1993 Medford Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

Number of Cards:  45
Card Size:  4" x 6"

Description:  For the fifth year in a row, the card fronts feature a photo with the player's, coach's or manager's name in a red band with white text.  The card backs feature biographical information along with complete career statistics.  Medford Food Company was in the third year of its sponsorship of the set.  Size-wise, the cards lost an eighth of an inch with this set, settling into the 4" x 6" size that has been used for each team-issued photo card set produced by the Phillies as of this writing.

I always thought this was one of the weakest of the team issued sets from the 1990s, and it's a shame since the 1993 squad is really the only team from the 1990s worth remembering.  Some of the cards suffer from strange cropping, dark backgrounds and/or blurry photos.

How Distributed:  As originally detailed in this post from March 2013, the original 35-card set was available for sale at Veterans Stadium through at least early August.  A five-card update set was available for sale at some point during the second half of the season.  A second 36-card set was sold at the ballpark late in the season which included a Bobby Thigpen card and four photo variations of players included within the original 35-card set.  This second set would have been sold at The Vet at some point after Thigpen's acquisition from the White Sox on August 10th.

Complete Set Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here alphabetically with uniform number and position from the front of cards): 

1. Kyle Abbott (#37 - LHP) 2. Ruben Amaro (#33 - OF) 3. Larry Andersen (#47 - RHP) 4. Bob Ayrault (#53 - RHP) 5. Kim Batiste (#5 - INF) 6. Juan Bell (#24 - INF) 7. Larry Bowa (#2 - Third Base Coach) 8. Wes Chamberlain (#44 - OF) 9. Darren Daulton (#10 - C) 10. Jose DeLeon (#50 - RHP) 11. Mariano Duncan (#7 - INF) 12. Lenny Dykstra (#4 - OF)

13. Jim Eisenreich (#8 - OF) 14. Jim Fregosi (#11 - MG) 15. Tyler Green (#28 - RHP) 16. Tommy Greene (#49 - RHP) 17. Dave Hollins (#15 - INF) 18. Pete Incaviglia (#22 - OF) 19. Danny Jackson (#27 - LHP) 20. Ricky Jordan (#17 - 1B) 21. John Kruk (#29 - 1B-OF) 22. Denis Menke (#14 - Hitting Instructor) 23. Mickey Morandini (#12 - INF) 24. Terry Mulholland (#45 - LHP)

25. Johnny Podres (#46 - Pitching Coach) 26. Todd Pratt (#23 - C) 27. Ben Rivera (#34 - RHP) 28. Mel Roberts (#26 - First Base Coach) 29. Mike Ryan (#9 - Bullpen Coach) 30. Curt Schilling (#38 - RHP) 31. Milt Thompson (#25 - OF) 32. John Vukovich (#18 - Dugout Assistant) 33. David West (#40 - LHP) 34. Mitch Williams (#99 - LHP) 35. Phillie Phanatic

Complete First Update Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here alphabetically with uniform number and position from the front of cards):

1. Jeff Manto (#30 - INF-C) 2. Roger Mason (#48 - RHP) 3. Kevin Stocker (#19 - INF)

4. Mike Williams (#41 - RHP)          5. 1993 Phillies All-Stars

Complete Second Update Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here alphabetically with uniform number and position from the front of cards):

1. Darren Daulton (dugout background) 2. Tommy Greene (dugout background) 3. Mickey Morandini (dugout background)

4. Bobby Thigpen (#37 - RHP) 5. Mitch Williams (bright background)

One and Only Phillies Baseball Card (0):  N/A

First Appearance in Phillies Team Issued Set (13):  Bell, DeLeon, Eisenreich, Green, Incaviglia, Jackson, Manto, Mason, Pratt, Stocker, Thigpen, West, Mike Williams
Returning Players in Phillies Team Issued Set (23):  Abbott, Amaro, Andersen, Ayrault, Batiste, Chamberlain, Daulton (x 2), Duncan, Dykstra, Greene (x 2), Hollins, Jordan, Kruk, Morandini (x 2), Mulholland, Rivera, Schilling, Thompson, Mitch Williams (x 2)

Manager (1):  Fregosi
Coaches (6):  Bowa, Menke, Podres, Roberts, Ryan, Vukovich

Phillie Phanatic (1):  The Phanatic is shown walking on the field with the green and black Veterans Stadium outfield wall behind him.

Broadcasters (0):  N/A
Other Cards (1):  1993 Phillies All-Stars, featuring Mulholland, Daulton, Fregosi, Kruk and Hollins.

Set Composition:  The original 35-card set includes the entire 25-man opening day roster and adds cards for Kyle Abbott and Ruben Amaro.  Amaro would be called up in mid-June, but Abbott would spend the entire season pitching in the minors.  The four players added to the first update set first appeared with the Phillies between mid-May and early July, with Kevin Stocker being the newest member of the bunch having been recalled on July 7th.

As mentioned above, the second update set only included one new player - Bobby Thigpen.  The reliever was acquired from the White Sox on August 10th in exchange for Jose DeLeon.

Omissions:  Early season roster additions who could have made an appearance in the first update set include Mark Davis, Doug Lindsey, Tim Mauser and Joe Millette.  All spent time with the club prior to Stocker's debut.  Joining the club prior to Thigpen's acquisition, but omitted from the second update set was Paul Fletcher, but he pitched in just one game.  September additions left out entirely were Tony Longmire, Donn Pall, Kevin Foster and Brad Brink.

Variations/Rarities:   Comments on earlier posts and e-mails from fellow collectors have led me to the six cards listed below, which I'm calling Non-Set Variations.  How and why these cards were created and issued is still unknown to me, although it's possible the Mike Schmidt card was created for the Annual Phillies ALS Charity Event, held on August 2nd.  Then again, the card comes with a printed black facsimile autograph, so it's doubtful it would have been created for Schmidt to add his actual signature.

Dale Murphy was released by the Phillies on April 3, 1993.  I originally thought the Davis and Mauser cards would have been created for the ALS event, but Davis was released on July 2nd and Mauser was traded to the Padres for Mason on July 3rd, a month before the cards would have been needed had both players still been with the team.

