Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets: Magic Number is 6

2026 Chachi Previews #1

2006 Topps #431

Thursday, September 17th - 7:15
Friday, September 18th - 7:15
Saturday, September 19th - 4:10
Sunday, September 20th - 1:10

Citi Field - Flushing, NY
The first 18,000 fans tonight will receive a Francisco Lindor bobblehead, and the first 15,000 fans on Friday will receive a Snoopy plush.  On Saturday, fans will receive a Carlos Beltran bobblehead and it's also Beltran's Mets Hall of Fame induction and number retirement night.  Finally, a Howie Rose retirement ceremony will be held on  Sunday afternoon.

Philadelphia Phillies 84-68
2nd Place in the N.L. East, 4 1/2 games behind the Braves

Phillies Probables
Aaron Nola (6-10, 4.69)
TBD
Andrew Painter (3-9, 5.54)
Cristopher Sanchez (17-6, 2.93)

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Bryce Harper - .270
Runs:  Trea Turner - 96
Home Runs:  Kyle Schwarber - 45
RBIs:  Kyle Schwarber - 95
Stolen Bases:  Bryson Stott - 25

Wins:  Cristopher Sanchez - 17
ERA:  Jesus Luzardo - 2.87

Strikeouts:  Jesus Luzardo - 221
Saves:  Jhoan Duran - 31

New York Mets 69-83
5th Place in the N.L. East, 19 1/2 games behind the Braves

Mets Probables
Nolan McLean (11-9, 3.24)
Zac Thornton (4-5, 3.44)
Christian Scott (4-5, 3.76)
Jonah Tong (2-1, 3.43)

Mets Leaders
Average:  Carson Benge - .270
Runs:  Carson Benge - 78
Home Runs:  Juan Soto - 25
RBIs:  Bo Bichette - 74
Stolen Bases:  A.J. Ewing - 24

Wins:  Nolan McLean - 11
ERA:  Nolan McLean - 3.24

Strikeouts:  Nolan McLean - 184
Saves:  Devin Williams - 16

2026 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2026 Season Summary Index / 2026 Chachi Set Checklist

Philadelphia Phillies at Minnesota Twins: If You Build It . . .

2026 Chachi Previews #1

2006 Topps #78

Thursday, August 13th - 7:30
Saturday, August 15th - 7:10
Sunday, August 16th - 2:10

Field of Dreams - Dyersville, IA
Target Field - Minneapolis, MN
Thursday night's game will take place at the iconic Field of Dreams in Iowa, with both teams wearing throwback uniforms and likely emerging from the cornfield in the outfield during pregame introductions.  The Phillies will be wearing amazing looking throwbacks from the 1939 season.  On Sunday, back in Minneapolis, the first 5,000 kids will receive a Twins backpack.

Philadelphia Phillies

1939 Phillies Leaders
Average:  Morrie Arnovich - .324
Runs:  Morrie Arnovich - 68
Home Runs:  Joe Marty and Emmett Mueller - 9
RBIs:  Morrie Arnovich - 67
Stolen Bases:  Morrie Arnovich - 7

Wins:  Kirby Higbe - 10
ERA:  Boom-Boom Beck - 4.73

Strikeouts:  Kirby Higbe - 79
Saves:  Hugh Mulcahy - 4

Minnesota Twins

1939 Nationals Leaders
Average:  Buddy Lewis - .319
Runs:  George Case - 103
Home Runs:  Buddy Lewis - 10
RBIs:  Taffy Wright - 93
Stolen Bases:  George Case - 51

Wins:  Dutch Leonard - 20
ERA:  Dutch Leonard - 3.54

Strikeouts:  Ken Chase - 118
Saves:  Pete Appleton - 6

2026 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2026 Season Summary Index / 2026 Chachi Set Checklist

Game 92 - Romano Surrenders Walk-Off Inside the Park Home Run

Philadelphia Phillies	3
San Francisco Giants	4

1989 Topps Tiffany #418

Late Tuesday Night, July 8th

Oracle Park - San Francisco, CA
53-39, Tied for 1st Place, 10 games ahead of the Marlins

One Sentence Summary:  Holding a 3-1 lead heading the bottom of the ninth, Jordan Romano gave up a walk-off, three-run, inside the park home run to Patrick Bailey for the gut-punch loss.

What It Means:  How much longer can the Phillies stick with Romano?  This was his third blown save, and he dropped to 1-4 with a 7.44 ERA in 32 2/3 innings pitched.

What Happened:  Otto Kemp doubled home Alec Bohm in the top of the sixth to tie the score at 1-1.  Kyle Schwarber hit a two-run home run into McCovey Cove in the top of the seventh to give the Phillies a 3-1 lead.  Taijuan Walker allowed a run over four innings in his return to the starting rotation.  Tanner Banks, Max Lazar, Matt Strahm and Daniel Robert all kept the Giants off the board until Romano entered the game in the ninth, trying for the save.  Romano allowed a Casey Schmitt double to start the inning, and Wilmer Flores singled to put runners at the corners.  With one out, Bailey nearly hit the ball out of the ballpark, but it caromed off the wall past Brandon Marsh as Bailey circled the bases, scoring the winning run.

