Series Preview - Nationals at Phillies: June 22nd to June 23rd

1986 Topps #421

1986 Topps #532

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

At the Ballpark:  Weather permitting, tonight marks the grand opening of the Miller Lite Liberty Landing, a refurbished bar area now located where Harry the K's used to be.  There will be photo opportunities with former Philllies Tommy Greene, Greg Luzinski, Mickey Morandini and Milt Thompson.  Personally, I'll miss Harry the K's, as we enjoyed several pre-game meals there over the years.

Nationals 33-36
Tied for 3rd Place in the N.L. East, 5 games behind the Mets

Nationals Probables
TBD
Erick Fedde (4-4, 3.33)

Nationals Leaders
Average:  Trea Turner - .313
Runs:  Trea Turner - 37
Home Runs:  Kyle Schwarber - 18
RBIs:  Kyle Schwarber - 42
Stolen Bases:  Trea Turner - 15

Wins:  Patrick Corbin and Max Scherzer - 5
ERA:  Max Scherzer - 2.21

Strikeouts:  Max Scherzer - 104
Saves:  Brad Hand - 15

Phillies 34-35
2nd Place in the N.L. East, 4 games behind the Mets

Phillies Probables
Zack Wheeler (5-3, 2.15)
Vince Velasquez (2-2, 4.44)

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Rhys Hoskins - .238
Runs:  Rhys Hoskins - 38
Home Runs:  Rhys Hoskins - 15
RBIs:  Rhys Hoskins - 42
Stolen Bases:  Jean Segura - 6

Wins:  Three tied with - 5
ERA:  Zack Wheeler - 2.15
Strikeouts:  Zack Wheeler - 118
Saves:  Hector Neris - 10

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

Series Preview - Phillies at Nationals: May 13th to May 14th

Saturday 7:05, Sunday 1:35 and 7:05
Nationals Park - Washington, D.C.

Phillies 13-19, 3rd Place in the N.L. East, 8 games behind the Nationals
Nationals 22-12, 1st Place in the N.L. East, 6 games ahead of the Mets

Phillies Probables:  Nick Pivetta (0-2, 5.40), Jeremy Hellickson (4-1, 3.49), Vince Velasquez (2-3, 5.94)
Nationals Probables:  Tanner Roark (3-1, 3.46), Gio Gonzalez (3-1, 2.64), Max Scherzer (4-2, 2.59)

At the Ballpark:  With the rain out yesterday, the Phillies and Nationals will play a split double header on Sunday.  In the first game, the first 5,000 fans will receive a Mother's Day carnation and both teams will wear special Mother's Day hats and jerseys with pink accents.  Fans attending the second game will receive a Trea Turner bobble head.

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Cesar Hernandez - .324
Runs:  Cesar Hernandez - 29
Home Runs:  Aaron Altherr - 7
RBIs:  Maikel Franco - 25
Stolen Bases:  Cesar Hernandez - 5

Wins:  Jeremy Hellickson - 4
ERA:  Zach Eflin - 2.81
Strikeouts:  Jerad Eickhoff - 35
Saves:  Hector Neris - 3

Nationals Leaders
Average:  Ryan Zimmerman - .393
Runs:  Bryce Harper - 37
Home Runs:  Ryan Zimmerman - 13
RBIs:  Ryan Zimmerman - 34
Stolen Bases:  Trea Turner - 6

Wins:  Max Scherzer - 4
ERA:  Max Scherzer - 2.59
Strikeouts:  Max Scherzer - 62
Saves:  Shawn Kelley and Blake Treinen - 3

1982 Topps #131

1982 Topps #292

1982 Topps Traded #83T

1982 Topps Traded #104T

1982 Topps Appreciation:  Here's a hodge podge of four former Expos to have played with the Phillies at some point during the 1980s.  Stan Bahnsen actually pitched for the Phillies in 8 games during the 1982 season, compiling a respectable 1.35 ERA over 13 1/3 innings.  I created a Phillies Missing Links card for Bahnsen here.

By the way, this Phillies Missing Links series isn't dead yet.  I have plans to finish up the 23-card set featuring the Phillies Missing Links of the 1990s at some point . . .

