Game 16 - Schwarbombs x 2 Leads to Big Win Over Cubs

Chicago Cubs	7
Philadelphia Phillies	13

2026 Topps 1991 Topps Baseball
35th Anniversary #T91-5

Monday Night, April 13th

Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA
8-8, 3rd Place, 1 1/2 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Kyle Schwarber blasted a pair of home runs in this much-needed slugfest of a win, 13-7 over the Cubs.

What It Means:  This was to be the be the last exciting/good baseball the Phillies would play for at least the next three games.

What Happened:  Everybody who hadn't been hitting in the Phillies line-up collected at least one hit in this game, with the exception of Justin Crawford, who had been hitting well.  The rookie went 0 for 5 with a pair of strikeouts.  Schwarber hit home runs #5 and #6.  Brandon Marsh was 3 for 4 with a double and two RBIs.  J.T. Realmuto was 3 for 5 with three RBIs, and even Alec Bohm had a hit and a pair of RBIs.  Cristopher Sanchez was the beneficiary of the run support, allowing two runs on a two-run home run to Dansby Swanson in the fourth and striking out eight.  This game should have been more of a laugher, but Seth Johnson gave up five runs (three earned) in a lengthy eighth inning.

Featured Card:  I'm happy to keep featuring Schwarber cards, as long as he keeps hitting home runs.  This is his 1991 Topps-inspired card, with an unnecessarily long name, from an insert set found within packs of 2026 Topps Series One.

Transaction:  Jonathan Bowlan (rhp) was placed on the 15-day injured list with a right groin strain and Johnson (rhp) was recalled to take his place in the bullpen.

2026 Virtual Phillies Wall (Coming Soon) / 2026 Season Summary Index / 2026 Chachi Set Checklist

Game 1 - Phils Win in Extras After Record-Setting K Day

Philadelphia Phillies	7
Washington Nationals	3

10 Innings

2024 Topps Throwback
Thursday #112

Game 1

Thursday Afternoon, March 27th

Nationals Park - Washington, DC
1-0, Tied for 1st Place, 1 game ahead of the Braves, Mets and Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies struck out a record 19 times on opening day, but still got away with an extra-inning, 7-3 win.

What It Means:  It was an anti-climatic opening day for me, as I was 500 miles away in Myrtle Beach getting ready to watch my son and his high school team play a scrimmage at the Cal Ripken Experience.  Both the Phillies and his team came away with wins, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't more excited about the high school scrimmage victory than the Phillies' opening day win.

What Happened:  Nationals' starter MacKenzie Gore and four relievers combined to strike out 19 Phillies, with Gore tallying 13 of those in six innings of work, tying an opening day record.  As soon as Gore exited, the Phillies took a 2-1 lead in the seventh with solo home runs from Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber.  It was Harper's sixth opening day home run.  Max Kepler made it 3-1 Phillies when he scored on a wild pitch in the eighth.  Jordan Romano had a rough Phillies debut, allowing the Nationals to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth.

In the the top of the 10th, Bryson Stott stole third with two outs after starting the inning at second as the zombie runner.  Harper drew a walk, and Alec Bohm doubled them both home, giving the Phillies a 5-3 lead.  J.T. Realmuto would bring home two more runs later in the inning with a triple.  Zack Wheeler got a no decision, but struck out eight and allowed just a solo home run in his six-inning 2025 debut.

Featured Card:  Bohm had the big hit, and there were times during the offseason it seemed he'd definitely be traded.  I recently added this card to my collection, paying tribute to a 1991 Topps Magazine card.

Transaction:  Prior to the game, opening day rosters were announced and Buddy Kennedy (inf) was officially designated for assignment.  Weston Wilson (inf) and Ranger Suarez (lhp) were placed on the injured list, retroactive to March 24th.

On Wednesday, the Phillies traded Tyler Phillips (rhp) to the Miami Marlins for cash considerations.  Phillips was out of minor league options and he made his debut with the Marlins on Friday, pitching three innings of scoreless relief.  With the Phillies, he was 4-1 in eight appearances, including seven starts.  He threw one memorable shutout on July 27th against the Guardians.

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

Game 158 - Hangover Game Goes Poorly for Phils

2020 Chachi Departures #9

Cubs 10, Phillies 4
Game 158 - Tuesday Night, September 24th in Philadelphia
Record - 93-65, 1st Place, 5 1/2 games ahead of the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  A day after celebrating their division-clinching win, the Phillies couldn't overcome the Cubs in this 10-4 loss.

