Autographed Phillies Missing Links Cards (and the Phillies Still Stink)

Giants 10, Phillies 0
Game 52 - Friday Night, June 2nd in Philadelphia
Record - 17-35, 5th place, 16 1/2 games behind the Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  Giants pitcher Ty Blach threw his first career complete game shutout as the Giants easily dismantled the Phillies, 10-0.

What It Means:  At some point, some changes need to be made to the Phillies roster.  Right?  I mean, they just can't keep running out the same guys night after night when they're getting absolutely destroyed.  These games aren't even remotely competitive at this point.

What Happened:  Jerad Eickhoff walked a career high five batters in his 2 2/3 innings before getting pulled.  The offense managed seven singles and had one runner in scoring position all night.

Featured Cards:  Turning away from the dreadful 2017 Phillies momentarily, reader and fellow collector Bill recently reached out to me about my Phillies Missing Links custom cards.  He was specifically interested in the original picture I used for the Bob Sebra card, as Sebra himself had requested a copy of it via e-mail.  I sent Bill the scan I used for the Sebra card (from the 1989 Phillies Yearbook) and in return Bill sent me the autographed cards seen here.

Bill is using some of the Phillies Missing Links cards to track down autographs of players who have never appeared on an official Phillies baseball card, and he was kind enough to send these duplicates to me for my collection.  Good luck with the chase Bill and thanks again for sending these autographs!

Transaction:  Outfielder Daniel Nava was activated from the disabled list prior to the game and reliever Ricardo Pinto was sent back down to the IronPigs.

Phillies Missing Links of the 1990s - #4 Mickey Weston

#52
Michael Lee Weston
Starting Pitcher

In need of a spot starter for their game on June 24, 1992, the Phillies recalled righty Mickey Weston from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.  Weston's services were needed since Brad Brink had struggled in his first two Major League starts (11 2/3 innings, 7 earned runs on 15 hits) and Terry Mulholland was out due to a broken finger courtesy of an Andre Dawson line drive.

Weston had pitched previously with the Orioles and Blue Jays, and the Phils signed him prior to the 1992 season.  His one and only start with the club didn't go well, as he allowed five runs on seven hits in 3 2/3 innings agains the Expos in a game the Phillies would ultimately lose, 8-1.  He was shipped back to Scranton following his start, never to pitch again for the Phillies.

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  180
Born:  March 26, 1961, Flint, MI
Drafted:  Drafted by the New York Mets in the 12th round of the 1982 amateur draft, June 7, 1982
Major League Teams:  Baltimore Orioles 1989-1990; Toronto Blue Jays 1991; Phillies 1992; New York Mets 1993
Professional Affiliations:  New York Mets 1982-1988; Baltimore Orioles 1989-1990; Toronto Blue Jays 1991; Phillies 1992; New York Mets 1993; Colorado Rockies 1994; Detroit Tigers 1995; Florida Marlins 1996

Phillies Career
1 start, 3 2/3 innings, 12.27 ERA, 1 home run to pitcher Ken Hill
Acquired:  Signed as a free agent formerly with the Toronto Blue Jays, December 18, 1991
Debut:  June 24, 1992 - Allowed five runs in 3 2/3 innings against the Expos
Final Game:  June 24, 1992
Departed:  Granted free agency, October 16, 1992 and signed with the New York Mets

1990 Score #616

1990 Topps #377

1992 ProCards #2447

1992 Scranton/Wilkes- Barre Red Barons #24

2 Weston Baseball Cards in My Collection
First Card:  1992 ProCards #2447
Last Card:  1992 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons Team Issue #24

Other Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1990 Score #616
First Topps Base Card:  1990 Topps #377
Last Mainstream Card:  N/A
Other Notable Cards:  1985 TCMA Lynchburg Mets #6; 1990 Topps Debut '89 #137; 1990 Upper Deck #683

Sources:  Baseball Reference and The Trading Card Database

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.  I will make my way through the decade of the 1980s first and then work my way forward.  In some cases, the First and Last Mainstream cards listed above have been subjectively chosen if multiple cards were released in that year.

1992 Phillies - The True Missing Links

1992 Donruss Rookies #108, 1993 Donruss #332, #356 and 1993 Fleer #495

A few comments from 14,000 Phillies on my 1992 Topps Phillies post made me curious enough to check in on the Phillies cards available for each of the 48 players who appeared in a game with the 1992 Phillies.  Amazingly enough, according to my very scientific calcualtions, only two members of the 1992 Phillies sqaud never appeared on an actual Phillies baseball card.

I actually find this to be fairly stunning.  In today's day and age, there are a number of relievers, utility players and minor league fill-ins who get completely shut out from having a baseball card in any one of the dozen or so mainstream sets produced.  In recent years, if not for the Phillies team-issued postcard sets, these players would never appear on a Phillies baseball card at all.

So while I'd argue there were too many sets and too many cards to collect in the early '90s, at least the card manufacturers afforded us the opportunity to own Phillies cards of Greg Mathews, Julio Peguero and Jay Baller.  And that's a good thing.  (Right?)

1992 Medford Phillies
Update #35

3 Cards or More
40 Players

2 Cards
Keith Shepherd (12 games) - 1993 Donruss #332 and 1993 Fleer #109

1 Card
Greg Mathews (14 games) - 1993 Fleer #495
Julio Peguero (14 games) - 1992 Ultra #547
Don Robinson (10 games) - 1992 Medford Phillies Update #35
Jay Baller (8 games) - 1993 Donruss #356
Steve Scarsone (7 games) - 1992 Donruss Rookies #108

0 Cards
Darrin Chapin (1 game)
Mickey Weston (1 game)

Chapin was the player the Phillies acquired from the Yankees in exchange for Charlie Hayes prior to the start of the '92 season.  He spent the majority of the season with the team's Triple-A affiliate, but he made it into one game for the Phils on April 27th.  I have three cards of Chapin with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons, but he never received a proper Phillies baseball card.

Weston signed with the Phillies as a minor league free agent in December 1991.  He was a teammate with Chapin in Scranton for much of the 1992 season, but he found himself with the big club for one game in June making a spot start against the Expos.  He didn't make it out of the fourth inning after allowing five runs, and his Phillies career was over.  I have a couple of cards of Weston with the Red Barons, but again, no Phillies cards.

1992 Donruss #745, 1992 SkyBox AAA #219,
1992 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons Team Issue #24 and 1992 ProCards #2447