Game 135 - SOSA SLAMS PHILS TO WIN; LC Tribute

Philadelphia Phillies	5
Los Angeles Angels	3

2026 Topps Now #611

Late Friday Night, August 28th

Angel Stadium - Anaheim, CA
75-60, 2nd Place, 5 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Edmundo Sosa hit a pinch-hit grand slam in the top of the ninth inning, sending the Phillies to an amazing 5-3 win over the Angels.

What It Means:  Yes, I stayed up for this entire game but I almost turned it off in the seventh and went to bed.  I'm glad I didn't!

What Happened:  Andrew Painter suffered through a typical first inning for him, allowing three runs on two hits, two walks and two wild pitches, before settling down and pitching well the next five innings.  He didn't allow another hit the rest of the way and struck out six overall.  The Phillies pushed across a run in the fifth on a bunt single from Derek Hill, scoring Alec Bohm.  

Angels' reliever Ben Joyce came on in the ninth to try and hold a 3-1 lead.  Bohm was hit by a pitch and Justin Crawford walked, and Bryson Stott hit a fly ball to right that would have been a home run if not for an incredible leaping catch by Wade Meckler.  With two outs, J.T. Realmuto drew another walk and Sammy Peralta relieved Joyce.  Sosa connected for his slam, giving the Phillies a 5-3 lead and stunning the Angel Stadium crowd.

Featured Card:  Sosa rightfully earned a Topps Now card, but I also wanted to pay tribute to Larry Christenson, who passed away on Friday.  Christenson was a career Phillie, and a member of the 1980 World Championship team.  He won 83 games in his 11-year career, but I'll remember him most for being omnipresent at Phillies alumni events, special ceremonies and even just regular games.  He never didn't sign or pose for a picture with our oldest son, Doug, and I'd venture to guess Doug probable has at least a dozen Christenson autographs in his collection on Wall of Fame prints, baseballs, photo cards and score cards.  LC will be missed.

1977 Topps #59

1982 Donruss #219

2017 Chachi Alumni Weekend #1

2018 Chachi Friendly Encounters #18

2019 Chachi Friendly Encounters #7

2026 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2026 Season Summary Index / 2026 Chachi Set Checklist

Game 24 - Mariners Take Care of Phils, Falter

2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #7

Mariners 5, Phillies 3
Game 24 - Tuesday Night, April 25th in Philadelphia
Record - 11-13, 4th Place, 5 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  A few home runs and a hot Mariners team took care of Bailey Falter and the Phillies in this 5-3 loss.

What It Means:  I'm completely missing these games.  Still busy at work, and with my late afternoons/evenings dominated by high school baseball action, there's been no time to sit and enjoy (?) much of the Phillies action against the Rockies, and so far against the Mariners too.  I saw the final inning of this game, on mute, and that was it.  Hopefully by the time I'm able to sit and watch a full game again, the Phillies have remembered how to win.

What Happened:  Falter pitched six solid innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits while striking out seven.  Two of the hits were costly home runs allowed to Jarred Kelenic in the fifth and Teoscar Hernandez, a two-run blast, in the sixth.  Edmundo Sosa got the Phillies on the board with a solo home run in the fifth.

Featured Card:  Old friend J.P. Crawford was back in town, manning shortstop for the Mariners and contributing an RBI-infield single in the fifth.  Crawford has found a home in Seattle, and while I was sad to see him go at the time, acquiring Jean Segura proved to be the right move.  Without Segura, the Phillies likely don't make it to the World Series in 2022.  Here's a blast from the past from the gone but not forgotten ALS Phillies Phestival from June 2018.  Crawford and both our sons look like absolute babies here.

2023 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2023 Season Summary Index / 2023 Chachi Set Checklist

Spring Training Game 31 - Getting Closer to Real Baseball

2022 Topps Archives #139

Phillies 5, Blue Jays 2
Spring Training Game 31 - Monday Afternoon, March 27th in Dunedin
Record - 14-16-1

One Sentence Summary:  Taijuan Walker and the Phillies defeated the Blue Jays in this penultimate spring training game of 2023.

