1994 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

Number of Cards:  46
Card Size:  4" x 6"

Description:  For the sixth year in a row, the card fronts feature a 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.  The card backs also feature the club's 1993 N.L. Champions logo.  From this point forward (as of this writing), the Phillies team issued sets have been sponsor-less.  Medford Food Company sponsored its third and final set in 1993.

How Distributed:  The original 36-card set was available for sale at Veterans Stadium throughout the season.  A ten-card update series was produced and sold at the ballpark in the second half of the season, before the player's strike ended the season prematurely on August 11th.  The update series is fairly difficult to track down.  I attended a few games at the Vet that July, adding the set to my collection.  The Phillies played on only 19 days following the All-Star break and before the strike, meaning the set was on sale for only a short time.

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

1. Larry Andersen (#47 - RHP) 2. Kim Batiste (#5 - INF) 3. Larry Bowa (#2 - Third Base Coach)      4. Wes Chamberlain (#44 - OF) 5. Norm Charlton (#37 - LHP) 6. Darren Daulton (#10 - C) 7. Mariano Duncan (#7 - INF) 8. Lenny Dykstra (#4 - OF) 9. Jim Eisenreich (#8 - OF) 10. Jim Fregosi (#11 - MG) 11. Tyler Green (#28 - RHP) 12. Tommy Greene (#49 - RHP)

13. Dave Hollins (#15 - INF) 14. Pete Incaviglia (#22 - OF) 15. Danny Jackson (#27 - LHP) 16. Doug Jones (#23 - RHP)* 17. Ricky Jordan (#17 - 1B) 18. Jeff Juden (#43 - RHP) 19. John Kruk (#29 - 1B) 20. Tony Longmire (#16 - OF) 21. Roger Mason (#48 - RHP) 22. Denis Menke (#14 - Hitting Instructor)      23. Mickey Morandini (#12 - INF) 24. Bobby Munoz (#35 - RHP)

25. Johnny Podres (#46 - Pitching Coach) 26. Todd Pratt (#6 - Catcher) 27. Ben Rivera (#34 - RHP) 28. Mel Roberts (#26 - First Base Coach) 29. Mike Ryan (#9 - Bullpen Coach) 30. Curt Schilling (#38 - RHP) 31. Heathcliff Slocumb (#51 - RHP) 32. Kevin Stocker (#19 - INF) 33. Milt Thompson (#25 - OF) 34. John Vukovich (#18 - Dugout Assistant)      35. David West (#40 - LHP) 36. Mike Williams (#41 - RHP)

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

1. Toby Borland (#42 - RHP)      2. Andy Carter (#50 - LHP) 3. Billy Hatcher (#3 - OF) 4. Mike Lieberthal (#24 - C)

5. Tom Marsh (#21 - OF) 6. Paul Quantrill (#48 - RHP)        7. Randy Ready (#31 - INF)

8. Fernando Valenzuela (#33 - LHP)      9. Phillie Phanatic 10. 1994 Phillies All-Stars

One and Only Phillies Baseball Card (1):  Carter

First Appearance in Phillies Team Issued Set (12):  Borland, Charlton, Hatcher, Jones, Juden, Lieberthal, Longmire, Marsh, Munoz, Quantrill, Slocumb, Valenzuela
Returning Players in Phillies Team Issued Set (24):  Andersen, Batiste, Chamberlain, Daulton, Duncan, Dykstra, Eisenreich, Green, Greene, Hollins, Incaviglia, Jackson, Jordan, Kruk, Mason, Morandini, Pratt, Ready, Rivera, Schilling, Stocker, Thompson, West, Williams

*The Jones card in the original 36-card set erroneously lists his date of birth of January 2, 1972.  This was corrected with a second Jones card (with an identical photo) issued with the update set.

Andy Carter's only Phillies baseball card can be found within the update set.  

Manager (1):  Fregosi
Coaches (6):  Bowa, Menke, Podres, Roberts, Ryan, Vukovich

Phillie Phanatic (1):  The Phanatic is shown atop the Phillies dugout, wearing his blue hat which was briefly introduced at certain home games during the 1994 season.

Broadcasters (0):  N/A
Other Cards (1):  1994 Phillies All-Stars, featuring Vukovich, Fregosi, Podres, Dykstra, Jones, Jackson and Duncan.

Set Composition:  The entire 25-man opening day roster made it into the set, with the exception of outfielder Tom Marsh, who didn't get a card until the update set was released.  Also appearing in the original set were John Kruk, Norm Charlton, Wes Chamberlain and Larry Andersen, who all began the season on the Disabled List.  Charlton would miss the entire season.  The oft-injured Tyler Green got a card too, but he spent the entire season with the Triple-A Red Barons.

The eight players included in the update set were added to the roster between opening day (Marsh) and June 29th (Mike Lieberthal), meaning the update set was likely released shortly after the All-Star break.  Fernando Valenzuela looks as if he was asked to put on a uniform for the sole purpose of letting the Phillies take pictures.

Omissions:  Shawn Boskie, who pitched in 18 games for the Phillies in 1994, is the big omission here.  Boskie was added too late for inclusion in the original set, as the Phillies acquired him from the Cubs on April 12th for Kevin Foster.  He could have been added to the update set, as he was with the club and active up until his trade to the Mariners on July 21st.  Boskie was included within the Mellon Bank Phillies SGA set, given away to all kids attending the June 26th game.  There are four other players who appeared with the Phillies during the strike-shortened season who didn't get team-issued photo cards:  Tom Quinlan, on the roster for 45 days in May and June, Bob Wells, Ricky Bottalico and Tom Edens, who was acquired from the Astros a few weeks before the end of the season.

