Game 132 - Nine-Game Winning Streak Quietly Ends

Philadelphia Phillies	2
Seattle Mariners	9

1981 Topps #583

Late Monday Night, August 24th

T-Mobile Park - Seattle, WA
73-59, 2nd Place, 3 1/2 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Zack Wheeler's second half struggles continued and the Phillies offense managed just five hits in this 9-2 series opening loss to the Mariners.

What It Means:  The nine game winning streak went out with a whimper in the middle of the night.  This is especially disappointing given how the club's nine-game homestead had ended, with one of the more memorable walk-off home run wins in franchise history.

What Happened:  Wheeler lasted four innings, allowing four home runs (two to Cal Raleigh) and eight runs overall on nine hits and five walks.  It appeared he could not locate the strike zone at all.  Chase Shugart allowed Raleigh's third home run of the game in the seventh.  The Phillies held a brief 1-0 lead after a bases loaded Alec Bohm ground out in the first, but the Mariners answered with five runs in the bottom of the first.  J.T. Realmuto hit a solo home run in the second.

Featured Card:  I'd be lying if I said I stayed up for the duration of this game, as we called it a night following Realmuto's home run.  With no logical choice here, here's a card of my favorite Phillies/Mariners player, local product Larry Milbourne.

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

Game 119 - Phils Walk It Off in 12th on Hill's Clutch Hit

2006 Chachi #59

2008 Chachi #20

2022 Chachi #33

2022 Chachi #50

Toronto Blue Jays	6
Philadelphia Phillies	7

12 Innings

Sunday Afternoon, August 9th

Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA
63-56, 2nd Place, 8 1/2 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies got a much-needed win when Derek Hill singled home J.T. Realmuto with the game's winning run in the 12th inning.

What It Means:  They avoided a Blue Jays sweep and next headed out on the road (and the corn fields) with stops in St. Louis, Dyersville and Minneapolis.

What Happened:  Jesus Luzardo was fantastic, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out 12 over seven innings.  The Phillies led 5-2 upon Luzardo's exit, powered by a three-run home run from Kyle Schwarber in the third, a solo homer from Schwarber in the fifth and an RBI-single from Alec Bohm in the sixth.  Orion Kerkering blew it in the eighth, giving up three runs on four hits and allowing the Blue Jays to tie the game.  The Blue Jays took a brief lead in the top of the 12th, scoring off Caleb Kilian, but clutch RBI singles from Bryson Stott and Hill in the bottom of the 12th led to the win.

Featured Card:  In advance of the Field of Dreams game on Thursday, the Phillies did something really cool prior to this game by having four of their own "ghost players" throw out ceremonial first pitches.  Tim Granville (2006), Tim Lahey (2008), Jeff Singer (2022) and Will Toffey (2022) were all on the Phillies active roster briefly, but never appeared in a game with the club.  Of course, they all have their own Chachi cards, shown here.

Field Report:  Jenna and I attended the Twins-Brewers game at American Family Field in Milwaukee.  It was a gorgeous ballpark, and while a thunderstorm raged outside, we sat comfortably dry inside with the retractable roof closed.  The Brewers walked it off in the 10th on a Jake Bauers single.  Highlights from the game included Jacob Misiorowski's 200th strikeout of the season and a few leaping catches in right field by Luis Lara.

Transaction:  Alan Rangel (rhp) was recalled from Lehigh Valley and Chase Shugart (rhp) was optioned back down.

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

Game 150 - Royals Thwart Home Clinching Plans

Kansas City Royals	10
Philadelphia Phillies	3

1981 Topps #403

Sunday Afternoon, September 14th

Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA
89-61, 1st Place, 12 games ahead of the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  Aaron Nola got hit hard (again) and the Phillies will need to wait to celebrate a division clincher with this 10-3 loss to the Royals, combined with a Mets win over the Rangers.

What It Means:  Bummer.  The clincher is coming, but now I'll need to lose sleep to enjoy it as the Phillies began a late-night stint in Los Angeles and Phoenix, beginning on Monday night.