Non-Set Cards 1. Mark Davis 2. Tim Mauser 3. Dale Murphy

4. Dickie Noles (Blue Cross Blue Shield logo on back)   5. Mike Schmidt (with black facsimile autograph) 6. Kevin Stocker (running)

Also See:  1993 Topps Phillies; 1993 Medford Phillies Variations (March 2013) and Update (April 2013)

Resources:  Beckett.com; Phillies collector Rick (@rickphils)

This set was originally featured in a post back in November 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.

1992 Medford Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards / 1994 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

1980-1999 Phillies Team-Issued Photo Cards Want List / Phillies Team Issued Sets Index Page

Series Preview - Diamondbacks at Phillies: August 26th to August 29th

2021 Chachi Fan Favorites #10

2021 Chachi 1986 Topps Missing Links #8

Thursday and Friday 7:05, Saturday 6:05 and Sunday 1:05
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

At the Ballpark:  On Saturday, all kids 14 and under will receive a pair of Richman's Ice Cream Phillies sunglasses.  And on Sunday, all kids will receive a back-to-school Phillies gym bag presented by Fante's Plumbing, Heating & Air.

Diamondbacks 43-85
5th Place in the N.L. West, 40 games behind the Giants

Diamondbacks Probables
Zac Gallen (1-7, 4.59)
Taylor Widener (2-1, 4.34)
Humberto Mejia (0-0, 3.60)
Madison Bumgarner (7-8, 4.17)

Diamondbacks Leaders
Average:  Josh Rojas - .279
Runs:  Pavin Smith - 57
Home Runs:  Eduardo Escobar - 22
RBIs:  Eduardo Escobar - 65
Stolen Bases:  Nick Ahmed and Josh Rojas - 7

Wins:  Madison Bumgarner and Merrill Kelly - 7
ERA:  Merrill Kelly - 4.30

Strikeouts:  Merrill Kelly - 118
Saves:  Joakim Soria - 6

Phillies 63-63
2nd Place in the N.L. East, 5 games behind the Braves

Phillies Probables
Zach Eflin (4-7, 4.17)
Aaron Nola (7-7, 4.33)
Kyle Gibson (3-2, 3.77)
Ranger Suarez (5-4, 1.46)

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Bryce Harper - .293
Runs:  Bryce Harper - 72
Home Runs:  Rhys Hoskins - 27
RBIs:  Rhys Hoskins - 71
Stolen Bases:  Bryce Harper - 12

Wins:  Zack Wheeler - 10
ERA:  Zack Wheeler - 2.90
Strikeouts:  Zack Wheeler - 204
Saves:  Hector Neris - 12

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

1991 Medford Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

Number of Cards:  46
Card Size:  4 1/8" x 6"
Description:  For the third year in a row, the card fronts feature an action photo with the player's, coach's or manager's name in a red band with white text.  The card backs feature biographical information along with complete career statistics.  Medford Food Company took over sponsorship of the set in 1991, and they'd sponsor the set for the next two years.

How Distributed:  The original 35-card base set was available for sale at Veterans Stadium throughout the 1991 season.  Details vary as to how the 11-card update series was originally distributed.  The 2001 Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards describes two updates being issued.  The first update being the three card highlight set featuring white bordered cards for Tommy Greene, Terry Mulholland and Dale Murphy.  Mulholland's card celebrates his no-hitter from August 15, 1990, while Greene's celebrates his no-hitter from May 23, 1991.  Murphy's card commemorates his 2,000th hit on May 29, 1991.

The second update, according to the Catalog, contained eight cards and featured new manager Jim Fregosi, the Phillie Phanatic and six new Phillies players.  I have no recollection of purchasing two separate update sets at the Vet during the 1991 season, but my memory is admittedly starting to get a bit foggy.  The second update would not have been released before July 15th, the day Steve Searcy was acquired from the Tigers, and not after July 31st, the day Mike Hartley was acquired from the Dodgers.  Searcy is in the set while Hartley is not. 

Complete Standard Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here alphabetically with uniform number from the front of cards): 

1. Darrel Akerfelds (#35) 2. Andy Ashby (#40) 3. Wally Backman (#6)         4. Joe Boever (#30) 5. Rod Booker (#37) 6. Larry Bowa CO (#2) 7. Sil Campusano (#11) 8. Wes Chamberlain (#31)           9. Pat Combs (#38) 10. Danny Cox (#34)      11. Darren Daulton (#10) 12. Jose DeJesus (#54)

13. Lenny Dykstra (#4)    14. Darrin Fletcher (#24) 15. Tommy Greene (#49) 16. Jason Grimsley (#48) 17. Charlie Hayes (#8) 18. Von Hayes (#9) 19. Dave Hollins (#15) 20. Ken Howell (#43) 21. Ricky Jordan (#17) 22. John Kruk (#29) 23. Steve Lake (#25) 24. Hal Lanier CO (#22)

25. Tim Mauser (#52) 26. Roger McDowell (#13) 27. Denis Menke CO (#14) 28. Mickey Morandini (#12) 29. John Morris (#33) 30. Terry Mulholland (#45) 31. Dale Murphy (#3) 32. Johnny Podres CO (#46) 33. Randy Ready (#23) 34. Dickie Thon (#21) 35. John Vukovich CO (#18)

Complete Update Checklist, 2nd Version: 

1. Jim Fregosi MG (#11)           2. Ron Jones (#26) 3. Jim Lindeman (#55) 4. Wally Ritchie (#39)

5. Bruce Ruffin (#47) 6. Steve Searcy (#50) 7. Mitch Williams (#28) 8. Tommy Greene - No-Hitter

9. Terry Mulholland - No-Hitter 10. Dale Murphy - 2,000th Hit 11. Phillie Phanatic

One and Only Phillies Baseball Card (0)

First Appearance in Phillies Team Issued Set (9):  Backman, Chamberlain, Cox, Fletcher, Lindeman, Mauser, Morris, Searcy, Williams
Returning Players in Phillies Team Issued Set (27):  Akerfelds, Ashby, Boever, Booker, Campusano, Combs, Daulton, DeJesus, Dykstra, Greene, Grimsley, C. Hayes, V. Hayes, Hollins, Howell, Jones, Jordan, Kruk, Lake, McDowell, Morandini, Mulholland, Murphy, Ready, Ritchie, Ruffin, Thon

Jim Lindeman's uniform number is listed as #55, which is the number he wore during spring training.  He switched to #19 before the season started, taking the number most recently occupied before him by John Kruk.  Sil Campusano attended spring training wearing #11 and started the season on the disabled list.  When Fregosi was hired and took #11, Campusano switched to #16, the former number of departed manager Nick Leyva.