Variations/Rarities:  In the comments to the original post for this set, fellow Phillies collector Rick  pointed out the following non-set cards/variations.  Rick also adds some of the popular players (including John Kruk) had cards issued including a facsimile autograph.

1. Dick Allen (with 1994 copyright) 2. Doug Jones (corrected birthday of 6/24/57)

Trivia:  The Beckett database lists the set as "1994 Phillies Medford" even though Medford Food Company was not the sponsor of this set.  The listing also omits the ten card update set.  The set's listing in the 2001 Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards lists the set as "1994 Phillies Photocards" and includes only the base 36 cards.

Resources:  Beckett.com; Phillies collector Rick (@rickphils)

This set was originally featured in a post back in November 2014, and I'm going through these older team-issued set posts to update them with new information learned (if any) over the past six years.

1993 Medford Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards / 1995 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

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

1994 Phillies Team Issue

I updated this post here in September 2023 and this original post is now outdated.

 
Number of Cards:  46
Card Size:  4" x 6"
Description:  For the sixth year in a row, the card fronts feature a 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.  The card backs also feature the club's 1993 N.L. Champions logo.  From this point forward (as of this writing), the Phillies team issued sets have been sponsor-less.  Medford Food Company sponsored its third and final set in 1993.

How Distributed:  The original 36-card set was available for sale at Veterans Stadium throughout the season.  A ten-card update series was produced and sold at the ballpark in the second half of the season, before the strike ended the season prematurely on August 11th.

Complete Standard Checklist (36):  The cards are unnumbered, but I've presented them below ordered by uniform number.

2 - Larry Bowa CO 4 - Lenny Dykstra 5 - Kim Batiste 6 - Todd Pratt 7 - Mariano Duncan 8 - Jim Eisenreich 9 - Mike Ryan CO 10 - Darren Daulton 11 - Jim Fregosi MG 12 - Mickey Morandini 14 - Denis Menke CO 15 - Dave Hollins 16 - Tony Longmire 17 - Ricky Jordan 18 - John Vukovich CO 19 - Kevin Stocker 22 - Pete Incaviglia 23 - Doug Jones

25 - Milt Thompson 26 - Mel Roberts CO 27 - Danny Jackson 28 - Tyler Green 29 - John Kruk 34 - Ben Rivera 35 - Bobby Munoz 37 - Norm Charlton 38 - Curt Schilling 40 - David West 41 - Mike Williams 43 - Jeff Juden 44 - Wes Chamberlain 46 - Johnny Podres CO 47 - Larry Andersen 48 - Roger Mason 49 - Tommy Greene 51 - Heathcliff Slocumb

Complete Update Checklist (10):

3 - Billy Hatcher 21 - Tom Marsh 24 - Mike Lieberthal 31 - Randy Ready 33 - Fernando Valenzuela

42 - Toby Borland 48 - Paul Quantrill 50 - Andy Carter Phillie Phanatic 1994 Phillies All-Stars

One and Done (1):  Carter
First Appearances (12):  Borland, Charlton, Hatcher, Jones, Juden, Lieberthal, Longmire, Marsh, Munoz, Quantrill, Slocumb, Valenzuela
Returning Players (24):  Andersen, Batiste, Chamberlain, Daulton, Duncan, Dykstra, Eisenreich, Green, Greene, Hollins, Incaviglia, Jackson, Jordan, Kruk, Mason, Morandini, Pratt, Ready, Rivera, Schilling, Stocker, Thompson, West, Williams

The Jones card in the original 36-card set lists his date of birth of January 2, 1972.  This was corrected with a second Jones card (with an identical photo) issued with the update set.

Andy Carter's only Phillies baseball card can be found within the update set.  The First Appearance designation is for players who have never before appeared within a Phillies team issued set.  These players may have already appeared on other Phillies baseball cards.

Manager (1):  Fregosi
Coaches (6):  Bowa, Menke, Podres, Roberts, Ryan, Vukovich
Phillie Phanatic (1):  The Phanatic is shown atop the Phillies dugout, wearing his blue hat which was briefly introduced at certain home games during the 1994 season.
Broadcasters (0)
Commemorative Cards (1):  1994 Phillies All-Stars, featuring Vukovich, Fregosi, Podres, Dykstra, Jones, Jackson and Duncan.

Variations/Rarities:  The update series is fairly difficult to track down.  I attended a few games at the Vet that July, adding the set to my collection.  Phillies collector Rick also points out the following variations in his comment below.

• 15 - Dick Allen (with 1994 copyright)
• 23 - Doug Jones (corrected birthday of 6/24/57)

Finally, Rick also adds that some of the popular players (including Kruk) had cards issued including a facsimile autograph.

Also See:  Mellon PSFS (a local Philadelphia based bank) sponsored a 25 card set handed out to all kids 14 and under at the June 26th game.  As this is also a team-issued set, I'd like to eventually put together a post for these cards as well.  (H/T to Phillies SGA for the date of the giveaway.)
Trivia:  The Beckett database lists the set as "1994 Phillies Medford" even though Medford Food Company was not the sponsor of this set.  The listing also omits the ten card update set.  The set's listing in the 2001 Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards lists the set as "1994 Phillies Photocards" and includes only the base 36 cards.
Resources:  Beckett.com; Phillies collector Rick (@rickphils)

1993 Topps Phillies

1993 Topps #180, #17, #340 and #740

I've been lucky enough so far to live through three golden ages of Phillies baseball - some longer than others.  The first golden age occurred from the late 1970s through the early 1980s when I was barely old enough (especially during the early years) to remember much of it.  We're in a golden age now which, beginning in 2007, has resulted in five consecutive division titles and one World Series title.  Sandwiched in between these two ages was a quick, I can't believe this is really happening, golden age.  In 1993, for 162 regular season games, 6 League Championship games, and 6 World Series games, the Phillies were one of the best teams in baseball.

