Realmuto Earns First Gold Glove

2019 Chachi #70

On Sunday night, J.T. Realmuto was named the Gold Glove award winner for N.L. catchers, edging out Yadier Molina and Austin Hedges.  Aaron Nola and Bryce Harper were also finalists for Gold Gloves, but they finished behind Zack Greinke and Cody Bellinger, respectively.  Realmuto became the third catcher in franchise history to win the award, following Mike Lieberthal in 1999 and Bob Boone in 1978 and 1979.  No Phillies player had won the award since Jimmy Rollins at shortstop back in 2012.

All that remains now for the All-Star catcher on his offseason to-do list is to sign a long-term contract extension with the Phils.

Chachi Gold Glove Cards
2005 - Bobby Abreu
2007 - Jimmy Rollins & Aaron Rowand
2008 - Jimmy Rollins & Shane Victorino
2009 - Jimmy Rollins & Shane Victorino
2010 - Shane Victorino
2011 - Placido Polanco
2012 - Jimmy Rollins
2019 - J.T. Realmuto

2005 Chachi #60

2007 Chachi #71

2008 Chachi #86

Phillies Missing Links of the 2000s - #30 Andy Tracy

#33
Andrew Michael Tracy
First Base

When the Phillies invited Andy Tracy to spring training in 2008 as a non-roster invitee, he had 12 professional seasons under his belt including stints with the Expos (2000-2001) and Rockies (2004).  He spent most of the 2008 season with the IronPigs before getting the call from the Phillies on August 23rd when Geoff Jenkins landed on the disabled list.  A week later he was back with the IronPigs when manager Charlie Manuel decided to use his roster spot for an extra bullpen arm.  When rosters expanded on September 1st, he returned to the Phillies again and in his 4 appearances that season he was used exclusively as a pinch-hitter, going 0 for 2 with a walk and a sacrifice fly.

His story followed the same script in 2009 - non-roster invitee to spring training, full season with the IronPigs, September call-up.  His sole start came on the final day of the 2009 season when he entered the playing field for the first time as the Phillies starting first baseman.  In the other 11 games in which he appeared during 2009 he was again used as a pinch-hitter, going 4 for 8 with an RBI.  Tracy returned to the IronPigs for the entire 2010 season, but he wouldn't get the call that September.  In his 3 full seasons with the IronPigs, Tracy hit .272 with 69 home runs and 261 RBIs, averaging 23 home runs and 87 RBIs per season.  His home run and RBI career totals are the franchise records for the IronPigs.

Tracy has been with the Phillies organization since 2012 serving in some capacity as a minor league manager, coach or roving instructor.  He's the team's minor league hitting/assistant field coordinator this season.

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'3"  Weight:  220
Born:  December 11, 1973, Bowling Green, OH
Drafted:  Drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 16th round of the 1996 amateur draft, June 4, 1996.
Major League Teams:  Montreal Expos 2000-2001; Colorado Rockies 2004; Phillies 2008-2009
Professional Affiliations:  Montreal Expos 1996-2001; New York Mets 2002; Colorado Rockies 2003-2005; Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (Japan) 2005; Baltimore Orioles 2006; New York Mets 2007; Phillies 2008-2010; Arizona Diamondbacks 2011

Phillies Career

13 games, 5 for 14 (.357), triple, 1 RBI
Acquired:  November 20, 2007 - Signed as a minor league free agent formerly with the New York Mets organization.
Debut:  August 24, 2008 - In a game against the Dodgers that the Phillies would eventually win on a Pedro Feliz walk-off home run in the 11th, Tracy pinch-hit for Carlos Ruiz in the 9th, drawing a walk.  Kyle Kendrick then pinch-ran for Tracy.
Final Game:  October 4, 2009 - Started at first base, going 1 for 4 with a triple off the Marlins' Josh Johnson.
Departed:  November 6, 2010 - Granted free agency and signed as a minor league free agent by the Arizona Diamondbacks, December 15, 2010.

