The Tradition Continues! - 2023 First Phillie Winner

I surprised myself last week by deciding to buy a hobby box of Topps Series One, as I'm still riding the high of the Phillies being in the World Series and this is the first flagship set design in several years I really like.  As much as I enjoyed the 2022 Topps design, it was almost too plain for me and this year's design will definitely not be accused of that.  There's a lot going on here.

I appreciate that Topps recognizes a somewhat under appreciated tradition of having two photos - one action, one portrait - on the front of its flagship cards every 20 years in years ending in -3.  This started in 1963, came back in 1983, kept the tradition going in 2003 and makes its triumphant return in 2023.  Well done, Topps.  While I expect the 2043 Topps baseball cards to just be holograms we launch from our tricorders, hopefully the two photos on the front return for a fifth time in the sequence.

Since I've been opening packs of Topps flagship cards, we've had a family tradition of seeking the First Phillie of the year.  My Dad and I started the tradition in the early 1980s, I carried it through, some years by myself, through the early 2000s, and the practice has continued with my wife and sons since then.  On late Friday afternoon, not soon after the box had been delivered to the door, we selected our packs and commenced the search for the First Phillie of 2023.  There was some controversy this year as Doug pulled a league leaders card featuring Kyle Schwarber seconds before I found this Aaron Nola card in my first pack.  Ben quickly followed with the J.T. Realmuto card in his first pack.  Consulting the hallowed family First Phillie bylaws, I'm awarding First Phillie honors this year to myself, as the league leaders card doesn't quite count.

Yes, the fronts of these cards are busy.  Yes, there are a few too many design elements crammed on the bottom of the cards.  But I like them, and these seem to me what baseball cards should look like in the year 2023.  Our box had amazing collation, as we didn't have any doubles and we were just 14 cards short of a complete 330-card first series set.  There seemed to be way fewer inserts and parallels than in prior years, and I was completely fine with that.  My one continued gripe with Topps flagship is that I wish the checklist grouped subsets together.  League leaders and the combo card/checklists should be grouped sequentially and not dropped in randomly throughout the checklist.  

Revisiting a ranking of Topps flagship sets from the past 10 years, the 2023 Topps set, at least for now, finishes near the top.  I think I could flip flop the 2022 and 2019 designs in these rankings too:

Best Five:  2015, 2023, 2022, 2019, 2016

Bottom Five:  2018, 2014, 2021, 2017, 2020

Best - 2015 Topps #309

#2 - 2023 Topps #278

#3 - 2022 Topps #249

#4 - 2019 Topps #303

#5 - 2016 Topps #15

#6 - 2018 Topps #26

#7 - 2014 Topps #90

#8 - 2021 Topps #79

#9 - 2017 Topps #247

Worst - 2020 Topps #221

Past First Phillies

2010 Topps #300 Chase Utley

2011 Topps #242 Brad Lidge

2012 Topps #98 Domonic Brown

2013 Topps #6 Ryan Howard
2014 Topps #90 Ethan Martin
2015 Topps #309 Maikel Franco
2016 Topps #15 Ryan Howard
2017 Topps #247 Hector Neris
2018 Topps #26 Cesar Hernandez
2019 Topps #303 Ranger Suarez
2020 Topps #190 Aaron Nola

2021 Topps #79 Roman Quinn

2022 Topps #249 Zack Wheeler

2023 Topps #278 Aaron Nola

The First Phillie of 2020: A 10-Year Low

We opened our first packs of 2020 Topps on Saturday afternoon and I have one word to describe the design of this year's offering:  Messy.  While the photography used for the cards is great, the design itself is a major distraction with bars, lines and rectangles cluttering the card fronts.  Depending on the orientation of the photo, the player's name could appear on the right, left or bottom of the cards when thumbing through a stack.

