Game 109 - Rollins, Wade Join Wall of Fame; The Durantula Era Begins

Detroit Tigers	4
Philadelphia Phillies	5

2025 Topps Now #493

Friday Night, August 1st

Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA
62-47, 1st Place, 1/2 game ahead of the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies stormed back to take a late-inning lead and Jhoan Duran dramatically and theatrically introduced himself to Philadelphia in this 5-4 win over the Tigers.

What It Means:  The Phillies temporarily retook sole possession of first place.

What Happened:  Ranger Suarez got the start, and allowed three runs on four hits in seven innings of work.  The big blow was a three-run home run by Gleyber Torres in the top of the third.  Trailing 3-0, the Phillies began their comeback in the bottom of the seventh.  With the bases loaded (Nick Castellanos single, Otto Kemp single, Harrison Bader walk), Bryson Stott brought home the first run with a sacrifice fly.  Back-to-back singles from Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber then tied the score.  Orion Kerkering surrendered a solo home run to Wenceel Perez in the top of the eighth, giving the Tigers the lead again.

Castellanos singled again to start the rally in the bottom of the eighth, and Kemp doubled him home with the tying run.  Stott barely beat out an infield single, scoring Kemp for the lead.

Featured Card:  And then the lights went out in the ballpark, flames appeared on the scoreboards and large spiders started crawling across the illuminated screens.  In the dark, music blaring and 40,000+ cell phone flashlights waving, new Phillies closer Duran ran in from the bullpen.  He needed four pitches to retire the Tigers and seal the win.  Topps could have picked a way better picture to commemorate the moment, but I'm glad they at least gave him a Topps Now card.

Field Report:  We all attended and enjoyed the pregame Wall of Fame induction ceremony for Ed Wade and Jimmy Rollins from Section C in the Diamond Club.  Once again, the Phillies showed they're the best in the sport at honoring their legacy and paying tribute to their past.  The game itself was pretty boring until the seventh inning, when it turned into a playoff game atmosphere.  And Duran's entrance was by far one of the coolest moments I've ever witnessed at Citizens Bank Park, and that's saying something.

We attended all Wall of Fame ceremonies between 2012 and 2023, breaking the streak last year with a college visit.  A new streak began this year, likely to be broken in a few more years when college visits start up again.

Transaction:  With the trade deadline acquisitions ready to go, some moves needed to be made.  Duran (rhp) and Bader (of) were activated.  Johan Rojas (of) was optioned to Lehigh Valley and Daniel Robert (rhp) was placed on the injured list with a blister.

Wall of Fame Memory Lane

2009 - Harry Kalas

2010 - Darren Daulton

2011 - John Kruk

2012 - Mike Lieberthal

2013 - Curt Schilling

2014 - Charlie Manuel
2015 - Pat Burrell
2016 - Jim Thome
2017 - Tribute to Jim Bunning, Dallas Green and Darren Daulton (replacing Pete Rose)

2018 - Pat Gillick and Roy Halladay
2019 - Bobby Abreu (Part One and Two)

2020 - Manny Trillo

2022 - Bake McBride and Ron Reed

2023 - Ruly Carpenter, John Quinn and Scott Rolen (Part One and Part Two)

2024 - David Montgomery

2025 - Jimmy Rollins and Ed Wade

2025 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2025 Season Summary Index / 2025 Chachi Set Checklist

Game 107 - Reed, McBride Inducted Into Wall of Fame

Phillies 11, Nationals 5
Game 107 - Saturday Night, August 6th in Philadelphia
Record - 0-1, 3rd Place, 9 1/2 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  Following the induction of Bake McBride and Ron Reed into the Phillies Wall of Fame, the current offense stayed hot as the hapless Nationals fell yet again, 11-5.

What It Means:  The Phillies own a four game winning streak and have won nine of their last ten.  They have a one game lead over the Brewers for the third Wild Card spot and they'll go for the four-game series sweep this afternoon.