5 Tracy Baseball Card in My Collection
2008 Multi-Ad Lehigh Valley IronPigs #23
2009 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs #23
2010 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs #19
2010 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs Update #21
2012 Choice Williamsport Crosscutters #30

Complete Chachi Checklist
2008 Chachi #47
2009 Chachi #57

2000 Topps Traded #T2

2008 Chachi #47

2009 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs #23

2010 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs Update #21

2012 Choice Williamsport Crosscutters #30

Other Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  2000 Bowman #396
First Topps Base Card:  2000 Topps Traded #T2
Last Mainstream Card:  2001 Fleer Triple Crown #287
Other Notable Cards:  1996 Best Vermont Expos #28, 2000 Fleer Tradition Update #U14, 2001 Pacific #261

Sources:  Baseball Reference and The Trading Card Database

Phillies Missing Links of the 2000s
1 Kirk Bullinger
2 Chris Pritchett
3 Bryan Ward
4 Mark Holzemer
5 Turner Ward
6 P.J. Forbes
7 Matt Walbeck
8 Kelly Stinnett
9 Valerio de los Santos
10 Josh Hancock
11 Brian Powell
12 Paul Abbott
13 Todd Jones
14 A.J. Hinch
15 Ramon Martinez
16 Matt Kata
17 Aquilino Lopez
18 Adam Bernero
19 Jose Hernandez
20 Randall Simon
21 Anderson Garcia
22 Russell Branyan
23 John Ennis
24 Kane Davis
25 Pete LaForest
26 T.J. Bohn
27 R.J. Swindle
28 Mike Cervenak
29 Les Walrond
30 Andy Tracy

This is a continuing series looking at those players who spent time with the Phillies but possess no baseball card proof of their time in Philadelphia.  In some cases, the First and Last Mainstream cards listed above have been subjectively chosen if multiple cards were released in that year.

Phillies Missing Links of the 2000s - #26 T.J. Bohn

#12
Thomas Joseph Bohn
Outfield

In the years since the Phillies won the 2008 World Series, I've honestly occasionally wondered, "Did T.J. Bohn receive a World Series ring?"

Bohn was claimed off waivers from the Braves on September 24, 2007 and came to spring training in 2008 as a member of the team's 40-man roster.  Chris Snelling was the first outfielder to join the club when Shane Victorino landed on the disabled list on April 12th, but when Snelling himself got hurt a week later Bohn got the call.  Bohn was sent down once Victorino was healthy, but got another shot when Jayson Werth landed on the disabled list on May 24th.  When Snelling was activated on June 2nd, Bohn was sent back to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, never to return.

Manager Charlie Manuel used Bohn very sparingly in the limited time he was on the roster, only entering 14 games as pinch-hitter, pinch-runner or late inning defensive replacement.  He never entered a game before the 6th inning, tallying 5 total at-bats and collecting 2 hits.

Bohn was let go following the 2008 season and was out of baseball for all of 2009.  He played the 2010 and 2011 seasons with the Sioux City Explorers of the independent American Association before calling it a career.  But did he receive a World Series ring?

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'5"  Weight:  200
Born:  January 17, 1980, St. Louis Park, MN
Drafted:  Drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 30th round of the 2002 amateur draft, June 4, 2002
Major League Teams:  Seattle Mariners 2006; Phillies 2008
Professional Affiliations:  Seattle Mariners 2002-2006; Atlanta Braves 2007; Phillies 2008; Sioux City Explorers (Independent) 2010-2011

Phillies Career
14 games, 2 for 5 with 3 RBIs, 1 strikeout, pinch-ran for Pat Burrell 5 times
Acquired:  September 24, 2007 - Selected off waivers from the Atlanta Braves.
Debut:  April 20, 2008 - Pinch hit for Chad Durbin, striking out against the Mets' Jorge Sosa.
Final Game:  June 1, 2008 - Pinch ran for Pat Burrell in the 7th inning, playing the remainder of the game in left field.
Departed:  November 3, 2008 - Granted free agency.

