Spring Training Game 4 - Nola Cruises, Sosa Hits 3-Run Bomb

2022 Topps Now #1038

Phillies 9, Pirates 7
Spring Training Game 4 - Monday Afternoon, February 27th in Bradenton
Record - 3-1

One Sentence Summary:  Aaron Nola threw two scoreless innings in his spring debut, and Edmundo Sosa launched a three-run home run to left center field as the Phillies nudged out the Pirates, 9-7.

What It Means:  The game got away a little late, and the Phillies had been up at one point by a score of 9-2.  Minor league call-ups Tyler McKay and Matt Seelinger got hit around a bit in the later innings by the Pirates.

What Happened:  The Phillies offense continues to hit the ball well, adding 11 hits on the day with home runs from Sosa and Alec Bohm, and an inside-the-park home run from Weston Wilson.  Darick Hall had a pair of hits, Garrett Stubbs and Josh Harrison both doubled, and Jake Cave tripled.  Jose Alvarado threw a scoreless inning, striking out a pair.

Featured Card:  Sosa hit his blast in the third with Bohm and Hall aboard, giving the Phillies a 5-0 lead.  I'm hoping he gets a proper Phillies baseball card this year, as his baseball card appearances last year were limited to Topps Now cards, none of which were dedicated to him specifically.  This is one of those cards and while Sosa is front and center on the card's front, there's no mention of him on the front or on the back.

Camp Head Count:  65

Spring Training Game 3 - Turner Debuts, Wilson Slams

2022 Topps Heritage
Minor League #90

Phillies 10, Twins 8
Spring Training Game 3 - Sunday Afternoon, February 26th in Clearwater
Record - 2-1

One Sentence Summary:  Trea Turner made his Phillies debut, and Ethan Wilson hit a grand slam in the sixth to break a 6-6 tie and ultimately lead to the win.

What It Means:  What I was hoping would be a productive day turned out to be an enjoyable day as I couldn't pull myself away from watching this game.  Chores can wait a little bit.

What Happened:  In the first inning, Turner singled in his first Phillies at-bat, stole second and came around to score on a bloop single to left from J.T. Realmuto.  Turner would add an RBI-single in the second.  I'm going to enjoy watching him for the next 11 seasons.  In the fifth, with the Phillies leading 2-0, the Twins' Elliot Soto hit a grand slam off reliever Brian Marconi.  Nick Castellanos hit a two-run home run in the fifth, and he's already looking better at the plate than last season.  In the sixth, Kody Clemens hit a solo home run and Vito Friscia would walk with the bases loaded to tie the score.  Wilson then hit his grand slam to give the Phillies a 10-6 lead.

Featured Card:  I'm confident Turner will get his share of featured cards during the 2023 season, so I'll go with Wilson here.  (Not to be confused with Weston Wilson, who was the featured card from Saturday's games.)  Wilson had a bunch of 2022 minor league cards in 2022, including this one from the Topps Heritage Minor League set.

Camp Head Count:  65

Spring Training Games 1 & 2 - Phils Split First Games of '23

2022 Choice
Nashville Sounds #32

Phillies 7, Yankees 4
Spring Training Game 1 - Saturday Afternoon, February 25th in Clearwater

Tigers 4, Phillies 2
Spring Training Game 2 - Tuesday Afternoon, February 25th in Lakeland
Record - 1-1

One Sentence Summary:  The reigning National League Champion Phillies split their squad for the spring lid lifter, winning at home against the Yankees and losing on the road to the Tigers.

What It Means:  With no owner's lock-out this year, and an earlier spring schedule due to the World Baseball Classic, baseball is back a little early in 2023.  The first spring game last year wasn't until March 19th.  It's such a great feeling to have baseball back, even though the offseason wasn't as long as usual thanks to an unexpected trip to the World Series.  We watched most of the Yankees game with snow flurries coming down outside, and I found myself wishing several times throughout the game we were in Florida.

