Philadelphia Phillies at San Francisco Giants: Looking for a Winning Road Trip

2006 Topps #396

2006 Topps Updates & Highlights #UH136

Monday, April 6th - 9:45
Tuesday, April 7th - 9:45
Wednesday, April 8th - 3:45

Oracle Park - San Francisco, CA
There are a few college theme nights during this series as tonight is Santa Clara University night and tomorrow is San Francisco State University night.  Wednesday afternoon is STEAM day at the ballpark.

Philadelphia Phillies 5-4
4th Place in the N.L. East, 1 game behind the Marlins

Phillies Probables
Andrew Painter (1-0, 1.69)
Cristopher Sanchez (1-0, 0.79)
Aaron Nola (1-0, 3.18)

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Justin Crawford - .321
Runs:  Trea Turner - 8
Home Runs:  Kyle Schwarber - 3
RBIs:  Alec Bohm - 7
Stolen Bases:  Bryson Stott - 2

Wins:  Five tied with - 1
ERA:  Cristopher Sanchez - 0.79

Strikeouts:  Jesus Luzardo - 18
Saves:  Jhoan Duran - 3

San Francisco Giants 3-7
5th Place in the N.L. West, 4 1/2 games behind the Dodgers

Giants Probables
Adrian Houser (0-1, 1.69)
Robbie Ray (1-1, 3.38)
Tyler Mahle (0-2, 7.00)

Giants Leaders
Average:  Luis Arraez - .275
Runs:  Matt Chapman - 5
Home Runs:  Four tied with - 1
RBIs:  Matt Chapman and Jung Hoo Lee - 4
Stolen Bases:  Luis Arraez - 2

Wins:  Three tied with - 1
ERA:  Robbie Ray - 3.38

Strikeouts:  Logan Webb - 15
Saves:  Blade Tidwell and Ryan Walker - 1

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

Philadelphia Phillies at Tampa Bay Rays - Outdoor Baseball in Tampa

2005 Topps #550

2005 Topps #561

Tuesday, May 6th - 7:05
Wednesday, May 7th - 7:05
Thursday, May 8th - 7:05

George M. Steinbrenner Field - Tampa, FL
With the extensive damage caused to Tropicana Field by Hurricane Milton, the Rays are playing their home games this season at the Yankees' spring training ballpark.

Philadelphia Phillies 19-15
2nd Place in the N.L. East, 3 games behind the Mets

Phillies Probables
Zack Wheeler (2-1, 3.48)
Cristopher Sanchez (3-1, 3.45)
Jesus Luzardo (3-0, 1.94)

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Trea Turner - .297
Runs:  Kyle Schwarber - 24
Home Runs:  Kyle Schwarber - 11
RBIs:  Kyle Schwarber - 26
Stolen Bases:  Bryson Stott - 7

Wins:  Four tied with - 3
ERA:  Jesus Luzardo - 1.94
Strikeouts:  Zack Wheeler - 57
Saves:  Jose Alvarado - 6

Tampa Bay Rays 16-18
Tied for 3rd Place in the A.L. East, 2 1/2 games behind the Yankees

Rays Probables
Drew Rasmussen (1-2, 2.64)
Shane Baz (3-1, 3.86)
Ryan Pepiot (2-4, 4.23)

Rays Leaders
Average:  Jonathan Aranda - .316
Runs:  Junior Caminero - 17
Home Runs:  Junior Caminero - 6
RBIs:  Jonathan Aranda and Brandon Lowe - 17
Stolen Bases:  Jose Caballero and Jake Mangum - 8

Wins:  Shane Baz and Taj Bradley - 3
ERA:  Shane Baz - 3.86

Strikeouts:  Shane Baz - 37
Saves:  Pete Fairbanks - 8

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

Game 16 - Walker, Phils' Bats Struggle in Loss

San Francisco Giants	10
Philadelphia Phillies	4

2005 Bowman Heritage #4

Monday Night, April 14th

Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA
9-7, 2nd Place, 2 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  Taijuan Walker's scoreless streak came to an end as the Phillies' offense continued to scuffle in this 10-4 series opening loss to the Giants.

