Showing posts with label Lezcano. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lezcano. Show all posts

Monday, June 17, 2024

Padres at Phillies - June 17th to June 19th

1984 Topps Traded #75T
1984 Topps #185

Monday and Tuesday 6:40, Wednesday 1:05

Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

At the Ballpark:  It's Pride Night tonight with holders of a special theme ticket receiving a Phillies Pride Night fanny pack.  Tuesday is Jewish Heritage Night and kids can run the bases following Wednesday's matinee.

San Diego Padres 37-38
2nd Place in the N.L. West, 7 1/2 games behind the Dodgers

Padres Probables
Randy Vasquez (1-3, 4.93)
Michael King (5-4, 3.58)
Matt Waldron (4-6, 3.66)

Padres Leaders
Average:  Jurickson Profar - .321
Runs:  Fernando Tatis - 48
Home Runs:  Fernando Tatis - 13
RBIs:  Jurickson Profar - 46
Stolen Bases:  Ha-Seong Kim - 14

Wins:  Dylan Cease - 6
ERA:  Michael King - 3.58
Strikeouts:  Dylan Cease - 106
Saves:  Robert Suarez - 17
Philadelphia Phillies 47-24
1st Place in the N.L. East, 8 games ahead of the Braves
Phillies Probables
Cristopher Sanchez (3-3, 3.07)
Aaron Nola (8-3, 3.48)
Ranger Suarez (10-1, 1.77)

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Alec Bohm - .302
Runs:  Kyle Schwarber - 50
Home Runs:  Bryce Harper - 15
RBIs:  Alec Bohm - 57
Stolen Bases:  Bryson Stott - 18

Wins:  Ranger Suarez - 10
ERA:  Ranger Suarez - 1.77
Strikeouts:  Zack Wheeler - 99
Saves:  Jose Alvarado - 12

Sunday, August 13, 2023

Show Report: Authentic Expo, Philadelphia Airport


It was a busy weekend for Phillies fans, with the annual Alumni Weekend again delivering great promotions and festivities at the ballpark and returning players making several autograph appearances throughout the Philadelphia area.  On Saturday morning, Doug and I braved the never-ending roadwork between South Jersey and Philadelphia to drive to the DoubleTree Hilton by the Philadelphia Airport.  A small-ish baseball card and memorabilia show was being held, with the key attraction being several returning players from the 1983 and 1993 National League Champions squads.

We quickly made our way around the room of tables, finding mostly slabbed and overprice Phillies cards, and very little of anything more than a few decades' old.  Luckily, I spotted a cheese box of "Older Baseball Cards" at one table, and came away with a nice stack of 1955 Bowmans and 1959 Topps cards, two sets I'm not yet officially collecting.  (My 1969 Topps blog and set build is on pause until our summer schedules calm down a little.)

The autograph process was slightly disorganized, given all signers were seated in the same medium-sized conference room.  Doug's only goal was getting Ron Reed to sign his Wall of Fame print from last summer, and I took advantage of the timing of Reed's visit, buying autograph tickets to a few favorites of mine signing around the same time.  All four former players we interacted with - Ozzie Virgil, Reed, Sixto Lezcano and Dave Hollins - were gracious with their time and happy to chat with fans.  None of them hesitated when Doug asked if we could take a quick photo.  Overall it was a good experience and if Authentic Expo hosts something similar in 2024, we'll be back.

Friday, October 21, 2022

Padres at Phillies: October 21st to October 23rd

2022 Chachi Fan Favorites #30
2022 Chachi Fan Favorites #31

Friday 7:37, Saturday 7:45 and Sunday 2:37

Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

At the Ballpark:  There will be red rally towels galore at the ballpark all weekend!

Padres 1-1
Defeated Dodgers in NLDS, 3-1

Padres Probables
Joe Musgrove (1-0, 1.38)
TBD
TBD

Padres Postseason Leaders
Average:  Austin Nola - .321
Runs:  Ha-Seong Kim - 8
Home Runs:  Trent Grisham and Manny Machado - 3
RBIs:  Manny Machado - 6
Stolen Bases:  Three tied with - 1

Wins:  Yu Darvish and Blake Snell - 2
ERA:  Joe Musgrove - 1.38
Strikeouts:  Yu Darvish - 18
Saves:  Josh Hader - 4
Phillies 1-1
Defeated Braves in NLDS, 3-1

Phillies Probables
Ranger Suarez (0-0, 2.70)
TBD
TBD

Phillies Postseason Leaders
Average:  Bryce Harper - .419
Runs:  Bryce Harper - 8
Home Runs:  Bryce Harper - 4
RBIs:  Bryce Harper - 7
Stolen Bases:  Kyle Schwarber and Jean Segura - 1

Wins:  Aaron Nola - 2
ERA:  Zack Wheeler - 1.40
Strikeouts:  Aaron Nola - 18
Saves:  Jose Alvarado and Zach Eflin - 1

Friday, May 20, 2022

Game 38 - Yu Gotta Believe?