What It Means:  One more win will give the Phillies a first-round bye in the playoffs and they would look to rebound on Wednesday night.

What Happened:  A bullpen game by design, Tanner Banks (three runs), Taijuan Walker (three more runs) and Kolby Allard (four runs) were hit hard and often.  Only Tyler Gilbert escaped unscathed, pithing two shutout innings of relief at the end of the game.  Bryce Harper (30) and Kyle Schwarber (38) both homered in the game.

Featured Card:  Former Phillie Drew Smyly got the win in relief for the Cubs.  Smyly made 12 starts for the Phillies in 2019, going 3-2 with a 4.45 ERA.  He has no official baseball cards marking his time with the club, but he appeared on a few Chachi cards, including the card featured here.

Transaction:  Austin Hays (of) was activated from the injured list and Cal Stevenson (of) was optioned to the complex in Clearwater.

2024 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2024 Season Summary Index / 2024 Chachi Set Checklist

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.

Game 137 - Hoskins' Costly Error Leads to Loss

1991 Leaf #350 

Marlins 6, Phillies 5
Game 137 - Thursday Night, September 8th in Philadelphia
Record - 75-62, 3rd Place, 11 1/2 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  A costly Rhys Hoskins error and a shaky ninth inning from David Robertson led to this 6-5 loss to the Marlins.

What It Means:  The Marlins snapped a nine-game losing streak with this late win in Philly, and the Phillies missed out on completing the three-game sweep.

What Happened:  With the Phillies leading 5-4, Robertson entered the game in the ninth and gave up a lead-off double to Garrett Cooper.  Rhys Hoskins completely whiffed on a grounder to first from Joey Wendle, allowing Cooper to score as the tying run.  Brian Anderson then singled home Wendle to give the Marlins the lead and eventual win.  Earlier in the game, in happier times, Nick Maton homered in the third to get the Phillies on the board.  The Phillies would take the lead in the fifth on a two-run triple from Alec Bohm.

Featured Card:  On Thursday, Queen Elizabeth II passed away at the age of 96 after a 70 year reign as the Queen of the United Kingdom.  There have been 50 players born in the United Kingdom to play in the major leagues, according to Baseball Reference, including former Phillies pitcher Danny Cox, born in Northampton in 1959.  Cox appeared in 32 games for the Phillies between 1991 and 1992.

2022 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2022 Season Summary Index / 2022 Chachi Set Checklist

Game 30 - Phils Go Quietly Into the Night

2020 Chachi #31

Mariners 5, Phillies 4
Game 30 - Late Tuesday Night, May 11th in Seattle
Record - 13-17, Tied for 3rd Place, 7 1/2 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  The Mariners didn't hit the ball hard, but they scored more runs than the Phillies in this 5-4 loss in Seattle.

What It Means:  After splitting the first two games of the series, the Phillies will go for the elusive series win on Wednesday afternoon.

What Happened:  The Mariners took advantage of bloop hits, softly hit singles and four Phillies errors in this frustrating loss.  Aaron Nola didn't pitch poorly, but he did allow nine hits and five runs (four earned) in his 5 1/3 innings of work.  Bryce Harper had a pair of doubles with Nick Castellenos, Rhys Hoskins and Jean Segura all hitting solo home runs.  Manager Joe Girardi was ejected in the second inning when third base umpire Bill Miller refused to review a play in which Mariners runner Adam Frazier was clearly out.

Featured Card:  Girardi, who took over as Phillies manager before the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, has managed 252 Phillies game and has yet to appear on a Phillies baseball card.  Topps has stopped featuring manager cards in its flagship sets, and managers haven't appeared in recent years in their Heritage sets either.  And with the Phillies not issuing photo cards over the past two seasons, Girardi doesn't even have a team-issued card to his name.  His Phillies-less streak should hopefully end soon when the Phillies finally release a 2022 photo card set, but for now here's his first Chachi card from that 2020 season.

2022 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2022 Season Summary Index / 2022 Chachi Set Checklist

Phils Complete First Deal of Dombrowski/Fuld Era

2020 Chachi #56

2021 Chachi New Additions #4

2021 Chachi Departures #14

2021 Chachi Departures #13

2021 Chachi Departures #12

On December 22nd, the Phillies named Sam Fuld their new general manager, and the 39-year-old will attempt to deliver what former GM Matt Klentak could not - a postseason appearance.  Fuld has been with the organization since November 2017, and his title heading into the 2020 season had been "Director, Integrative Baseball Performance."  With president of baseball operations' Dave Dombrowski's oversight, Fuld will be tasked with hopefully re-signing free agent catcher J.T. Realmuto and rebuilding a bullpen that was historically bad in 2020.