1 Bohn Baseball Card in My Collection
2008 Multi-Ad Lehigh Valley IronPigs #4

Complete Chachi Checklist
2008 Chachi #33

2003 Bowman #180

2006 Topps 52 #48

2006 Upper Deck #1177

2008 Multi-Ad Lehigh Valley IronPigs #4

2008 Chachi #33

Other Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  2003 Bowman #180
First Topps Base Card:  N/A
Last Mainstream Card:  2006 Upper Deck #1177
Other Notable Cards:  2003 Topps Total #917, 2006 Topps 52 #48, 2010 Sioux City Exployers Team Issue #4

Sources:  Baseball Reference and The Trading Card Database

Phillies Missing Links of the 2000s
1 Kirk Bullinger
2 Chris Pritchett
3 Bryan Ward
4 Mark Holzemer
5 Turner Ward
6 P.J. Forbes
7 Matt Walbeck
8 Kelly Stinnett
9 Valerio de los Santos
10 Josh Hancock
11 Brian Powell
12 Paul Abbott
13 Todd Jones
14 A.J. Hinch
15 Ramon Martinez
16 Matt Kata
17 Aquilino Lopez
18 Adam Bernero
19 Jose Hernandez
20 Randall Simon
21 Anderson Garcia
22 Russell Branyan
23 John Ennis
24 Kane Davis
25 Pete LaForest
26 T.J. Bohn

This is a continuing series looking at those players who spent time with the Phillies but possess no baseball card proof of their time in Philadelphia.  In some cases, the First and Last Mainstream cards listed above have been subjectively chosen if multiple cards were released in that year.

2008 Chachi #31 Brad Lidge

Diamondbacks 5, Phillies 4
Game 66 - Friday Night, June 16th in Philadelphia
Record - 22-44, 5th place, 18 1/2 games behind the Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  A three-run seventh inning from the Diamondbacks sunk the Phillies and Aaron Nola.

What It Means:  The one-game winning streak is over.

What Happened:  Nola was in control until the seventh when he allowed a lead-off single and then a two-run home run to Gregor Blanco to tie the game at four.  Pat Neshek came on in relief of Nola, but the go-ahead run ultimately scored on a sacrifice fly.

The big hit for the Phillies had come an inning earlier when Maikel Franco hit a two-run double to give the team a temporary two run lead.  Cameron Rupp hit a solo home run (5) in the fifth.

Featured Card:  Let's remember happier times.  The run allowed by Neshek in the seventh inning had been inherited from Nola, and Neshek escaped without a run being charged to him.  His ERA is now 0.69, which is the lowest by a Phillies reliever through his first 25 innings of a season since Brad Lidge's 0.72 ERA in 2008.  (Via Meghan Montemurro on Twitter.)

2016 Chachi #71 Leading Firemen - Gomez, Neris, Mariot

Perhaps the hardest thing to watch during the latter part of the Phillies season was the complete implosion of Jeanmar Gomez as the team's closer.  Unofficially removed from the closer's roll during the final weeks of September, Gomez tallied a 19.13 ERA (17 earned runs in 8 innings) over his final 12 games.  The emergence (and dominance) of Hector Neris as an extremely effective late inning reliever means that he's probably one of the few pitchers guaranteed a spot in the team's 2017 bullpen.

Memory Lane - Chachi Leading Firemen Cards
2005 - Billy Wagner, 38
2006 - Tom Gordon, 34
2007 - Brett Myers, 21
2008 - Brad Lidge, 41
2009 - Brad Lidge, 31
2010 - Brad Lidge, 27
2011 - Ryan Madson, 32
2012 - Jonathan Papelbon, 38
2013 - Jonathan Papelbon, 29
2014 - Jonathan Papelbon, 39
2015 - Jonathan Papelbon, 17 (no card created)
2016 - Jeanmar Gomez, 37

2005 Chachi #59

2006 Chachi #68

2007 Chachi #66

2008 Chachi #62

2016 Chachi #70 Strikeout Leaders - Eickhoff, Hellickson, Velasquez

Vince Velasquez and Aaron Nola led the Phillies pitching staff in strikeouts for most of the season, but Jared Eickhoff and Jeremy Hellickson were able to pull ahead late in the season due to Nola's injury and the shut down of Velasquez.