1983 Donruss #499
Padres 2
, Phillies 0
Game 38 - Thursday Afternoon, May 19th in Philadelphia
Record - 18-20, 2nd Place, 7 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  Yu Darvish and two Padres relievers baffled the Phillies offense in this 2-0 loss.

What It Means:  The Phillies and Padres traded shutouts in this three-game series, with the Phillies coming out on the short end.  They're seven games out of first place and the Dodgers come to town Friday night for a weekend series.

What Happened:  The Phillies offense had eight hits - all singles - and went 0 for 4 with runners in scoring position.  Darvish went seven solid innings for the Padres, allowing six hits and striking out five.  Kyle Gibson was the recipient of the Phillies' lethargic offense, and he gave up a pair of runs in his 5 2/3 innings of work.  Gibson struck out seven.

Featured Card:  I've got nothing.  The Phillies offense, which should be hitting a lot of home runs, doesn't seem to be able to even string together a few extra base hits at home.  Bryce Harper missed his second straight game after getting an injection in his right elbow to hopefully manage that injury.  Here's a fantastic vintage card of former Padres and Phillies great Sixto Lezcano.

Friday, July 30, 2021

Series Preview - Phillies at Pirates: July 30th to August 1st

1986 Topps #686
1986 Topps #278

Friday and Saturday 7:05, Sunday 1:05

PNC Park - Pittsburgh, PA

At the Ballpark:  The Pirates have one of the best ballparks in baseball, and their promotional giveaways are always top notch too.  Tonight is Free Shirt Friday, with the first 20,000 fans receiving a yellow "Let's Go Bucs" t-shirt.  On Saturday, the first 20,000 fans will receive a Pirates Hawaiian shirt.  And on Sunday, kids will receive a pack of Topps baseball cards in celebration of the annual Baseball Card Day.

Phillies 51-51
2nd Place in the N.L. East, 3 1/2 games behind the Mets

Phillies Probables
Vince Velasquez (3-5, 5.54)
Aaron Nola (7-6, 4.37)
TBD

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Jean Segura - .306
Runs:  Rhys Hoskins - 58
Home Runs:  Rhys Hoskins - 23
RBIs:  Rhys Hoskins - 63
Stolen Bases:  Bryce Harper - 12

Wins:  Zack Wheeler - 8
ERA:  Zack Wheeler - 2.45
Strikeouts:  Zack Wheeler - 165
Saves:  Hector Neris - 12
Pirates 38-64
5th Place in the N.L. Central, 22 1/2 games behind the Brewers

Pirates Probables
Wil Crowe (2-5, 5.89)
JT Brubaker (4-10, 4.67)
TBD

Pirates Leaders
Average:  Adam Frazier - .324
Runs:  Adam Frazier - 58
Home Runs:  Bryan Reynolds - 18
RBIs:  Bryan Reynolds - 57
Stolen Bases:  Gregory Polanco - 11

Wins:  Tyler Anderson - 5
ERA:  Tyler Anderson - 4.35
Strikeouts:  JT Brubaker - 99
Saves:  Richard Rodriguez - 14
2021 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2021 Season Summary Index 2021 Chachi Set Checklist

Monday, November 9, 2020

1984 Tastykake Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards


Number of Cards:  47
Card Size:  3 1/2" x 5 1/4"

Description:  The 1984 Tastykake photo card set got a little more ambitious than its predecessor by adding cards for all the coaches and a broadcaster card.  The fronts are nearly identical to the 1983 set, with the exception of the Phillies script logo added to the top.  The photographer also requested that everyone remove their hats for this set, which was unfortunate for some of the subjects and is reminiscent of the 1976 team-issued photo card set.  The backs of the cards feature a facsimile autograph of the player, coach or manager, and some of the cards include words of encouragement.

I really wish the Phillies had chosen, "Wherever you go, there you are" for the back of Larry Andersen's card.