Fuld played between 2007 and 2015 with the Cubs, Rays, Athletics and Twins and had a lifetime .227 average over 598 games.  His rookie card can be found in the 2008 Topps set, and oddly enough his former role with the Phillies resulted in two photo cards in both team-issued sets in 2019.  As part of the remade front office, Jorge Velandia was promoted to assistant general manager and Terry Ryan was given the title assistant to the general manager.  Ryan has been with the organization since 2016 and had previously served for 19 years as the general manager of the Twins.

* * *

Related to this news, the Dombrowski/Fuld tandem executed their first trade on Tuesday afternoon, acquiring reliever Jose Alvarado from the Rays.  It was a three-team deal with the Phillies sending pitcher Garrett Cleavinger to the Dodgers and the Rays receiving Dillon Paulson and a player to be named later from the Dodgers.  In four seasons with the Rays, Alvarado was 2-15 with a 3.46 ERA over 132 2/3 innings.  He has 161 career strikeouts to just 71 walks, and he's a hard-throwing lefty who could immediately fill a hole at the back end of the Phillies bullpen.  Shoulder problems limited him to only 9 appearances in 2020 for the A.L. Champions.

His first Topps flagship card can be found in the 2017 Topps Update set and most recently he was in the 2020 Topps Total set.

Cleavinger departs having appeared in just one game for the Phillies, back on September 17th.  He pitched 2/3 of an inning and surrendered a two-run home run to Robinson Cano in one of the many Phillies bullpen meltdown sessions from 2020.

And speaking of bullpen meltdown sessions, two other former Phillies relievers recently found new homes.  Trevor Kelley (4 games, 10.80 ERA) signed a minor league contract with the Cubs on December 14th and Reggie McClain (5 games, 5.06 ERA) was claimed by the Yankees on December 10th in the minor league portion of the annual rule 5 draft.

Departures - 2020-2021 Offseason

• Deolis Guerra - rhp (10/14/20) - Elected free agency.
• Ronald Torreyes - inf (10/15/20) - Elected free agency.
• Jose Alvarez - lhp (10/28/20) - Elected free agency.
• Jake Arrieta - rhp (10/28/20) - Elected free agency.
• Jay Bruce - of (10/28/20) - Elected free agency.
• Didi Gregorius - ss (10/28/20) - Elected free agency.
• Tommy Hunter - rhp (10/28/20) - Elected free agency.
• J.T. Realmuto - c (10/28/20) - Elected free agency.
• Brandon Workman - rhp (10/28/20) - Elected free agency.
• Phil Gosselin - inf (10/30/20) - Outrighted off 40-man roster, elected free agency.
• Heath Hembree - rhp (10/30/20) - Outrighted off 40-man roster, elected free agency.
• Adam Morgan - lhp (10/30/20) - Outrighted off 40-man roster, elected free agency.
• Blake Parker - rhp (10/30/20) - Outrighted off 40-man roster, elected free agency.
• David Phelps - rhp (10/30/20) - Club option declined, elected free agency.
• David Robertson - rhp (10/30/20) - Club option declined, elected free agency.
• Reggie McClain - rhp (12/10/20) - Selected by the Yankees in the minor league portion of the annual rule 5 draft.
• Trevor Kelley - rhp (12/14/20) - Signed a minor league contract with the Chicao Cubs.
• Garrett Cleavinger - lhp (12/29/20) - Traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers with the Phillies receiving Jose Alvarado in exchange from the Tampa Bay Rays.

New Additions - 2020-2021 Offseason

• Johan Quezada - rhp (10/30/20) - Claimed off waivers from the Miami Marlins.
• Ian Hamilton - rhp (12/7/20) Claimed off waivers from the Seattle Mariners.
• Kyle Holder - inf (12/10/20) - Selected from the Yankees in the annual rule 5 draft.
• Jose Alvarado - lhp (12/29/20) - Acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays with the Dodgers receiving Garrett Cleavinger in exchange.

* * *

And finally, barring a major trade over the next few days, that's going to do it for another year of blogging at The Phillies Room.  I thought it fitting that the last card posted for 2020 should be a checklist.  Thanks for following along and I'll see you next year!