What Happened:  Nola gave up six runs on six hits in six innings of work, putting the game too far out of reach for the Phillies to mount a late comeback.  The big blow was a three-run home run from Salvador Perez in the top of the sixth, giving the Royals a 6-2 lead.  The Phillies had taken a quick, 2-0 lead in the first on Kyle Schwarber's 52nd home run of the year, followed quickly by J.T. Realmuto's 12th home run of the year.  Royals' starter Noah Cameron settled down after that, pitching six scoreless innings before his exit.  In the bottom of the eighth, Bryson Stott hit a solo home run.  The Phillies offense had five hits overall and didn't come to the plate once with runners in scoring position.

Featured Card:  I'll go ahead and post my favorite Royals baseball card.

2025 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2025 Season Summary Index / 2025 Chachi Set Checklist

Game 106 - Sox Stymie Sanchez, Phils

Philadelphia Phillies	2
Chicago White Sox	6

1981 TCMA
Oklahoma City 89ers #17

Monday Night, July 28th

Rate Field - Chicago, IL
60-46, 2nd Place, 1 1/2 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  Cristopher Sanchez stumbled through a rare bad outing and the Phillies offense couldn't figure out White Sox pitching in this 6-2 defeat.

What It Means:  The Mets fell to the Padres, so the deficit in the pennant race remained at 1 1/2 games.

What Happened:  Sanchez battled through 6 2/3 innings, but allowed four runs on seven hits.  The two big blows were a two-run home run from Colson Montgomery in the second to tie the score and a two-run home run from Luis Robert Jr. in the fourth to give the Sox the lead for good.  Seth Johnson surrendered two more runs in the eighth, putting the game out of reach.  Bryce Harper accounted for both Phillies runs with a two-run double in the top of the third.

Featured Card:  I was saddened to learn during the game Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg had passed away after a battle with cancer.  Sandberg played in 13 games for the Phillies in 1981, batting .167 (1 for 6) before an ill-advised deal sent him to the Cubs with Larry Bowa, as a throw-in no less, for Ivan DeJesus.  He'd return to the Phillies organization in 2011 as manager of the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs, and in 2013 was promoted to the role of bench coach under Charlie Manuel.  Manuel was let go in August 2013 and replaced by Sandberg, who managed the team for 278 games between August 2013 and June 2015.  He was 119-159 while leading the Phillies during their early rebuilding years.

I didn't have the chance to appreciate Sandberg as a Phillies player and his tenure as Phillies manager was hampered by bad teams on the field, but I can appreciate what he meant to baseball and especially Cubs fans.

For a few years in the early 1980s, this was by far the most "valuable" card in my collection.  We had purchased a 1981 TCMA Oklahoma City 89ers team set from the Card Doctor in Millville, New Jersey, as my favorite player, Bob Dernier, was in the set.  Unbeknownst to us at the time, Sandberg was also in the set and he'd go on to have a Hall of Fame career with the Cubs.

2025 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2025 Season Summary Index / 2025 Chachi Set Checklist

Game 96 - Burnes Buries Phillies Offense in Shutout

1981 Fleer #527

Brewers 4, Phillies 0
Game 96 - Thursday Afternoon, July 20th in Philadelphia
Record - 52-44, Tied for 2nd Place, 10 1/2 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Corbin Burnes made easy work of the Phillies line-up, as the Brewers shut out the Phillies, 4-0.

What It Means:  After dropping the series to the Brewers, the Phillies hit the road for a three-game series in Cleveland.  The Phillies are the last of 28 teams to face off against Cleveland since the team changed its name to the Guardians before the 2022 season.

What Happened:  Burnes allowed a pair of singles and a walk over eight innings of work while striking out 10.  Taijuan Walker had his winning streak snapped, as he received absolutely no offensive support.  Walker was charged with four runs on six hits in six innings.

Featured Card:  The Phillies gave me nothing to work with for this game, so here's a Brewers baseball card found in my 1981 Phillies binder.  On March 31, 1981, Dick Davis was traded from the Brewers to the Phillies for pitcher Randy Lerch.  Topps, Fleer and Donruss had already set their checklists for their respective sets, so Davis appears with the Brewers in all three issuances.  He'd get a Phillies card in the 1981 Topps Traded set and appear in all three sets with the Phillies in 1982.

