Showing posts with label Howard R.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Howard R.. Show all posts

Monday, July 20, 2026

Los Angeles Dodgers at Philadelphia Phillies: NLCS Preview?

2006 Topps #109
2006 Topps #398

Monday, July 20th - 7:10
Tuesday, July 21st - 6:40
Wednesday, July 22nd - 6:40


Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA
On Tuesday night, all kids will receive a Phillies Big Chain, featuring one of the best team logos in club history from the early 1980s.
Los Angeles Dodgers 63-37
1st Place in the N.L. West, 11 1/2 games ahead of the Diamondbacks

Dodgers Probables
Emmet Sheehan (4-6, 4.81)
Eric Lauer (3-0, 3.12)
Roki Sasaki (3-5, 4.98)

Dodgers Leaders
Average:  Shohei Ohtani - . 290
Runs:  Shohei Ohtani - 66
Home Runs:  Shohei Ohtani - 22
RBIs:  Andy Pages - 67
Stolen Bases:  Andy Pages - 8

Wins:  Justin Wrobleski and Yoshinobu Yamamoto - 10
ERA:  Justin Wrobleski - 2.69
Strikeouts:  Yoshinobu Yamamoto - 113
Saves:  Tanner Scott - 14
Philadelphia Phillies 55-45
2nd Place in the N.L. East, 3 games behind the Braves

Phillies Probables
Cristopher Sanchez (11-4, 2.62)
Zack Wheeler (10-1, 2.13)
Aaron Nola (3-7, 5.68)

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Brandon Marsh - .293
Runs:  Trea Turner - 66
Home Runs:  Kyle Schwarber - 33
RBIs:  Kyle Schwarber - 61
Stolen Bases:  Bryson Stott and Trea Turner - 17

Wins:  Cristopher Sanchez - 11
ERA:  Cristopher Sanchez - 2.62
Strikeouts:  Cristopher Sanchez - 144
Saves:  Jhoan Duran - 24

Friday, June 27, 2025

Philadelphia Phillies at Atlanta Braves - Time to Score Some Runs

2005 Topps #689
2005 Topps Update #UH2

Friday, June 27th - 7:15
Saturday, June 28th - 7:15
Sunday, June 29th - 1:35


Truist Park - Atlanta, GA

The Braves shoot off fireworks after every Friday night home game.  On Sunday, the first 3,000 kids will receive a Spencer Strider growth chart.
Philadelphia Phillies 47-34
2nd Place in the N.L. East, 1/2 game behind the Mets

Phillies Probables
Mick Abel (2-1, 3.47)
Jesus Luzardo (7-3, 4.08)
Ranger Suarez (6-2, 2.08)

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Trea Turner - .295
Runs:  Kyle Schwarber - 57
Home Runs:  Kyle Schwarber - 24
RBIs:  Kyle Schwarber - 55
Stolen Bases:  Trea Turner - 19

Wins:  Jesus Luzardo and Zack Wheeler - 7
ERA:  Zack Wheeler - 2.55
Strikeouts:  Zack Wheeler - 126
Saves:  Jordan Romano - 8
Atlanta Braves 37-43
3rd Place in the N.L. East, 10 games behind the Mets

Braves Probables
Bryce Elder (2-4, 4.77)
Spencer Schwellenbach (6-4, 3.21)
Spencer Strider (3-5, 4.07)

Braves Leaders
Average:  Austin Riley - .269
Runs:  Matt Olson - 46
Home Runs:  Matt Olson - 15
RBIs:  Michael Harris - 52
Stolen Bases:  Michael Harris - 11

Wins:  Spencer Schwellenbach - 6
ERA:  Chris Sale - 2.52
Strikeouts:  Chris Sale - 114
Saves:  Raisel Iglesias - 9

Tuesday, April 8, 2025

Philadelphia Phillies at Atlanta Braves - N.L. East Rivals Meet

2025 Chachi 2005 Topps Missing Links #6
2005 Topps Update #UH2

Tuesday, April 8th - 7:15
Wednesday, April 9th - 7:15
Thursday, April 10th - 7:15