It wasn't pretty, but we loved that team.  Harry Kalas famously referred to them as a lovable band of misfits and cast-offs and they gave us the last taste of the postseason for 14 long and sometimes painful years.

1993 Topps #17 (Back)

The Set

Number of cards in the set:  Topps stirred things up in 1993 by releasing its set in multiple series for the first time since 1972.  There are 396 cards in series one and another 429 cards in series two, for a total tally of 825 cards in the complete set.  Topps added their standard 132-card traded set but by this point, the traded set had lost all relevance to me.  Given the large amount of sets on the market produced by Topps, Fleer, Donruss, Score and Upper Deck, I already had access to Phillies cards of players acquired prior to the start of the season or even at the beginning of the season by the time the traded set rolled around.  So I wasn't that upset in 1993 when Topps made the decision to include only two Phillies within its traded series.

My very brief thoughts on the set:  I really liked these cards and unlike the 1992 Topps set, I actually hand collated the entire 825-card set.  For the second year in a row, the player's position isn't featured on the fronts of the cards, but I didn't seem to mind since I was very fond of the card front's overall design.  The backs of the cards have a vertical alignment for the first time since 1975 and there is a full-color player photo on the backs for the first time ever.

Notable competition:  I held down a few part-time jobs while in college and any money not spent on food or clothes or entertainment went to packs of Topps or Upper Deck cards.  Upper Deck produced a wonderful set in 1993 - probably the best set of its 21-year run.  In fact, it's one of the few non-Topps sets that I proudly display in 9-pocket pages in its own binder.  1993 was also the year that Donruss and Fleer continued their comebacks, producing very attractive sets.

1993 Topps #262, #371, #154 and 1993 Topps Traded #73T

1993 Phillies

Record and finish:  With a record of 97-65, the Phillies won their division for the first time since 1983, finishing three games ahead of the Montreal Expos.  They stunned the Atlanta Braves in the N.L.C.S., winning the series in six games, and they in turn were stunned by Joe Carter and the Toronto Blue Jays.  It seems a little silly now, but the events of October 23, 1993, were very traumatic to me at the time.

Key players:  The offense was paced by Darren Daulton (.257, 24 home runs, 105 RBIs), Dave Hollins (.273, 18 home runs, 93 RBIs), John Kruk (.316, 14 home runs, 85 RBIs) and Lenny Dykstra (.305, 19 home runs, 66 RBIs).  Supporting players such as Mariano Duncan, Milt Thompson, Jim Eisenreich and Pete Incaviglia played huge roles as well.  Curt Schilling and Tommy Greene led the pitching staff with 16 wins each, followed by Ben Rivera's 13 wins and Danny Jackson's and Terry Mulholland's 12 wins a piece.  It was the first time since 1932 that the team had five starting pitchers with 10 or more wins.  Closer Mitch Williams saved 43 games during the regular season, and unnecessarily shouldered complete blame for the World Series loss.  

Key events:  Prior to the start of the season, General Manager Lee Thomas cobbled together a group of cast-offs via free agency or trades to compliment the core line-up.  The acquisitions of Jackson, David West, Eisenreich, Incaviglia, Thompson and Larry Andersen had as much to do with the team's big season as the overall offensive output of Macho Row.  I could easily compose a multi-part post with all of the highlights from this wonderful season, but one highlight in particular has always been my favorite.  In July, following a lengthy rain delay, the Phils started the second game of a double header at 1:26 in the morning.  The game ended at 4:41 on a walk-off, 10th inning single from "Mitchy-Poo" Mitch Williams.

1993 Phillies in 1993 Topps

Cards needed for a complete team set:  There are 15 Phillies cards each in each series of the base set and only two more Phillies cards in the traded set.  The Phils got seriously shafted by Topps in '93.

Who’s in:

• Cards of the eight starting position players - 5 cards

#180 Darren Daulton (c), #340 John Kruk (1b), #262 Mickey Morandini (2b), #17 Dave Hollins (3b), #740 Lenny Dykstra (cf)

I'm basing this starting line-up on starts by position.  Mariano Duncan played in 124 games, but he jumped around between second and third.  Kevin Stocker joined the team too late in the season to be featured in the traded series, although he did appear in the Stadium Club set.  Left fielder Thompson was completely omitted from the set, despite having played in 109 games for the Cardinals in 1992.  Eisenreich was featured with the Royals in the base set and he didn't get a card in the traded set. 

• Cards of the starting pitching rotation - 4 cards

#421 Curt Schilling, #291 Tommy Greene, #555 Terry Mulholland, #622 Ben Rivera

I had to double check, but Danny Jackson was also completely omitted from the set.  Jackson started 34 games in 1992 for the Cubs and Pirates, so it's a little odd that he didn't at least end up in the regular set.

1993 Topps #421, #291, #622 and #235

• Base cards of players who played with the Phillies in 1993 - 13 cards

#43 Ruben Amaro Jr., #99 Mike Williams, #126 Bob Ayrault, #154 Wes Chamberlain, #235 Mitch Williams, #371 Mariano Duncan, #479 Todd Pratt, #531 Joe Millette, #585 Ricky Jordan, #679 Kim Batiste, #818 Brad Brink, #37T Tyler Green, #73T Pete Incaviglia

Brink's card is a part of the Coming Attractions subset at the very end of the set.