My wife Jenna brought home three blaster boxes from Target, and as we opened the packs the consensus was that none of us liked the horizontal cards.  Which makes it fitting this year's First Phillie was a horizontal card - #190 Aaron Nola - as found in my son Doug's first pack of the year.  This is a set that won't look great in 9-pocket pages given that every other card is oriented in a different direction.  The backs of the cards are drab and unimpressive.

I'm also again bothered by the placement of "special" cards throughout the set, as Topps interrupts the flow of player card with Postseason cards, League Leader cards, team celebration cards or team cards.  I'd like these so much better if they were grouped together as subsets.

Ben was unimpressed

Doug just wanted the Trout card

And finally, and perhaps my final complaint, is that the Phillies primary logo has been altered by Topps here.  The bell should be blue and not white.  The correct logo was used on Phillies cards found within the 2019 Topps set, so why make the change for this year's cards?  Based on a gut reaction ranking, I'm bummed this is my least favorite design of the last ten years and I can't believe I'm already missing the imperfect design from 2019.

Also, I'm getting old.

Subjective, Unscientific Gut Reaction Topps Flagship Set Design Rankings (2011 to 2020), Best to Worst

Best - 2015 Topps #309

#2 - 2011 Topps #242

#3 - 2019 Topps #303

#4 - 2012 Topps #98

#5 - 2016 Topps #15

#6 - 2013 Topps #6

#7 - 2018 Topps #26

#8 - 2014 Topps #90

#9 - 2017 Topps #247

Worst - 2020 Topps #221

Past First Phillies

2010 Topps #300 Chase Utley

2011 Topps #242 Brad Lidge

2012 Topps #98 Domonic Brown

2013 Topps #6 Ryan Howard
2014 Topps #90 Ethan Martin
2015 Topps #309 Maikel Franco
2016 Topps #15 Ryan Howard
2017 Topps #247 Hector Neris
2018 Topps #26 Cesar Hernandez
2019 Topps #303 Ranger Suarez
2020 Topps #190 Aaron Nola

Annual Section 36 Package Arrives, Marking End of Winter

2018 Topps All-Star Game Factory Set #11

2018 Topps Big League Rainbow Foil #227

2018 Topps Big League Black & White #297

1987 Sportflics #123

2014 Topps Chrome Rookie Autographs Refractors #128

Like the groundhog emerging from its hole or the first sign of green leaves on the trees, the annual arrival of a box of baseball cards from Section 36 means that we've survived another winter and spring time is almost here.  Each year, Section 36 reduces its baseball card inventory by parting with cards from 10 years prior.  I was expecting the haul to be heavy with cards from 2009, but to my surprise most of the cards were from the past two years.  I think this is because the prior year packages had already featured quite a few cards from 2009, leaving more room for newer cards in this year's box.

I always enjoy receiving this package, flipping through the cards initially and then sorting them.  I couldn't help but notice Doug eyeing up a few cards as I first flipped through them, and sure enough there are a few cards that have already mysteriously disappeared and have already made their way into his Phillies binder.

Here are some other observations from this year's installment:

• The oldest card received was a 1987 Sportflics Juan Samuel card.  I remember when Sportflics first came out and thinking we were truly living in the future.  Cards that move?  What magical witchcraft is this?
• Curt Schilling, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt were heavily featured in this year's assortment of cards.
• Doug was a huge fan of the 2018 Topps Big League set, so numbered parallels from that set for Vince Velasquez and Nick Williams have already entered his collection.  His favorite autograph-seeking cards are the black and white parallels Topps puts out, so it's only a matter of time before he tracks down a new Williams' autograph.
• Manufactured "Patch" cards confuse me somewhat as an old school collector, but I think these are cool.
• I received a full 2018 Topps Phillies team set with a special foil All-Star Game stamp on the front.  These were available only with complete Topps factory sets and I'm always happy to add these quirky parallels to my collection.
• Finally, and what could be the first of many Bryce Harper cards sent to me from Section 36 over the next 13 years, I received a rare French text variation card of Harper's from the recently released 2019 Topps Heritage set.

