Phils Complete First Deal of Dombrowski/Fuld Era

2020 Chachi #56

2021 Chachi New Additions #4

2021 Chachi Departures #14

2021 Chachi Departures #13

2021 Chachi Departures #12

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

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

* * *

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

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

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

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

Departures - 2020-2021 Offseason

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

New Additions - 2020-2021 Offseason

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

* * *

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

2020 Chachi #57

1985 Tastykake Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

Number of Cards:  47
Card Size:  3 1/2" x 5 1/4"
Description:  Beginning in 1985, the Phillies used the exact same card design for three straight years.  The only differences with these cards are the photos used and the copyright line on the bottom right of the cards' fronts.  The design removes the Phillies script logo found on the 1984 cards and adds the player's uniform number and position.  The set's sponsor, Tastykake, has its logo featured on the backs of the cards.

How Distributed:  All fans attending the Phillies game at Veterans Stadium on April 21, 1985, received a complete shrink-wrapped set with a header/checklist card on the top.  The back of the header/checklist card advertised that additional sets could be purchased from the Phillies via mail order for $3.50.  The Phillies raised the price of a complete set by fifty cents over the previous year.

The 1985 Tastykake Phillies set seems to be the most ubiquitous of all the team-issued sets from the 1980s.  Up through the mid-2010s, the sets could be readily found on eBay and for sale at Citizens Bank Park.  The Memorabilia Store from Hunt Auctions located behind Section 126 had several of these sets for sale throughout the 2014 season.

Complete Standard Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here based on the numbered checklist found on the back of the header card): 

1. Header Card / Checklist 2. John Felske (#7 - MG) 3. Dave Bristol (#4 - CO) 4. Lee Elia (#2 - CO) 5. Claude Osteen (#3 - CO) 6. Mike Ryan (#5 - CO) 7. Del Unser (#25 - CO) 8. Manager and Coaches 9. Pitchers 10. Catchers 11. Infielders 12. Outfielders 13. Larry Andersen (#47 - RHP)      14. Steve Carlton (#32 - LHP) 15. Don Carman (#42 - LHP) 16. John Denny (#40 - RHP)

17. Tony Ghelfi (#35 - RHP) 18. Kevin Gross (#46 - RHP) 19. Al Holland (#19 - RHP) 20. Charles Hudson (#49 - RHP) 21. Jerry Koosman (#24 - LHP)      22. Shane Rawley (#48 - LHP) 23. Pat Zachry (#38 - RHP) 24. Darren Daulton (#10 - C) 25. Bo Diaz (#6 - C) 26. Ozzie Virgil (#17 - C) 27. John Wockenfuss (#14 - C) 28. Luis Aguayo (#16 - INF) 29. Kiko Garcia (#18 - INF) 30. Steve Jeltz (#30 - SS) 31. John Russell (#29 - OF-1B) 32. Juan Samuel (#8 - 2B)

33. Mike Schmidt (#20 - 3B) 34. Tim Corcoran (#22 - 1B-OF) 35. Greg Gross (#21 - OF-1B) 36. Von Hayes (#9 - CF) 37. Joe Lefebvre (#23 - OF) 38. Garry Maddox (#31 - OF) 39. Jeff Stone  (#26 - OF) 40. Glenn Wilson (#12 - OF) 41. Ramon Caraballo / Mike Diaz 42. Mike Maddux / Rodger Cole 43. Rick Schu / Chris James 44. Francisco Melendez / Ken Jackson 45. Randy Salava / Rocky Childress 46. Rich Surhoff / Ralph Citarella 47. Team Photo

One and Only Phillies Baseball Card (1):  Zachry

First Appearance in Phillies Team Issued Set (1):  Rawley
Returning Players in Phillies Team Issued Set (26):  Aguayo, Andersen, Carlton, Carman, Corcoran, Daulton, Denny, Diaz, Garcia, Ghelfi, G. Gross, K. Gross, Hayes, Holland, Hudson, Jeltz, Koosman, Lefebvre, Maddox, Russell, Samuel, Schmidt, Stone, Virgil, Wilson, Wockenfuss

Manager (1):  Felske
Coaches (5):  Bristol, Elia, Osteen, Ryan, Unser
Phillie Phanatic (0)
Broadcasters (0):  But see below.
Future Phillies (6):  Caraballo / Diaz, Maddux / Cole, Schu / James, Melendez / Jackson, Salava / Childress, Surhoff / Citarella
Other Cards (2):  Header Card / Checklist, Team Photo

Surprises:  There was very little roster turnover between the end of the 1984 season and spring training 1985, as Shane Rawley and Pat Zachry are the only two new additions to the set.  Along with Zachry's one and done Phillies card, this set includes the only Phillies baseball card of Rich Surhoff.  The stand-alone cards feature the entire opening day line-up and adds Tony Ghelfi, Darren Daulton and Joe Lefebvre, who would spend the entire season on the disabled list.