What Happened:  In Clearwater, non-roster invitee Weston Wilson hit the first home run of the spring for the Phillies.  He'd  add a two-run double in the fifth to tie the game at 4-4, and he'd make a nice catch in right field.  Jake Cave and Brandon Marsh also had a pair of hits for the Phillies.  First baseman and minor league call-up Carlos De La Cruz hit a moonshot home run in the eighth, and pitching prospect Andrew Baker earned the win following a scoreless seventh inning in which he struck out a pair.

In Lakeland, all the offense came from minor league addition Nick Podkul, who had a two-run double to center in the seventh.  Michael Plassmeyer got the start and threw two scoreless innings.

Featured Card:  Wilson's baseball card appearances have been slim to date, and the TCDB shows him with six minor league cards to his name.  This is his most recent card, and the watermark across it gives away I snagged the image from the Go Sports Cards minor league baseball card online store.

Camp Head Count:  65

The Phils break camp with 65 players on their roster - 40 on the 40-man roster, 24 non-roster invitees and one player on the restricted list - Noah Song (rhp).  Song was recently discharged from active military duty, and there are a bunch of complex roster rules around him given his military service and the fact he was a rule 5 pick from the Red Sox.  He's the one addition to the list of 64 players I posted here last week.  The Phillies could add him to the 40-man roster as a corresponding move whenever Bryce Harper (dh), recovering from Tommy John surgery, is placed on the 60-day Injured List.  From pictures I've seen, it looks as if Song is wearing #52, which was one of four numbers under 60 still available.

Getting Closer to Games - New Numbers are Here!

2023 Topps #283

2023 Topps #209

2023 Topps #176

2023 Topps #86

2023 Topps #145

It looks as if I skipped the "New Numbers" post last year, which I'll blame on the owners' lock-out that delayed the start of spring training.  One of the many milestones I look forward to each offseason is the assignment of new uniform numbers on the Phillies' website.  This is a hit or miss process as some years the numbers have arrived in spurts, very late or not at all.  I checked the roster page on Friday morning, noticing "--" listed as the uniform number for every non-roster invitee except Francisco Morales, and for most of the non-high profile new additions to the 40-man roster.  By Friday afternoon, uniform numbers had miraculously appeared and we're now that much closer to baseball returning.

Here's a look at the new players and their uniform numbers, who wore the number previously, and a few uniform number switches.

40-Man Roster

• #2 Josh Harrison (inf) - Worn by Jean Segura since 2019.  Harrison had worn #7 when he was in summer camp with the Phillies in 2020.
• #7 Trea Turner (ss) -  Johan Camargo wore #7 in 2022, and Turner will wear it through at least the 2033 season.
• #23 Kody Clemens (inf) - Corey Knebel last year.
• #25 Matt Strahm (lhp) - Strahm took the number from Darick Hall, who switched to #24.
• #30 Gregory Sosa (lhp) - David Robertson in 2022.
• #31 Craig Kimbrel (rhp) - Last worn by Jeurys Familia.
• #37 Andrew Vasquez (lhp) - This had been Odubel Herrera's number since 2015.
• #43 Yunior Marte (rhp) - Worn by Noah Syndergaard in 2022.
• #44 Jake Cave (of) - Kyle Gibson's former number.
• #47 Erich Uelman (rhp) - Worn very briefly last season by Chris Devenski.
• #56 Luis Ortiz (rhp) - This had been Zach Efllin's number since 2016.
• #99 Taijuan Walker (rhp) - Last worn by So Taguchi in 2008.  Prior to that, the only other #99 in franchise history were Turk Wendell and Mitch Williams.

Notable Non-Roster Invitees - 60 and Under

• #29 John Hicks (c) - Worn in 2022 by Nick Maton.
• #39 Vimael Machin (inf) - Worn briefly by back-up catcher Donny Sands.
• #41 Vito Friscia (c) - Belonged to Yairo Munoz last year.
• #50 Jon Duplantier (rhp) - Worn by Austin Wynns in spring training last year, and last worn in season by closer Hector Neris.
• #51 Ben Bowden (lhp) - Hans Crouse, still in the organization, wore this number for one game in 2021.
• #60 Louis Head (rhp) - Ryan Sherriff wore this number in spring training last year, Ramon Rosso wore it in 2021.