Featured Card:  Of course, people were quick to draw comparisons to the walk-off, three-run, inside the park home run hit by Bob Dernier against the Giants on May 15, 1989.  @schmenk-bsky posted this handy chart of walk-off, inside the park home runs throughout the franchise's history.

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

Colorado Rockies at Philadelphia Phillies - 2025 Home Opener

2005 Topps Retired Signature Autographs #TA-CDH

2005 Topps Retired Signature Autographs #TA-BD

Monday, March 31st - 3:05
Wednesday, April 2nd - 6:45
Thursday, April 3rd - 1:05




Colorado Rockies 1-2
5th Place in the N.L. West, 3 games behind the Dodgers

Rockies Probables
German Marquez (0-0, 0.00)
Kyle Freeland (0-0, 0.00)
Antonio Senzatela (0-0, 0.00)

Rockies Leaders
Average:  Nick Martini - .444
Runs:  Nick Martini and Michael Toglia - 2
Home Runs:  Mickey Moniak - 1
RBIs:  Kyle Farmer and Mickey Moniak - 2
Stolen Bases:  Jordan Beck - 2

Wins:  Luis Peralta - 1
ERA:  Kyle Freeland and Antonio Senzatela - 0.00
Strikeouts:  Kyle Freeland - 7
Saves:  Steve Halvorsen - 1

Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA
The Phillies will celebrate their home opener on Monday afternoon, with all fans receiving a 2024 National League East Champions pennant.  On Wednesday, fans 15 and over will receive a McDonald's Opening Night t-shirt.

Philadelphia Phillies 2-1
2nd Place in the N.L. East, 1/2 game behind the Marlins

Phillies Probables
Cristopher Sanchez (0-0, 0.00
Zack Wheeler (0-0, 1.50)
Taijuan Walker (0-0, 0.00)

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Edmundo Sosa - .500
Runs:  Bryson Stott - 4
Home Runs:  Kyle Schwarber - 2
RBIs:  Kyle Schwarber - 4
Stolen Bases:  Bryson Stott - 1

Wins:  Jose Alvarado and Jesus Luzardo - 1
ERA:  Zack Wheeler - 1.50

Strikeouts:  Jesus Luzardo - 11
Saves:  N/A

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

Introducing the 2025 Chachi Set - Getting Nostalgic for 2005

2025 Chachi Preview #2

2025 Chachi Preview #1

2025 Chachi Friendly Encounters #1

Time is going quicker these days, and I'm at the age where events that seemed to have happened five or six years ago actually happened closer to 20 or 25 years ago in reality.  I've been doing better, I think, on focusing on the present and making sure to "Be Here Now" as the wise sage George Harrison once sang.  I I still get nostalgic though, and it's crazy for me to realize I've been making these custom Chachi Phillies sets since way back in 2005.  A ton has happened in 20 years.  It's staggering how much has happened.

When it came time for me to pick a design I'd work with this year to make my Chachi set, I really didn't feel any excitement about tackling one of the sets from the 1970s or 1980s I've not worked with yet - 1972, 1987 or 1989.  I honestly considered double dipping and going back to one of the earlier designs of these Chachi sets (1981, 1975 or 1976) but that didn't necessarily seem like fun either, even though I love those designs.  That's when I turned my attention to the Topps sets of the 2000s.  I found myself with a new found appreciation of a set I had likely dismissed when it first came out.  I found myself getting nostalgic about 2005 and the 2005 Topps set.

We were newly married in 2005, not yet with children.  My Dad's health issues hadn't fully surfaced yet, and he was grumbling daily about bad decisions Charlie Manuel had made or complaining about the team's playoff drought.  The world didn't seem so cruel or so divided in 2005.  I didn't actively avoid the news and social media in 2005 in an effort to protect my mental health.

The 2005 Topps set has a fun design.  Yes, there's a lot going on, but it's color-coded to the team (a huge plus for me) and I love the glittery gold big last name with a unique font (Colossalis Bold) emblazoned at the top of each card.  It's one of the few Topps sets that advertise its year on the front, so I got to update that from 2005 to 2025 for my Chachi set.  These cards are fun, and making custom baseball cards, especially after doing it for 20 years, and particularly as I work on Being Here Now, should be fun too.

The cards shown above are the first three cards I created for the set.  Cole Hamels had his first Topps flagship card in the 2005 Topps set, on a card shared with Ryan Howard, and he was a guest instructor this spring for the Phillies down in Clearwater.  Bob Dernier is my all-time favorite player, and creating his card gave me a chance to play with the colors of the intertwining borders for a retro Phillies card.  And I literally bumped in to Mickey Morandin between 18th and 19th Streets on Market Street in Center City Philadelphia on February 3rd.  The Phillies' equipment truck, bound for Florida, made stops at a few Citizens Bank locations prior to making the trek southward.  Morandini and Dickie Noles were handing out rally towels and autographs as I walked down Market Street to pick up my lunch that day.  I told Morandini I'd regret it later if I didn't stop and get a selfie, and he kindly obliged.

