Washington Nationals at Philadelphia Phillies: Phils Hope Bats Show Up

2006 Topps #393

2006 Topps Rookies #19

Monday, March 30th - 6:40
Tuesday, March 31st - 6:40
Wednesday, April 1st - 1:05

Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA
There are themes connected with all three games of this series, but no giveaways.  Monday night is a College Series Business Analytics Night.

Washington Nationals 2-1
Tied for 2nd Place in the N.L. East, 1 game behind the Marlins

Nationals Probables
Foster Griffin (0-0, 0.00)
TBD
Cade Cavalli (0-0, 4.91)

Nationals Leaders
Average:  Daylen Lile - .333
Runs:  Brady House - 4
Home Runs:  Joey Wiemer - 2
RBIs:  Joey Wiemer - 4
Stolen Bases:  Nasim Nunez - 2

Wins:  Jake Irvin and Brad Lord - 1
ERA:  Jake Irvin - 3.60

Strikeouts:  Jake Irvin - 7
Saves:  Clayton Beeter - 1

Philadelphia Phillies 1-2
5th Place in the N.L. East, 2 games behind the Marlins

Phillies Probables
Taijuan Walker (0-0, 0.00)
Andrew Painter (0-0, 0.00)
Cristopher Sanchez (1-0, 0.00)

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Bryson Stott - .375
Runs:  Trea Turner - 3
Home Runs:  Alec Bohm and Kyle Schwarber - 1
RBIs:  Alec Bohm - 4
Stolen Bases:  Bryson Stott - 1

Wins:  Cristopher Sanchez - 1
ERA:  Cristopher Sanchez - 0.00

Strikeouts:  Cristopher Sanchez - 10
Saves:  N/A

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

Final Friendly Encounters of 2019

2019 Chachi Friendly Encounters #24

In mid-November, Doug and I made the trip to Bill's Sports Cards and Memorabilia to meet former Phillies catcher Chris Coste and to add his autographed photo card to my 2008 Phillies team-issued set.  After a very short wait, Coste signed my copy of his book - The 33-Year-Old Rookie - along with the photo card.  He ranks towards the top of our friendliest encounters of 2019 as he took the time to ask Doug about himself and let Doug pose with his 2008 World Series ring.  Doug is now reading and thoroughly enjoying the book, and he's asked me to help him track down some of Coste's baseball cards.

* * *

This past Saturday, we added autographs from former Phillies Benito Santiago, Brad Lidge and Ryan Howard to our collections.  Even though Santiago's time in Philadelphia was limited to one season (1996), I still thought it would be cool to add his autograph to his sole Phillies photo card.  Lidge and Howard signed their 2008 photo cards, and Howard also signed the other half of the Pride of the Phillies print from 2016 picturing him with Carlos Ruiz.  Ruiz had signed his half for Doug in August 2018.

2019 Chachi Friendly Encounters #25

2019 Chachi Friendly Encounters #26

2019 Chachi Friendly Encounters #27

Game 56 - 2006 Topps 52 Dynamic Duos #DD8 Chris Coste & Cole Hamels

Cardinals 5, Phillies 3
Game 56 - Thursday Afternoon, May 30th in Philadelphia
Record - 33-23, 1st place, 3 games ahead of the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies couldn't complete a comeback and early home runs allowed by Jerad Eickhoff led to a 5-3 series finale loss.

What It Means:  The Phillies head out west next for some late night baseball, which means I'll do my best to at least watch a few innings each night.

What Happened:  Eickhoff settled down to pitch 6 1/3 innings, but he exited with his team trailing 5-1.  Bryce Harper continued to heat up, collecting three hits including a pair of doubles.

Featured Card:  Had the Phillies swept the Cardinals, it would have been their first three-game sweep of the club in 13 years.  Scott Mathieson, Brett Myers and Cole Hamels were the winning pitchers in that three-game sweep back in early August 2006.  Catcher Chris Coste collected four hits in the 8-1 series finale win while Hamels allowed two hits and a run over seven innings of work while striking out 12.

Field Report:  Tasked with organizing a group outing for my co-workers at my place of employment, I easily decided a Phillies business person's special was the way to go.  About 60 of my co-workers enjoyed a pre-game happy hour at the High & Inside Pub behind Section 320, complete with a guest appearance from Greg Luzinski.  We then enjoyed the game from our perch in Section 423.

