Game 91 - Flush It

Philadelphia Phillies	1
Kansas City Royals	15

2010-22 Philadelphia Phillies Alumni Photocards

Monday Afternoon, July 6th

Kauffman Stadium - Kansas City, MO
50-41, 2nd Place, 3 1/2 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Christopher Sanchez and the Phillies were stunningly demolished by the Royals in this 15-1 lopsided loss.

What It Means:  This wasn't at all what was expected when Sanchez took the mound against the last place Royals.  The Phillies are right back at it on Tuesday, opening a three-game set in Cincinnati against the Reds.  I would think there will be some bullpen roster moves made prior to the start of that series.

What Happened:  Sanchez was in trouble from the start, and he'd allow nine runs on 12 hits in a shortened 3 1/3 inning outing.  A costly error by Trea Turner prolonged that inning and indirectly led to the Royals scoring their first six runs.  The Royals would score in every inning of this game, the first time that had happened to the Phillies since 1923.  They'd bang out 22 hits, requiring Garrett Stubbs to pitch the final inning for the Phillies.  The offense was 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position, leaving 15 runners on base in total.

Featured Card:  This game was gross, so let's pay tribute to former Phillies reliever Al Holland, who passed away recently at the age of 73.  Holland was a hero for the National League Champion club in 1983, and he enjoyed the finest seasons of his 10-year playing career with the club between 1983 and 1985.  55 of his 78 career saves came while with the Phillies, and he had been a fixture at Alumni Weekends up until the past few years.  This is his team-issued photo card from one of my favorite sets of all-time - the Phillies Alumni photo card set, released with a variety of backs, copyright dates and occasionally different photos for the same subjects, between 2010 and 2022.  Thanks for everything, Mr. T!

2026 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2026 Season Summary Index / 2026 Chachi Set Checklist

Pirates at Phillies: April 11th to April 14th

1984 Topps #754

1984 Topps #564

Thursday and Friday 6:40, Saturday 4:05 and Sunday 1:35
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

At the Ballpark:  Weather permitting, the Phillies kick off a four game series against the cross-state rival Pirates tonight.  Tonight is Asian Pacific Heritage night and tomorrow night marks the debut of the team's new City Connect jerseys.  On Sunday, all kids will receive a Phillies sleeveless hoodie.

Pirates 9-3
1st Place in the N.L. Central, 1/2 game ahead of the Brewers

Pirates Probables
Jared Jones (1-1, 3.86)
Bailey Falter (0-0, 5.40)
Marco Gonzales (0-0, 2.45)
Mitch Keller (1-1, 5.29)

Pirates Leaders
Average:  Connor Joe - .324
Runs:  Connor Joe - 11
Home Runs:  Edward Olivares - 3
RBIs:  Bryan Reynolds - 10
Stolen Bases:  Four tied with - 1

Wins:  Nine tied with - 1
ERA:  Martin Perez - 1.89
Strikeouts:  Jared Jones and Mitch Keller - 17
Saves:  Five tied with - 1

Phillies 6-6
2nd Place in the N.L. East, 2 games behind the Braves

Phillies Probables
Ranger Suarez (1-0, 4.09)
Cristopher Sanchez (0-1, 4.82)
Spencer Turnbull (1-0, 0.00)
Zack Wheeler (0-2, 1.89)

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Brandon Marsh - .333
Runs:  Kyle Schwarber - 8
Home Runs:  Bryce Harper and Brandon Marsh - 3
RBIs:  Three tied with - 7
Stolen Bases:  Trea Turner - 4

Wins:  Aaron Nola - 2
ERA:  Zack Wheeler - 1.89
Strikeouts:  Zack Wheeler - 20
Saves:  Jose Alvarado - 2

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

1985 Game 10 - 1985 Donruss #624 Jeff Stone

Phillies 7, Mets 6
Game 10 - Saturday Afternoon, April 20th in Philadelphia
Record - 2-8, 6th Place, 6 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  Jeff Stone drove in five runs as the Phillies squeaked by the first place Mets, 7-6.

What It Means:  This was the Phillies' second win in their first 10 games, and they nearly gave it away.  With the tying run on first base and nobody out in the top of the ninth, Larry Andersen induced a ground ball out and then struck out Wally Backman and Mookie Wilson to end the game.

What Happened:  Stone and Von Hayes hit back-to-back home runs off Ed Lynch in the third to tie the game at three.  Stone struck again with a three-run home run in the fourth followed by an RBI double from Mike Schmidt a few batters later.  John Denny pitched into the ninth before running into trouble and getting relieved by Andersen.

Featured Card:  Stone went 3 for 4 with 5 RBIS and two runs scored in his big game.  As the Phillies regular left fielder, Stone was batting .314 through the first 10 games of the season.

Transaction:  In a transaction that absolutely thrilled me, and as announced shortly after this game ended, the Phillies traded reliever Al Holland and minor leaguer Frankie Griffin to the Pirates for their long-time closer Kent Tekulve.  Tekulve had always been one of my favorite players, and the thought of him in maroon pinstripes had me giddy at the time.  Tekulve was excited for the deal, but Holland was not according to media reports.