What It Means:  One more spring training game to go!

What Happened:  Trea Turner stayed hot, slugging a two-run home run in the second inning.  Bryson Stott had started the scoring in the first with a two-run single, scoring Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto.  Phillies prospect Leandro Pineda hit a solo home run in the ninth.  Walker pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing a hit and walking three, but striking out five.  Craig Kimbrel pitched a scoreless inning of relief to lower his spring ERA to 1.13.

Featured Card:  Home plate umpire Randy Rosenberg ejected Realmuto in the fourth inning after the umpire thought Realmuto was playing keep away with his glove.  It was actually pretty funny, and I've embedded the video below.

Camp Head Count:  44 - 9 = 35

In a flurry of moves before the game, Michael Plassmeyer (lhp), Luis Ortiz (rhp), Erich Uelmen (rhp) and Kody Clemens (inf) were optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.  Aramis Garcia (c), John Hicks (c), Jim Haley (inf), Scott Kingery (inf) and Weston Wilson (inf) were all reassigned to minor league camp.  I would expect all of them to spend some time with the Phillies at some point during the 2023 season.

The Phillies need to trim nine more roster spots prior to Thursday to get down to the opening day roster size of 26.  Bryce Harper (of), Rhys Hoskins (1b) and Ranger Suarez (lhp) will start the season on the Injured List and the remaining two non-roster invitees, Will Toffey (inf) and Andrew Painter (rhp) could be destined for the minor league version of the Injured List.  Noah Song (rhp) will either remain on the Restricted List or be transferred to the Injured List.  That's six spots.

The remaining three players without roster spots seem to be Rafael Marchan (c), Nick Nelson (rhp) and Cristopher Sanchez (lhp).

J.T. Realmuto got ejected... in a spring training game? For this? 🤨 pic.twitter.com/guH1S9rjmG

— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) March 27, 2023

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

Game 18 - 2020 Topps Throwback Thursday #98 Bryce Harper

Phillies 13, Red Sox 6
Game 18 - Tuesday Night, August 18th in Boston
Record - 9-9, 3rd Place, 1 1/2 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  The offense pounded out 16 hits in this 13-6 rout of the Red Sox.

What It Means:  The Phillies now have the best offense in the National League through 18 games and it looks as if their line-up is finally getting going.  Bryce Harper leads the majors with a .486 on-base percentage and he's second with an 1.186 OPS.

What Happened:  The entire starting line-up, save Scott Kingery, had hits in this game.  The Red Sox held a 3-0 lead after three innings, and the Phillies started chipping away with a Jay Bruce RBI single in the fourth and a Rhys Hoskins solo home run, his first of the season, in the fifth.  They piled on seven runs in the sixth with an RBI double from pinch-hitter Phil Gosselin starting the scoring and a three-run home run from Harper putting an exclamation point on the inning.  Gosselin would homer in the seventh and Bruce made it a laugher with a three-run home run in the eighth.

Zach Eflin lasted only four innings, but the bullpen was actually effective for the Phillies.  Blake Parker got the win with two scoreless innings of relief.

Featured Card:  I almost went with Bruce here, but I have a glut of cool Harper cards in my slim 2020 Phillies binder, so he gets the nod.  This card uses the design of the 1978-79 Topps Hockey cards and was available online from Topps as part of their ongoing Throwback Thursday series.

Transaction:  Edgar Garcia (rhp) was traded to the Rays for a player to be named later, ending the young pitcher's six-plus years within the Phillies organization.  His 40-man roster spot was needed last week with the addition of Alec Bohm to the active roster.  Feeling better and cleared to play, Roman Quinn (of) was activated from the injured list and JoJo Romero (lhp) was optioned back to Lehigh Valley.  Romero was active for three games, but didn't see any game action.