How Distributed:  All fans 14 and under attending the Phillies game at Veterans Stadium on April 21, 1984, received a complete 40-card set, shrink-wrapped and containing a logo/checklist card on the top.  The back of the logo/checklist card advertised that additional sets could be purchased from the Phillies via mail order for $3.

There are also 7 somewhat rare "update" cards available, and by all accounts at least three of these cards were never released to the general public, at least not in very large quantities.  Here's a verbatim report from a reliable hobby source on the origins of these 7 cards:

"That set was a mess from day 1.  We obtained some uncut sheets from the printer right off the bat.  When the team started selling the shrink wrapped sets, we found that the seven players on one side of the sheets were not included.  I called a friend in the PR dept and asked him what was going on.  He was upset that we’d obtained the sheets and explained that they knew that prospects would be called up from the minors during the season and wanted to avoid making special print runs in order to have pictures for them.  So they picked 7 prominent players and filled out the sheet with their pictures.  When I spoke to him, all the cut cards were in stacks in a back store room.  He was concerned that, if word got out as to which 7 they picked, other players would be upset at not having been included.  As the season went on, I believe that they pulled and used the pictures for Carman, Russell, Stone and Wehrmeister but not for Daulton, Fireovid and Jeltz.  In speaking with the PR guy at the end of the season, he asked what I thought he should do with the supplies of the last three.  I told him I’d deep-six them as they hadn’t been “issued”.  They [the Phillies] ended up selling a bunch of the entire run to a dealer up around, I think, Wilkes Barre.  I believe he sold them as separate “extension” sets for a while."

Fellow collector Steve sent me the scan of the uncut sheet shown here, showing the 7 "update" cards in the far right column.  I'm calling these update cards, but they could just as easily be labelled as unreleased rarities.

Complete Standard Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here based  on the numbered checklist found on the back of the header card): 

1. Header Card / Checklist
2. Team Photo
3. Phillie Phanatic
4. Veterans Stadium
5. Steve Carlton - Future HOF
6. Mike Schmidt - Future HOF        
7. Phillies Broadcasters      
8. Paul Owens MG
9. Dave Bristol CO
10. John Felske CO
11. Deron Johnson CO
12. Claude Osteen CO
13. Mike Ryan CO
14. Larry Andersen

15. Marty Bystrom
16. Bill Campbell
17. Steve Carlton
18. John Denny
19. Tony Ghelfi
20. Kevin Gross
21. Al Holland
22. Charles Hudson
23. Jerry Koosman
24. Tug McGraw
25. Bo Diaz
26. Ozzie Virgil
27. John Wockenfuss          
28. Luis Aguayo
29. Ivan DeJesus
30. Kiko Garcia
31. Len Matuszek
32. Juan Samuel
33. Mike Schmidt
34. Tim Corcoran
35. Greg Gross
36. Von Hayes
37. Joe Lefebvre
38. Sixto Lezcano
39. Garry Maddox
40. Glenn Wilson

Complete Update Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here alphabetically): 

1. Don Carman
2. Darren Daulton        
3. Steve Fireovid
4. Steve Jeltz
5. John Russell        
6. Jeff Stone
7. Dave Wehrmeister

One and Only Phillies Baseball Card (2):
  Fireovid, Wehrmeister
First Appearance in Phillies Team Issued Set (19):  Andersen, Campbell, Carman, Corcoran, Daulton, Garcia, Ghelfi, K. Gross, Hudson, Jeltz, Koosman, Lefebvre, Lezcano, Matuszek, Russell, Samuel, Stone, Wilson, Wockenfuss
Returning Players in Phillies Team Issued Set (12):  Aguayo, Bystrom, Carlton, DeJesus, Denny, Diaz, G. Gross, Hayes, Maddox, McGraw, Schmidt, Virgil

Manager (1):  Owens
Coaches (5):  Bristol, Felske, Johnson, Osteen, Ryan
Phillie Phanatic (1):  Uses the same ATV photo from the 1983 Tastykake set.
Broadcasters (1):  Chris Wheeler, Harry Kalas, Andy Musser and Richie Ashburn.
Commemorative Cards (2):  Carlton and Schmidt get Future Hall of Famer cards.  The back of the Carlton card features a list of all-time victories leaders, while the back of the Schmidt card features a list of all-time home run leaders.
Other Cards (3):  Header/checklist card, team photo and Veterans Stadium.

Surprises:  Knowing what I know now about the genesis of the 7 update cards, the Phillies PR department did a great job of predicting future roster additions.  Only Darren Daulton didn't see playing time with the club in 1984.  The set contains the entire 25-man opening day roster, plus pitcher Tony Ghelfi who started the season on the disabled list and Marty Bystrom who began the season with Triple-A Portland.