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

Game 139 - 1981 Topps #3 RBI Leaders - Cooper & Schmidt

Brewers 4, Phillies 3
Game 139 - Wednesday Night, September 8th in Milwaukee
Record - 71-68, 2nd Place, 2 1/2 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Kyle Gibson, the Phillies offense (with the exception of Bryce Harper) and Connor Brogdon all had off nights, leading to this 4-3 loss in Milwaukee.

What It Means:  I guess things could be worse?  As Jim Salisbury Tweeted, the Phillies went 5-4 on this road trip, picking up two games on the Braves in the division.  The Braves have lost 9 of 14, and the Phillies play 14 of their next 17 games at home, where they are 11 games over .500 for the year.

What Happened:  Gibson threw 103 pitches in 4 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits.  Brogdon gave up a sixth inning home run to Eduardo Escobar in the sixth, allowing the Brewers to take a 4-3 lead.  Harper hit his 29th home run of the year in the first and then would walk with the bases loaded in the third.  The Phillies had a chance to do some damage in the third as they loaded the bases with no outs.  Jean Segura popped out to second, Harper walked and J.T. Realmuto barely avoided grounding into a double play, scoring the team's third run.  Didi Gregorius struck out looking to end the threat.

Featured Card:  I'm posting this card solely to state my appreciation for the Brewers' current home uniforms, which are some of the best in baseball and reflect an updated version of their classic uniforms from the '70s and '80s.

Transaction:  Zach Eflin (rhp) was moved from the Covid injured list to the 60-day injured list, and he'll undergo right knee surgery.  Eflin is expected to miss six to eight months, which is a major blow to the team's 2022 plans.

2021 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2021 Season Summary Index / 2021 Chachi Set Checklist

1980-99 Philadelphia Phillies Photocards Want List

 1980 Phillies Photo Cards - 5 Needed

Luis Aguayo

Ruben Amaro CO

Scott Munninghoff

Mike Schmidt

Bobby Wine CO

1981 Phillies Photo Cards -  5 Needed

Ruben Amaro CO

Billy DeMars CO

Lee Elia CO

Herm Starrette CO Manny Trillo

1982 Tastykake Phillies Photo Cards - 8 Needed

(Along with entire non-Tastykake set)

 

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 (1 Needed) - Phanatic Variation (not on ATV) 

1988 Tastykake Phillies Photo Cards (1 Needed) - Mike Schmidt Variation (smaller sized card)

1990 ALS Autograph Party (8 Needed) - Larry Bowa (coach), Greg Gross, Hal Lanier (coach), Greg Luzinski, Garry Maddox, Bake McBride, Tug McGraw, Manny Trillo

1991 ALS Autograph Party (2 Needed) - Gene Garber, Ron Reed

1992 ALS Autograph Party / Late Season Additions (3 Needed) - Jay Baller, Todd Pratt, Mike Williams

1993 ALS Autograph Party (4 Needed) - Mark Davis, Tim Mauser, Dale Murphy, Kevin Stocker (running)

1996 ALS Autograph and Auction Party / Late Season Additions (5 Needed) - Rich Hunter, Bobby Munoz, Glenn Murray, Desi Relaford, Jim Wright CO

1997 ALS Autograph and Auction Party (2 Needed) - Matt Beech, Wayne Gomes

1998 ALS Phillies Phestival (1 Needed) - Yorkis Perez

1970 to 1979 Phillies Team-Issued Want List / 2000 to 2025 Phillies Team-Issued Want List

1981 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

Number of Cards:  32
Card Size:  3 1/4" x 5 1/2"
Description:  As was the case with all Phillies photo cards issued since 1970, these cards feature a black and white photo with the players' name below.  The backs of the cards are blank and there's no indication on the cards themselves that they're from 1981.  Some of the cards contain blue facsimile autographs as noted on the checklist below.  There are six cards available with a horizontal orientation as also noted below.  The Sparky Lyle card contains an uncorrected error with the spelling of his first name as "Sparkey."

How Distributed:  The 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 these cards were ever available in complete set form.

The set's composition features the entire 25-man opening day roster, the manager and all six coaches.  No one who made his 1981 season debut after opening day received a photo card.