Series Preview - Phillies at Diamondbacks: August 6th to August 8th

2018 Chachi Fan Favorites #34

2018 Chachi Fan Favorites #35

Monday and Tuesday 9:40, Wednesday 3:40
Chase Field - Phoenix, AZ

At the Ballpark:  There are no giveaways scheduled for this series in Phoenix, but fans will get to enjoy climate-controlled ballgames under the roof while there's sweltering heat outside.  Sadly, Amaury Telemaco isn't one of the Racing Legends along with Randy Johnson, Luis Gonzalez, Matt Williams or Mark Grace.

2008 Topps Phillies

2008 Topps #100, #460, #30 and #615

Five years ago this weekend, the Phillies were celebrating their 2008 N.L.D.S. victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.  The Phils handled the Brewers in four games, with Shane Victorino's grand slam off C.C. Sabathia in Game 2 being the image that still comes to my mind when I think back on that awesome series.  The Phillies reached the N.L.C.S. for the first time since 1993 where they dispatched of the Dodgers in five games.

They met up with the Tampa Bay Rays in the World Series and the pure joy I experienced on October 29, 2008, when Brad Lidge struck out Eric Hinske, easily marks the high-water mark in terms of my Philadelphia Phillies fandom.  And five years later I'm still rooting and still hoping to feel that pure joy again.

The Set

2008 Topps #238 (Back)

Number of cards in the set:  There are 660 cards in the base set, which was once again released in two series.  I'm not counting the super short-printed gimmick cards in my tally, including cards of former New York City mayor Rudy Guiliani celebrating with the Red Sox following their World Series victory and the fictional Japanese player Kazuo Uzuki.  The update series added another 330 base cards and several more gimmick cards.
My very brief thoughts on the set:  With the cool multi-colored circle letters at the tops of each card spelling out team names, I should love this set.  But the much-maligned and blog-documented Topps "logo bump" interfering with the photos is just too annoying for me to overcome.  If you've never noticed this, please check out the Redefine the Design post from Uncle Doc's Card Closet from earlier this year.  The redefined design is much, much better.  And not to pile on, but some of the photo choices used for the Phillies cards are just bizarre.  Rollins is literally just standing around, Utley is too far away and Lidge was the recipient of an awful Photoshop job.
Notable competition:  Upper Deck folded the Fleer brand in 2007, so 2008 saw the release of card sets from just two major manufacturers - Upper Deck and Topps.  In a way, it was good to not have to chase so many different card sets . . . but I still miss Donruss, Fleer, Pacific, etc.

2008 Topps #281, 2008 Topps Update #UH250, 2008 Topps #238 and #521

2008 Phillies
Record and finish:  The Phillies finished the season with a 92-70 record, three games ahead of the second place Mets.  They defeated the Brewers in the N.L.D.S., 3 games to 1, and then the Dodgers in the N.L.C.S., 4 games to 1.  It took them five games - with game five being played over three days due to severe weather - to defeat the Rays in the World Series.

2008 Topps #443

Key players:  Ryan Howard had another monster year, hitting .251 with 48 home runs and 146 RBIs.  Not far behind him were Chase Utley (.292, 33, 104) and Pat Burrell (.250, 33, 86).  Jimmy Rollins took a step back after his MVP-season, but he was still a key contributor (.277 and 47 stolen bases) to the offense.  Jayson Werth became an everyday player for the first time in his career and hit .273 with 24 home runs.  The Phils also received solid support off the bench from Geoff Jenkins, Chris Coste and Greg Dobbs, who hit .301 with a league leading 22 pinch hits.  Cole Hamels had an impressive regular season on the mound, going 14-10 with a 3.09 ERA and 196 strikeouts in 227 1/3 innings.  But he truly dazzled during the postseason, going 4-0 in his five starts with a 1.80 ERA.  His efforts won him both the N.L.C.S. and the World Series MVP honors.  Jamie Moyer led the team with 16 wins and Brett Myers returned from the bullpen to win 10 as a starter.  Joe Blanton, acquired in July to bolster the rotation, went 4-0 with a 4.20 ERA in 13 strong starts.  Finally, Lidge enjoyed a career year, converting 41 saves in 41 opportunities in the regular season and another 7 saves in the postseason.
Key events:  I'd call winning the franchise's second World Championship in its then 125-year history pretty key.

