Showing posts with label (Missing Links). Show all posts
Showing posts with label (Missing Links). Show all posts

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

1989 Phillies - The Missing Links

1987 Donruss #583, 1989 Topps #338, 1990 ProCards #608 and 1989 Fleer #106
When I started to put together this post, I wanted to start with a few sentences summarizing the 1989 Phillies season.  I stumbled around a little and then decided to just cut and paste what I had written about that team in my 1989 Topps Phillies post:
The 1989 season was a hot mess for the Phillies.  Mike Schmidt tearfully announced his retirement, fan favorites Chris James, Steve Bedrosian and Juan Samuel were all sent packing, and the team continued to underwhelm with another last place finish.
Nick Leyva's squad fielded 48 different players during the long 1989 season, which at the time was one short of the all-time high 49 players used by the 1946 Phillies.  As you'll see below, four of those 48 players have never graced a Phillies baseball card.  If not for the 1989 Tastykake Phillies set, that number would have jumped to nine players.

3 Cards or More
38 Players

Outfielder Keith Miller just makes the 3 Cards or More list.  Miller had solo cards in the 1989 Topps set, as well as the 1989 Score Hottest 100 Rookies set.  He's also featured on the multi-prospest card within the 1988 Tastykake Phillies set and a solo card (which I don't have yet) within the 1988 Tastykake Phillies Update set.

1989 Topps #268, 1987 Topps #196, 1987 Donruss Opening Day #220 and 1990 Fleer #569
2 Cards
Dwayne Murphy (98 games in 1989) - 1989 Tastykake Phillies #6 and 1990 Fleer #569

Veteran Murphy wrapped up his 12-year career with 98 games for the Phillies in 1989.  He hit .218 with 9 home runs and 27 RBIs, and was released following the season.  Thankfully, Fleer saw fit to include a "final tribute" card to Murphy with its 1990 release.

1 Card
Mark Ryal (29 games in 1989) - 1989 Tastykake Phillies #31
Tom Nieto (11 games in 1989 and 17 games in 1990) - 1989 Tastykake Phillies #24
Randy O'Neal (20 games in 1989) - 1989 Tastykake Phillies #27
Jim Adduci (13 games in 1989) - 1989 Tastykake Phillies Update #37
Eric Bullock (6 games in 1989) - 1989 Tastykake Phillies Update #38

1989 Tastykake Phillies #31 and #27
If you can actually recall any of the five players above suiting up for the Phillies, I'll tip my cap to you.  For some odd reason, there was actually a period during the 1989 season when Ryal was my favorite Phillies player.  He was only with the team from opening day to mid-June, hitting .242 in his 29 games, but I seem to remember he had a few big late-inning hits.  Checking the official record, it appears as if my memory is shoddy.  Perhaps I just liked rooting for an underdog.

Nieto was the back-up to Steve Lake, who was the back-up to Darren Daulton.  He hit .160 in his 28 games with the Phillies.

O'Neal stuck around for 20 games, and he made an emergency start for the Phillies in mid-August.  He was released following the season after compiling a 6.23 ERA in 39 innings.  Prior to landing with the Phillies, O'Neal had been a semi-reliable reliever with the Tigers in the mid-'80s.

Adduci appeared in 13 July games for the Phillies when the newly acquired John Kruk landed on the disabled list.  Once Kruk was healthy, Adduci headed back to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.  He wrapped up his 11-year professional career in 1990 with another full season as a Red Baron.

In October 1988, the Phillies traded starting pitcher Shane Rawley to the Twins for starting second baseman Tommy Herr, back-up catcher Nieto and outfielder Bullock.  Bullock earned a very brief call-up by the Phillies in late June, going 0 for 4 in his six games as either a late inning outfield defensive replacement or as a pinch-hitter.  Bullock was one of the five lucky recipients of a 1989 Topps Card That Never Was that I posted two years ago.  To date, I haven't yet made the other 14 cards needed to complete this series.

1989 CMC Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons #12, #4, #7 and #21
0 Cards
Steve Stanicek (9 games in 1989)
Bob Sebra (3 games in 1988 and 6 games in 1989)
Gordon Dillard (5 games in 1989)
Al Pardo (2 games in 1988 and 1 game in 1989)

Stanicek was a first round draft pick by the Giants in 1982.  He earned a brief call-up with the Brewers in 1987 and the Phillies signed him as a minor league free agent prior to the 1989 season.  After spending the season with the Red Barons, Stanicek was a September call-up appearing solely as a pinch-hitter in nine games.  He went 1 for 9 during his brief stay and was released immediately following the season.

