Series Preview - Phillies at Rangers: May 16th to May 18th

Tuesday and Wednesday 8:05,  Thursday 2:05
Globe Life Park - Arlington, TX

Phillies 14-21, Tied for 3rd Place in the N.L. East, 9 games behind the Nationals
Rangers 19-20, Tied for 2nd Place in the A.L. West, 8 games behind the Astros

Phillies Probables:  Jerad Eickhoff (0-3, 4.76), Zach Eflin (0-0, 2.81), Nick Pivetta (0-2, 6.14)
Rangers Probables:  Yu Darvis (3-2, 2.96), Andrew Cashner (0-3, 2.43), Martin Perez (1-5, 3.89)

It's a shame Cole Hamels is on the disabled list right now with an oblique injury.  A Hamels-Eickhoff match-up tonight would have been really cool.

At the Ballpark:  On Thursday afternoon, the first 10,000 fans will receive a Papa John's Texas Rangers Throwback Thursday Collector Pin.

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Cesar Hernandez - .311
Runs:  Cesar Hernandez - 30
Home Runs:  Aaron Altherr - 8
RBIs:  Maikel Franco - 25
Stolen Bases:  Cesar Hernandez - 6

Wins:  Jeremy Hellickson - 4
ERA:  Zach Eflin - 3.71
Strikeouts:  Vince Velasquez - 39
Saves:  Hector Neris - 4

Rangers Leaders
Average:  Elvis Andrus - .289
Runs:  Joey Gallo - 26
Home Runs:  Joey Gallo - 12
RBIs:  Joey Gallo - 27
Stolen Bases:  Elvis Andrus and Delino DeShields - 7

Wins:  A.J. Griffin - 4
ERA:  Yu Darvish - 2.96
Strikeouts:  Yu Darvish - 52
Saves:  Matt Bush - 4

1982 Topps #16

1982 Topps #463

1982 Topps #590

1982 Topps #624

1982 Topps Appreciation:  Similar to what I did with the weekend series with the Nationals, here are four 1982 Topps cards with connections to both teams in this Phillies series.  Steve Comer and Jim Kern featured prominently in my Phillies Missing Links custom set, with Comer's custom Phillies card here and Kern's custom Phillies card here.

Al Oliver and Fergie Jenkins received actual Phillies baseball cards to commemorate their time in Philadelphia.  Oliver hit the trifecta with Phillies cards in the 1985 Donruss, Fleer and Topps sets. I added Jenkins' 1966 Topps rookie card to my collection a few Christmases ago and this card has had a number of reprinted versions over the years.

Phillies Missing Links of the 1980s - #6 Steve Comer

#44
Steven Michael Comer
Starting/Relief Pitcher

Flipping through a 1983 Phillies program at some point in the mid-1980s, I did a double take when I came across a photo and biography for pitcher Steve Comer.  "He was with the Phillies?" I remember actually saying out loud.  In the days before the internet or my meticulously maintained Phillies Scrapbooks (which I began in 1984), Comer had completely slipped through my Phillies radar.

Comer was released by the Mariners organization in mid-June 1983 and signed with the Phillies a week later.  He pitched decently enough for the Portland Beavers to earn a call-up on August 29th to start the second game of a double header against the Padres.  Comer earned the win in that game and he would then languish in the bullpen before logging two relief appearances with the Phils in early October.  Left off the postseason roster, Comer nevertheless received a N.L. Champions ring from the club.

Bats:  Switch  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'3"  Weight:  195
Born:  January 13, 1954, Minneapolis, MN
Signed:  Signed by the Texas Rangers as an amateur free agent, July 10, 1976
Major League Teams:  Texas Rangers 1978-1982, Phillies 1983, Cleveland Indians 1984
Professional Affiliations:  Texas Rangers 1976-1982, Seattle Mariners 1983, Phillies 1983, Cleveland Indians 1984, Phillies 1985

Phillies Career
3 games, 1-0, 5.19 ERA in 8 2/3 innings pitched
Acquired:  Signed as a minor league free agent, formerly with the Seattle Mariners organization, June 22, 1983.
Debut:  August 29, 1983 (Game 2) - Started and pitched 6 innings, allowing seven hits and walking two.
Final Game:  October 2, 1983
Departed:  Granted free agency on December 21, 1983, and signed with the Cleveland Indians, January 19, 1984.

