runners in scoring position.  Rhys Hoskins and Bryce Harper both struck out with the bases loaded in the sixth, stranding all three runners.

Featured Card:  Meanwhile in Reading, Jimmy Rollins was on hand to be inducted into the Baseballtown Hall of Fame.  I have five baseball cards in my collection featuring Rollins on the Double-A Reading Phillies, including two issued after he had long left the minors.

2019 Chachi #26 Gabe Kapler MG

#19
Gabriel Stefan Kapler
Manager

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  205
Opening Day Age:  43
Born:  July 31, 1975, Hollywood, CA
Teams - As Player:  Detroit Tigers 1998-1999; Texas Rangers 2000-2002; Colorado Rockies 2003; Boston Red Sox 2003-2004, 2005-2006; Milwaukee Brewers 2008; Tampa Bay Rays 2009-2010
Teams - As Manager:  Phillies 2018-
Contract Status:  Signed a three-year contract, October 30, 2017, taking him through 2020

1999 Topps #205

2017 Chachi #65

2018 Chachi Friendly Encounters #8

First Topps Flagship Base Card:  1999 Topps #205
First Topps Phillies Flagship Base Card:  N/A
First Phillies Card:  2018 Phillies Team Issue #22
First Phillies Team Issued Card:  2018 Phillies Team Issue #22
Newest Card Added:  2019 Phillies Team Issue #19

2018 Phillies Team Issue #22

5 - Kapler baseball cards in my collection per The Phillies Room Checklist as of 5/1/19.

Complete Chachi Checklist
2017 Chachi #65
2018 Chachi #26
2018 Chachi Friendly Encounters #8
2019 Chachi #26

2019 Chachi Set Checklist
Virtual Phillies Wall - Featuring Current Active Roster

Phillies Missing Links of the 2000s - #15 Ramon Martinez

#12
Ramon E. Martinez
Infield

Not to be confused with the pitcher Ramon Martinez (Pedro's older brother), Ramon E. Martinez enjoyed a 12-year big league career primarily as a middle infielder.  He played in 33 games for the 2005 Phillies after Placido Polanco was shipped to the Tigers for reliever Ugueth Urbina and Martinez on June 8th.  Urbina ended up with a Phillies card in the 2005 Topps Update set, while Martinez had to settle for a custom-made Chachi card.

Martinez was used primarily as a pinch-hitter during his stint with the club, although he did get six starts at first base and a sole start at third.  His best game came on September 14th when he hit a third-inning grand slam off the Braves Horacio Ramirez in a game the Phillies would eventually win, 12-4.  Following the season, Martinez signed with the Dodgers and he'd play through the 2009 season before retiring at 36.

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  195
Born:  May 15, 1974, Waverly, IA
Drafted:  Drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 3rd round of the amateur player draft, June 22, 1996.
Major League Teams:  Oakland Athletics 1998-2000; Kansas City Royals 2001-2002; Detroit Tigers 2003; Phillies 2004
Professional Affiliations:  Oakland Athletics 1997-2000; Kansas City Royals 2001-2002; Detroit Tigers 2003; Phillies 2004-2005

Phillies Career
33 games as pinch-hitter and infielder, .286 (16 for 56), grand slam, 9 RBIs
Acquired:  June 8, 2005 - Acquired with Ugueth Urbina from the Detroit Tigers for Placido Polanco.
Debut:  June 9, 2005 - Pinch-hit for Vicente Padilla in the 5th inning in a game against the Rangers, grounding out to the pitcher.
Final Game:  September 24, 2005 - Pinch-hit for Aaron Fultz in the 7th inning against the Reds, flying out to left.
Departed:  October 27, 2005 - Granted free agency and signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Dodgers, January 31, 2006.

1999 Upper Deck #16

2001 Topps #253

2005 Topps Total #257

2005 Chachi #34

2007 Topps #553

0 Martinez Baseball Card in My Collection

Complete Chachi Checklist
2005 Chachi #34

Other Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1999 Upper Deck #16
First Topps Base Card:  2001 Topps #253
Last Mainstream Card:  2007 Topps #553
Other Notable Cards:  2000 Fleer Tradition #214, 2002 Topps #467, 2003 Topps #79, 2003 Topps Traded #T23, 2004 Topps #455, 2005 Topps Total #257

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

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.