So here's to the 2005 Topps design, now the 2025 Chachi design, and here's to remembering simpler times that weren't as long ago as we think, and are hopefully closer to returning than we expect.

Phillies at Cubs - July 2nd to July 4th

1984 Topps #358

1984 Topps Traded #31T

Tuesday and Wednesday 8:05, Thursday 2:20
Wrigley Field - Chicago, IL

At the Ballpark:  On Wednesday, the first 10,000 fans will receive a Cubs grilling apron, and on Thursday, the first 10,000 fans will receive a "Red, White & Cubbie Blue" Hawaiian shirt.

Philadelphia Phillies 55-29
1st Place in the N.L. East, 8 games ahead of the Braves

Phillies Probables
Michael Mercado (0-0, 0.00)
Zack Wheeler (9-4, 2.73)
Cristopher Sanchez (6-3, 2.41)

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Bryce Harper - .303
Runs:  Kyle Schwarber - 60
Home Runs:  Bryce Harper - 20
RBIs:  Alec Bohm - 68
Stolen Bases:  Bryson Stott - 20

Wins:  Ranger Suarez - 10
ERA:  Ranger Suarez - 2.27
Strikeouts:  Zack Wheeler - 112
Saves:  Jose Alvarado - 12

Chicago Cubs 39-46
5th Place in the N.L. Central, 11 games behind the Brewers

Cubs Probables
Hayden Wesneski (2-4, 3.60)
Shota Imanaga (7-2, 3.07)
Jameson Taillon (4-4, 3.03)

Cubs Leaders
Average:  Cody Bellinger - .267
Runs:  Ian Happ - 43
Home Runs:  Christopher Morel - 15
RBIs:  Christopher Morel - 45
Stolen Bases:  Pete Crow-Armstrong - 15

Wins:  Shota Imanaga and Hector Neris - 7
ERA:  Shota Imanaga - 3.07

Strikeouts:  Shota Imanaga - 84
Saves:  Hector Neris - 11

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

Marlins at Phillies: October 3rd to October 5th

2023 Chachi Series Previews #8

2023 Chachi Series Previews #9

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (if necessary) 8:08
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

At the Ballpark:  See here.

Marlins 84-77
National League Wild Card, 2nd Seed

Marlins Probables
Jesus Luzardo (10-9, 3.63)
Braxton Garrett (9-7, 3.66)
TBD

Marlins Leaders
Average:  Luis Arraez - .354
Runs:  Jorge Soler - 77
Home Runs:  Jorge Soler - 36
RBIs:  Bryan De La Cruz - 78
Stolen Bases:  Jazz Chisolm - 22

Wins:  Jesus Luzardo - 10
ERA:  Jesus Luzardo - 3.63
Strikeouts:  Jesus Luzardo - 208
Saves:  A.J. Puk - 15

Phillies 90-72
National League Wild Card, 1st Seed

Phillies Probables
Zack Wheeler (13-6, 3.61)
Aaron Nola (12-9, 4.46)
TBD

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Bryce Harper - .293
Runs:  Kyle Schwarber - 108
Home Runs:  Kyle Schwarber - 47
RBIs:  Nick Castellanos - 106
Stolen Bases:  Bryson Stott - 31

Wins:  Taijuan Walker - 15
ERA:  Zack Wheeler - 3.61

Strikeouts:  Zack Wheeler - 212
Saves:  Craig Kimbrel - 23

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

Game 119 - Twins Pitching, Home Plate Ump Dominate Phils

1989 Score #357

Twins 3, Phillies 0
Game 119 - Sunday Afternoon, August 13th in Philadelphia
Record - 65-54, 2nd Place, 11 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies couldn't overcome the Twins' pitching or a rookie home plate umpire in this 3-0 defeat.

What It Means:  This was an extremely anti-climatic end to the 10-game homestand that saw the Phillies go 6-4 with a no-hitter thrown, a blow-out in the opener against the Twins, and good vibes from Alumni Weekend.

What Happened:  Ranger Suarez battled through 6 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on six hits while striking out eight.  The Phillies' offense couldn't get anything going against Sonny Gray and four Twins' relievers, managing only five hits, and striking out 11 times.  In the seventh, the Phillies loaded the bases with one out, but Kyle Schwarber popped up and Alec Bohm struck out looking to end the threat.  The called third strike on Bohm was at least a few inches inside, leading to Bohm's ejection by the home plate umpire.  Manager Rob Thomson would follow Bohm with his own ejection an inning later.

Featured Card:  This game was a bummer, but the pregame ceremony honoring returning alumni from the 1983 and 1993 National League Championship teams was awesome.  My all-time favorite player, Bob Dernier, was a big part of the weekend, signing as many autographs as requested and spending an inning in the broadcast booth during this game.

Transaction:  The Phillies swapped bullpen arms, recalling Luis Ortiz (rhp) from the IronPigs and sending Yunior Marte (rhp) back down.

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

Game 118 - '83 and '93 Phillies Return for Alumni Weekend

Twins 8, Phillies 1
Game 118 - Saturday Night, August 12th in Philadelphia
Record - 65-53, 2nd Place, 11 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Taijuan Walker and Gregory Soto were hit hard in this 8-1 loss to the Twins, and the Phillies offense went 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position.