Manager (1):  Fregosi
Coaches (5):  Bowa, Lanier, Menke, Podres, Vukovich

Phillie Phanatic (1):  The Phanatic is shown posing while sitting on his ATV.
Broadcasters (0):  If a broadcaster card had been issued at the start of the season, it would have featured future manager Fregosi as he had recently joined the broadcast team.
Commemorative Cards (3):  Greene, Mulholland, Murphy

Surprises:  I find it strange all the coaches received cards in the first set, but the manager at the beginning of the season (Leyva) was omitted.  Leyva was fired on April 23rd, so my guess is the original 35-card set wasn't finalized until after his departure.  Or the first series originally contained 36 cards and the Leyva card was pulled after his firing.

Omissions:  Every Phillies player from opening day through July 31st has a card in this set except for Dave LaPoint, Rick Schu and Amalio Carreno.  LaPoint made the opening day roster but was released on April 23rd, the same day Leyva was dismissed.  Schu had a brief reunion with his original club, and he was on the active roster between May 28th and June 19th.  He was brought back up on August 28th and stayed with the team the rest of the season.  Carreno was recalled on July 2nd and sent back down on July 15th.  Ken Howell and Steve Ontiveros both spent the entire season on the disabled list and while Howell received a card in the set, Ontiveros did not.

Variations/Rarities:  As fellow collector Rick pointed out in a comment to the original post for this set, six additional cards were issued for former Phillies who were guests at the annual ALS Phillies Phestival.  These cards have only a red Phillies logo and a 1991 copyright on the backs, with no Medford logo. 

ALS Autograph Party      1. Harry Anderson           2. Gene Garber

3. Maje McDonnell CO           4. Ron Reed

5. Eddie Sawyer MG 6. Curt Simmons

Also See:  Scrapbook Sunday - August 12, 1991. Resources:  Phillies collector Rick (@rickphils). This set was originally featured in a post back in November 2014, and I'm going to slowly go through some of these team issued set posts and update them with new information learned (if any) over the past six years. 1990 Phillies Photo Cards / 1992 Medford Phillies Photo Cards 1980-1999 Phillies Team-Issued Photo Cards Want List / Phillies Team Issued Sets Index Page

Series Preview - Diamondbacks at Phillies: April 24th to April 26th

2018 Chachi Fan Favorites #16

2018 Chachi Fan Favorites #17

Tuesday and Wednesday 7:05, Thursday 1:05
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

Diamondbacks 15-6, 1st place in the N.L. West, 4 games ahead of the Dodgers
Phillies 14-7, 2nd place in the N.L. East, 1/2 game behind the Mets

Diamondbacks Probables:  Robbie Ray (2-0, 4.98), Zack Greinke (2-1, 4.13), Matt Koch (0-0, 1.13)
Phillies Probables:  Vince Velasquez (1-2, 3.80), Jake Arrieta (2-0, 2.04), Ben Lively (0-1, 4.64)

At the Ballpark:  It's Mystery Bobblehead night tonight if you've purchased a separate theme ticket, and tomorrow night is the second Dollar Dog Night.  The Phillies will wear their powder blue uniforms again on Sunday afternoon during the next Throwback Thursday.

Diamondbacks Leaders
Average:  David Peralta - .310
Runs:  Paul Goldschmidt - 16
Home Runs:  A.J. Pollock - 5
RBIs:  A.J. Pollack - 16
Stolen Bases:  A.J. Pollock - 5

Wins:  Patrick Corbin - 4
ERA:  Patrick Corbin - 1.89
Strikeouts:  Patrick Corbin - 48
Saves:  Brad Boxberger - 6

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Odubel Herrera - .329
Runs:  Cesar Hernandez and Rhys Hoskins - 15
Home Runs:  Rhys Hoskins - 4
RBIs:  Rhys Hoskins - 19
Stolen Bases:  Cesar Hernandez - 5

Wins:  Yacksel Rios - 3
ERA:  Aaron Nola - 2.30
Strikeouts:  Nick Pivetta - 28
Saves:  Hector Neris - 4

1992 Medford Phillies

I updated this post here in August 2023 and this original post is now outdated.

 
Number of Cards:  46
Card Size:  4 1/8" x 6"
Description:  For the fourth year in a row, the card fronts feature a photo with the player's, coach's or manager's name in a red band with white text.  The card backs feature biographical information along with complete career statistics.  Medford Food Company was in the second year of its sponsorship of the set.

In the spring of 1992, the new Phillies uniform were kept top secret and they didn't make their public debut until opening day.  The cards in this set feature portraits of all players, coaches and the manager in their new uniforms, and (in my opinion) this is one of the nicer team issued sets released by the Phillies.

How Distributed:  The original 36-card base set was available for sale at Veterans Stadium throughout the 1992 season.  The ten card update set was available for sale late in the season.

Complete Standard Checklist (36):  The cards are unnumbered, but I've presented them below ordered by uniform number.

