Phillies Missing Links of the 1990s - #13 Rafael Quirico

#43
Rafael Octavio (Dottin) Quirico
Starting Pitcher

When starting pitcher Sid Fernandez was placed on the disabled list on June 24, 1996 with a left elbow injury and with a double header scheduled the following day, manager Jim Fregosi needed an emergency starting pitcher.  Rafael Quirico got the nod to start game one in Cincinnati, and it did not go well.  In the first inning, Quirico allowed four runs on three hits and a pair of walks.  He allowed three more runs in the second on a hit and three more walks before mercifully being pulled.  It was to be his first and last appearance in the majors.

Quirico spent nine seasons in the minors with the Yankees, Phillies and Angels organizations.

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'3"  Weight:  170
Born:  September 7, 1969, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Signed:  Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent, May 15, 1987
Major League Teams:  Phillies 1996
Professional Affiliations:  New York Yankees 1987-1995; Phillies 1996; New York Yankees 1996; Anaheim Angels 1997

Phillies Career
1 game, 0-1, 37.80 ERA, 1 2/3 innings, 4 hits, 7 runs, 5 walks, 1 strikeout
Acquired:  Signed as a minor league free agent formerly with the New York Yankees, April 16, 1996
Debut:  June 25, 1996 - Started against the Reds, allowing a two-run home run to Bret Boone and a bases-clearing double to Eric Davis.
Final Game:  June 25, 1996
Departed:  Released, August 12, 1996 and signed back with the Yankees, August 15, 1996.

1991 ProCards #3057

1992 Upper Deck Minors #229

1994 Fleer/ProCards #2953

1996 Best Reading Phillies #11

1 Quirico Baseball Card in My Collection
First Card:  1996 Best Reading Phillies #11
Last Card:  1996 Best Reading Phillies #11

Other Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  N/A
First Topps Base Card:  N/A
Last Mainstream Card:  N/A
Other Notable Cards:  1990 ProCards #3371, 1991 ProCards #3057, 1992 Upper Deck Minors #229, 1994 Fleer/ProCards #2953, 1997 Best Midland Angels #22

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.

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