Phillies at Nationals: September 25th to September 27th

Friday 7:05, Saturday 4:05 and Sunday 1:35
Nationals Park - Washington, DC

Phillies 57-96, 5th Place in the N.L. East, 29 games behind the Mets
Nationals 78-74, 2nd Place in the N.L. East, 7 1/2 games behind the Mets

Phillies Probables:  Jerad Eickhoff (1-3, 3.16), Aaron Nola (6-2, 3.84), Aaron Harang (6-15, 4.93)
Nationals Probables:  Jordan Zimmermann (13-8, 3.49), Stephen Strasburg (10-7, 3.81), Gio Gonzalez (11-8, 3.94)

At the Ballpark:  Tonight, the first 25,000 fans will receive a Zimmermann bobble head commemorating his 2014 no-hitter.  Fans attending Sunday afternoon's game will receive a pair of Nationals gloves.

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Odubel Herrera - .292
Runs:  Odubel Herrera - 59
Home Runs:  Ryan Howard - 23
RBIs:  Ryan Howard - 77
Stolen Bases:  Cesar Hernandez - 19+

Wins:  Ken Giles, Aaron Harang and Aaron Nola - 6*
ERA:  Aaron Harang - 4.93
Strikeouts:  Aaron Harang - 104*
Saves:  Ken Giles - 13^

Nationals Leaders
Average:  Bryce Harper - .341
Runs:  Bryce Harper - 116
Home Runs:  Bryce Harper - 41
RBIs:  Bryce Harper - 95
Stolen Bases:  Michael Taylor - 16

Wins:  Jordan Zimmermann - 13
ERA:  Max Scherzer - 2.98
Strikeouts:  Max Scherzer - 249
Saves:  Drew Storen - 29

+Ben Revere, now with the Blue Jays, is the overall team leader with 24 stolen bases.
*Cole Hamels, now with the Rangers, is the overall team leader with 6 wins (tied) and 137 strikeouts.
^Jonathan Papelbon, now with the Nationals, is the overall team leader with 17 saves.

1985 Topps #584

1985 Topps #526

1985 Topps Appreciation:  Kevin Gross and David Palmer were two-fifths of the Phillies starting rotation in 1988, a season that saw the Phillies finish with 96 losses.  (I would anticipate that the Phillies top the 96 loss mark for 2015 at some point this weekend.)

Gross accompanied Lance Parrish to the 1988 All-Star Game as the Phillies representatives after putting up an 8-5 record and a 2.89 ERA in the first half of the season.  He'd finish the 1988 season with a 12-14 record and the Phillies would trade him to the Expos on December 6th for Jeff Parrett and Floyd Youmans.  I wrote a little about that trade in this post from last season.

Palmer began his career with six seasons in Montreal, and he'd come to the Phillies by way of the Braves in 1988.  In his only season in Philadelphia, Palmer complied a 7-9 record over 22 starts.

Braves at Phillies: June 27th to June 29th

Friday 7:05, Saturday 2:05 and 7:15, Sunday 1:35
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

Game summary posts from the Marlins series will follow shortly.  I was at the game last night, and frankly I'm still a little tired!

Braves 40-38, 2nd Place in the N.L. East, 1 game behind the Nationals
Phillies 36-42, 4th Place in the N.L. East, 5 games behind the Nationals

Braves Probables:  Julio Teheran (6-5, 2.41), Ervin Santana (5-5, 4.15), David Hale (2-2, 3.14), Aaron Harang (6-6, 3.78)
Phillies Probables:  Kyle Kendrick (3-7, 4.20), Roberto Hernandez (3-6, 4.41), Sean O'Sullivan (0-0, 0.00), David Buchanan (4-3, 4.79)

At the Ballpark:  Following the ballgame tonight is the second of three fireworks, and let me tell you - last night's fireworks show was unbelievable.  Tomorrow afternoon is Photo Day with all fans invited to come down to the field pre-game and take pictures of the team.  All fans also receive a Phillies print and former Phillie (and current broadcaster) Matt Stairs will throw out the ceremonial first pitch.  The third and final fireworks show is Saturday night and all kids will receive a Domonic Brown replica jersey on Sunday afternoon.

The double header on Saturday is the result of the rain-out on April 15th.

