2021 Chachi #55 JD Hammer

#64
John Dale Hammer
Relief Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'3"  Weight:  202
Opening Day Age:  26
Born:  July 12, 1994, Fort Collins, CO
How Obtained:  Acquired with Jose Gomez and Alejandro Requena from the Colorado Rockies for Pat Neshek and cash considerations, July 26, 2017
Major League Teams:  Philadelphia Phillies 2019, 2021

First Phillies Card:  2019 Topps Update #US27
First Phillies Minor League Card:  2018 Choice Phillies Minor League Top 30 Prospects #26
First Phillies Team Issued Card:  N/A

Newest Card Added:  2021 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs #13

Topps Flagship Set Appearances (1):  2019

8 - Hammer baseball cards in my collection per The Phillies Room Checklist as of 7/11/21.

Complete Chachi Checklist
2018 Chachi Preview #2
2019 Chachi #43
2019 Chachi Phillies Phestival #4 (with Vince Velasquez)
2019 Chachi Friendly Encounters #12

2019 Chachi Photo Cards #65

2020 Chachi Almost #16
2021 Chachi #55

JD Hammer had an impressive first half of the season with the Triple-A IronPigs, leading to his promotion shortly before the All-Star break.  He spent the entire 2020 season training at the team's alternate training site in Lehigh Valley.
Hammer switched his uniform number to #64 as his original #65 was claimed by new pitching coach Caleb Cotham in the offseason

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

Spring Training Game 8 - 2019 Topps Gallery #124 JD Hammer

Yankees 4, Phillies 0
Spring Training Game 8 - Sunday Afternoon, March 7th in Tampa
Record - 3-4-1

One Sentence Summary:  A second inning Brett Gardner grand slam off Phillies starting pitcher Zack Wheeler was the only scoring in this game, a 4-0 loss to the Yankees.

What It Means:  Wheeler struggled, but he's healthy so we've got that going for us.  Officially, Wheeler went 2 1/3 innings and allowed 4 runs on 4 hits while walking 2.  Wheeler also struck out four.  This game was televised on the MLB Network and it was great to finally watch a ballgame on a spring-like sunny day.

What Happened:  The offense was quiet for the second day in a row, managing only five hits.  Two of those hits came from Matt Joyce, who is now batting .375 this spring.  At the top of the line-up, Andrew McCutchen, Didi Gregorius, Bryce Harper and Jean Segura went 0 for 11.

Featured Card:  Yesterday, I featured a card of the seemingly forgotten Enyel De Los Santos and today I'll feature another reliever who could still help the club in 2021 - JD Hammer.  Hammer never got the call from the Phillies last year, spending part of the summer with the team's taxi squad in Lehigh Valley.  He threw 2/3 of an inning in this game, striking out Giancarlo Stanton looking with a 97mph fastball.

Camp Head Count:  73 - The first injury of the spring struck the club as it was announced that Adam Haseley will miss at least four weeks with a strained groin.  Haseley, who had the inside track to be the Phillies' opening day center fielder, suffered the injury in the game against the Yankees on Friday.

2021 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2021 Chachi Set Checklist

Updated (and Final?) Non-Roster Invitees and Mini-Camp Invitees

2020 Topps #645

2020 Topps Total #591

2020 Topps Total #895

2020 Topps Total #739

2019 Grandstand Clearwater Threshers #19

The Phillies threw us a curveball on Tuesday afternoon, finalizing their list of 12 non-roster invitees and adding 19 more players as what they're calling mini-camp invitees.  A byproduct of our pandemic era is that the club needs to limit the number of players in camp, so we get this new wrinkle for who we'll see in Clearwater beginning tomorrow.  If you're keeping score at home, there's 40 players on the big league roster, 12 non-roster invitees and 19 mini-camp invitees, for a total of 71 players suiting up.  That's the same number of players the Phillies started with in Clearwater last February.  The mini campers will train with the big club but report to the minor league clubhouse.

New additions to non-roster invitee list since my last update are outfielder Travis Jankowski along with catchers Rodolfo Duran and Jeff Mathis.  Jankowski is a six-year big league veteran and he appeared in 16 games last year with the Reds.  He's a career .238 hitter and can play all three outfield positions.  Mathis is a 16-year veteran having spent the last two seasons with the Rangers.  A back-up for much of his career, Mathis has played with the Angels (2005-2011), Blue Jays (2012), Marlins (2013-2016), Diamondbacks (2017-2018) and Rangers (2019-2020).