Dillard, a lefty, came over to the Phillies from the Orioles in the Phil Bradley deal in December 1988.  He had his contract purchased in May and appeared in a total of five games with the Phillies.  He finished up the season in Scranton and bounced to the Pirates organization following the season.  He pitched briefly for the independent Salinas Spurs in 1991 before calling it a career.

I wrote about Sebra's and Pardo's time with the Phillies in my 1988 Missing Links post.

Past Missing Link Posts

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Thursday, November 14, 2013

1988 Phillies - The Missing Links

1989 Score Hottest 100 Rookies #67, 1989 Upper Deck #430,
1988 Donruss #487 and 1988 Fleer Update #U-108
An awful team with a large number of fringe, journeyman relievers results in the highest number of "Missing Links" Phillies thus far in our look back to the 1980s.  In the late '80s, Donruss, Fleer, Score and Topps were churning out more sets than ever and trying to cash in on the booming rookie card business.  For this reason alone, guys who probably wouldn't have a Phillies card today (and I'm looking at you, Alex Madrid) ended up with numerous Phillies cards over several brands and products.

Alas, as you'll see below, if you were a short-term bullpen plug or a fourth-string catcher for the 1988 Phillies, there's absolutely no cardboard proof of your time in marroon pinstripes.  However, thanks to my limited computer graphic design skills, I've created 1988 Topps Phillies cards for each player not appearing on a 1988 Topps card here and here.

3 Cards or More
35 Players

1988 Tastykake Phillies #15
Infielder Shane Turner squeaks onto this list.  Turner shares card space with seven other prospects on a multi-player 1988 Tastykake Phillies card, and he shares a Major League Prospects card in the 1989 Fleer set with Scott Service.  His lone solo Phillies card can be found in the 1989 Score Hottest 100 Rookies set.

Along with his appearance in the 1989 Fleer set, Service appeared on Phillies cards in the 1990 Bowman and Upper Deck sets.  Until researching this post, I had no idea that Service put together an impressive 12-year career.

2 Cards
Jackie Gutierrez (33 games in 1988) - 1989 Tastykake Phillies Update and 1989 Upper Deck #430

Gutierrez was the Super Michael Martinez of his day, hitting .247 in his 33 games with the 1988 Phillies, occassionally spelling Mike Schmidt at third or Steve Jeltz at shortstop.  Before coming to the Phillies, he played in parts of five seasons with the Red Sox and Orioles.

1 Card
Bill Almon (20 games in 1988) - 1988 Tastykake Phillies #15
Danny Clay (17 games in 1988) - 1988 Fleer Update #U-108

Almon wrapped his 15-year career with with the Phils, hitting .115 (3 for 26) in 26 games from April to mid-June.  Had he not been with the team on opening day, his 1988 Tastykake Phillies card probably wouldn't exist.  Clay was one of the two prospects acquired from the Twins in June 1987 for reliever Dan Schatzeder.  He made it into 17 games with the Phillies, compiling a 6.00 ERA thanks in part to his 21 walks in 24 innings.

1988 Score #337 and #328, 1987 Topps #98 and 1986 Donruss #489
0 Cards
Bob Sebra (3 games in 1988 and 6 games in 1989)
Bill Dawley (8 games in 1988)
Bill Scherrer (8 games in 1988)
Salome Barojas (6 games in 1988)
Al Pardo (2 games in 1988 and 1 game in 1989)

For some reason, I could have sworn Sebra spent more time with the Phillies than his nine games in 1988 and 1989.  My 15-year-old brain had him as one of the main pitchers with the '88 and '89 Phillies, but the fact is he really wasn't around that much.  Sebra was acquired from the Expos in September 1988 and traded away to the Reds in July 1989.  Given his short tenure with the club, it's no surprise that he doesn't have any Phillies cards.

1985 Fleer #482
Dawley and Scherrer are perhaps better known for their time with the Astros and Tigers, respectively.  Dawley pitched 8 2/3 total innings with the Phillies, going 0-2 with a 13.50 ERA before earning his release following the season.  Scherrer, who earned a World Series ring with the 1984 Tigers, signed with the Phillies in June 1988 after being released by the Orioles.  He lasted a little over a month with the team, pitching 6 2/3 innings with an ERA of 5.40 and was released on August 1st.

Perhaps the most obscure former Phillie on the 1988 squad was Mexican-born right-handed reliver Salome Barojas.  In between 16 seasons in the Mexican League, Barojas pitched for the White Sox (1982-1984), Mariners (1984-1985) and very briefly with the Phillies.  Barojas was purchased by the Phils from the Mexico City Reds on July 28th and he made six appearances with the club in September.  In 8 2/3 innings, Barojas compiled a 8.31 ERA and he was released immediately following the season.