What Happened:  Every starter except Kyle Schwarber had at least one hit, with Jean Segura leading the way with a three-hit night.  Rhys Hoskins hit his third straight first inning home run in a row.  Matt Vierling added a three-run home run in the first, with J.T. Realmuto contributing a two-run home run in the sixth.  Bryson Stott had a two-run triple and Edmundo Sosa doubled home Realmuto for his first hit with the team.  Ranger Suarez picked up the win, going 5 1/3 innings and allowing three runs on seven hits.

Featured Cards/Field Report:  Doug and I returned to the Hall of Fame Club, arriving shortly after the gates opened and grabbing a prime spot once again right aside the suite where various Wall of Famers and alumni were gathered.  Doug was on a roll the entire night, adding autographs to his Bake McBride/Ron Reed print (shown above) and adding solo signatures to past Wall of Fame prints.  Some of the signers were repeats from the night before, and other than Charlie Manuel, who gets a second card, I've created cards for all the new alumni who signed for Doug on Saturday night.

We were bummed McBride wasn't able to join the festivities, and it was somewhat surreal for me to see all my heroes from the 1980 team.  Of the former players and coaches stopping to sign, only Luis Aguayo and George Vukovich stopped short of Doug's spot before going into the suite.  Bob Boone, Dick Ruthven and (I believe) Warren Brusstar didn't sign at all.

We found it extremely impressive that Manny Trillo, Bobby Abreu, Manuel, Dickie Noles, Mike Lieberthal, Randy Wolf and Lee Elia all signed as many autographs as wanted.  They were gracious with their time, often stopping to chat with the assembled fans.  Trillo especially took his time, working slowly through the line, signing anything and everything put in front of him.  It was a memorable night, and we're already looking forward to next year!

My early prediction for the 2023 Wall of Fame inductee is Larry Andersen.  The current broadcaster has cut back on his schedule, and he was a member of both the 1983 and 1993 Phillies teams, who will be celebrating their 40th and 30th anniversaries next season, respectively.

2022 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2022 Season Summary Index / 2022 Chachi Set Checklist

Game 110 - 3rd Annual Doug's Big Night of Autographs

For the third year in a row, Doug and I attended the Wall of Fame night at Citizens Bank Park with every intention of not watching any of the actual Phillies game.  Staked out at great location right in front of the door of the alumni suite in the Hall of Fame Club, little did Doug (or I) know that when we arrived at 5:30 we wouldn't leave our spots for the next four hours.  There was a steady stream of Phillies alumni coming in and out of the suite and most of them were very gracious with their time, happy to sign several dozen autographs.


My role was limited to hanging back and taking pictures while Doug asked for autographs on his Bobby Abreu Wall of Fame print, that night's giveaway item.  I had Phillies photo cards from my collection with me and the deal was that if Doug already had his print signed, he'd try to get my photo card signed too.  He ended up with 25 signatures on his print (shown above) to go along with two vintage baseball cards signed by Tony Taylor.  I ended up adding 15 signed photo cards to my collection, thanks to Doug's hard work.  We were hungry and our feet were sore at the end of night, but it was worth it.  The print will occupy a prime spot in Doug's collection along with the prints from the prior two years.  Some other observations:

• Everyone who signed was great, but interactions with Dickie Noles, Greg Dobbs, Scott Eyre and Dale Murphy stuck with me.  Dobbs got dinner with his family, promised to come back to sign for everyone and he did.  Several other notable alumni promised to come back, but never did.
• Doug was really hoping for Bobby Abreu to come back through at some point, but he never returned.
• Ozzie Guillen was there to celebrate Abreu's big night and he was the sole non-Phillie autograph Doug added.
• Shane Victorino signed for maybe five or six people but then ducked inside the suite.  Jayson Werth, Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley didn't sign at all, quickly making their way to and from the suite.
• We missed getting an autograph from Ben Francisco as he skipped over a bunch of people standing in Doug's area.
• I blew it with Jack Taschner as I didn't recognize the former relief pitcher at all.  He lingered around our area talking to other alumni, but none of the autograph seekers standing around us knew who he was.  I didn't realize it was Taschner until seeing him in Sunday's pre-game ceremony.
• I did however recognize short-time Phillies Paul Bako and Tyler Walker who were mostly unrecognized by the people standing around us.
• Steve Carlton refused to sign, but he did agree to look in my general direction for a picture.
• There were too many new cards for one post, so I'll post the rest of the custom cards I've created in a follow-up post.

