1974 Phillies Photocards Mike Schmidt MRC

Pirates 6, Phillies 5
Spring Training Game 18 - Friday Afternoon, March 20th in Bradenton
Record - 9-8-1

One Sentence Summary:  The Pirates roughed up the Phillies bullpen in the late innings to earn a 6-5 victory.

What It Means:  The reliever hit the hardest was Mario Hollands, who now owns a spring ERA of 11.81.  He was one of the team's more reliable relievers last season.

What Happened:  Brian Bogusevic hit his team-leading third home run of the spring.  Cody Asche also added a home run.

Featured Cards:  The card featured here has absolutely nothing to do with the game, but I felt the need to show it off.  (Although I believe Mike Schmidt is still in Clearwater with the team.  I think I saw him in the dugout during Thursday night's game against the Yankees.)

I recently won this 1974 Phillies Photocard from eBay almost as soon as it had been listed.  Needing a mid-day break from work, I headed over to eBay, typed in one of my typical search phrases, "Phillies Team Issue," and this Schmidt card appeared.  I immediately recognized it as one of Schmidt's earliest cards and clicked the Buy It Now button.

2014 Bowman Inception
Prospect Autographs #PA-MF

Schmidt had a few cards issued in 1972 and 1973, but the cool thing about this particular card (and someone correct me here if I'm wrong) is that it's his Mustache Rookie Card or his MRC.  As far as I know, this is the first baseball card featuring Schmidt with his famous 'stache.  He appears mustache-less on his 1974 Topps card and I'm betting that his 1974 Johnny Pro Phillies card (featuring him with a mustache) was issued after this team issued photo card.

Camp Head Count:  49 - 4 = 45.  Before the game, top prospect Maikel Franco was optioned to minor league camp along with pitchers Nefi Ogando and Joely Rodriguez.  Franco went 6 for 30 (.200) in 12 spring games without an extra base hit.  I have quite a few of Franco's cards from 2014 as he's the only real Phillies prospect Topps seems to have on their radar.

After the game, pitcher Elvis Araujo was also optioned to minor league camp.  They won't be on the opening day roster, but I would expect to see all four of these guys in Phillies uniforms at some point this season.