Omissions:  Minor leaguers who would ultimately appear with the Phillies in 1984 who could have received consideration for the update set are Francisco Melendez, Mike Lavalliere and Rick Schu.  And for completists, the Phillies added four players from outside their organization throughout the season - Jim Kern, Shane Rawley, Al Oliver and Renie Martin.  Kern and Martin would never receive actual Phillies baseball cards.


Variations/Rarities:
  Again, the 7 update cards could easily appear here as they're not technically true update cards and they're not readily available.


Resources:  Beckett.com14,000 Phillies - Dave Wehrmeister, Worst Phillies Card of All Time; Fellow collectors Steve F., Rick G. and Bill W.

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


Friday, June 8, 2018

Series Preview - Brewers at Phillies: June 8th to June 10th

1978 Topps #595
1978 Topps #271
Friday 7:05, Saturday 1:05 and Sunday 1:35
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

Brewers 37-25, 1st place in the N.L. Central, 1/2 game ahead of the Cubs
Phillies 32-28, 3rd place in the N.L. East, 3 games behind the Braves and Nationals

Brewers Probables:  Jhoulys Chacin (4-1, 3.39), Brent Suter (5-4, 4.55), TBD
Phillies Probables:  Vince Velasquez (4-6, 3.82), Jake Arrieta (5-3, 2.66), Zach Eflin (2-2, 3.74)

At the Ballpark:  It's 1990s Retro Night tonight and the Phillies are encouraging all fans to dress in their '90s fashions.  On Saturday, the Phillies will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the 1993 N.L. Championship team and there will be photo opportunities throughout the ballpark with alumni.  Sunday is Father's Appreciation Day with all men 15 and over receiving a John Kruk 1990s batting practice pullover shirt.  There will also be a pre-game salute to the 1993 Phillies team.

Brewers Leaders
Average:  Christian Yelich - .301
Runs:  Christian Yelich - 37
Home Runs:  Travis Shaw - 14
RBIs:  Travis Shaw - 38
Stolen Bases:  Lorenzo Cain - 11

Wins:  Jeremy Jeffress and Brent Suter - 5
ERA:  Jhoulys Chacin - 3.39
Strikeouts:  Josh Hader - 69
Saves:  Josh Hader - 6

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Odubel Herrera - .305
Runs:  Cesar Hernandez - 41
Home Runs:  Carlos Santana - 9
RBIs:  Carlos Santana - 35
Stolen Bases:  Cesar Hernandez - 10

Wins:  Aaron Nola - 7
ERA:  Aaron Nola - 2.35
Strikeouts:  Aaron Nola - 80
Saves:  Hector Neris - 9

Thursday, October 22, 2015

1985 Topps - Phillies Cards

1985 Topps #600
1985 Topps #650
1985 Topps #348
1985 Topps #149
I spent a lot of time in 2015 with the 1985 Topps set, as it was the basis for this year's custom Chachi set and I tried to feature relevant cards in each series preview post.  As I've done the last few years, it's time to tally up the Phillies related cards in the 1985 Topps set.  I came up with 153 cards from the base set and the 132-card traded set, falling just short of the 154 Phillies related cards in the 1988 Topps set.  (Links to past posts are below.)

The list below contains every player, coach or manager who spent time with the Phillies and also appeared in the 1985 Topps set.  You'll notice that the N.L. Central blows away the competition thanks to the future and ex-Phillies-heavy Cubs, Reds, Pirates and Cardinals.

National League East (55 - 16 without Phillies)
Atlanta Braves (4) - #25 Steve Bedrosian, #129 Gene Garber, #320 Dale Murphy, #716 Dale Murphy AS
Miami Marlins (0)
New York Mets (6) - #53 Tom Gorman, #492 Dave Johnson MG, #517 Jerry Martin, #649 Sid Fernandez, #677 Wally Backman, #83T Roger McDowell
Philadelphia Phillies (39)
Washington Nationals (Montreal Expos) (6) - #134 Terry Francona FS, #448 Derrel Thomas, #501 Dan Schatzeder, #526 Dave Palmer, #578 Terry Francona, #733 Tony Scott