2008 Phillies in 2008 Topps
Cards needed for a complete team set:  Here's the break-down - 15 cards in series one, 9 cards in series two, and an impressive 12 cards in the update set.  That's a total of 36 Phillies cards in the 2008 Topps and Topps Update sets.
Who's in:

• Cards of the eight starting position players - 8 cards

#281 Carlos Ruiz (c), #100 Ryan Howard (1b), #460 Chase Utley (2b), #30 Jimmy Rollins (ss), #UH250 Pedro Feliz (3b), #615 Pat Burrell (lf), #238 Shane Victorino (cf), #521 Jayson Werth (rf)

2008 Topps #35, #173, #262 and 2008 Topps Update #UH228

• Cards of the starting pitching rotation - 5 cards

#35 Cole Hamels, #173 Jamie Moyer, #262 Brett Myers, #28 Kyle Kendrick, #572 Adam Eaton

• Base cards of players who played with the Phillies in 2008 - 12 cards

#184 Tadahito Iguchi, #443 Greg Dobbs, #496 Brad Lidge, #573 Tom Gordon, #UH63 Eric Bruntlett, #UH81 J.C. Romero, #UH93 Chris Coste, #UH158 Chad Durbin, #UH220 Geoff Jenkins, #UH228 Joe Blanton, #UH236 Chris Snelling, #UH278 So Taguchi

• Base cards of players who didn't play with the Phillies in 2008 - 3 cards

#18 J.D. Durbin, #67 Wes Helms, #532 Tim Lahey

Both Helms and Lahey were on the Phillies active roster to start the season.  Helms was designated for assignment following the season opener to make room on the roster for the recently signed reliever, Rudy Seanez.  Lahey was designated for assignment four games into the season when Lidge was activated from the disabled list.  I wrote about both Helms' and Lahey's short time with the 2008 Phillies in this post.

• Award cards - 1 card, #233 Jimmy Rollins (N.L. MVP)
• N.L. Leaders cards - 2 cards, #58 Ryan Howard (RBI Leaders) and #298 Ryan Howard (Home Run Leaders)
• Classic Combos cards - 1 card, #98 Ryan Howard and Chase Utley
• Home Run Derby cards - 1 card, #UH184 Chase Utley
• 2008 N.L. All-Star cards - 2 cards, #UH241 Chase Utley and #UH304 Brad Lidge
• Manager card - 1 card, #632 Charlie Manuel

2008 Topps #496, 2008 Topps Update #UH81, #UH220 and #UH93

Who's out:  Relievers Ryan Madson (76 games, 3.05 ERA) and Clay Condrey (56 games, 3.26 ERA) were both key components of the Phillies strong bullpen, but both got left out of any Topps sets in 2008.  He wasn't as effective, but Seanez appeared in 42 games for the Phillies and also got shut out.  Matt Stairs was acquired too late in the season to be included within the update set, but his N.L.C.S. Game 4 heroics against the Dodgers will forever endear him to Phillies fans.

2008 Topps #134

Phillies on other teams:  Stairs (#134) appears with the Blue Jays in the base Topps set.  Others receiving cards with their former teams within the base set include Taguchi (#82, Cardinals) and Blanton (#436, Athletics).  Iguchi was let go by the Phillies following the 2007 season, and he appears with the Padres (#UH133) in the update set.  The Phils brought him back for the final month of the season to help provide late-inning defense.  Finally, reliever Scott Eyre has a card within the 55-card Cubs Topps Gift set.
What's he doing here:  Without a doubt, it's got to be Lahey.
Cards that never were candidates:  In order to have Topps cards of everyone on the Phillies 25-man World Series roster, we need cards of the following players - Stairs, Eyre, Condrey, Madson and J.A. Happ.  Happ went 1-0 with a 3.69 ERA during the regular season and pitched three innings of relief against the Dodgers in the N.L.C.S.
Favorite Phillies card:  I'll go with Howard's card.  Just looking at it again for purposes of this post brings back such great memories of the beginning of the team's magical run.  Blanton has a great card too, and the photo actually works well with the logo bump.

