Friday 7:05, Saturday 1:05, Sunday 8:05
Phillies 13-13, 4th Place in the N.L. East, 3 games behind the Nationals
Nationals 15-9, 1st Place in the N.L. East, 1 game ahead of the Braves
Phillies Probables: Kyle Kendrick (0-2, 6.59), Vance Worley (2-1, 1.97), Cole Hamels (3-1, 2.78)
Nationals Probables: Stephen Strasburg (2-0, 1.13), Gio Gonzalez (2-1, 1.82), Jordan Zimmermann (1-2, 1.89)
At the Ballpark: There are a lot of promotions listed on the Nationals' website for these games, but not much information is available. Friday night's listing includes "Beltway Burger Pack" and "Miller Lite Party Night." Saturday is also a "Miller Lite Party Night" and a "Harris Teeter Family Fun Pack." Kids also get to run the bases following Saturday's game. Sunday is listed as "Signature Sundays presented by New Era" and another "Harris Teeter Family Fun Pack." Any Nationals fans care to shed some light on these things?
Phillies Leaders
Average: Carlos Ruiz - .329
Runs: Hunter Pence - 15
Home Runs: Shane Victorino - 5
RBIs: Carlos Ruiz - 17
Stolen Bases: Shane Victorino - 8
Wins: Joe Blanton, Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels - 3
ERA: Vance Worley - 1.97
Strikeouts: Cole Hamels - 36
Saves: Jonathan Papelbon - 9
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| 1979 Topps #161 and #43 |
For some bizarre reason, known only to my six-year-old brain, I loved this Foote card as a kid. Maybe it was his name, or maybe it was the awesome bright red catcher's gear, but for whatever reason this card was firmly in my favorites pile. Foote appeared in only 57 games with the Phillies in 1977 and 1978 before being swapped to the Cubs in the massive eight-player trade that brought Greg Gross and Manny Trillo to the Phillies in February 1979. This is one of three cards featuring him with the Phillies - the others being his 1978 Topps and 1978 SSPC cards.
The Twitch pitched in parts of seven seasons with the Phillies between 1971 and 1977, compiling a record of 33-43 with a 3.57 ERA. He was the team's lone All-Star representative in 1973. After he left Philly, Twitchell bounced around from the Expos to the Mets to the Mariners. He first appeared in a Topps set in 1971, on a multi-player rookie card, and this card from the 1979 set would be his final Topps card.
I am probably one of the few people alive in the world outside of Barry Foote and Tim Blackwell (RIP, Wayne Twitchell) who have a specific memory of that trade. I have a cousin 18 moths older than me who was fairly aggressive--nice enough, but aggressive. When we heard that Foote was traded to the Phillies, he was at my house, and he (then 10) made a run up to my room saying "You have his card, and I'm going to take it, with me (then 8 1/2) in hot pursuit to try to stop him. I don't remember who got to that otherwise unimportant Expos card first--but even if it was me, he probably ripped it out of my hands.
ReplyDeleteEarlier that year, he and I had another "incident." I had collected a few baseball cards in 1976, but I really started in earnest in early 1977, when my dad's cousin drove my brother and me, plus my cousin and his brother, around upstate PA in his hatchback looking for a candy store so he could buy us a box of baseball cards to split. I remember we found a Playboy in the back of his car, which he made us give to him and promise not to mention to our parents in exchange for the cards. Actually, in retrospect, maybe that's why he bought us a box to split and not just 4 packs. Anyway, my cousin got no Phillies in his 9 packs, while my brother and I each got several. My cousin first started kicking us, then started crying. My dad and his dad, who are brothers, agreed that my brother and I would each give him a Phillies card. Stupidly, I gave him my best one--Steve Carlton. It took me a couple years to later trade to get another copy of it.
As an interesting aside, that cousin now works for Channel 17 in Philly, where, well, I don't know--maybe he gets to watch Phillies games without the 7-second delay?
Great story!
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