What It Means:  When the Phillies are firing on all (or some) cylinders, they're a lot of fun to watch.  When they're not, and the opposing team scores six times in one inning, as the Giants did in the second, they are not any fun to watch.

What Happened:  After a scoreless first inning, Walker allowed the Giants to bat around in the second, scoring six runs.  Two of the runs were unearned due to Walker's throwing error.  The Phillies had staked him a 3-0 lead in the first on an RBI-double by Trea Turner, and RBI-single by Nick Castellanos and an RBI ground out by Max Kepler.  Only one more Phillies run would cross the plate on a solo home run from Castellanos in the fifth.  Overall, the offense was 1 for 11 with runners in scoring position.

Walker allowed six runs (four earned) on six hits, including a pair of home runs, and a walk.  Tanner Banks and Jose Ruiz each allowed a pair of Giants runs in the later innings.

Featured Card:  I had planned on posting a card of Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski, as his grandson, Mike, did damage to the Phillies tonight with a two-run home run off Banks in the seventh inning.  But since I have no Yaz cards in my Phillies collection, here's a card of current Giants' hitting coach Pat, The Bat, Burrell.

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

Game 55 - Phils Can't Get It Going by the Bay

2008 Danbury Mint
Philadelphia Phillies

Giants 8, Phillies 4
Game 55 - Monday Afternoon, May 27th in San Francisco
Record - 38-17, 1st Place, 6 games ahead of the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies dropped this Memorial Day matinee with a combination of shaky starting pitching and poor fielding, losing to the Giants, 8-4.

What It Means:  This marks the first back-to-back losses for the Phillies since April 24th and 25th in Cincinnati.

What Happened:  Alec Bohm had two errors, and could have been charged with a third, leading to three Giants' unearned runs.  Taijuan Walker allowed six runs (five earned) in six innings, allowing nine hits and a pair of walks while striking out five.  Kyle Schwarber ended a homerless draught with his 10th home run in the third inning that nearly went into McCovey Cove and Edmundo Sosa hit his league-leading fourth triple.

Featured Card:  I recently added scans of the 2008 Danbury Mint Philadelphia Phillies set to the TCDB, and it was nice to revisit these cards after adding them to my collection 15 years ago.  My Dad is responsible for taking the bait and buying a complete set following the joyous afterglow of the 2008 Phillies World Series victory.  There's a nice red album that came with the set and personalized pockets for each of the 38 22kt gold cards, including this card of current Giants' hitting coach, Pat Burrell.  Cards would come two or three at a time, and he'd drop off the latest arrivals during his frequent visits to his grandson in early to mid 2009.

Fun fact about this set - it's the only place you can find "cards" for short-time Phillies Mike Cervenak and Les Walrond.

Transaction:  Rafael Marchan (c) was activated from the Injured List and optioned to Lehigh Valley.

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

Game 86 - Pujols Sinks Phils One Last Time

2008 Upper Deck Ballpark Collection #237

Cardinals 4, Phillies 3
Game 86 - Sunday Afternoon, July 10th in St. Louis
Record - 46-40, 3rd Place, 7 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  In a bullpen game necessitated by injuries to a few Phillies starters, the Cardinals pulled out a 4-3 win.

What It Means:  This was a frustrating loss, given the Phillies held a 3-1 lead heading to the bottom of the sixth.  The offense just couldn't keep adding on and the bullpen had a rare poor showing.

What Happened:  Nick Nelson got the spot start and allowed a run in his two innings of work.  Cristopher Sanchez allowed a pair of runs, including a momentum changing home run to Albert Pujols in the sixth.  Seranthony Dominguez was on the mound when the Cardinals took the lead for good on an eighth inning sacrifice fly by Tommy Edman.  The Phillies offense had 11 hits, but couldn't string them together to produce a clump of runs.  Kyle Schwarber hit his 28th home run in the fifth inning.

