2024 Chachi Leftovers

2024 Chachi Almost #2

2024 Chachi Almost #3

2024 Chachi Almost #4

2024 Chachi Friendly Encounters #3

With pitchers and catchers having reported to Clearwater and only a matter of weeks to go before spring training games start, I wanted to clear out my draft folder and post a few lingering 2024 Chachi cards.  Before Christmas, I began posting cards from the 2024 Chachi set on a daily basis, wrapping up with card #64, Seth Johnson, on February 6th.  I start the process of creating Chachi cards this time each year, and as was the case with the players featured here, they did not actually suit up with the Phillies in 2024 and therefore weren't part of the official 2024 Chachi set.

Darick Hall (1b) - Hall played in 59 games with the Phillies between 2022 and 2023, and spent all of last season with the Triple-A IronPigs.  In December, he signed as a minor league free agent with the Pirates.

Rodolfo Castro (inf) - Castro lost the 2024 season to injuries, and he's back in camp with the Phillies in 2025 as a non-roster invitee.

Dylan Covey (rhp) - Covey and his beard made 28 appearances for the Phillies in 2023, making one start.  He too was hit by the injury bug in 2024, pitching in 18 games with three of the Phillies' minor league teams.  He was signed by the Mets on Halloween, placed on waivers on February 6th, and signed by the Braves on February 11th.

And finally, we met Jose Alvarado at an autograph signing at the Deptford Mall back in July.  Kody Clemens was also there and I briefly wrote about this poorly organized event here.

And with those three cards out of the way, and cleared from my draft folder, it's time to turn the page to the 2025 Chachi set!

2024-25 Offseason Begins - More November Notes

2024 Choice Lehigh Valley
IronPigs #3

Last week, I kicked off my offseason posting with a few early roster moves made by the Phillies in the days following their unceremonious departure from the postseason.  I neglected to comment on the departure of several minor league free agents, who left the organization on November 4th.  Baseball America posted a list of 21 Phillies minor leaguers whose contracts expired after six seasons.  This list included former Phillies Yunior Marte (rhp), Luis F. Ortiz (rhp), Kolby Allard (lhp) and Rodolfo Castro (inf), as covered in my post from Wednesday.

Also included on the list were Darick Hall (1b) and David Dahl (of).  Dahl appeared in 19 games for the Phillies, batting .207 with three home runs and eight RBIs.  16 of those 19 games were starts in June in left field (12), DH (3) and right field (1).  He's in the IronPigs team set this year, but has yet to appear on a Phillies baseball card.

Hall was a long-time IronPig, one of the franchise's all-time fan favorites, and among the leaders in several all-time franchise offensive categories.  In 410 games in Lehigh Valley, Hall batted .253 with 76 home runs and 277 RBIs.  In 59 games with the Phillies in 2022 and 2023, Hall batted .226 with 10 home runs and 19 RBIs.  He was the club's opening day first baseman in 2023, following the devastating knee injury to Rhys Hoskins in spring training.  Hall got off to a slow start in 2023, but then suffered a thumb injury, and upon his return in July he could never quite get his bat going.  There are rumors Hall could find himself signing a lucrative contract to play in Asia.

I have 27 Hall cards in my Phillies collection, with this IronPigs card being the most recently added.

Game 156 - Wheeler's Outing Wasted as Bats Go Quiet

2024 Choice Lehigh Valley
IronPigs #3

Mets 2, Phillies 1
Game 156 - Sunday Night, September 22nd in Flushing
Record - 92-64, 1st Place, 5 games ahead of the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  A lack of run support wasted a fine effort from Zack Wheeler in this 2-1 defeat to the Mets.

What It Means:  The Phillies dropped three out of four to the Mets, and they'll come home to face the Cubs for the final three regular season games at Citizens Bank Park.

What Happened:  Wheeler was looking for his 17th win, and would have had it if the Phillies could have delivered a few timely hits.  With the score tied 1-1, Brandon Nimmo homered to lead off the sixth and break the tie.  The Phillies had jumped to a 1-0 lead in the first when Trea Turner singled, went to second on a wild pitch and came home on an Alec Bohm single to right.  The offense would go 0 for 8 over the balance of the game with runners in scoring position.  Edwin Diaz closed it out for the Mets with a six-out save.

Featured Card:  Darick Hall, in what could be his final game in the Phillies' organization, hit a game-winning grand slam for the IronPigs on Sunday afternoon.  Hall is the all-time home run leader for the IronPigs team, and he's been their most popular player over the past four seasons.

