Phillies at Braves - August 20th to August 22nd

2024 Chachi 1984 Topps Missing Links #5

1984 Topps #466

Tuesday and Wednesday 7:20, Thursday 7:15
Truist Park - Atlanta, GA

At the Ballpark:  On Tuesday, the first 15,000 fans will receive a Chick-fil-A cow bobblehead, with the cow wearing a Braves jersey.  On Wednesday, the first 15,000 fans will receive an Ozzie Albies and Pucci (his dog?) bobblehead.

Philadelphia Phillies 73-51
1st Place in the N.L. East, 7 games ahead of the Braves

Phillies Probables
Zack Wheeler (12-5, 2.72)
Aaron Nola (11-6, 3.45)
Cristopher Sanchez (9-8, 3.46)

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Alec Bohm - .296
Runs:  Kyle Schwarber - 84
Home Runs:  Kyle Schwarber - 28
RBIs:  Alec Bohm - 85
Stolen Bases:  Bryson Stott - 25

Wins:  Zack Wheeler - 12
ERA:  Zack Wheeler - 2.72
Strikeouts:  Zack Wheeler - 162
Saves:  Jose Alvarado - 13

Atlanta Braves 66-58
2nd Place in the N.L. East, 7 games behind the Phillies

Braves Probables
Reynaldo Lopez (7-4, 2.06)
Max Fried (7-7, 3.62)
Spencer Schwellenbach (4-6, 4.04)

Braves Leaders
Average:  Marcell Ozuna - .309
Runs:  Marcell Ozuna - 79
Home Runs:  Marcell Ozuna - 36
RBIs:  Marcell Ozuna - 93
Stolen Bases:  Ronald Acuna - 16

Wins:  Chris Sale - 14
ERA:  Chris Sale - 2.62

Strikeouts:  Chris Sale - 187
Saves:  Raisel Iglesias - 26

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

Series Preview - Braves at Phillies: July 22nd to July 25th

1986 Topps #776

2021 Chachi 1986 Topps Missing Links #9

Thursday and Friday 7:05, Saturday 6:05, Sunday 1:05
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

At the Ballpark:  On Sunday, all kids will receive a multi-player Fathead with large removable stickers of Aaron Nola, Bryce Harper and Jean Segura.

Braves 46-48
3rd Place in the N.L. East, 3 1/2 games behind the Mets

Braves Probables
Charlie Morton (8-3, 3.69)
Max Fried (7-5, 4.29)
Drew Smyly (7-3, 4.50)
Touki Toussaint (1-0, 1.35)

Braves Leaders
Average:  Freddie Freeman - .284
Runs:  Ronald Acuna, Jr. - 72
Home Runs:  Ronald Acuna, Jr. - 24
RBIs:  Ozzie Albies - 63
Stolen Bases:  Ronald Acuna, Jr. - 17

Wins:  Charlie Morton - 8
ERA:  Ian Anderson - 3.56

Strikeouts:  Charlie Morton - 122
Saves:  Will Smith - 19

Phillies 47-47
2nd Place in the N.L. East, 3 1/2 games behind the Mets

Phillies Probables
Matt Moore (0-1, 5.25)
Zack Wheeler (7-5, 2.44)
Vince Velasquez (3-4, 5.00)
Aaron Nola (6-6, 4.64)

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Bryce Harper - .287
Runs:  Rhys Hoskins - 54
Home Runs:  Rhys Hoskins - 21
RBIs:  Rhys Hoskins - 57
Stolen Bases:  Bryce Harper - 8

Wins:  Zack Wheeler - 7
ERA:  Zack Wheeler - 2.44
Strikeouts:  Zack Wheeler - 152
Saves:  Hector Neris - 12

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

Series Preview - Phillies at Braves: March 29th to March 31st #OpeningDay #BeBold

1978 Topps #177

1978 Topps #75

Thursday 4:05, Friday 7:35 and Saturday 7:10
SunTrust Park - Atlanta, GA

2017 Records
Phillies 66-96, 5th place in the N.L. East, 31 games behind the Nationals
Braves 72-90, 3rd place in the N.L. East, 25 games behind the Nationals

2017 Statistics
Phillies Probables:  Aaron Nola (12-11, 3.54), Nick Pivetta (8-10, 6.02), Vince Velasquez (2-7, 5.13)
Braves Probables:  Julio Teheran (11-13, 4.49), Mike Foltynewicz (10-13, 4.79), Brandon McCarthy (6-4, 3.98)

At the Ballpark:  For the Braves home opener, the first 40,000 fans will receive a foam "Chop On" tomahawk.  Fans attending Friday's and Saturday's game will receive a Braves schedule magnet.