The set's designer's decided to try something different with group photos of coaches and players by position.  Batting practice pitcher Hank King is featured on the coach's card, making this (I believe) his sole Phillies baseball card.  Bill Campbell is featured on the pitcher's card and Ivan DeJesus is featured on the infielder's card, but both are omitted from the regular set.  As the regular season was about to begin, Campbell and DeJesus were traded to the Cardinals for pitcher Dave Rucker.

Of the players receiving solo cards in the regular set, Ghelfi was left off the pitcher's card, John Wockenfuss was (sadly) left off the catcher's card, Kiko Garcia was left off the infielder's card and Lefebvre and Garry Maddox were not on the outfielder's card.

Omissions:  The day before these sets were handed out to fans, the Phillies traded Al Holland to the Pirates for Kent Tekulve.  An update set could have featured Tekulve and other players acquired during the season, such as Derrel Thomas, Tom Foley, Freddie Toliver, Alan Knicely and with a few weeks left to go in the regular season, Dave Stewart.

Variations/Rarities:  Once again, fellow collector Rick came through with a few rarities back when I originally published a post for this set.  These could have been first made available during this season's ALS Autograph Party which would have been in its second season in 1985.  (The Phestival became an official event in 1989.)  Tug McGraw announced his retirement following the 1984 season and this card seems to be a final tribute to the popular lefty reliever.  Fronts and backs of these cards are presented below.

Rarities 1. Tug McGraw - Former Phillies Great 2. Phillies Broadcasters - Richie Ashburn, Harry Kalas, Andy Musser and Chris Wheeler

Also See:  With the 2020 season put on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic, I went back and recapped the Phillies games played in 1985 between that season's opening day and the All-Star break.  An index to those game summaries can be found here.

And here's a commercial from 1985, featuring Garry Maddox and inviting fans to the game on April 21st for their free Phillies photo cards.

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

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

1984 Tastykake Phillies Photo Cards / 1986 Tastykake Phillies Photo Cards

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

Pitchers and Catchers: Report!

2019 Chachi #71

As Phillies pitchers and catchers officially report today, I wanted to cap off (or Kap off) my 2019 Chachi production with the final card in the set.  Fittingly, it's the checklist and you'll have to trust me that card numbers 59 through 71 are listed on the back.

Here's hoping to a more successful checklist in 2020, including some postseason highlight cards.

If for some reason you wanted to revisit the entire 2019 Chachi set, a complete checklist with links to each card can be found here.

Happy New Year!

2018 Chachi #57

And that's a wrap on 2018 for The Phillies Room.  May your 2019 be hopeful and peaceful, and may all your checklists be unmarked.

We're going to stay quiet for a little while longer but we'll ease into some long toss and side bullpen sessions before you know it.  Pitchers and catchers and bloggers report for spring training soon . . .

Happy New Year!

2017 Chachi #66

What a weird year . . .

I've never watched, read or paid attention to the news as much as I did this year.  Yet I feel more confused and negative than other years, when I paid much less attention.

Here's to a hopeful 2018.  The checklist for 2017 is complete and a new, blank checklist is ready to go for 2018.  As you're checking off the boxes on your 2018 checklist, I hope you're healthy and happy.  Stay positive, keep helping others and be kind.

* * *

And here's a bonus final card from the 2017 Chachi set.  I was planning on a final 2017 Phillies year in review post, but I'd rather look forward than backward at this point.  Pitchers and catchers report to Clearwater in about 45 days.  Go Phils!

2017 Chachi #64

Poll Results - How Do You Track Your Collection?

2016 Chachi #72

A little over a month ago, in an effort to seek a viable alternative to Zistle, I asked the question how do you track your baseball card collection?  Only 15 readers/collectors voted, but the results are pretty much what I expected.

There's no denying that Zistle is a powerful card tracking tool, and I sincerely hope they straighten out their legal woes and get back on track.  The "winner" of the poll was the good, old fashioned spreadsheet which has become an increasingly attractive option to me.  With a spreadsheet, or any self-maintained database, the collector is in charge of the input, the data fields and the integrity of the data. With Zistle, I'm reliant on an administrator approving my suggested edits and as I've seen recently those edits could take months or be completely ignored altogether.

Not surprising to me, not one person responded that they use the Beckett database to track his/her collections. 