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

Game 116 - D-Backs' Dinger Walks It Off Against Hoffman

2023 Topps Heritage #140

Diamondbacks 3, Phillies 2
Game 116 - Late Friday Night, August 9th in Phoenix
Record - 69-47, 1st Place, 8 games ahead of the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies battled back to tie this game late, only for Adrian Del Castillo to hit the first pitch thrown by Jeff Hoffman in the bottom of the ninth into the right field bleachers for a 3-2 Diamondbacks win.

What It Means:  Where is the Phillies offense?

What Happened:  Zack Wheeler deserved better.  He pitched six innings, scattering seven hits and allowing two runs while striking out eight.  The Phillies didn't score until the seventh inning, when Bryce Harper hit a solo home run to left, his 26th of the season.  In the eighth, Nick Castellanos drew a walk and Johan Rojas doubled him home a few batters later to tie the score.  Tanner Banks and Matt Strahm had kept the Diamondbacks from scoring for two innings, but the game ended after Hoffman's first pitch of the ninth.

Featured Card/Transactions:  The Phillies made a bunch of roster moves prior to this game.  Cal Stevenson (of) and Max Lazar (rhp) had their contracts purchased from Lehigh Valley.  Austin Hays (of) was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain.  Kolby Allard (lhp) was optioned to Lehigh Valley.  Darick Hall (1b) and Max Castillo (rhp) were designated for assignment to open up two spots on the 40-man roster for Stevenson and Lazar.

Hall could clear waivers and come back to the IronPigs, but I'd guess he'll likely land elsewhere.  In 59 games with the Phillies in 2022 and 2023, Hall batted .226 with 10 home runs and 19 RBIs.

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

2023 Chachi #4 Darick Hall

#24

Darick Hall
First Base-Designated Hitter

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'4"  Weight:  232
Opening Day Age:  27

Born:  July 25, 1995, Hereford, AZ
Acquired:  Drafted by the Phillies in the 14th round of the 2016 amateur draft, June 11, 2016

Contract Status:  Signed through 2023, arbitration eligible in 2026
Major League Teams:  Philadelphia Phillies 2022-2023

Darick Hall earned the opportunity to become the Phillies' regular first baseman when Rhys Hoskins went down in spring training with a season-ending knee injury.  Hall appeared in six games to start the season and then he himself went down too with a thumb injury following an awkward base running dive back to first base.  Surgery was performed on the thumb on Wednesday, and Hall be out at least a few months.

Hall had his contract selected last season on June 29th, replacing Johan Camargo on the roster.  He was with the club through August 22nd, and came up again on September 30th.  In 41 games, wearing #25, Hall batted .250 with nine home runs and 16 RBIs.  He swapped #25 for #24 following the off-season acquisition of reliever Matt Strahm.

2017 Chachi BlueClaws Signing Autographs #3

2022 Chachi #47

2023 Chachi Preview #2

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  2018 Topps Pro Debut #185
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (1):  2023
Newest Card Added to My Phillies Collection:  2023 Topps #209
Total Cards in My Phillies Collection:  19 as of 4/14/23.

Complete Chachi Checklist

2017 Chachi BlueClaws Signing Autographs #3
2022 Chachi #47

2023 Chachi Preview #2

2023 Chachi #4

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

2023 Chachi #3 J.T. Realmuto / 2023 Chachi #5 Nick Castellanos

Spring Training Game 19 - Stott, Haley, Hall and Fergus Homer in Win

2023 Topps #209

Phillies 10, Tigers 1
Spring Training Game 19 - Thursday Night, March 16th in Lakeland
Record - 9-9-1

One Sentence Summary:  With a line-up dominated by likely bench players or minor leaguers, the Phillies dominated the Tigers in this 10-1 win.

What It Means:  This is one of only three night games scheduled for the Phillies this spring, and I admittedly completely missed it.

What Happened:  Bryson Stott was the only regular to make the trip to Lakeland and he announced his presence with a lead-off home run.  He had three hits in the game.  Jim Haley and Darick Hall also homered, with Hall hitting his Grapefruit League leading fifth home run of the spring.  Minor leaguer Cade Fergus hit a ninth inning grand slam for the Phillies to put the game away.

On the mound, Zack Wheeler pitched a solid 4 1/3 innings, allowing a run while striking out five.

Featured Card:  I wish I had cards for Fergus or Haley, as I'd feature one of them here.  Instead, Hall gets the call and I'd be shocked at this point if he doesn't make the opening day roster as a bat off the bench.