Phillies Spring Training Leaders
Average:  Scott Kingery - .411
Runs:  Rhys Hoskins - 14
Home Runs:  Maikel Franco - 6
RBIs:  Maikel Franco - 15
Stolen Bases:  Roman Quinn - 9

Wins:  3 tied with - 2
ERA:  Drew Hutchison - 2.75
Strikeouts:  Aaron Nola - 18
Saves:  6 tied with - 1

Braves Spring Training Leaders
Average:  Ozzie Albies - .303
Runs:  Ozzie Albies and Danny Santana - 9
Home Runs:  Ronald Acuna, Jr. - 4
RBIs:  3 tied with - 11
Stolen Bases:  Danny Santana - 5

Wins:  Julio Teheran - 4
ERA:  Julio Teheran - 1.40
Strikeouts:  Julio Teheran - 17
Saves:  7 tied with - 1

1978 Topps Appreciation:  On June 15, 1978, the Phillies traded Gene Garber to the Braves for former Phillies pitcher Dick Ruthven.  Ruthven would go on to become a key pitcher on the 1980 World Champions.

Series Preview - Phillies at Braves: June 5th to June 8th

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 7:35
SunTrust Park - Atlanta, GA

Phillies 19-35, 5th Place in the N.L. East, 15 1/2 games behind the Nationals
Braves 24-30, 2nd Place in the N.L. East, 10 1/2 games behind the Nationals

Phillies Probables:  Nick Pivetta (0-2, 5.12), Aaron Nola (2-3, 5.06), Jerad Eickhoff (0-6, 5.13), Ben Lively (1-0, 1.29)
Braves Probables:  Bartolo Colon (2-6, 6.99), Jaime Garcia (2-3, 3.18), Mike Foltynewicz (3-5, 3.90), R.A. Dickey (3-4, 5.10)

At the Ballpark:  It's a good series to be a kid at the new SunTrust Park.  Following Monday night's game, kids can run the bases.  On Wednesday, the first 1,000 kids will take part in a "Kids Parade with Player High-Fives."  The official description given is just what you'd expect - "Kids . . . can parade around the field, with player high-fives."  On Thursday, the first 5,000 kids will receive a plastic bat and ball set.

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Cesar Hernandez - .290
Runs:  Cesar Hernandez - 38
Home Runs:  Tommy Joseph - 9
RBIs:  Maikel Franco - 29
Stolen Bases:  Cesar Hernandez - 6

Wins:  Jeremy Hellickson - 5
ERA:  Jeremy Hellickson - 4.50
Strikeouts:  Jerad Eickhoff and Vince Velasquez - 53
Saves:  Hector Neris - 5

Braves Leaders
Average:  Matt Kemp - .335
Runs:  Freddie Freeman and Ender Inciarte - 35
Home Runs:  Freddie Freeman - 14
RBIs:  Matt Kemp - 30
Stolen Bases:  Ender Inciarte - 10

Wins:  Julio Teheran - 5
ERA:  Jaime Garcia - 3.18
Strikeouts:  Mike Foltynewicz and Julio Teheran - 51
Saves:  Jim Johnson - 11

1982 Topps #317

1982 Topps #32

1982 Topps Appreciation:  When the Phillies and Braves faced off back in April, I featured two players (Bob Walk and Gary Matthews) who had been traded for one another.  We have another pair of players traded for one another for this series preview post.

On June 15, 1978, the Phillies and Braves swapped pitchers with Dick Ruthven coming to Philadelphia and Gene Garber heading to Atlanta.  I first wrote about this deal in a series preview post in 2012, featuring both pitchers' 1979 Topps cards.