Other Stuff
Recycled:  Topps Opening Day was back again this year, and the cards have a garish all-red border.  The release of Topps Chrome saw the use of slightly different photos compared to what was used in the regular base set.  This was a welcome change.  The Topps Phillies retail set contained 14 cards and the cards of Dobbs, Jenkins and Utley featured different or cropped photos when compared to their cards appearing in the base or update sets.
Memory Lane:  To date, the only World Series game we've ever attended was Game 3 of the 2008 World Series.  This was the game delayed over 90 minutes at the outset and started in a steady drizzle.  We braved the elements, cheered for Moyer at the outset and erupted with everyone else when Bruntlett scored the winning run on Chooch's walk-off infield hit.  We didn't mind that we didn't get home until almost 3 in the morning, and our babysitter made out very well that night too.

2006 Topps Phillies

2006 Topps #398, #359, #205 and #396

Our first son, Doug, was born in 2006.  Those of you who are parents know that the birth of a child pretty much trumps any and all other events that took place during the nine months proceeding the blessed event, and the arrival of Doug was no different for us.  I've spent the last six and a half years enjoying every minute with Doug and his little brother, Ben.

The Set

2006 Topps #359 (Back)

Number of cards in the set:  There are 659 cards in the regular set if you don't count the Alex Gordon or Alay Soler cards (discussed briefly below) and another 330 cards in the Update and Highlights series.

My very brief thoughts on the set:  There were a couple of key turning points with the 2006 Topps set.  First, Topps digitally altered some players uniforms to show them with their new teams.  Phillies fans received cards of Tom Gordon and Aaron Rowand in Phillies uniforms months before catchers and pitchers even reported to Spring Training.  (Even though Gordon's card still says he's with the Yankees.)  I was OK with this, but I would have been fine had they waited to show these players in their new uniforms in the second series or the update set.  The second turning point was the first-time inclusion of gimmick cards in the set.  This was the year of the Alex Gordon "rookie card" and the surprise addition of a short-printed card for Mets prospect Alay Soler into packs of Topps Series Two.  Other bloggers have railed against Topps and their abuse of the set collector, and I won't go into that here.  But this was the first year I thought to myself, "I'll probably never be a modern Topps set collector again," and it was a sad realization.  Negativity aside, the actual cards are nice.  They're bright and colorful, with a 1972 Topps vibe due to the arched team name at the tops of the cards.  

Notable competition:  This is the first year that MLB and the Player's Association instituted their new annual limits on the number of baseball card sets that could be released.  For this reason, there were still a lot of sets released by Topps (20 by my unofficial count) and Upper Deck (also 20), but not as many as in prior years.  Upper Deck acquired the Fleer brand name and 6 of their 20 releases carried the Fleer or Ultra banner.

2006 Topps #33, #412, #182 and #20

2006 Phillies

Record and finish:  The Phillies fell just short of the postseason yet again, going 85-77 and finishing three games behind in the Wild Card race.  They finished 12 games behind the Mets in the N.L. East.

Key players:  Four home grown players - Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rolllins and Cole Hamels - had tremendous seasons and gave fans a reason to hope for the future.  Howard (.313, 58 home runs, 149 RBIs), Utley (.309, 32 home runs, 102 RBIs) and Rollins (.277, 25 home runs, 83 RBIs) each set franchise records for home runs at their respective positions.  Howard's 58 home runs blew away Mike Schmidt's franchise record of 48 home runs in a season and helped him secure the N.L. MVP honors.  Pat Burrell (.277, 29 home runs, 95 RBIs) had another solid season and Phillies fans were properly introduced to Shane Victorino (.287, 46 RBIs) after Rowand broke most of his face while running at full steam into the center field wall at Citizens Bank Park.  Hamels made his debut in May and went 9-8.  New closer Gordon made the All-Star team and saved 34 games.

2006 Topps #358

Key events:  With Howard ready for prime time, Jim Thome was dealt to the White Sox in November 2005 for Rowand.  The new center fielder forever endeared himself to Phillies fans with his amazing running catch on May 11, 2006, which left him battered and bruised.  I commemorated the catch with a Chachi card that can be found here.  Rollins' hitting streak that began in 2005 ended early in the 2006 season at 38.  Utley strung together a 35-game hitting streak of his own.  Looking to shake things up as the Phillies were seemingly out of the race by the non-waiver trade deadline, General Manager Pat Gillick traded away the following veteran players - Sal Fasano, David Bell, Bobby Abreu, Cory Lidle, Rheal Cormier and Ryan Franklin.  Improbably back in the race a month later, Gillick then dealt for veterans Jamie Moyer and Jeff Conine in August.