2018 Topps Players Weekend Patches #PWP-RH

2019 Topps Heritage French Text #415

2019 Topps 150th Anniversary Manufactured Patches #AMP-RH

Another great package and all welcome editions to The Phillies Room archives!  A return package featuring nothing but Red Sox cards will soon be on its way to Section 36.

Memory Lane - Section 36 Purge

2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009 (Mostly in spirit only)

2017 - Mid-Year Surprise Package

Four More Ex-Phillies Move Along

2016 Chachi Departures #6

2016 Chachi Departures #7

2016 Chachi Departures #8

2016 Chachi Departures #9

While we were waiting for the Ken Giles trade to be officially announced, four other ex-Phillies moved on to new teams.  Each of these players recently signed minor league deals with their new teams.

Dustin McGowan (rhp) - McGowan joined the Phillies on opening day last season, and he'd appear in 14 games with the club, going 1-2 with a 6.94 ERA.  His sole Phillies card can be found within the second team issued photo card set, released in June.  McGowan will try to earn a spot in the Marlins bullpen in 2016.

Erik Kratz (c) - In his second stint with the Phils, Kratz made it into 12 games in September, hitting .227 with two RBIs.  He didn't appear on any new Phillies baseball cards this time around and he'll be heading to spring training with the Padres.

Ethan Martin (rhp) - Martin came to the Phillies from the Dodgers in the July 2012 Shane Victorino deal.  He pitched in 17 games for the club in 2013 and 2014, and missed the bulk of the past two seasons with shoulder ailments.  He appeared on a bunch of Major and minor league cards with the Phillies in 2013 and 2014, but he didn't receive any cards last year.  Martin signed a minor league deal with the Braves.

Sean O'Sullivan (rhp) - Finally, O'Sullivan, who had a horrible season with the Phillies (1-6, 6.08 ERA) signed a minor league contract with the Red Sox.  O'Sullivan had a card in the team's second series photo card set and actually made it into the Topps Update set with the Phillies.

Moving On - 2015-2016 Offseason

• Chase d'Arnaud - inf (10/9/15) - Outrighted off 40-man roster, elected free agency and signed as a minor league free agent the Atlanta Braves, 11/24/15.
• Justin De Fratus - rhp (10/9/15) - Outrighted off 40-man roster, elected free agency and signed with the Seattle Mariners, 12/2/15.
• Erik Kratz - c (10/9/15) - Outrighted off 40-man roster, elected free agency and signed as a minor league free agent with the San Diego Padres, 11/8/15.
• Sean O'Sullivan - rhp (10/9/15) - Elected free agency and signed as a minor league free agent with the Boston Red Sox, 12/11/15.
• Kevin Correia - rhp (10/10/15) - Elected free agency.
• Adam Loewen - lhp (10/10/15) - Outrighted off 40-man roster, elected free agency and signed as a minor league free agent with the Arizona Diamondbacks, 11/7/15.
• Dustin McGowan - rhp (10/10/15) - Elected free agency and signed as a minor league free agent with the Miami Marlins, 12/10/15.
• Seth Rosin - rhp (10/10/15) - Elected free agency.
• Brian Bogusevic (10/26/15) - Outrighted off 40-man roster, elected free agency and signed with the Orix Buffaloes of the Japanese Pacific League, 12/9/15.
• Domonic Brown (10/26/15) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency.
• Chad Billingsley - rhp (11/2/15) - Elected free agency.
• Jeff Francoeur - of (11/2/15) - Elected free agency.
• Aaron Harang - rhp (11/2/15) - Elected free agency.
• Jerome Williams - rhp (11/2/15) - Elected free agency.
• Cliff Lee - lhp (11/2/15) - Team option declined and elected free agency.
• Jordan Danks - of (11/6/15) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency.
• Ethan Martin - rhp (11/6/15) - Elected free agency and signed as a minor league free agent with the Atlanta Braves, 12/11/15.
• Jonathan Pettibone - rhp (11/6/15) - Elected free agency.
• Nefi Ogando - rhp (12/2/15) - Claimed off waivers by the Miami Marlins.
• Ken Giles - rhp (12/12/15) - Traded with Jonathan Arauz to the Houston Astros for Mark Appel, Harold Arauz, Thomas Eshelman, Brett Oberholtzer and Vincent Velasquez.