Garber was purchased from the Royals back in July 1974 and for parts of five seasons, he was one of the Phillies most reliable relief pitchers.  He appeared in 250 games with the Phils, including a league leading 71 in 1975, compiling a 33-22 record with 51 saves and a 2.68 ERA.  Garber's career spanned 19 seasons and he eventually retired following his release by the Royals in July 1988. 

Ruthven was drafted by the Phillies in January 1973, and he appeared in his first game with the big club in April 1973.  After struggling in 1975, the Phils shipped him to the White Sox in the deal that netted Jim Kaat.  His second stint with the Phillies was much more successful, as his 17-10 record in 1980 helped the team to their first World Series ring.  In May 1983, Ruthven was dealt to the Cubs for Willie Hernandez.  He pitched with the Cubs until his release in May 1986.

Phillies at Braves: September 18th to September 20th

Friday 7:35, Saturday 7:10 and Sunday 1:35
Turner Field - Atlanta, GA

Phillies 56-91, 5th Place in the N.L. East, 27 1/2 games behind the Mets
Braves 57-90, 4th Place in the N.L. East, 26 1/2 games behind the Mets

Phillies Probables:  Adam Morgan (5-6, 4.60), Jared Eickhoff (1-3, 3.90), Aaron Nola (6-2, 4.11)
Braves Probables:  Williams Perez (5-6, 5.36), Ryan Weber (0-1, 4.38), Julio Teheran (10-7, 4.34)

At the Ballpark:  It's Zombie Night at Turner Field tonight, which is honestly not a commentary on the teams playing but an actual promotion.  Sunday is a Bark in the Park day and there will be a pre-game autograph session with Gene Garber, Charlie Leibrandt and Wes Helms in the Braves Fan Plaza.

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Odubel Herrera - .296+
Runs:  Odubel Herrera - 59
Home Runs:  Ryan Howard - 23
RBIs:  Ryan Howard - 77
Stolen Bases:  Cesar Hernandez - 19+

Wins:  Ken Giles and Aaron Nola - 6*
ERA:  Aaron Harang - 5.04
Strikeouts:  Aaron Harang - 101*
Saves:  Ken Giles - 13^

Braves Leaders
Average:  Nick Markakis - .296
Runs:  Nick Markakis - 65
Home Runs:  Freddie Freeman - 16
RBIs:  Freddie Freeman - 56
Stolen Bases:  Cameron Maybin - 21

Wins:  Julio Teheran - 10
ERA:  Shelby Miller - 3.00
Strikeouts:  Shelby Miller - 159
Saves:  Jason Grilli - 24

1985 Topps #129

+Ben Revere, now with the Blue Jays, is the overall team leader with a .298 average and 24 stolen bases.
*Cole Hamels, now with the Rangers, is the overall team leader with 6 wins (tied) and 137 strikeouts.
^Jonathan Papelbon, now with the Nationals, is the overall team leader with 17 saves.

1985 Topps Appreciation:  Perhaps the autograph seekers heading to the Alumni Sunday autograph signing will choose to have Garber's 1985 Topps card signed.  Garber was a successful closer for the Phillies during his time with the club from 1974 to 1978, but he found his greatest career success during his ten seasons with the Braves.

In need of a starting pitcher in 1978, and with a glut of bullpen arms, the Phillies dealt Garber to the Braves on June 15th of that year for starting pitcher Dick Ruthven. Garber relinquished his Braves closer role in 1985 to the newly acquired Bruce Sutter.

1978 SSPC Baseball the Phillies Way - Part One

During the first Gallery Week, I featured the Phillies team set from the quirky, yet lovable 1976 SSPC set.  I broke the gallery into two posts - part one and part two.  Today and tomorrow, I'll feature the Phillies cards from a set released by SSPC in 1978.  This set is either listed as "1978 SSPC Baseball the Phillies Way" or "1978 SSPC 270."  The latter name derives from the fact that these cards were included as an insert within a baseball magazine entitled, you guessed it, Baseball the Phillies Way.  The publication contained tips on how to play each position and how to better your hitting, pitching and fielding skills, among other things.  The back of the front cover even contained a letter to the reader from then-Phillies front office personnel Paul Owens and Dallas Green.