Uniform Number Switches

• #24 Darick Hall (inf) - Hall surrendered #25 to Strahm, and takes the number last worn by Roman Quinn.
• #73 Will Toffey (inf) - Toffey was active for one game in 2022 and wore #33, which now belongs to Edmundo Sosa.

Still Unofficially Retired

#6 Ryan Howard, #11 Jimmy Rollins, #26 Chase Utley, #35 Cole Hamels

Still Available - 60 and Under

#19, #48, #52, #54

#19 was worn by Matt Vierling in 2022, #48 was Vinny Nittoli, #52 was Brad Hand and #54 was Sam Coonrod.  I always suspect they're saving these for an acquisition that hasn't been  made official yet.  Coonrod was the latest departure, as he was claimed by the Mets off waivers on February 6th.

Memory Lane

2012 New Numbers

2013 New Numbers
2014 New Numbers - Part One and Part Two
2015 New Numbers
2016 New Numbers - Part One and Part Two
2017 New Numbers
2018 New Numbers
2019 New Numbers - Part One, Part Two and Part Three
2020 New Numbers

2021 New Numbers - Part One and Part Two

2022 New Numbers - Skipped it!

2023 New Numbers

The Tradition Continues! - 2023 First Phillie Winner

I surprised myself last week by deciding to buy a hobby box of Topps Series One, as I'm still riding the high of the Phillies being in the World Series and this is the first flagship set design in several years I really like.  As much as I enjoyed the 2022 Topps design, it was almost too plain for me and this year's design will definitely not be accused of that.  There's a lot going on here.

I appreciate that Topps recognizes a somewhat under appreciated tradition of having two photos - one action, one portrait - on the front of its flagship cards every 20 years in years ending in -3.  This started in 1963, came back in 1983, kept the tradition going in 2003 and makes its triumphant return in 2023.  Well done, Topps.  While I expect the 2043 Topps baseball cards to just be holograms we launch from our tricorders, hopefully the two photos on the front return for a fifth time in the sequence.

Since I've been opening packs of Topps flagship cards, we've had a family tradition of seeking the First Phillie of the year.  My Dad and I started the tradition in the early 1980s, I carried it through, some years by myself, through the early 2000s, and the practice has continued with my wife and sons since then.  On late Friday afternoon, not soon after the box had been delivered to the door, we selected our packs and commenced the search for the First Phillie of 2023.  There was some controversy this year as Doug pulled a league leaders card featuring Kyle Schwarber seconds before I found this Aaron Nola card in my first pack.  Ben quickly followed with the J.T. Realmuto card in his first pack.  Consulting the hallowed family First Phillie bylaws, I'm awarding First Phillie honors this year to myself, as the league leaders card doesn't quite count.

Yes, the fronts of these cards are busy.  Yes, there are a few too many design elements crammed on the bottom of the cards.  But I like them, and these seem to me what baseball cards should look like in the year 2023.  Our box had amazing collation, as we didn't have any doubles and we were just 14 cards short of a complete 330-card first series set.  There seemed to be way fewer inserts and parallels than in prior years, and I was completely fine with that.  My one continued gripe with Topps flagship is that I wish the checklist grouped subsets together.  League leaders and the combo card/checklists should be grouped sequentially and not dropped in randomly throughout the checklist.  

Revisiting a ranking of Topps flagship sets from the past 10 years, the 2023 Topps set, at least for now, finishes near the top.  I think I could flip flop the 2022 and 2019 designs in these rankings too:

Best Five:  2015, 2023, 2022, 2019, 2016

Bottom Five:  2018, 2014, 2021, 2017, 2020

Best - 2015 Topps #309

#2 - 2023 Topps #278

#3 - 2022 Topps #249

#4 - 2019 Topps #303

#5 - 2016 Topps #15

#6 - 2018 Topps #26

#7 - 2014 Topps #90

#8 - 2021 Topps #79

#9 - 2017 Topps #247

Worst - 2020 Topps #221

Past First Phillies

2010 Topps #300 Chase Utley

2011 Topps #242 Brad Lidge

2012 Topps #98 Domonic Brown

2013 Topps #6 Ryan Howard
2014 Topps #90 Ethan Martin
2015 Topps #309 Maikel Franco
2016 Topps #15 Ryan Howard
2017 Topps #247 Hector Neris
2018 Topps #26 Cesar Hernandez
2019 Topps #303 Ranger Suarez
2020 Topps #190 Aaron Nola