Notable below is that David Paulino has been seemingly demoted from the non-roster invitee list to the mini-camp invitee list.  Pitchers Enyel De Los Santos and JD Hammer, along with outfielder Odubel Herrera, all of whom haven't played with the Phillies since 2019, are also on the mini-camp invitee list.  Play ball!

Non-Roster Invitees (position) - 2020 Organization - Last Major Baseball Card Appearance

1.  Christian Bethancourt (c) - N/A - 2017 Topps #697 (Padres)

2.  Ronald Torreyes (inf) - Phillies - 2019 Topps #537 (Twins)

3.  Michael Ynoa (rhp) - N/A - 2016 Topps Heritage High Numbers #632 (White Sox)

4.  Neftali Feliz (rhp) - N/A - 2017 Topps Update #US117 (Royals)

5.  Ivan Nova (rhp) - Tigers - 2020 Topps Heritage High Numbers #704 (Tigers)

6.  Bryan Mitchell (rhp) - White Sox - 2015 Topps #224 (Yankees)

7.  Hector Rondon (rhp) - Diamondbacks - 2020 Topps Total #600 (Diamondbacks)

8.  Brandon Kintzler (rhp) - Marlins - 2020 Topps Heritage High Numbers #679

9.  Matt Joyce (of) - Marlins - 2020 Topps Heritage High Numbers #636

10.  Travis Jankowski (of) - Reds - 2020 Topps Total #591 (Reds)

11.  Rodolfo Duran (c) - Phillies - N/A

12.  Jeff Mathis (c) - Rangers - 2020 Topps Heritage High Numbers #690 (Rangers)

Mini-Camp Invitees (position) - 2020 Organization - Last Major Baseball Card Appearance

1.  Edgar Cabral (c) - Phillies - 2018 Bowman Prospect Autographs #PA-EC (Phillies)

2.  Tyler Carr (rhp) - Phillies - N/A

3.  Enyel De Los Santos (rhp) - Phillies - 2020 Topps Total #895 (Phillies)

4.  Julian Garcia (rhp) - Phillies - N/A

5.  Darick Hall (inf) - Phillies - 2019 Bowman Talent Pipeline #TP-PHI (Phillies)

6.  JD Hammer (rhp) - Phillies - 2020 Topps Total #739 (Phillies)

7.  Jonathan Hennigan (lhp) - Phillies - N/A

8.  Jakob Hernandez (lhp) - Phillies - N/A

9.  Odubel Herrera (of) - Phillies - 2019 Topps Chrome #103 (Phillies)

10.  Erik Miller (lhp) - Phillies - 2020 Bowman Chrome Prospect Autographs #CPA-EM (Phillies)

11.  Logan O'Hoppe (c) - Phillies - 2020 Bowman Chrome Prospect Autographs #CPA-LOH (Phillies)

12.  Jhailyn Ortiz (of) - Phillies - 2018 Topps Pro Debut Fragments of the Farm #FOTF-WC (Phillies)

13.  David Parkinson (lhp) - Phillies - N/A

14.  David Paulino (rhp) - N/A - 2018 Donruss Promising Pros Materials #PPM-DP (Astros)

15.  Johan Rojas (of) - Phillies - N/A

16.  Bryson Stott (inf) - Phillies - 2020 Bowman Heritage Prospects #BHP-68 (Phillies)

17.  Matt Vierling (of) - Phillies - 2019 Bowman Draft #BD-181 (Phillies)

18.  Zach Warren (lhp) - Phillies - N/A

19.  Luke Williams (inf) - Phillies - 2015 Bowman Draft #56 (Phillies)

Look Away if You've Already Moved on from the 2020 Phillies

2020 Chachi Almost #13

2020 Chachi Almost #15

2020 Chachi Almost #20

2020 Chachi Almost #16

In an effort to put the 2020 Phillies season behind me as quickly as possible, I wanted to get this post out of the way.  Every year, I create my custom Chachi cards during the offseason and the early stages of spring training, which means I end up with several "Almost" cards of players who didn't get the call to the big club during the season.  Those cards are presented here.