In announcing the trade, club President Bill Giles noted that Holland was in the last year of his contract and the team had decided not to extend him.  When asked if he was bitter about the trade, Holland's quote was, "No comment."

Tekulve would be a fantastic reliever for the Phillies for 3 1/2 seasons, departing following the 1988 season for the Reds.  Holland would appear in 38 games for the Pirates, pitching relatively well, before being dealt in August with John Candelaria and George Hendrick to the Angels.

1985 Topps Traded #117T

1985 Topps Traded #55T

1983 TCMA Reading Phillies #6

Here's the updated 25-man Phillies roster following the trade:

Starting pitchers (4) - Steve Carlton, John Denny, Jerry Koosman, Shane Rawley
Relief pitchers (6) - Larry Andersen, Don Carman, Kevin Gross, Charles Hudson, Kent Tekulve, Pat Zachry
Catchers (3) - Darren Daulton, Ozzie Virgil, John Wockenfuss
Infielders (6) - Luis Aguayo, Kiko Garcia, Steve Jeltz, John Russell, Juan Samuel, Mike Schmidt
Outfielders (6) - Tim Corcoran, Greg Gross, Von Hayes, Garry Maddox, Jeff Stone, Glenn Wilson
Disabled List (2) - Bo Diaz, Joe Lefebvre

1985 Game 2 - 1985 Donruss #61 Mike Schmidt

Braves 6, Phillies 3
Game 2 - Thursday Night, April 11th in Philadelphia
Record - 0-2, Tied for 4th Place, 2 games behind the Cubs and Mets

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies scored three times in the first, but then put their bats away for the rest of the game, as the Braves won 6-3.

What It Means:  New Phillies manager John Felske would need to wait a little longer to notch his first big league win as a skipper.

What Happened:  Mike Schmidt and Bo Diaz had the first RBIs of the season for the Phils as Schmidt had a sacrifice fly and Diaz added a two-run single in the first.  Juan Samuel had a pair of hits and his first stolen base of the season.  The Braves took the lead for good in the third, scoring three times in a rally started after Schmidt booted a ball at third.  Dale Murphy went 3 for 5 with a home run and 3 RBIs for the Braves.

John Denny lasted only four innings in his first start of the season, allowing four runs (two earned) on 10 hits.  Kevin Gross pitched two scoreless innings of relief.

Featured Card:  Depending on how long this side project lasts, I'll most likely repeat some Schmidt cards featured in prior posts on this blog.  Here's a great card from the 1985 Donruss set showing off Schmidt's glorious head of hair.

Series Preview - Giants at Phillies: June 2nd to June 4th

Friday 7:05, Saturday 4:05 and Sunday 1:35
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

Giants 22-33, Tied for 4th Place in the N.L. West, 11 1/2 games behind the Diamondbacks and Rockies
Phillies 17-34, 5th Place in the N.L. East, 15 1/2 games behind the Nationals

Giants Probables:  Ty Blach (3-2, 3.83), Johnny Cueto (5-4, 4.37), Matt Moore (2-6, 4.98)
Phillies Probables:  Jerad Eickhoff (0-5, 4.74), Ben Lively (0-0, 0.00), Jeremy Hellickson (5-3, 4.45)

At the Ballpark:  For fans attending Saturday afternoon's game, there will be a postgame concert by The Avett Brothers.  Your game ticket is also your concert ticket!  On Sunday, all kids will receive a pair of Maikel Franco batting gloves.

Giants Leaders
Average:  Buster Posey - .348
Runs:  Brandon Belt - 27
Home Runs:  Brandon Belt - 10
RBIs:  Brandon Belt - 22
Stolen Bases:  Eduardo Nunez - 13

Wins:  Johnny Cueto - 5
ERA:  Johnny Cueto - 4.37
Strikeouts:  Jeff Samardzija - 84
Saves:  Mark Melancon - 10

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Aaron Altherr - .299
Runs:  Cesar Hernandez - 35
Home Runs:  Aaron Altherr and Tommy Joseph - 8
RBIs:  Aaron Altherr and Maikel Franco - 28
Stolen Bases:  Cesar Hernandez - 6

Wins:  Jeremy Hellickson - 5
ERA:  Jeremy Hellickson - 4.45
Strikeouts:  Vince Velasquez - 53
Saves:  Hector Neris - 4

1982 Topps #406

1982 Topps #231

1982 Topps #754

1982 Topps Appreciation:  On December 14, 1982, the Phillies traded Mike Krukow, Mark Davis and minor leaguer C.L. Penigar to the Giants for Al Holland and Joe Morgan.  Holland and Morgan would make contributions to the 1983 Phillies team that won the N.L. pennant, while Davis would go on to win a Cy Young Award with the Padres in 1989.

