Happy Thanksgiving! (130 Days Until Opening Day)

1994 Mr. Turkey Baseball Greats #3

1961 Topps #377 Ruben Gomez

Former Phillies pitcher Ruben Gomez is featured today over at my 1956 Topps blog.  My new blog, which will cover each of the 342 cards from that iconic set, is chugging along slowly but surely and we're up to Gomez's card #9 today. The card featured here is his third of four Phillies Topps cards, found within the 1961 Topps set.

* * *

The Phillies acquired Gomez and Valmy Thomas from the Giants on December 3, 1958 for Jack Sanford.  Gomez would appear in 42 games for the Phillies in 1959 and 1960, getting the starting nod in 13 of those games.  He'd go 3-11 with a 5.78 ERA in 124 2/3 innings pitched.  He was hampered by a knee injury suffered early in the 1959 season and he'd spend part of the 1960 season pitching for the Phillies Triple-A team in Buffalo and on loan to the Orioles' Triple-A team in Miami.

He appeared in just 19 games for Buffalo in 1961 and was sold to the Indians minor league team in Jacksonville following the season.  Gomez would make it back to Philadelphia in 1967 following three seasons in the Mexican League.  He appeared in seven early season games for the 1967 Phillies, earning him his final Topps card in the 1967 Topps set.

Gomez has Phillies cards in the 1959, 1960, 1961 and 1967 Topps sets.  He also has a card in the 1959 Jay Publishing Phillies photo card set.

7th Annual @Section_36 Purge & Cards for Doug's Sets

2006 Bowman Gold #91

2006 Fleer Tradition #132

2006 Fleer Ultra #193

2006 Upper Deck First Pitch #148

One of the cool things about receiving a package from Section 36 is that I'm never expecting it.  I was away last week for a work conference and upon my return, sitting among a pile of bills and Christmas catalogs was a 300 count box with a Section 36 return address label.  As has been the tradition now for seven years, I was the lucky recipient of the annual purge of Phillies cards that had reached their 10 year expiration date.  Upon opening the box, I found a bunch of 2006 Phillies cards and I was instantly transported back to those pre-glory days right before the Phillies hit their five year franchise high mark.

There were quite a few cards from 2006 that I needed for my collection, and the others have already found their way to Doug's "Vintage Phillies" binder.  Yes, 2006 is vintage to an eight-year-old.

Speaking of Doug, the box contained small stacks of cards needed for Doug's 2014 Topps Update and 2015 Topps Archives sets, including his first high number card (#308 Gary Sheffield) from Topps Archives.  Doug's lists are now up to date although I'll be holding off on taking on any more trades until we see what Santa leaves under the tree this year.

2015 Topps Stadium Club Gold #37

2015 Topps First Home Run Relics #FHRR-MS

2015 Topps Heritage Mini #490

2015 Topps Archives #88

My favorite three cards in the box happen to be cards from 2015.  I'm grateful that Section 36 sent these cards my way now instead of making me wait for the 2025 purge.  I don't actively pursue parallel Phillies cards, but I'm always happy to add these to my collection.  The Mike Schmidt relic card was the highlight of the bunch, and it quickly became one of my favorite cards in my entire 2015 Phillies binder.  The Cole Hamels mini from this year's Topps Heritage set and the gold Stadium Club Carlos Ruiz cards are also welcome additions.

Doug and I are going to be pulling together some Sox cards to send north to show our gratitude. Thanks again Section 36 and here's hoping our teams' respective rebuilds have us both enjoying the postseason again soon.

Memory Lane - Section 36 Purge
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005

Achter Added; Three Prospects Added to 40-Man Roster

2016 Chachi New Additions #3

2015 Grandstand Clearwater Threshers #22

2015 Topps Heritage Minor League #109

The week before Thanksgiving is when all teams start to cobble together their 40-man roster in anticipation of the December Rule 5 draft.  I've tracked these pre-Thanksgiving additions over the past six years, and the links to prior offseason additions can be found below.

As I disclaim every year, I'm by no means an expert on prospects, but I can give you some information on the new additions' baseball card appearances to date.  I'll start with a new player to the Phillies organization, and then I'll cover the three prospects added.