2006 Phillies in 2006 Topps

Cards needed for a complete team set:  There are 34 Phillies cards in the base and traded sets, with 7 of those cards featuring Howard.  That's what back-to-back Rookie of the Year and MVP campaigns will do for you.

Who's in:

• Cards of the eight starting position players - 8 cards

#33 Mike Lieberthal (c), #398 Ryan Howard (1b), #359 Chase Utley (2b), #205 Jimmy Rollins (ss), #412 David Bell (3b), #396 Pat Burrell (lf), #182 Aaron Rowand (cf), #20 Bobby Abreu (rf)

Bell and Abreu still had the most starts at their respective positions, in spite of their mid-season departures.

2006 Topps #432, #408, 2006 Topps Update #UH145 and 2006 Topps #141

• Cards of the starting pitching rotation - 4 cards

#432 Brett Myers, #408 Jon Lieber, #UH145 Cole Hamels, #141 Randy Wolf

• Base cards of players who played with the Phillies in 2004 - 7 cards

#41 Rheal Cormier, #163 Tom Gordon, #306 Danny Sandoval, #364 Ryan Madson, #UH20 Jeff Conine, #UH25 David Dellucci, #UH139 Scott Mathieson

I was definitely bummed when I realized that Topps left Moyer out of the Update series.  Especially since they dedicated 30 cards to an unneeded Team Leaders subset.

• Base cards of players who didn't play with Phillies in 2004 - 3 cards

#83 Endy Chavez, #97 Kenny Lofton, #139 Jason Michaels

• Rawlings Gold Glove Award cards - 1 card, #259 Bobby Abreu
• Award cards - 1 card, #265 Ryan Howard (Rookie of the Year)
• National League Leaders cards - 2 cards, #UH210 Ryan Howard (Home Run Leaders), #UH212 Ryan Howard (RBI Leaders)
• 2006 MLB All-Star cards - 3 cards, #UH233 Chase Utley, #UH266 Tom Gordon, #UH273 Ryan Howard
• 2006 MLB Home Run Derby cards - 1 card, #UH283 Ryan Howard
• Team Leaders cards - 1 card, #UH292 Ryan Howard and Tom Gordon
• Multi-player combination cards - 1 card, #650 Pat Burrell and Mike Lieberthal (Philly Phanatics)
• Team card - 1 card, #602
• Manager card - 1 card, #286 Charlie Manuel

Before going much further, I need to mention that Topps and the Phillies paired together to release an awesome 26-card Fan Appreciation Day set to fans attending the September 24th game.  This set is fantastic in that it gave collectors Topps Phillies cards of Victorino, Abraham Nunez, Chris Coste and several of the team's relief pitchers.  14,000 Phillies has a great write-up of the set in his Phillies Database.

Also, there are other Phillies cards available as special inserts that utilize the 2006 Topps design.  Coste has a card within a set available only within Topps factory sets, appropriately named the Topps Factory Set Rookie Bonus set.  (Fabio Castro, who spent time with the Phillies in 2006, appears with the Rangers in this set as well.)  Hamels, Chris Roberson, Mathieson and Matt Smith all received 2006 Topps Chrome-style cards in the Topps Chrome Rookie Logos insert set.

Finally, for the first time, Topps released a retail-only 14-card set, which I have yet to track down.

2006 Topps #163, #364, 2006 Topps Phillies Fan Appreciation Day #25 and

2006 Topps Factory Set Rookie Bonus #19

Who's out:  If you just consider the Topps flagship and update sets, the following deserving players were shut out - Victorino, Nunez, Lidle and relievers Geoff Geary, Aaron Fultz and Arthur Rhodes.  However, if you includes the Fan Appreciation Day set, the only notable omissions are Lidle, Franklin, Moyer and fan favorite Fasano.

Phillies on other teams:  Moyer (#358 with the Mariners) and Dellucci (#402 with the Rangers) are in the second series with their former teams.  Topps took the photo used for Dellucci's card and switched him into a Phillies uniform for their Topps Chrome set.