Finally, and for the record, Andrew Knapp has assumed uniform #5 after wearing #7 for four games.  He originally swapped from #15 on August 13th when the club announced it would be retiring Dick Allen's number, and then he swapped again when #5 became available with the recent departure of Nick Williams.

2020 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2020 Season Summary Index / 2020 Chachi Set Checklist

1956 Topps #58 Ed Roebuck

This a crossover post from my other blog, chronicling each card in the wonderful 1956 Topps set. Today's post features former Phillies player Ed Roebuck.  Please click on over there for all of the posts to date, including a look at all the Phillies Alumni featured in the set.



Edward Jack Roebuck
Brooklyn Dodgers
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  185
Born:  July 3, 1931, Millsboro, PA
Signed:  Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1949 season
Major League Teams:  Brooklyn Dodgers 1955-1957; Los Angeles Dodgers 1958, 1960-1963; Washington Senators 1963-1964; Philadelphia Phillies 1964-1966
Died:  June 14, 2018, Lakewood, CA (age 86)

All but one of Ed Roebuck's 460 appearances in the Major Leagues came in relief, and he served as one of the game's most reliable relievers from the mid-1950s through the mid-1960s.  Roebuck was a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers team that won a World Series in 1955 and lost the Series in 1956 to the Yankees.  In 6 1/3 innings in the 1955 and 1956 World Series, he allowed one one run, and had an impressive ERA of 1.42.  Perhaps Roebuck's best season was 1962 when he went 10-2 with a 3.09 ERA and nine saves while appearing in 64 games for the Dodgers.  In his 11-year career, he finished in the top ten in the league in saves and appearances four different times.

After a few mediocre seasons with the Senators, Roebuck found new life with the Phillies, serving as one of the most durable relievers during the 1964 season but unfortunately he was part of that team's epic, late season collapse.  One of the game's most proficient fungo hitters, Roebuck was invited to Houston in 1964 to hit fungos as high as he could inside the Astrodome, still under construction, to make sure the roof would be high enough once official games commenced.

Following his playing days, Roebuck served as a scout for the Dodgers, Phillies, Braves, Reds, Pirates and Red Sox.  He retired in 2006 after earning his second World Series ring in 2004 as a scout for the Red Sox.

Building the Set
August 29, 1988 in Millville, NJ - Card #62
I shared this story back in March when I posted the Tom Brewer (#34) card, but I'll repeat it again here.  The Roebuck card was one of four cards I acquired for our 1956 Topps set via a trade, and all I had to surrender were a bunch of 1988 Topps doubles.

We were about a year in to officially collecting the 1956 Topps set when I added four cards to the set through a trade with a friend of mine.  Now my friend probably has no recollection of this, but I'm going to omit his name to protect the innocent.  In the summer of 1988, I was aware of a few different baseball card collectors from my school.  Most of them were busy accumulating as many "Future Stars" cards from the 1988 Topps set as possible, convinced these cards would be worth hundreds of dollars in a matter of a few short years.  The Kevin Elster card was a particularly hot commodity, as was anything with a Topps Rookie Cup on it such as the cards for Mark McGwire, Mike Greenwell, Ellis Burks and Casey Candaele.

My friend had four 1956 Topps cards set aside in an "oldies" pile, and I'm guessing he had added these to his collection by accident or maybe through an older relative.  In any event, I went over to his house this late summer day in August, equipped with my 1988 Topps doubles, and ready to deal.  I don't remember the specifics of the trade, but I ended up with four 1956 Topps commons and he ended up with a small stack of 1988 Topps rookies.  We were both happy with our respective hauls, so in our minds it was a fair deal.

I've lost track of this friend over the years, but his name lives on in my official records of how each card in our 1956 Topps set was obtained.