Complete Standard Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here alphabetically): 

1. Luis Aguayo 2. Ruben Amaro CO 3. Ramon Aviles (auto) 4. Bob Boone (auto, horizontal) 5. Larry Bowa 6. Marty Bystrom (auto) 7. Steve Carlton (horizontal)       8. Larry Christenson 9. Dick Davis (auto) 10. Billy DeMars CO (auto) 11. Lee Elia CO

12. Nino Espinosa (auto) 13. Dallas Green MG (auto) 14. Greg Gross 15. Sparky Lyle 16. Garry Maddox (auto) 17. Gary Matthews 18. Bake McBride (auto) 19. Tug McGraw 20. Keith Moreland (horizontal)       21. Mike Proly (auto) 22. Ron Reed

23. Pete Rose (auto) 24. Dick Ruthven (auto) 25. Mike Ryan CO (auto) 26. Mike Schmidt (horizontal) 27. Lonne Smith (horizontal) 28. Herm Starrette CO 29. Manny Trillo (horizontal) 30. Del Unser 31. John Vukovich 32. Bobby Wine CO (auto)

One and Only Phillies Baseball Card (0)

First Appearance in Phillies Team Issued Set (5):  Bystrom, Davis, Lyle, Matthews, Proly
Returning Players in Phillies Team Issued Set (20):  Aguayo, Aviles, Boone, Bowa, Carlton, Christenson, Espinosa, Gross, Maddox, McBride, McGraw, Moreland, Reed, Rose, Ruthven, Schmidt, Smith, Trillo, Unser, Vukovich

Manager (1):  Green
Coaches (6):  Amaro, DeMars, Elia, Ryan, Starrette, Wine

Surprises:  I'm more impressed than surprised the Phillies were able to issue photo cards for Dick Davis, Gary Matthews and Mike Proly as that trio of players was acquired in the month before the start of the regular season.  Proly was acquired from the White Sox on April 1st and his photo card features a photo taken at Veterans Stadium.  The earliest date that photo could have been taken was April 17th, Proly's home debut with the Phillies.

Omissions:  The only player to appear with the Phillies during the first half of this strike-shortened season and not appear on a photo card is George Vukovich, who made his season debut on May 29th.  The 10 players who made their season debuts after the strike ended, and after the second half of the season began on August 10th, are all omitted from the set:  Dickie Noles, Mark Davis, Warren Brusstar, Ryne Sandberg, Bob Dernier, Len Matuszek, Ozzie Virgil, Dan Larson, Jerry Reed and Don McCormack.

Variations/Rarities:  Collectors Rick and Steve once again filled in with some rarities (or potential rarities) when I originally posted on this set almost six years ago.  Tim McCarver joined the broadcast booth and received a card showing him wearing a headset.  Steve notes variations may exist for the Garry Maddox and Proly cards.  

Finally, and similar to 1980, there is a black and white 1981 card of the Phillie Phanatic issued by Harrison/Erickson that is roughly the same size as the rest of the set.

Broadcaster       1. Tim McCarver

Mystery Variation?        1. Garry Maddox 2. Mike Proly

Harrison/Erickson   1. Phillie Phanatic

Resources:  The Trading Card Database; Phillies collectors Steve and Rick (@rickphils).

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 gathered (if any) over the past five-plus years.

1980 Phillies Team-Issued Photo Cards / 1982 Tastykake Phillies Photo Cards

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

1985 Game 27 - 1981 Fleer #27 Tim McCarver

Mets 4, Phillies 0
Game 27 - Saturday Afternoon, May 11th in New York
Record - 10-17, 5th Place, 8 1/2 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  A fourth inning single from Von Hayes was the only thing that kept Sid Fernandez and Roger McDowell from no-hitting the Phillies in this 4-0 loss.

What It Means:  The Phillies would be one-hit twice in 1985 - this game and against the Giants and Vida Blue on June 2nd.  According to the Baseball Reference play index, the last time the Mets one-hit the Phillies was on October 1, 1982 with Terry Leach on the mound.  The next time the Mets would one-hit the Phillies was on August 13, 2010 with R.A. Dickey on the mound.  Opposing pitcher Cole Hamels broke up that no-hitter with a single in the sixth against Dickey.