What It Means:  A series win is still a possibility with Ranger Suarez on the mound for the Phillies this afternoon.

What Happened:  On the field, after the first pitch was thrown, not much happened from the Phillies' perspective.  Off the field, and prior to the game, several Wall of Famers returned to Philadelphia to induct three more members - former general managers John Quinn and Ruly Carpenter and the newly elected Hall of Famer Scott Rolen.  It was a lackluster event, given Rolen wasn't able to attend and the election of two former executives to the Wall of Fame didn't exactly induce a strong emotional reaction.  In the Hall of Fame Club, Doug and I braved the crowds and autograph seekers to once again load up on signatures for Doug's Quinn/Carpenter/Rolen Wall of Fame print.  The key above shows who signed the newest treasure in his collection.

Featured Cards/Field Report:  Fellow collector Rick and his wife were kind enough to save us a spot at the front of the club entrance line, and we quickly staked our territory outside the alumni suite in the Hall of Fame Club level.  As has been the case in recent years, many of the returning players took their time and honored all autograph requests, sometimes signing several things for the same collector.  Stand-outs included Tony Longmire, Kevin Gross, Steve Jeltz and my personal favorite player, Bob Dernier.  Dernier was outside the suite the longest, signing everything, posing for pictures, talking with fans and genuinely seeming to enjoy himself.  Runner-up to Dernier in terms of signing was probably Danny Jackson, who graciously signed everything handed to him and posed for several pictures letting fans model his 1993 National League Champions ring.

Old favorites Mickey Morandini, Dickie Noles, Charlie Manuel and Manny Trillo were there again too and the time these players spend patiently signing dozens of autographs should be appreciated.  Doug's personal highlight was getting Jim Kaat to sign his print as Kaat snuck out a back door of the suite and walked down the hall, largely unrecognized.

Riding home, Doug and I recapped the night and discussed our plans for next year.  He realizes he's reached the age where he's "aged-out" of the cute kid asking for autographs, and as fun as the night is, it's also a bit exhausting.  As he prepares to look at colleges, and depending who the Wall of Fame inductee is next year, we may decide to take 2024 off.  We're both looking forward to the Phillies breaking the seal on the 2008 team and starting to induct some of the players for those team into the Wall of Fame.

As I've done the last few years, I created a limited edition Chachi insert set from photos I took throughout the evening.  My favorite four are featured below, and a second post with the rest of the set can be found here.

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

1989 Tastykake Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

Number of Cards:  46

Number of Cards (SGA Version):  32
Card Size:  4 1/8" x 6"

Description:  The Phillies came up with this card design . . . and then took the next six years off.  The 1989 to 1995 team issued sets are all identical in design, containing 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.  This set is notable as it's the last set (to date) to be sponsored by Tastykake.

How Distributed:  A 32-card set was given away to all fans on May 13, 1989 at Veterans Stadium and a 37-card set was available for sale at the ballpark throughout the season.  Both sets contain identical photos, but the 32-card giveaway set cards feature a darker tint and are not as vibrant as their 37-card counterparts.  The 32-card sets can be found in uncut sheets and thanks to fellow collector Rick, I added these cards to my collection via an eBay auction.  As (I believe) the 37-card set is more prevalent, I've listed the stadium giveaway 32-card set (and its variations) under the Variations/Rarities section below.

Given the ton of roster moves made by the club in the first half of the season, a nine-card update set was issued and available for purchase at souvenir stands throughout the Vet.  This was the second year in a row that a nine-card update set was released.  Of the nine players in the set, Jim Adduci made his debut the latest, on July 3rd, so this set would have been first available for sale in mid to late July.

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

1. Header / Sponsor Card 2. Steve Bedrosian (#40 - RHP) 3. Larry Bowa (#2 - CO) 4. Don Carman (#42 - LHP) 5. Darren Daulton (#10 - C) 6. Bob Dernier (#22 - OF) 7. Curt Ford (#24 - OF) 8. Todd Frohwirth (#52 - RHP) 9. Greg Harris (#33 - RHP) 10. Von Hayes (#9 - OF-1B) 11. Tom Herr (#28 - 2B) 12. Ken Howell (#43 - RHP) 13. Chris James (#26 - OF-3B)

14. Steve Jeltz (#30 - SS) 15. Ron Jones (#26 - OF) 16. Ricky Jordan (#17 - 1B) 17. Darold Knowles (#3 - CO) 18. Steve Lake (#25 - C) 19. Nick Leyva (#16 - MG) 20. Mike Maddux (#44 - RHP) 21. Alex Madrid (#34 - RHP) 22. Larry McWilliams (#46 - LHP) 23. Denis Menke (#4 - CO) 24. Dwayne Murphy (#6 - OF) 25. Tom Nieto (#19 - C)

26. Randy O'Neal (#27 - RHP) 27. Steve Ontiveros (#41 - RHP) 28. Jeff Parrett (#49 - RHP) 29. Bruce Ruffin (#47 - LHP) 30. Mark Ryal (#31 - OF) 31. Mike Ryan (#5 - CO) 32. Juan Samuel (#8 - OF) 33. Mike Schmidt (#20 - 3B) 34. Tony Taylor (#12 - CO) 35. Dickie Thon (#21 - SS) 36. John Vukovich (#7 - CO) 37. Floyd Youmans (#15 - RHP)