New Additions - 2015-2016 Offseason

• Dan Otero - rhp (11/3/15) - Claimed off waivers from the Oakland Athletics. (Designated for assignment 12/12/15)
• Jeremy Hellickson - rhp (11/14/15) - Acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks for Sam McWilliams.
• A.J. Achter - rhp (11/20/15) - Claimed off waivers from the Minnesota Twins. (Designated for assignment 12/12/15)
• Michael Mariot - rhp (11/30/15) - Claimed off waivers from the Kansas City Royals.
• Peter Bourjos - of (12/2/15) - Claimed off waivers from the St. Louis Cardinals.
• David Hernandez - rhp (12/9/15) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
• Tyler Goeddel - of (12/10/15) - Selected from the Tampa Bay Rays in the Rule 5 draft.
• Daniel Stumpf - lhp (12/10/15) - Selected from the Kansas City Royals in the Rule 5 draft.
• Charlie Morton - rhp (12/12/15) - Acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates for David Whitehead.
• Brett Oberholtzer - lhp and Vincent Velasquez - rhp (12/12/15) - Acquired with Mark Appel, Harold Arauz and Thomas Eshelman from the Houston Astros for Ken Giles and Jonathan Arauz.

Final Look at 2014-2015 Phillies Transactions

2015 Chachi Almost #7

2015 Chachi Almost #13

2015 Chachi Almost #14

It's been an active year in terms of Phillies player movement, and I have a sneaky suspicion that this coming year will bring another boatload of moves.  As we get ready to mercifully close the books on the 2015 season I wanted to feature the final Chachi Almost cards of the five pitchers who spent all or most of the season on the disabled list and never got a chance to join the official Chachi set.

Jonathan Pettibone and Cliff Lee missed the entire 2015 season due to injury, and it's unlikely that Lee will ever pitch again.

Ethan Martin and Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez, both with the Phillies at points during the 2014 season, also both battled back from injuries.  Martin has been pitching with the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils while Gonzalez was crushed in two starts for the Triple-A Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs.

2015 Chachi Almost #11

2015 Chachi Almost #12

Finally, the recently acquired Matt Harrison made three starts for the Rangers before moving to the Phillies in the Cole Hamels deal.  His bad back led to an early end to his 2015 season and hopefully we'll see him in Clearwater in 2016.

Here also is the final listing of offseason and in season player moves for your 2015 Philadelphia Phillies.

Moving On - 2014-2015 Offseason

• Reid Brignac (10/2/14) - Elected free agency and signed with the Miami Marlins organization, 11/19/14.
• Jeremy Horst (10/2/14) - Elected free agency and signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, 1/27/15.
• Jeff Manship (10/2/14) - Elected free agency and signed with the Cleveland Indians organization, 12/24/14.
• Tony Gwynn, Jr. (10/10/14) - Outrighted off the 40-man roster.  Elected free agency and signed with the Washington Nationals organization, 3/2/15.
• B.J. Rosenberg (10/27/14) - Outrighted off the 40-man roster.  Elected free agency and signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, 2/7/15.
• Mike Adams (10/30/14) - Team option declined, making him a free agent and signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, 3/1/15.
• Kyle Kendrick (10/30/14) - Elected free agency and signed with the Colorado Rockies, 2/4/15.
• Wil Nieves (10/30/14) - Elected free agency and signed with the San Diego Padres organization, 2/3/15.
• A.J. Burnett (11/3/14) - Declined option for 2015.  Elected free agency and signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates, 11/14/14.
• Brad Lincoln (11/4/14) - Elected free agency and signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, 11/18/14.
• Antonio Bastardo (12/10/14) - Traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Joely Rodriguez.
• Jimmy Rollins (12/19/14) - Traded with cash to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Tom Windle and Zach Eflin.
• Marlon Byrd (12/31/14) - Traded with cash to the Cincinnati Reds for Ben Lively.

