Game 2 - Impressive Comeback Falls Short

Texas Rangers	5
Philadelphia Phillies	4

10 Innings

2021 Topps Chrome Platinum
Anniversary #271

Saturday Afternoon, March 28th

Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA
1-1, Tied for 4th Place, 1 game behind the Braves, Marlins and Mets

One Sentence Summary:  After collecting just one hit through the first eight innings, the Phillies miraculously tied the game in the ninth, only to lose in the tenth.

What It Means:  The Phillies will not finish the season 162-0.

What Happened:  Aaron Nola got the start and allowed two home runs - a solo shot from Corey Seager in the first and a two-run home run to Jake Burger in the third.  Nola went five, and Tanner Banks, Jose Alvarado and Tim Mayza all pitched scoreless frames to keep the Phillies in the game.  In the bottom of the ninth, Alec Bohm singled with two outs, and went to second on an Edmundo Sosa walk.  Adolis Garcia should have been out to end the game on a foul pop-up dropped by Burger, and Garcia's subsequent double scored Bohm.  Brandon Marsh brought Sosa and Garcia home to tie the game at 3-3.

Jhoan Duran uncorked a wild pitch in the top of the 10th allowing ghost runner Brandon Nimmo to score the go-ahead run, and Andrew McCutchen provided an important insurance run with an RBI single to left.  The Phillies pushed across a run in the bottom of the 10th on a Bryce Harper RBI single, but they could not come back for a second time.

Featured Card:  It seems as if McCutchen has had a lot of big hits against his former team since departing following the 2021 season.

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

Spring Training Game 22 - Phils Let Braves Squeak By in 1-0 Win

Atlanta Braves	1
Philadelphia Phillies	0

2021 Topps Now Road to
Opening Day #OD-370

Spring Training Game 22

Sunday Afternoon, March 24th

BayCare Ballpark - Clearwater, FL

Record - 8-13-1

One Sentence Summary:  A well-pitched game broke out in Clearwater on Sunday, with the Phillies wasting the five scoreless innings thrown by Taijuan Walker in this 1-0 loss.

What It Means:  I actually got to watch this game on TV, and I didn't even mind the in-game interviews with the players solely to promote the season's upcoming promotional giveaways.

What Happened:  Walker looked great, allowing three hits and two walks while striking out three in his five innings (60 pitched) of work.  Genesis Cabrera allowed a solo home to Tyler Tolve in the top of the ninth to give the Braves a 1-0 lead and eventually the win.  Bryson Stott, now batting .400 for the spring, had a pair of hits.

Featured Card:  Cabrera is an intriguing option for a potential bullpen piece at some point during the season.  He's appeared on very few baseball cards since the late 2010s/early 2020s when he was a top prospect with the Cardinals.  Phillies fans could remember Cabrera as the pitcher who hit Bryce Harper in the face, then drilled Didi Gregorius in the back in a game back in April 2021.

Camp Head Count:  52 - 4 = 48

Before the game, Nolan Hoffman (rhp) was optioned to Lehigh Valley, while Andrew Walling (lhp) and Jose Rodriguez (inf) were reassigned to minor league camp.  Pedro Leon (of) was optioned to Lehigh Valley after the game.

Game 152 - Marchan Shocks Dodgers with Ninth Inning Homer

Philadelphia Phillies	9
Los Angeles Dodgers	6

2021 Topps Chrome Platinum
Anniversary #76

Late Tuesday Night, September 16th

Dodger Stadium - Los Angeles, CA
91-61, 1st Place, 12 1/2 games ahead of the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies scored nine runs after being no-hit by Shohei Ohtani through five innings in this this thrilling 9-6 win over the Dodgers.

What It Means:  The Phillies won the season series over the Dodgers, which gives them the tiebreaker if needed for home field advantage, if the teams finish with identical records.