Memory Lane - Past Induction Ceremonies/Alumni Weekends

2009 - Harry Kalas

2010 - Darren Daulton

2011 - John Kruk

2012 - Mike Lieberthal

2013 - Curt Schilling

2014 - Charlie Manuel
2015 - Pat Burrell
2016 - Jim Thome
2017 - Tribute to Jim Bunning, Dallas Green and Darren Daulton
2018 - Roy Halladay and Pat Gillick
2019 - Bobby Abreu

Meanwhile, we watched most of the game on the wall monitor positioned outside the alumni suite.

Phillies 3, White Sox 2
Game 110 - Saturday Night, August 3rd in Philadelphia
Record - 58-52, Tied for 2nd place, 7 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  The offense stayed mostly dormant but Aaron Nola and Nick Pivetta managed to keep the White Sox quiet as well in this 3-2 win.

What It Means:  The win moved the Phillies into a tie for second place with the Nationals.

What Happened:  Nola went seven strong innings, striking out 10 and allowing only three hits.  Pivetta pitched the final two innings to record his first career save.  Bryce Harper (19) and Rhys Hoskins (24) hit back-to-back home runs in the fourth.

Transactions:  Mitch Walding was sent outright to Lehigh Valley after clearing waivers and Yacksel Rios was claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

2000 Phillies Team Issue #7 Terry Francona

The Ed Wade era in Houston ended over the weekend as the former Phillies GM was sent packing for the second time in his career.  With the new ownership in place, and due to a crappy overall performance over the past several seasons, it was time for the Astros to move in an Ed Wade-less direction.  Wade had been the team's general manager since September 2007.

My Dad and I always felt Wade got a bum rap in Philly.*  Hall of Famer Pat Gillick was at the helm when the Phillies finally cracked the postseason in 2007, but it was Wade who helped construct the core of that team and the 2008 World Champions.  Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Ryan Madson, Cole Hamels, Carlos Ruiz, Brett Myers and Pat Burrell were all drafted and developed during Wade's regime.  He hired Charlie Manuel to manage the team, and that's worked out pretty well too.

During his four-season run as the Astros GM, Wade was often criticized (chastised? mocked?) for populating his team with ex-Phillies.  He pulled off three blockbuster deals with his former team and his former mentee, Ruben Amaro, Jr.:

1.  November 8, 2007 - Traded Brad Lidge and Eric Bruntlett to the Phillies for Michael Bourn, Geoff Geary and Mike Costanzo.

2.  July 29, 2010 - Traded Roy Oswalt to the Phillies for J.A. Happ, Anthony Gose and Jonathan Villar.

3.  July 29, 2011 - Traded Hunter Pence to the Phillies for Jonathan Singleton, Jarred Cosart, Josh Zeid and Domingo Santana.

Only time will tell if any of those prospects will pan out for the Astros.

I could be wrong, but I think the card featured here is the only instance of Ed Wade appearing on cardboard.  That's his head creeping out from behind Terry Francona.  Of course, both men are now unemployed, giving them plenty of time to get together and reminisce about the glory days of the 1997 to 2000 Phillies.  Or not.

*Don't get me wrong here.  His firing by the Phillies after the 2005 season was a necessity if the team was going to move forward.  I just think he deserves some credit for assembling the core of what has become a powerhouse team in the National League.