For the short-term, I'm going to stick with Zistle.  For the long-term, I'm going to start laying out a spreadsheet format with the goal of eventually migrating my collection tracking away from a third-party provider.  This is serious stuff.

Thanks to everyone who commented and voted in this little poll!

Seeking Alternatives to @Zistle - How Do You Track Your Collection?

2015 Chachi #71

Over five years ago, I took a head-first plunge into Zistle, spending hours upon hours meticulously updating my account on the Zistle database with the baseball cards in my Phillies collection.  This was a huge accomplishment for me, since I never knew exactly how many Phillies baseball cards I owned and I had no way of knowing which Chase Utley cards I had or if I had any Billy Grabarkewitz Phillies baseball card in my collection.  (410 as of this writing and yes, I own three Grabarkewitz cards.)

Over the last few years as I've continued to use Zistle, I've experienced a few slight inconveniences with the Zistle database as cards I had input would appear and then disappear or updates I had suggested would go unnoticed.  Those inconveniences have become bigger annoyances in the past several months as I've been unable to update my collection for Phillies cards from the 2016 Bowman, 2016 Topps Pro Debut and most recently, the 2016 Topps Chrome sets.  I asked the question on the site's fan forum about the lack of recent updates, and one response I received suggested that Zistle was in the midst of legal trouble with Beckett.  (Here's confirmation of this.)

This lengthy prelude is my set-up for the following very basic question:  How do you track your cards?

The recent Zistle issues leave me worried that I may need to migrate the tracking of my collection over to a new platform.  I'm taking suggestions here, and I'd sincerely value your feedback.  I've even opened up a poll in the sidebar to help me with my decision as to what to do next.  (Has this already been the topic of a Blog Bat-Around?  Do those still exist?  If it hasn't may I humbly submit this topic for a Blog Bat-Around?)

As I see it, here are my options:

1.  Zistle - I really like the interface and I've already sunk hours/days of my time into it.  I'm hopeful that it makes a quality return and the glitches/missing sets I've experienced are all remedied.  But . . . I've already been burned once this year when the former Hardball Passport changed owners and the hours I had spent entering games I had attended was all lost.  I'd hate for the same thing to happen with Zistle, so maybe it's time I cut my losses and move on.

2.  Spreadsheet - I'm very tempted by the thought of tracking everything on my own via a massive Excel schedule.  Before his self-imposed hobby exile, the proprietor of 14,000 Phillies had created an incredibly detailed and impressive Phillies checklist in Excel and I may use this as the starting point for my own file.  But this brings it's own set of issues as I'm not Excel savvy enough to be able to run the types of searches I'd need or to sort the data in a meaningful way.

3.  The Trading Card Database - This seems like the best alternative to Zistle, and it's very impressive that it has a full and complete listing of minor league and team issued team sets.  I've had to manually input all recent Phillies minor league and team issued team sets into Zistle, and The Trading Card Database already has these obscure offerings covered.  But the interface seems a little clunky, and I really don't feel like going through the exercise of re-inputting my entire collection into an online database a second time.

4.  Beckett - I'm listing this here as an option, but I believe this would come with a monthly or annual fee and I'm not about to pay for this service.

5.  Other - What am I missing?  What else is out there?  Does anyone remember the old Card Collector software that ran on older PCs?

Thanks again for your help!

2015 Chachi Checklist is Live!

2014 Chachi #73

With the final Phillies roster moves announced this afternoon, the first 33 cards in the 2015 Chachi set have been revealed on the set's official checklist page.  Who's ready for Jeff Francoeur's first unofficial Phillies card?  Who's been waiting weeks to finally see Jeanmar Gomez in red pinstripes on virtual cardboard?  Who among us hasn't spent time daydreaming about finally gazing upon an Odubel Herrera Phillies card?  Our wait is almost over.

Featured above is the checklist from the 2014 Chachi set, which borrowed the 1988 Topps design.  I've featured a number of cards from the various 2015 Chachi insert sets already, but the official cards will debut shortly after opening day and will use the colorful 1985 Topps design.

* * *

This post will also serve to wrap up the final transactions made on Easter Sunday to parse the roster down to the required 25 players.

Final Camp Head Count:  28 + 1 - 4 = 25.  As reported Saturday night, Dustin McGowan was officially signed and will join the Phillies bullpen.  He joins non-roster invitees Francoeur and Andres Blanco who also officially made the opening day roster.

Outfielder Jordan Danks was optioned to Lehigh Valley, while Chad Billingsley, Jonathan Pettibone and Mario Hollands will start the season on the disabled list.  Hollands was placed on the 60-day disabled list, opening up the needed 40-man roster spot.