Featured Card:  Pujols is retiring at the end of this season, and he's a lock to enter Cooperstown once eligible for induction.  Looking through my database of Phillies baseball cards, I have nine cards of his in my collection, all issued between 2003 and 2010, featuring Pujols and at least one Phillies player.  Most of these cards are League Leaders cards, but this card, from the 2008 Upper Deck Ballpark Collection set, is just a random collection of four of the day's top sluggers.

Transaction:  Sam Clay (lhp), on the 40-man roster for a grand total of three days, was claimed off waivers by the New York Mets.

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

Giants at Phillies: May 30th to June 2nd

2022 Chachi Fan Favorites #7

2022 Chachi 2000 Topps Missing Links #28

Monday 4:05, Tuesday 6:45 and Wednesday 6:05
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

At the Ballpark:  The Phillies will host a pregame ceremony before today's Memorial Day matinee, honoring American Gold Star Mothers.  Wednesday is Top Gun night, with fans purchasing a theme night ticket receiving a Miles Teller Rooster bobblehead.

Giants 25-21
3rd Place in the N.L. West, 7 1/2 games behind the Dodgers

Giants Probables
Logan Webb (5-1, 3.54)
Jakob Junis (2-1, 2.76)
Carlos Rodon (4-4, 3.60)

Giants Leaders
Average:  Mike Yastrzemski - .298
Runs:  Thairo Estrada and Darin Run - 26
Home Runs:  Joc Pederson - 11
RBIs:  Joc Pederson - 27
Stolen Bases:  Thairo Estrada - 6

Wins:  Logan Webb - 5
ERA:  Logan Webb - 3.54
Strikeouts:  Carlos Rodon - 64
Saves:  Camilo Doval - 7

Phillies 21-27
3rd Place in the N.L. East, 10 1/2 games behind the Mets

Phillies Probables
Kyle Gibson (3-2, 3.94)
Ranger Suarez (4-3, 4.74)
Aaron Nola (2-4, 3.56)

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Bryce Harper - .312
Runs:  Bryce Harper - 34
Home Runs:  Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber - 10
RBIs:  Bryce Harper - 32
Stolen Bases:  Jean Segura - 8

Wins:  Ranger Suarez - 4
ERA:  Zack Wheeler - 3.16

Strikeouts:  Aaron Nola - 74
Saves:  Corey Knebel - 8

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

Brewers at Phillies: April 22nd to April 24th

2000 Topps #389

2022 Chachi 2000 Topps Missing Links #11

Friday 7:05, Saturday 4:05, Sunday 7:08
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

At the Ballpark:  The Phillies will salute Jackie Robinson on Saturday, which I think means all members of both teams will once again be wearing #42.  Sunday is the Phanatic's annual birthday celebration with all kids receiving a Phonetic t-shirt.

Brewers 8-5
Tied for 1st Place in the N.L. Central, 2 games ahead of the Cubs

Brewers Probables
Freddy Peralta (0-1, 11.57)
Adrian Houser (0-2, 2.89)
Eric Lauer (1-0, 3.48)

Brewers Leaders
Average:  Rowdy Tellez - .270
Runs:  Willy Adames and Rowdy Tellez - 7
Home Runs:  Rowdy Tellez - 3
RBIs:  Rowdy Tellez - 8
Stolen Bases:  Andrew McCutchen and Jace Peterson - 2

Wins:  Jake Cousins and Brandon Woodruff - 2
ERA:  Corbin Burnes - 2.37
Strikeouts:  Corbin Burnes - 22
Saves:  Josh Hader - 6

Phillies 5-8
Tied for 4th Place in the N.L. East, 4 1/2 games behind the Mets

Phillies Probables
Ranger Suarez (1-0, 5.87)
Zack Wheeler (0-2, 9.39)
Aaron Nola (1-2, 5.52)