The Card
Here's something I found extremely interesting, and I've been tracking this since starting this project.  Roebuck's card is the 47th card in the set to feature a player also included within the 1955 Topps set.  However, his is the first instance of a card using a different photo for his 1956 Topps card than what was used for his 1955 Topps card.  Why did Topps suddenly decide to go with a new photo for Roebuck's 1956 Topps card, when it had used the same photo for the prior 46 players?

1956 Season
Roebuck appeared in 43 games for the Dodgers, all in relief, going 5-4 with a 3.93 ERA.  Only closer Clem Labine had more appearances in relief that season for the Dodgers with 62.  He led the National League in wild pitches with 10.  Against the Yankees in the 1956 World Series, Roebuck appeared in three games, pitching 4 1/3 innings and allowing only one hit and one run - a solo home run to Mickey Mantle in Game 4.

Phillies Career
On April 21, 1964, the Senators sold Roebuck to the Phillies and he appeared in 60 games in relief.  In parts of three seasons with the Phillies, Roebuck appeared in 110 games, pitching to a 10-8 record and a 2.83 ERA.  He recorded 15 saves, second only to Jack Baldschun (27 saves) during that same stretch.  During the late season collapse of 1964 resulting in ten straight losses, Roebuck pitched in four games and was scored upon only once.

The Phillies released him following the 1965 season, but he re-signed with them as a free agent and appeared in six games before getting released again on July 23, 1966.  He served as a scout for the Phillies after retiring as an active player, but I can't find any reference to what years he was with the club either online or from the team's yearbooks or media guides.

Roebuck's most readily available Phillies baseball card can be found in the 1965 Topps set.  He's also in the 1964 Philadelphia Bulletin set, the 1978 TCMA The 1960s set and he signed reprints of his 1965 Topps card for the 2014 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs insert set.

1955 Topps #195

1961 Topps #6

1964 Topps #187

1965 Topps #52

1978 TCMA The 1960s #165

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1955 Topps #195
First Topps Card:  1955 Topps #195
Representative Phillies Card:  1965 Topps #52
Last Topps Card:  1965 Topps #52
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2014 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-ER

52 - Roebuck non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 7/22/19.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Phillies Room
SABR
The Trading Card Database

In some cases, the first and last cards listed above are subjective and chosen by me if multiple cards were released within the same year.  Most recent mainstream card may also be subjective and does not include extremely low serial numbered cards, buybacks or cut autograph cards.

After 79 Years, Larry File Gets a Phillies Baseball Card

Fellow collector Alan was kind enough to e-mail me a few weeks ago to let me know he had 1970 Grant Jackson Phillies Photocard I needed from my want list.  He graciously told me he'd send me the Jackson card along with a "small care package," including a couple of odds and ends.

In the package along with the Jackson photo card were signed photo cards of Jerry Martin, Larry Christenson and Juan Samuel and a signed Manny Trillo card from the 1981 Topps 5 x 7 set.  There were five other non-Phillies photo card autographs, shown here, of former Phillies pitchers Curt Simmons, Jack Sanford and Ron Reed.  The Reed photo is interesting to me as it appears to be the same photo used for his 1982 Topps card.  These are all welcome additions to my Phillies collection.

The final autographed photo really caught my attention, as I had never heard of Larry File and the inscription under his autograph said, "Phillie 1940."  I came up empty when Googling Larry File, but thanks to Baseball Reference and a quick review of the 1940 Phillies roster, I found a Sam File.  Sam File's full name is Samuel Lawrence File, so I had my match.

Unfortunately, I didn't learn much more about File than what's on his Baseball Reference page.  At 18 years old, he was the youngest player in the National League in 1940, making his debut on September 6th.  He appeared in seven games for the Phillies, collecting a hit in 13 at-bats (.077).  He split his 33 innings in the field between shortstop (28 innings) and third base (5 innings) committing three errors in 20 total chances.  He remained in the Phillies minor league system in 1941 (77 games), 1942 (113 games) and then again in 1946 (20 games), playing his final year of professional baseball that season at the age of 24.  His three season interruption was due to his military service with the Coast Guard during World War II.