Coming Back - 2014-2015 Offseason

• Andres Blanco (11/13/14) - Signed to a minor league contract and invited to spring training.
• Sean O'Sullivan (12/16/14) - Signed to a minor league contract and invited to spring training.

New Additions - 2014-2015 Offseason

• Brian Bogusevic (10/22/14) - Signed as a minor league free agent formerly with the Miami Marlins organization.
• Jeff Francoeur (11/11/14) - Signed as a minor league free agent formerly with the San Diego Padres.
• Elvis Araujo (11/13/14) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the Cleveland Indians organization.
• Chase d'Arnaud (11/13/14) - Signed as a minor league free agent formerly with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
• Odubel Herrera (12/11/14) - Selected in the annual Rule 5 draft from the Texas Rangers.
• Aaron Harang (1/5/15) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the Atlanta Braves.
• Jeanmar Gomez (1/8/15) - Signed as a minor league free agent formerly with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
• Jordan Danks (1/16/15) - Claimed off waivers from the Chicago White Sox.
• Chad Billingsley (1/29/15) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
• Dustin McGowan (4/5/15) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Departed During the 2015 Season

• Grady Sizemore (6/1/15) - Released and signed with the Tampa Bay Rays organization on 6/15/15.
• Phillippe Aumont (6/24/15) - Designated for assignment and elected free agency.  Signed with the Toronto Blue Jays organization on 7/24/15.
• Jonathan Papelbon (7/28/15) - Traded with cash considerations to the Washington Nationals for Nick Pivetta.
• Cole Hamels and Jake Diekman (7/31/15) - Traded with cash considerations to the Texas Rangers for Matt Harrison, Nick Williams, Jorge Alfaro, Jake Thompson, Jerad Eickhoff and Alec Asher.
• Ben Revere (7/31/15) - Traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for Jimmy Cordero and Alberto Tirado.
• Chase Utley (8/19/15) - Traded with cash considerations to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Darnell Sweeney and John Richy.
• Cesar Jimenez (8/21/15) - Claimed off waivers by the Milwaukee Brewers.

Arrived During the 2015 Season

• Kevin Correia (6/8/15) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the San Francisco Giants organization.
• Dalier Hinojosa (7/15/15) - Claimed off waivers from the Boston Red Sox.
• Erik Kratz (7/17/15) - Signed as a minor league free agent formerly with the Seattle Mariners organization.
• Jerad Eickhoff  and Alec Asher (7/31/15) - Acquired with Matt Harrison, Nick Williams, Jorge Alfaro and Jake Thompson from the Texas Rangers for Cole Hamels, Jake Diekman and cash considerations.
• Darnell Sweeney (8/19/15) - Acquired with John Richy from the Los Angeles Dodgers for Chase Utley and cash considerations.
• Ken Roberts (8/30/15) - Claimed off waivers from the Colorado Rockies.

Memory Lane

2011-2012 Offseason Moves
2012 In-Season Transactions
2012-2013 Offseason Moves
2013 In-Season Transactions
2013-2014 Phillies Transactions

2014 Chachi #48 Ethan Martin

#49

Ethan Cash Martin

Relief Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  220

Born:  June 6, 1989, Athens, GA

Home:  Toccoa, GA

Drafted:  Selected by the Dodgers in the 1st round of the June 2008 draft

Teams:  Phillies 2013-

Acquired:  Acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers with Josh Lindblom and a player to be named later (Stefan Jarrin) for Shane Victorino, July 31, 2012

Phillies Cards in My Collection:

#1 - 2013 Bowman Chrome Cream of the Crop Mini Refractors #CC-PP3

#10 - 2014 Topps Archives #112

I also have four minor league cards of Martin in my collection.