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Nick Castellanos - .306
Runs:  Bryce Harper - 10
Home Runs:  Kyle Schwarber - 4
RBIs:  Bryce Harper - 10
Stolen Bases:  Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto - 1

Wins:  Five tied with - 1
ERA:  Kyle Gibson - 3.57

Strikeouts:  Kyle Gibson - 19
Saves:  Corey Knebel - 2

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

Game 44 - 2001 Pacific #317 Pat Burrell

Marlins 6, Phillies 0
Game 44 - Thursday Night, May 20th in Philadelphia
Record - 22-22, 2nd Place, 1 1/2 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  In an incredibly unenjoyable game to watch, the Phillies folded easily against the Marlins, losing 6-0 and dropping the series in the process.

What It Means:  The Phillies returned to .500 for the first time since May 4th when they were 15-15.  If not for a lousy N.L. East, they'd be much further down in the standings than second place.

What Happened:  Vince Velasquez came down with finger numbness right before the start of this game, meaning David Hale was needed to make an emergency start.  Hale did fine (one run in three innings), but the two relievers who followed him, Matt Moore and Archie Bradley, allowed five runs in their 3 2/3 innings of work.  One of Bradley's runs was unearned due to another error at third, his fifth, from Alec Bohm.  The Phillies offense managed three hits against Marlins' starter Sandy Alcantara and three Marlins relievers, striking out 15 times.

Featured Card:  With nothing to celebrate from this game, let's turn back the clock to 20 years ago.  On May 20, 2001, the Phillies gave away their first bobble-head featuring an actual player with slugger Pat Burrell getting the honor.  Burrell went 2 for 4 that Sunday afternoon against the Cardinals as the Phillies lost, 3-1.  J.D. Drew played right field for the Cardinals and my memories from that game are getting my Burrell bobble-head and booing Drew along with the other 31,391 fans in attendance.  Do you still have your Burrell bobble-head?

2021 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2021 Season Summary Index / 2021 Chachi Set Checklist

2006 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

Number of Cards:  43
Card Size:  4" x 6"
Description:  The Phillies moved back to a simplified design with their 2006 team-issued set, with the fronts featuring full color photos and a white block design in one of the top corners.  The horizontal card backs once again feature biographical information and complete career statistics.

How Distributed:  The original 37-card, first version of this set was available for sale at Citizens Bank Park throughout at least the first month of the season.  At some point after the season was underway, and perhaps even as early as mid-May, four player cards were added, and for some reason the cards of coaches Mick Billmeyer and Milt Thompson were re-issued with different photos.  The cards of Tomas Perez, Ricardo Rodriguez and Robinson Tejada were removed from the second version of the set.  Rodriguez was released on March 29th, Tejada was traded to the Rangers on April 1st for David Dellucci and Perez was released on April 2nd.

The second version of the set was advertised with a sticker displayed prominently on the front of the packaging (see below).  Three of the four players added were on the team's opening day roster - Dellucci, Gavin Floyd and Geoff Geary.  Top prospect Cole Hamels was the fourth player added, and he was recalled from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on May 12th.  As the photo used for Hamels' card was taken during spring training, the Phillies could have rushed an updated version of the set to be ready for Hamels' debut or at least shortly thereafter.

Complete Standard Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here alphabetically with uniform number from the front of cards): 

1. Bobby Abreu (#53)          2. David Bell (#25) 3. Mick Billmeyer CO (#17)           4. Marc Bombard CO (#7) 5. Eude Brito (#58) 6. Pat Burrell (#5) 7. Rheal Cormier (#37) 8. Bill Dancy CO (#16) 9. Rich Dubee CO (#28) 10. Sal Fasano (#13) 11. Ryan Franklin (#23)  12. Aaron Fultz (#46) 13. Alex Gonzalez (#8)