Holland was the key to the deal for the Phillies.  Inserted into the closer's role in 1983, he solidified the back-end of the bullpen that had been in flux since Tug McGraw's success a few years' prior.  Mr. T saved 25 games in 1983 and had a fantastic ERA of 2.26.  He struck out Bill Russell to clinch the 1983 N.L. pennant and jumped into Mike Schmidt's arms to start the on-field celebration.

Davis is featured on the card I most coveted during the summer of 1982, as Bob Dernier had emerged as my favorite baseball player.  I have yet to tell the story on this blog of how I ended up playing catch with Dernier before a Phillies game, and it's a story I'll need to share at some point.

Phillies at Pirates: June 12th to June 14th

Friday 7:05, Saturday 4:05 and Sunday 1:35
PNC Park - Pittsburgh, PA

Phillies 22-39, 5th Place in the N.L. East, 10 games behind the Mets
Pirates 32-27, 3rd Place in the N.L. Central, 6 1/2 games behind the Cardinals

Phillies Probables:  Kevin Correia (0-0, 0.00), Sean O'Sullivan (1-4, 4.96), Cole Hamels (5-5, 3.19)
Pirates Probables:  Jeff Locke (3-3, 5.37), Gerrit Cole (9-2, 1.73), A.J. Burnett (6-2, 2.11)

At the Ballpark:  The first 20,000 fans will receive a Pirate Parrot t-shirt tonight and there's a postgame concert tomorrow night featuring Big & Rich.  On Sunday, all kids will receive an Andrew McCutchen compression sleeve.  I won't speak for the kids of today, but I think I'd be pretty bummed (and a little confused) if the giveaway item I received at a ballgame was a tight fitting sleeve.

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Ben Revere - .270
Runs:  Ben Revere - 29
Home Runs:  Ryan Howard - 11
RBIs:  Ryan Howard - 28
Stolen Bases:  Ben Revere - 12

Wins:  Cole Hamels - 5
ERA:  Aaron Harang - 3.04
Strikeouts:  Cole Hamels - 91
Saves:  Jonathan Papelbon - 12

1985 Topps #185

1985 Topps Traded #55T

1985 Topps Appreciation:  Mr. T, Al Holland, found himself in Pittsburgh following the April 20, 1985 closer swap that brought Phillies Room favorite Kent Tekulve to Philadelphia.  Holland pitched only part of one season with the Pirates, going 1-3 with a 3.38 ERA and contributing four saves.  On August 2, 1985, he found himself as part of a much bigger trade, going with John Candeleria and George Hendrick to the Angels for Mike Brown, Pat Clements and Bob Kipper.  Holland would wrap up the season with the Angels and then play two more seasons with the Yankees before calling it a career following the 1987 season.

1985 Fleer Star Stickers #107 Al Holland

Padres 7, Phillies 3
Game 153 - Late Thursday Night, September 18th in San Diego
Record - 70-83, 5th Place, 18 1/2 games behind the Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  The Padres easily defeated the Phillies, 7-3, taking advantage of another shaky outing from Kyle Kendrick and the punchless Phillies bats.

What It Means:  To avoid the 89 loss season accomplished in 2013, the Phillies need to go 4-5 the rest of the way.  Having missed the .500 mark, this now seems like a reasonable goal.

What Happened:  Kendrick allowed three runs on six hits and five walks in his five innings of work.  The offense added two meaningless runs in the ninth, and overall went 4 for 11 with runners in scoring position.

Featured Card:  I've been spending a lot of time with my 1985 Phillies binder, as I'm in the planning stages for the 2015 Chachi set.  Because the team has been playing craptastically lately, and because no one from the current roster really merits a featured card for this post, here's a sticker of Mr. T himself, Al Holland.

He's seemingly looking right at you, the Phillies fan, and saying, "Hang in there champ.  Nine more games of this nonsense and then it's time to shuffle the deck in the offseason."

1984 Fleer Stickers #68 Al Holland

Mets 10, Phillies 6
Game 32 - Wednesday Night, May 9th in Philadelphia
Record - 14-18, 5th Place, 5 games behind the Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  The Phils mounted a 4-2 lead before Kyle Kendrick and the bullpen craptastically blew the lead and the Mets won, 10-6.

What It Means:  It's not going well.  Here's a summary of the pain from this series:

Game 1 - Blew a 2-0 lead in the 6th inning
Game 2 - Blew a 4-1 lead in the 7th inning
Game 3 - Blew a 4-2 lead in the 7th inning

What Went Wrong:  Cliff Lee, fresh off the disabled list, pitched six solid innings allowing two runs on five hits.  Kendrick (7.32 ERA) was handed the ball after Lee departed, and he promptly took a metaphorical dump on the mound.  After four doubles, two walks and a hit batter (with the bases loaded) Kendrick exited to a chorus of boos and the Mets had once again come from behind against the Phillies hapless bullpen.  Jose Contreras (8.59 ERA) and Brian Sanches (11.25) share the blame with Kendrick for letting this one get away.

