2015 Phillies - First Topps Cards

For no other reason than I thought this would be cool to see all of these cards in one spot, here are the first Topps cards of the managers, coaches and players who appeared with the 2015 Phillies.

1970 Topps #539

1974 Topps #597

1976 Topps #599

1978 Topps #134

1983 Topps #83

1984 Topps Traded #105T

1987 Topps #408

1989 Topps #443

2001 Topps #750

2003 Topps #671

2003 Topps #682

2003 Topps Traded #T149

2003 Topps Traded #T255

2004 Topps #691

2004 Topps Traded #T114

2005 Topps #376

2005 Topps #689

2005 Topps #691

2005 Topps #692

2006 Topps #355

2007 Topps #638

2007 Topps Update #UH99

2008 Topps Update #US323

2009 Topps Update #UH23

2009 Topps Update #UH185

2010 Topps Update #US59

2010 Topps Update #US318

2011 Topps #88

2011 Topps #99

2011 Topps Update #US297

2012 Topps #243

2012 Topps Update #US85

2012 Topps Update #US322

2013 Topps #83

2013 Topps #361

2013 Topps #646

2013 Topps Update #US71

2014 Topps #451

2014 Topps #637

2014 Topps Update #US281

2015 Topps #309

2015 Topps #561

2015 Topps #687

2015 Topps Update #US95

2015 Topps Update #US166

No Topps (base or update) Phillies cards to date (14):  Aaron Altherr, Alec Asher, Jerad Eickhoff, Cesar Hernandez, Dalier Hinojosa, Adam Morgan, Colton Murray, Hector Neris, Nefi Ogando, Ken Roberts, Seth Rosin, Cameron Rupp and Darnell Sweeney

Phillies Missing Links of the 1980s - #14 Bob Sebra

#37
Robert Bush Sebra
Starting Pitcher

Bob Sebra is the one player on this Missing Links list that I'm surprised to see here.  In my mind, Sebra was with the Phillies for much longer than the nine games indicated by his Baseball Reference page.  The right-handed pitcher was acquired from the Expos on September 1, 1988 and he'd start three games for the Phillies in that final month of the season.

Sebra joined the club in Clearwater for spring training in 1989 and he started the season with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.  Recalled on May 18th, Sebra was around when the Phillies started a massive overhaul of their roster that began when Mike Schmidt announced his retirement on May 29th.  Within a  month, key cogs Chris James, Steve Bedrosian and Juan Samuel were all traded away.  Sebra was one of a few players sent back down to Triple-A to make room for the new players acquired from the Giants and Mets in the Bedrosian and Samuel trades.  A few weeks later, Sebra himself was dealt away to the Reds.

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  200
Born:  December 11, 1961, Ridgewood, NJ
Drafted:  Drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 5th round of the 1983 amateur draft.
Major League Teams:  Texas Rangers 1985; Montreal Expos 1986-1987; Phillies 1988-1989; Cincinnati Reds 1989; Milwaukee Brewers 1990
Professional Affiliations:  Texas Rangers 1983-1985; Montreal Expos 1986-1987; Phillies 1988-1989; Cincinnati Reds 1989-1990; Milwaukee Brewers 1990; Houston Astros 1991; Chicago Cubs 1992; Texas Rangers 1992; St. Louis Cardinals 1993; Somerset Patriots 1998 (Independent)

Phillies Career
3-5 with a 5.32 ERA in 9 games and 45 2/3 innings pitched
Acquired:  Acquired from the Montreal Expos for Travis Chambers, September 1, 1988.
Debut:  September 5, 1988 - Started the first game of a double header in Chicago, lasting just two innings and allowing five runs on five hits.
Final Game:  June 15, 1989
Departed:  Traded to the Cincinnati Reds for a player to be named later (Jeff Gray), July 13, 1989.

1987 Donruss #468

1987 Topps #479

1988 Topps #93

1989 CMC Scranton/Wilkes- Barre Red Barons #4

5 Sebra Baseball Card in My Collection
First Card:  1988 Donruss #458
Last Card:  1989 CMC Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons #4

Other Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1987 Donruss #468
First Topps Base Card:  1987 Topps #479
Last Mainstream Card:  1988 Topps #93
Other Notable Cards:  1983 TCMA Tri-Cities Triplets #1, 1988 Score #337, 1993 Fleer/ProCards #213

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.

Ted Williams Phillies Cards

1993 Ted Williams #70

1994 Ted Williams #71

1994 Ted Williams Mike Schmidt #MS4

In a bit of blatant cross-promotion, I'm featuring a post with a misleading title today.  I recently launched a second blog which will chronicle all 342 cards in the 1956 Topps set.  Ted Williams, card #5 in the set, is up today.  Please check it out and spread the word!

Of course, the Splendid Splinter never played for the Phillies so he has no Phillies baseball cards in my collection.  But he gave his name to a few sets of baseball cards issued in the early 1990s.  There are 160 cards in the 1993 Ted Williams set, and there are four Phillies cards in the set:

• 70 - Richie Ashburn
• 71 - Larry Bowa
• 72 - Steve Carlton
• 73 - Robin Roberts

The 1994 Ted Williams set consists of 170 cards with eight Phillies cards:

• 71 - Dick Allen
• 72 - Bob Boone
• 73 - Del Ennis
• 74 - Chuck Klein
• 75 - Mike Schmidt
• 127 - Jason Moler
• 141 - Mike Schmidt
• 151 - Mike Schmidt

Schmidt is also featured in the 500 Club insert set (#5C7) along with a special nine-card insert set featuring highlights throughout his career.

The Day We Met the Hit King & Lefty

I shook hands with Pete Rose and Steve Carlton yesterday.

Doug and I attended the Fanatics Authentic Sports Spectacular in Oaks, Pennsylvania yesterday and I splurged on "photo opportunity" tickets to meet two of the most iconic players from my childhood. "Opportunity" is a bit of misnomer here since that implies you may or may not come away from your experience with an actual photo.  But we did, and I digress.

The price for the tickets was hefty.  However, while I'll soon forget the amount I paid for the tickets I'll never forget the look on Doug's face as he greeted these two all-time greats.  He stammered out a "hello" to each of them and they were both very pleasant to him.  Carlton was actually more conversational with Doug than Rose, which surprised me a little.  Also, Carlton is very large man with a no joking around firm handshake.

The rest of the show was secondary to meeting Rose and Carlton, but here are a few highlights:

• Doug came away with many more cards than I did.  He completed his 2015 Topps Update set and I sincerely appreciate the deep discounts he received once the dealers realized these cards were for an eight year old's set.  I made it a point to get the more generous dealers' business cards and I'll have no problem throwing some future business their way.  Doug also added to his Mike Trout collection and he picked up some cheap, recent Phillies game-used memorabilia cards.
• I added the 1980 and 1981 Phillies Media Guides to my collection.
• I also crossed another 16 cards off my 1971 Topps want list and I added a few Phillies high number cards from the 1960s.