What Happened:  Fernandez pitched the first six innings with McDowell closing out the final three innings, striking out a combined 13 Phillies batters.  Fernandez was effectively wild, also walking six batters.  Mike Schmidt struck out three times, dropping his average below the Mendoza line to .193.

Shane Rawley was charged with all four Mets runs, and he lasted just 4 2/3 innings.  The Mets weren't exactly a powerhouse offensively in this game, as their four runs scored on a ground out, a sacrifice fly, a single from Keith Hernandez and a wild pitch courtesy of Phillies reliever Pat Zachry.

Featured Card:  Watching the Friday night Dwight Gooden game on YouTube for yesterday's post reminded me that my Pop-Pop would sometimes tune in to the Mets on Channel 9 for the sole purpose of yelling at Tim McCarver.  I don't know why he despised McCarver so much, but he took great pleasure in telling the Mets' then broadcaster that he was talking too much or that he didn't make any sense.  Gary Carter also received quite a bit of my Pop-Pop's ire back then, but I always chalked that up to Carter being a good player and frequently hurting our Phillies team.

I can imagine my Pop-Pop yelling at this post too.

1985 Virtual Phillies Wall / 1985 Season Summary Index

2019 Chachi #61 Charlie Manuel CO

#41
Charles Fuqua Manuel
Hitting Coach

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'4"  Weight:  195
Opening Day Age:  75
Born:  January 4, 1944, Northfork, WV
Signed:  Signed by the Minnesota Twins as an amateur free agent before 1963 season
Teams - As Player:  Minnesota Twins 1969-1972; Los Angeles Dodgers 1974-1975
Teams - As Coach:  Cleveland Indians 1988-1989, 1994-1999; Phillies 2019
Teams - As Manager:  Cleveland Indians 2000-2002; Phillies 2005-2013

1970 Topps #194

2005 Chachi #36

2005 Topps Update #UH87

2006 Chachi #27

2007 Chachi #27

First Topps Flagship Base Card:  1970 Topps #194
First Phillies Card:  2005 Phillies Team Issue #41*
First Phillies Team Issued Card:  2005 Phillies Team Issue #41
First Topps Phillies Flagship Base Card:  2005 Topps Update #UH87
Newest Card Added:  2019 Phillies 2009 10th Anniversary Postcards (with David Montgomery and Ruben Amaro, Jr.)

*Manuel also has a card issued in the style of the 2004 Phillies Team Issue, made available during that offseason's winter caravan.

36 - Manuel baseball cards in my collection per The Phillies Room Checklist as of 8/13/19.

2005 Phillies Team Issue #41

Complete Chachi Checklist
2005 Chachi #35 - Team Card
2005 Chachi #36 - with Gary Varsho, Milt Thompson and Rich Dubee
2006 Chachi #26 - Team Card
2006 Chachi #27
2007 Chachi #26 - Team Card
2007 Chachi #27 - with Jimy Williams, Milt Thompson and Rich Dubee
2008 Chachi #26 - Team Card
2008 Chachi #27 - with Jimy Williams, Milt Thompson and Rich Dubee
2008 Chachi #74 HL - Clinch NLCS, with Ryan Howard and Greg Dobbs
2008 Chachi #82 HL - World Series Champs
2008 Chachi #84 HL - World Series Parade
2009 Chachi #26 - Team Card
2009 Chachi #44 AS
2009 Chachi #77 HL - National League Champs, with Brad Lidge, Pedro Martinez and Chan Ho Park
2009 Chachi #84 - World Series Game 6, with Pedro Martinez and Chase Utley
2010 Chachi #27 - with Pete Mackanin, Rich Dubee, Mick Billmeyer and Sam Perlozzo
2010 Chachi #43 AS - with Chase Utley
2011 Chachi #26
2011 Chachi #56 RB - Become all-time winningest Phillies manager
2012 Chachi #26
2013 Chachi #26 - with Mick Billmeyer, Steve Henderson, Rod Nichols and Juan Samuel
2013 Chachi #58 HL - 1,000th Win
2016 Chachi Special Edition #13
2019 Chachi #61

2019 Chachi Set Checklist
Virtual Phillies Wall - Featuring Current Active Roster