Victor Arano, Seranthony Dominguez and David Robertson spent the season either injured, recovering from an injury or getting surgery to repair an injury.  Arano and Dominguez should return, while Robertson will not.  Despite the bullpen's woes, JD Hammer never got the call to join the team and Odubel Herrera remains exiled following his arrest for domestic violence last year.  Christian Bethancourt was a non-roster invitee to spring training and then disappeared, with no sign of any transaction (that I can find) to tell us where he ended up.  Finally, veterans Mikie Mahtook and Nick Martini were also non-roster invitees who later joined the taxi squad in Allentown as part of the team's 60-player pool.  Neither got the call to leave Lehigh Valley and travel to Philadelphia.

2020 Chachi Almost #18

2020 Chachi Almost #19

2020 Chachi Almost #14

2020 Chachi Almost #17

Also presented below is a final look at the team's 2019-2020 offseason moves and other player additions and deletions during the pandemic-shortened season.  For some reason, I failed to post my Departures cards of Fernando Salas and Mitch Walding when they originally left the team and solely for the sake of completeness, they're presented here.

Moving On - 2019-2020 Offseason

• Rob Brantly - c (9/30/19) - Elected free agency, signed the San Francisco Giants (1/18/20).
• Fernando Salas - rhp (9/30/19) - Elected free agency.
• Corey Dickerson - of (10/31/19) - Elected free agency, signed with the Miami Marlins (1/7/20).
• Brad Miller - inf (10/31/19) - Elected free agency, signed with the St. Louis Cardinals (2/12/20).
• Logan Morrison - 1b (10/31/19) - Elected free agency, signed with the Milwaukee Brewers (1/9/20).
• Juan Nicasio - rhp (10/31/19) - Elected free agency, signed with the Texas Rangers (1/22/20).
• Sean Rodriguez - inf-of (10/31/19) - Elected free agency, signed with the Miami Marlins (2/15/20).
• Drew Smyly - lhp (10/31/19) - Elected free agency, signed with the San Francisco Giants (1/16/20).
• Nick Vincent - rhp (10/31/19) - Elected free agency, signed with the San Francisco Giants (2/9/20).
• Jose Pirela - of (11/1/19) - Released, signed with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp (Japan) (11/2/19).
• Jared Hughes - rhp (11/4/19) - Club option declined, elected free agency, signed with the Houston Astros (2/17/20).
• Pat Neshek - rhp (11/4/19) - Club option declined, elected free agency.
• Jason Vargas - lhp (11/4/19) - Club option declined, elected free agency.
• Jerad Eickhoff - rhp (11/4/19) - Outrighted, elected free agency, signed with the San Diego Padres (12/27/19).
• Mike Morin - rhp (11/4/19) - Outrighted, elected free agency, signed with the Milwaukee Brewers (1/31/20).
• Edubray Ramos - rhp - (11/4/19) - Outrighted, elected free agency, signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1/8/20).
• Mitch Walding - 3b (11/4/19) - Elected free agency, signed with the Toronto Blue Jays (2/2/20).
• Maikel Franco - 3b (12/2/19) - Non-tendered, elected free agency, signed with the Kansas City Royals (12/27/19).
• Cesar Hernandez - 2b (12/2/19) - Non-tendered, elected free agency, signed with the Cleveland Indians (12/29/19).

2020 Chachi Departures #2

2020 Chachi Departures #3

Coming Back - 2019-2020 Offseason

• Phil Gosselin - inf (11/4/19) - Outrighted, elected free agency, signed with the Phillies (12/20/19).
• Blake Parker - rhp (11/4/19) - Outrighted, elected free agency, signed with the Phillies (2/5/20).
• Tommy Hunter - rhp (10/31/19) - Elected free agency, signed with the Phillies (2/12/20).

New Arrivals - 2019-2020 Offseason

• Trevor Kelley - rhp (12/2/19) - Claimed off waivers from the Boston Red Sox.
• Zack Wheeler - rhp (12/9/19) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the New York Mets.
• Didi Gregorius - ss (12/13/19) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the New York Yankees.
• Ronald Torreyes - inf (1/2/20) - Signed as a minor league free agent formerly with the Minnesota Twins.
• Neil Walker - inf (1/22/20) - Signed as a minor league free agent formerly with the Miami Marlins.
• Reggie McClain - rhp (1/31/20) - Claimed off waivers from the Seattle Mariners.
• Deolis Guerra - rhp (2/5/20) - Claimed off waivers from the Milwaukee Brewers.
• Kyle Garlick - of (2/15/20) - Acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers for Tyler Gilbert.