2006 Topps #402 and 2006 Topps Chrome #208

What's he doing here:  I have no complaints on any of the player selections.  Topps must have used mid-December 2005 as the deadline to digitally change players into their new uniforms.  Gordon signed with the Phillies on December 6th, and Lofton signed with the Yankees on December 20th.

Cards that never were candidates:  Similar to the above exercise, if I include the Fan Appreciation Day cards as "official" cards, I'd say that only these guys are true candidates for cards that never were - Moyer, Franklin, Lidle, Fasano and rookie Carlos Ruiz, who played in 27 games for the '06 squad.  Sadly, Lidle perished in a plane crash in October 2006 and Topps gave him an In Memoriam card in the update series.

Favorite Phillies card:  I've always liked Madson's card, which shows him following through on a pitch.

Other Stuff

Recycled:  As mentioned a few times, the design was used in the stadium give-away Fan Appreciation Day set, with the silver foil being replaced with yellow ink.

Did You Know?:  Only one of the players (Smith) received in Gillick's mid-season purge ever made it to the Majors with the Phillies.  Here's the list of the prospects acquired - Hector Made, Wilfredo Laureano, C.J. Henry, Jesus Sanchez, Carlos Monasterios, Matt Smith, Justin Germano and Zac Stott.  Most importantly, the deals cleared the way for the young nucleus to take over and lead the team to its best five-year run in franchise history.

Non-Roster Invitees - 5 More

2008 Topps Update #UH93

Why do non-roster invitees fascinate me?  I think it's my natural desire to root for the underdog that makes me appreciate these guys and their admirable perseverance.  I highlighted the first eight non-roster Spring Training invitees in a post earlier this month and since then the Phillies have handed out five more invitations.

Player (position) - 2011 Organization - Last Major Cardboard Appearance
9.  Dave Bush (rhp) - Rangers/Cubs/Phillies - 2010 Topps Update #US269 (Brewers)
10.  Steven Lerud (c) - Orioles - 2004 Bowman #160 (Pirates)
11.  Hector Luna (inf) - Red Sox - 2007 Upper Deck #97 (Indians)
12.  Lou Montanez (of) - Cubs - 2010 Upper Deck #78 (Orioles)
13.  David Purcey (lhp) - Blue Jays/A's/Tigers - 2011 Topps Update #US285 (Tigers)

Amazingly enough, Purcey is the first of the 13 players to have appeared in a 2011 baseball card offering.

I don't have Phillies-related baseball cards for any of these guys, which is why I decided to feature a card of my all-time favorite non-roster invitee - Chris Coste.

2008 Upper Deck World Series Champions #PP-15 Chris Coste

There has been a flurry of recent Phillies and Mets activity involving back-up catchers. First, it was announced Monday evening that fan favorite Chris Coste had signed with the dreaded New York Mets to compete for a roster spot out of Spring Training. This one's tough. I admire Chris Coste, and he'll always be a favorite of mine, but for now he's the enemy.

Today, seemingly out of nowhere, the Phillies announced the signing of catcher (and former Met) Brian Schneider. As a member of the Montreal Expos, Schneider used to kill the Phillies. Apparently he had the chance to sign elsewhere as a starter, but he opted to come to Philly to serve as back-up to Carlos Ruiz in 2010 and 2011. Schneider had a forgettable year with the Mets in 2009, as he was slowed by a bad back. The Phils hope he's an upgrade over the Paul Bako/Coste tandem from last year. He's worn #23 since 2004, and the number is now available given Bako's departure.

2006 Topps Factory Set Rookie Bonus #19 Chris Coste

Astros 5, Phillies 3

For the first time since Saturday, April 4th, when the Phillies played an exhibition game against the Tampa Bay Rays, I watched a Phillies game with no concern as to the outcome. Win or lose tonight, the Phils were still going to the Postseason.

In his warm-up for a possible NLDS Game 1 start, Cliff Lee pitched into the 6th inning, allowing three earned runs and seven hits while striking out six. The Astros' big blow came on a two-run home run by Miguel Tejada in the 6th.

Ben Francisco, getting a start in center, recorded a 3-hit night. Pedro Feliz added two hits and knocked in a couple of runs.

