Series Preview - Phillies at Marlins: May 24th to May 27th

2021 Chachi 1986 Topps Missing Links #5

2021 Chachi Fan Favorites #5

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday 6:40, Thursday 12:10
loanDepot park - Miami, FL

At the Ballpark:  There aren't any giveaways scheduled for this four-game series, and I'm bummed the Marlins won't be wearing their City Connect uniforms which are far superior to their regular bland uniforms in my opinion.  Here's an article with more information on the uniforms.

Phillies 23-24
Tied for 2nd Place in the N.L. East, 1 1/2 games behind the Mets

Phillies Probables
Zach Eflin (2-3, 3.77)
Vince Velasquez (1-0, 3.52)
Aaron Nola (3-4, 3.94)
Spencer Howard (0-1, 7.36)

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Bryce Harper - .274
Runs:  Rhys Hoskins - 28
Home Runs:  Rhys Hoskins - 9
RBIs:  Rhys Hoskins - 26
Stolen Bases:  Bryce Harper and Roman Quinn - 4

Wins:  Connor Brogdon and Zack Wheeler - 4
ERA:  Zack Wheeler - 2.38
Strikeouts:  Zack Wheeler - 78
Saves:  Hector Neris - 7

Marlins 22-24
4th Place in the N.L. East, 2 games behind the Mets

Marlins Probables
Trevor Rogers (6-2, 1.74)
Sandy Alcantara (2-3, 3.63)
TBA
Pablo Lopez (1-3, 2.73)

Marlins Leaders
Average:  Miguel Rojas - .280
Runs:  Miguel Rojas - 30
Home Runs:  Jesus Aguilar - 9
RBIs:  Jesus Aguilar - 33
Stolen Bases:  Jazz Chisolm, Jr. - 8

Wins:  Trevor Rogers - 6
ERA:  Trevor Rogers - 1.74
Strikeouts:  Trevor Rogers - 65
Saves:  Yimi Garcia - 8

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

Phillies at Giants: August 15th to August 17th

Friday 10:15, Saturday and Sunday 4:05
AT&T Park - San Francisco, CA

Phillies 53-68, 5th Place in the N.L. East, 14 games behind the Nationals
Giants 63-57, 2nd Place in the N.L. West, 5 1/2 games behind the Dodgers

Phillies Probables:  Cole Hamels (6-6, 2.37), Kyle Kendrick (5-11, 4.88), David Buchanan (6-6, 4.40)
Giants Probables:  Madison Bumgarner (13-9, 3.22), Tim Hudson (8-9, 2.81), Tim Lincecum (9-8, 4.51)

At the Ballpark:  The giveaway that caught my eye in this series is Sunday's giveaway of Giants Trading Cards.  There aren't any details on the team's website, but the thumbnail picture presented on the schedule leads me to believe that the cards will be (1) oversized and (2) produced by Topps.  Very interesting!

Phillies Leaders

Average:  Ben Revere - .309

Runs:  Jimmy Rollins - 62

Home Runs:  Marlon Byrd - 22

RBIs:  Ryan Howard - 73

Stolen Bases:  Ben Revere - 33

Wins:  David Buchanan, A.J. Burnett, Cole Hamels and Roberto Hernandez* - 6

ERA:  Cole Hamels - 2.37

Strikeouts:  Cole Hamels - 144

Saves:  Jonathan Papelbon - 27

*Now with the Los Angeles Dodgers

1988 Topps #651 and #445

1988 Topps Appreciation:  Michael Jackson and Mike Krukow never pitched in the same bullpen at the same time, but they were both one time members of the Phillies and Giants.

Jackson came up with the Phillies in 1986 and had decent enough numbers in parts of two seasons (4.11 ERA in 64 games) before getting packaged in the deal that sent Glenn Wilson to the Mariners for Phil Bradley.  He came into his own in his four seasons with the Mariners, appearing in 60 or more games four seasons in a row.  In December 1991, Jackson was traded with Dave Burba and Bill Swift to the Giants for Kevin Mitchell and Mike Remlinger.  I remember thinking at the time that this was a pretty huge deal for both teams.

Krukow pitched just one season with the Phillies, going 13-11 with a 3.12 ERA for the 1982 club.  He spent the final seven seasons of his 14-year career with the Giants and he's been broadcasting their games since 1994.  It was recently revealed that the very popular announcer was battling a debilitating muscle disease.  Here's a great article on Krukow and his ongoing battle.

1987 Topps Phillies - Missing Links

There are only 11 players who suited up for the Phillies in 1987 who did not appear as Phillies in either the 792-card base Topps set or the 132-card traded set.  Some of the cards below have been featured on the blog before, but presented here is the entire 11-card "missing links" Phillies team set.

All of the photos featured on these cards are taken from the team's 1987 Tastykake set.

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1986 Topps Phillies - Missing Links

There are 16 players who appeared with the Phillies in 1986 who didn't make it into either the Topps base set or the traded series so I've made 1986 Topps cards for all 16.  As far as I know, neither Jeff Bittinger or Tom Gorman ever had Phillies cards - either mainstream or in the team-issued Tastykake sets - and if and when I ever have the free time to take a crash course in graphic design, I'm going to go back and fix their cards.

Most of the pictures I used for these cards are from the 1986 or 1987 Tastykake Phillies sets or from the 1986 Phillies Yearbook.

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2000 Upper Deck Gold Reserve #241 Mike Jackson

Major League Baseball will again honor the legacy of Jackie Robinson today when all field personnel, including players and umpires, will wear Robinson's #42. It's a grand gesture to remember a man who changed the game for the better when he made his debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947.

It will also be amusing to listen to the Phillies game on the radio this afternoon. Inevitably, Scott Franzke will ask his broadcast partner Larry Andersen who is playing a certain position, or who is on deck. Without hesitation, Andersen will deadpan, "I'm not sure, but it looks like #42."

Major League Baseball uniformly retired Robinson's #42 in 1997 during the 50th anniversary season of his debut. Anyone wearing the number upon its retirement was grandfathered in and that player would be permitted to wear #42 for the duration of his career. For that reason, the last active player to wear the number with the Phillies was relief pitcher Michael Jackson. Jackson signed with the Phillies in December 1999 as a free agent. He was injured at the tail end of Spring Training 2000 and never appeared in a game for the Phils during the 2000 season.

1986 ProCards Reading Phillies #11 Michael Jackson

Strange days indeed . . . I wanted to pay tribute somehow to Michael Jackson (the King of Pop and not the relief pitcher) and this was the first (and only) Phillies baseball card to come to mind. The person I wanted to call today after I heard the news of his passing was my sister, who had hosted a Michael Jackson themed birthday party back in the day. I think everyone wore their Michael Jackson gear and they watched the Thriller video. It's sad to think that such an icon from our youth is gone.

Say say say what you want, but the Phils' play these days is just Bad. (Sorry, I'll knock it off now). Antonio Bastardo was dreadful tonight, Pedro Feliz looked clueless on the base paths, the bullpen is a shell of its former self, Jimmy Rollins is riding the pine, and Charlie Manuel just looks exacerbated. With the 10-4 loss to the Rays tonight, the Phils have lost 8 of their last 9. The Mets, Marlins and Braves are getting closer and closer in the rear-view mirror.

Perhaps the best thing for the entire team is to get out of the country for a few days.