Phillies Leaders

Average:  Chase Utley - .296

Runs:  Chase Utley - 43

Home Runs:  Ryan Howard - 14

RBIs:  Ryan Howard - 50

Stolen Bases:  Ben Revere - 21

Wins:  A.J. Burnett - 5

ERA:  Cole Hamels - 2.84

Strikeouts:  Cole Hamels - 91

Saves:  Jonathan Papelbon - 18

1988 Topps #732 and 1988 Topps Traded #79T

1988 Topps Appreciation:  I absolutely loved the Topps Traded set when I was growing up, but those feelings changed with the release of the 1988 Topps Traded set.  Every year, I'd look forward to buying the box of 132 cards featuring familiar players in their new uniforms.  I'd spend the summer planning out the Phillies who would undoubtedly appear in that year's traded series.

In 1988, Topps decided to include 42 Team USA players within its 132-card traded set, shutting out most of the deserving veterans from inclusion in the set.  I was not pleased.  The Phillies were represented by just two players - Phil Bradley and David Palmer.  I was really looking forward to having a 1988 Topps Phillies card of my personal favorite, Bob Dernier, but he was one of the many veterans omitted altogether.  (I fixed that problem here.)

I understood Bradley's inclusion, as he became the team's starting left fielder upon his acquisition from the Mariners.  In retrospect, it makes sense that Palmer was included as he was a member of the starting pitching rotation.  But I always held Palmer (and the 42 Team USA players) as partly responsible for bouncing Dernier from the set.

Palmer played just the one year with the Phils after coming from the Braves as a free agent.  He was released in October 1988 after going 7-9 with a 4.47 ERA in 22 starts.

1988 Topps Phillies

1988 Topps #600, #572, #705 and #95

This is the 38th post I've written about the Phillies appearing within the Topps baseball card sets since way back in 1951.  I've had a lot of fun researching and writing these posts and I'm looking forward to delving into the dark decade of the '90s.  Given the approaching yuletide season, the next Topps Phillies post may not appear until 2012.  You never know though . . . if there's some free time over the Christmas break and the boys are both happily playing with their new toys, I may just sneak away to rummage through my 1989 Topps binder.  (Also, this post is running a day early so that I can celebrate my son's birthday with tomorrow's post.)

1988 Topps #572 (Back)

The Set

Number of cards in the set:  Why mess with a good thing?  For the seventh straight year, Topps gave us 792 cards in the base set and a 132-card traded series.

My very brief thoughts on the set:  For the first time since 1980, Topps went back to the idea that the color purple was somehow associated with the Phillies.  There still wasn't a position listed on the front of the cards, but I liked the floating team name at the top.  It was only a few years ago that I realized that the team name is positioned just behind the top of each player's head or arm or bat.  I spent countless hours looking at these cards back in the day and I just never noticed that.

Notable competition:  The colorful Score set entered the fold in 1988, and I'll admit that some of my lawn mowing money went towards purchasing packs of the new kid on the block.  With a cool new set and my loyalty towards Topps, I pretty much ignored Fleer and Donruss in 1988.

1988 Phillies

Record and finish:  In their worst year since 1972, the Phillies finished with a record of 65-96, dead last in the East and 35 1/2 games behind the division-winning Mets.  The Phillies wouldn't lose 96 games again until 2000.

Key players:  Not one player finished with more than 20 home runs.  Right fielder Chris James had perhaps the best offensive output, hitting a lowly .242 with 19 home runs and 66 RBIs.  Mike Schmidt missed the last month and a half of the season, and his home run tally fell to 12.  Juan Samuel (.243, 12 home runs, 67 RBIs) and Lance Parrish (.215, 15 home runs, 60 RBIs) muddled along as best they could.  There were a few bright spots though as rookies Ricky Jordan (.308, 11 home runs) and Ron Jones (.290) made their debuts and Bob Dernier (.289) returned to the organization.  (Hooray!)  Kevin Gross led the pitching staff with 12 wins and Steve Bedrosian managed to save 28 games.

Key events:  The entire season was a mess.  Woody Woodward was brought in as the new GM during the offseason, but he was fired in June.  Lee Thomas was hired and he immediately started cutting personnel and players.  Manager Lee Elia and several of his coaches didn't make it through the season.  Coach John Vukovich was brought in on an interim basis to finish off the season and he went 5-4.