What Happened:  Absolutely nothing happened for the Phillies' offense until Ohtani was removed from the pitching mound, as the Dodgers held a 4-0 lead through five innings.  The Phillies plated six runs in the sixth to take a 6-4 lead, doing most of the damage against reliever Justin Wrobleski.  Rafael Marchan, Harrison Bader and Kyle Schwarber all singled to load the bases with one out.  Bryce Harper connected for a two-run double, scoring a pair.  Brandon Marsh then hit a three-run home run to give the Phillies a 5-4 lead.  After Wrobleski was relieved by Edgardo Henriquez, Max Kepler hit a solo home run to give the Phillies a two-run lead.

In the bottom of the eighth, Ohtani hit his 50th home run of the year to welcome David Robertson to the game.  The Dodgers would tie the game before Robertson was able to get out of the inning.  With two outs in the top of the ninth, Weston Wilson doubled, Bryson Stott was intentionally walked and Rafael Marchan hit a three-run home run to give the Phillies an improbable 9-6 lead.  Jhoan Duran set the Dodgers down in order in the bottom of the ninth and the night again belonged to the Phils.

Featured Card:  The Rafael Marchan Game!  I admittedly went to bed early, having watched all of Monday night's game.  But I awoke to gleefully read about Marchan's heroics and what could be his career highlight game with the team.  I added this card last week, giving me 14 Marchan cards so far in my Phillies Collection.

Transaction:  Edmundo Sosa (inf) was placed on the injured list with a mild right groin strains and Rafael Lantigua (inf) had his contract purchased from Lehigh Valley.  Brewer Hicklen (of) was designated for assignment to make room for Lantigua on the 40-man roster.

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

Game 146 - Outfielders Kepler, Marsh, Bader Pace Phils Over Mets

New York Mets	3
Philadelphia Phillies	11

2021 Topps Heritage #120

Wednesday Night, September 10th

Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA
86-60, 1st Place, 10 games ahead of the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  Max Kepler drove in five runs and Cristopher Sanchez made it look easy against the Mets' line-up in this convincing 11-3 win.

What It Means:  The magic number to clinch a division title is seven.  The last and only time the Phillies had a 10-game lead in the division on September 10th was in 2011.  Amazingly, the Phillies will try to complete a four-game sweep tonight.

What Happened:  Kepler, Harrison Bader and Brandon Marsh combined to go 8 for 14 in this game with five runs scored and seven RBIs.  The outfield platoon recently put in place by manager Rob Thomson definitely seems to be working, although veteran Nick Castellanos has been the odd man out lately given the hot streaks from Kepler and Marsh.  Bader and Marsh both doubled in this game with Kepler hitting a solo home run in the eighth.  Bryce Harper also homered, his 25th of the season.

Sanchez could have gone longer in this game, but with an 8-1 lead after six, Thomson turned to his bullpen.  Sanchez improved to 13-5, allowing a run on six hits while striking out six.

Featured Card:  The lack of Phillies baseball cards for Kepler means I have to dig back into the archives again, and this is his 1972 Topps inspired card from the 2021 Topps Heritage set.

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

Game 67 - Cubs Ride Four Homers to Victory Over Phils

Chicago Cubs	8
Philadelphia Phillies	4

2021 Topps Heritage #519

Tuesday Night, June 10th

Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA
38-29, 2nd Place, 5 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  Mick Abel allowed three home runs in his four innings of work, and the Phillies offense wasn't able to come up with many clutch hits in this 8-4 loss.

What It Means:  Why did I watch this entire game?

What Happened:  Abel would get a no-decision, allowing three runs on six hits and three walks in four innings.  Max Kepler hit a two-run home run in the second and Alec Bohm connected for a two-run single in the fifth to give the Phillies a brief 4-3 lead.  In the sixth, Ian Happ hit a two-run home run off Taijuan Walker, Happ's second home run of the day, giving the Cubs a 5-4 lead.