14. Tom Gordon (#45) 15. Ramon Henderson CO (#31)           16. Ryan Howard (#6) 17. Cory Lidle (#30)        18. Jon Lieber (#21) 19. Mike Lieberthal (#24) 20. Ryan Madson (#63) 21. Charlie Manuel MG (#41) 22. Brett Myers (#39) 23. Abraham Nunez (#3) 24. Tomas Perez (#9) 25. Arthur Rhodes (#22)

26. Ricardo Rodriguez (#47) 27. Jimmy Rollins (#11)  28. Aaron Rowand (#33)          29. Julio Santana (#44) 30. Robinson Tejada (#50) 31. Milt Thompson CO (#15)           32. Chase Utley (#26) 33. Gary Varsho CO (#19) 34. Shane Victorino (#18) 35. Randy Wolf (#43) 36. Phillie Phanatic 37. Phillies Broadcasters

Complete Update Checklist, 2nd Version:  

1. Mick Billmeyer CO (#17) - In the dugout    2. David Dellucci (#2)

3. Gavin Floyd (#34) 4. Geoff Geary (#56)

5. Cole Hamels (#35)           6. Milt Thompson CO (#15) - Watching BP

One and Only Phillies Baseball Card (1):  Rodriguez

First Appearance in Phillies Team Issued Set (14):  Brito, Dellucci, Fasano, Franklin, Geary, Gonzalez, Hamels, Howard, Nunez, Rhodes, Rowand, Santana, Tejada, Victorino
Returning Players in Phillies Team Issued Set (16):  Abreu, Bell, Burrell, Cormier, Floyd, Fultz, Gordon, Lidle, Lieber, Lieberthal, Madson, Myers, Perez, Rollins, Utley, Wolf

Manager (1):  Manuel
Coaches (7):  Billmeyer (2), Bombard, Dancy, Dubee, Henderson, Thompson (2), Varsho
Phillie Phanatic (1)
Broadcasters (1):  The set contains the highly coveted Scott Franzke rookie card.  Franzke is featured along with fellow broadcasters Scott Graham, Chris Wheeler, Larry Andersen and Harry Kalas.

Version 1

Version 2

Version 1

Version 2

Surprises:  The Phillies made a flurry of roster moves before opening day, so the creator of this set's checklist can be forgiven for opting to include Rodriguez (who never played a game for the Phillies) Perez and Tejada and missing out on Dellucci, Floyd and Geary.

Omissions:  There are a few omissions here, although none are egregious.  Reliever Chris Booker started the season on the disabled list and was claimed off waivers by the Royals on May 10th.  There are a number of players who were seeing regular time with the club prior to the All-Star Break.  Catchers Carlos Ruiz and Chris Coste were both recalled at various points over the first few months of the season due to injuries to Mike Lieberthal and Sal Fasano.  Relievers Clay Condrey and Brian Sanches were up and down a few times as was outfielder Chris Roberson.  Rick White was claimed off waivers from the Reds on June 23rd.

The annual ALS Phillies Phestival was held on May 22nd.  The only players on the active 25-man roster on that date without photo cards are Coste, Roberson and Ruiz.  The Phillies acquired veterans Jamie Moyer, Jose Hernandez and Jeff Conine in August for an improbable pennant run, so there were plenty of options had the team decided to issue an update set.

Variations/Rarities:  Fellow collector Rick clued me in to cards being available with black facsimile autographs for four of the team's stars.

Facsimile Autographs        1. Pat Burrell (#5) 2. Ryan Howard (#6) 3. Mike Lieberthal (#24) 4. Jimmy Rollins (#11) Also See:  The Phillies gave away a set of Wall of Fame postcards on August 11th featuring cards of the 29 Wall of Famers, up through the 2006 induction of Dallas Green.  On Fan Appreciation Day, September 24th, the Phillies handed out a Topps team card pack containing 27 cards with yellow ink replacing the normal foil found on regular 2006 Topps cards.  There's a nice entry for the set over at 14,000 Phillies.