Comer signed with the Phillies again on May 15, 1985.  He appeared in 19 games for the Triple-A Portland Beavers before calling it a career.

1979 Topps #463

1983 Donruss #163

1983 Topps #353

1985 Topps #788

3 Comer Baseball Card in My Collection
First Card:  1983 Donruss #163
Last Card:  1983 Topps #353

Other Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1979 Topps #463
First Topps Base Card:  1979 Topps #463
Last Mainstream Card:  1985 Topps #788
Other Notable Cards:  1981 Topps #592, 1982 Donruss #341, 1983 Fleer #564

Sources:  Baseball Reference, SABR and The Trading Card Database

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.  I will make my way through the decade of the 1980s first and then work my way forward.  In some cases, the First and Last Mainstream cards listed above have been subjectively chosen if multiple cards were released in that year.

1983 Phillies - The Missing Links

1983 Topps Traded #72T, 1983 TCMA Portland Beavers #22 and 1983 Fleer #564

The 1983 Phillies, the Wheeze Kids, surprised everyone and made it all the way to the World Series, only to be defeated in five games by the Orioles.  When reviewing the team's roster from that year, and the baseball cards available for 44 members of the team, I was a little surprised there's only one new addition to the Missing Links list.

There are just four members of the 1983 Phillies squad with little to no Phillies cardboard representation.  And one of them has never appeared on a Phillies baseball card.

3 Cards or More
40 Players

2 Cards

1984 Tastykake Phillies

Larry Milbourne (41 games in 1983) - 1983 Tastykake Phillies #18 and 1983 Topps Traded #72T
Tony Ghelfi (3 games in 1983) - 1984 Tastykake Phillies #19 and 1985 Tastykake Phillies #17

Local product Milbourne was purchased from the Indians by the Phillies in December 1982.  During his short time with the club, he hit just .242 serving as Joe Morgan's primary back-up at second base.  The Phils sold him to the Yankees in mid-July, but he still received a Phillies card in the 1983 Topps Traded set.  (I'm still trying to track down a 1983 Tastykake Phillies set at a reasonable price.)

Ghelfi was drafted by the Phillies in 1980 and his three-game appearance in 1983 wasn't enough to merit him a standard issue baseball card.  Fortunately for him, and Phillies baseball card collectors, his status as a pitching prospect earned him inclusion in both the 1984 and 1985 Phillies Tastykake sets.  I created a custom card for Ghelfi using his pictures from the team's 1984 Yearbook and his 1984 Tastykake card.

0 Cards
Alejandro Sanchez (15 games from 1982-1983)
Steve Comer (3 games in 1983)

Comer was released by the Mariners in April, and signed by the Phillies in June 1983.  He pitched in three games for the club, his first being an emergency start in the second game of a double header against the Padres in late August.  He appeared in two games in relief in the Phillies last two regular season games in October.  I've never even seen a picture of Comer in a Phillies uniform.

Past Missing Link Posts

1980 Phillies - Orlando Isales and Don McCormack

1981 Phillies - Jerry Reed

1982 Phillies - Stan Bahnsen and Alejandro Sanchez

1990 Phillies - Louie Meadows

1991 Phillies - Dave LaPoint

1992 Phillies - Darrin Chapin and Mickey Weston

1993 Phillies - None

1994 Phillies - Tom Edens and Bob Wells

1995 Phillies - Jim Deshaies, Kevin Elster, Omar Olivares, Chuck Ricci and Dennis Springer

1996 Phillies - Glenn Dishman, Bronson Heflin, Manny Martinez and Rafael Quirico

1997 Phillies - Rob Butler and Mike Robertson

1998 Phillies - Robert Dodd and Matt Whiteside

1999 Phillies - Joel Bennett, Domingo Cedeno, Joe Grahe and Torey Lovullo

2000 Phillies - Clemente Alvarez, Kirk Bullinger, Mark Holzemer and Bryan Ward