2 - Larry Bowa CO 3 - Dale Murphy 4 - Lenny Dykstra 5 - Kim Batiste 6 - Wally Backman 7 - Mariano Duncan 8 - Dale Sveum 10 - Darren Daulton 11 - Jim Fregosi MG 12 - Mickey Morandini 14 - Denis Menke CO 15 - Dave Hollins 18 - John Vukovich CO 19 - Jim Lindeman 24 - Steve Searcy 25 - Mike Ryan CO 26 - Mel Roberts CO 28 - Mitch Williams

29 - John Kruk 30 - Steve Lake 33 - Ruben Amaro 34 - Danny Cox 38 - Curt Schilling 39 - Wally Ritchie 40 - Andy Ashby 44 - Wes Chamberlain 45 - Terry Mulholland 46 - Johnny Podres CO 47 - Kyle Abbott 49 - Tommy Greene 50 - Barry Jones 51 - Cliff Brantley Phillie Phanatic Phillies Team Veterans Stadium Uniforms Through the Years

Complete Update Checklist (10):

9 - Tom Marsh 17 - Ricky Jordan 21 - Pat Combs 23 - Brad Brink 34 - Ben Rivera

35 - Don Robinson 42 - Mike Hartley 45 - Terry Mulholland 48 - Jeff Grotewold 55 - Bob Ayrault

One and Done (1):  Robinson
First Appearances (13):  Abbott, Amaro, Ayrault, Batiste, Brantley, Duncan, Grotewold, Hartley, Jones, Marsh, Rivera, Schilling, Sveum
Returning Players (21):  Ashby, Backman, Brink, Chamberlain, Combs, Cox, Daulton, Dykstra, Greene, Hollins, Jordan, Kruk, Lake, Lindeman, Morandini, Mulholland (two versions), Murphy, Ritchie, Searcy, Williams

Don Robinson's eight game stint with the Phillies to wrap up his 15-year career is commemorated with his sole Phillies baseball card in the update set.  The First Appearance designation is for players who have never before appeared within a Phillies team issued set.  These players may have already appeared on other Phillies baseball cards.

Manager (1):  Fregosi
Coaches (6):  Bowa, Menke, Podres, Roberts, Ryan, Vukovich
Phillie Phanatic (1):  Like everyone else in the set, the Phanatic is posed in a studio setting, wearing his new uniform.
Broadcasters (0)
Commemorative Cards (0):  Uniforms Through the Years
Other Cards (2):  Phillies Team, Veterans Stadium

I've shown off the Uniforms Through the Years set in past posts (see the links below), and it's by far one of the coolest cards ever produced for the team issued sets.  Veterans Stadium gets its first card since the 1984 Tastykake Phillies set.

Variations/Rarities:  As Rick points out in his comment below, the Phillies issued the following cards at the annual ALS fund raising event (Phillies Phestival) for players and former players signing autographs.  Of particular interest to me are the cards of the four members of the 1992 squad who didn't have cards in the regular or update sets - Baller, Javier, Millette and Mike Williams.

Steve also commented that Maddox, Noles and Pratt cards are in his collection with a 1992 copyright.  These cards most likely also orginated from the ALS event.

Jay Baller - 1992 Phillies Stan Javier - 1992 Phillies Joe Millette - 1992 Phillies Todd Pratt - 1992 Phillies Mike Williams - 1992 Phillies Dick Allen - Phillies Alumni Steve Bedrosian - Phillies Alumni Dave Cash - Phillies Alumni Sparky Lyle - Phillies Alumni

Garry Maddox - Phillies Alumni Tug McGraw - Phillies Alumni Dickie Noles - Phillies Alumni Bobby Shantz - Phillies Alumni Joe Coleman, Jr. - Non-Phillie Joe Coleman, Sr. - Non-Phillie Joe Torre - Non-Phillie Elmer Valo - Philadelphia A's

Also See:  Scrapbook Sunday: April 7, 1992; Uniforms Through the Years
Trivia:  Mulholland appears twice in the set - once in the original 36-card set and again in the update set.  This of course is very odd and the additional card in the update set could have been used for Stan Javier, who had been acquired from the Dodgers on July 2nd.
Resources:  Beckett.com; Phillies collectors Rick (@rickphils) and Steve F.

Opening a Pack of 2013 Phungo from @phungo2008

2013 Phungo #42, #64, #45 and #33

I probably haven't purchased a pack of baseball cards since mid-summer and I recently got the itch to head to Target and pick up something to "rip" as the kids say these days.  Fortunately for me, and my wallet, a nice package arrived from Phungo World Headquarters just in time to curtail my trip down the card aisle.

The 2013 Phungo set release is a bit late this year, but that's fine with me.  Opening a pack of Phungo cards is well worth the wait, as there's usually a good mix of original product and vintage Phillies cards in each of the packs I've received in the past.  This year's pack definitely did not disappoint.

Featured at the top of this post are four of the original Phungo cards from my pack.  (I featured the Tommy Joseph card in a previous post.)  I absolutely love the Terry Mulholland card, as the former lefty has decided to grow a fantastic mane of gray hair.  And kudos to the Phungo photographer who captured the shot of GM Ruben Amaro, Jr. as he appears to be smugly congratulating himself for a move that probably didn't pan out.  (And I appreciate that the set's designer assigned Amaro #33, which is the number he wore during his first stint with the Phillies in 1992 and 1993.)

1959 Topps #253, 1966 Topps #121, 2002 Fleer Focus Jersey Edition #59 and 2003 Fleer Patchworks #71

And then there's the non-Phungo card portion of each Phungo pack of cards.  What are the chances that my pack would contain two vintage Phillies cards that I actually need for my collection?  The Seth Morehead and Ray Herbert cards both fill team set needs.  The same can be said for the more recently released Marlon Byrd and Mike Lieberthal cards, both of which come from an era not widely represented in my collection.

So thanks again to Phungo, and I'm definitely looking forward to the sixth edition of the set to be released in 2014!