If there's any sort of silver lining in this, it's that the offense had 15 hits and Freddy Galvis finished the night with three RBIs and a home run short of the cycle.

Featured Card:  I'm not going to lie.  The 2012 Phillies are trying my patience and I've just about had it.  My 1984 Phillies binder is still close by, as I needed to scan Johnny Wockenfuss' 1984 Tastykake Phillies card for yesterday's post.  Flipping through the binder, I came across this sticker of Al Holland making the exact same face I'm making as I'm typing this post.  Mr. T is not pleased with the current state of affairs, and neither am I.

1980-1989 Phillies

1982 Fleer #637, 1985 Fleer #627, 1988 Fleer Award Winners #35 and 1989 Fleer Update #U-131

Next Sunday (or thereabouts) I'll feature the 1990 Topps Phillies cards in a post.  I knew when I started this series of posts that the '90s could be my downfall.  If this series were to ever stall out, it was going to come when I was trying to write about the 1994, 1995 or 1996 teams.  Hopefully, I'm able to maintain enough steam to push through the lean years to see this project through.

Before we get there though, I want to take a look back at the 1980's - the decade that started with so much promise for the Phillies only to end in a heap of festering poo.

Decade MVP
For the second decade in a row, Mike Schmidt was the team's most valuable player.  He won three National League MVP awards, six Gold Gloves and he was named to eight All-Star games.  He was voted to start at third base for the National League All-Stars in 1989, despite having announced his retirement several months before the game.

1981 Donruss #273, 1982 Donruss #1, 1983 Donruss #16 and 1984 Donruss #305

Leaders
Games - Schmidt (1320), Von Hayes (1002), Greg Gross (969), Juan Samuel (852), Steve Jeltz (653)
Average* - V. Hayes (.278), Schmidt (.277), G. Gross (.272), Garry Maddox (.268), Samuel (.263)
Home Runs - Schmidt (313), V. Hayes (107), Samuel (100), Glenn Wilson (49), Ozzie Virgil (46)
RBIs - Schmidt (929), V. Hayes (474), Samuel (413), Wilson (271), Maddox (249)
Stolen Bases - Samuel (249), V. Hayes (177), Bob Dernier (99), Milt Thompson (82), Jeff Stone (68)

Games - Kent Tekulve (291), Don Carman (253), Steve Bedrosian (218), Ron Reed (212), Kevin Gross (203)
Wins - Steve Carlton (93), K. Gross (60), Shane Rawley (59), Carman (47), Dick Ruthven (41)
ERA** - Tug McGraw (2.84), Carlton (3.12), K. Gross (3.87), Rawley (3.88), Carman (4.04)
Strikeouts - Carlton (1299), K. Gross (727), Carman (523), Rawley (447), Charles Hudson (399)
Saves - Bedrosian (103), Al Holland (55), Reed (39), McGraw (35), Tekulve (25)

*At least 6 seasons with the Phillies, completely subjective
**At least 5 seasons with the Phillies, again completely subjective

1980-1989 Topps
Total Phillies Players (1980-1989): 179, which is a big jump over the 142 players who suited up with the Phils during the '70s.
Total Phillies Players with Topps Phillies Cards: 113.  Topps managed to get 63% of all Phillies from the decade onto cardboard in its main or traded sets.  That's a small increase over the 59% success percentage from the '70s.
Managers with Cards:  Dallas Green (2 cards), Pat Corrales (1 card), Paul Owens (2 cards), John Felske (3 cards), Lee Elia (2 cards) and Nick Leyva (1 card).
Topps Phillies Cards of Non-Phillies: 1 card - Jim Wright (1981).

Card Statistics
Most Featured: Carlton (26 cards), Schmidt (26 cards), Pete Rose (17), G. Gross (10 cards), Samuel (9 cards), McGraw (9 cards), V. Hayes (8 cards) and Maddox (7 cards).
Most Games (Batter), No Phillies Topps Card:  Curt Ford (108 games in 1989), Dwayne Murphy (98 games in 1989), Charlie Hayes (84 games in 1989), Mike Young (75 games in 1988), John Vukovich (60 games in 1980-1981), Mike Easler (33 games in 1987), Jackie Gutierrez (33 games in 1988) and Francisco Melendez (30 games in 1984 and 1986).
Most Games (Pitcher), No Phillies Topps Card:  Dave Shipanoff (26 games in 1985), Lerrin LaGrow (25 games in 1980), Dennis Cook (21 games in 1989), Terry Mulholland (20 games in 1989), Randy O'Neal (20 games in 1989), Rocky Childress (18 games in 1985-1986), Don Larson (17 games in 1980-1981) and Danny Clay (17 games in 1988).