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

1. Jim Adduci (#18 - INF) 2. Eric Bullock (#35 - OF)      3. Dennis Cook (#39 - LHP)

4. Lenny Dykstra (#4 - OF) 5. Charlie Hayes (#8 - 3B) 6. John Kruk (#11 - OF-1B)

7. Roger McDowell (#13 - RHP) 8. Terry Mulholland (#45 - LHP) 9. Randy Ready (#23 - 3B)

One and Only Phillies Baseball Card (5):  Adduci, Bullock, Nieto, O'Neal, Ryal

First Appearance in Phillies Team Issued Set (18):  Cook, Dykstra, Ford, C. Hayes, Herr, Howell, Kruk, Lake, Madrid, McDowell, McWilliams, Mulholland, Murphy, Ontiveros, Parrett, Ready, Thon, Youmans
Returning Players in Phillies Team Issued Set (15):  Bedrosian, Carman, Daulton, Dernier, Frohwirth, Harris, V. Hayes, James, Jeltz, Jones, Jordan, Maddux, Ruffin, Samuel, Schmidt

This is the only set featuring Phillies baseball cards of the five players listed in the One and Only One category.  The First Appearance designation is for players who have never before appeared on a Phillies team issued set.  These players may have already appeared on other Phillies baseball cards.

Manager (1):  Leyva
Coaches (6):  Bowa, Knowles, Menke, Ryan, Taylor, Vukovich

Other Cards (1):  Header / sponsor card

Surprises:  The 37-card set includes the entire 25-man opening day roster, the manager and all six coaches, Juan Samuel and Tom Nieto, who both began the season on the disabled list, and three players who started the year in the minors but who would eventually spend time with the Phillies - Todd Frohwirth, Alex Madrid and Randy O'Neal.  There aren't really any surprises here, and it's a fairly inclusive checklists.

The Chris James card is an uncorrected error.  James wore #18 in 1989, but the back of the card lists his uniform as #26.  James had switched from #26 mid-way through the 1988 season and Ron Jones wore #26 in 1989.

Omissions:  47 players appeared with the Phillies in 1989.  Only 10 of them didn't have cards in the original 37-card set or the 9-card update set.  Bob Sebra, Gordon Dillard and Marvin Freeman all briefly appeared on the roster and weren't considered for either set.  Neither were any of the seven September call-ups - Tom Barrett, Pat Combs, Chuck McElroy, Keith Miller, Steve Stanicek, Al Pardo and Jason Grimsley.

Variations/Rarities:  The 32-card stadium giveaway set omitted the following five cards - the Header/sponsor card and the cards for four players - Nieto, Jones, O'Neal and Madrid.  Both O'Neal and Madrid were on the 24-man roster on the giveaway day, as was Dillard who was around for all of two weeks.  It's a shame, but completely understandable, that Dillard didn't somehow make it into the SGA set.  

In addition to these omissions, this set contains the following name placement variations, as well as being darker in tone as mentioned above.

• Don Carman, name is bottom center (instead of bottom left)
• Todd Frohwirth, name is more to the right (instead of centered)
• Ken Howell, name is bottom center (instead of bottom left)
• Steve Ontiveros, name is top center (instead of top right)
• Bruce Ruffin, name is top center (instead of bottom left)
• Mike Ryan CO, name is top center (instead of top left)
• Floyd Youmans, name is bottom right (instead of bottom left)

Unless you're a Phillies team issued set or Bruce Ruffin super collector (and why wouldn't you be?) there's really no need to add these cards to your collection.

Also See:  1989 Phillies - The Missing Links, 1989 Topps Phillies

Resources:  14,000 Phillies; Beckett.com; Phillies collector Rick (@rickphils)

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

1988 Tastykake Phillies Photo Cards / 1990 Phillies Photo Cards

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

Phillies at Cardinals: October 7th to October 9th

2022 Chachi Fan Favorites #22

2022 Chachi Fan Favorites #23

Friday 2:07, Saturday and Sunday (if necessary) 8:37
Busch Stadium - St. Louis, MO

At the Ballpark:  The last postseason game the Phillies played in St. Louis was NLDS Game 4, on October 5, 2011, which featured a squirrel and Roy Oswalt giving up five runs in six innings of work.  When the Phillies win two out of three in this Wild Card series, they'll travel to Atlanta to open the NLDS on Tuesday night.