Finally, catcher Pardo was a September call-up from Triple-A in both 1988 and 1989.  He went 0 for 3 in his 3 at-bats with the Phillies, understandably not earning any Phillies cardboard.

Past Missing Link Posts

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Friday, October 4, 2013

1987 Phillies - No Missing Links

1987 Fleer Update #U-27, 1987 Donruss Opening Day #155, 1987 O-Pee-Chee #135 and 1988 Donruss #604
Thanks entirely to the 1987 Tastykake Phillies set, I've found another season in which every player who suited up for the Phillies received at least one Phillies baseball card.  I've put together posts covering 1980 to 1987, and then 1990 to 2000, and that's something that can be said for only three seasons in that range - 1985, 1987 and 1993.

3 Cards or More
35 Players

I'm going to include Mike Easler in this first category.  Easler only played 33 games with the Phillies before he was traded back to the New York Yankees in early June.  His 1987 Donruss Opening Day card is the sole standard sized card to feature Easler in a Phillies uniform, and he also appears in the 1987 Tastykake Phillies set.  The card that pushes him into this category, in my opinion, is his 1987 O-Pee-Chee card.  The card shows Easler in a Yankees uniform but bears a Phillies logo and the little "Now with Phillies" legend on the front of the card.

1987 Tastykake
Phillies #45
1987 Tastykake
Phillies #51
1987 Tastykake
Phillies #58
1987 Tastykake
Phillies #39A
2 Cards
Ken Dowell (15 games in 1987) - 1987 Fleer Update #U-27 and 1987 Tastykake Phillies #37
Ken Jackson (8 games in 1987) - 1985 Tastykake Phillies #44 (with Francisco Melendez) and 1987 Tastykake Phillies #51
Tom Newell (2 games in 1987) - 1987 Tastykake Phillies #50 and 1988 Donruss #604

I was always excited to receive new cards of Mike Schmidt or even Von Hayes during the mid to late '80s.  But what really got me excited is when the Ken Dowell's of the world appeared in a major card release like Fleer Update.  Dowell's entire Phillies career spanned 15 games between June 24th and July 19th, and that was good enough for the fine folks at Fleer to decide to give the light-hitting shortstop a card in their update set.  Dowell was released by the Phils following the 1987 season and spent three seasons in the Mets and Braves organizations before hanging up his spikes.

Jackson was rewarded for his strong season at Double-A Reading with a September call-up, and he made his Major League debut on September 12th.  In 8 games, Jackson hit .250 (4 for 16) with two doubles.  He spent eight seasons toiling in the minors for the Phils before wrapping up his professional career in 1989 in the Rangers' organization.

If Dowell's inclusion in the 1987 Fleer Update set is curious, then Newell's inclusion in the 1988 Donruss set is flat out crazy mysterious.  Also a September call-up, Newell appeared in two games in which he accumulated one inning pitched and four earned runs for a career ERA of 36.00.  He left the Phillies organization following the 1988 season, missed the 1989 season, and played the next two seasons within the Yankees' organization.  But at least he's forever immortalized within the 1988 Donruss set.

1987 ProCards Maine Guides #16, #9, #2 and #4
1 Card
Greg Jelks (10 games in 1987) - 1987 Tastykake Phillies #45
Greg Legg (11 games in 1986 and 3 games in 1987) - 1987 Tastykake Phillies #11
Doug Bair (11 games in 1987) - 1987 Tastykake Phillies #58
Joe Cowley (5 games in 1987) - 1987 Tastykake Phillies #39

Jelks, who was called up to the Phillies in late August, appeared in 10 games for the Phillies at third base, first base and left field.  He hit .091 (1 for 11) and spent the entire 1988 season back with Triple-A Maine.  According to his Baseball Reference page, Jelks was still playing professional baseball as late as the 2001 season.

I covered Legg in depth with the 1986 Phillies Missing Links post.  Bair pitched in 11 forgettable games for the Phillies toward the tail-end of his 15-year career.  After his short time in Philadelphia, Bair would actually enjoy one of his better seasons with the 1989 Pirates when he posted a 2.27 ERA over 44 relief appearances.

And what to say about Cowley?  Cowley was acquired from the White Sox in late March 1987 for outfielder Gary Redus.  He was supposed to stabilize the rotation, but instead ended up going 0-4 over 5 appearances with a 15.43 ERA.  He pitched in 13 more games for Triple-A Maine, but after going 3-9 with a 7.86 ERA, his Phillies and his Major League Baseball careers were over.  Neither Topps nor Fleer deemed him worthy enough for inclusion within their update sets.

Past Missing Link Posts

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