National League Central (37)
Chicago Cubs (10) - #98 Steve Lake, #124 Rich Hebner, #189 Warren Brusstar, #210 Gary Matthews, #460 Ryne Sandberg, #484 Larry Bowa, #538 Keith Moreland, #563 Dick Ruthven, #589 Bob Dernier, #713 Ryne Sandberg AS
Cincinnati Reds (8) - #6 Pete Rose RB, #107 Tom Foley, #547 Pete Rose MG, #600 Pete Rose, #675 Tony Perez
Milwaukee Brewers (1) - #203 Bob McClure
Pittsburgh Pirates (9) - #125 Kent Tekulve, #139 Bob Skinner FS, #183 Larry McWilliams, #385 Jose DeLeon, #433 Jim Morrison, #537 Bill Robinson, #2T Bill Almon, #55T Al Holland, #75T Sixto Lezcano
St. Louis Cardinals (9) - #113 Tom Herr, #229 Dave LaPoint, #255 Lonnie Smith, #294 Tom Nieto, #421 Dave Rucker, #499 Danny Cox, #551 Andy Van Slyke, #15T Bill Campbell, #30T Ivan DeJesus

1985 Topps #103
1985 Topps #212
1985 Topps #221
1985 Topps Traded #109T
National League West (15)
Arizona Diamondbacks (0)
Colorado Rockies (0)
Los Angeles Dodgers (5) - #57 Pat Zachry, #440 Fernando Valenzuela, #32T Mariano Duncan, #58T Ken Howell, #88T Al Oliver
San Diego Padres (3) - #242 Greg Harris, #273 Bill Almon DP, #558 Carmelo Martinez
San Francisco Giants (7) - #74 Mike Krukow, #103 Randy Lerch, #310 Manny Trillo, #365 Danny Ozark MG, #541 Mark Davis, #27T Jim Davenport MG, #71T Dave LaPoint

American League East (9)
Baltimore Orioles (3) - #173 Mike Young, #289 Tom Underwood, #366 Todd Cruz
Boston Red Sox (2) - #89 Jackie Gutierrez, #686 Mike Easler
New York Yankees (3) - #284 Marty Bystrom, #724 Oscar Gamble, #769 Joe Cowley
Tampa Bay Rays (0)
Toronto Blue Jays (1) - #80T Len Matuszek

American League Central (18)
Chicago White Sox (3) - #221 Ron Reed, #650 Greg Luzinski, #37T Oscar Gamble
Cleveland Indians (5) - #119 Pat Corrales MG, #212 George Vukovich, #237 Julio Franco, #788 Steve Comer, #99T Vern Ruhle
Detroit Tigers (7) - #160 Lance Parrish, #307 Sparky Anderson MG, #333 Willie Hernandez, #408 Sid Monge, #586 Bill Scherrer, #708 Lance Parrish AS, #744 Doug Bair
Kansas City Royals (3) - #671 Dane Iorg, #773 Hal McRae, #109T Lonnie Smith
Minnesota Twins (0)

1985 Topps #333
1985 Topps #724
1985 Topps #754
1985 Topps Traded #75T
American League West (19)
Houston Astros (3) - #44 Dickie Thon, #426 Vern Ruhle, #634 Bill Dawley
Los Angeles Angels (3) - #133 Bob Boone FS, #348 Bob Boone, #81T Gene Mauch MG
Oakland Athletics (7) - #5 Joe Morgan RB, #12 Dave Lopes, #231 Dwayne Murphy, #352 Joe Morgan, #472 Jim Essian, #607 Bill Almon, #50T Steve Henderson
Seattle Mariners (4) - #449 Phil Bradley, #640 Steve Henderson, #656 Chuck Cottier MG, #754 Larry Milbourne
Texas Rangers (2) - #149 Dickie Noles, #47T Greg Harris

Other
Team USA (0)

Memory Lane
1973 Topps - 107 cards with Phillies connections
1979 Topps - 111 cards with Phillies connections, plus one more
1988 Topps - 154 cards with Phillies connections

Monday, June 29, 2015

Brewers at Phillies: June 29th to July 2nd


Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday 7:05, Thursday 6:35
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

Brewers 29-48, 5th Place in the N.L. Central, 22 1/2 games behind the Cardinals
Phillies 27-50, 5th Place in the N.L. East, 15 1/2 games behind the Nationals

Brewers Probables:  Jimmy Nelson (4-8, 4.34), Taylor Jungmann (2-1, 2.74), Kyle Lohse (4-9, 6.28), Matt Garza (4-10, 5.52)
Phillies Probables:  Sean O'Sullivan (1-5, 5.34), Cole Hamels (5-6, 3.26), Aaron Harang (4-10, 3.56), Adam Morgan (1-0, 1.59)

At the Ballpark:  The Phillies' annual two (extremely impressive) fireworks shows take place on Wednesday and Thursday nights.