Philadelphia Phillies 7-2
1st Place in the N.L. East, 1/2 game ahead of the Mets

Phillies Probables
Zack Wheeler (1-0, 1.38)
Taijuan Walker (1-0, 0.00)
Jesus Luzardo (2-0, 1.50)

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Bryson Stott - .286
Runs:  Kyle Schwarber - 9
Home Runs:  Kyle Schwarber - 4
RBIs:  Kyle Schwarber - 8
Stolen Bases:  Trea Turner - 3

Wins:  Jesus Luzardo - 2
ERA:  Zack Wheeler - 1.38
Strikeouts:  Jesus Luzardo - 19
Saves:  Jose Alvarado - 2
Truist Park - Atlanta, GA
On Wednesday, the first 15,000 fans will receive a Chris Sale Cy Young bobblehead.
Atlanta Braves 1-8
5th Place in the N.L. East, 6 games behind the Phillies

Braves Probables
Chris Sale (0-1, 5.40)
Spencer Schwellenbach (1-0, 0.00)
AJ Smith-Shawver (0-2, 5.19)

Braves Leaders
Average:  Michael Harris - .242
Runs:  Marcell Ozuna - 6
Home Runs:  Six tied with - 1
RBIs:  Three tied with - 5
Stolen Bases:  Nick Allen - 2

Wins:  Spencer Schwellenbach - 1
ERA:  Spencer Schwellenbach - 0.00
Strikeouts:  Spencer Schwellenbach - 14
Saves:  N/A

Friday, February 14, 2025

2025 Topps - The First Phillie!


I didn't hesitate earlier this year when the e-mail from Topps arrived in my inbox alerting me that boxes of 2025 Topps Series One were on sale from their website.  I've missed out in the past, having to go to the secondary market (eBay) and paying an upcharge when the need to open new baseball cards inevitably overpowered me in prior Februarys.  I didn't go crazy, adding just a hobby box and a blaster to my cart, and then waiting patiently for the February 12th release date.

The box was waiting for me when I arrived home on Wednesday, but sports practices required us to wait until Thursday to open the first packs of 2025 Topps as a family.  The first Phillie, this Alec Bohm card, came quickly within the first pack I opened.

Topps has been on a roll over the past several years, and with the exception of the misfire with 2020's design, the 2025 Topps design adds to four solid set designs in the past five years.  Updating my top ten gallery below, the 2025 set takes the place of the 2015 set in the #2 spot, with 2015 leaving the list after 10 years (!).  I've used this summary in the past to describe the new Topps flagship design, but this is what a baseball card in the year 2025 should look like - crisp, great photo, modern graphics, some non-intrusive glittery effects and a little bit of silver foil with the Topps logo.  I really like that we get the team's logo and name going up the side of a card, and the curved lines along the left border are a nice modern update to the 1982 Topps design.


We were particularly impressed with how Topps found a new way to display the player's position.  The diamond in the bottom right indicates where the player would stand on the field, and it's one of those things I can't believe we've not seen on a baseball card before.  The backs are nice and clean too, as has been the case in recent years, and kudos to Topps for once again making the card number easy to find and easy to read.  My only very minor complaint is that some of the teams have player's last names in black (not white) making those harder to read.  I would have preferred Topps go with all white for every last name for each team.

Revisiting my top ten ranking below, I might move 2022 and 2019 ahead of 2023.  I still don't like the bottom three, but 2021 may eventually take over the worst design spot in my mind.

Best - 2024 Topps #194
#2 - 2025 Topps #7
#3 - 2023 Topps #278
#4 - 2022 Topps #249
#5 - 2019 Topps #303
#6 - 2016 Topps #15
#7 - 2018 Topps #26
#8 - 2021 Topps #79
#9 - 2017 Topps #247
Worst - 2020 Topps #221

2025 Topps #7 Alec Bohm

Friday, January 24, 2025

Game 64 - Phils, Harper Take London (Remastered)

Consider this the remastered version of the original June 8th game summary post, as I went back after the fact and decided Harper's British home run deserved its own highlight card in my 2024 Chachi set.

