Phillies Missing Links of the 1990s - #23 Torey Lovullo

#4
Salvatore Anthony Lovullo
Second Base-First Base

Currently in his first year as a major league manager for the Diamondbacks, Torey Lovullo's eight-year major league playing career came to a close with 17 uneventful games with the 1999 Phillies. An early September call-up along with Mike Grace and Cliff Politte, Lovullo had enjoyed a solid season with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons, hitting .279 over 139 games.  Starting five games at second base and twice at first base for the Phillies, he hit .211 (8 for 38) with a pair of home runs and five RBIs.

Lovullo departed as a free agent following the season and played 29 games in 2000 with the Yakult Swallows in Japan before calling it a career.  He began his coaching career in 2001 with Cleveland as a minor league infield coach.  In the majors, he has served as the first base coach for the Blue Jays (2011-2012) and as the bench coach for the Red Sox (2013-2016).  Lovullo filled in as the interim manager for the Red Sox over the final seven weeks of the 2015 season when John Farrell was undergoing treatment for lymphoma.  His 2017 Diamondbacks are currently one of the best teams in the National League.

Bats:  Both  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  185
Born:  July 25, 1965, Santa Monica, CA
Drafted:  Drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 5th round of the June 1987 amateur player draft.
Major League Teams:  Detroit Tigers 1988-1989; New York Yankees 1991; California Angels 1993; Seattle Mariners 1994; Oakland Athletics 1996; Cleveland Indians 1998; Phillies 1999
Professional Affiliations:  Detroit Tigers 1987-1990; New York Yankees 1991-1992; California Angels 1993; Seattle Mariners 1994; Cleveland Indians 1995; Oakland Athletics 1996; Montreal Expos 1997; Cleveland Indians 1997-1998; Phillies 1999; Yakult Swallows (Japan) 2000

Phillies Career
17 games, .211 (8 for 38), 2 home runs, 5 RBIs
Acquired:  Signed as a free agent formerly with the Cleveland Indians, November 5, 1998
Debut:  September 3, 1999 - Started at second and went 0 for 2 with a walk and run scored.
Final Game:  October 3, 1999
Departed:  Granted free agency, October 9, 1999.

1989 Donruss Rookies #17

1994 Topps #634

1996 Leaf Signature Series - Extended Autographs #113

1999 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons Team Issue #21

1 Lovullo Baseball Card in My Collection
First Card:  1999 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons Team Issue #21
Last Card:  1999 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons Team Issue #21

Other Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1989 Donruss Rookies #17
First Topps Base Card:  1994 Topps #634
Last Mainstream Card:  1996 Leaf Signature Series - Extended Autographs #113
Other Notable Cards:  1988 ProCards #923, 1989 Upper Deck #782, 1991 Bowman #175, 1992 Stadium Club #809, 2010 Choice Pawtucket Red Sox #28

Sources:  Baseball Reference and The Trading Card Database

Phillies Missing Links of the 1990s
1 Louie Meadows
2 Dave LaPoint
3 Darrin Chapin
4 Mickey Weston
5 Bob Wells
6 Tom Edens
7 Omar Olivares

8 Kevin Elster

9 Jim Deshaies

10 Chuck Ricci
11 Dennis Springer
12 Manny Martinez
13 Rafael Quirico
14 Bronson Heflin
15 Glenn Dishman
16 Rob Butler
17 Mike Robertson
18 Matt Whiteside
19 Robert Dodd
20 Joel Bennett
21 Joe Grahe
22 Domingo Cedeno
23 Torey Lovullo

This is a continuing series looking at those players who spent time with the Phillies but possess no baseball card proof of their time in Philadelphia.  In some cases, the First and Last Mainstream cards listed above have been subjectively chosen if multiple cards were released in that year.

1999 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons Team Issue #21 Torey Lovullo

Red Sox 7, Phillies 5
Game 135 - Friday Night, September 4th in Boston
Record - 53-82, 5th Place, 21 1/2 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies mounted a late comeback, but the Sox ultimately prevailed, 7-5.

What It Means:  I'll remember two bad/questionable plays from this game.

Freddy Galvis popped up a bunt for the first out of the seventh inning with runners at first and second.  And Ryan Howard , batting as the potential tying run in the top of the ninth inning, struck out on three pitches against the left-handed Robbie Ross, Jr.  Prior to that at-bat, Howard had been 13 for 95 (.137) against left-handed pitchers this season.

What Happened:  On the plus-side, Odubel Herrera and Aaron Altherr both had three hits, with Herrera hitting his 7th home run of the season in the ninth.