Resources:  Phillies collectors Steve and Rick (@rickphils).

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

2005 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards / 2007 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

2000-Present Phillies Team-Issued Photo Cards Want List / Phillies Team Issued Sets Index Page

2004 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

Number of Cards:  37
Card Size:  4" x 6"
Description:  The 2003 team-issued set contained elements celebrating the final season of Veterans Stadium, so it's only fitting the 2004 team-issued set contains the Inaugural Season logo for Citizens Bank Park.  The card fronts feature a white border, full color photos and the player's name, position and uniform number in a simple, clean and bright design.  The card backs go horizontal for the first time and feature biographical information and complete career statistics.

How Distributed:  The set was available for sale at Citizens Bank Park throughout the season.  Similar to the 2003 set, collectors had to wait a few series into the start of the regular season until the cards were available for sale, which explains the potentially short-printed card celebrating the back-to-back-to-back home runs hit by Bobby Abreu, Jim Thome and Pat Burrell on May 18, 2004.  All cards feature photos from the first few games to be played at the new ballpark, including the on-deck exhibition series against the Indians prior to the start of the regular season.

The Abreu/Thome/Burrell card was numbered to 3,000, the first and last time the Phillies would include a numbered card in these sets, and I'm not sure if this card was available in every set sold during the season.

Complete Standard Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here alphabetically with uniform number and position on the front of cards): 

1. Bobby Abreu (#53 - RF) 2. David Bell (#4 - 3B) 3. Mick Billmeyer (#17 - CO) 4. Larry Bowa (#10 - MG) 5. Pat Burrell (#5 - LF) 6. Marlon Byrd (#29 - CF) 7. Rheal Cormier (#37 - LHP) 8. Doug Glanville (#6 - OF) 9. Greg Gross (#8 - CO) 10. Ramon Henderson (#59 - CO) 11. Roberto Hernandez (#35 - RHP)     12. Joe Kerrigan (#16 - CO) 13. Ricky Ledee (#33 - OF)

14. Mike Lieberthal (#24 - C) 15. Ryan Madson (#63 - RHP) 16. Jason Michaels (#22 - OF) 17. Kevin Millwood (#34 - RHP) 18. Eric Milton (#21 - LHP) 19. Brett Myers (#39 - RHP) 20. Vicente Padilla (#44 - RHP) 21. Tomas Perez (#9 - INF) 22. Placido Polanco (#27 - 2B) 23. Todd Pratt (#3 - C) 24. Jimmy Rollins (#11 - SS) 25. Amaury Telemaco (#47 - RHP)

26. Jim Thome (#25 - 1B) 27. Milt Thompson (#15 - CO) 28. Chase Utley (#26 - 2B) 29. Gary Varsho (#7 - CO) 30. John Vukovich (#18 - CO) 31. Billy Wagner (#13 - LHP) 32. Randy Wolf (#43 - LHP) 33. Shawn Wooten (#23 - INF/C)     34. Todd Worrell (#38 - RHP) 35. Phillie Phanatic 36. Phillies Broadcasters 37. Back to Back to Back / 3000

One and Only Phillies Baseball Card (0)

First Appearance in Phillies Team Issued Set (7):  Hernandez, Madson, Milton, Utley, Wagner, Wooten, Worrell
Returning Players in Phillies Team Issued Set (19):  Abreu, Bell, Burrell, Byrd, Cormier, Glanville, Ledee, Lieberthal, Michaels, Millwood, Myers, Padilla, Perez, Polanco, Pratt, Rollins, Telemaco, Thome, Wolf

Manager (1):  Bowa
Coaches (7):  Billmeyer, Gross, Henderson, Kerrigan, Thompson, Varsho, Vukovich
Phillie Phanatic (1):  The Phanatic is shown atop the Phillies new dugout at Citizens Bank Park.
Broadcasters (1):  John Kruk exited and Tom McCarthy joined the broadcast team in 2004.  McCarthy is joined on this card by Chris Wheeler, Scott Graham, Larry Andersen and Harry Kalas.