Here's a final run-down of the team's off-season moves, although I'll add to this list if any of the other offseason non-roster invitee signings eventually make their way up to the big club.

2015 Chachi Departures #12

2015 Chachi Departures #13

Moving On
Reid Brignac (10/2/14) - Elected free agency.  (Signed with the Miami Marlins organization 11/19/14)
Jeremy Horst (10/2/14) - Elected free agency.  (Signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers organization 1/27/15)
Jeff Manship (10/2/14) - Elected free agency.  (Signed with the Cleveland Indians organization 12/24/14)
Tony Gwynn, Jr. (10/10/14) - Outrighted off the 40-man roster and elected free agency.  (Signed with the Washington Nationals organization 3/2/15)
B.J. Rosenberg (10/27/14) - Outrighted off the 40-man roster and elected free agency.  (Signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers organization 2/7/15)
Mike Adams (10/30/14) - Team option declined, making him a free agent.  (Signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers organization 3/1/15)
Kyle Kendrick (10/30/14) - Elected free agency.  (Signed with the Colorado Rockies 2/4/15)
Wil Nieves (10/30/14) - Elected free agency.  (Signed with the San Diego Padres organization 2/3/15)
A.J. Burnett (11/3/14) - Declined option for 2015, elected free agency.  (Signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates 11/14/14)
Brad Lincoln (11/4/14) - Elected free agency.  (Signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization 11/18/14)
Antonio Bastardo (12/10/14) - Traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Joely Rodriguez.
Jimmy Rollins (12/19/14) - Traded with cash to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Tom Windle and Zach Eflin.
Marlon Byrd (12/31/14) - Traded with cash to the Cincinnati Reds for Ben Lively.

Coming Back
Andres Blanco (11/13/14) - Signed to a minor league contract and invited to spring training.
Koyie Hill (11/20/14) - Signed to a minor league contract and invited to spring training.
Sean O'Sullivan (12/16/14) - Signed to a minor league contract and invited to spring training.

New Additions
Elvis Araujo (11/13/14) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the Cleveland Indians organization.
Joely Rodriguez (12/10/14) - Acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates for Antonio Bastardo.
Odubel Herrera (12/11/14) - Selected in the annual Rule 5 draft from the Texas Rangers.
Andy Oliver (12/11/14) - Selected in the annual Rule 5 draft from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Aaron Harang (1/5/15) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the Atlanta Braves.
Jordan Danks (1/16/15) - Claimed off waivers from the Chicago White Sox.
Chad Billingsley (1/29/15) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Dustin McGowan (4/5/15) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

2013 Chachi #73 Checklist 1-73

I'm posting this year's Chachi set checklist earlier than usual, which is a definite sign of my wanting to put the 2013 season in the past and keep the focus on the future.  This year's set came in with four more cards than in the prior year, mainly due to the number of different relief pitchers used during 2013 in an effort to find someone who could effectively and consistently record a few outs.

Work has already begun in earnest on the 2014 Chachi set at the Chachi World Headquarters.  I'm looking forward to spending a season using the 1988 Topps design to create my custom Phillies cards.  There are no postseason cards in the 1988 Topps set, so I'm excited for the challenge of creating a template for the 2014 postseason cards I'll be needing in October when the Phillies make their triumphant return.

Pitchers and catchers will be reporting before you know it.

Phillies at Marlins: September 23rd to September 25th

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday 7:10
Marlins Park - Miami, FL

Phillies 71-84, Tied for 3rd Place in the N.L. East, 21 games behind the Braves
Marlins 57-99, 5th Place in the N.L. East, 35 1/2 games behind the Braves

Phillies Probables:  Roy Halladay (4-4, 6.71), Zach Miner (0-1, 3.22), Cole Hamels (8-14, 3.62)
Marlins Probables:  Nathan Eovaldi (3-6, 3.79), Henderson Alvarez (4-5, 4.05), Jacob Turner (3-8, 3.74)

At the Ballpark:  The Marlins have some promotional ticket packages available for this series, but no giveaways are scheduled.  It's probably for the best, as there will likely be a ton of empty seats for these weekday games.

Phillies Leaders

Average:  Chase Utley - .281

Runs:  Chase Utley - 71

Home Runs:  Domonic Brown - 27

RBIs:  Domonic Brown - 82

Stolen Bases:  Ben Revere and Jimmy Rollins - 22

Wins:  Cliff Lee - 14

ERA:  Cliff Lee - 2.93

Strikeouts:  Cliff Lee - 209

Saves:  Jonathan Papelbon - 28

1973 Topps Flashback:  The Standard Catalog describes the 1973 Topps Team Checklists set as "relatively scarce" and "somewhat mysterious," which is probably why I didn't know the set existed until a few years ago.  Not to be confused with the red-bordered 1974 Topps Team Checklists set, this set is believed to have been included with the high-numbered series of 1973 Topps cards, and it might have also been made available as a mail-away offer.