Whither Coste: Fan favorite and all-around good guy Chris Coste appeared as an Astro pinch-hitter in the 9th inning tonight, and he promptly grounded out. It had to be strange for Chris to watch the on-field celebration from the visitor's dugout last night after being a part of the first two clinchers in 2007 and 2008. He was waived by the Phils in early July and claimed by the Astros. Here's hoping Chris latches on with a contender next year, or finds himself somehow progressing towards his ultimate goal of managing in the big leagues.

2009 Phillies Want List

2009 O-Pee-Chee #324

O-Pee-Chee - Materials - LWS Lidge, Retro - RM21 Utley, Signatures - SHJ Happ AU

SP Authentic - Pennant Run Heroes - PR7 Utley, PR10 Hamels, Platinum Power - PP15 Utley

SPx - 108 Golson AU, 114 Marson AU

Topps - Short Prints - 475 Schmidt, 650 Carlton

Topps Allen & Ginter's - Autographs - JW Werth, RH Howard, Relics - RH Howard JSY, RH2 Howard BAT

Topps Attax - 73 Hamels, 115 Lidge, 202 Victorino, 210 Werth, Code Cards - 10 Howard

Topps Heritage - Real One Autographs - ROA-BW Wine, ROA-RI Ibanez, ROA-TP Phillips

Topps Ticket to Stardom - Ticket Stubs - TS21 Howard

Topps Triple Threads - 16 Howard, 40 Rollins, 63 Utley, 87 Schmidt, 88 Hamels, 137 Marson JSY/AU

UD A Piece of History - Box Score Memories - BSMPB Burrell, Cut from the Same Cloth - CSC-HF Howard, CSC-UK Utley, Franchise History - FHCH Hamels, Timeless Moments - TMCH Hamels

Upper Deck - Rookie Debut - RDGG Golson

Upper Deck Ballpark Collection - 64 Howard

Upper Deck Goudey - 4-in-1 - 12 Schmidt, 16 Utley, 29 Schmidt/Howard, 32 Hamels, 36 Howard, 38 Rollins, 43 Rollins/Utley, 49 Lidge, 64 Rollins, 67 Howard, 71 Howard, 77 Hamels, 88 Lidge

Upper Deck Icons - Future Foundations - CH Hamels, Icons - JR Rollins, Legendary Icons - MS Schmidt

Upper Deck Spectrum - 115 Golson AU

Upper Deck Update - U45 Carpenter

Upper Deck X - Xponential - CH Hamels, CU Utley, HO Howard, JR Rollins

Also interested in 2009 Phillies autographed, game used or relic cards. Please inquire within.

2008 Phillies Want List / 2010 Phillies Want List

2007 Chachi #34 Chris Coste

To make room on the roster for the activated Raul Ibañez, fan favorite (and Phillies Room favorite) Chris Coste was designated for assignment this afternoon and promptly claimed off waivers by the Houston Astros. The Coste Era in Philadelphia is over . . . for the time being. I'd still like to believe Chris is going to be the manager of the Phillies one day.

Chris' story first gained attention in Philadelphia during the Spring of 2006. He had bounced around the minors and independent leagues for over a decade and was on fire that Spring as a non-roster invitee. He just missed making the Opening Day roster when the Phils opted to bring in David Dellucci and Chris was sent packing to the minors, despite his .463 Spring Training batting average.

In late May 2006, he finally got the call to the Majors when infielder Alex Gonzalez abruptly announced his retirement. Since then, Chris has played in 256 games with the Phils, hitting .282 with 23 home runs and 98 RBI. Most importantly, Chris earned a World Series ring with the team last year.

His life and baseball journey is chronicled in his autobiography, The 33-Year-Old Rookie, a book which I highly recommend. It's sad to see Chris go, but I wish him success with the Astros. He'll undoubtedly receive a warm standing ovation when Ed Wade's team visits Philadelphia in late September.

2009 Chachi #10 Chris Coste

Moving onto the bench of the Phillies' opening day roster . . . back-up catcher, #27 Chris Coste. I honestly look for Chris to retire at some point and eventually join the Phillies as a bench coach. Perhaps Charlie's replacement, whenever Charlie decides to hang them up?

Phillies debut: May 26, 2006
How acquired: Signed by the Phillies as a minor league free agent, formerly with the Milwaukee Brewers' organization, October 29, 2004.
2008 Postseason: Started at DH for the Phillies in World Series Game 1
Pictured: May 30, 2008 - Chris hit a 3-run home run off the Marlins' Mark Hendrickson.