Memory Lane
2012 and 2011 Phungo
2010 Phungo
2009 Phungo

1993 Medford Phillies Variations

1993 Medford Phillies #99 x 2

Faithful reader and frequent commenter Steve F. recently opened a collecting can of worms with regards to the 1993 Medford Phillies set, available for sale at the Vet during the wonderful 1993 season.  As he recounts in a comment in this post, he purchased a set of the cards at the recent Philly Baseball Card Show.  He found several variations in his newly purchased set not in the original set acquired from the Vet all those years ago.  But first let's go over what we already know about the set:

• The original, postcard-sized 35-card set was sponsored by Medford and sold at the Vet through at least early August.  I probably bought my set at a game over the summer when I was home from college.
• A 5-card update set was issued at the Vet at some point during the second half of the season.  If I recall correctly, these five cards were sold separately from the 35-card set for a buck.  I distinctly remember buying this update set for the sole purpose of obtaining this card, which featured the 1993 Phillies All-Star Game representatives:

So I've always known there was a total of 40 cards in the 1993 Medford Phillies set, despite what the good folks at Beckett say.  But here's where it gets interesting, and where Steve F.'s detective work comes into play.  His recently purchased 1993 Medford Phillies set contains 36 cards.  31 of the cards match up with cards found in the original 35-card set, but then there are five new cards:

1. Darren Daulton - dugout background
2. Tommy Greene - dugout background
3. Mickey Morandini - dugout background
4. Mitch Williams - bright background
5. Bobby Thigpen

As Thigpen was acquired from the White Sox on August 10th, these five cards would have been available at the Vet from mid-August through presumably the end of the World Series.  As Steve F. points out in his comment, to own a master set of 1993 Medford Phillies cards, 45 total cards are needed.

Which leads me to the Mitch Williams cards featured at the top of this post.  The card on the left is the Williams card from the original 35-card set.  The card on the right is autographed by Williams and it entered my collection at some point over the last 15 years.  (It was either given to me by a friend or it entered my/our collection when I got married and consolidated my wife's baseball card collection into mine.)  The backs of the cards are identical, featuring Williams' stats through the 1992 season and a 1993 copyright at the bottom.

I've always wondered what the Williams card on the right was and where it came from, and thanks to Steve F.'s comment I now realize I have one of the four variation cards from the 1993 Medford Phillies set.  That leaves four more cards to go for me in order to have a master set.

Thanks again Steve for shedding some light on this 20-year mystery!

1990-1999 Phillies

1993 Donruss Diamond Kings #DK-17, 1993 Upper Deck #485,
1994 Fleer Pro-Visions #1 and 1992 Donruss Diamond Kings #DK-12

I'll be honest here - going through these last few series of posts for Topps Phillies cards from the late '90s was not an enjoyable exercise.  I'm also very anxious to get through the first few years of the '00s and move into the post-2006 era of Topps Phillies baseball cards.  Before moving into Y2K, here's a look back at the Phillies of the '90s.

Decade MVP
Mike Schmidt was the easy choice for the decade MVP of the '70s and '80s, but I don't think it's as clear cut for the '90s.  From the offensive side, I narrowed it down to Darren Daulton, John Kruk or Lenny Dykstra before deciding that Dutch was the appropriate choice.  He's at the top of all the major statistical categories and he was the clear leader of the team throughout his time with the club, including the magical 1993 season.

Curt Schilling was far and away the best pitcher for the Phils during the decade.  But it's telling that both Daulton (in 2010) and Kruk (in 2011) were elected to the Phillies Wall of Fame before Schilling.  Schilling is on the ballot for induction this year, but as I told Phungo a few weeks ago, I'd like to see either Jim Konstanty or Rick Wise get in before the Big Schill.

1994 Donruss #373, 1992 Score #892, 1993 Score #526 and 1994 Ultra Phillies Finest #9

Leaders
Games - Mickey Morandini (874), Daulton (780), Kruk (663), Dykstra (644), Kevin Stocker (545)
Average* - Kruk (.306), Dykstra (.298), Gregg Jefferies (.287), Scott Rolen (.280), Morandini (.268)
Home Runs - Daulton (110), Rolen (82), Dave Hollins (67), Mike Lieberthal (67), Rico Brogna (64)
RBIs - Daulton (466), Kruk (352), Rolen (297), Brogna (287), Hollins (273)
Stolen Bases - Dykstra (152), Morandini (98), Doug Glanville (57), Jefferies (52), Bobby Abreu (46)

Games - Ricky Bottalico (234), Schilling (226), Mitch Williams (200), Wayne Gomes (181), Terry Mulholland (149), Toby Borland (149)
Wins - Schilling (95), Mulholland (58), Tommy Greene (36), Danny Jackson (26), Ben Rivera (23)
ERA** - Schilling (3.31), Jackson (3.53), Jose DeJesus (3.55), Mulholland (3.68), Greene (4.02)
Strikeouts - Schilling (1,458), Mulholland (510), Greene (429), Bottalico (280), Matt Beech (266)
Saves - Mitch Williams (102), Bottalico (75), Heathcliff Slocumb (32), Doug Jones (27), Roger McDowell (25)

*At least 1,700 ABs with the Phillies, completely subjective
** At least 300 IP, completely subjective

1990-1999 Topps
Total Phillies Players (1990-1999):  219.  There were 179 different Phillies in the '80s and 142 different Phillies in the '70s.
Total Phillies Players with Topps Phillies Cards:  105.  Only 36% of the players who suited up with the Phillies during the decade ended up on Phillies baseball cards between 1990 and 1999.  The success percentage was 63% in the '80s and 59% in the '70s.
Managers with Cards:  Nick Leyva (2 cards) and Jim Fregosi (3 cards).
Topps Phillies Cards of Non-Phillies:  5 cards - Jeff Jackson (1990), Chad McConnell (1993), Shane Pullen, Larry Wimberly and Rob Grable (all 1995).

1997 Topps Gallery #54, 1994 Pinnacle #159, 1991 Donruss Bonus Cards #BC-14, 1994 Triple Play #175

Card Statistics
Most Featured:  Schilling (10 cards), Daulton (9 cards), Dykstra (9 cards), Morandini (8 cards), Hollins (6 cards), Ricky Jordan (6 cards), Kruk (6 cards), Green (6 cards).

By comparison, Steve Carlton and Schmidt had the most Topps Phillies cards in the '80s with 26 each.