Camp Head Count:  55

Philly Baseball Card Show Report - 1969 Topps Commons Explosion

On Sunday, Doug and I drove an hour north to the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center at Oaks for the March Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show, known to its friends as the Philly Show.  This could be our last show for a while, as baseball schedules along with a packed summer and fall tend to keep us away from any June or September shows.  We were happy we had decided to attend on Sunday, as we both heard from dealers and other collectors that Saturday's show was, "way too crowded, "a madhouse" and "chaos."  There were still a lot of people there on Sunday, but we were able to leisurely browse the dealer tables and we both came away with hauls that had us smiling all the way home.

• Doug's collecting habits are geared towards cards he thinks are cool, which is usually some combination of a signature, a relic and/or a low serial number for a favorite baseball or basketball player.  He's got quite the display going on his bedroom desk, and he added the cards shown below to his collection after a few hours of scouting and negotiating.
• After being a big spender on star cards at the December show, and completing our 1965 Topps set, I was focused on volume this time around.  I pulled up a chair at Uncle Dick's table, found the first binder of 1969 Topps commons (1-300) and plowed through it.  I stopped after each 100 cards to ask for a price check, and with the understanding I'd buy more if there was as a discount in play for volume, I soldiered on.  I added 193 cards to our 1969 Topps set, which is most likely the highest single set tally since the 1980s when my Dad and me were collecting the 1976 Topps set and we bought most of the commons needed for that set at an Ocean City baseball card show.
• I was happy to find quite a few dealers with Diamond Stars cards for sale.  I visited three separate dealers, making three separate purchases, all of which came in a little lower than the advertised prices. With five more cards added to that set, I'm down to needing 38 cards out of the 119 I'm collecting as my version of a master set.

I purchased one Phillies card, a 1987 team-issued variation card of the Phillie Phanatic, and we didn't purchase autographs from any of the dozens of autograph signers.  It was another great show, and it may need to hold us over until December.

Doug's Haul

New Diamond Stars cards

Memory Lane

Valley Forge 1 - September 2010 - Thinking of my Dad
Valley Forge 2 - October 2012 - Doug's first baseball card show
Valley Forge 3 - September 2014 - Meeting Darren Daulton
Oaks 1 - October 2015 - Meeting Pete Rose and Steve Carlton
Valley Forge 4 - September 2016 - Phillies acquisitions and 4 Phillies Legends
Valley Forge 5 - December 2016 - Meeting Don Money
Valley Forge 6 - September 2017 - Doug's big day
Valley Forge 7 - December 2017 - Ben's first baseball card show with Mike Schmidt and Rhys Hoskins!
Oaks 2 - December 2018 - Meeting Matt Stairs and Cole Hamels
Valley Forge 8 - March 2019 - 5 Phillies Autographs and Vintage Phillies Additions
Valley Forge 9 - September 2019 - Closing in on 1971 Topps set and Andrew McCutchen
Valley Forge 10 - December 2019 - Finishing 1971 Topps set, Starting 1965 Topps set, adding key autographs from Ryan Howard and Brad Lidge
Valley Forge 11 - February 2020 - More 1965 Topps cards, Jimmy Rollins, Mike Lieberthal and Jim Kaat

Valley Forge 12 - December 2021 - Huge haul of 1965 Topps, Jim Thome

Valley Forge 13 - March 2022 - Easy like Sunday morning, close to completing 1965 Topps

Oaks 3 - December 2022 - 1965 Topps set completed, dent made in 1969 Topps, Schwarber, Vierling and Stott

Oaks 4 - March 2023 - Huge haul of 1969 Topps and five Diamond Stars cards added

Blue Jays 8, Phillies 3
Spring Training Game 16 - Sunday Afternoon, March 12th in Clearwater
Record - 7-8-1

One Sentence Summary:  Further south, the Phillies dropped a spring training game to the Blue Jays.

What It Means:  With our fresh spoils in hand, we listened to the start of this game on our ride home from the Philly Show.

What Happened:  Starting pitcher Bailey Falter got hit early and often, allowing seven hits and three runs (two earned) in 2 2/3 innings of work.  Jake Jewell was the recipient of four unearned runs in the ninth due to a costly error by second baseman Hao-Yu Lee.  Josh Harrison hit a two-run home run in the fifth.

Featured Card:  See above!

Camp Head Count:  65 - 7 - 3 = 55

Before the game, James McArthur (rhp) was optioned and Mick Abel (rhp), Andrew Baker (rhp), Jon Duplantier (rhp), Griff McGarry (rhp), Francisco Morales (rhp) and Billy Sullivan (rhp) were all assigned to minor league camp.  Following the game, Jhailyn Ortiz (of) and Simon Muzziotti (of) were optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley and Johan Rojas (of) was optioned to Double-A Reading.