Arrived During the 2020 Season

• David Hale (rhp) - 8/21/20, Acquired from the New York Yankees for Addison Russ (rhp).
• Brandon Workman (rhp) and Heath Hembree (rhp) - 8/21/20, Acquired from the Boston Red Sox with cash and a player to be named later for Nick Pivetta (rhp) and Connor Seabold (rhp).
• David Phelps (rhp) - 8/31/20, Acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers for three players to be named later.

Departed During the 2020 Season 

• Nick Williams (of) - 8/15/20, Selected off waivers by the Cincinnati Reds. 
• Edgar Garcia (rhp) - 8/18/20, Traded to the Tampa Bay Rays for a player to be named later.
• Nick Pivetta (rhp) - 8/21/20, Traded to the Boston Red Sox with Connor Seabold (rhp) for Brandon Workman (rhp), Heath Hembree (rhp), a player to be named later and cash.
• Austin Davis (lhp) - 8/26/20, Traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for a player to be named later and  cash.
• Deivy Grullon (c) - 9/3/20, Selected off waivers by the Boston Red Sox.
• Neil Walker (inf) - 9/15/20, Cleared waivers and elected free agency.

2019 and 2020 Chachi Photo Cards - Signed!

In February, before the coronavirus shut everything down, fellow collector Rick made his annual trip to Clearwater with copies of Chachi photo cards in hand.  He was able to get a number of the photos signed and he was gracious enough to get duplicate cards signed for me as well.

The cards for Jay Bruce, Austin Davis, JD Hammer and Cole Irvin are from last year's photo card set, while the Deivy Grullon and Blake Parker cards are from this year's set.  The Parker card is officially an uncorrected error card, as he's currently and has always been #53 with the Phillies.  He even included his correct uniform number within his signature.

Thanks again to Rick for sending these along, as they brightened up what had been an otherwise glum day.  I hope we're all back to trying to obtain player autographs relatively soon.

And I hope you and your families are staying safe and healthy, helping where you can and focusing on staying positive.

Hammer Returns; Non-Roster Invitees Up to 30

2019 Choice Reading
Fightin Phils #8

For the sake of completeness, I wanted to post the most up to date listing of non-roster invitees currently in camp with the Phillies.  Reliever JD Hammer had been designated for assignment on February 5th to make room on the 40-man roster for free agent signing Deolis Guerra.  Hammer cleared waivers, was outrighted to Lehigh Valley and returned to the club as their 30th (!) non-roster invitee.  The 71 players currently in camp (72 if you count Odubel Herrera) has got to be a franchise record.

Player (position) - 2019 Organization - Last Major Baseball Card Appearance

1.  Phil Gosselin (inf) - Phillies - 2017 Topps Heritage #135 (Diamondbacks)

2.  Josh Harrison (inf) - Tigers - 2019 Topps Heritage #552 (Tigers)

3.  Mikie Mahtook (of) - Tigers - 2019 Topps #477 (Tigers)

4.  Matt Szczur (of) - Diamondbacks - 2018 Topps Heritage #528 (Padres)
5.  Christian Bethancourt (c) - NC Dinos (Korea) - 2017 Topps #697 (Padres)
6.  Ronald Torreyes (inf) - Twins - 2019 Topps #537 (Twins)
7.  Francisco Liriano (lhp) - Pirates - 2019 Topps Update #US61 (Pirates)
8.  Bud Norris (rhp) - Blue Jays - 2018 Topps #686 (Cardinals)
9.  Drew Storen (rhp) - Royals - 2017 Topps Heritage #573 (Reds)
10.  Neil Walker (inf) - Marlins - 2019 Topps Update #US132 (Marlins)
11.  Logan Forsythe (inf) - Rangers - 2019 Topps Heritage #635 (Rangers)
12.  Blake Parker (rhp) - Twins/Phillies - 2020 Topps #286 (Phillies)
13.  Anthony Swarzak (rhp) - Mariners/Braves - 2019 Topps Total #387 (Braves)
14.  Trevor Kelley (rhp) - Red Sox - N/A