2020 Chachi #57

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like the Offseason

2020 Chachi #55

2021 Chachi New Additions #2

2021 Chachi New Additions #3

After a flurry of activity updating some outdated posts on Phillies team-issued photo card sets, this blog went into semi-hibernation mode as we approached Christmas.  It very well may go back into semi-hibernation until there are more transactions to announce, but I first wanted to update my running list of offseason acquisitions and departures.  Unfortunately, there's not much to report . . . yet.

On December 7th, the Phillies claimed Ian Hamilton (RHP) off waivers from the Mariners.  Hamilton had been claimed by the Mariners from the White Sox on September 25th, and with the White Sox in 2020 he appeared in four games.  He has 14 major league appearances to his name (in 2018 and 2020) and he could provide bullpen depth in 2021.  Other than some minor league team set appearances, Hamilton's first and only mainstream card can be found in 2020 Topps Total set.

On December 10th, the day of the annual rule 5 draft, the Phillies selected Kyle Holder (INF) from the Yankees.  Holder has to stay on the big league roster throughout 2021 or be offered back to the Yankees.  With a lack of infield depth in the high levels of the farm system, he's got a good chance to stick around.  Holder's first mainstream card can be found in the 2015 Bowman Draft set and most recently he's appeared in the 2017 Topps Holiday Bowman set, which is a set I've honestly never heard of.

In a offseason so far filled with bad news (apparent lack of interest in re-signing J.T. Realmuto, widespread staff lay-offs, news of a dire financial situation for the club) the Phillies gave us some good news with the hiring of Dave Dombrowski on December 11th as their President of Baseball Operations.  The move signifies the official end of the failed Matt Klentak/Andy MacPhail era and ushers in the Dombrowski era and hopefully a return to the postseason.  Dombrowski was the general manager for two World Champions (Marlins in 1997 and Red Sox in 2018) and his Tigers won A.L. pennants in 2006 and 2012.  The hope here is that owner John Middleton opens up his wallet enough to let Dombrowski make some key signings, but also that Dombrowski executes enough savvy trades to get the Phillies out of the second division of the National League.

Departures - 2020-2021 Offseason

• Deolis Guerra - rhp (10/14/20) - Elected free agency.
• Ronald Torreyes - inf (10/15/20) - Elected free agency.
• Jose Alvarez - lhp (10/28/20) - Elected free agency.
• Jake Arrieta - rhp (10/28/20) - Elected free agency.
• Jay Bruce - of (10/28/20) - Elected free agency.
• Didi Gregorius - ss (10/28/20) - Elected free agency.
• Tommy Hunter - rhp (10/28/20) - Elected free agency.
• J.T. Realmuto - c (10/28/20) - Elected free agency.
• Brandon Workman - rhp (10/28/20) - Elected free agency.
• Phil Gosselin - inf (10/30/20) - Outrighted off 40-man roster, elected free agency.
• Heath Hembree - rhp (10/30/20) - Outrighted off 40-man roster, elected free agency.
• Adam Morgan - lhp (10/30/20) - Outrighted off 40-man roster, elected free agency.
• Blake Parker - rhp (10/30/20) - Outrighted off 40-man roster, elected free agency.
• David Phelps - rhp (10/30/20) - Club option declined, elected free agency.
• David Robertson - rhp (10/30/20) - Club option declined, elected free agency.

New Additions - 2020-2021 Offseason

• Johan Quezada - rhp (10/30/20) - Claimed off waivers from the Miami Marlins.
• Ian Hamilton - rhp (12/7/20) Claimed off waivers from the Seattle Mariners.
• Kyle Holder - inf (12/10/20) - Selected from the Yankees in the annual rule 5 draft.

Happy Birthday Doug!

Throughout this entire crazy and challenging year, our son Doug's resiliency, helpfulness and occasional silliness has been impressive . . . most impressive.  The picture used here for his limited edition birthday release is from summer baseball action, right around the time he decided to let his hair grow out.  We continue to be amazed by this kid/teen, even though being inside most of the year meant he had more time to hone his skills as his little brother's personal tormentor.  

We're so proud of him.

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

2019 - With All-Star Baseball and White Sox

2020 - Pandemic era baseball action

1991 Medford Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

Number of Cards:  46
Card Size:  4 1/8" x 6"
Description:  For the third year in a row, the card fronts feature an action photo with the player's, coach's or manager's name in a red band with white text.  The card backs feature biographical information along with complete career statistics.  Medford Food Company took over sponsorship of the set in 1991, and they'd sponsor the set for the next two years.