A.J. Achter (rhp) - Achter was claimed off waivers from the Twins.  Spending the bulk of the season with Triple-A Rochester, Achter made it into 11 games with the Twins, pitching to a 6.75 ERA over 13 1/3 innings.  Achter shares a Rookie Stars card with former Phillies prospect Trevor May in the 2015 Topps Heritage set.

Jimmy Cordero (rhp) - Cordero was one of two players acquired from the Blue Jays in July for Ben Revere.  In 13 games with Double-A Reading, Cordero struck out 18 in 17 innings and had a 2.12 ERA.  Despite playing in parts of four minor league seasons, Cordero has no major baseball card releases to his name.

Edubray Ramos (rhp) - Ramos split last season between Clearwater and Reading, earning a 2.07 ERA over 47 games and 69 2/3 innings pitched.  He had 65 strikeouts to just 16 walks over that span. To date, Ramos' only baseball card (that I know of) can be found in last year's Threshers team set.

Roman Quinn (of) - Quinn, one of the organization's top prospects, was sidelined most of last season with a hip injury.  Before the injury, he hit .306 with 15 RBIs and 29 stolen bases for Reading.  Quinn has been a mainstay in various Bowman and Topps minor league sets since 2013.

Memory Lane
2009 Additions - Quintin Berry, Yohan Flande and Jesus Sanchez
2010 Additions - Cesar Hernandez, Matt Rizzotti, Harold Garcia, Freddy Galvis and Justin De Fratus*
2011 Additions - Phillippe Aumont, Jake Diekman, Tyson Gillies and Sebastian Valle
2012 Additions - Zach Collier, Ethan Martin, Trevor May and Jonathan Pettibone
2013 Additions - Aaron Altherr, Kelly Dugan, Tommy Joseph and Rob Rasmussen
2014 Additions - Jesse Biddle, Adam Morgan and Nefi Ogando

*Somehow I skipped 2010 and didn't do a post.

Moving On - 2015-2016 Offseason

• Chase d'Arnaud - inf (10/9/15) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency.
• Justin De Fratus - rhp (10/9/15) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency.
• Erik Kratz - c (10/9/15) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency.
• Sean O'Sullivan - rhp (10/9/15) - Elected free agency.
• Kevin Correia - rhp (10/10/15) - Elected free agency.
• Adam Loewen - lhp (10/10/15) - Outrighted off 40-man roster, elected free agency and signed as a minor league free agent with the Arizona Diamondbacks, 11/7/15.
• Dustin McGowan - rhp (10/10/15) - Elected free agency.
• Seth Rosin - rhp (10/10/15) - Elected free agency.
• Brian Bogusevic (10/26/15) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency.
• Domonic Brown (10/26/15) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency.
• Chad Billingsley - rhp (11/2/15) - Elected free agency.
• Jeff Francoeur - of (11/2/15) - Elected free agency.
• Aaron Harang - rhp (11/2/15) - Elected free agency.
• Jerome Williams - rhp (11/2/15) - Elected free agency.
• Cliff Lee - lhp (11/2/15) - Team option declined and elected free agency.
• Jordan Danks - of (11/6/15) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency.
• Ethan Martin - rhp (11/6/15) - Elected free agency.
• Jonathan Pettibone - rhp (11/6/15) - Elected free agency.

New Additions - 2015-2016 Offseason

• Dan Otero - rhp (11/3/15) - Claimed off waivers from the Oakland Athletics.
• Jeremy Hellickson - rhp (11/14/15) - Acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks for Sam McWilliams.
• A.J. Achter - rhp (11/20/15) - Claimed off waivers from the Minnesota Twins.

Phillies Add Five Non-Roster Invitees

2015 Choice Lehigh Valley
IronPigs Update #17

Reliever James Russell received some company on the list of Phillies non-roster invitees.  Five players were added to the ranks on Wednesday, and given the current state of flux of the Phillies roster, there's a really good chance each of these guys could see playing time in Philadelphia in 2016.

Right-handed pitchers Chris Leroux and Reinier Roibal played within the Phillies organization last season.  Leroux appeared with the IronPigs and Roibal spent time with the High-A Clearwater Threshers and the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils.  Despire appearing in 25 games for Reading, Roibal missed out on being included in their team set.

Of the five new additions, infielder Ryan Jackson saw the most action in the Majors last season, appearing in 22 games with the Angels.  Infielder Emmanuel Buriss played five games with the Nationals last season, and the bulk of his big league playing time came with the Giants between 2008 and 2012.