Phillies 87-75
National League Wild Card, 3rd Seed

Phillies Probables
Zack Wheeler (12-7, 2.82)
Aaron Nola (11-13, 3.25)
Ranger Suarez (10-7, 3.65)

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Alec Bohm - .280
Runs:  Kyle Schwarber - 100
Home Runs:  Kyle Schwarber - 46
RBIs:  Kyle Schwarber - 94
Stolen Bases:  J.T. Realmuto - 21

Wins:  Zack Wheeler - 12
ERA:  Aaron Nola - 3.25

Strikeouts:  Aaron Nola - 235
Saves:  Corey Knebel - 12

Cardinals 93-69
National League Central Champions

Cardinals Probables
Jose Quintana (3-2, 2.01)
Miles Mikolas (12-13, 3.29)
TBD

Cardinals Leaders
Average:  Paul Goldschmidt - .317
Runs:  Paul Goldschmidt - 106
Home Runs:  Paul Goldschmidt - 35
RBIs:  Paul Goldschmidt - 115
Stolen Bases:  Tommy Edman - 32

Wins:  Miles Mikolas - 12
ERA:  Miles Mikolas - 3.29

Strikeouts:  Miles Mikolas - 153
Saves:  Ryan Helsley - 19

2022 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2022 Season Summary Index / 2022 Chachi Set Checklist

Series Preview - Cubs at Phillies: September 14th to September 16th

1986 Topps #188

2021 Chachi Fan Favorites #2

Tuesday and Wednesday 7:05, Thursday 6:05
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

At the Ballpark:  On Wednesday night, the Phillies will celebrate the annual Roberto Clemente Day.

Cubs 65-79
4th Place in the N.L. Central, 24 games behind the Brewers

Cubs Probables
Adrian Sampson (0-2, 2.20)
Alec Mills (6-6, 4.35)
Kyle Hendricks (14-6, 4.54)

Cubs Leaders
Average:  Ian Happ - .223
Runs:  Kris Bryant - 58
Home Runs:  Patrick Wisdom - 25
RBIs:  Javier Baez - 65
Stolen Bases:  Javier Baez - 13

Wins:  Kyle Hendricks - 14
ERA:  Kyle Hendricks - 4.54
Strikeouts:  Kyle Hendricks - 122
Saves:  Craig Kimbrel - 23

Phillies 72-71
2nd Place in the N.L. East, 4 1/2 games behind the Braves

Phillies Probables
Kyle Gibson (4-3, 4.60)
Ranger Suarez (6-4, 1.38)
TBD

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Bryce Harper - .307
Runs:  Bryce Harper - 87
Home Runs:  Bryce Harper - 32
RBIs:  Bryce Harper - 72
Stolen Bases:  Bryce Harper - 12

Wins:  Zack Wheeler - 13
ERA:  Zack Wheeler - 2.86
Strikeouts:  Zack Wheeler - 225
Saves:  Hector Neris - 12

2021 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2021 Season Summary Index / 2021 Chachi Set Checklist

Game 40 - 1989 Donruss #430 Bob Dernier

Blue Jays 4, Phillies 0
Game 40 - Saturday Night, May 15th in Dunedin
Record - 21-19, 2nd Place, 1/2 game behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies couldn't hit or field in this 4-0 loss to the Blue Jays, and both Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto exited the game early with injuries.

What It Means:  The Phillies are 13-12 in games started by Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler or Zach Eflin and they're 8-7 in games started by Chase Anderson, Matt Moore or Vince Velasquez.  That second record is somewhat acceptable, but the first record is not, especially for a team that hopes to contend.

What Happened:  Harper departed with a sore shoulder and Realmuto left with soreness in his catching hand.  Not great.  Nola battled through 6 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on nine hits while striking out eight.  The Phillies offense had six hits and went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position.  All three infielders (Nick Maton, Alec Bohm and Jean Segura) committed errors, and the scorekeeper should have given Bohm a second error on a ball that rolled under his glove but was scored a hit.

Featured Card:  On a happier May 15th, 32 years ago, Bob Dernier delivered a dramatic, game-winning, inside the park home run against the Giants, giving the Phillies a 3-2 win.  Here's video of Harry Kalas making the call for Dernier's mad dash around the bases:

2021 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2021 Season Summary Index / 2021 Chachi Set Checklist

1988 Tastykake Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

Number of Cards:  39
Card Size:  4 7/8" x 6 1/4"
Description:  The Phillies broke the mold for their 1988 photo card set and went with a set of supersized cards.  The fronts of the cards feature full color action photos while the backs contain biographical information and complete minor and Major League statistics.  The nine photo cards found in the update set have blank backs.  I've always thought this was one of the more impressive team-issued sets released by the Phillies, but I guess the larger size may have indirectly led to less cards in the set.  This is seventh year in a row the set was sponsored by Tastykake.

How Distributed:  Saturday, April 9, 1988, the first Saturday night home game of the season, was Tastykake Photo Card day with all fans receiving the original 30-card set.  (The Phillies won the game, 9-3 over the Mets, behind a complete game effort from Don Carman and 5 RBIs from Lance Parrish.)  The set was comprised of the entire opening day roster, 1987 Cy Young Award winner Steve Bedrosian, who opened the season on the disabled list, manager Lee Elia and cards for the coaches, top prospects, a team photo and the Phillie Phanatic.

The nine-card update set was released later in the season, and I believe was sold at various vendor stands throughout Veterans Stadium.  The update set checklist would have been finalized in mid-July as Larry Bowa took over for the fired Dave Bristol on July 15th and Ricky Jordan was recalled on July 16th.