Commemorative Cards (1):  My "short-printed" version of the back to back to back home runs card is number 322 out of 3,000.

This set contains the first team issued card for Utley and the last team issued card for long-time player and coach Vukovich.  Due to my limited resources and skills when developing the first Chachi cards in 2005, a lot of the photos used for this set are duplicated within the initial 2005 Chachi set.

Surprises:  This is a great checklist to mark the first Phillies team to take the field during Citizens Bank Park's inaugural season.  The entire 25-man opening day roster is represented, plus Chase Utley, who was recalled on May 8th.

Omissions:  Assuming the set was issued in late May, accounting for the inclusion of Utley and the Back to Back to Back card, there are a few other Phillies relievers who could have been included in the set.  On the day of the back to back to back home runs, relievers Brian Powell and Jim Crowell were both on the active roster.  Geoff Geary was recalled the day after the feat, on May 19th.  Promotions for Josh Hancock (May 22nd) and Elizardo Ramirez (May 23rd) would follow shortly thereafter.

Variations/Rarities:  Fellow collector Rick has made me aware of several somewhat rare cards in the style of this set.  First, four of the stars of the team received versions of their cards containing white facsimile autographs.  Somewhat randomly, and one of my personal white whales, reserve outfielder Lou Collier received a card at some point during the summer.  Collier was recalled on August 5th and remained with the club through the rest of the season.  August 5th would have been too late (I think) for the annual ALS Phillies Phestival, so the existence of this card puzzles me.

Finally, the Phillies hired Charlie Manuel to become their 51st manager on November 4, 2004.  A blank-backed card was created so the new skipper would have something to sign during his offseason winter caravan appearances.

White Facsimile Autographs        1. Bobby Abreu (#53 - RF) 2. Pat Burrell (#5 - LF) 3. Mike Lieberthal (#24 - C) 4. Jim Thome (#25 - 1B)

Late Season Addition 1. Lou Collier (#58 - OF) Winter Caravan 1. Charlie Manuel (#41 - MG)

Also See:  The Phillies teamed up with Upper Deck and McDonald's to release a 27-card set in 2004, available at local McDonald's.  14,000 Phillies posted a set summary and checklist as part of its now defunct Phillies Database Project.

Resources:  Phillies collector Rick (@rickphils)

This set was originally featured in a post back in December 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 nearly six years.

2003 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards / 2005 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

2000-Present Phillies Team-Issued Photo Cards Want List / Phillies Team Issued Sets Index Page

Series Preview - Phillies at Rays: September 25th to September 27th

1991 Topps #689

2020 Chachi Fan Favorites #26

Friday 6:40, Saturday 7:07 and Sunday 3:10
Tropicana Field - St. Petersburg, FL

At the Ballpark:  It's simple, really.  If the Phillies win and a few other teams lose, the Phillies will reach the postseason for the first time since 2011.  If the Phillies lose and a few other teams win, the club will begin its offseason pondering what went wrong and attempting to get back on track in 2021.

Phillies 28-29
3rd Place in the N.L. East, 6 games behind the Braves

Phillies Probables
Vince Velasquez (1-1, 5.46)
Zack Wheeler (4-1, 2.67)
Aaron Nola (5-4, 3.06)

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Didi Gregorius - .289
Runs:  Bryce Harper - 40
Home Runs:  Bryce Harper -13
RBIs:  Didi Gregorius - 40
Stolen Bases:  Roman Quinn - 12

Wins:  Aaron Nola - 5
ERA:  Zack Wheeler - 2.67

Strikeouts:  Aaron Nola - 90
Saves:  Hector Neris and Brandon Workman - 5

Rays 37-20
1st Place in the A.L. East, 5 games ahead of the Yankees

Rays Probables
Charlie Morton (2-2, 4.64)
TBD
TBD

Rays Leaders
Average:  Brandon Lowe - .274
Runs:  Brandon Lowe - 35
Home Runs:  Brandon Lowe - 14
RBIs:  Brandon Lowe - 36
Stolen Bases:  Manuel Margot - 12