Brewers Leaders
Average:  Adam Lind - .291
Runs:  Ryan Braun - 42
Home Runs:  Ryan Braun - 15
RBIs:  Ryan Braun - 49
Stolen Bases:  Jean Segura - 10

Wins:  5 tied with - 4
ERA:  Mike Fiers - 4.14
Strikeouts:  Mike Fiers - 93
Saves:  Francisco Rodriguez - 15

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Ben Revere - .289
Runs:  Ben Revere - 40
Home Runs:  Ryan Howard - 13
RBIs:  Ryan Howard - 36
Stolen Bases:  Ben Revere - 18

Wins:  Cole Hamels - 5
ERA:  Cole Hamels - 3.26
Strikeouts:  Cole Hamels - 106
Saves:  Jonathan Papelbon - 14

1985 Topps #203
1985 Topps #556
1985 Topps Appreciation:  Bob McClure and Sixto Lezcano were teammates on the Brewers between 1977 and 1980.  Lezcano came to the Phillies in late August 1983 as an added bat off the bench for the pennant run and an occasional late-inning defensive replacement in the outfield.

McClure is the Phillies current pitching coach, although given the inevitable shake-up that's coming to the Phillies front office and coaching staff I hope he doesn't have a long-term lease on his place of residence in Philadelphia.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Phillies at Brewers: August 16th to August 19th

Miller Park - Milwaukee, WI
Thursday and Friday 8:10, Saturday 7:10, Sunday 2:10

Phillies 54-63, 4th Place in the N.L. East, 18 1/2 games behind the Nationals
Brewers 52-64, 4th Place in the N.L. Central, 18 1/2 games behind the Reds

Phillies Probables:  Cliff Lee (2-7, 3.85), Vance Worley (6-7, 3.97), Cole Hamels (13-6, 2.91)
Brewers Probables:  Marco Estrada (0-5, 4.36), Yovani Gallardo (11-8, 3.78), Mike Fiers (6-5, 2.63)

At the Ballpark:  Saturday is "Autograph Saturday for Kids" at Miller Park, when "Brewers players and coaches will autograph photo cards for kids 14 and under."  Pretty cool promotion.

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Jimmy Rollins - .246^
Runs:  Jimmy Rollins - 69
Home Runs:  Jimmy Rollins and Carlos Ruiz - 14*
RBIs:  Carlos Ruiz - 58*
Stolen Bases:  Juan Pierre - 28

Wins:  Cole Hamels - 13
ERA:  Cole Hamels - 2.91
Strikeouts:  Cole Hamels - 158
Saves:  Jonathan Papelbon - 26

^Hunter Pence, now with the Giants (.271) and Shane Victorino, now with the Dodgers (.261) have the overall team lead among players with enough qualifying plate appearances.
*Hunter Pence, now with the Giants, has the overall lead with 17 home runs and 59 RBIs.

1979 Topps #180, #265 and #685
1979 Topps Flashback:  This is the last meeting between these two teams in 2012, so here are the last three Brewers cards within the 1979 Topps set with Phillies connections.

Larry Hisle came up with the Phillies in 1968 and appeared in 314 games with the club between 1968 and 1971.  His production from a successful 1969 season (.266, 20 home runs, 56 RBIs) significantly tailed off the next two years and the Phils traded him away to the Dodgers following the 1971 season for Tommy Hutton.  Hisle spent 1972 with the Dodgers top farm club and then bounced from the Cardinals to the Twins prior to the 1973 campaign.  He found success in the American League, serving primarily as a DH for the Twins (1973-1977) and Brewers (1978-1982).

Don Money was Hisle's teammate first in Philly and then with the Brewers.  Originally a shortstop, the Phils moved him to third base to make room for rookie Larry Bowa in 1970.  He was dealt to the Brewers following the 1972 season to make room for rookie Mike Schmidt.  With the Brewers between  1973 and 1983, Money was named to four All-Star teams and he earned the nickname "Brooks" for his fine defense.  Over his 16-year career, he tallied 176 home runs.

Sixto Lezcano began his 12-year career playing in parts of seven seasons with the Brewers.  He was acquired by the Phillies from the Padres in August 1983 and he hit .308 in a losing effort for the Phillies against the Dodgers in that year's N.L.C.S.  He was the team's primary right fielder in 1984, hitting .277 with 14 home runs and 40 RBIs.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

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