• Base cards of players who didn't play with the Phillies in 1993 - 7 cards (with new teams listed)

#72 Jeff Grotewold (Twins), #208 Mike Hartley (Twins), #317 Kyle Abbott (minors), #445 Dale Murphy (Rockies), #649 Tom Marsh (minors), #712 Stan Javier (Angels), #773 Cliff Brantley (minors)

• 1992 Draft Pick card - 1 card, #161 Chad McConnell
• 1992 Topps All Stars card - 1 card, #408 Darren Daulton with Brian Harper (Twins)
• Manager card - 1 card, #510 Jim Fregosi with Buck Showalter (Yankees)

1993 Topps #555, #22 and #510

Who’s out:  I still find it weird that Thompson and Jackson were both left out of the set altogether.  Relievers Andersen, Roger Mason and Mark Davis all played a part in the championship season, but they were also left out of the set.

Phillies on other teams:  There are five cards of 1993 Phillies players on their former teams - #7 Pete Incaviglia (Astros), #22 Jim Eisenreich (Royals), #645 Bobby Thigpen (White Sox), #652 David West (Twins), #707 Donn Pall (White Sox).

What’s he doing here:  Phillies first round draft pick and Creighton product Chad McConnell kicked around the Phillies minor leagues through the 1996 season before calling it a career.  He never played for the Phillies.

Cards that never were candidates:  Thompson, Jackson, Stocker, Andersen, Eisenreich and West are all good candidates.

Favorite Phillies card:  There's actually quite a few great Phillies cards in this set, but I'll go with Mitch Williams' card as my favorite.  That definitely would not have been the case back on October 23, 1993.

Other Stuff

Recycled:  Murphy and Dykstra's cards were reprinted in the 2001 and 2002 Topps Archives sets, respectively.  While Kruk, Daulton, Dykstra (again) and Mitch Williams have cards featuring the 1993 Topps design within the 2003 and 2005 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites set.

Blogs/Websites:  Based on my limited research, I don't think there's another set-specific Topps blog out there until 2008.  (Please let me know if I've missed any.)  So unless I come up with any better ideas, I'm going to use this space to link to my past posts.  Back in this blog's infancy, I toyed with the idea of posting the baseball cards of all the players from key teams from the Phillies' past.  I did this with the 1956 Topps Phillies cards and I started the process with the 1993 Phillies club, before the idea eventually petered out.  Here's the post from May 2009 that served as my planned gateway to the baseball cards of the 1993 Phillies squad.

Did You Know?:  I was 500 miles away from the action when the Phillies clinched the division in 1993.  One of my fondest memories of that season is my parents holding up the phone to their television set so that I could hear Harry the K call the final inning and the final outs.  My Mom taped the game and the post-game celebrations and mailed me the VHS tape the next day.  (I still have that tape around here somewhere.)  Composing this post has made me very nostalgic for 1993, and it almost makes me want to hook up a VCR and drop in the team's highlight video, aptly titled, "Whatever It Takes, Dude."

2003 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites #84, #94, #141 and
2005 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites #79

1992 Topps Phillies

1992 Topps #244, #30, #383 and #200

1992 was a year of change.  I moved 500 miles away from my hometown and started my freshman year of college.  I left my family, my house and my baseball card collection behind and embarked on a new, exciting and occasionally scary journey.

I remember feeling particularly blue one fall day in '92 and being pleasantly surprised to find the Sundry Shop on the Quad sold packs of baseball cards.  There was nothing too exciting for sale - just a few packs of left-over 1992 Topps and 1992 Fleer packs.  I bought two or three packs that day and I'll admit that I spent money intended for food on more packs in the weeks ahead.  Flipping through my 1992 Phillies binder now, I'm reminded just how comforting those packs of baseball cards were to me.

1992 Topps #30 (Back)

The Set

Number of cards in the set:  For the 11th and final year in a row, there are 792 cards in the base set and 132 cards in the traded set.

My very brief thoughts on the set:  This was the first Topps flagship set since 1980 that I did not hand collate.  As I alluded to at the outset, I took the end of High School fairly hard and I all but ignored baseball cards for a big chunk of the year.  (I think Santa brought the factory set for Christmas that year.)  That being said, it's a nice set.  After years and years of gray cardstock, it was a bit stunning to hold a Topps baseball card produced on thinner, white cardstock.  The panoramic view of Veterans Stadium on the backs of some of the cards was a very cool touch.  And I appreciated the return to horizontal card fronts on some of the cards for the first time since 1974.

Notable competition:  1992 was a good year for baseball cards.  It seems as if each of the manufacturers stepped up their game and tried to bring something new to their customers.  The cards were glossier and more thought went into each set's design.  After the lackluster collecting years of 1990 and 1991, the card companies turned things around and started making product that baseball card collectors wanted to collect.  Unfortunately, the card companies did not know when to say when, and we as collectors would soon be bombarded with an absolute deluge of new product in the years ahead.  This was the year the dam started to crack before the flood of way too many different sets overwhelmed me from 1993 through the mid-2000s.

1992 Topps #587, #52, 1992 Topps Traded #5T and 1992 Topps #14

1992 Phillies

Record and finish:  With a record of 70-92, the Phils finished in last place in the N.L. East, 26 games behind the Pirates.

Key players:  Darren Daulton finally arrived, leading the league with 109 RBIs and hitting 27 home runs.  Dave Hollins matched Dutch's 27 home runs and drove in 93 runs to boot.  He finished second in the league with 104 runs scored.  John Kruk enjoyed a solid season, hitting .323 with 10 home runs and 70 RBIs.  The newly acquired Curt Schilling led the pitching staff with 14 wins and a 2.35 ERA.  Terry Mulholland put together another steady season with a 13-11 record and a 3.81 ERA, while leading the league with 12 complete games.  Closer Mitch Williams saved 29 games.  So what went wrong?