First Chachi Card:  2013 Chachi #54

2013 Topps Heritage Minor League #67 Ethan Martin

Blue Jays 7, Phillies 5
Spring Training Game 2 - Thursday Afternoon, February 27th in Dunedin
Record - 0-2

One Sentence Summary:  Home runs from Darin Ruf and John Mayberry, Jr. weren't enough to overcome the Blue Jays and the hot bat of Jose Bautista as the Phillies lost, 7-5.

What It Means:  Ruf and Mayberry are seemingly both competing for roster spots, and both delivered an impressive performance in this game.  But it's still very, very early.

What Happened:  Cliff Lee made his spring debut and allowed a run while striking out three in his two innings of work.  Ethan Martin got roughed up in the fifth and left the game with shoulder discomfort after not retiring a batter.  Ben Revere had a three-hit day.

Featured Card:  Topps revealed the final checklist for the 2014 Topps Heritage set yesterday, and I'm extremely excited for the set's release.  Compared to the tame 1964 Topps design, pictured here on Martin's Topps Heritage Minor League card from last year, the 1965 Topps design is much more exciting, colorful and just plain groovy.

Based on the official 2014 Topps Heritage checklist, Martin will share a Rookie Star card with catcher Cameron Rupp.

It's also timely that I'm sharing an IronPigs card in this post, as the team recently announced it will wear an alternate hat this year featuring a cartoon rendering of bacon.  Yes, you read that sentence correctly.

The First Phillie of 2014

2014 Topps #90

First off, my wife rocks.

I mentioned to Jenna that it looked as if the 2014 Topps cards were out a few nights ago, as I was going through my nightly blog reading list.  She filed that information away and had a stack of various 2014 Topps packs waiting for me when I arrived home from work on Wednesday night.  She bought a few loose packs, a rack pack and one of those mini-blaster boxes from Target to make sure I had some variety in my pack opening.  I'm a lucky man.

Before tearing into the packs, I explained to my seven-year-old son Doug the concept of the annual "First Phillie."  My Dad and I would buy our first new packs of the year from Wawa and then simultaneously open the packs until one of us announced we had received the first Phillies card of the year.  It was a little silly, but it was fun and if I thought about it long enough I could probably recollect most of the First Phillies from the past thirty-plus years.

I let Doug open the first three packs until he came across the First Phillie, wanting him to have the honor this year.  The card seen here wins the award this year, even though Doug's initial reaction to finding an Ethan Martin card was, "Well I've never even heard of this guy."  As proof that the photo-selection team at Topps has pretty good taste, they used the same exact photo of Martin on this card that I used for his 2013 Chachi card.

* * *

The design of this year's Topps cards is decent, but it's not enough to make me want to go out and buy a bunch more of the stuff.  The card fronts are actually brighter than I thought they would be, and the player's position returns for the first time since 2011.  For the third year in a row the backs of the cards are very plain.  I've already decided to track down a Phillies team set from eBay and save my pack-buying money for Topps Heritage when it comes out next month.

Past First Phillies

2010 Topps #300 Chase Utley

2011 Topps #242 Brad Lidge

2012 Topps #98 Domonic Brown

2013 Topps #6 Ryan Howard

2013 Chachi #54 Ethan Martin

#49

Ethan Cash Martin

Starting Pitcher

Bats: Right  Throws: Right  Height: 6'2"  Weight: 195

Born: June 6, 1989, Athens, GA

Home: Toccoa, GA

Drafted: Selected by the Dodgers in the 1st round of the June 2008 draft

Teams: Phillies 2013

Acquired: Acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers with Josh Lindblom and a player to be named later (Stefan Jarrin) for Shane Victorino, July 31, 2012

Contract Status: Pre-arbitration eligible