1985 Donruss #23, 1987 Donruss #12, 1988 Donruss #13 and 1989 Donruss #24

The Phillies Topps 60
Continuing my imaginery checklist of the top 60 Topps Phillies cards since 1951:

31 - 1980 Topps #270 Mike Schmidt
32 - 1981 Topps #404 Tug McGraw WS
33 - 1982 Topps Traded #28T Bob Dernier
34 - 1983 Topps Traded #40T Von Hayes
35 - 1984 Topps Traded #105T Juan Samuel
36 - 1985 Topps #454 Glenn Wilson
37 - 1986 Topps #200 Mike Schmidt
38 - 1987 Topps #209 Rick Schu
39 - 1988 Topps #440 Steve Bedrosian
40 - 1989 Topps Traded #27T Len Dykstra

1984 Fleer #35, 1987 Fleer Star Stickers #116, 1988 Score #386 and 1987 Donruss Opening Day #158

Cards That Never Were Series
This set is getting a little out of hand, as we're now up to 140 cards.  And I could probably count on one hand the number of people who would actually want to possess a baseball card set featuring Dave Wehrmeister, Joe Cowley and Mark Ryal.

93 - 1980 Topps Bob Walk
94 - 1980 Topps Marty Bystrom
95 - 1980 Topps George Vukovich
96 - 1980 Topps Bob Dernier
97 - 1981 Topps Luis Aguayo
98 - 1981 Topps Mark Davis
99 - 1981 Topps Future Stars - Len Matuszek/Bob Dernier/Ryne Sandberg
100 - 1982 Topps Julio Franco
101 - 1982 Topps Dave Roberts
102 - 1982 Topps Porfi Altamirano
103 - 1983 Topps Charles Hudson
104 - 1983 Topps Kevin Gross
105 - 1983 Topps Sixto Lezcano
106 - 1983 Topps Larry Andersen
107 - 1983 Topps Juan Samuel
108 - 1983 Topps Paul Owens MG
109 - 1984 Topps Tim Corcoran
110 - 1984 Topps Al Oliver
111 - 1984 Topps Shane Rawley
112 - 1984 Topps John Russell
113 - 1984 Topps Jeff Stone
114 - 1984 Topps Dave Wehrmeister
115 - 1985 Topps Darren Daulton
116 - 1985 Topps Dave Shipanoff
117 - 1985 Topps Tom Foley
118 - 1986 Topps Bruce Ruffin
119 - 1986 Topps Ron Roenicke
120 - 1986 Topps Ronn Reynolds
121 - 1986 Topps Mike Maddux
122 - 1986 Topps Dan Schatzeder
123 - 1986 Topps Greg Legg
124 - 1987 Topps Mike Easler
125 - 1987 Topps Joe Cowley
126 - 1987 Topps Keith Hughes
127 - 1987 Topps Michael Jackson
128 - 1988 Topps Bob Dernier
129 - 1988 Topps Ricky Jordan
130 - 1988 Topps Ron Jones
131 - 1988 Topps Greg Harris
132 - 1988 Topps Mike Young
133 - 1988 Topps John Vukovich MG
134 - 1989 Topps Pat Combs
135 - 1989 Topps Charlie Hayes
136 - 1989 Topps Dennis Cook
137 - 1989 Topps Terry Mulholland
138 - 1989 Topps Dwayne Murphy
139 - 1989 Topps Curt Ford
140 - 1989 Topps Mark Ryal

Links to the Past
1950-1959 Phillies

1960-1969 Phillies

1970-1979 Phillies

1984 Topps Phillies

1984 Topps #700, #484, 1984 Topps Traded #105T and 1984 Topps #587

One of the common criticisms of the 1984 Topps set is that it's just another version of the prior year's set, but with more angles.  I often wonder how the set would have been received had it been released before the '83 set.  It's got the cool vertical team name going for it, and I love that Topps included the team logo on the back of the cards.  Maybe I've been too harsh on the 1984 Topps set all these years?

1984 Topps #587 (Back)

The Set

Number of cards in the set:  For the third straight year, it's a 792-card regular set, plus a 132-card traded set.

My very brief thoughts on the set:  As I was getting everything together for this post, I realized there may be a more subliminal reason I've never been terribly fond of the 1984 Topps set.  As noted below, there are 51 cards in the set (regular and traded) featuring Phillies.  However, 15 of those cards featured players who had moved on to other teams by the time the '84 season started.  So whenever I found a new Pete Rose or a Gary Matthews or a Ron Reed card in a pack of 1984 Topps, it wasn't as exciting for me since those guys were now with other teams.

Notable competition:  I have a boat-load of doubles from the 1984 Donruss, Fleer and Topps sets.  While it may shock some hobby enthusiasts, I never really cared for the 1984 Donruss set, even though I hand-collated a complete set back in the day.  Shortly after its release, our local baseball card dealer (the Card Doctor) couldn't sell his inventory of 1984 Donruss wax boxes.  My Dad bought a box on the cheap, right before the set started taking off.  The Don Mattingly rookie card from the Donruss set was probably the first card I ever owned that I rarely handled as it was stored safely in a plastic screw-down holder.  Also, 1984 was a key collecting year for me, as it was the year my subscription to Baseball Cards magazine began and I started tracking the "book value" of my collection.  Ah, youth.

1984 Phillies

Record and finish:  And so begins the long and tortuous road of mediocre to downright bad Phillies teams from 1984 until 2006, which a slight respite in 1993.  The Phillies finished at an even 81-81 in 1984, 15 1/2 games behind the former-Phillies heavy Cubs.

Key players:  Mike Schmidt turned in another fine year, batting .277 with 36 home runs and 106 RBIs.  Youngsters Ozzie Virgil (.261, 18 home runs, 68 RBIs) and Juan Samuel (.272, 15 home runs, 69 RBIs, 72 stolen bases) also enjoyed fine years at the plate.  Rookie Jeff Stone hit .362 following his June call-up and bench guys Tim Corcoran (.341) and Greg Gross (.322) had terrific years.  Veteran Jerry Koosman led the staff with 15 wins, followed by an aging Steve Carlton (13 wins) and Shane Rawley (10 wins) who was acquired in a late-June trade.  Closer Al Holland had another solid year, saving 29 games.

Key events:  In March, in the middle of Spring Training, the Phillies pulled off two miserable deals.  First, reliever Willie Hernandez was shipped to the Tigers for Glenn Wilson and John Wockenfuss.  Hernandez would go on to win the American League Cy Young and MVP for the World Champion Tigers.  A few days later, Porfi Altamirano, Sarge Matthews and (my personal favorite) Bob Dernier were sent to the Cubs for Bill Campbell and Mike Diaz.  This trade explains why most pictures of me from the summer of 1984 feature yours truly wearing a Cubs hat.  Schmidt joined the 400-home run club on May 15th with a shot off the Dodgers' Bob Welch.

1984 Topps #275, #279, 1984 Topps Traded #129T and 1984 Topps #185

1984 Phillies in 1984 Topps

Cards needed for a complete team set:  There are 46 Phillies cards in the base set and 5 cards in the traded set for a new all-time high 51 Phillies cards.

Who’s in:

• Cards of the eight starting position players - 8 cards

#484 Ozzie Virgil (c), #275 Len Matuszek (1b), #105T Juan Samuel (2b), #279 Ivan DeJesus (ss), #700 Mike Schmidt (3b), #129T Glenn Wilson (lf), #587 Von Hayes (cf), #185 Sixto Lezcano (lf)

• Cards of the starting pitching rotation - 4 cards

#780 Steve Carlton, #64T Jerry Koosman, #432 Charles Hudson, #17 John Denny

1984 Topps #780, 1984 Topps Traded #64T, 1984 Topps #432 and #17

• Base cards of other players who played with the Phillies in 1984 - 11 Cards

#148 Joe Lefebvre, #332 Kevin Gross, #458 Kiko Garcia, #511 Marty Bystrom, #535 Bo Diaz, #564 Al Holland, #613 Greg Gross, #728 Tug McGraw, #755 Garry Maddox, #22T Bill Campbell, #130T John Wockenfuss

• Base cards of players who didn't play with the Phillies in 1984 - 9 cards (with new teams listed)

#43 Ron Reed (White Sox), #70 Gary Matthews (Cubs), #101 Porfi Altamirano (Cubs), #199 Willie Hernandez (Tigers), #210 Joe Morgan (Athletics), #252 Larry Christenson (Retired), #300 Pete Rose (Expos/Reds), #358 Bob Dernier (Cubs), #385 Tony Perez (Reds)

• Phillies appearing on 1983 Highlight cards - 2 cards

#1 Steve Carlton, #4 Steve Carlton with Nolan Ryan (Astros) and Gaylord Perry (Royals)

• Phillies appearing on 1983 Leaders cards - 4 cards

#132 Home Run Leaders - Mike Schmidt with Jim Rice (Red Sox), #135 Victory Leaders - John Denny with LaMarr Hoyt (White Sox), #136 Strikeout Leaders - Steve Carlton with Jack Morris (Tigers), #138 Leading Firemen - Al Holland with Dan Quisenberry (Royals)

• Phillies appearing on National League All Star cards - 2 cards

#388 Mike Schmidt, #395 Steve Carlton

• Phillies appearing on Active Career Leaders cards - 9 cards

#701, #702, #703, #704, #705, #706, #707, #708, #709

Featuring Pete Rose, Tony Perez, Mike Schmidt, Joe Morgan, Steve Carlton and Tug McGraw.

• Manager card - 1 card, #229 Paul Owens
• Batting & Pitching Leaders card - 1 card, #637 with Gary Matthews and John Denny

1984 Topps #564, #613, #755 and #254

Who’s out:  There are several 1984 Phillies reserves who didn't make it onto Topps cards - Corcoran (.341 average in 102 games), Stone (51 games, 27 stolen bases), John Russell (.283 average in 39 games) and Luis Aguayo (58 games).  Reliever Larry Andersen had a 2.38 ERA in 64 games, yet he didn't earn a Topps card.

Phillies on other teams:  Four players were in the base set with other teams, but received Phillies cards in the Traded series - #119 John Wockenfuss (Tigers), #311 Jerry Koosman (White Sox), #563 Glenn Wilson (Tigers) and #787 Bill Campbell (Cubs).  Three other players appeared with other teams, with no Phillies cards in the Traded series - #254 Shane Rawley (Yankees), #603 Renie Martin (Giants) and #620/#87T Al Oliver (Expos/Giants).

What’s he doing here:  Rose, Morgan and Christenson were all released by the Phillies in October or early November 1983.  So when we were opening packs of Topps cards in the summer of 1984, these guys had been history for over six months.

Cards that never were candidates:  There's a bunch here, given the heavy player turn-over the Phillies had following the 1983 season and even during the regular 1984 season.  Here's the list of players deserving of Phillies cards - Aguayo, Andersen, Corcoran, Oliver, Rawley, Russell and Stone.  Also, catcher Mike LaValliere made his debut with the Phillies on September 9, 1984, so a Phillies rookie card would be fitting.

Favorite Phillies card:  For the third year in a row, it's a card featured in the Traded set - Samuel's rookie card.

Other Stuff

Recycled:  Carlton's Highlight card and Hernandez' base card are reprinted in the 2001 and 2002 Topps Archives sets, respectively.

Blogs/Websites:  1984 Topps?  Anyone?  My Dad bought me the 1984 O-Pee-Chee set for my birthday the year it was released and to date, it's the only complete O-Pee-Chee set I own.  (As an aside, and as I mentioned earlier, this was a big year for me personally as a baseball card collector.  I wasn't yet fully into G.I. Joe and my interest in Star Wars was waning, so baseball cards was where it was at.  My parents - and Santa - obliged accordingly with a baseball card-heavy birthday and Christmas morning.)  The Oh My O-Pee-Chee! blog has highlighted some of the cooler variations between the 1984 Topps and O-Pee-Chee sets.   

Did You Know?:  Dave Wehrmeister appeared in 7 games with the 1984 Phillies, causing me quite a bit of ten-year-old angst.

1984 Topps #702, #703 and #707

1983 Topps Phillies

1983 Topps #300, #615, 1983 Topps Traded #77T and 1983 Topps #175

Topps won back my lawn mowing money in the summer of 1983 for a few reasons.  First, there were two pictures on the front of every base card.  As a nine-year-old, I thought this was really cool.  Second, the Super Veteran cards were amazing.  For the first time ever, I could have cards in my collection showing Pete Rose as a Red or Tug McGraw as a Met or Mike Schmidt without a mustache.  Third, I was disappointed with the 1983 Donruss set.  They couldn't fool us - Donruss just took its 1982 design, flipped the direction of the bat on the front of the card and substituted a glove for a baseball.  Finally, the 1983 Topps Phillies cards used colors (red and blue) that actually approximated the actual team colors.

1983 Topps #43 (Back)

The Set

Number of cards in the set:  Same as 1982, there were 792 cards in the set and an additional 132 cards in the Traded set.

My very brief thoughts on the set:  I loved this set.  I wasn't that familiar with the 1963 Topps set at the time, so two pictures on the front of the card was something I considered to be ground-breaking.

Notable competition:  Donruss and Fleer were back for a third round.  Honestly, I don't remember Fleer cards being readily available at our Wawa so I mostly opened packs of Topps, Topps Stickers and Donruss.

1983 Phillies

Record and finish:  The Phillies finished first in the East with a record of 90-72.  They defeated the Dodgers in the N.L.C.S., three games to one, but the Orioles overtook them in the World Series, four games to one.  And thus began a decade-long stretch of under performing, frustrating Phillies teams that severely tried my fandom.

Key players:  As was now the norm, third baseman Schmidt again powered the offense, hitting 40 home runs and driving in 109 while hitting .255.  After Schmidt, everyone else's power numbers and batting averages fell off a cliff, but center fielder Garry Maddox (.265), catcher Bo Diaz (15 home runs, 64 RBIs) and second baseman Joe Morgan (16 home runs, 59 RBIs) attempted to provide some punch.  For the first time in his Phillies career, Steve Carlton (15-16, 3.11) played second fiddle to another pitcher.  John Denny compiled a 19-6 record with a 2.37 ERA on his way to winning the Cy Young Award.  Al Holland, "Mr. T," saved 25 games while pitching to a 2.25 ERA.

Key events:  In December 1982, hopeful superstar-to-be Von Hayes was acquired from the Indians for five players.  Hayes had a sub-superstar year with the club, hitting .265 with 6 home runs and 32 RBIs.  The Phils reunited three members of the Big Red Machine when they acquired Morgan and Tony Perez to join Rose.  The club was quickly nicknamed "The Wheeze Kids" by the local media.  Manager Pat Corrales was fired mid-season, with the team in first place, and replaced by Paul Owens.

1983 Topps #100, #587, #780 and 1983 Topps Traded #40T

1983 Phillies in 1983 Topps

Cards needed for a complete team set:  There are 40 Phillies cards in the base set and another 8 Phillies cards in the Traded set, surpassing the prior year tally by two cards and setting a new high.  (And I'm not counting Fergie Jenkins' Super Veteran card in the count, using the same logic that excluded Sparky Anderson's 1978 Topps manager card.)

Who’s in:

• Cards of the eight starting position players - 8 cards

#175 Bo Diaz (c), #100 Pete Rose (1b), #77T Joe Morgan (2b), #587 Ivan DeJesus (ss), #300 Mike Schmidt (3b), #780 Gary Matthews (lf), #615 Garry Maddox (cf), #40T Von Hayes (rf)

• Cards of the starting pitching rotation - 3 cards

#211 John Denny, #70 Steve Carlton, #199 Marty Bystrom

Charles Hudson and Kevin Gross would have to wait for the 1984 sets to make their baseball card debuts.

1983 Topps #211, #70, #199 and 1983 Topps Traded #46T

• Base cards of other players who played with the Phillies in 1983 - 20 cards

#43 Bob Dernier, #252 Luis Aguayo, #279 Greg Gross, #357 Len Matuszek, #383 Ozzie Virgil, #432 Porfi Altamirano, #459 Ed Farmer, #484 Dick Ruthven, #510 Tug McGraw, #564 Sid Monge, #664 Bob Molinaro, #668 Larry Christenson, #728 Ron Reed, #754 Bill Robinson, #36T Kiko Garcia, #45T Willie Hernandez, #46T Al Holland, #61T Joe Lefebvre, #72T Larry Milbourne, #85T Tony Perez

• Base cards of players who didn't play with the Phillies in 1983 - 4 cards (with new teams listed)

#16 George Vukovich (Indians), #148 Dave Roberts, #331 Mike Krukow (Giants), #535 Manny Trillo (Indians)

• Phillies appearing on 1982 Record Breaker cards - 1 card, #5 Manny Trillo
• Phillies appearing on Super Veteran cards - 4 cards

#71 Steve Carlton, #101 Pete Rose, #301 Mike Schmidt, #511 Tug McGraw

• Phillies 1982 Batting and Pitching Leaders - 1 card, #229 with Bo Diaz and Steve Carlton
• Phillies appearing on National League All Star cards - 4 cards

#397 Pete Rose, #398 Manny Trillo, #399 Mike Schmidt, #406 Steve Carlton

• Phillies appearing on 1982 Leaders cards - 2 cards

#705 Victory Leaders - Steve Carlton and LaMarr Hoyt (White Sox), #706 Strikeout Leaders - Steve Carlton and Floyd Bannister (Mariners)

• Manager card - 1 card, #637 Pat Corrales

1983 Topps Traded #61T, #85T, 1983 Topps #279 and #43

Who’s out:  Hudson and Kevin Gross bolstered an injury-depleted rotation, but they're not in the 1983 Topps set.  Manager Paul Owens took control too late in the season to be included in the Traded set.

Phillies on other teams:  First, here are the eight players who eventually ended up with Phillies cards in the Traded set - #58 Al Holland (Giants), #91 Larry Milbourne (Indians), #198 Kiko Garcia (Astros), #325 Von Hayes (Indians), #568 Willie Hernandez (Cubs), #603 Joe Morgan (Giants), #644 Joe Lefebvre (Padres), #715 Tony Perez (Red Sox).  And there are three other players who didn't get Phillies cards in the Traded set - #234 Larry Andersen (Mariners), #353 Steve Comer (Rangers), #455 Sixto Lezcano (Padres)

What’s he doing here:  Infield stalwart Aguayo appeared in just two games with the 1983 Phillies, but he has a card in the set.  His 50 games with the club in 1982 earned him a card.

Cards that never were candidates:  Hudson, Kevin Gross and Owens should all have cards.  Lezcano and Andersen are in the set with other clubs, but they should have Phillies cards.  (Here is the card I made for Lezcano and a few other missing links.)  I'd also have rookie cards for three players who would come to define late '80s Phillies baseball, for better or for worse.  Darren Daulton, Juan Samuel and Steve Jeltz all made their debuts with the Phils in '83.

Favorite Phillies card:  The card we really wanted in our collection was the first Phillies card of old five-for-one, Von Hayes.

Other Stuff

Recycled:  Matthews has a card in the 2004 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites set that uses the 1983 design.  And I used the 1983 Topps template for my 2011 Chachi set.

Blogs/Websites:  The 1983 Topps Blog launched at the beginning of the month, and it's off to a great start.  Also, the 83F Project is attempting to collect an autographed version of every card in the 1983 Fleer set.

Did You Know?:  Reserve outfielder Bob Molinaro appears with the Phillies on his 1983 Topps and Fleer cards, but with the Cubs on his 1983 Donruss card.  Molinaro was acquired from the Cubs on September 1, 1982, a fact noted on the back of his Donruss card.  It always bugged me that the Donruss people couldn't have at least changed the script "Cubs" on the front of Molinaro's card to a script "Phillies."

1983 Topps #101, #301 and #511