Most Games (Batter), No Phillies Topps Card:  Kevin Sefcik (325 games from 1995 through 1999), Alex Arias (174 games from 1998 and 1999), Mark Lewis (142 games in 1998), David Doster (138 games in 1996 and 1999), Todd Zeile (134 games in 1996), Mark Whiten (120 games in 1995 and 1996), Rob Ducey (104 games in 1999).

Sefcik and Ducey would have to wait until the 2001 Topps set for their first and only cards in a Topps base set.  While Arias, Lewis, Doster, Zeile and Whiten were never featured as Phillies within a Topps flagship set.

Most Games (Pitcher), No Phillies Topps Card:  Jerry Spradlin (145 games in 1997 and 1998), Larry Andersen (93 games in 1993 and 1994), Yorkis Perez (92 games in 1998 and 1999), Wally Ritchie (79 games in 1991 and 1992), Russ Springer (65 games in 1995 and 1996).

Andersen and Ritchie make the list because their tenure with the team in the '90s produced no Topps Phillies cards, but they appear within Topps sets in the '80s.  Andersen is in the 1985 and 1986 Topps sets, while Ritchie is in the 1987 Topps Traded and 1988 Topps sets.

1998 SP Authentic #153, 1998 Sports Illustrated Then and Now #128,
1998 Ultra #391 and 1997 Collector's Choice #192

The Phillies Topps 60
Here are the next ten cards in my checklist of the best 60 Topps Phillies cards since 1951.  By the time I'm done with this series of posts, I'm going to need to revamp this to the Topps 61.

41 - 1990 Topps #469 John Kruk
42 - 1991 Topps #345 Lenny Dykstra
43 - 1992 Topps #83 Tommy Greene
44 - 1993 Topps #235 Mitch Williams
45 - 1994 Topps #504 Jim Eisenreich
46 - 1995 Topps #2 Mickey Morandini
47 - 1996 Topps #85 Darren Daulton
48 - 1997 Topps #268 Scott Rolen
49 - 1998 Topps #94 Mike Lieberthal
50 - 1999 Topps #385 Curt Schilling

Cards That Never Were Series
This set is getting much bigger than I had originally anticipated, and I had to purposely cut back on the cards I'd include from the late '90s, in order to keep the latest batch of additions at 51.

141 - 1990 Topps Dale Murphy
142 - 1990 Topps Jose DeJesus
143 - 1990 Topps Sil Campusano
144 - 1991 Topps John Morris
145 - 1991 Topps Jim Lindeman
146 - 1991 Topps Wally Ritchie
147 - 1992 Topps Ben Rivera
148 - 1992 Topps Kyle Abbott
149 - 1992 Topps Jeff Grotewold
150 - 1992 Topps Juan Bell
151 - 1992 Topps Stan Javier
152 - 1992 Topps Don Robinson
153 - 1993 Topps Danny Jackson
154 - 1993 Topps Milt Thompson
155 - 1993 Topps Kevin Stocker
156 - 1993 Topps Jim Eisenreich
157 - 1993 Topps Larry Andersen
158 - 1994 Topps Coming Attractions Andy Carter
159 - 1994 Topps Billy Hatcher
160 - 1994 Topps Paul Quantrill
161 - 1994 Topps Fernando Valenzuela
162 - 1995 Topps Andy Van Slyke
163 - 1995 Topps Mark Whiten
164 - 1995 Topps Lenny Webster
165 - 1995 Topps Sid Fernandez
166 - 1995 Topps Gary Varsho
167 - 1996 Topps Benito Santiago
168 - 1996 Topps Todd Zeile
169 - 1996 Topps Ken Ryan
170 - 1996 Topps Toby Borland
171 - 1996 Topps Russ Springer
172 - 1997 Topps Terry Francona MG
173 - 1997 Topps Rico Brogna
174 - 1997 Topps Midre Cummings
175 - 1997 Topps Mark Leiter
176 - 1997 Topps Ruben Amaro, Jr.
177 - 1997 Topps Darren Daulton
178 - 1998 Topps Doug Glanville
179 - 1998 Topps Mark Lewis
180 - 1998 Topps Desi Relaford
181 - 1998 Topps Tyler Green
182 - 1998 Topps Mark Portugal
183 - 1998 Topps Yorkis Perez
184 - 1999 Topps Alex Arias
185 - 1999 Topps Marlon Anderson
186 - 1999 Topps Paul Byrd
187 - 1999 Topps Ron Gant
188 - 1999 Topps Kevin Jordan
189 - 1999 Topps Robert Person
190 - 1999 Topps David Doster
191 - 1999 Topps Kevin Sefcik

Links to the Past

1950-1959 Phillies

1960-1969 Phillies

1970-1979 Phillies

1980-1989 Phillies

1996 Phillies - The Missing Links

1994 Bowman #664, 1996 Leaf Signature Extended Autographs (#159),
1997 Pacific #381 and 1996 Fleer Update #U168

The mostly forgettable last-place 1996 Phillies fielded 54 different players during the season, and all but six of them appeared on a Phillies baseball card at some point.

3 Cards or More
40 Players

Jeff Parrett appeared on no Phillies cards during his second stint with the club in 1996, but I'm invoking the Dickie Noles rule given his appearance on a bunch of Phillies cards between 1989 and 1990.  The same goes for Terry Mulholland, but he actually appears on two cards (1996 Fleer Update and 1996 Phillies Team Issue) during his second stay with the Phils in 1996.

1996 Phillies Team Issue #43 and #54

2 Cards
Russ Springer (14 games in 1995 and 51 games in 1996) - 1996 Leaf Signature Extended Autographs (#190) and 1996 Phillies Team Issue #33
Larry Mitchell (7 games in 1996) - 1993 Stadium Club Murphy #39 and 1994 Bowman #664

Springer makes the list for the second year in a row, despite having appeared in almost a third of the team's games in 1996.  You'd think he would have somehow snuck into a 1997 Pacific or Score set along the way.