Player (position) - 2019 Organization - Last Card Added to Collection

15.  Alec Bohm (inf) - Phillies - 2019 Choice Reading Fightin Phils #1

16.  Connor Brogdon (rhp) - Phillies - 2019 Grandstand Clearwater Threshers #44

17.  Kyle Dohy (lhp) - Phillies - 2019 R-Phils Phillies Top 25 Prospects #5

18.  Tyler Gilbert (lhp) - Phillies - 2019 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs #10
19.  Darick Hall (1b) - Phillies - 2019 Choice Reading Fightin Phils #7
20.  Spencer Howard (rhp) - Phillies - 2019 Topps Heritage Minor League #27
21.  Damon Jones (lhp) - Phillies - 2018 Choice Lakewood BlueClaws #13
22.  Henri Lartigue (c) - Phillies - 2019 Choice Reading Fightin Phils #12
23.  Austin Listi (1b-of) - Phillies - 2019 Choice Reading Fightin Phils #13
24.  Nick Maton (ss) - Phillies - 2019 Grandstand Clearwater Threshers #6
25.  Mickey Moniak (of) - Phillies - 2019 Choice Reading Fightin Phils #15
26.  Ramon Rosso (rhp) - Phillies - 2019 Choice Reading Fightin Phils #19
27.  Addison Russ (rhp) - Phillies - 2019 Choice Reading Fightin Phils #20
28.  Zach Warren (lhp) - Phillies - 2019 Grandstand Clearwater Threshers #33
29.  Luke Williams (inf-of) - Phillies - 2019 Choice Reading Fightin Phils #23
30.  JD Hammer (rhp) - Phillies - 2019 Choice Reading Fightin Phils #8

Game 96 - 2019 Chachi Photo Cards #65 JD Hammer

Dodgers 7, Phillies 2
Game 96 - Late Wednesday Night, July 17th in Philadelphia
Record - 49-47, 3rd place, 8 1/2 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies lost a game that ended around 1:45 in the morning after a two and half hour rain delay.

What It Means:  I made it to the sixth inning after the Phillies had tied the score at two and then I went to bed, figuring I should quit while I was ahead (or at least tied).

What Happened:  The Phillies pitchers walked 10 Dodgers batters, four of those walks coming from Nick Pivetta in his rain-shortened 2 1/3 inning outing.  On the bright side, Pivetta didn't allow a hit.  Edgar Garcia, Juan Nicasio and Austin Davis couldn't keep the Dodgers off the board in the later innings, with those three relievers giving up six runs in their four innings of work.

Featured Card:  JD Hammer entered the game after the lengthy rain delay and pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings.  He grounded out to first in his first professional baseball plate appearance in the third.  This is the self-created photo card I had Hammer sign this past weekend at his Deptford Mall appearance.

Transactions:  Jay Bruce became the tenth player currently on the injured list for the Phillies, landing there with a right oblique strain.  Nick Williams was recalled from Lehigh Valley.

Meeting Franco, Hammer and Dan Baker at the Deptford Mall

The Phillies Room support staff had a very busy Saturday, first heading to the Deptford Mall to meet a few Phillies and later making the trek to Lakewood for our annual Lakewood BlueClaws outing.  I'll have a full write-up of the BlueClaws game, the resulting autographs and an obligatory (now annual) BlueClaws Signing Autographs insert set, but first I wanted to share a post on our Deptford Mall outing.

Originally advertised as a Maikel Franco/Odubel Herrera joint appearance, Phillies reliever JD Hammer stepped in to take the place of the suspended Herrera.  It was a relatively light crowd for the event, but both Hammer and Franco were friendly and both graciously posed for pictures.  Hammer noted that he really liked his recently released Reading Fightin Phils card (modelled after the 1990 Topps set) and he also signed a few copies of the Chachi Photo Card I created given that the Phillies haven't gotten around to making a photo card for him yet.

The highlight for the boys though was meeting Phillies public address announcer Dan Baker who was there emceeing the event.  Baker posed with the boys and let them each try on his 2008 World Series ring.  Very cool indeed.