Featured Card:  In what may have been his final appearance with the Phillies, reliever Carlos Hernandez pitched 1 2/3 innings, allowing no runs on two hits.  He did allow both inherited runners from Joe Ross to score, putting this game eventually out of reach. Hernandez was designated for assignment on Wednesday, and unless he clears waivers AND Topps somehow decides to give him a card in their Update set, Hernandez will likely never appear on a Phillies baseball card.  Hernandez hasn't appeared on a baseball card at all since 2022, and he's a little larger these days than he was on his 2021 Topps Heritage card.

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

Game 55 - Marchan Stars in Game One Win

Atlanta Braves	4
Philadelphia Phillies	5

Game 1

2021 Stadium Club #52

Thursday Afternoon, May 29th

Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA
36-19

One Sentence Summary:  Rafael Marchan starred at and behind the plate as the Phillies held on (barely) to win this game, 5-4.

What It Means:  The rain in the area washed out Wednesday night, resulting in a day-night double header on Thursday.

What Happened:  Marchan hit his first home run of the year, a two-run shot in the second inning, giving the Phillies an early lead.  With the score tied 4-4, and the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth, Marchan was hit with a pitch by Daysbel Hernandez to drive home the eventual winning run.  He also threw out two would-be basestealers on the day.  Not to be completely lost in Marchan's shadow, Nick Castellanos was 4 for 4.  Kyle Schwarber hit his 19th home run of the season, a solo shot, in the seventh.  Only Shohei Ohtani has more with 20.

The bullpen took over for Cristopher Sanchez after 5 2/3 innings.  Matt Strahm coughed up a two-run lead in the top of the eighth, and Jordan Romano loaded the bases in the top of the ninth before somehow avoiding disaster and recording his eighth save.

Featured Card:  Marchan hasn't appeared on a mainstream baseball card since 2022!  He received a bunch of rookie cards in 2021, including this card in the Stadium Club set.

Transaction:  Brett de Geus (rhp) was recalled from Lehigh Valley as the 27th man for the double header.  de Geus was selected off waivers from the Marlins on April 1st.

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

Spring Training Game 6 - Luzardo Dazzles in Spring Debut

Boston Red Sox	5
Philadelphia Phillies	7

2021 Topps Heritage #160

Spring Training Game 6

Friday Afternoon, February 28

BayCare Ballpark - Clearwater, FL

Record - 3-2-1

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies won, but the exciting take-away from this game was how dominant starter Jesus Luzardo looked in his two innings of work.

What It Means:  The sun was out for most of the afternoon, the weather is warming up, and I got to work with a Phillies game on in the background.  Not a bad day.

What Happened:  Luzardo made it look easy, throwing two perfect innings and striking out a pair.  14 of his 19 pitches thrown were strikes.  The other pitching highlight came courtesy of Jean Cabrera, who also threw two scoreless innings, striking out three.  The other eight Phillies pitchers used by manager Rob Thomson allowed a combined 13 walks, which isn't great.  Michael Mercado and Aaron Schulfer led the way with three walks each.

Bryce Harper went 2 for 3 in his return to the line-up.  Matt Kroon, Carson DeMartini and Carson Taylor all homered in the win.

Featured Card:  DeMartini's blast was particularly impression as it nearly cleared the center field berm, and the young prospect took a moment or two to enjoy his blast before heading to first.  He's in last year's Bowman Draft set, and I've not added any of his cards to my collection yet.  I was going to feature a DeMartini card, if I had had one, but instead Luzardo gets the nod for his impressive debut in red pinstripes.

Camp Head Count:  66

2025 Topps - The First Phillie!

I didn't hesitate earlier this year when the e-mail from Topps arrived in my inbox alerting me that boxes of 2025 Topps Series One were on sale from their website.  I've missed out in the past, having to go to the secondary market (eBay) and paying an upcharge when the need to open new baseball cards inevitably overpowered me in prior Februarys.  I didn't go crazy, adding just a hobby box and a blaster to my cart, and then waiting patiently for the February 12th release date.