Key events:  What went wrong was that 17 different players spent time on the disabled list, including key contributors such as Lenny Dykstra, Tommy Greene and Dale Murphy.  The active roster consisted of a revolving cast of prospects and suspects throughout the year as 48 different players suited up for the 1992 Phillies.  Mickey Morandini recorded an unassisted triple play in September and reserve catcher Jeff Grotewold became the first player in history to hit three pinch-hit home runs in three consecutive games.

1992 Phillies in 1992 Topps

Cards needed for a complete team set:  There are 32 Phillies cards in the base set and another 3 Phillies cards in the traded set.  Once again, Topps opted to include 26 players from Team USA in the traded set, denying several deserving Major Leaguers their traded cards.

Who’s in:

• Cards of the eight starting position players - 7 cards

#244 Darren Daulton (c), #30 John Kruk (1b), #587 Mickey Morandini (2b), #383 Dave Hollins (3b), #30T Mariano Duncan (lf), #200 Lenny Dykstra (cf), #5T Ruben Amaro, Jr. (rf)

Shortstop Juan Bell was acquired in August and took over shortstop duties from the struggling Kim Batiste/Dale Sveum combination.

• Cards of the starting pitching rotation - 3 cards

#100T Curt Schilling, #719 Terry Mulholland, #83 Tommy Greene

Kyle Abbott, who started 19 games, was omitted from the traded set, as was Ben Rivera who started 14 games.  

1992 Topps Traded #100T, 1992 Topps #719, #763 and #83

It's a bit jarring seeing the team's new uniform side-by-side with their old uniforms.  When teams update their uniforms now, the Photoshopping gremlins at Topps busily transform players into their new-look uniforms before the cards are released.  As a side note, I always thought it was cool that there were no Phillies cards in the first series of 1992 Leaf.  Leaf waited until they had photos of the Phillies in their new uniforms before dropping every Phillies card into its second series.

• Base cards of players who played with the Phillies in 1992 - 15 cards

#14 Wes Chamberlain, #103 Ricky Jordan, #258 Jim Lindeman, #331 Steve Lake, #353 Braulio Castillo, #434 Wally Backman, #456 Pat Combs, #484 Mike Hartley, #497 Andy Ashby, #514 Kim Batiste, #544 Cliff Brantley, #599 Steve Searcy, #633 Mitch Williams, #680 Dale Murphy, #791 Danny Cox

• Base cards of players who didn't play with the Phillies in 1992 - 8 cards (with new teams listed)

#63 Randy Ready (A's), #135 Von Hayes (Angels), #159 Darrin Fletcher (Expos), #307 Bruce Ruffin (Brewers), #471 Jose DeJesus (injured), #557 Dickie Thon (Rangers), #696 Joe Boever (Astros), #754 Charlie Hayes (Yankees)

• #1 Draft Pick card - 1 card, #764 Tyler Green
• Manager card - 1 card, #669 Jim Fregosi

1992 Topps #633, #484, #361 and #478

Who’s out:  Rivera and Abbott might have appeared in the traded series if not for the Team USA cards.  Relievers Bob Ayrault (30 games) and Wally Ritchie (40 games) were also deserving of cards.

Phillies on other teams:  An entire 9-pocket page (+1) is needed to contain the 1992 Phillies players who had cards in the set featuring them on other teams.  Ruben Amaro, Jr. (#269 with the Angels), Mariano Duncan (#589 with the Reds) and Curt Schilling (#316 with the Astros) all wound up in the traded set as Phillies.  But these 7 players did not:  #52 Juan Bell (Orioles), #85 Jose DeLeon (Cardinals), #361 Barry Jones (Expos), #373 Don Robinson (Giants), #478 Dale Sveum (Brewers), #581 Stan Javier (Dodgers) and #763 Kyle Abbott (Angels).

What’s he doing here:  One of the things I like about the recent Series 1 releases from Topps is that they give us cards of players on their new teams, as long as those players switched teams early in the off-season.  Ready, Von Hayes, Fletcher, Ruffin and Thon were all long gone by Christmas 1991, but they appear as Phillies in the 1992 Topps set.  

Cards that never were candidates:  Grotewold, Bell, Rivera, Abbott, Javier, Sveum, Jones and Don Robinson.  Robinson wrapped up his 15-year career with 8 uneventful starts for the Phillies.

Favorite Phillies card:  There are some great action photos on these cards, but my favorite two are Spring Training shots featuring Greene and Mulholland on the mound.  Greene's card edges Mulholland's due to the blurry ball heading towards the photographer.  My favorite non-Phillies card is Javier's, which features two soon-to-be members of the 1992 Phillies squad on it.

1992 Topps Traded #30T, 1992 Topps #581 and #103

Other Stuff

Recycled:  If Topps has re-used this design for any Phillies cards since 1992, I don't have them in my collection.

Blogs/Websites:  There aren't many people out there writing about the 1992 Topps set, so I'm going to go ahead and link to a few of my prior Scrapbook Sunday posts.  Here's a post featuring the 1948-style uniforms the team wore on its Turn Back the Clock day on June 21, 1992.  My scrapbook page from the 1992 All-Star Game features a rare photo of Kruk wearing a Braves jersey.  And here's a page from the start of the '92 season, when the team first started to realize that things were going very wrong, very quickly.