The 1978 SSPC 270 name derives from the fact that SSPC released 270 total cards that year, all spread out among a number of team publications.  For this reason, the Phillies cards are numbered "0028" to "0054" within their publication.  (I've dropped the "00" prefix in the galleries.)  The set has the feel of the 1976 SSPC set, but adds horizontal cards and more cards of coaches this time around.

Back in the early '80s, I bought two of these magazines at the Ocean City Baseball Card Show - one to keep in tact and one from which to skillfully cut the baseball cards from.

#28 Garry Maddox

#29 Steve Carlton

#30 Ron Reed

#31 Greg Luzinski

#32 Bobby Wine CO

#33 Bob Boone

#34 Carroll Beringer CO

#35 Richie Hebner

#36 Ray Rippelmeyer CO

#37 Terry Harmon

#38 Gene Garber

#39 Ted Sizemore

#40 Barry Foote

#41 Tony Taylor CO

1976 SSPC Phillies - Part One

If you've been following along with The Shlabotnik Report, and you should be, you know there was a recent report of a 1,200-card haul of wonderful 1976 SSPC cards.  I hadn't planned on featuring the 1976 SSPC Phillies team set during Gallery Week, but his posts on the set inspired me to dig out my 1970s Phillies binder and take in the glory of these little known cards once again.  (I hope this doesn't steal TSR's thunder for any future posts.)

Jim Kaat is a member of the White Sox on the front of his card, but the back of his card lists him as a Phillie and mentions his acquisition on December 10, 1975.

#136 Jim Kaat

#456 Joe Hoerner

#457 Tug McGraw

#458 Gene Garber

#459 Steve Carlton

#460 Larry Christenson

#461 Tom Underwood

#462 Jim Lonborg

#463 Jay Johnstone

#464 Larry Bowa

#465 Dave Cash

#466 Ollie Brown

#467 Greg Luzinski

#468 Johnny Oates

#469 Mike Anderson

Braves at Phillies: August 6th to August 8th

Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday 7:05

Braves 62-46, 2nd Place in the N.L. East, 3 games behind the Nationals
Phillies 49-59, 4th Place in the N.L. East, 16 games behind the Nationals

Braves Probables:  Ben Sheets (3-1, 1.46), Mike Minor (6-7, 5.01), Tim Hudson (11-4, 3.45)
Phillies Probables:  Vance Worley (6-6, 3.63), Cole Hamels (11-6, 3.34), Kyle Kendrick (4-9, 4.45)

At the Ballpark:  The Phillies host their annual Jewish Heritage Celebration on Tuesday night.

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Carlos Ruiz - .335
Runs:  Jimmy Rollins - 61
Home Runs:  Carlos Ruiz - 14*
RBIs:  Carlos Ruiz - 58*
Stolen Bases:  Juan Pierre - 27

Wins:  Cole Hamels - 11
ERA:  Cole Hamels - 3.34
Strikeouts:  Cole Hamels - 147
Saves:  Jonathan Papelbon - 24

*Hunter Pence, now with the Giants, has the overall lead with 17 home runs and 59 RBIs.

1979 Topps #629 and #419

1979 Topps Flashback:  On June 15, 1978, the Phillies and Braves swapped veteran right-handed pitchers with reliever Gene Garber heading to Atlanta and starter Dick Ruthven coming back to Philadelphia after a 2 1/2 season absence.

Garber was purchased from the Royals back in July 1974 and for parts of five seasons, he was one of the Phillies most reliable relief pitchers.  He appeared in 250 games with the Phils, including a league leading 71 in 1975, compiling a 33-22 record with 51 saves and a 2.68 ERA.  Garber's career spanned 19 seasons and he eventually retired following his release by the Royals in July 1988.