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

1. Luis Aguayo (#16 - INF) 2. Bill Almon (#15 - INF) 3. Steve Bedrosian (#40 - P) 4. Phil Bradley (#29 - OF) 5. Jeff Calhoun (#31 - P) 6. Don Carman (#42 - P) 7. Darren Daulton (#10 - C) 8. Bob Dernier (#22 - OF) 9. Lee Elia (#4 - MG, Vertical)       10. Todd Frohwirth (#52 - P)

11. Greg Gross (#21 - OF-1B)       12. Kevin Gross (#46 - P) 13. Von Hayes (#9 - 1B) 14. Chris James (#18 - OF) 15. Steve Jeltz (#30 - SS) 16. Mike Maddux (#44 - P) 17. David Palmer (#45 - P) 18. Lance Parrish (#13 - C) 19. Shane Rawley (#28 - P) 20. Wally Ritchie (#38 - P)

21. Bruce Ruffin (#47 - P) 22. Juan Samuel (#8 - 2B) 23. Mike Schmidt (#20 - 3B) 24. Kent Tekulve (#27 - P) 25. Milt Thompson (#24 - CF) 26. Mike Young (#19 - OF) 27. Phillies Coaches 28. Phillies Prospects 29. Team Card 30. Phillie Phanatic

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

1. Larry Bowa (#16 - CO) 2. Lee Elia (#4 - MG, Horizontal)       3. Jackie Gutierrez (#15 - INF)

4. Greg Harris (#33 - P) 5. Ricky Jordan (#17 - 1B) 6. Keith Miller (#11 - INF-OF)

7. John Russell (#6 - C) 8. John Vukovich (#7 - CO) 9. Phillies Broadcasters

One and Only Phillies Baseball Card (1):  Almon

First Appearance in Phillies Team Issued Set (7):  Bradley, Gutierrez, Harris, Jordan, Miller, Palmer, Young
Returning Players in Phillies Team Issued Set (22):  Aguayo, Bedrosian, Calhoun, Carman, Daulton, Dernier, Frohwirth, G. Gross, K. Gross, Hayes, James, Jeltz, Maddux, Parrish, Rawley, Ritchie, Ruffin, Russell, Samuel, Schmidt,  Tekulve, Thompson

Managers (2):  Elia (2)
Coaches (3):  The coaches card in the base set includes Dave Bristol, Claude Osteen, Mike Ryan, Tony Taylor, Del Unser and John Vukovich.  Bowa and Vukovich get solo cards in the update set.

Phillie Phanatic (1):  The Phanatic is once again pictured atop his ATV.

Broadcasters (1):  Features Richie Ashburn, Harry Kalas, Garry Maddox, Andy Musser and Chris Wheeler
Phillies Prospects (1):  Features eight prospects on one card - Tom Barrett, Brad Brink, Steve DeAngelis, Ron Jones, Keith Miller, Brad Moore, Howard Nichols and Shane Turner.  DeAngelis and Nichols never played for the Phillies.
Other Cards (1):  Team card

Surprises:  The original 30-card set doesn't have many surprises, although there are a few omissions - see below.  The update set surprises me somewhat as I'm not sure why the Phillies decided we needed a second card of manager Elia and a stand-alone card of coach John Vukovich.  For some background here, the Phillies fired third base coach Bristol and hitting coach Del Unser on July 15th.  Vukovich, who had been serving as Elia's bench coach, moved over to third for a few games before the Phillies hired old friend Bowa who had recently been let go as the Padres manager.  Vukovich would switch jobs again on September 23rd, taking over as interim manager when Elia was fired.  Bowa wore #16 in his first stint as a Phillies coach, before switching to #2 at the start of the 1989 season.

Vukovich and Elia aren't the only two to appear in the set twice.  Prospect Keith Miller is one of eight prospects on the multi-player Phillies Prospects card and then he received his own card in the update set.  Five of the eight players on the Prospects card appeared with the Phillies in 1988 - Tom Barrett, Ron Jones, Miller, Brad Moore and Shane Turner.

Omissions:  If we use July 16th as a cut-off date for the update set, there are a few more deserving candidates.  The oft-injured pitcher Bill Dawley was recalled from Maine on April 22nd but was on the disabled list between May 11th and August 18th.  Reliever Danny Clay was recalled on April 30th and had three different stints with the Phillies in between trips back to Maine.  The only other possibility is pitcher Bill Scherrer who joined the team on July 5th but was gone less than a month later on August 2nd.  Wild speculation on my part here, but maybe one or more of those three pitchers were slated to receive cards in the update set only to be replaced by second cards for Elia and Vukovich.

Variations/Rarities:  As fellow collector Rick e-mailed me, there's also a smaller-sized Mike Schmidt card available, featuring the same photo as his regular 1988 Tastykake photo card, but on a smaller scale.

Smaller Sized Variation 1. Mike Schmidt (#20 - 3B)

Also See:  1988 Topps Phillies - Missing Links

Resources:  Beckett.com; Phillies collector Rick G.

This set was originally featured in a post back in October 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.