Wins:  Pete Fairbanks and Tyler Glasnow - 5
ERA:  Tyler Glasnow - 4.08

Strikeouts:  Tyler Glasnow - 91
Saves:  Nick Anderson - 6

Game 127 - 2003 Fleer Tradition Black & White Goudey #7 Pat Burrell

Marlins 19, Phillies 11
Game 127 - Friday Night, August 23rd in Miami
Record - 66-61, 4th place, 10 1/2 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  At one point holding a 7-0 lead, the pitching absolutely imploded as the Marlins came back to destroy the Phillies, 19-11.

What It Means:  We were away this weekend for a travel baseball tournament, which meant that mercifully we saw very little of this series.  Between the ridiculous monochrome black and white Player's Weekend uniforms and the inability of the Phillies to put away the lowly Marlins, it was a good weekend to largely miss anything Phillies-related.

What Happened:  There have been a lot of "worst losses of the season" for the Phillies this year, and you can add this one to the mix.  Vince Velasquez was provided with a 7-0 lead and he allowed the Marlins to quickly tie up the game by allowing seven runs in the third inning.  Nick Pivetta (five runs), Ranger Suarez (three runs) and Jared Hughes (five runs) didn't fare much better.  A costly error from Maikel Franco lead to four unearned runs.

Following this loss, Matt Gelb Tweeted this painful reminder:  The Marlins are 8-6 against the Phillies and 11-36 against the rest of the N.L. East.

Featured Card:  The last time the Phillies blew a seven-run lead and lost was August 26, 2003, against the Expos in Montreal.  Given that Pat Burrell appeared in that game, and the black and white uniforms worn by both teams in this game, I thought this was an appropriate card.

Transactions:  Bryce Harper was placed on the paternity list (Congratulations to the Harper's!) and Franco temporarily returned from his Lehigh Valley exile.

Revisiting the 2004 Phillies Photo Day - 15 Years Ago Today

The 2004 Phillies Photo Day crowd

The first Phillies Photo Day I attended was back in 1984, and I shared some pictures from that day in a post from five years ago.  My Dad was not a fan of crowds or events with any degree of chaos or disorganization, so naturally he hated Photo Day.  After making our way down to the field for the 1984 event, we never went back again.  It would be 20 years until I'd participate in the crowded and controlled chaos that is Photo Day.


Fast forward to May 29, 2004 when Jenna and I were dating and we were invited by my then employer to attend a Phillies game from the comfort of a suite at the newly opened Citizens Bank Park.  Unbeknownst to us, it was also the first Photo Day at the new ballpark and we decided to casually walk down to the field to take some pictures.  This was pre-kids, pre-Chachi sets and pre-The Phillies Room, so I had no real outlet to share any of these pictures back then.  The pictures I took pretty much sat forgotten until recently when I was looking through the thousands (!) of pictures I had taken over the years at Citizens Bank Park.


I thought the time was right to produce a limited edition insert set to mark the 15th anniversary of this first Photo Day at Citizens Bank Park, and the 16 cards presented here were the best of the bunch.  I had a few other pictures I deemed unusable, such as Chase Utley posing with an unknown female fan, Harry Kalas with his eyes fully closed and a picture featuring only half of Larry Andersen's head.

We hope to return this year to this annual event, even though it's slightly crowded and at times chaotic.


Memory Lane
1984 Photo Day - Hudson, Maddox and Lefebvre
2004 Photo Day - First at Citizens Bank Park
2006 Photo Day - with Rick White
2007 Photo Day - with Shane Victorino
2016 Photo Day - Parts One, Two and Three
2017 Photo Night - Parts One, Two and Three
2018 Photo Night - Cancelled due to rain