Ruthven was drafted by the Phillies in January 1973, and he appeared in his first game with the big club in April 1973.  After struggling in 1975, the Phils shipped him to the White Sox in the deal that netted Jim Kaat.  His second stint with the Phillies was much more successfully, as his 17-10 record in 1980 helped the team to their first World Series ring.  In May 1983, Ruthven was dealt to the Cubs for Willie Hernandez.  He pitched with the Cubs until his release in May 1986.

1970-1979 Phillies

1977 Kellogg's #37 and #57, 1976 Kellogg's #16, 1978 Kellogg's #3 and #33

Before starting my posts on Topps Phillies cards from the 1980's, I wanted to look back one last time at the groovy decade of the 1970's.

Decade MVPs
The offensive MVP is clearly Mike Schmidt.  Right?  Take a look at these two decade summaries:

• 1084 games, .255 average, 235 home runs, 666 RBIs, .885 OPS, 958 strikeouts, 4 All-Star Game selections, 4 Gold Gloves
• 1183 games, .285 average, 204 home runs, 755 RBIs, .858 OPS, 998 strikeouts, 4 All-Star Game selctions

Now the Gold Gloves are a dead giveaway that the top line belongs to Schmidt, but the second, very similar line belongs to Greg Luzinski.  It's not as close as I thought.  So what do you think?  Who was the team's offensive MVP during the decade?

The top Phillies pitcher from the decade was clearly Steve Carlton.  Lefty dominated the top statistical categories, leading the team in games pitched, victories, strikeouts, complete games, shutouts and ERA (for a starting pitcher).  No one else was even close.  He won the Cy Young in 1972 and 1977 and he was selected to four All-Star Games.

2001 Upper Deck Decade 1970's Game-Used Bat
Top - #B-GL and #B-GM, Bottom - #B-TiM and #B-WM

Leaders
Games - Larry Bowa (1489), Luzinski (1183), Schmidt (1084), Bob Boone (908), Garry Maddox (687)
Average* - Jay Johnstone (.303), Maddox (.296), Luzinski (.285), Tony Taylor (.284), Tim McCarver (.272)
Home Runs - Schmidt (235), Luzinski (204), Deron Johnson (71), Willie Montanez (63), Boone (52)
RBIs - Luzinski (755), Schmidt (666), Boone (377), Bowa (351), Montanez (326)
Stolen Bases - Bowa (251), Maddox (134), Schmidt (117), Bake McBride (80), Dave Cash (43)

Games - Carlton (297), Tug McGraw (279), Gene Garber (250), Ron Reed (246), Jim Lonborg (188), Wayne Twitchell (188)
Wins - Carlton (148), Lonborg (75), Larry Christenson (63), Dick Ruthven (37), McGraw (35)
ERA** - Joe Hoerner (2.30), Garber (2.69), Reed (2.86), Carlton (3.07), McGraw (3.27)
Strikeouts - Carlton (1732), Twitchell (573), Lonborg (548), Christenson (473), Ruthven (410)
Saves - McGraw (59), Reed (51), Garber (51), Dick Selma (26), Mac Scarce (21), Hoerner (21)

*At least 5 seasons with the Phillies, completely subjective
**At least 4 season with the Phillies, again completely subjective

1978 SSPC 270 #30 (Reed)

1970-1979 Topps
Total Phillies Players (1970-1979): 142
Total Phillies Players with Topps Phillies Cards: 84.  Only 59% of the players earned Topps cards during the decade as 58 players were left out in the cold.
Managers with Cards:  Frank Lucchesi (3 cards) and Danny Ozark (7 cards).
Topps Phillies Cards of Non-Phillies:  6 cards - Curt Flood (1970), Wayne Redmond (1971), Tom Haller (1973), Ken Sanders (1973), Aurelio Monteagudo (1974), Jim Wright (1979)

Card Statistics
Most Featured: Carlton (13 Cards), Luzinski (11 Cards), Bowa (10 Cards), Schmidt (10 Cards), Team Card (10 Cards), Terry Harmon (9 Cards), Boone (8 Cards), Tom Hutton (7 Cards), McCarver (7 Cards), Lonborg (7 Cards), Ozark (7 Cards)
Most Games (Batter), No Phillies Topps Card: Pete Rose (163 games in 1979), Manny Trillo (118 games in 1979), Greg Gross (111 games in 1979), John Vukovich (93 games in 1970-1971, 1976-1977 and 1979), John Bateman (82 games in 1972), Jim Hutto (57 games in 1970), Alan Bannister (50 games in 1974 and 1975), Bobby Pfeil (44 games in 1971)
Most Games (Pitcher), No Phillies Topps Card: Nino Espinosa (33 games in 1979), Doug Bird (32 games in 1979), Kevin Saucier (30 games in 1978 and 1979), Jesus Hernaiz (27 games in 1974), Frank Linzy (22 games in 1974), Pete Richert (21 games in 1974)

1976 SSPC #464, #471, #457 and #463 (Bowa, Boone, McGraw and Johnstone)

Rose, Trillo, Gross, Espinosa and Bird are featured in the 1979 Burger King Phillies set, so I expanded the lists for a few extra players.

The Phillies Topps 60
If and when Topps decides to release a set of the sixty best Phillies cards from the past sixty years, I'm doing my part to help them out with the checklist:

21 - 1970 Topps #539 Denny Doyle and Larry Bowa
22 - 1971 Topps #23 Oscar Gamble
23 - 1972 Topps #112 Steve Carlton TR
24 - 1973 Topps #615 Rookie Third Basemen - Ron Cey, John Hilton and Mike Schmidt
25 - 1974 Topps #255 Larry Bowa
26 - 1975 Topps #185 Steve Carlton
27 - 1976 Topps #610 Greg Luzinski
28 - 1977 Topps #140 Mike Schmidt
29 - 1978 Topps #381 Team Card
30 - 1979 Topps #210 Larry Bowa

1978 SSPC 270 #38, #41, #53 and #47 (Garber, Taylor, McBride and Christenson)

Cards That Never Were Series
There were 20 cards from the 1950s and 32 cards from the 1960s and I'm adding another 40 cards from the 1970s.  If this pattern holds, expect at least 40 cards from the 1980s.  Who am I missing?

53 - 1970 Topps Greg Luzinski
54 - 1970 Topps Willie Montanez
55 - 1970 Topps Barry Lersch
56 - 1970 Topps Jim Hutto
57 - 1971 Topps John Vukovich
58 - 1971 Topps Roger Freed
59 - 1971 Topps Mike Schmidt (Draft Pick)
60 - 1972 Topps Bill Robinson
61 - 1972 Topps Mac Scarce
62 - 1972 Topps Paul Owens MG
63 - 1972 Topps Rookie Stars - Mike Schmidt and Bob Boone
64 - 1972 Topps John Bateman
65 - 1973 Topps Mike Schmidt
66 - 1973 Topps Del Unser
67 - 1973 Topps Dick Ruthven
68 - 1973 Topps Larry Christenson
69 - 1974 Topps Jay Johnstone
70 - 1974 Topps Tony Taylor
71 - 1974 Topps Jesus Hernaiz
72 - 1975 Topps Dick Allen
73 - 1975 Topps Garry Maddox
74 - 1975 Topps Tug McGraw
75 - 1975 Topps Tom Underwood
76 - 1975 Topps Alan Bannister
77 - 1976 Topps Jerry Martin
78 - 1976 Topps Traded Bobby Tolan
79 - 1977 Topps Davey Johnson
80 - 1977 Topps Warren Brusstar
81 - 1977 Topps Bake McBride
82 - 1977 Topps Ted Sizemore
83 - 1978 Topps Dick Ruthven
84 - 1978 Topps Rawley Eastwick
85 - 1978 Topps Bud Harrelson
86 - 1978 Topps Rookies - Jim Morrison, Lonnie Smith, Keith Moreland and Todd Cruz
87 - 1978 Topps Tony Taylor CO
88 - 1979 Topps Del Unser
89 - 1979 Topps Mike Anderson
90 - 1979 Topps Dickie Noles
91 - 1979 Topps Kevin Saucier
92 - 1979 Topps Dallas Green MG

Links to the Past
1950-1959 Phillies
1960-1969 Phillies

I'll start going through the Topps sets from the '80s next.  It promises to be radical and a little gnarly.