Righty Frank Herrmann hasn't seen action in the Majors since appearing in 15 games for the 2012 Indians.  Here's an updated list of the now six non-roster invitees, and their last major baseball card appearance.

Player (position) - 2015 Organization - Last Major Baseball Card Appearance
1.  James Russell (lhp) - Cubs - 2015 Topps #255 (Braves)
2.  Emmanuel Buriss (inf) - Nationals - 2010 Topps Update #US-82 (Giants)
3.  Ryan Jackson (inf) - Royals/Angels - 2013 Panini Prizm #238 (Cardinals)
4.  Frank Herrmann (rhp) - Angels/Pirates - 2010 Topps Update #US-89 (Indians)
5.  Chris Leroux (rhp) - Brewers/Phillies - 2013 Panini Select #205 (Pirates)
6.  Reinier Roibal (rhp) - Phillies - N/A

Lefty Russell Added as First Non-Roster Invitee

2015 Topps #255

I'm sure I've mentioned this before on this blog, but I've always thought Non-Roster Invitees would make a fantastic band name.

At this point in the young offseason, the Phillies have one non-roster invitee - left-handed reliever James Russell who had a 5.29 ERA in 49 games with the Cubs last season.  Russell has been a relatively effective reliever since coming up with the Cubs in 2010, but he had an off year last season. Russell came up with the Cubs and was swapped to the Braves at last season's trade deadline.  The Braves released him at the end of spring training and he signed back with the Cubs.

As I've done the past several seasons, I'll track the team's non-roster invitees as they're added.

Player (position) - 2015 Organization - Last Major Baseball Card Appearance
1.  James Russell (lhp) - Cubs - 2015 Topps #255 (Braves)

Phillies Acquire Hellickson from Diamondbacks

2016 Chachi New Additions #2

General Manager Matt Klentak made his first trade of his Phillies tenure yesterday, acquiring starting pitcher Jeremy Hellickson from the Diamondbacks for minor league pitcher Sam McWilliams. Hellickson went 9-2 with a 4.62 ERA in 27 starts for Arizona last season, and he might be best remembered by Phillies fans as the pitcher who broke Maikel Franco's wrist with a fastball back on August 11th.

Hellickson was named the American League Rookie of the Year in 2011 after his fine first season with the Rays.  Hellickson's most recent baseball cards can be found in the 2015 Topps and Topps Heritage sets.

McWilliams, just 20 years old, pitched for the Gulf Coast League Phillies last season, and he hasn't appeared on any minor league baseball cards yet.

Moving On - 2015-2016 Offseason

• Chase d'Arnaud - inf (10/9/15) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency.
• Justin De Fratus - rhp (10/9/15) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency.
• Erik Kratz - c (10/9/15) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency.
• Sean O'Sullivan - rhp (10/9/15) - Elected free agency.
• Kevin Correia - rhp (10/10/15) - Elected free agency.
• Adam Loewen - lhp (10/10/15) - Outrighted off 40-man roster, elected free agency and signed as a minor league free agent with the Arizona Diamondbacks, 11/7/15.
• Dustin McGowan - rhp (10/10/15) - Elected free agency.
• Seth Rosin - rhp (10/10/15) - Elected free agency.
• Brian Bogusevic (10/26/15) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency.
• Domonic Brown (10/26/15) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency.
• Chad Billingsley - rhp (11/2/15) - Elected free agency.
• Jeff Francoeur - of (11/2/15) - Elected free agency.
• Aaron Harang - rhp (11/2/15) - Elected free agency.
• Jerome Williams - rhp (11/2/15) - Elected free agency.
• Cliff Lee - lhp (11/2/15) - Team option declined and elected free agency.
• Jordan Danks - of (11/6/15) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency.
• Ethan Martin - rhp (11/6/15) - Elected free agency.
• Jonathan Pettibone - rhp (11/6/15) - Elected free agency.

New Additions - 2015-2016 Offseason

• Dan Otero - rhp (11/3/15) - Claimed off waivers from the Oakland Athletics.
• Jeremy Hellickson - rhp (11/14/15) - Acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks for Sam McWilliams.

Catching Up - Disney & Pneumonia Edition

2016 Chachi New Additions #1

2016 Chachi Departures #1

The Phillies Room has been on auto-pilot for a few weeks as I've run several posts that had been lingering in my draft folder.  The reasons for the hiatus are both good (we went to Disney World!) and bad (I've been dealing with pneumonia).  Honestly, the last few weeks have been a blur and one of my last cognizant memories was meeting both Pete Rose and Steve Carlton.  Perhaps Rose gave me pneumonia?  Is that even possible?

Here's a look at the early offseason Phillies moves that I've missed the last few weeks:

2014 Choice Lehigh Valley
IronPigs #28

New Coach
The Phillies filled their final 2016 coaching position with the hiring of Mickey Morandini to be their new first base coach.  Morandini has coached and managed at various levels throughout the Phillies minor league system for the past five seasons.

New Reliever
General Manager Matt Klentak made the first move of his Phillies tenure, claiming right-handed reliever Dan Otero off waivers from the Athletics.  Otero went 2-4 with a 6.75 for the A's in 2015. He's the first card in the 2016 Chachi New Additions set and his latest Topps card can be found in the 2015 Topps A's retail team set.  Prior to that, Otero had a card in the 2011 Topps Heritage Minor League set.

Free Agents
In a surprise to no one, the Phillies declined Cliff Lee's 2016 option, making him a free agent.  Lee pitched in just one spring training game before being shut down for good in early March.

Lee, who is expected to announce his retirement, joins a long list of former Phillies now on the free agent market.  The other big names below are Domonic Brown, a former top prospect and 2013 All-Star, and both Aaron Harang and Jerome Williams, who bolstered a shaky rotation last season.  Jeff Francoeur could potentially return to the Phillies in 2016 to fill a bench spot.

Adam Loewen, who appeared in 20 games in 2015, becomes the first card in the 2016 Chachi Departures insert set following his minor league deal with the Diamondbacks.  Given the lengthy list below, the Departures set could be a large one this year.

2015 Topps Allen & Ginter #61

2015 Topps Archives #295

2015 Topps Update #US146

2015 Topps Heritage High Numbers #588

Moving On - 2015-2016 Offseason

• Chase d'Arnaud - inf (10/9/15) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency.
• Justin De Fratus - rhp (10/9/15) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency.
• Erik Kratz - c (10/9/15) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency.
• Sean O'Sullivan - rhp (10/9/15) - Elected free agency.
• Kevin Correia - rhp (10/10/15) - Elected free agency.
• Adam Loewen - lhp (10/10/15) - Outrighted off 40-man roster, elected free agency and signed as a minor league free agent with the Arizona Diamondbacks, 11/7/15.
• Dustin McGowan - rhp (10/10/15) - Elected free agency.
• Seth Rosin - rhp (10/10/15) - Elected free agency.
• Brian Bogusevic (10/26/15) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency.
• Domonic Brown (10/26/15) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency.
• Chad Billingsley - rhp (11/2/15) - Elected free agency.
• Jeff Francoeur - of (11/2/15) - Elected free agency.
• Aaron Harang - rhp (11/2/15) - Elected free agency.
• Jerome Williams - rhp (11/2/15) - Elected free agency.
• Cliff Lee - lhp (11/2/15) - Team option declined and elected free agency.
• Jordan Danks - of (11/6/15) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency.
• Ethan Martin - rhp (11/6/15) - Elected free agency.
• Jonathan Pettibone - rhp (11/6/15) - Elected free agency.

New Additions - 2015-2016 Offseason

• Dan Otero - rhp (11/3/15) - Claimed off waivers from the Oakland Athletics.

Chachi Team Leader Cards (2005-2014)

For the last ten seasons, my custom made Chachi sets have included team leader cards celebrating the Phillies who led the club in various offensive and pitching categories.  On a recent commute home from work, which is where I do a lot of my deep thinking, I decided I was going to omit the team leader cards from the 2015 Chachi set.  My reasoning is fourfold, and that may or may not actually be a word:

1.  There were no league leader cards in the original 1985 Topps set, so I'd have to create my own template.
2.  I did not feel like doing this.
3.  With the exception of a few categories below, being a Phillies team leader during the 2015 season is the equivalent of receiving a participant ribbon at a youth sporting event.
4.  As part of his year-ending suspension, Jonathan Papelbon has also been banned from appearing on any future Chachi cards.