The box was waiting for me when I arrived home on Wednesday, but sports practices required us to wait until Thursday to open the first packs of 2025 Topps as a family.  The first Phillie, this Alec Bohm card, came quickly within the first pack I opened.

Topps has been on a roll over the past several years, and with the exception of the misfire with 2020's design, the 2025 Topps design adds to four solid set designs in the past five years.  Updating my top ten gallery below, the 2025 set takes the place of the 2015 set in the #2 spot, with 2015 leaving the list after 10 years (!).  I've used this summary in the past to describe the new Topps flagship design, but this is what a baseball card in the year 2025 should look like - crisp, great photo, modern graphics, some non-intrusive glittery effects and a little bit of silver foil with the Topps logo.  I really like that we get the team's logo and name going up the side of a card, and the curved lines along the left border are a nice modern update to the 1982 Topps design.

We were particularly impressed with how Topps found a new way to display the player's position.  The diamond in the bottom right indicates where the player would stand on the field, and it's one of those things I can't believe we've not seen on a baseball card before.  The backs are nice and clean too, as has been the case in recent years, and kudos to Topps for once again making the card number easy to find and easy to read.  My only very minor complaint is that some of the teams have player's last names in black (not white) making those harder to read.  I would have preferred Topps go with all white for every last name for each team.

Revisiting my top ten ranking below, I might move 2022 and 2019 ahead of 2023.  I still don't like the bottom three, but 2021 may eventually take over the worst design spot in my mind.

Best - 2024 Topps #194

#2 - 2025 Topps #7

#3 - 2023 Topps #278

#4 - 2022 Topps #249

#5 - 2019 Topps #303

#6 - 2016 Topps #15

#7 - 2018 Topps #26

#8 - 2021 Topps #79

#9 - 2017 Topps #247

Worst - 2020 Topps #221

Past First Phillies

2010 Topps #300 Chase Utley

2011 Topps #242 Brad Lidge

2012 Topps #98 Domonic Brown

2013 Topps #6 Ryan Howard
2014 Topps #90 Ethan Martin
2015 Topps #309 Maikel Franco
2016 Topps #15 Ryan Howard
2017 Topps #247 Hector Neris
2018 Topps #26 Cesar Hernandez
2019 Topps #303 Ranger Suarez
2020 Topps #190 Aaron Nola

2021 Topps #79 Roman Quinn

2022 Topps #249 Zack Wheeler

2023 Topps #278 Aaron Nola

2024 Topps #194 J.T. Realmuto

2025 Topps #7 Alec Bohm

Game 87 - Sanchez, Phils Suffer Off-Day in Loss to Cubs

2021 Topps Now Road to
Opening Day #OD-281

Cubs 10, Phillies 2
Game 87 - Tuesday Afternoon, July 4th in Chicago
Record - 57-30, 1st Place, 9 games ahead of the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  It wasn't Cristopher Sanchez's or the Phillies' offense days as the Cubs easily rolled to a 10-2 win.

What It Means:  The Phillies lost the game, but still won the series, and they head to Atlanta next to battle the second place Braves.  Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto are all progressing nicely on the comeback trail from their respective injuries.

What Happened:  Sanchez had his roughest outing of the year, fresh off winning June National League Pitcher of the Month honors.  He allowed seven runs on seven hits, while also walking three.  Seranthony Dominguez allowed a run over two innings of work, striking out five.  The Phillies held a 2-0 lead early following an RBI single by Brandon Marsh in the first, and a solo home run by Nick Castellanos in the fourth.

Featured Card:  Former Phillies Drew Smyly and Hector Neris pitched the final two innings for the Cubs.  Neris is in his first year with the Cubs after spending two years with the Astros, and winning a World Series ring in 2022.  Amazingly enough, Neris didn't appear on any baseball cards in 2023 and hasn't appear on any so far in 2024.  His entire baseball card output has been limited since he departed the Phillies.