Born in Chester, PA in 1922, File passed away in 2008 at the age of 86.

2019 Chachi Phillies Missing Links of the 1940s #1

Not surprisingly, File never appeared on any baseball cards, making him a member of a club near and dear to me - the Phillies Missing Links.  I thought I'd remedy this with the first card from the Phillies Missing Links from the 1940s insert set, something I may continue at a (much) later date.  Since he signed his name "Larry" and the Phillies Media Guide lists him as "File, Larry (Sam)," I went with Larry instead of Sam for his card.

Thanks again Alan for the great package!

Happy New Year!

2018 Chachi #57

And that's a wrap on 2018 for The Phillies Room.  May your 2019 be hopeful and peaceful, and may all your checklists be unmarked.

We're going to stay quiet for a little while longer but we'll ease into some long toss and side bullpen sessions before you know it.  Pitchers and catchers and bloggers report for spring training soon . . .

Merry Christmas!

2018 Chachi #56

Merry Christmas from our team to your team!  Have a wonderful holiday and here's to a fantastic, parade-filled 2019!

Happy Birthday Doug!

And just like that, he's 12!  Happy birthday to one of the coolest kids I know.  I'm proud of everything you do.

Memory Lane
2006 to 2008 - Pre-The Phillies Room years
2009 - Doug turns 3
2010 - Took the year off . . . bad father!
2011 - A Shane Victorino card for Doug
2012 - Doug with the Phanatic, turns 6
2013 - Doug on the Braves, turns 7
2014 - Doug on the Marlins, turns 8
2015 - Doug on the Diamondbacks, turns 9
2016 - Doug and Pete Mackanin
2017 - Warming up with the Braves
2018 - On the mound for the Phillies

Philly Baseball Card Show Report - Hamels, Stairs, Phillies Oddballs

2018 Chachi Friendly Encounters #19

2018 Chachi Friendly Encounters #20

Doug and I managed to go a full year without attending a baseball card show, so we were excited to make the hour drive to The Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, PA on Saturday.  Doug decided to try something different this time, foregoing any lists and opting instead for a day of free-style picking as he liked to call it.  He tends to favor Phillies certified autograph and memorabilia baseball cards and a picture of the latest additions to his collection is found below.

My goal was to add autographs of Matt Stairs and Cole Hamels (two of the guest autograph signers), get closer to completing my 1971 Topps set and add to my vintage Phillies baseball card collection.  All goals were accomplished.

• Stairs and Hamels were both very pleasant and Doug was extremely excited to meet both of them.  The two former Phillies earn the honor of having the final two 2018 Chachi Friendly Encounters insert cards.
• I picked up a reasonably priced 1960 Phillies Yearbook as well as Phillies Media Guides from 1973 and 1974.
• I hunted down some rarely seen oddball Phillies cards from the 1960s including the two Phillies cards in the 1962 Bazooka set (Johnny Callison and Art Mahaffey) and 3 of the 13 cards from the 1967 Phillies Safe Driving set.
• I crossed another 12 cards off my 1971 Topps list, including the semi-pricey cards of Brooks Robinson and Boog Powell.
• I got a nice discount on a 1956 Topps Richie Ashburn card for my 1950s Phillies binder.
• And my splurge was a terrific condition 1911 T205 Gold Border card of John Bates.