1988 Topps #215, #126, 1988 Topps Traded #18T and 1988 Topps #298

1988 Phillies in 1988 Topps

Cards needed for a complete team set:  There are 33 Phillies in the base Topps set and just another two Phillies cards in the traded set.  There are a ridiculous 42 Team USA cards in the traded set, which always really annoyed me.  Almost a third of the traded set were mostly guys I had never heard of before, while deserving Phillies such as Dernier, Jordan, Jones and reliever Greg Harris got shut out.

Who’s in:

• Cards of the eight starting position players - 8 cards

#95 Lance Parrish (c), #215 Von Hayes (1b), #705 Juan Samuel (2b), #126 Steve Jeltz (ss), #600 Mike Schmidt (3b), #18T Phil Bradley (lf), #298 Milt Thompson (cf), #572 Chris James (rf)

• Cards of the starting pitching rotation - 5 cards

#20 Kevin Gross, #415 Don Carman, #66 Shane Rawley, #79T David Palmer, #268 Bruce Ruffin

1988 Topps #20, #415, #66 and 1988 Topps Traded #79T

• Base cards of players who played with the Phillies in 1988 - 10 cards

#38 Jeff Calhoun, #188 John Russell, #356 Luis Aguayo, #378 Todd Frohwirth, #440 Steve Bedrosian, #468 Darren Daulton, #494 Wally Ritchie, #518 Greg Gross, #543 Kent Tekulve, #756 Mike Maddux

• Base cards of players who didn't play with the Phillies in 1988 - 7 cards (with new teams listed)

#154 Jeff Stone (Orioles), #203 Fred Toliver (Twins), #626 Glenn Wilson (Mariners), #651 Mike Jackson (Mariners), #731 Rick Schu (Orioles), #781 Keith Hughes (Orioles), #783 Ron Roenicke (Reds)

• Phillies Leaders card - 1 card, #669

This card sums up the team's 1988 season perfectly.  Catcher Parrish looks like he'd rather be anywhere else than swatting while wearing a Phillies uniform and getting ready to catch one of the team's suspect pitchers.  Coach Mike Ryan looks on, appearing to be hot, tired and bored.

• Phillies appearing on National League All Star Cards - 3 cards

#398 Juan Samuel, #406 Shane Rawley, #407 Steve Bedrosian

• Manager card - 1 card, #254 Lee Elia

1988 Topps #440, #543, #268 and #642

Who’s out:  See above for my little rant about the Team USA cards in the 1988 Topps Traded set.

Phillies on other teams:  Bradley (#66 with the Mariners) and Palmer (#457 with the Braves) were the only two players to get Phillies cards in the traded series.  There were six other players in the set who spent time with the Phils in 1988 - #179 Greg Harris (Rangers), #328 Bill Dawley (Cardinals), #337 Bob Sebra (Expos), #393 Mike Young (Orioles), #451 Bob Dernier (Cubs) and #787 Bill Almon (Mets).

What’s he doing here:  Roenicke was released right after the 1987 season had ended, yet he's included as a Phillie in the 1988 Topps set.  I have to remind myself sometimes that this was back when the next year's releases were already in stores the preceding December.

1988 Topps #669

Cards that never were candidates:  Dernier, Jordan, Jones, Harris and probably Young - but only because he appeared in 75 games.  I'd make a manager card for Vukovich to commemorate his 9-game stint as interim manager.

Favorite Phillies card:  This is probably the toughest crop of Phillies cards from which to pick a favorite since the lackluster 1955 Topps set.  By default, I'll go with Bedrock's card since he was coming off his Cy Young season.  Schmidt's card may just be his worst Topps base card ever.

Other Stuff

Recycled:  A reprint of Tekulve's card appears in the 2001 Topps Archives set.

Blogs/Websites:  One of the original set blogs, 88 Topps Cards set the bar for all set blogs that have followed.

Did You Know?:  Long before Topps began its shenanigans with the Abe Lincoln variation cards found within packs of its 2010 set, there was of course the James K. Polk variations found within certain packs of 1988 Topps.  I'm still searching for the Frohwirth and Schu Polk variations.  Send me an e-mail if you have either of those cards available for trade.