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

Game 72 - Phils Pound Out 18 Hits Against Padres

2021 Topps Heritage #718

Phillies 9, Padres 2
Game 72 - Monday Night, June 17th in Philadelphia
Record - 48-24, 1st Place, 8 games ahead of the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Kyle Schwarber hit a pair of home runs, Trea Turner returned to the line-up and Cristopher Sanchez had a solid outing against the Padres in this 9-2 win.

What It Means:  From the third inning onwards, this was one of those games there was absolutely no doubt the Phillies were going to win.

What Happened:   Sanchez picked up his fourth win of the season, pitching seven innings and allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits while striking out five.  Turner went 2 for 5 in his return and seven of the nine players in the starting line-up had at least two hits.  Schwarber hit his 15th and 16th home runs, both two-run shots, in the third and sixth innings.  Alec Bohm added a three-run home run in the fifth.

Featured Card:  Catcher Rafael Marchan, filling in for an injured J.T. Realmuto, had his first four-hit game of his career, scored twice and drove in a pair of runs.  This is the first time he's been featured on the blog in nearly two years!

Transaction:  Turner (ss) was activated from the Injured List and Johan Rojas (of), who has never played in Triple-A, was optioned down to Lehigh Valley to work on his offense.

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

Game 59 - Suarez Exits Early, Phils Keep Winning

2021 Topps Heritage #64

Phillies 6, Cardinals 1
Game 59 - Saturday Night, June 1st in Philadelphia
Record - 41-18, 1st Place, 7 1/2 games ahead of the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Ranger Suarez departed early with an injury, but the bullpen held the Cards at bay and the offense continued to hit at home as the Phillies won, 6-1.

What It Means:  Suarez took a comebacker off his left hand in the second inning off the bat of Alec Burleson, wincing in pain as he walked off the mound.  Postgame reports were that it's just a bruise, and X-rays were negative, but Suarez's next start may get pushed back.

What Happened:  The Phillies plated three in the first inning on RBI doubles from Alec Bohm and Nick Castellanos.  Brandon Marsh added an RBI single in the third and Bryce Harper capped the scoring with a two-run home run in the seventh, his 14th of the season.

After Suarez exited, Spencer Turbull with three innings, and Orion Kerkering, Seranthony Dominguez and Gregory Soto, with an inning a piece, kept the Cardinals from adding any runs.

Featured Card:  Turnbull was nearly perfect in his three innings of work, with the only Cardinals baserunner reaching on an error.  He struck out six and improved his record to 3-0.  Collectors are still waiting for Turnbull's first Phillies card.

Transaction:  The Phillies claimed Freddy Tarnok (rhp) off waivers from the Oakland Athletics and transferred Dylan Covey (rhp) to the 60-day Injured List.  Tarnok appeared in one game with the Braves in 2022, and five games with the Athletics last season.  His first mainstream baseball card can be found in 2023 Topps Series Two.

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

Game 56 - Giants' Bullpen Stifles Phils

2021 Topps Archives #56

Giants 1, Phillies 0 (10 Innings)
Game 56 - Late Tuesday Night, May 28th in Philadelphia
Record - 38-18, 1st Place, 5 games ahead of the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies lost their season-high third game in a row in a lifeless affair in San Francisco.

What It Means:  I am so glad I decided to turn this game off in the fourth inning and go to bed.

What Happened:  Zack Wheeler did his job, pitching six strong innings and allowing two hits while striking out nine.  The offense couldn't get anything going against the Giants, who went with a bullpen game.  The Phillies left nine runners on base and were 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position.

In the 10th, with no score in the game, ghost runner Brandon Marsh started at second and was moved to third when Kody Clemens grounded out to first.  Alec Bohm and J.T. Realmuto couldn't push across Marsh and the game went to the bottom of the 10th.  Matt Strahm gave up a few fly balls as the Giants scored the winning run on a sac fly to left.