Featured Card:  Former short-time Phillie Torey Lovullo is the interim manager for the Red Sox these days as manager John Farrell has taken a medical leave of absence to undergo cancer treatment. (We certainly wish Farrell all the best and a quick recovery.)

Lovullo appeared in 17 games for the 1999 Phillies in his eighth and final season in the big leagues. No offense to Lovullo, but I honestly have no recollection at all of his time in red pinstripes.  His only Phillies-related baseball card in my collection is from the 1999 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons team set.

Virtual Phillies Wall Updates:  The Phillies added another player to their expanded roster yesterday, recalling outfielder Brian Bogusevic from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.  Bogusevic's services were needed as Domonic Brown headed back to Philadelphia where it was determined he suffered a concussion after tumbling into the Citi Field stands on Thursday night.  I also reshuffled some of the cards to reflect recent changes to the regular starters at several positions.

1999 Phillies - The Missing Links

2000 MLB Showdown 1st Edition #337, 1999 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons Team Issue #21 and #6,
1999 Multi-Ad Reading Phillies #6

I'm enjoying researching these Missing Links posts almost as much as I'm enjoying researching and composing my Topps Phillies series of posts.  I plan on continuing these posts through the 2000s, but with the caveat that I may need help as I move through that decade.  My baseball card collection from the '90s is much more comprehensive than what I currently own from the '00s.

But before we get to Y2K, here's a look at those members of the 1999 Phillies team with sparse to non-existent Phillies cardboard representation.  There were 41 different players to suit up with the Phils in 1999.

1999 Phillies Team
Issue #12

3 Cards or More
31 Players

2 Cards
Steve Montgomery (53 games in 1999) - 1999 Phillies Team Issue #57 and 2000 MLB Showdown 1st Edition #337
Tom Prince (4 games in 1999 and 46 games in 2000) - 1999 Phillies Team Issue #12 and 2000 Phillies Team Issue #22

This will sound very strange to all but a few of my readers, but I was beyond thrilled when I tracked down Montgomery's Phillies card from the MLB Showdown set.  It drove me batty that this guy appeared in so many games for the Phillies in 1999, yet he didn't have a proper (regular sized) baseball card.


1 Card

Steve Schrenk (32 games in 1999 and 20 games in 2000) - 2000 Phillies Team Issue #52

Scott Aldred (29 games in 1999 and 23 games in 2000) - 2000 Phillies Team Issue #30

Jim Poole (51 games in 1999) - 1999 Phillies Team Issue #41
Paul Spoljaric (5 games in 1999) - 1999 Phillies Team Issue #50

If not for the Phillies team issued postcard set, this quartet of relievers would have no Phillies baseball cards to their names.

1999 Phillies Team Issue #50 and #41

2000 Phillies Team Issue #52 and #30

0 Cards
Domingo Cedeno (32 games in 1999)
Torey Lovullo (17 games in 1999)
Joe Grahe (13 games in 1999)
Joel Bennett (5 games in 1999)

Cedeno never had a chance for a Phillies card as he falls into that black hole category of players acquired and released by the team within the same year.  He was acquired by the Phillies in early July from the Mariners as an emergency back-up for shortstop Alex Arias, who was forced into starting duties when Desi Relaford tore ligaments in his wrist.  Upon Relaford's return in September, Cedeno was unceremoniously released after posting a .152 average in 32 games.

1994 Topps #776

Lovullo was a September call-up for the Phillies.  He played the last of his 17 games in the Majors with the Phils, after enjoying seven seasons with the Tigers, Yankees, Angels, Mariners, A's and Indians.

Like Lovullo, Grahe was a veteran who had previously played in parts of six seasons with the Angels and Rockies.  He spent the 1999 season, his last in the Majors, between the Phillies and their Triple-A affiliate in Scranton.

Bennett was briefly forced into the starting rotation in May when Spoljaric was traded away to the Blue Jays in exchange for Robert Person.

Past Missing Link Posts

1990 Phillies - Louie Meadows

1991 Phillies - Dave LaPoint

1992 Phillies - Darrin Chapin and Mickey Weston

1993 Phillies - None

1994 Phillies - Tom Edens and Bob Wells

1995 Phillies - Jim Deshaies, Kevin Elster, Omar Olivares, Chuck Ricci and Dennis Springer

1996 Phillies - Glenn Dishman, Bronson Heflin, Manny Martinez and Rafael Quirico
1997 Phillies - Rob Butler and Mike Robertson
1998 Phillies - Robert Dodd and Matt Whiteside