Highlights from the 2019 Phillies Phestival (Part 1) #StrikeOutALS

2019 Chachi Phillies Phestival #1

2019 Chachi Phillies Phestival #19

2019 Chachi Phillies Phestival #16

On Thursday afternoon, we attended the annual Phillies Phestival, which raises money in the fight against ALS.  One of my collecting regrets (and a regret as a lifelong Phillies fan) is that we never even considered going to this event until three years ago.  As rookies in 2017, we meandered through the ballpark using our pre-assigned autograph tickets and paying cash for autographs when the lines died down.  In 2018, I attended the event on behalf of my employer, which unbeknownst to me, had been a long-time sponsor of the Phestival.  I became involved with the Philadelphia ALS Chapter over the past few years partly in tribute to our friend Bob who passed away in January 2019 after a courageous battle with the disease.  I'm looking forward to continuing (and increasing) my involvement in the coming years.

This year, we again attended as sponsors and it's the first year we were fully prepared to collect autographs as efficiently as possible while still having fun.  Sponsors are given a button to wear, which allows us to stand in any autograph line.  Within the sponsors packet were explicit instructions informing us we couldn't go to the front of any line, which makes complete sense, and that we couldn't go to the Bryce Harper photo booth.

2019 Chachi Phillies Phestival #2

2019 Chachi Phillies Phestival #5

2019 Chachi Phillies Phestival #7

2019 Chachi Phillies Phestival #8

2019 Chachi Phillies Phestival #14

Similar to the past two years, I created a special set of Chachi cards to commemorate our day and the autographs we hunted down.  Here's a summary of what and how we did:

• The sponsors assemble in the Diamond Club and my company's name was called around 2:45.  We made our way down to the field to meet with Phil Gosselin and Jay Bruce who would be signing autographs at our designated station.  I let Bruce know it was great not to boo him this season, and my son Doug talked to Gosselin about their mutual history with the All-Star Baseball Academy.  Gosselin is an alumni and Doug is currently on one of their travel teams.

2019 Chachi Phillies Phestival #3

2019 Chachi Phillies Phestival #4

2019 Chachi Phillies Phestival #6

• We had a plan.  Doug and I took the left side of the ballpark while Jenna and Ben took the right side.  Doug and I started in the Hall of Fame Club, where the lines were very short to start and some of the tables had no lines.  We walked right into the suite where Gabe Kapler was signing and had two people in front of us.  Kapler's a fascinating guy.  Very intense, very polite, very engaging and he made his hat work.

• Jenna and Ben made Aaron Nola their first target, so they had a longer wait to get started.  Doug and I had cleared four tables by the time they were getting Nola's autographs.

• All the players were engaging and friendly, and even though there was a loose "no posed photographs" policy in place this year, pretty much everyone stopped to look and smile while we were taking pictures.  Rhys Hoskins said he remembered being in our Christmas card, although he may have just been being polite.

• Ben's highlight was getting Maikel Franco to sign the back of his favorite Franco t-shirt.  He also talked to the broadcast team for awhile.  When he asked why they didn't have any cards to sign, Scott Franzke said it was because the Phillies couldn't get them all together at the same time.  He was then invited by Ben Davis to sign their table cloth, and he obliged.

• Larry Andersen had run out of photo cards by the time we got to his station (with John Kruk and Mickey Morandini) so he offered Doug a cookie instead of an autograph.  Doug took him up on the offer.

• I was bummed that none of the newer Phillies players had any photo cards produced for them to sign.  I had come prepared with a list of potential exclusive photo cards - Bruce, Edgar Garcia, JD Hammer, Adam Haseley and Ranger Suarez - but there were no new cards to be had.  Bruce and Gosselin had what looked like regular paper at their station with their names printed at the top.

2019 Chachi Phillies Phestival #9

2019 Chachi Phillies Phestival #10

2019 Chachi Phillies Phestival #11

• When the autograph session time expired, we had visited all but three tables - J.T. Realmuto (by choice since we had already received his autographs in May), Charlie Manual (since we forgot to bring anything for him to sign) and Pat Neshek/Jim Gott.  The Neshek/Gott omission was a symptom of simply running out of time.  The only table we doubled up on was Scott Kingery's as we both had time to visit with him as the clock was ticking down.

• We met up with fellow collector Steve and his son in time to stand in line for our mystery grab bags.  Our five bag haul was decent, with baseballs signed by Roman Quinn (two), Nick Pivetta, and Hector Neris.  We received a pair of Raul Ibanez bobble heads, three solar Liberty Bells, a Jimmy Rollins World Series ring and Jenna got her Mother's Day fleece she had wanted from the May giveaway.

We had a blast, the Phillies raised over $768,000 to aid in the fight against ALS, and we're already making our plans for next year's Phestival!  I've share Part 2 with the rest of the cards from the event in a post coming soon.