Featured Card:  The reliever who went the longest out of the Giants' bullpen was former Phillies' prospect Spencer Howard, making his Giants debut.  Spencer threw four scoreless innings, scattering five hits and striking out four.  Here's one of Howard's many, many Phillies cards issued in 2021.

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

Game 16 - Sloppy Defense, Pitching, Offense Cost Phils in Loss

2021 Topps Update
1992 Topps Redux #T92-37

Pirates 9, Phillies 2
Game 16 - Sunday Afternoon, April 14th in Philadelphia
Record - 8-8, 2nd Place, 2 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Sloppy play, a lack of offense and a rough start from Zack Wheeler contributed to this 9-2 loss to the Pirates.

What It Means:  The Phillies split the series, and they'll open up a three-game series against the last place Rockies on Monday night.

What Happened:  The Phillies are winless in Wheeler's four starts, scoring a total of six runs when he's on the mound.  Ahead 2-1 in the top of the sixth, the Pirates opened the inning when Ke'Bryan Hayes reached on an error by Alec Bohm.  Rowdy Tellez walked, Andrew McCutchen singled and Jack Suwinski hit a back-breaking grand slam off Wheeler to give the Pirates a 5-2 lead.  Relievers Seranthony Dominguez and Ricardo Pinto would allow four more runs to score.  Trea Turner raised his average to .302 by going 3 for 4 with a third inning solo home run.

Featured Card:  McCutchen hit a two-run home run off Pinto in the ninth, the 300th of the popular outfielder's career.  I remember being so hopeful when McCutchen signed here prior to the 2019 season, but a devastating knee injury on June 3rd that season and the pandemic-shortened 2020 season essentially derailed his Phillies career.

Transaction:  Orion Kerkering (rhp) was activated from the Injured List, pitching a scoreless inning in this game in his 2024 debut, and Nick Nelson (rhp) was optioned to Lehigh Valley.

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

Game 11 - Phils Can't Support Wheeler in 3-0 Loss to Cards

2021 Topps Heritage #591

Cardinals 3, Phillies 0
Game 11 - Tuesday Night, April 9th in St. Louis
Record - 5-6, Tied for 2nd Place, 2 1/2 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Zack Wheeler deserved better in this lifeless 3-0 loss to the Cardinals.

What It Means:  The Phillies would try to go for a series win on Wednesday afternoon.

What Happened:  Wheeler pitched seven strong innings, allowing three runs on six hits while striking out five.  The Phillies offense had eight singles and went 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position.  Nick Castellanos is hopefully starting to emerge from his brutal start to the season, as he had two of the eight hits.

There was a scary moment in the seventh when catcher J.T. Realmuto had a ball bounce into his throat, causing his departure from the game.  Fortunately Realmuto would return to the line-up on Wednesday.

Featured Card:  JoJo Romero, one of the Cardinals' top relievers, pitched 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief, allowing a hit and striking out four.  Romero was dealt to St. Louis in July 2022 in exchange for Edmundo Sosa, and the deal has seemingly worked out for both clubs.

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

The First Phillie - 2024 Topps!

Topps mixed things up this year, making collectors wait until January 11th to reveal the design of its 2024 flagship set.  In year's past, the design was released in August or September and when the season came to a close with no announcement and no inkling as to what the 2024 Topps cards would look like, I was a little worried.  I prepared myself to be underwhelmed whenever the design was finally released.

My first thought on seeing the design in mid-January:  These are cool.  My second thought:  The neon-like team name is fantastic, and how has Topps not done this before?  This is what a baseball card in 2024 should look like.  It's a modern look with the foggy border elements Topps likes so much from recent years, but collectors are given a solid photo, a unique way of presenting the team name, the team logo and clearly legible names and positions.  It's a great looking card, and it springs to the top of my list of favorite Topps flagship releases over the past 10 years.

