Phillies Missing Links of the 1990s - #6 Tom Edens

#45
Thomas Patrick Edens
Relief Pitcher

Tom Edens may have had a chance at appearing on a Phillies baseball card if not for the player's strike that prematurely ended the 1994 season.  Acquired from the Astros on July 31, 1994 in exchange for Milt Thompson, Edens appeared in just three games for the Phillies before the team played its last pre-strike game on August 11th.

On that day, the Phillies walked-off with a 2-1 win over the Mets when Ricky Jordan singled home Billy Hatcher with the winning run.  Edens had pitched two scoreless innings in the 14th and 15th, earning the win and becoming the answer to the following trivia question:  Who was the last Phillies pitcher to take the mound prior to the 1994 player's strike?

Another bit of Phillies trivia involving Edens is that he was the player to be named later received from the Mets in the July 1989 Lenny Dykstra-Juan Samuel trade.

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'3"  Weight:  185
Born:  June 9, 1961, Ontario, OR
Drafted:  Drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 14th round of the 1983 amateur draft, June 6, 1983
Major League Teams:  New York Mets 1987; Milwaukee Brewers 1990; Minnesota Twins 1992; Houston Astros 1993-1994; Phillies 1994; Chicago Cubs 1995
Professional Affiliations:  Kansas City Royals 1983; New York Mets 1984-1989; Phillies 1989; Milwaukee Brewers 1990; Minnesota Twins 1991-1992; Houston Astros 1993-1994; Phillies 1994; Chicago Cubs 1995; Baltimore Orioles 1996

Phillies Career
3 games, 1-0, 2.25 ERA in 4.0 IP
Acquired:  Acquired from the Houston Astros for Milt Thompson, July 31, 1994
Debut:  August 2, 1994 - Relieved Bobby Munoz, pitching the final inning in a 3-2 loss to the Pirates
Final Game:  August 11, 1994
Departed:  Released on November 18, 1994 and signed as a free agent with the Chicago Cubs, April 8, 1995

1991 Donruss #590

1991 Topps #118

1994 Donruss #456

1994 Topps #427

5 Edens Baseball Cards in My Collection
First Card:  1994 Donruss #456
Last Card:  1994 Flair #169

Other Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1991 Donruss #590
First Topps Base Card:  1991 Topps #118
Last Mainstream Card:  1994 Topps #427
Other Notable Cards:  1983 TCMA Butte Copper Kings #4; 1989 ProCards #1956; 1991 Upper Deck #616, 1992 Stadium Club #662, 1993 Score #450
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.

1994 Phillies - The Missing Links

1995 Pacific #337, 1994 Mellon Phillies #45, 1994 Flair #169 and 1990 Best Spartanburg Phillies #10

One of the things I've enjoyed about this Missing Links exercise as well as the process of researching each of the Topps Phillies posts is that I'm rediscovering players I had completely forgotten about.  For example, and I mean this as no offense to him, but I have little to no recollection of Andy Carter pitching for the Phillies.  Now obviously, Andy Carter did pitch with the Phillies and I'm sure he remembers it well, but his time in Philadelphia has been completely lost in the fog of my memory.  Contributing to my shoddy memory is the fact that Carter only ever appeared on one Phillies baseball card.

There were 40 players who appeared with the Phillies during the shortened 1994 season.  All but two of them ended up on at least one Phillies baseball card.

3 Cards or More
35 Players

2 Cards
Tom Quinlan (24 games in 1994) - 1994 Sportflics Rookie/Traded #67 and 1995 Pacific #337
Shawn Boskie (18 games in 1994) - 1994 Mellon Phillies #45 and 1994 Topps Traded #53T

Technically, Randy Ready only appeared on two cards representing his second stint with the club (1994 Phillies Team Issue Update and 1995 Phillies Team Issue), but he appeared on a ton of Phillies cards from his first go-around between 1989 and 1991.  The Dickie Noles rule is once again invoked.

1994 Phillies Team Issue
Update #50

1 Card
Andy Carter (20 games in 1994 and 4 games in 1995) - 1994 Phillies Team Issue Update #50

With all the dozens of sets released in 1994 and 1995 geared specifically towards a team's prospects, it's very surprising to me that Carter never ended up in mainstream set.

0 Cards
Bob Wells (6 games in 1994)
Tom Edens (3 games in 1994)

Wells started his professional career in the Phillies organization in 1989 and he climbed the minor league ladder until finally getting the call in May 1994.  He appeared in 6 games with the Phillies, pitching fairly decent over his 5 total innings.  His Phillies career line is 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA.  Wells was waived by the team in June and picked up by the Seattle Mariners, where he'd appear in parts of the next five seasons.  He also pitched for the Twins from 1999 to 2002, at one point serving as the team's closer for part of the 2000 season.  Wells has a 1994 Fleer ProCards card featuring him with the Reading Phillies that I have yet to add to my collection.

Edens came to the Phillies at the end of July when they traded Milt Thompson away to the Houston Astros.  He appeared in just 3 games with the Phils, although like Wells, he had a fairly decent line - 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA over 4 innings pitched.  A little over a week after he was acquired though, the players' strike began and Edens tenure with the Phillies was over.  He appeared in 5 games with the 1995 Cubs before calling it a career after 7 seasons.

Past Missing Link Posts
1990 Phillies - Louie Meadows

1991 Phillies - Dave LaPoint

1992 Phillies - Darrin Chapin and Mickey Weston

1993 Phillies - None