The almost completed checklist

Our grab bag haul

Phillies Phestival Memory Lane

2017 Part 1 and Part 2

2018 Part 1 and Part 2
2019 Part 1 and Part 2

2019 Chachi #43 JD Hammer

#65
John Dale Hammer
Relief Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'3"  Weight:  215
Opening Day Age:  24
Born:  July 12, 1994, Fort Collins, CO
Drafted:  Selected by the Colorado Rockies in the 24th round of the June 2016 draft
Teams:  Phillies 2019
Acquired:  Acquired with Jose Gomez and Alejandro Requena from the Colorado Rockies for Pat Neshek and cash considerations, July 26, 2017

2018 Chachi Preview #2

2018 Choice Phillies Minor League Top 30 Prospects #26

First Phillies Minor League Card:  2018 Choice Phillies Minor League Top 30 Prospects #26
First Topps Flagship Base Card:  N/A
First Phillies Card:  N/A
First Phillies Team Issued Card:  N/A
Newest Card Added:  2018 Choice Phillies Minor League Top 30 Prospects #26

1 - Hammer baseball card in my collection per The Phillies Room Checklist as of 5/25/19.

Complete Chachi Checklist
2018 Chachi Preview #2
2019 Chachi #43

2019 Chachi Set Checklist
Virtual Phillies Wall - Featuring Current Active Roster

Pitchers and Catchers Report in Exactly 2 Weeks #CountdownToClearwater

2018 Chachi Preview #2

In just two weeks, it's officially Hammer Time.

Neshek Traded to Rockies for Prospects

2017 Stadium Club #91

Pat Neshek's services were not needed in Wednesday night's 9-0 win over the Astros.  Had he entered that ballgame, he would have tried to extend his home scoreless streak to 24 games.  Following the game, Neshek, the team's "most targeted player," was sent to Colorado for three Single A prospects. He joins a Rockies team 13 1/2 games behind the Dodgers in the N.L. West, but atop the Wild Card standings in the league.

Neshek appeared in 43 games for the Phillies, pitching to an unbelievable 1.12 ERA over 40 1/3 innings.  He was the Phillies' lone representative at the 2017 All-Star Game in Miami.  He gave collectors three major-release Topps cards (to date) - Heritage, Gypsy Queen and Stadium Club - along with the team-issued photo card.  A fellow collector himself, Neshek was a willing TTM signer, returning cards to my son Doug within a week's time.

He could be the first of several trades executed by the Phillies between now and August 31st.


The three players received in return - shortstop Jose Gomez, pitchers Alejandro Requena and J.D. Hammer - all were South Atlantic League All-Stars this year.  Each appears in the this year's Asheville Tourists team set, and the cards featured below are from currently active eBay auctions.  It will be awhile until we can judge the Neshek trade on the return received, as each of these prospects is at least several years away from the majors.  (Larry Shenk had more here on these prospects, including where they'll be assigned.)

Pat Neshek Complete Chachi Collection
2017 Chachi New Additions #1
2017 Chachi #23
2017 Chachi #47 AS
2017 Chachi Archives #11
2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #9
2017 Chachi Photo Night #7

Departed During the 2017 Season

• Tyler Goeddel - of (4/5/17) - Claimed off waivers by the Cincinnati Reds.
• Dalier Hinojosa - rhp (5/16/17) - Released.
• Mario Hollands - lhp (5/23/17) - Released.
• Taylor Featherston - inf (6/9/17) - Traded to the Tampa Bay Rays for cash.
• Joely Rodriguez - lhp (6/13/17) - Traded to the Texas Rangers for a player to be named later or cash.
• Jeanmar Gomez - rhp (6/20/17) - Designated for assignment, released on 6/25/17 and signed a minor league contract with the Milwaukee Brewers' organization, 7/15/17.
• Michael Saunders - of (6/20/17) - Designated for assignment, released on 6/25/17 and signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays' organization, 6/28/17.
• Pat Neshek - rhp (7/26/17) - Traded to the Colorado Rockies for Jose Gomez, Alejandro Requena and J.D. Hammer.

Arrived During the 2017 Season

• Ty Kelly - inf (4/22/17) - Acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays for cash.
• Casey Fien - rhp (5/9/17) - Purchased from the Seattle Mariners.