The set was officially released on Valentine's Day, but I didn't open my first packs until February 19th.  My wife Jenna found three blaster boxes at our local Target that day, and I happily opened all three after dinner.  In the past, we've made a big show of the first packs of the year, but this year was a little more subdued.  The First Phillie hunt was extremely anti-climatic, as J.T. Realmuto was staring at me atop the first plastic-wrapped bunch of 59 cards I took from the first box I opened.

This is an exciting design, and Topps clearly creates its base cards now to work well with multiple parallel versions.  It wasn't until I had the cards in hand that I realized the team name and photo borders have foil-like features to them.  Scans don't do the cards justice, as these elements can't really be seen unless you're holding them.  I had a blue-bordered Alec Bohm card in one of my three boxes, and I like the full blue border more than the smoky black and white border on the normal base cards.  That's my only complaint, and if I had designed the cards, each card would have a border color corresponding to the player's team.  I like the backs too - very clean, with complete career statistics as has always been the norm with Topps flagship sets.

Finally, it's a promising sign of things to come that three of my top four sets over the past 10 years are all recent releases.  With 2014 dropping off the list, here's a look at my updated rankings:

Best Five:  2024, 2015, 2023, 2022, 2019

Bottom Five:  2016, 2018, 2021, 2017, 2020

Best - 2024 Topps #194

#2 - 2015 Topps #309

#3 - 2023 Topps #278

#4 - 2022 Topps #249

#5 - 2019 Topps #303

#6 - 2016 Topps #15

#7 - 2018 Topps #26

#8 - 2021 Topps #79

#9 - 2017 Topps #247

Worst - 2020 Topps #221

Past First Phillies

2010 Topps #300 Chase Utley

2011 Topps #242 Brad Lidge

2012 Topps #98 Domonic Brown

2013 Topps #6 Ryan Howard
2014 Topps #90 Ethan Martin
2015 Topps #309 Maikel Franco
2016 Topps #15 Ryan Howard
2017 Topps #247 Hector Neris
2018 Topps #26 Cesar Hernandez
2019 Topps #303 Ranger Suarez
2020 Topps #190 Aaron Nola

2021 Topps #79 Roman Quinn

2022 Topps #249 Zack Wheeler

2023 Topps #278 Aaron Nola

2024 Topps #194 J.T. Realmuto

The Offseason Begins - Early November Notes

2023 Topps Now #962

2023 Topps Allen & Ginter #263

2023 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs #37

2023 Chachi #74

Free Agents:  Drew Ellis (inf) became the first official ex-Phillie of the 2023-24 offseason when he became a minor league free agent on October 13th.  Ellis appeared in 12 games for the Phillies, including the game on June 4th when he hit a pair of home runs.

The bigger free agents departed the Phillies upon the conclusion of the World Series.  Aaron Nola (rhp) and Rhys Hoskins (1b) headline this list, and I'd love to see both of these long-time Phillies back in 2024.  I'll have much more to say about each if they end up signing elsewhere.  Craig Kimbrel (rhp) and Michael Lorenzen (rhp) will likely not return.  Kimbrel saved 23 games and was an All-Star, but I'll remember him most for the two NLCS losses in Phoenix.  Lorenzen threw a no-hitter on August 9th in his Phillies home debut, and then completely fell apart for the rest of the season.

Coaching Changes:  The Phillies parted ways with two coaches following the end of the NLCS.  Bullpen coach Dave Lundquist and assistant hitting coach Jason Camilli will not return for the 2024 season.  They had been with the club since 2019 and 2022, respectively.  Cesar Ramos was named the team's new bullpen coach.  Ramos was a Phillies non-roster inivitee to spring training in 2017, and he appeared in 40 games that season for the IronPigs.  He had been the pitching coach for the IronPigs since 2022.  The club is still searching for an assistant hitting coach.