Did You Know?:  On Opening Day 1992, I skipped school to go to the game and see the team's new uniforms first hand.  This was before the days of internet leaks, so Opening Day 1992 was truly the first time all 60,000+ of us in attendance were witnessing the new look Phillies.  The team went so far as to conduct Spring Training that year wearing their old maroon uniforms.  I seem to recall the Phillie Phanatic blowing up a safe during a pre-game ceremony containing the new uniforms and then proudly displayed the new duds to the excited crowd.  Little did we know that we'd have very little else to cheer throughout the upcoming season.  (However, with the exception of one pitch from Mitch Williams to Joe Carter, 1993 would turn out just fine.)

Dang Blogger label limitations mean that Stan Javier and Ricky Jordan won't be tagged in this post.  Sorry guys.

1991 Topps Phillies

1991 Topps #689, #545, #345 and #603B

There was a lot of change going down in 1991.  It was the last year the Phillies would wear their maroon pin-striped uniforms with the big bubble "P" that is still synonymous with the team's success in the late '70s and their first World Championship in 1980.  It was also the last year Topps would issue its baseball card set on the gray cardboard of my youth.  In 1992, Topps would switch to a leaner, whiter cardboard that is still in use today for their base set.  1991 was my last full year in High School as I was set to graduate in the Spring of '92 and venture out on my own.  And as a few readers reminded me in the comments of my post on the 1988 Topps set, 1991 was, in my opinion, the last truly classic Topps baseball card set.

1991 Topps #345 (Back)

The Set

Number of cards in the set:  Once again, there are 792 cards in the base set and 132 in the traded series.

My very brief thoughts on the set:  Topps did a nice job of redeeming itself after the debacle that was the 1990 Topps set.  The front of the cards feature a special "40 Years of Baseball" logo to celebrate the ruby anniversary of the Red Backs and Blue Backs released in 1951.  Topps made an effort to coordinate the colors featured on the fronts with the actual colors of the player's team, and the logo of the team name is a nice touch as well.  So what say you?  Is this the last truly classic Topps base set?

Notable competition:  I think the Topps set is the best baseball card set of the year.  Honorable mention goes to Score's set and the first ever Fleer Ultra set.  The Donruss, Fleer and Upper Deck sets were all fairly forgettable.  However, Donruss gets an honorable mention for the awesome Dr. Dirt and Mr. Clean card in its set featuring Lenny Dykstra and Dale Murphy - two completely polar opposites on the field and in life.

1991 Topps #89, #342, #439 and #312

1991 Phillies

Record and finish:  The Phils took a slight baby-step forward, winning one more game than they did in 1990.  They went 78-84 to finish in third place behind the Pirates in the East.

Key players:  This is the year John Kruk started growing out the mullet and came into his own as a big-league hitter.  He hit .294 with 21 home runs and 92 RBIs while splitting time between first base and the corner outfield positions.  Murphy enjoyed a solid season (.252, 18 home runs, 81 RBIs) in his first full year in Philly and Dykstra hit .297 in a season abbreviated by self-inflicted injuries.  Terry Mulholland led the pitching staff with 16 wins, followed by Tommy Greene's 13.  Mitch Williams, acquired from the Cubs right before the start of the season, saved 30 games.

Key events:  In events that would foreshadow his troubles in the future, Dykstra was placed on a year's probation by commissioner Fay Vincent for his involvement in a gambling ring.  Thirteen games into the season, with the team at 4-9, manager Nick Leyva was fired and replaced with Jim Fregosi.  In May, Dykstra and Darren Daulton were seriously injured when Dykstra wrapped his car around a tree following a night of drinking at Kruk's bachelor party.  In happier news, Greene pitched a no-hitter in Montreal on May 23rd and Murphy tallied his 2,000th career hit on May 29th.

1991 Phillies in 1991 Topps

Cards needed for a complete team set:  There are 29 Phillies cards in the base Topps set, but 30 if you include both Wes Chamberlain variations, which I am.  There are 4 more Phillies cards in the traded set.

Who’s in:

• Cards of the eight starting position players - 8 cards

#89 Darren Daulton (c), #689 John Kruk (1b), #342 Mickey Morandini (2b), #439 Dickie Thon (ss), #312 Charlie Hayes (3b), #603B Wes Chamberlain (lf), #345 Lenny Dykstra (cf), #545 Dale Murphy (rf)

• Cards of the starting pitching rotation - 5 cards

#413 Terry Mulholland, #486 Tommy Greene, #232 Jose DeJesus, #25T Danny Cox, #637 Bruce Ruffin

1991 Topps #413, #486, #232 and #637

• Base cards of players who played with the Phillies in 1991 - 15 cards

#9 Darrin Fletcher, #15 Von Hayes, #43 Roger McDowell, #137 Randy Ready, #159 Joe Boever, #173 Jason Grimsley, #186 Rod Booker, #264 Dave Hollins, #524 Darrel Akerfelds, #571 Pat Combs, #618 Sil Campusano, #661 Steve Lake, #712 Ricky Jordan, #3T Wally Backman, #127T Mitch Williams

• Base cards of players who didn't play with the Phillies in 1991 - 3 cards (with new teams listed)

#209 Ken Howell (Injured), #282 Don Carman (Reds), #603A Louie Meadows (Phillies Triple-A)

I'm counting the Chamberlain/Meadows variation in the official tally.  Card #603 can be found in a corrected version (with Chamerlain's picture) and an error version (with Meadows' picture).  Meadows appeared in 15 games with the 1990 Phillies and he never actually appeared on a Phillies card of his own.