How Distributed:  The original 35-card base set was available for sale at Veterans Stadium throughout the 1991 season.  Details vary as to how the 11-card update series was originally distributed.  The 2001 Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards describes two updates being issued.  The first update being the three card highlight set featuring white bordered cards for Tommy Greene, Terry Mulholland and Dale Murphy.  Mulholland's card celebrates his no-hitter from August 15, 1990, while Greene's celebrates his no-hitter from May 23, 1991.  Murphy's card commemorates his 2,000th hit on May 29, 1991.

The second update, according to the Catalog, contained eight cards and featured new manager Jim Fregosi, the Phillie Phanatic and six new Phillies players.  I have no recollection of purchasing two separate update sets at the Vet during the 1991 season, but my memory is admittedly starting to get a bit foggy.  The second update would not have been released before July 15th, the day Steve Searcy was acquired from the Tigers, and not after July 31st, the day Mike Hartley was acquired from the Dodgers.  Searcy is in the set while Hartley is not. 

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

1. Darrel Akerfelds (#35) 2. Andy Ashby (#40) 3. Wally Backman (#6)         4. Joe Boever (#30) 5. Rod Booker (#37) 6. Larry Bowa CO (#2) 7. Sil Campusano (#11) 8. Wes Chamberlain (#31)           9. Pat Combs (#38) 10. Danny Cox (#34)      11. Darren Daulton (#10) 12. Jose DeJesus (#54)

13. Lenny Dykstra (#4)    14. Darrin Fletcher (#24) 15. Tommy Greene (#49) 16. Jason Grimsley (#48) 17. Charlie Hayes (#8) 18. Von Hayes (#9) 19. Dave Hollins (#15) 20. Ken Howell (#43) 21. Ricky Jordan (#17) 22. John Kruk (#29) 23. Steve Lake (#25) 24. Hal Lanier CO (#22)

25. Tim Mauser (#52) 26. Roger McDowell (#13) 27. Denis Menke CO (#14) 28. Mickey Morandini (#12) 29. John Morris (#33) 30. Terry Mulholland (#45) 31. Dale Murphy (#3) 32. Johnny Podres CO (#46) 33. Randy Ready (#23) 34. Dickie Thon (#21) 35. John Vukovich CO (#18)

Complete Update Checklist, 2nd Version: 

1. Jim Fregosi MG (#11)           2. Ron Jones (#26) 3. Jim Lindeman (#55) 4. Wally Ritchie (#39)

5. Bruce Ruffin (#47) 6. Steve Searcy (#50) 7. Mitch Williams (#28) 8. Tommy Greene - No-Hitter

9. Terry Mulholland - No-Hitter 10. Dale Murphy - 2,000th Hit 11. Phillie Phanatic

One and Only Phillies Baseball Card (0)

First Appearance in Phillies Team Issued Set (9):  Backman, Chamberlain, Cox, Fletcher, Lindeman, Mauser, Morris, Searcy, Williams
Returning Players in Phillies Team Issued Set (27):  Akerfelds, Ashby, Boever, Booker, Campusano, Combs, Daulton, DeJesus, Dykstra, Greene, Grimsley, C. Hayes, V. Hayes, Hollins, Howell, Jones, Jordan, Kruk, Lake, McDowell, Morandini, Mulholland, Murphy, Ready, Ritchie, Ruffin, Thon

Jim Lindeman's uniform number is listed as #55, which is the number he wore during spring training.  He switched to #19 before the season started, taking the number most recently occupied before him by John Kruk.  Sil Campusano attended spring training wearing #11 and started the season on the disabled list.  When Fregosi was hired and took #11, Campusano switched to #16, the former number of departed manager Nick Leyva.

Manager (1):  Fregosi
Coaches (5):  Bowa, Lanier, Menke, Podres, Vukovich

Phillie Phanatic (1):  The Phanatic is shown posing while sitting on his ATV.
Broadcasters (0):  If a broadcaster card had been issued at the start of the season, it would have featured future manager Fregosi as he had recently joined the broadcast team.
Commemorative Cards (3):  Greene, Mulholland, Murphy

Surprises:  I find it strange all the coaches received cards in the first set, but the manager at the beginning of the season (Leyva) was omitted.  Leyva was fired on April 23rd, so my guess is the original 35-card set wasn't finalized until after his departure.  Or the first series originally contained 36 cards and the Leyva card was pulled after his firing.