The card backs feature an alphabetical team checklist of all base cards appearing for each given team within the 1973 Topps set.  Interestingly enough, it also features any Rookie Stars cards featuring Phillies players, but it does not checklist the team card (#536).  I also found it interesting that the front of the card contains the facsimile autograph for "Robert" Boone, even though Boone didn't receive his own card in the set.

As it stands right now, the 2013 Chachi set will have 73 cards, with team leaders and a checklist card wrapping up the set.

2012 Chachi #69 Checklist 1-69

A little less than a year ago, I posted a blank version of the 2012 Chachi checklist card, hoping optimistically that the set would contain at least 100 cards.  Thanks to a lengthy (and successful) postseason run and several season highlights, the 2008 Chachi set was the biggest set to date, with 87 cards.  Alas, missing the postseason for the first time since 2006 and an overall uneventful year meant that the 2012 Chachi set eventually clocked in at just 69 cards.  That's the lowest total since the inaugural 2005 Chachi set and its 63 cards.

With this being the final card in the 2012 Chachi set, I've now updated the Chachi Sets gallery which contains links to the Picasa albums for each set since 2005.  I've added a place holder for the 2013 Chachi set for now, and the first official cards from the new set will debut on Opening Day.

Bring it on.

2011 Chachi #71 Checklist 1-71

Twins 11, Phillies 7
Spring Training Game 28 - Wednesday Afternoon, March 28th in Fort Myers
Record - 11-14-3

One Sentence Summary:  Vance Worley was pounded by the Twins, allowing five earned runs on eleven hits, as the Twins downed the Phillies, 11-7.

What It Means:  Worley got roughed up, but at least the offense looked lively, scoring seven runs on 15 hits.

What Went Wrong:  Other than the shellacking of Worley, not much else went wrong.  In total, Worley surrendered eleven runs, but only five were earned due to a costly error from second baseman Miguel Abreu.

Hector Luna had three more hits, including a home run, to raise his spring average to .286.

Featured Card:  There wasn't anything too remarkable about yesterday's game, so it seems as good a time as any to post a checklist.  I like checklists.  Checklists are an absolute necessity to a baseball card collector, and unlike a lot of collectors, I was never too bummed whenever I pulled a checklist from a pack of cards back in the day.  "Cool," I always thought.  "Now I know what I'm looking for."  Admittedly, with checklists available on-line nowadays, pulling a checklist from a pack of 2012 Topps Heritage is a bit of a downer.

The checklist featured here marks the end of yet another Chachi set.  (You'll have to take my word for it that cards numbered 62 through 71 are on the back.  Honest.)  The 2011 Chachi cards borrowed the design of the 1983 Topps set and the set, just like the Phillies season, ended prematurely.  For a look back at the season that was, here's a gallery of all 71 cards.

A week from today, I'll debut the first cards from the 2012 Chachi set, which will use the 1979 Topps design.  As explained here, the 1979 Topps set strikes up a sense of nostalgia for me.  I  already have cards created for most of the team, although as is the case every year, some players' photos are proving to be more elusive than others.  (I'm looking at you, Chad Qualls.)

The 2012 baseball season is almost upon us, and this is an exciting time for baseball fans.  No matter what the experts say, no one knows how the season will play out.  Every team has a glimmer of hope, no matter how faint.  Just like the 2012 Chachi checklist right now, the season is a blank slate.

2010 Chachi #74 Checklist

At long last, the 2010 Chachi set has been completed, and here's the final checklist to prove it.  Thanks to a loving wife and some free time on Saturday afternoon, I found the time to create the final cards for the 2010 set.  I hope to post the remaining cards between now and the start of the regular season on Friday.

I had fun using the designs from the 1974 Topps set as a template, and I was actually able to create backs for most of the cards in the set.  As revealed a few months ago, the 2011 Chachi set will borrow its design from the 1983 Topps set, and I'm happy to report that production is already well under way.

At least one insert set is planned this year, as I'll be making Super Veteran cards along the way for those players who have been around for a little while.  However, I won't be making backs for the cards this year, as making backs for each of these custom cards is both time-consuming and quite honestly, a little boring.

And yes, I am extremely excited about the start of the 2011 season.  Play ball!

P.S.  It's never too soon for the 2012 Chachi Planning Committee to hold its first meeting.  I don't want to start any rumors, but we've been looking through our 1971 and 1985 Topps sets a lot recently.