Memory Lane

Valley Forge 1 - September 2010 - Thinking of my Dad
Valley Forge 2 - October 2012 - Doug's first baseball card show
Valley Forge 3 - September 2014 - Meeting Darren Daulton
Oaks 1 - October 2015 - Meeting Pete Rose and Steve Carlton
Valley Forge 4 - September 2016 - Phillies acquisitions and 4 Phillies Legends
Valley Forge 5 - December 2016 - Meeting Don Money
Valley Forge 6 - September 2017 - Doug's big day
Valley Forge 7 - December 2017 - Ben's first baseball card show with Mike Schmidt and Rhys Hoskins!
Oaks 2 - December 2018 - Meeting Matt Stairs and Cole Hamels

Doug's haul for the day

Limited Edition Chachi Insert Set: 1978 Topps Missing Links

I've needed a Phillies break since the conclusion of the Freefall of '18 wrapped up, but I wanted to break my hiatus to post these cards today.  My wife's birthday is approaching and 1978 was a big year for her so I thought I'd use her upcoming birthday as motivation to wrap up a project I've been working on for a while now.

There are several players who appeared for the Phillies during the 1978 season who never appeared on a proper 1978 Topps card in red pinstripes/baby blue.  In an attempt to right that wrong, I scoured the internet and my personal collection to provide suitable (?) cards for these 14 players and the Phillies coaching staff.

Some of these have already appeared throughout the past season atop series preview posts, but the entire 19-card, limited edition insert set is presented here.  And I'll gladly update the Kerry Dineen and Horacio Pina cards if Phillies pictures of either player ever show up.


1. Dan Boitano - The righty reliever appeared in one inning of one game for the 1978 Phillies.  He appears in the 1980 Topps set on a Brewers Future Stars card.
2. Todd Cruz - Cruz started his six-year career with 3 games for the Phillies as a September call-up.
3. Kerry Dineen - Dineen appeared in 16 big league games between 1975 and 1978 for the Yankees and Phillies.  He has a Phillies related card in the 1979 Oklahoma City 89ers team city that I've yet to track down.
4. Rawly Eastwick - Acquired from the Cardinals in June 1978 for Bobby Brown and Jay Johnstone, Eastwick appears in the 1978 Topps set with his former team.
5. Orlando Gonzalez - Gonzalez shows up in the 1977 Topps and 1981 Fleer sets, but there are no official cards marking his 26 games with the Phillies in 1978.


6. Bud Harrelson - Harrelson appears with the Mets in the 1978 Topps set.  The Phils sent Fred Andrews to the Mets in March to acquire him.
7. Dan Larson - Larson pitched in 21 games for the Phillies between 1978 and 1981.  He's in the 1977 Topps set with the Astros.
8. Pete Mackanin - The future Phillies manager appeared in 5 games for the 1978 Phillies and he's in the 1978 Topps set with the Expos.
9. Keith Moreland - Moreland made his Major League debut in the final game of the 1978 season.
10. Jim Morrison - A true omission from the 1978 Topps set, Morrison appeared in 53 games for the N.L. Champion Phillies.  He'd appear in the 1979 Topps set on a Phillies Prospects card with Lonnie Smith and Jim Wright.


11. Horacio Pina - The veteran Pina was purchased from the Mexican League on September 14th, appeared in 2 games for the Phillies, and was promptly returned to the Mexican League following the season.
12. Dick Ruthven - On June 15th, the Phillies re-acquired Ruthven from the Braves, swapping out Gene Garber.
13. Kevin Saucier - Like Moreland, Saucier made his big league debut in the final game of the 1978 season.  He allowed 4 runs on 4 hits in 2 innings of work.
14. Lonnie Smith - A September call-up, Smith appeared in 17 games for the Phillies down the stretch.


15. Carroll Beringer CO - Beringer departed following the season, having served as the bullpen coach since 1973.
16. Billy DeMars CO - The team's hitting coach between 1969 and 1981, DeMars also served as the first base coach (1969-1972) and the third base coach (1972-1979).
17. Ray Rippelmeyer CO - This was Rippelmeyer's final season as the team's pitching coach, a position he had held since 1970.


18. Tony Taylor CO - Taylor's first stint as a Phillies coach saw him serve as the infield coach (1977-1978) and first base coach (1979).
19. Bobby Wine CO - A Phillies coach from 1972 until 1983, Wine served as the infield coach (1972), first base coach (1973-1978) and bench coach (1979-1983).