Omissions:  Every Phillies player from opening day through July 31st has a card in this set except for Dave LaPoint, Rick Schu and Amalio Carreno.  LaPoint made the opening day roster but was released on April 23rd, the same day Leyva was dismissed.  Schu had a brief reunion with his original club, and he was on the active roster between May 28th and June 19th.  He was brought back up on August 28th and stayed with the team the rest of the season.  Carreno was recalled on July 2nd and sent back down on July 15th.  Ken Howell and Steve Ontiveros both spent the entire season on the disabled list and while Howell received a card in the set, Ontiveros did not.

Variations/Rarities:  As fellow collector Rick pointed out in a comment to the original post for this set, six additional cards were issued for former Phillies who were guests at the annual ALS Phillies Phestival.  These cards have only a red Phillies logo and a 1991 copyright on the backs, with no Medford logo. 

ALS Autograph Party      1. Harry Anderson           2. Gene Garber

3. Maje McDonnell CO           4. Ron Reed

5. Eddie Sawyer MG 6. Curt Simmons

Also See:  Scrapbook Sunday - August 12, 1991. Resources:  Phillies collector Rick (@rickphils). This set was originally featured in a post back in November 2014, and I'm going to slowly go through some of these team issued set posts and update them with new information learned (if any) over the past six years. 1990 Phillies Photo Cards / 1992 Medford Phillies Photo Cards 1980-1999 Phillies Team-Issued Photo Cards Want List / Phillies Team Issued Sets Index Page

Unused 2020 Chachi Fan Favorites Cards

Another offseason activity of mine is looking ahead to the upcoming Phillies schedule and planning out the cards I'll use for the Phillies and their opponents for each series preview post.  The pandemic meant the planned 2020 schedule was thrown out the window, and cards I created for several expansion teams went unused.  Again, solely to get these cards out there and out of my draft folder, here are the remaining Fan Favorites cards that would have appeared throughout the 2020 season if not for the pandemic.

Larry Milbourne was a casualty of the early season series cancellations due to the coronavirus outbreak on the Marlins.

2020 Chachi Fan Favorites #4

2020 Chachi Fan Favorites #8

2020 Chachi Fan Favorites #9

2020 Chachi Fan Favorites #10

2020 Chachi Fan Favorites #12

2020 Chachi Fan Favorites #14

2020 Chachi Fan Favorites #15

2020 Chachi Fan Favorites #17

2020 Chachi Fan Favorites #19

Look Away if You've Already Moved on from the 2020 Phillies

2020 Chachi Almost #13

2020 Chachi Almost #15

2020 Chachi Almost #20

2020 Chachi Almost #16

In an effort to put the 2020 Phillies season behind me as quickly as possible, I wanted to get this post out of the way.  Every year, I create my custom Chachi cards during the offseason and the early stages of spring training, which means I end up with several "Almost" cards of players who didn't get the call to the big club during the season.  Those cards are presented here.

Victor Arano, Seranthony Dominguez and David Robertson spent the season either injured, recovering from an injury or getting surgery to repair an injury.  Arano and Dominguez should return, while Robertson will not.  Despite the bullpen's woes, JD Hammer never got the call to join the team and Odubel Herrera remains exiled following his arrest for domestic violence last year.  Christian Bethancourt was a non-roster invitee to spring training and then disappeared, with no sign of any transaction (that I can find) to tell us where he ended up.  Finally, veterans Mikie Mahtook and Nick Martini were also non-roster invitees who later joined the taxi squad in Allentown as part of the team's 60-player pool.  Neither got the call to leave Lehigh Valley and travel to Philadelphia.

2020 Chachi Almost #18

2020 Chachi Almost #19

2020 Chachi Almost #14

2020 Chachi Almost #17

Also presented below is a final look at the team's 2019-2020 offseason moves and other player additions and deletions during the pandemic-shortened season.  For some reason, I failed to post my Departures cards of Fernando Salas and Mitch Walding when they originally left the team and solely for the sake of completeness, they're presented here.