• #1 Draft Pick card - 1 card, #471 Mike Lieberthal
• Manager cards - 2 cards, #141 Nick Leyva and #43T Jim Fregosi

1991 Topps Traded #127T, 1991 Topps #15, #712 and #264

Who’s out:  Topps made the decision to include 26 Team USA cards in its traded set, in lieu of giving 26 more cards to actual Major Leaguers with their new teams.  Arguments could be made for either John Morris (85 games) or Jim Lindeman (65 games, .337 average) getting a card with the Phillies in the traded set.  Wally Ritchie (39 games in relief, 2.50 ERA) also could have had a card in the traded set.  

Phillies on other teams:  Backman (#722 with the Pirates) and Williams (#335 with the Cubs) are in the base set with their former teams, but in the traded set as Phillies.  There are three more players who appeared with the 1991 Phillies with cards in the set - Mike Hartley (#199 with the Dodgers), Steve Searcy (#369 with the Tigers) and Dave LaPoint (#484 with the Yankees).

1991 Topps #603A

What’s he doing here:  Really the only questionable selections are Carman and Lieberthal.  Carman became a free agent after the 1990 season and Lieby didn't make his debut until 1994.  Overall, Topps did a really nice job with the Phillies player selection.

Cards that never were candidates:  Morris, Lindeman and Ritchie are deserving.  And how about a card for Rick Schu, who returned to the Phillies after a three-year absence and appeared in 17 games.  (Although he'd hit .091).

Favorite Phillies card:  The Dude edges out Dale Murphy.  I was very excited to finally have a Topps card featuring Murphy as a Phillie, but the shot of Dykstra, asking for time in his dirt-stained uniform is baesball card greatness.  It's sad that Dykstra has allowed his life to completely self-destruct.

Other Stuff

Recycled:  The cards of Dale Murphy and John Kruk in the 2004 and 2005 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites set use the 1991 Topps design.  Also, for the second year in a row, Topps produced a Debut set, featuring the 1991 Topps design and cards of every player who made his big league debut during the 1990 season.  (Hat tip to 14,000 Phillies for the reminder.  And I wish they'd bring this set back.)

Blogs/Websites:  To date, I don't own any 1991 Topps Desert Shield cards, but I've always been fascinated by this rare parallel set.  Here's a comprehensive article on the card set, including a primer on how to spot counterfeit Desert Shield cards.

Did You Know?:  At the outset of this post, I referenced the team's maroon 1970's and 1980's uniforms with the big bubble "P," in use for the last time during the 1991 season.  The team wore those uniforms for 21 full seasons, beginning in 1971.  (The uniforms made their debuts at the tail-end of the 1970 season.)  This may be hard to believe, but the team is now entering its 21st season wearing the uniform set first introduced in 1992.  If the team wears the same uniforms in 2013, and there is no indication that they won't, the 1992 to present day uniforms will surpass the 1971 to 1991 uniforms in terms of longevity.  Crazy, isn't it?

Scrapbook Sunday: June 21, 1992

1993 Pinnacle #229 Bob Ayrault

1993 Score #30 Lenny Dykstra

1993 Stadium Club #34 Wes Chamberlain

1993 Topps #43 Ruben Amaro

Having hosted one successful Nostalgia Day in June 1991, the Phillies decided to take another trip back in time in June 1992. For this turn back the clock installment, the Phillies and Cubs wore uniforms from their 1948 seasons. The blue helmets and lack of pinstripes on the home uniforms had not been seen in these parts since just after World War II. The blue helmets would return (briefly) in 1994 and the Phillies would debut an alternate home uniform, based on their 1948 uniforms, for home day games starting in 2008.

Unfortunately, the Phils' retro-uniform record fell to 0-2 as pitcher Kyle Abbott lost for the 8th time. By 1992, I was using clippings from all over the place - the box score and daily standings are from Baseball Weekly, the game summary at the top is from The Phillies Report, the stats are from the Philadelphia Daily News and the other stuff is taken from the Atlantic City Press.

Retro Cards: I found the following baseball cards in my collection featuring Phillies cards from this game:

1993 Medford Phillies #17 Ricky Jordan, #37 Kyle Abbott, #53 Bob Ayrault

1993 Pinnacle #229 Bob Ayrault, #437 Ben Rivera

1993 Score #30 Lenny Dykstra (front & back), #99 Dave Hollins (back), #141 Ricky Jordan (back), #242 Ben Rivera, #289 Bob Ayrault, #415 Mickey Morandini, The Franchise #22 Darren Daulton (back)

1993 Score Select #329 Ben Rivera (back)

1993 Stadium Club #4 Bob Ayrault (back), #34 Wes Chamberlain (front & back)

1993 Topps #43 Ruben Amaro, #126 Bob Ayrault (front & back), #262 Mickey Morandini, #371 Mariano Duncan (back), #649 Tom Marsh (back), Black Gold #3 Darren Daulton (back)

Clearly, the Score and Topps photographers decided to focus on relief pitcher Bob Ayrault during the game! Darren Daulton is wearing a 1948 uniform on his 1992 Studio Heritage Series card (#BC-13), but it's a staged shot.

Scrapbook Sunday: June 16, 1991

1992 Donruss #384 Wes Chamberlain

1992 Topps #456 Pat Combs

1992 Upper Deck #350 Wally Backman

1992 Stadium Club #156 Joe Boever

Turn back the clock games are fairly commonplace now, but that wasn't always the case. In June 1991, the Phillies tried the promotion for the first time, wearing retro uniforms from 1957. It was very, very strange to watch the Phils play a game in something other than their familiar maroon and white uniforms. So strange in fact, I distinctly remember videotaping this game for posterity. (The Phillies announcers did the pre-game opening in vintage '50s gear and the first few minutes of the broadcast was in black and white. I recall Andy Musser looked particularly out of place.)