2021 Topps #79 Roman Quinn

2022 Topps #249 Zack Wheeler

2023 Topps #278 Aaron Nola

Pitchers and Catchers Report!

2020 Chachi Almost #8

Phillies pitchers and catchers officially reported yesterday, and I spent a fair bit of the day refreshing my Twitter feed in the hope of seeing new pictures or action from Clearwater.  After the letdown of the Eagles loss in the Super Bowl, and the general dreariness of January/early February, it was a much-needed diversion.  The Phillies and several of the team's beat writers didn't disappoint, with photos and videos from sunny Clearwater.

Since I last posted, the Phillies added Josh Harrison (inf) to their 40-man roster, signing the veteran infielder to a one-year deal on January 30th.  Harrison had been in spring/summer camp with the Phillies in 2020, and was a late roster cut.  To make room for Harrison, Sam Coonrod (rhp) was designated for assignment and selected off waivers by the Mets.  Coonrod was one the Phillies' top used relievers in 2021, appearing in 42 games and saving a pair of games.  He was limited to just 12 games in 2022 due to injury, getting hit hard in his limited appearances and earning a 7.82 ERA.

The Phillies also announced the addition of three more catchers as non-roster invitees, listed below.  With J.T. Realmuto and Garrett Stubbs both departing shortly for the World Baseball Classic, the team wisely added a trio of additional catchers to its roster.

Player (position) - 2022 Organization - Last Major Baseball Card

22.  Jack Conley (c) - Phillies - N/A

23.  Aramis Garcia (c) - Reds - 2020 Topps Total #477 (Giants)

24.  Cody Roberts (c) - Orioles - N/A

64 players are in camp with the team, and hopefully at some point the Phillies website updates its roster page with uniform numbers.  An * indicates the player is a non-roster invitee.

Catchers (9) - Jack Conley*, Vito Friscia*, Aramis Garcia*, John Hicks*, Rafael Marchan, Max McDowell*, J.T. Realmuto, Cody Roberts*, Garrett Stubbs

Infielders (13) - Alec Bohm, Kody Clemens, Darick Hall, Jim Haley*, Josh Harrison, Rhys Hoskins, Scott Kingery*, Vimael Machin*, Edmundo Sosa, Bryson Stott, Will Toffey*, Trea Turner, Weston Wilson*

Outfielders (9) - Nick Castellanos, Jake Cave, Dalton Guthrie, Bryce Harper, Brandon Marsh, Simon Muzziotti, Jhailyn Ortiz, Johan Rojas, Kyle Schwarber

Right-handed pitchers (24) - Mick Abel*, Mark Appel*, Andrew Baker*, Andrew Bellatti, Connor Brogdon, Seranthony Dominguez, Jon Duplantier*, Louis Head*, Jake Jewell*, Craig Kimbrel, Yunior Marte, James McArthur, Griff McGarry*, McKinley Moore*, Francisco Morales*, Nick Nelson, Aaron Nola, Luis Ortiz, Andrew Painter*, Billy Sullivan*, Erich Uelman, Jeremy Walker*, Taijuan Walker, Zack Wheeler

Left-handed pitchers (9) - Jose Alvarado, Ben Bowden*, Bailey Falter, Michael Plassmeyer, Cristopher Sanchez, Gregory Sosa, Matt Strahm, Ranger Suarez, Andrew Vasquez

For what it's worth, the only players with prior major league experience with the Phillies not in major league camp are Hans Crouse (rhp) and Damon Jones (lhp).  Rule 5 pick Noah Song (rhp) is on the restricted list as he's currently serving in the military.