1 Card

Jon Zuber (30 games in 1996 and 38 games in 1998) - 1998 Phillies Team Issue #40 (Special Edition)

Steve Frey (9 games in 1995 and 31 games in 1996) - 1996 Phillies Team Issue #37
Mike Benjamin (35 games in 1996) - 1996 Phillies Team Issue #5
J.R. Phillips (35 games in 1996) - 1996 Leaf Signature Extended Autographs (#159)

Ricardo Jordan (26 games in 1996) - 1997 Pacific #381

Dave Leiper (26 games in 1996) - 1996 Phillies Team Issue #43
Carlos Crawford (1 game in 1996) - 1996 Phillies Team Issue #54

I've already featured Benjamin's sole Phillies card on the blog, the day after my second son was born.  Phillips had 12 hits during his tenure with the team, and 5 of those hits were home runs.  Former Phillie Ricky Jordan spent the season in the Mariners organization, but the Phils filled their R. Jordan quota by bringing aboard lefty reliever Ricardo Jordan.  Ricardo had a respectable 2-2 record and a 1.80 ERA in his 26 games with the club, but it still doesn't explain why Pacific chose to include him in their 1997 set over Springer.

I don't remember much about Leiper and I remember even less about Crawford.  It appears as if Crawford made an emergency start on June 7th, lasted less than 4 innings, picked up the loss and was optioned back to Scranton a few days later.  He'd never pitch in the Majors again.

1997 Best Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons #20, 1996 Stadium Club #401,
1996 Fleer Excel #203 and 1996 Best Reading Phillies #11

0 Cards
**Glenn Murray (38 games in 1996)
Manny Martinez (13 games in 1996)
Glenn Dishman (4 games in 1996)
Bronson Heflin (3 games in 1996)
Rafael Quirico (1 game in 1996)

How does Jon Zuber not have a Phillies card?  Seriously, did I miss something when reviewing my checklists?  Zuber was drafted by the Phillies in 1992 and he made his Major League debut on April 19, 1996.  In 68 games with the Phillies in 1996 and 1998, he hit .250 with 3 home runs and 16 RBIs.

UPDATE: Zuber has been moved up to the 1 Card section.  See the comment from reader Steve F. within the 1998 Missing Links post.

Not only are there no Phillies baseball cards of Murray and Martinez, but I don't have any Phillies-related baseball cards of either of those guys in my collection.  Murray appears within a 1996 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons team set that I don't have, and Martinez was shut out completely.  I find it interesting that Lee Tinsley played in 7 less games as a Phillie than Murray, yet Tinsley by my count is featured on three Phillies cards (1996 Ultra, 1996 Fleer Update and 1996 Phillies Team Issue).

Dishman was in the Phillies system for less than a month.  On September 12th, he was selected off waivers from the Padres and on October 3rd, he was selected by the Tigers off waivers from the Phils.  And if you could have picked Heflin and Quirico out of list of players who were former Phillies, I am equally impressed and frightened by your deep Phillies knowledge.

**UPDATE 2:  I now know that Murray has a card in the style of the 1996 Phillies Team Issue set that was issued either as a late season update or during the annual ALS Phillies Phestival.  Please see this post for further details.

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

1993 Topps Phillies

1993 Topps #180, #17, #340 and #740

I've been lucky enough so far to live through three golden ages of Phillies baseball - some longer than others.  The first golden age occurred from the late 1970s through the early 1980s when I was barely old enough (especially during the early years) to remember much of it.  We're in a golden age now which, beginning in 2007, has resulted in five consecutive division titles and one World Series title.  Sandwiched in between these two ages was a quick, I can't believe this is really happening, golden age.  In 1993, for 162 regular season games, 6 League Championship games, and 6 World Series games, the Phillies were one of the best teams in baseball.

It wasn't pretty, but we loved that team.  Harry Kalas famously referred to them as a lovable band of misfits and cast-offs and they gave us the last taste of the postseason for 14 long and sometimes painful years.

1993 Topps #17 (Back)

The Set

Number of cards in the set:  Topps stirred things up in 1993 by releasing its set in multiple series for the first time since 1972.  There are 396 cards in series one and another 429 cards in series two, for a total tally of 825 cards in the complete set.  Topps added their standard 132-card traded set but by this point, the traded set had lost all relevance to me.  Given the large amount of sets on the market produced by Topps, Fleer, Donruss, Score and Upper Deck, I already had access to Phillies cards of players acquired prior to the start of the season or even at the beginning of the season by the time the traded set rolled around.  So I wasn't that upset in 1993 when Topps made the decision to include only two Phillies within its traded series.

My very brief thoughts on the set:  I really liked these cards and unlike the 1992 Topps set, I actually hand collated the entire 825-card set.  For the second year in a row, the player's position isn't featured on the fronts of the cards, but I didn't seem to mind since I was very fond of the card front's overall design.  The backs of the cards have a vertical alignment for the first time since 1975 and there is a full-color player photo on the backs for the first time ever.

Notable competition:  I held down a few part-time jobs while in college and any money not spent on food or clothes or entertainment went to packs of Topps or Upper Deck cards.  Upper Deck produced a wonderful set in 1993 - probably the best set of its 21-year run.  In fact, it's one of the few non-Topps sets that I proudly display in 9-pocket pages in its own binder.  1993 was also the year that Donruss and Fleer continued their comebacks, producing very attractive sets.

1993 Topps #262, #371, #154 and 1993 Topps Traded #73T

1993 Phillies

Record and finish:  With a record of 97-65, the Phillies won their division for the first time since 1983, finishing three games ahead of the Montreal Expos.  They stunned the Atlanta Braves in the N.L.C.S., winning the series in six games, and they in turn were stunned by Joe Carter and the Toronto Blue Jays.  It seems a little silly now, but the events of October 23, 1993, were very traumatic to me at the time.

