Phillies Missing Links of the 1980s - #12 Bill Dawley

#43
William Chester Dawley
Relief Pitcher

Bill Dawley peaked early with the Astros, making the All-Star team during his 1983 rookie season and winning 11 games in 1984.  He went on to be a solid reliever with the White  Sox in 1986 and the Cardinals in 1987.  Signed by the Phillies prior to the 1988 season, Dawley got the call in the second week of the season when Mike Maddux landed on the disabled list.  He struggled in his few appearances before landing on the disabled list himself with elbow issues.

Dawley was sidelined for most of the 1988 season but was activated once rosters expanded in September.  He was immediately released following the season, ending his one-year Phillies career.

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'5"  Weight:  235
Born:  February 6, 1958, Norwich, CT
Drafted:  Drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 7th round of the 1976 amateur draft
Major League Teams:  Houston Astros 1983-1985, Chicago White Sox 1986, St. Louis Cardinals 1987, Phillies 1988, Oakland Athletics 1989
Professional Affiliations:  Cincinnati Reds 1976-1982, Houston Astros 1983-1985, Chicago White Sox 1986, St. Louis Cardinals 1987, Phillies 1988, Oakland Athletics 1989, Milwaukee Brewers 1989

Phillies Career
8 games, 0-2, 18.50 ERA in 8 2/3 innings
Acquired:  Signed as a free agent formerly with the St. Louis Cardinals, February 10, 1988
Debut:  April 17, 1988 - Relieved David Palmer in a game against the Expos, pitching 1 1/3 innings and allowing two runs.
Final Game:  September 13, 1988
Departed:  Released by the Phillies on October 7, 1988, and signed as a free agent with the Oakland Athletics in January 1989.

1984 Donruss #328

1984 Topps #248

1988 Donruss #331

1988 Topps #509

4 Dawley Baseball Card in My Collection
First Card:  1988 Donruss #331
Last Card:  1988 Topps #509

I made a card for Dawley in the style of the 1988 Topps set, which can be found here.

Other Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1984 Donruss #328
First Topps Base Card:  1984 Topps #248
Last Mainstream Card:  1988 Topps #509
Other Notable Cards:  1986 Topps #376, 1987 Topps #54, 1988 Fleer #29, 1988 Score #328

Sources:  Baseball Reference 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.

Phillies at Cardinals: June 19th to June 22nd

Thursday and Friday 8:15, Saturday 4:10, Sunday 2:15
Busch Stadium - St. Louis, MO

Phillies 32-38, 4th Place in the N.L. East, 5 games behind the Nationals
Cardinals 39-33, 2nd Place in the N.L. Central, 3 1/2 games behind the Brewers

Phillies Probables:  David Buchanan (2-3, 5.97), A.J. Burnett (4-6, 4.17), Cole Hamels (2-3, 2.78), Kyle Kendrick (3-6, 3.97)
Cardinals Probables:  Shelby Miller (7-5, 3.42), Jaime Garcia (3-0, 3.72), Adam Wainwright (9-3, 2.15), Michael Wacha (5-5, 2.79)

At the Ballpark:  The Cardinals are taking care of their fans this weekend.  Tonight, the first 25,000 fans will receive a 1964 Bob Gibson replica jersey.  On Saturday, the first 25,000 fans will receive a Cardinals tote bag and the give-away on Sunday is a batting practice cap with a 2013 N.L. Champions logo.  Not a bad haul!

Phillies Leaders

Average:  Chase Utley - .302

Runs:  Chase Utley - 38

Home Runs:  Ryan Howard - 13

RBIs:  Ryan Howard - 47

Stolen Bases:  Ben Revere - 20

Wins:  Antonio Bastardo, A.J. Burnett and Cliff Lee - 4

ERA:  Cole Hamels - 2.78

Strikeouts:  Cole Hamels - 76

Saves:  Jonathan Papelbon - 16

1988 Topps #509, #208, #612 and #310

1988 Topps Appreciation:  It's another hodge podge offering in this series preview post.  The Cardinals and Phillies face off in only two series this year, and each series preview post will feature four Cardinals cards from the 1988 Topps set with Phillies connections.

Bill Dawley is the only player featured here who actually suited up with the Phillies in 1988.  Dawley was already at the tail-end of his seven-year career when he came to the Phillies as a free agent in February 1988.  He had been released by the Cardinals following the 1987 season after appearing in 60 games and going 5-8 with a 4.47 ERA.  He fared poorly with the Phillies, lasting only eight games and allowing 13 runs in 8 2/3 innings pitched for a 13.50 ERA.

Steve Lake (1989-1992), Tommy Herr (1989-1990) and Curt Ford (1989-1990) were all teammates on Nick Leyva's 1989 and 1990 Phillies squads.  Lake and Ford were acquired together in a December 1988 deal that sent Milt Thompson to the Cardinals.  Herr had been traded to the Twins at the beginning of the 1988 season after nine strong seasons in St. Louis.  After a season in Minnesota, Herr came to the Phillies via free agency and hit .277 in two seasons as the club's regular second baseman.

He was traded to the Mets in August 1990 in order to make way for the up and coming Mickey Morandini.

1988 Phillies - The Missing Links

1989 Score Hottest 100 Rookies #67, 1989 Upper Deck #430,
1988 Donruss #487 and 1988 Fleer Update #U-108

An awful team with a large number of fringe, journeyman relievers results in the highest number of "Missing Links" Phillies thus far in our look back to the 1980s.  In the late '80s, Donruss, Fleer, Score and Topps were churning out more sets than ever and trying to cash in on the booming rookie card business.  For this reason alone, guys who probably wouldn't have a Phillies card today (and I'm looking at you, Alex Madrid) ended up with numerous Phillies cards over several brands and products.