2024 Chachi #40

Phillies 7, Mets 2
Game 64 - Saturday Afternoon, June 8th in London
Record - 45-19, 1st Place, 9 games ahead of the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies and Bryce Harper took London by storm, with The Showman living up to his name with a big day at the plate.

What It Means:  This was fun to watch, although we quickly switched over to the Phillies radio broadcast to avoid the Fox announcers.  The Phillies had a contingent of former players on hand, and I spent Saturday morning following along with the events in London on social media.  This two-game series has the feel of an All-Star Weekend, except with the Phillies as the main characters and the Mets in town since the Phillies needed an opponent.

What Happened:  Ranger Suarez gave up a first inning run, but then settled down to pitch 5 2/3 innings while striking out six.  The win improved his record to 10-1.  The Phillies' offense seemed to struggle at first given the early evening sun glare, but once that went away, they jumped on Mets' starter Sean Manaea for six runs in the fourth inning.

Bryce Harper hit a solo home run to right to tie the game at 1-1, sliding into a football/soccer goal celebration as he returned to the Phillies dugout.  An RBI single followed from Edmundo Sosa to score Alec Bohm, and then Whit Merrifield hit a three-run home run to give the Phillies a 5-1 lead.  Cristian Pache doubled and Kyle Schwarber singled him home, chasing Manaea from the game.  Nick Castellanos capped the Phillies scoring with a solo home run to left in the eighth inning.

Featured Card:  Harper doubled in the first, becoming the first Phillies player with a hit in Europe.  His thrilling home run in the fourth will be replayed for years, and I'm waiting for the e-mail from Topps with the celebration image on an inevitable Topps Now card.  Here's a card with several symbols from the first time Philadelphia and England mixed things up.

Transaction:  The Phillies and Mets were both given an extra roster spot for this series, with the Phillies recalling Rafael Marchan (c).  Nick Nelson (rhp) and Darick Hall (1b) are also in London as a two-player taxi squad, just in case they're needed.

L to R: Ryan Howard, Carlos Ruiz, Shane Victorino, Jimmy Rollins,
Chase Utley and Cole Hamels

Wednesday, July 24, 2024

Game 100 - Offensive Struggles Continue in Minneapolis

2024 Topps Heritage #203
Twins 7
, Phillies 2
Game 100 - Monday Night, July 22nd in Minneapolis
Record - 63-37, 1st Place, 8 1/2 games ahead of the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies had one single after the first inning of this game, as their post-All Star break complete lack of offense continued to cause issues.

What It Means:  The game started late after a 90 minute rain delay, and if you only saw the Phillies' first inning before calling it a night, as I did, you saw all the Phillies highlights from this game.

What Happened:  In the top of the first, Trea Turner singled and Bryce Harper hit a moon shot of a home run to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead.  Alec Bohm would single following Harper's home run, but he'd be stranded at first.  The Phillies had one more hit over the next eight innings, a single from Bryson Stott to lead off the second.  Ranger Suarez picked up the loss, but he appeared to not be bothered by his back, which is a great sign.  Suarez gave up three runs in 5 1/3 innings.  Yunior Marte gave up three runs in the bottom of the eighth, including a run on a bases loaded walk and a run on a wild pitch, to put the game out of reach.

Featured Card:  Here's the most recent Twins' card added to my Phillies collection, with former MVP Justin Morneau sharing space with Ryan Howard.

Sunday, June 9, 2024

Game 64 - Phils, Harper Take London

2022 Topps Home Field
Advantage #HA-3
Phillies 7
, Mets 2
Game 64 - Saturday Afternoon, June 8th in London
Record - 45-19, 1st Place, 9 games ahead of the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies and Bryce Harper took London by storm, with The Showman living up to his name with a big day at the plate.

What It Means:  This was fun to watch, although we quickly switched over to the Phillies radio broadcast to avoid the Fox announcers.  The Phillies had a contingent of former players on hand, and I spent Saturday morning following along with the events in London on social media.  This two-game series has the feel of an All-Star Weekend, except with the Phillies as the main characters and the Mets in town since the Phillies needed an opponent.

What Happened:  Ranger Suarez gave up a first inning run, but then settled down to pitch 5 2/3 innings while striking out six.  The win improved his record to 10-1.  The Phillies' offense seemed to struggle at first given the early evening sun glare, but once that went away, they jumped on Mets' starter Sean Manaea for six runs in the fourth inning.

Bryce Harper hit a solo home run to right to tie the game at 1-1, sliding into a football/soccer goal celebration as he returned to the Phillies dugout.  An RBI single followed from Edmundo Sosa to score Alec Bohm, and then Whit Merrifield hit a three-run home run to give the Phillies a 5-1 lead.  Cristian Pache doubled and Kyle Schwarber singled him home, chasing Manaea from the game.  Nick Castellanos capped the Phillies scoring with a solo home run to left in the eighth inning.

Featured Card:  Harper doubled in the first, becoming the first Phillies player with a hit in Europe.  His thrilling home run in the fourth will be replayed for years, and I'm waiting for the e-mail from Topps with the celebration image on an inevitable Topps Now card.  Here's a card with several symbols from the first time Philadelphia and England mixed things up.

Transaction:  The Phillies and Mets were both given an extra roster spot for this series, with the Phillies recalling Rafael Marchan (c).  Nick Nelson (rhp) and Darick Hall (1b) are also in London as a two-player taxi squad, just in case they're needed.

L to R: Ryan Howard, Carlos Ruiz, Shane Victorino, Jimmy Rollins,
Chase Utley and Cole Hamels

Friday, June 7, 2024

2009 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards


Number of Cards:  41
Card Size:  4" x 6"

Description:  The Phillies went with black borders for the first time ever.  The cards have a very basic design featuring the team logo and the player's number, name and position in a digital font.  Other than the 2008 World Champions card, which is my all-time favorite card from a team-issued set, there's no indication the Phillies had won the World Championship in 2008 on the cards themselves.  The horizontal card backs feature biographical information and complete career statistics.

How Distributed:  The original 37-card set was available at Citizens Bank Park throughout the first half of the season.  Following the signing of Pedro Martinez on July 15th and the acquisition of Cliff Lee and Ben Francisco on July 29th, cards of Martinez, Lee and Francisco, along with back-up catcher Paul Bako, were inserted into the set.  With the addition of these four cards to the updated set, five cards available from the original set were removed - the 2008 World Champions card, along with the cards for Chris Coste, Tim Gradoville, Geoff Jenkins and Ronny Paulino.  Jenkins and Paulino had been released prior to the start of the season and Coste was claimed off waivers by the Astros on July 10th.

Complete Set Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here alphabetically with uniform number and position): 

1. 2008 World Champions
2. Mick Billmeyer (#17 - Bullpen Coach)
3. Joe Blanton (#56 - RHP)
4. Eric Bruntlett (#4 - INF/OF)
5. Clay Condrey (#55 - RHP)
6. Chris Coste (#27 - C)
7. Greg Dobbs (#19 - INF/OF)
8. Rich Dubee (#30 - Pitching Coach)
9. Chad Durbin (#37 - RHP)
10. Scott Eyre (#47 - LHP)
11. Pedro Feliz (#7 - 3B)
12. Tim Gradoville (#60 - Bullpen Catcher)        
13. Cole Hamels (#35 - LHP)
14. J.A. Happ (#43 - LHP)
15. Ryan Howard (#6 - 1B)
16. Raul Ibanez (#29 - LF)
17. Geoff Jenkins (#10 - OF)
18. Brad Lidge (#54 - RHP)
19. Davey Lopes (#15 - First Base Coach)
20. Pete Mackanin (#45 - Bench Coach)
21. Ryan Madson (#46 - RHP)
22. Charlie Manuel (#41 - Manager)        
23. Jamie Moyer (#50 - LHP)
24. Brett Myers (#39 - RHP)
25. Chan Ho Park (#61 - RHP)
26. Ronny Paulino (#23 - C)
27. Sam Perlozzo (#2 - Third Base Coach)
28. Jimmy Rollins (#11 - SS)
29. J.C. Romero (#16 - LHP)
30. Carlos Ruiz (#51 - C)
31. Matt Stairs (#12 - OF)
32. Milt Thompson (#25 - Hitting Coach)        
33. Chase Utley (#26 - 2B)
34. Shane Victorino (#8 - CF)
35. Jayson Werth (#28 - RF)
36. Phillie Phanatic
37. Phillies Broadcasters

Complete Update Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here alphabetically with uniform number and position):
1. Paul Bako (#23 - C)
2. Ben Francisco (#10 - OF)        
3. Cliff Lee (#34 - LHP)
4. Pedro Martinez (#45 - RHP)

One and Only Phillies Baseball Card (1):  Bako
First Appearance in Phillies Photo Card Set (8):  Eyre, Francisco, Ibanez, Lee, Martinez, Park, Paulino, Stairs
Returning Players in Phillies Photo Card Set (21):  Blanton, Bruntlett, Condrey, Coste, Dobbs, Durbin, Feliz, Hamels, Happ, Howard, Jenkins, Lidge, Madson, Moyer, Myers, Rollins, Romero, Ruiz, Utley, Victorino, Werth

Paul Bako wrapped up his 12-year career playing 44 games with the Phillies in 2009.  His card in this set is his sole Phillies baseball card.  Paulino was traded on March 27th to the Giants for Jack Taschner, and never appeared in a game for the Phillies.  He has a second Phillies card in the 2009 Topps Heritage set.

Manager (1):  Manuel
Coaches (7):  Billmeyer, Dubee, Gradoville, Lopes, Mackanin, Perlozzo, Thompson
Phillie Phanatic (1):  The Phanatic is shown atop the dugout is his alternate day-game uniform.
Broadcasters (1):  Harry Kalas, who passed away on April 13, 2009, is joined on this card by Tom McCarthey, Gary Matthews, Chris Wheeler, Larry Andersen and Scott Franzke.
Commemorative Cards (1):  2008 World Champions

The 2008 World Champions card (see below) features manager Charlie Manuel along with the team's main stars (minus Pat Burrell who had departed during the offseason) decked out in tuxedos with red bow ties flanking the World Series trophy.

Set Composition:  The Phillies created the first 37-card checklist a few days before the start of the regular season, accounting for the cards in the set for Paulino and Jenkins.  Miguel Cairo and Taschner, both on the opening day roster, got left out of the original set and the update set.  J.C. Romero started the season on the Restricted List, but he's in the set as well.


Omissions:
  The Phillies could have included a few more update cards, in addition to the four players who were added late in the season to the set.  Cairo and Taschner would have been in the set had the Phillies waited until early April to create the checklist.  Kyle Kendrick, John Mayberry, Jr., Sergio Escalona and Tyler Walker all spent sufficient enough time on the roster to merit cards as well.  Escalona spent quite a bit of time going back and forth between Philadelphia and Lehigh Valley, as the lefty pitcher was with the team in six different stints.

Variations/Rarities:
  I'm going to separate the known rarities into two different groups - non-set cards and cards with a 2009 National League Champions logo on the back.  14,000 Phillies featured a post many years ago containing a Jayson Werth card I had never seen before, and I've never seen since.  The card was distributed to kids participating in the team's annual Home Run Derby competition and contains a purple facsimile autograph and the Home Run Derby logo. The card uses a different photo than Werth's regular team issued card.