Key players:  The offense was paced by Darren Daulton (.257, 24 home runs, 105 RBIs), Dave Hollins (.273, 18 home runs, 93 RBIs), John Kruk (.316, 14 home runs, 85 RBIs) and Lenny Dykstra (.305, 19 home runs, 66 RBIs).  Supporting players such as Mariano Duncan, Milt Thompson, Jim Eisenreich and Pete Incaviglia played huge roles as well.  Curt Schilling and Tommy Greene led the pitching staff with 16 wins each, followed by Ben Rivera's 13 wins and Danny Jackson's and Terry Mulholland's 12 wins a piece.  It was the first time since 1932 that the team had five starting pitchers with 10 or more wins.  Closer Mitch Williams saved 43 games during the regular season, and unnecessarily shouldered complete blame for the World Series loss.  

Key events:  Prior to the start of the season, General Manager Lee Thomas cobbled together a group of cast-offs via free agency or trades to compliment the core line-up.  The acquisitions of Jackson, David West, Eisenreich, Incaviglia, Thompson and Larry Andersen had as much to do with the team's big season as the overall offensive output of Macho Row.  I could easily compose a multi-part post with all of the highlights from this wonderful season, but one highlight in particular has always been my favorite.  In July, following a lengthy rain delay, the Phils started the second game of a double header at 1:26 in the morning.  The game ended at 4:41 on a walk-off, 10th inning single from "Mitchy-Poo" Mitch Williams.

1993 Phillies in 1993 Topps

Cards needed for a complete team set:  There are 15 Phillies cards each in each series of the base set and only two more Phillies cards in the traded set.  The Phils got seriously shafted by Topps in '93.

Who’s in:

• Cards of the eight starting position players - 5 cards

#180 Darren Daulton (c), #340 John Kruk (1b), #262 Mickey Morandini (2b), #17 Dave Hollins (3b), #740 Lenny Dykstra (cf)

I'm basing this starting line-up on starts by position.  Mariano Duncan played in 124 games, but he jumped around between second and third.  Kevin Stocker joined the team too late in the season to be featured in the traded series, although he did appear in the Stadium Club set.  Left fielder Thompson was completely omitted from the set, despite having played in 109 games for the Cardinals in 1992.  Eisenreich was featured with the Royals in the base set and he didn't get a card in the traded set. 

• Cards of the starting pitching rotation - 4 cards

#421 Curt Schilling, #291 Tommy Greene, #555 Terry Mulholland, #622 Ben Rivera

I had to double check, but Danny Jackson was also completely omitted from the set.  Jackson started 34 games in 1992 for the Cubs and Pirates, so it's a little odd that he didn't at least end up in the regular set.

1993 Topps #421, #291, #622 and #235

• Base cards of players who played with the Phillies in 1993 - 13 cards

#43 Ruben Amaro Jr., #99 Mike Williams, #126 Bob Ayrault, #154 Wes Chamberlain, #235 Mitch Williams, #371 Mariano Duncan, #479 Todd Pratt, #531 Joe Millette, #585 Ricky Jordan, #679 Kim Batiste, #818 Brad Brink, #37T Tyler Green, #73T Pete Incaviglia

Brink's card is a part of the Coming Attractions subset at the very end of the set.

• Base cards of players who didn't play with the Phillies in 1993 - 7 cards (with new teams listed)

#72 Jeff Grotewold (Twins), #208 Mike Hartley (Twins), #317 Kyle Abbott (minors), #445 Dale Murphy (Rockies), #649 Tom Marsh (minors), #712 Stan Javier (Angels), #773 Cliff Brantley (minors)

• 1992 Draft Pick card - 1 card, #161 Chad McConnell
• 1992 Topps All Stars card - 1 card, #408 Darren Daulton with Brian Harper (Twins)
• Manager card - 1 card, #510 Jim Fregosi with Buck Showalter (Yankees)

1993 Topps #555, #22 and #510

Who’s out:  I still find it weird that Thompson and Jackson were both left out of the set altogether.  Relievers Andersen, Roger Mason and Mark Davis all played a part in the championship season, but they were also left out of the set.

Phillies on other teams:  There are five cards of 1993 Phillies players on their former teams - #7 Pete Incaviglia (Astros), #22 Jim Eisenreich (Royals), #645 Bobby Thigpen (White Sox), #652 David West (Twins), #707 Donn Pall (White Sox).

What’s he doing here:  Phillies first round draft pick and Creighton product Chad McConnell kicked around the Phillies minor leagues through the 1996 season before calling it a career.  He never played for the Phillies.

Cards that never were candidates:  Thompson, Jackson, Stocker, Andersen, Eisenreich and West are all good candidates.

Favorite Phillies card:  There's actually quite a few great Phillies cards in this set, but I'll go with Mitch Williams' card as my favorite.  That definitely would not have been the case back on October 23, 1993.

Other Stuff

Recycled:  Murphy and Dykstra's cards were reprinted in the 2001 and 2002 Topps Archives sets, respectively.  While Kruk, Daulton, Dykstra (again) and Mitch Williams have cards featuring the 1993 Topps design within the 2003 and 2005 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites set.

Blogs/Websites:  Based on my limited research, I don't think there's another set-specific Topps blog out there until 2008.  (Please let me know if I've missed any.)  So unless I come up with any better ideas, I'm going to use this space to link to my past posts.  Back in this blog's infancy, I toyed with the idea of posting the baseball cards of all the players from key teams from the Phillies' past.  I did this with the 1956 Topps Phillies cards and I started the process with the 1993 Phillies club, before the idea eventually petered out.  Here's the post from May 2009 that served as my planned gateway to the baseball cards of the 1993 Phillies squad.

Did You Know?:  I was 500 miles away from the action when the Phillies clinched the division in 1993.  One of my fondest memories of that season is my parents holding up the phone to their television set so that I could hear Harry the K call the final inning and the final outs.  My Mom taped the game and the post-game celebrations and mailed me the VHS tape the next day.  (I still have that tape around here somewhere.)  Composing this post has made me very nostalgic for 1993, and it almost makes me want to hook up a VCR and drop in the team's highlight video, aptly titled, "Whatever It Takes, Dude."

2003 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites #84, #94, #141 and
2005 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites #79