Prospects Added to 40-Man Roster; Cotham Named New Pitching Coach

2019 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs #8

2019 Grandstand Reading Fightin Phils #33

2020 Topps Pro Debut #PD-106

2019 R-Phils Phillies Top 25 Prospects #15

2019 Choice Medusas de Lakewood #20

2019 R-Phils Phillies Top 25 Prospects #17

For the first time since a group of Phillies became free agents following the World Series, there was some movement with the team's roster.  As part of the annual offseason ritual of preparing for the rule 5 draft, teams must add draft-eligible players to their 40-man roster if they're to be protected. The Phillies added six of their top prospects to the 40-man roster yesterday, as summarized below.

Normally I'd include a sentence or two here about each player's prior year minor league performance, but with no minor league baseball in 2020 there's not much to say.

• Kyle Dohy (lhp) - Dohy was a spring training non-roster invitee in 2020, but then left off the 60-player pool over the summer.
• Bailey Falter (lhp) - One of three lefties added, Falter pitched for Reading in 2019.
• Damon Jones (lhp) - Jones was a non-roster invitee and a member of the 60-player pool.
• Nick Maton (inf) - Like Jones, Maton was a non-roster invitee and a member of the 60-player pool.
• Francisco Morales (rhp) - Ranked the team's 4th top prospect by MLB Pipeline, Morales projects as a starting pitcher and he reached Low-A Lakewood in 2019.
• Simon Muzziotti (of) - Center fielder Muzziotti spent all of 2019 with Clearwater and he's apparently an above average defender.

Granted 2020 was a bizarre season, but three of the four prospects (Garrett Cleavinger, Mauricio Llovera and JoJo Romero) added to the 40-man roster this time last year saw action with the Phillies over the summer.

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
2015 Additions - Jimmy Cordero, Roman Quinn and Edubray Ramos
2016 Additions - 11 prospects
2017 Additions - Seranthony Dominguez, Franklyn Kilome, Ranger Suarez, Jose Taveras and Engelb Vielma
2018 Additions - Arquimedes Gamboa, Edgar Garcia and Adonis Medina
2019 Additions - Garrett Cleavinger, Mauricio Llovera, JoJo Romero and Cristopher Sanchez

2020 Additions - Kyle Dohy, Bailey Falter, Damon Jones, Nick Maton, Francisco Morales and Simon Muzziotti

* * *

2017 Topps #188

Earlier Friday afternoon, the Phillies named Caleb Cotham as their new pitching coach, the team's fifth  pitching coach in as many years.  Admittedly, I know nothing about Cotham other than he appeared in the 2016 and 2017 Topps sets.  He appeared in 35 games (all in relief) with the Yankees in 2015 and the Reds in 2016, going 1-3 with a 7.15 ERA over 34 innings pitched.  His manager with the Yankees in 2015 was current Phillies manager Joe Girardi and his manager with the Reds in 2016 was outgoing Phillies pitching coach Bryan Price.

Cotham had been the Reds assistant pitching coach the past two seasons.  The Phillies are still looking for a new bullpen coach to replace Jim Gott, as Gott's contract was not renewed following the 2020 season.

Phillies Pitching Coaches Since 1970

Ray Rippelmeyer 1970-1978
Herm Starrette 1979-1981
Claude Osteen 1982-1988
Darold Knowles 1989-1990
Johnny Podres 1991-1996
Jim Wright 1996
Galen Cisco 1997-2000
Vern Ruhle 2001-2002
Joe Kerrigan 2003-2004
Rich Dubee 2005-2013
Bob McClure 2014-2017
Rick Kranitz 2018
Chris Young 2019

Bryan Price 2020

Caleb Cotham 2021-

1988 Tastykake Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

Number of Cards:  39
Card Size:  4 7/8" x 6 1/4"
Description:  The Phillies broke the mold for their 1988 photo card set and went with a set of supersized cards.  The fronts of the cards feature full color action photos while the backs contain biographical information and complete minor and Major League statistics.  The nine photo cards found in the update set have blank backs.  I've always thought this was one of the more impressive team-issued sets released by the Phillies, but I guess the larger size may have indirectly led to less cards in the set.  This is seventh year in a row the set was sponsored by Tastykake.

How Distributed:  Saturday, April 9, 1988, the first Saturday night home game of the season, was Tastykake Photo Card day with all fans receiving the original 30-card set.  (The Phillies won the game, 9-3 over the Mets, behind a complete game effort from Don Carman and 5 RBIs from Lance Parrish.)  The set was comprised of the entire opening day roster, 1987 Cy Young Award winner Steve Bedrosian, who opened the season on the disabled list, manager Lee Elia and cards for the coaches, top prospects, a team photo and the Phillie Phanatic.

The nine-card update set was released later in the season, and I believe was sold at various vendor stands throughout Veterans Stadium.  The update set checklist would have been finalized in mid-July as Larry Bowa took over for the fired Dave Bristol on July 15th and Ricky Jordan was recalled on July 16th.

Complete Standard Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here alphabetically with uniform number and position from the front of cards): 

1. Luis Aguayo (#16 - INF) 2. Bill Almon (#15 - INF) 3. Steve Bedrosian (#40 - P) 4. Phil Bradley (#29 - OF) 5. Jeff Calhoun (#31 - P) 6. Don Carman (#42 - P) 7. Darren Daulton (#10 - C) 8. Bob Dernier (#22 - OF) 9. Lee Elia (#4 - MG, Vertical)       10. Todd Frohwirth (#52 - P)

11. Greg Gross (#21 - OF-1B)       12. Kevin Gross (#46 - P) 13. Von Hayes (#9 - 1B) 14. Chris James (#18 - OF) 15. Steve Jeltz (#30 - SS) 16. Mike Maddux (#44 - P) 17. David Palmer (#45 - P) 18. Lance Parrish (#13 - C) 19. Shane Rawley (#28 - P) 20. Wally Ritchie (#38 - P)

21. Bruce Ruffin (#47 - P) 22. Juan Samuel (#8 - 2B) 23. Mike Schmidt (#20 - 3B) 24. Kent Tekulve (#27 - P) 25. Milt Thompson (#24 - CF) 26. Mike Young (#19 - OF) 27. Phillies Coaches 28. Phillies Prospects 29. Team Card 30. Phillie Phanatic

Complete Update Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here alphabetically with uniform number and position from the front of cards):

1. Larry Bowa (#16 - CO) 2. Lee Elia (#4 - MG, Horizontal)       3. Jackie Gutierrez (#15 - INF)

4. Greg Harris (#33 - P) 5. Ricky Jordan (#17 - 1B) 6. Keith Miller (#11 - INF-OF)

7. John Russell (#6 - C) 8. John Vukovich (#7 - CO) 9. Phillies Broadcasters

One and Only Phillies Baseball Card (1):  Almon

First Appearance in Phillies Team Issued Set (7):  Bradley, Gutierrez, Harris, Jordan, Miller, Palmer, Young
Returning Players in Phillies Team Issued Set (22):  Aguayo, Bedrosian, Calhoun, Carman, Daulton, Dernier, Frohwirth, G. Gross, K. Gross, Hayes, James, Jeltz, Maddux, Parrish, Rawley, Ritchie, Ruffin, Russell, Samuel, Schmidt,  Tekulve, Thompson

Managers (2):  Elia (2)
Coaches (3):  The coaches card in the base set includes Dave Bristol, Claude Osteen, Mike Ryan, Tony Taylor, Del Unser and John Vukovich.  Bowa and Vukovich get solo cards in the update set.

Phillie Phanatic (1):  The Phanatic is once again pictured atop his ATV.

Broadcasters (1):  Features Richie Ashburn, Harry Kalas, Garry Maddox, Andy Musser and Chris Wheeler
Phillies Prospects (1):  Features eight prospects on one card - Tom Barrett, Brad Brink, Steve DeAngelis, Ron Jones, Keith Miller, Brad Moore, Howard Nichols and Shane Turner.  DeAngelis and Nichols never played for the Phillies.
Other Cards (1):  Team card

Surprises:  The original 30-card set doesn't have many surprises, although there are a few omissions - see below.  The update set surprises me somewhat as I'm not sure why the Phillies decided we needed a second card of manager Elia and a stand-alone card of coach John Vukovich.  For some background here, the Phillies fired third base coach Bristol and hitting coach Del Unser on July 15th.  Vukovich, who had been serving as Elia's bench coach, moved over to third for a few games before the Phillies hired old friend Bowa who had recently been let go as the Padres manager.  Vukovich would switch jobs again on September 23rd, taking over as interim manager when Elia was fired.  Bowa wore #16 in his first stint as a Phillies coach, before switching to #2 at the start of the 1989 season.

Vukovich and Elia aren't the only two to appear in the set twice.  Prospect Keith Miller is one of eight prospects on the multi-player Phillies Prospects card and then he received his own card in the update set.  Five of the eight players on the Prospects card appeared with the Phillies in 1988 - Tom Barrett, Ron Jones, Miller, Brad Moore and Shane Turner.

Omissions:  If we use July 16th as a cut-off date for the update set, there are a few more deserving candidates.  The oft-injured pitcher Bill Dawley was recalled from Maine on April 22nd but was on the disabled list between May 11th and August 18th.  Reliever Danny Clay was recalled on April 30th and had three different stints with the Phillies in between trips back to Maine.  The only other possibility is pitcher Bill Scherrer who joined the team on July 5th but was gone less than a month later on August 2nd.  Wild speculation on my part here, but maybe one or more of those three pitchers were slated to receive cards in the update set only to be replaced by second cards for Elia and Vukovich.

Variations/Rarities:  As fellow collector Rick e-mailed me, there's also a smaller-sized Mike Schmidt card available, featuring the same photo as his regular 1988 Tastykake photo card, but on a smaller scale.

Smaller Sized Variation 1. Mike Schmidt (#20 - 3B)

Also See:  1988 Topps Phillies - Missing Links

Resources:  Beckett.com; Phillies collector Rick G.

This set was originally featured in a post back in October 2014, and I'm going through these older team-issued set posts to update them with new information learned (if any) over the past six years.

1987 Tastykake Phillies Photo Cards / 1989 Tastykake Phillies Photo Cards

1980-1999 Phillies Team-Issued Photo Cards Want List / Phillies Team Issued Sets Index Page

1979 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

Number of Cards:  38
Card Size:  3 1/4" x 5 1/2"
Description:  As was the case with all Phillies photo cards issued throughout the 1970s, these cards feature a black and white photo with the players' name below.  The backs of the photo cards are blank and there's no indication on the cards themselves that they're from 1979.  Some of the cards contain blue facsimile autographs, as noted on the checklist below. 

How Distributed:  The photo cards were handed out to fans individually and supplied to the players in order to reply to fan mail or honor autograph requests.  I could be wrong, but I don't believe the cards were ever available in complete set form.  The set's checklist is comprised of the manager, four coaches, all but one of the 25-man opening day roster (Mike Anderson is omitted) and eight players who would make their season debut with the team between May and early July. 

Complete Standard Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here alphabetically): 

1. Ramon Aviles (action) 2. Doug Bird 3. Bob Boone (action, auto) 4. Larry Bowa (action, auto) 5. Warren Brusstar (action) 6. Jose Cardenal (action) 7. Steve Carlton (action, auto) 8. Larry Christenson (action) 9. Rawly Eastwick (action, auto)       10. Nino Espinosa (auto) 11. Greg Gross 12. Bud Harrelson (action) 13. Jim Kaat (auto)

14. Randy Lerch (action) 15. Jim Lonborg (action) 16. Greg Luzinski (action, auto) 17. Pete Mackanin (auto) 18. Garry Maddox (action, auto) 19. Bake McBride (action, auto)       20. Tim McCarver (action) 21. Tug McGraw (action, auto) 22. Rudy Meoli (action, auto) 23. Dickie Noles (action) 24. Danny Ozark MG (auto) 25. Dave Rader 26. Ron Reed (action, auto)

27. Pete Rose (action, auto) 28. Dick Ruthven (auto) 29. Kevin Saucier (action) 30. Mike Schmidt (action) 31. Lonnie Smith (auto) 32. Herm Starrette CO (auto) 33. Tony Taylor CO (auto) 34. Bobby Tiefenauer CO (auto) 35. Manny Trillo 36. Manny Trillo (action) 37. Del Unser 38. Bobby Wine CO (auto)

One and Only Phillies Baseball Card (1):  Meoli

First Appearance in Phillies Team Issued Set (12):  Aviles, Bird, Espinosa, Gross, Mackanin, Noles, Rader, Rose, Saucier, Smith, Trillo (2)
Returning Players in Phillies Team Issued Set (20):  Boone, Bowa, Brusstar, Cardenal, Carlton, Christenson, Eastwick, Harrelson, Kaat, Lerch, Lonborg, Luzinski, Maddox, McBride, McCarver, McGraw, Reed, Ruthven, Schmidt, Unser

Manager (1):  Ozark
Coach (4):  Starrette, Taylor, Tiefenauer, Wine

Surprises:  The biggest surprise here is the inclusion of a Bud Harrelson card, although his photo could ver well be from 1978.  Harrelson had retired from baseball following the 1978 season, but injuries to Larry Bowa and Manny Trillo in the early part of the season forced the club to reach out to him.  Harrelson resigned with the Phillies on May 25th and made his season debut a day later.  The last player to make his debut during the season and appear within the set is Dickie Noles, who made his big league debut on July 5th.

Omissions:  For some reason, hitting/third base coach Billy DeMars didn't card a new card for this set.  He'd return to the checklist in 1980.  Also odd is the omission of outfielder Anderson who returned to the Phillies via free agency on March 5th and appeared in 79 games for the team.  Five other players, all September call-ups, appeared with the Phillies in 1979 and didn't receive photo cards - John Vukovich, John Poff, Jack Kucek, Keith Moreland and Dan Larson.

Variations/Rarities:  Fellow collector Steve let me know of a few rarities and variations for this set.

Signature Variation 1. Rawly Eastwick (no auto) 2. Dick Ruthven (no auto)

Error 1. Warren Brusstar (actually depicts Randy Lerch)

And while it's definitely not part of the team-issued photo card set, I'm including a scan of the Richie Ashburn photo below which could have fit in nicely with the set.  The photo is 5" x 7" and the note on the back indicates the Phillies broadcaster signed the photo on June 16, 1979 at Whitehall Mall.

Also See:  My First Phillies Game; 1979 Burger King Phillies #13 Pete Rose

Resources:  The Trading Card Database; Beckett.com; Phillies collector Steve F.

This set was originally featured in a post back in November 2014, and I'm going to slowly go through these team-issued set posts and update them with new information learned (if any) over the past six years.

1978 Phillies Team-Issued Photo Cards / 1980 Phillies Team-Issued Photo Cards

1970-1979 Phillies Team-Issued Photo Cards Want List / Phillies Team Issued Sets Index Page

1978 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

Number of Cards:  35
Card Size:  3 1/4" x 5 1/2"
Description:  As was the case with all Phillies photo cards issued throughout the 1970s, these cards feature a black and white photo with the players' name below.  The backs of the photo cards are blank and there's no indication on the cards themselves that they're from 1978.  Some of the cards contain blue facsimile autographs, as noted on the checklist below.  Tug McGraw's card features a rare horizontal format to fit his post wind-up photo.

How Distributed:  The photo cards were handed out to fans individually and supplied to the players in order to reply to fan mail or honor autograph requests.  I could be wrong, but I don't believe the cards were ever available in complete set form.  The set's checklist is comprised of the manager, five coaches, the entire 25-man opening day roster and two players acquired via trades in mid-June - Rawly Eastwick and Dick Ruthven.  As fellow collector Rick pointed out in a comment to this set's original post, there are action and portrait variations for the Tim McCarver and McGraw cards.  I'm not sure which versions are more prevalent, so I've included both in the standard checklist below.

Complete Standard Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here alphabetically): 

1. Carroll Beringer CO         2. Bob Boone (action, auto) 3. Larry Bowa (auto) 4. Warren Brusstar (action) 5. Jose Cardenal (auto) 6. Steve Carlton (action, auto)       7. Larry Christenson 8. Billy DeMars CO 9. Rawly Eastwick (action) 10. Barry Foote (action) 11. Gene Garber (action) 12. Bud Harrelson (action)

13. Richie Hebner (auto) 14. Dave Johnson (auto) 15. Jay Johnstone (action, auto) 16. Jim Kaat (auto) 17. Randy Lerch (action) 18. Jim Lonborg (action) 19. Greg Luzinski (auto) 20. Garry Maddox (action, auto) 21. Jerry Martin (action) 22. Bake McBride (action, auto)       23. Tim McCarver (portrait)         24. Tim McCarver (action)

25. Tug McGraw (portrait) 26. Tug McGraw (action) 27. Jim Morrison 28. Danny Ozark MG (auto) 29. Ron Reed (action) 30. Ray Rippelmeyer CO 31. Dick Ruthven (action) 32. Mike Schmidt 33. Ted Sizemore (action, auto) 34. Tony Taylor CO (auto) 35. Bobby Wine CO (auto)

One and Only Phillies Baseball Card (0)

First Appearance in Phillies Team Issued Set (4):  Cardenal, Eastwick, Harrelson, Morrison
Returning Players in Phillies Team Issued Set (25):  Boone, Bowa, Brusstar, Carlton, Christenson, Foote, Garber, Hebner, Johnson, Johnstone, Kaat, Lerch, Lonborg, Luzinski, Maddox, Martin, McBride, McCarver (2), McGraw (2), Reed, Ruthven, Schmidt, Sizemore

Manager (1):  Ozark
Coach (5):  Beringer, DeMars, Rippelmeyer, Taylor, Wine

Surprises:  The Phillies made two fairly significant trades on back-to-back days on June 14th and June 15th.  First, Jay Johnstone and Bobby Brown were traded to the Yankees for Eastwick.  A day later, Gene Garber was sent to the Braves for Ruthven.  Both Eastwick and Ruthven are featured in action photos for their cards, meaning these update cards were issued as early as late June.

Bob Boone's card uses the same photo as his 1977 photo card, but with a slightly different autograph placement.

Omissions:  The Phillies teams of the late 1970s were mostly very good teams, which correlates to little to no roster turnover.  There were 10 players who appeared with the 1978 Phillies who did not appear in this photo card set, and all with good reason.  Of the 10, only Orlando Gonzalez made his season debut before September and he only appeared in 26 games.  Pete Mackanin, Horacio Pina and Dan Larson all joined the organization in September.  Three September call-ups saw action early that month - Lonnie  Smith, Todd Cruz and Kerry Dineen - while three other prospects made their season debuts on the final day of the season, October 1st - Keith Moreland, Kevin Saucier and Dan Boitano.

Variations/Rarities:  Rick also confirmed the existence of a Mike Schmidt variation, with a blue facsimile autograph.

Signature Variation 1. Mike Schmidt (auto)

Harrison/Erickson 1. Phillie Phanatic

And while not part of the team issued set, there is a 1978 color postcard of the Phillie Phanatic issued by the Phanatic's creators Harrison/Erickson.  Perhaps this could be considered the Phanatic's rookie card?  Finally, I added a photo card of coach Carroll Beringer to my collection over the past few years that is slightly larger than the standard 3 1/4" x 5 1/2" photo cards.  I don't know what year this would have been issued, but I've included it below for reference.  Beringer was the team's bullpen coach between 1973 and 1978.

Also See:  1978 Phillies Spring Training and 1978 SSPC Baseball the Phillies Way - Part One and Part Two.

Resources:  The Trading Card Database; Phillies collectors Steve F. and Rick G.

This set was originally featured in a post back in January 2015, and I'm going to slowly go through these team-issued set posts and update them with new information learned (if any) over the past six years.

 

1977 Phillies Team-Issued Photo Cards / 1979 Phillies Team-Issued Photo Cards

1970-1979 Phillies Team-Issued Photo Cards Want List / Phillies Team Issued Sets Index Page

1980 to 1999 Phillies Team-Issued Photo Cards Want List

 1980 Phillies Photo Cards - 5 Needed

Luis Aguayo

Ruben Amaro CO

Scott Munninghoff

Mike Schmidt

Bobby Wine CO

1981 Phillies Photo Cards -  Needed

Ruben Amaro CO

Billy DeMars CO

Lee Elia CO

Tim McCarver (Broadcaster)

Herm Starrette CO Manny Trillo

1982 Tastykake Phillies Photo Cards - 8 Needed

 

Warren Brusstar

Marty Bystrom

Dick Davis

Mark Davis

Bill Robinson (No Tastykake Logo)

Dick Ruthven

Manny Trillo (With Hat)

Del Unser

1983 Tastykake Phillies Photo Cards - Phanatic Variation (not on ATV) 

1988 Tastykake Phillies Photo Cards - Mike Schmidt Variation (smaller sized card)

1990 ALS Autograph Party - Larry Bowa (coach), Larry Bowa (player), Dallas Green MG, Greg Gross, Hal Lanier (coach), Greg Luzinski, Garry Maddox, Bake McBride, Tug McGraw, Paul Owens GM, Manny Trillo, Del Unser

1991 ALS Autograph Party - Harry Anderson, Gene Garber, Maje McDonnell CO, Ron Reed, Eddie Sawyer MG, Curt Simmons

1992 ALS Autograph Party / Late Season Additions

1992 Phillies - Jay Baller, Stan Javier, Joe Millette, Todd Pratt, Mike Williams

Phillies Alumni - Dick Allen, Steve Bedrosian, Dave Cash, Sparky Lyle, Garry Maddox, Tug McGraw, Dickie Noles, Bobby Shantz

Non-Phillies - Joe Coleman, Jr., Joe Coleman, Sr., Joe Torre, Elmer Valo

1993 ALS Autograph Party - Mark Davis, Tim Mauser, Dale Murphy, Mike Schmidt, Kevin Stocker (running)

1996 ALS Autograph and Auction Party / Late Season Additions - Rich Hunter, Bobby Munoz, Glenn Murray, Ricky Otero, Desi Relaford, Scott Rolen, Jim Wright CO

1997 ALS Autograph and Auction Party - Matt Beech, Wayne Gomes

1998 ALS Phillies Phestival - Yorkis Perez, Mike Welch, Jon Zuber

1970 to 1979 Phillies Team-Issued Want List / 2000 to 2022 Phillies Team-Issued Want List