As pointed out in a comment from Steve F. in an earlier post, a card was issued for Placido Polanco in the style of the 2009 team-issued set.  Polanco was signed as a free agent on December 3rd.  Finally, fellow collector and invaluable resource Rick added a comment to this set's original post with a number of other rarities available - clipped and shown below.  Roy Halladay received his first Phillies baseball card in the style of this set, as the future Hall of Famer had signed with the Phillies on December 16, 2009.


Other than the Halladay card, which is an original, the cards featuring the 2009 National League Champions logo on the back use the same photos as the cards found in the set sold at the ballpark.
Non-Set Cards
1. Kyle Drabek (#4 - Reading Phillies)
2. Lou Marson (#3 - C)
3. Placido Polanco (#27 - blank back)
4. Brian Schneider (#23 - blank back)
5. Michael Taylor (#40 - Reading Phillies)        
6. Jayson Werth (#28 - Home Run Derby)
National League Champions
1. Chad Durbin (#37 - RHP)
2. Roy Halladay (#34 - RHP)
3. Cole Hamels (#35 - LHP)
4. J.A. Happ (#43 - LHP)
5. Brad Lidge (#54 - RHP)
6. Ryan Madson (#46 - RHP)
7. Jimmy Rollins (#11 - SS)

Also See:
  Here's my original post from August 31, 2009, covering the discovery of the updated team issued set.
Resources:  The Trading Card Database; Phillies collector Rick (@rickphils)

This set was originally featured in a post back in December 2014, and I'm going through these older team-issued photo card set posts to update them with new information learned (if any) over the past nine years.


2008 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards / 2010 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards - 1st Edition

Saturday, March 2, 2024

The First Phillie - 2024 Topps!


Topps mixed things up this year, making collectors wait until January 11th to reveal the design of its 2024 flagship set.  In year's past, the design was released in August or September and when the season came to a close with no announcement and no inkling as to what the 2024 Topps cards would look like, I was a little worried.  I prepared myself to be underwhelmed whenever the design was finally released.

My first thought on seeing the design in mid-January:  These are cool.  My second thought:  The neon-like team name is fantastic, and how has Topps not done this before?  This is what a baseball card in 2024 should look like.  It's a modern look with the foggy border elements Topps likes so much from recent years, but collectors are given a solid photo, a unique way of presenting the team name, the team logo and clearly legible names and positions.  It's a great looking card, and it springs to the top of my list of favorite Topps flagship releases over the past 10 years.

The set was officially released on Valentine's Day, but I didn't open my first packs until February 19th.  My wife Jenna found three blaster boxes at our local Target that day, and I happily opened all three after dinner.  In the past, we've made a big show of the first packs of the year, but this year was a little more subdued.  The First Phillie hunt was extremely anti-climatic, as J.T. Realmuto was staring at me atop the first plastic-wrapped bunch of 59 cards I took from the first box I opened.

This is an exciting design, and Topps clearly creates its base cards now to work well with multiple parallel versions.  It wasn't until I had the cards in hand that I realized the team name and photo borders have foil-like features to them.  Scans don't do the cards justice, as these elements can't really be seen unless you're holding them.  I had a blue-bordered Alec Bohm card in one of my three boxes, and I like the full blue border more than the smoky black and white border on the normal base cards.  That's my only complaint, and if I had designed the cards, each card would have a border color corresponding to the player's team.  I like the backs too - very clean, with complete career statistics as has always been the norm with Topps flagship sets.

Finally, it's a promising sign of things to come that three of my top four sets over the past 10 years are all recent releases.  With 2014 dropping off the list, here's a look at my updated rankings:

Best Five:  2024, 2015, 2023, 2022, 2019
Bottom Five:  2016, 2018, 2021, 2017, 2020

Best - 2024 Topps #194
#2 - 2015 Topps #309
#3 - 2023 Topps #278
#4 - 2022 Topps #249
#5 - 2019 Topps #303
#6 - 2016 Topps #15
#7 - 2018 Topps #26
#8 - 2021 Topps #79
#9 - 2017 Topps #247
Worst - 2020 Topps #221

2024 Topps #194 J.T. Realmuto