1987 Tastykake Phillies Photo Cards / 1989 Tastykake Phillies Photo Cards

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

1983 Tastykake Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

Number of Cards:  32
Card Size:  3 1/4" x 5 1/4"

Description:  This is the first team-issued photo card set featuring full color photos.  A color head shot of each player is on the front and the backs are either blank or contain an encouraging message "written" by the player.  Most of these messages begin with a standard, "Dear Fan: Thanks for your letter.  the Phillies and I appreciate your interest."  In the checklist below, I've indicated which photo cards have the "Dear Fan" greeting on the back, which are blank and which have a message variation.  This is the second consecutive year Tastykake sponsored the set, and the black Tastykake logo can be found on the backs of all cards with the exception of the card for Veterans Stadium.

Interestingly enough, the 2001 Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards lists Joe Amalfitano in the checklist instead of Porfi Altamirano.  The Beckett database entry for the set perpetuates this error.  As pointed out by 14,000 Phillies in his checklist entry for the set, both Beckett and the Standard Catalog omit the Dave Roberts card from their checklists.

How Distributed:  My guess is these photo cards were available to purchase in set form at Veterans Stadium and also available individually as players responded to fans' autograph requests.  I personally had a tough time tracking down the cards for John Denny, Von Hayes and Bill Robinson.

Complete Standard Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here alphabetically, with Dear Fan inscriptions unless otherwise noted): 

1. Luis Aguayo 2. Porfi Altamirano 3. Marty Bystrom (blank) 4. Steve Carlton (blank) 5. Larry Christenson 6. Pat Corrales MG (blank)       7. Ivan DeJesus 8. John Denny 9. Bob Dernier 10. Bo Diaz 11. Ed Farmer

12. Greg Gross 13. Von Hayes 14. Al Holland 15. Garry Maddox 16. Gary Matthews 17. Tug McGraw (Support . . . )       18. Larry Milbourne 19. Bob Molinaro 20. Sid Monge 21. Joe Morgan 22. Tony Perez

23. Ron Reed (blank) 24. Dave Roberts 25. Bill Robinson 26. Pete Rose 27. Dick Ruthven (blank) 28. Mike Schmidt (blank) 29. Ozzie Virgil 30. Phillies Coaches (blank) 31. Phillie Phanatic  32. Veterans Stadium (blank)

One and Only Phillies Baseball Card (0)

First Appearance in Phillies Team Issued Set (7):  Denny, Hayes, Holland, Milbourne, Molinaro, Morgan, Perez
Returning Players in Phillies Team Issued Set (21):  Aguayo, Altamirano, Bystrom, Carlton, Christenson, DeJesus, Dernier, Diaz, Farmer, Gross, Maddox, Matthews, McGraw, Monge, Reed, Roberts, Robinson, Rose, Ruthven, Schmidt, Virgil

Manager (1):  Corrales
Coaches (1):  There's one card featuring all five Phillies coaches - Mike Ryan, Deron Johnson, Bobby Wine, Dave Bristol and Claude Osteen.

Phillies Phanatic (1):  The more readily available version features the Phanatic on his ATV.

Other Cards (1):  Veterans Stadium.

Surprises:  There are no real surprises here, and I'm assuming the set was issued once with no updates made.  The entire 25-man opening day roster, with the exception of the two players discussed below, received photo cards.  The Phillies also had five players on the disabled list to start the 1983 season, and they all received cards too - Luis Aguayo, Marty Bystrom, Hayes, Al Holland and Roberts.

Omissions:  Len Matuszek and Alejandro Sanchez both made the opening day roster, but were omitted from the set.  Sanchez returned to the minors a week into the season when Hayes was activated from the disabled list.  Matuszek stuck around a bit longer, optioned down to Triple-A Portland on April 29th.  Kiko Garcia started the season at Portland, but was recalled on May 17th and he'd remain with the club through the rest of the season.  I wish the Phillies had considered an update set as Garcia and a number of players acquired during the season - Joe Lefebvre, Willie Hernandez, Larry Andersen and Sixto Lezcano - would have been obvious choices.  There were also a number of prospects who debuted during 1983, including Charles Hudson, Kevin Gross, Steve Jeltz, Juan Samuel and Darren Daulton, and update cards for those players would have been highly sought after by collectors.

Variations/Rarities:  According to the set's entry in the 2001 Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards, several cards are available with different backs.  There's also a different Phanatic card available showing him walking around the field in the vicinity of home plate.  I've listed these variations below.

Fellow collector Bill e-mailed to let me know of a few other back variations.  The Greg Gross card can be found with both "Dear Fan" and "Support amateur baseball" backs.  And the ATV variation of the Phanatic can be found with "Dear Fan" and "Tell your parents" backs.

Back Variations       1. Greg Gross (Support . . . ) 2. Sid Monge (Quitters never win)      3. Pete Rose (A good eduction) 4. Phillie Phanatic (Tell your parents)

Phanatic Variation        1. Phillie Phanatic - Not on ATV

Resources:   14,000 Phillies, Beckett.com, Phillies collector Bill, 1984 Phillies Media Guide.

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

Standard Version

Variation

1982 Tastykake Phillies Photo Cards / 1984 Tastykake Phillies Photo Cards

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