Moving On - 2019-2020 Offseason

• Rob Brantly - c (9/30/19) - Elected free agency, signed the San Francisco Giants (1/18/20).
• Fernando Salas - rhp (9/30/19) - Elected free agency.
• Corey Dickerson - of (10/31/19) - Elected free agency, signed with the Miami Marlins (1/7/20).
• Brad Miller - inf (10/31/19) - Elected free agency, signed with the St. Louis Cardinals (2/12/20).
• Logan Morrison - 1b (10/31/19) - Elected free agency, signed with the Milwaukee Brewers (1/9/20).
• Juan Nicasio - rhp (10/31/19) - Elected free agency, signed with the Texas Rangers (1/22/20).
• Sean Rodriguez - inf-of (10/31/19) - Elected free agency, signed with the Miami Marlins (2/15/20).
• Drew Smyly - lhp (10/31/19) - Elected free agency, signed with the San Francisco Giants (1/16/20).
• Nick Vincent - rhp (10/31/19) - Elected free agency, signed with the San Francisco Giants (2/9/20).
• Jose Pirela - of (11/1/19) - Released, signed with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp (Japan) (11/2/19).
• Jared Hughes - rhp (11/4/19) - Club option declined, elected free agency, signed with the Houston Astros (2/17/20).
• Pat Neshek - rhp (11/4/19) - Club option declined, elected free agency.
• Jason Vargas - lhp (11/4/19) - Club option declined, elected free agency.
• Jerad Eickhoff - rhp (11/4/19) - Outrighted, elected free agency, signed with the San Diego Padres (12/27/19).
• Mike Morin - rhp (11/4/19) - Outrighted, elected free agency, signed with the Milwaukee Brewers (1/31/20).
• Edubray Ramos - rhp - (11/4/19) - Outrighted, elected free agency, signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1/8/20).
• Mitch Walding - 3b (11/4/19) - Elected free agency, signed with the Toronto Blue Jays (2/2/20).
• Maikel Franco - 3b (12/2/19) - Non-tendered, elected free agency, signed with the Kansas City Royals (12/27/19).
• Cesar Hernandez - 2b (12/2/19) - Non-tendered, elected free agency, signed with the Cleveland Indians (12/29/19).

2020 Chachi Departures #2

2020 Chachi Departures #3

Coming Back - 2019-2020 Offseason

• Phil Gosselin - inf (11/4/19) - Outrighted, elected free agency, signed with the Phillies (12/20/19).
• Blake Parker - rhp (11/4/19) - Outrighted, elected free agency, signed with the Phillies (2/5/20).
• Tommy Hunter - rhp (10/31/19) - Elected free agency, signed with the Phillies (2/12/20).

New Arrivals - 2019-2020 Offseason

• Trevor Kelley - rhp (12/2/19) - Claimed off waivers from the Boston Red Sox.
• Zack Wheeler - rhp (12/9/19) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the New York Mets.
• Didi Gregorius - ss (12/13/19) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the New York Yankees.
• Ronald Torreyes - inf (1/2/20) - Signed as a minor league free agent formerly with the Minnesota Twins.
• Neil Walker - inf (1/22/20) - Signed as a minor league free agent formerly with the Miami Marlins.
• Reggie McClain - rhp (1/31/20) - Claimed off waivers from the Seattle Mariners.
• Deolis Guerra - rhp (2/5/20) - Claimed off waivers from the Milwaukee Brewers.
• Kyle Garlick - of (2/15/20) - Acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers for Tyler Gilbert.

Arrived During the 2020 Season

• David Hale (rhp) - 8/21/20, Acquired from the New York Yankees for Addison Russ (rhp).
• Brandon Workman (rhp) and Heath Hembree (rhp) - 8/21/20, Acquired from the Boston Red Sox with cash and a player to be named later for Nick Pivetta (rhp) and Connor Seabold (rhp).
• David Phelps (rhp) - 8/31/20, Acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers for three players to be named later.

Departed During the 2020 Season 

• Nick Williams (of) - 8/15/20, Selected off waivers by the Cincinnati Reds. 
• Edgar Garcia (rhp) - 8/18/20, Traded to the Tampa Bay Rays for a player to be named later.
• Nick Pivetta (rhp) - 8/21/20, Traded to the Boston Red Sox with Connor Seabold (rhp) for Brandon Workman (rhp), Heath Hembree (rhp), a player to be named later and cash.
• Austin Davis (lhp) - 8/26/20, Traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for a player to be named later and  cash.
• Deivy Grullon (c) - 9/3/20, Selected off waivers by the Boston Red Sox.
• Neil Walker (inf) - 9/15/20, Cleared waivers and elected free agency.