The retro uniforms didn't help the Phils against the World Champion Reds in this game, as the team lost for the seventh time in eight games. Pat Combs was hammered, Dickie Thon made a crucial error in the 9th inning and Wes Chamberlain's first home run of the year was wasted.

Retro Cards: Pictures of the Phillies wearing these uniforms turned up on several baseball cards in late 1991 and throughout 1992, as follows:

1991 Medford Phillies Update #39 Wally Ritchie

1992 Donruss #384 Wes Chamberlain, #493 Joe Boever, #614 Danny Cox (back), #631 Wally Ritchie (back)

1992 Stadium Club #156 Joe Boever

1992 Topps #331 Steve Lake, #456 Pat Combs, #754 Charlie Hayes

1992 Triple Play #128 Andy Ashby, #220 Mitch Williams

1992 Upper Deck #350 Wally Backman, #402 Joe Boever, #410 Mitch Williams (back), #442 Pat Combs (back), #567 Tommy Greene

Dale Murphy shows up wearing a retro uniform on his 1991 Studio card (#220), but I didn't count that here as it's a staged studio shot. Pitchers Tommy Greene, Wally Ritchie and Mitch Williams show up on cards wearing their retro uniforms, even though they didn't pitch in the game.

1991 Baseball Cards Magazine Repli-Cards

Meanwhile, back in the pre-Roy Halladay era . . .

1991 Baseball Cards Magazine Repli-Cards - #4 Len Dykstra, #26 1991 Phillies Rookie Stars, #28 Dale Murphy

In 1991, for the third year in a row, Baseball Cards Magazine produced a 72-card set inserted six to a panel within each issue. The cards used the style of the 1966 Topps set and featured three Phillies cards - Lenny Dykstra, Dale Murphy and a combo rookies card of Mickey Morandini and Wes Chamberlain.

The Dale Murphy card works particularly well as the popular slugger's away jersey matches up nicely with the card's design. The back of this card notes, "It's still tough to see a picture - not to mention a baseball card - of Dale Murphy wearing a Philadelphia uniform." The Lenny Dykstra card pictures the Phillies center fielder with his ubiquitous chaw, looking slightly befuddled. A few years later, Dykstra, Chamberlain and Morandini would play key roles for the Phils as they won the 1993 National League Championship.

I had to rearrange my 1989, 1990 and 1991 Phillies binders in order to accommodate these new additions. I arrange my Phillies cards alphabetically by set within each years' binder, so these cards pushed the Bowman cards down a few slots. It's nice to finally have these cards where they belong and not stuck in a box on a shelf.

1993 Donruss #304 Wes Chamberlain

1993 Phillies - The Bench

Uniform Numbers: 31 (1990-1991) and 44 (1991-1994)

1993 Stats: In 96 games, Wes hit .282 with 12 home runs and 45 RBI. He led the Phils with 10 outfield assists. In the NLCS, Wes was the team's leading hitter, batting .364 (4 for 11).

1993 Notable: Wes formed part of the right-field platoon with fellow outfielder Jim Eisenreich. Nearly half of Wes' hits during the year were extra base hits.

How Acquired: Acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates with Julio Peguero and Tony Longmire for Carmelo Martinez, August 30, 1990.

Phillies Career: 1990-1994
How Departed: Traded to the Boston Red Sox with Mike Sullivan for Billy Hatcher and Paul Quantrill, May 31, 1994

1991 was by far Wes Chamberlain's best season, as he hit career highs in nearly every offensive category. After playing 70 games with the Red Sox in 1994 and 1995, Wes bounced around the Royals', Blue Jays', Pirates' and Mets' organizations, but never made it back to the Majors. He played briefly in Japan (1996) and spent time playing in the independent Northern League where he was named an All-Star in 2000 and 2003.

Did You Know?: Wes was traded by the Red Sox to the Royals for former Phillie Chris James on August 14, 1995

1992 Medford Phillies #NNO Uniforms Through the Years

Prologue – 1992 Phillies

On the afternoon of April 7, 1992, the Phillies were playing the Cubs and introducing their new red pinstriped and blue accented retro-themed uniforms in their home opener. The maroon pinstripes and accompanying bubble "P" logo with the baseball in the middle had been burned into my brain since I was a wee lad. I was now a senior in high school. I wanted to see the new fancy uniforms in person. I needed to be there. So a few friends and I got tickets to the game. That in itself was not a bad choice.

Before heading to the game, we decided to stop by Wawa to pick up snacks. Not a bad choice per se, but probably not a wise choice. Things began to unravel for us when the secretary from the vice principal of discipline’s office was also in Wawa picking up her morning coffee.

Seeing as we were already blatantly guilty of truancy, some in our little group (the guilty shall remain nameless) thought it would be amusing to ride by our high school on the way to the game, horns-a-honking, waving and yelling out our sun roofs. This was a bad choice.

In retrospect, I’m still very glad I went to that game. Even though it resulted in a few days of in-school suspension, it was incredible to see those shiny new uniforms in person. Also, it was one of the best memories I have from the latter part of my senior year of high school, spent with good, good friends with whom I’ve unfortunately lost touch. (Seriously, these were a great bunch of guys).

The Opening Day giveaway was a poster (reproduced here in the Phillies’ annual team issued card set) depicting current players wearing different Phillies uniforms through the years. This poster has hung on one of my walls wherever I happened to be living from 1992 until now.

Change was in the air in 1992. The Phillies would finish last in the NL East and I found myself on foreign soil in North Carolina. The following year would be much better.