Still, I wanted to at least memorialize the team leaders in a post.  Listed below are the Phillies players who would have appeared on 2015 Chachi team leaders cards had they existed.  This could be a one year lay-off for this subset if the 2016 Phillies team performs a little better.

2015 Topps Heritage High Numbers #666

2015 Topps Heritage High Numbers #596

2015 Topps Heritage #364

2015 Topps Heritage #230

Batting Leaders
Odubel Herrera - .297
Freddy Galvis - .263

This took some math work to determine since Ben Revere hit .298 but didn't have the required number of plate appearances to qualify for the team title.  The same can be said for Maikel Franco (.280) and Cesar Hernandez (.272).

Home Run Leaders
Ryan Howard - 23
Maikel Franco - 14

RBI Leaders
Ryan Howard - 77
Maikel Franco and Freddy Galvis - 50

Stolen Base Leaders
Ben Revere - 24
Cesar Hernandez - 19

2015 Topps Heritage #94

2015 Topps Heritage #490

2015 Topps Heritage High Numbers #552

2015 Topps Heritage Minor League #209

ERA Leaders
Aaron Harang - 4.86

This is the highest ERA to lead the team since Claude Willoughby had an ERA of 4.99 for the 1929 Phillies.  No other Phillies pitcher had the requisite 162 innings pitched to qualify.  Ken Giles had a 1.80 ERA in 70 innings.

Victory Leaders
Ken Giles, Cole Hamels, Aaron Harang and Aaron Nola - 6

This marks the first time in the history of Major League baseball that no one on a single team had at least 7 victories.

Strikeout Leaders
Cole Hamels - 137
Aaron Harang - 108

Leading Firemen
Jonathan Papelbon - 17 saves
Ken Giles - 15 saves

Phillies Missing Links of the 1980s - #15 Salome Barojas

#31
Salome (Romero) Barojas
Relief Pitcher

You are a true Phillies fan and you immediately gain my respect if you recall any of Salome Barojas' six games with the club in September 1988.  In between 16 seasons pitching in the Mexican League, Barojas enjoyed brief stints with the White Sox, Mariners and Phillies.  As Steve F. points out in a post featuring Barojas from a few years ago, the veteran pitcher was once on the cover of Baseball Digest in July 1982.

As a testament to how thin the Phillies pitching was in 1988, Barojas was purchased from the Mexico City Reds in late July and he was added to the expanded active roster in September.  His final stats with the club aren't great (see below), but he did hold opponents scoreless over his final three appearances.  The Phils released Barojas immediately following the season and he'd go back to the Mexican League, pitching in parts of seven more seasons until retiring at the age of 39.

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'9"  Weight:  160
Born:  June 16, 1957, Veracruz, Mexico
Signed:  Purchased by the Chicago White Sox from the Mexico City Reds, April 1, 1982
Major League Teams:  Chicago White Sox 1982-1984; Seattle Mariners 1984-1985; Phillies 1988
Professional Affiliations:  Cordoba Cafeteros 1976-1979; Reynosa Broncos 1980; Mexico City Reds 1981; Chicago White Sox 1982-1984; Seattle Mariners 1984-1985; Mexico City Reds 1986-1988; Phillies 1988; Mexico City Reds 1989-1994, 1996

Phillies Career
6 games, 0-0, 8.31 ERA over 8 2/3 innings pitched
Acquired:  Purchased from the Mexico City Reds, July 28, 1988
Debut:  September 5, 1988 - Relieved Bob Sebra (also making his Phillies debut) in the third inning of an eventual blow-out game against the Cubs.  Barojas would only retire one batter in the inning.
Final Game:  September 26, 1988
Departed:  Released on September 29, 1988 and re-signed with the Mexico City Reds prior to the 1989 season

1983 Donruss #67

1984 Donruss #570

1985 Donruss #605

1985 Fleer #482

0 Barojas Baseball Card in My Collection
First Card:  N/A
Last Card:  N/A

Other Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1983 Donruss #67
First Topps Base Card:  N/A
Last Mainstream Card:  1985 Fleer #482
Other Notable Cards:  1983 Fleer #230, 1984 Donruss #570, 1984 Fleer #53, 1985 Donruss #605

My first attempt at a Barojas Phillies baseball card used his photo from his 1985 Donruss card and the 1988 Topps design.

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.

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