Memory Lane - Chachi Strikeout Leaders Cards
2005 - Brett Myers, 208
2006 - Brett Myers, 189
2007 - Cole Hamels, 177
2008 - Cole Hamels, 196
2009 - Cole Hamels, 168
2010 - Roy Halladay, 219
2011 - Cliff Lee, 238
2012 - Cole Hamels, 216
2013 - Cliff Lee, 222
2014 - Cole Hamels, 198
2015 - Cole Hamels, 137 (no card created)
2016 - Jared Eickhoff, 167

2005 Chachi #58

2006 Chachi #67

2007 Chachi #65

2008 Chachi #60

2016 Chachi #68 ERA Leaders - Eickhoff & Hellickson

Only two Phillies pitchers threw the amount of requisite innings (162) to qualify this year for the team's ERA title.  Jared Eickhoff barely squeaked by Jeremy Hellickson with his 3.65 ERA to Hellickson's 3.71.

Memory Lane - Chachi ERA Leaders Cards
2005 - Brett Myers, 3.72
2006 - Brett Myers, 3.91
2007 - Cole Hamels, 3.39
2008 - Cole Hamels, 3.09
2009 - J.A. Happ, 2.93
2010 - Roy Halladay, 2.44
2011 - Roy Halladay, 2.35
2012 - Cole Hamels, 3.05
2013 - Cliff Lee, 2.87
2014 - Cole Hamels, 2.46
2015 - Aaron Harang, 4.86 (no card produced)
2016 - Jared Eickhoff, 3.65

The 2005 through 2008 Chachi ERA Leaders cards have never before been featured on this blog.

2005 Chachi #57

2006 Chachi #66

2007 Chachi #64

2008 Chachi #68

2016 Chachi #65 Batting Leaders - Hernandez, Herrera, Franco

After a year's absence from the Chachi set, team leader cards have returned.  I skipped the process of creating team leader cards last season as I didn't feel like creating a brand new 1985 Topps based template for team leaders with poor to mediocre team leading statistics.  This year's performance was a little better (8 wins better to be exact) so I decided to forge ahead with some team leader cards.

I don't think anyone would have predicted that Cesar Hernandez would lead the team in hitting this season, and if not for the second half swoon of Odubel Herrera, Herrera would have won the title for the second year in a row.

Memory Lane - Chachi Batting Leaders Cards
2005 - Chase Utley, .291
2006 - Ryan Howard, .313
2007 - Chase Utley, .332
2008 - Shane Victorino, .293
2009 - Shane Victorino, .292
2010 - Placido Polanco, .298
2011 - Shane Victorino, .279
2012 - Jimmy Rollins, .250
2013 - Chase Utley, .284
2014 - Ben Revere, .306
2015 - Odubel Herrera, .297 (no card created)
2016 - Cesar Hernandez, .294

Here are the three Batting Leaders cards, from 2005, 2008 and 2010, that have not yet appeared on this blog until now.

2005 Chachi #52

2008 Chachi #55

2010 Chachi #53

2016 Chachi #4 Ryan Howard

#6

Ryan James Howard

First Base

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'4"  Weight:  250

Born:  November 19, 1979, St. Louis, MO

Home:  Tampa, FL

Drafted:  Selected by the Phillies in the 5th round of the June 2001 draft

Teams:  Phillies 2004-

Acquired:  Via draft

2001 Batavia Muckdogs Team Issue #26

2001 Upper Deck Prospect Premieres #62

2005 Chachi #29

2005 Topps #689

507 Howard Baseball Cards in My Collection per Zistle
First Card:  2001 Batavia Muckdogs Team Issue #26
First Phillies Card:  2001 Upper Deck Prospect Premieres #62
First Topps Flagship Base Card:  2005 Topps #689 (with Cole Hamels)
First Phillies Team Issued Card:  2006 Phillies Team Issue #6
Latest Card:  2016 Topps Heritage #290

2005 Chachi #62

2006 Chachi #45

2006 Chachi #60

2006 Chachi #61

2006 Chachi #63

2006 Chachi #70

2007 Chachi #3

2007 Chachi #60

2008 Chachi #4

2008 Chachi #56

2008 Chachi #57

These 11 Chachi cards represent the only Howard Chachi cards to have never appeared on this blog before now.

Complete Chachi Checklist
2005 Chachi #29
2005 Chachi #62 - Rookie of the Year HL
2006 Chachi #6
2006 Chachi #45 - All-Star
2006 Chachi #47 - Home Run Derby HL
2006 Chachi #60 - Single Season HR Record HL
2006 Chachi #61 - Batting Leaders (with Chase Utley)
2006 Chachi #62 - Home Run Leaders (with Chase Utley)
2006 Chachi #63 - RBI Leaders (with Chase Utley)
2006 Chachi #70 - MVP HL
2007 Chachi #3
2007 Chachi #39 - Fastest Player to 100 Home Runs HL
2007 Chachi #44 - Rain Delay HL
2007 Chachi #54 - Phils Sweep Mets HL
2007 Chachi #60 - Home Run Leaders (with Pat Burrell and Jimmy Rollins)
2007 Chachi #61 - RBI Leaders (with Chase Utley and Pat Burrell)
2008 Chachi #4
2008 Chachi #54 - Phils Clinch N.L. East HL
2008 Chachi #56 - Home Run Leaders (with Pat Burrell and Chase Utley)
2008 Chachi #57 - RBI Leaders (with Chase Utley)
2008 Chachi #74 - Phils Clinch NLCS HL
2008 Chachi #79 - World Series Game 4
2009 Chachi #4
2009 Chachi #30 - World Series Rings HL
2009 Chachi #47 - All-Star
2009 Chachi #50 - Fastest Player to 200 Home Runs HL
2009 Chachi #60 - Home Run Leaders (with Jayson Werth)
2009 Chachi #61 - RBI Leaders (with Jayson Werth)
2009 Chachi #70 - NLDS Game 4
2009 Chachi #74 - NLCS Game 3
2009 Chachi #78 - NLCS MVP HL
2010 Chachi #4
2010 Chachi #44 - All-Star (with Roy Halladay)
2010 Chachi #54 - Home Run Leaders (with Jayson Werth)
2010 Chachi #55 - RBI Leaders (with Jayson Werth)
2010 Chachi #65 - NLCS Game 1 (with Raul Ibanez)
2010 Chachi #70 - NLCS Game 6
2011 Chachi #4
2011 Chachi #34 - 2nd Place on Franchise HR List HL
2011 Chachi #58 - Home Run Leaders (with Raul Ibanez)
2011 Chachi #59 - RBI Leaders (with Raul Ibanez)
2011 Chachi #65 - NLDS Game 1 (with Roy Halladay)
2011 Chachi #68 - NLDS Game 4 (with Roy Oswalt)
2011 Chachi #69 - NLDS Game 5 (with Roy Halladay)
2012 Chachi #43
2012 Chachi #58 - 300th Home Run HL
2013 Chachi #4
2014 Chachi #4
2014 Chachi #45 - 1,000th RBI HL
2014 Chachi #66 - Home Run Leaders (with Marlon Byrd)
2014 Chachi #67 - RBI Leaders (with Marlon Byrd)
2015 Chachi #4
2016 Chachi #4

Card statistics through 4/9/16.