Gold Glove:  Zack Wheeler won his first Gold Glove award on Sunday night, becoming the first Phillies pitcher to win the award since Steve Carlton in 1981.  Taijuan Walker was also a finalist for the pitcher's award.  J.T. Realmuto at catcher and Bryson Stott at second base were finalists as well but both came up short.

2021 Topps #526

2018 Bowman Chrome Prospects #BCP16

2023 Choice Reading Fightin Phils #8

First Transactions:  On Monday afternoon, the Phillies claimed Josh Fleming (lhp) off waivers from the the Tampa Bay Rays.  Michael Plassmeyer (lhp) and Erich Uelmen (rhp) were outrighted to Lehigh Valley.  In parts of four seasons with the Rays, Fleming has appeared in 55 games, making 22 starts.  He's 19-13 lifetime with a 4.88 ERA.  In 12 games in 2023, including three starts, he was 2-0 with a 4.70 ERA in 51 2/3 innings pitched.  He's got a bunch of baseball cards in various Panini sets and his last mainstream baseball card appearance came in the 2021 Topps set.

First Trade:  Also on Monday afternoon, the Phillies acquired Michael Mercado (rhp) from the Tampa Bay Rays for Adam Leverett (rhp) and cash.  The Phillies 40-man roster is now at 38 players.  Mercado has yet to pitch in the majors, and was 4-3 in 52 games last season with a 4.79 ERA at two minor league levels.  He showed up in Bowman sets in 2018 and 2020.  Leverett has been in the Phillies system since 2019 and he was 0-6 with a 3.94 ERA in 35 games last season for the Double-A Fightin Phils.

2023 Chachi #73 NLCS Game 7 / 2024 Chachi #1 Kyle Schwarber

Game 156 - Sanchez Dominates Mets Completing Series Sweep

2021 Choice Lehigh Valley
IronPigs #26

Phillies 5, Mets 2
Game 156 - Sunday Night, September 24th in Philadelphia
Record - 87-69, 2nd Place, 13 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Cristopher Sanchez was phenomenal and Nick Castellanos hit his 29th home run of the season in this 5-2 win over the Mets, completing a four-game sweep.

What It Means:  What was originally supposed to be an afternoon game was pushed to a night game as wet weather continued to move through our area all day Sunday.  A Marlins or Cubs loss earlier in the day, coupled with a Phillies win in this game, would have clinched a postseason berth.  Unfortunately, both the Marlins and Cubs won, meaning the Phillies would have to delay a celebration by a few days.

What Happened:  Sanchez went seven strong innings and had no-hit the Mets until DJ Stewart singled with two outs in the fifth.  Sanchez allowed two runs on three hits while striking out 10 and allowing only one walk.  Orion Kerkering made his big league debut in the eighth, striking out a pair of Mets batters.  It was quite the moment for Kerkering, who began the season pitching for Low-A Clearwater.  Michael Lorenzen, trying to figure it out, was given the ninth inning and earned the save.

The Phillies plated four runs in the fourth inning courtesy of a two-run single from J.T. Realmuto and Castellanos' two-run home run.  They added a run in the fifth when Bryce Harper singled home Trea Turner, who had doubled to reach.

Featured Card:  I have only four Sanchez cards in my Phillies collection, and this is the first card I added from the 2021 IronPigs team set.  Hopefully he starts to show up in a few 2024 Topps releases.

Field Report:  The four of us attended this game with seats in the Diamond Club.  We've made it a tradition to attend Fan Appreciation Day annually, although this year's celebration was a little anti-climatic given there's still a week left in the regular season.  Still, we enjoyed our dinner at Pass & Stow and Ben was the lucky recipient of a Bryson Stott foul day when a fan behind us corralled the ball and graciously handed it over to Ben.  Ben, being the excellent little brother that he is, has since relinquished the ball to Doug and his collection.  Before departing the ballpark, we made a quick visit to Scott Rolen's newly hung Wall of Fame plaque.

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