Alas, as you'll see below, if you were a short-term bullpen plug or a fourth-string catcher for the 1988 Phillies, there's absolutely no cardboard proof of your time in marroon pinstripes.  However, thanks to my limited computer graphic design skills, I've created 1988 Topps Phillies cards for each player not appearing on a 1988 Topps card here and here.

3 Cards or More
35 Players

1988 Tastykake Phillies #15

Infielder Shane Turner squeaks onto this list.  Turner shares card space with seven other prospects on a multi-player 1988 Tastykake Phillies card, and he shares a Major League Prospects card in the 1989 Fleer set with Scott Service.  His lone solo Phillies card can be found in the 1989 Score Hottest 100 Rookies set.

Along with his appearance in the 1989 Fleer set, Service appeared on Phillies cards in the 1990 Bowman and Upper Deck sets.  Until researching this post, I had no idea that Service put together an impressive 12-year career.

2 Cards
Jackie Gutierrez (33 games in 1988) - 1989 Tastykake Phillies Update and 1989 Upper Deck #430

Gutierrez was the Super Michael Martinez of his day, hitting .247 in his 33 games with the 1988 Phillies, occassionally spelling Mike Schmidt at third or Steve Jeltz at shortstop.  Before coming to the Phillies, he played in parts of five seasons with the Red Sox and Orioles.

1 Card
Bill Almon (20 games in 1988) - 1988 Tastykake Phillies #15
Danny Clay (17 games in 1988) - 1988 Fleer Update #U-108

Almon wrapped his 15-year career with with the Phils, hitting .115 (3 for 26) in 26 games from April to mid-June.  Had he not been with the team on opening day, his 1988 Tastykake Phillies card probably wouldn't exist.  Clay was one of the two prospects acquired from the Twins in June 1987 for reliever Dan Schatzeder.  He made it into 17 games with the Phillies, compiling a 6.00 ERA thanks in part to his 21 walks in 24 innings.

1988 Score #337 and #328, 1987 Topps #98 and 1986 Donruss #489

0 Cards
Bob Sebra (3 games in 1988 and 6 games in 1989)
Bill Dawley (8 games in 1988)
Bill Scherrer (8 games in 1988)
Salome Barojas (6 games in 1988)

Al Pardo (2 games in 1988 and 1 game in 1989)

For some reason, I could have sworn Sebra spent more time with the Phillies than his nine games in 1988 and 1989.  My 15-year-old brain had him as one of the main pitchers with the '88 and '89 Phillies, but the fact is he really wasn't around that much.  Sebra was acquired from the Expos in September 1988 and traded away to the Reds in July 1989.  Given his short tenure with the club, it's no surprise that he doesn't have any Phillies cards.

1985 Fleer #482

Dawley and Scherrer are perhaps better known for their time with the Astros and Tigers, respectively.  Dawley pitched 8 2/3 total innings with the Phillies, going 0-2 with a 13.50 ERA before earning his release following the season.  Scherrer, who earned a World Series ring with the 1984 Tigers, signed with the Phillies in June 1988 after being released by the Orioles.  He lasted a little over a month with the team, pitching 6 2/3 innings with an ERA of 5.40 and was released on August 1st.

Perhaps the most obscure former Phillie on the 1988 squad was Mexican-born right-handed reliver Salome Barojas.  In between 16 seasons in the Mexican League, Barojas pitched for the White Sox (1982-1984), Mariners (1984-1985) and very briefly with the Phillies.  Barojas was purchased by the Phils from the Mexico City Reds on July 28th and he made six appearances with the club in September.  In 8 2/3 innings, Barojas compiled a 8.31 ERA and he was released immediately following the season.

Finally, catcher Pardo was a September call-up from Triple-A in both 1988 and 1989.  He went 0 for 3 in his 3 at-bats with the Phillies, understandably not earning any Phillies cardboard.

Past Missing Link Posts

1980 Phillies - Orlando Isales and Don McCormack

1981 Phillies - Jerry Reed

1982 Phillies - Stan Bahnsen and Alejandro Sanchez

1983 Phillies - Steve Comer

1984 Phillies - Renie Martin, Jim Kern and Mike LaValliere

1985 Phillies - None

1986 Phillies - Tom Gorman and Jeff Bittiger
1987 Phillies - None

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

1988 Topps Phillies - Missing Links

Today's post features the first half of the massive 1988 Topps Missing Link set.  There were 20 players who suited up for the Phillies during the 1988 season who did not appear as Phillies in either the Topps regular or traded sets.  Some of the omissions were justified and deserved (Salome Barojas), while other omissions angered me at the time (Bob Dernier).

When reflecting back on the 1988 season, The Phillies Encyclopedia puts it best:

The club performed atrociously throughout, mixing one unethusiastic performance after another with injuries, season-long slumps, and a rash of player moves that did little else but give a lot of people a chance to tell their grandchildren that they once wore a big league uniform.

A few other notes:
- I almost didn't share the Barojas card here but I figured I was among friends so the snickering at my graphic design skills would be held to a minimum.  (The Al Pardo and Bill Scherrer cards, which will follow shortly, almost didn't get published either.)
- Most of the photos used are from the 1988 Phillies Yearbook or the 1989 Tastykake Phillies set.

PR1

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PR7

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PR10

Look for the 1989 Topps Phillies post in 2012! (Or at some point in 2011, time permitting.)