Spring Training Game 14 - Phils Connect for 6 Home Runs, Hall Hits 2

2023 Chachi Preview #2

Phillies 10, Pirates 4
Spring Training Game 14 - Friday Afternoon, March 10th in Clearwater
Record - 6-7-1

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies mashed six home runs on the way to this 10-4 win over the Pirates.

What It Means:  Injury news dominated the day, as it was announced top pitching prospect Andrew Painter (rhp) would be shut down for four weeks with a UCL sprain.  The news could have been worse.  Ranger Suarez (lhp) was sent home from the World Baseball Classic by Team Venezuela due to tightness in his left forearm.  Again, nothing too major, but still concerning.

What Happened:  The home runs were collected by Darick Hall, who had a pair, Rhys Hoskins (his first), Scott Kingery, Will Toffey and Jhailyn Ortiz.  Hall was 3 for 3 on the day, raising his average to .409, while Kingery was 2 for 3, raising his average to .444.  Both are getting serious consideration for one of the final bench spots available on the opening day roster.  Starting pitcher Zack Wheeler continued to work on some stuff, giving up three runs over three innings.

Featured Card:  It would seem as if the final two bench spots are going to go to two of Hall, Kingery, Kody Clemens or Jake Cave.  I'll take this opportunity to repost the 2023 Chachi Preview card featuring Hall I first introduced back in September.  The Phillies Room graphic design department has started some long tossing and production on the 2023 Chachi set will go into full swing in the coming weeks.  It's going to be a full season of appreciating the 1965 Topps design.

Camp Head Count:  65

Getting Closer to Games - New Numbers are Here!

2023 Topps #283

2023 Topps #209

2023 Topps #176

2023 Topps #86

2023 Topps #145

It looks as if I skipped the "New Numbers" post last year, which I'll blame on the owners' lock-out that delayed the start of spring training.  One of the many milestones I look forward to each offseason is the assignment of new uniform numbers on the Phillies' website.  This is a hit or miss process as some years the numbers have arrived in spurts, very late or not at all.  I checked the roster page on Friday morning, noticing "--" listed as the uniform number for every non-roster invitee except Francisco Morales, and for most of the non-high profile new additions to the 40-man roster.  By Friday afternoon, uniform numbers had miraculously appeared and we're now that much closer to baseball returning.

Here's a look at the new players and their uniform numbers, who wore the number previously, and a few uniform number switches.

40-Man Roster

• #2 Josh Harrison (inf) - Worn by Jean Segura since 2019.  Harrison had worn #7 when he was in summer camp with the Phillies in 2020.
• #7 Trea Turner (ss) -  Johan Camargo wore #7 in 2022, and Turner will wear it through at least the 2033 season.
• #23 Kody Clemens (inf) - Corey Knebel last year.
• #25 Matt Strahm (lhp) - Strahm took the number from Darick Hall, who switched to #24.
• #30 Gregory Sosa (lhp) - David Robertson in 2022.
• #31 Craig Kimbrel (rhp) - Last worn by Jeurys Familia.
• #37 Andrew Vasquez (lhp) - This had been Odubel Herrera's number since 2015.
• #43 Yunior Marte (rhp) - Worn by Noah Syndergaard in 2022.
• #44 Jake Cave (of) - Kyle Gibson's former number.
• #47 Erich Uelman (rhp) - Worn very briefly last season by Chris Devenski.
• #56 Luis Ortiz (rhp) - This had been Zach Efllin's number since 2016.
• #99 Taijuan Walker (rhp) - Last worn by So Taguchi in 2008.  Prior to that, the only other #99 in franchise history were Turk Wendell and Mitch Williams.

Notable Non-Roster Invitees - 60 and Under

• #29 John Hicks (c) - Worn in 2022 by Nick Maton.
• #39 Vimael Machin (inf) - Worn briefly by back-up catcher Donny Sands.
• #41 Vito Friscia (c) - Belonged to Yairo Munoz last year.
• #50 Jon Duplantier (rhp) - Worn by Austin Wynns in spring training last year, and last worn in season by closer Hector Neris.
• #51 Ben Bowden (lhp) - Hans Crouse, still in the organization, wore this number for one game in 2021.
• #60 Louis Head (rhp) - Ryan Sherriff wore this number in spring training last year, Ramon Rosso wore it in 2021.

Uniform Number Switches

• #24 Darick Hall (inf) - Hall surrendered #25 to Strahm, and takes the number last worn by Roman Quinn.
• #73 Will Toffey (inf) - Toffey was active for one game in 2022 and wore #33, which now belongs to Edmundo Sosa.

Still Unofficially Retired

#6 Ryan Howard, #11 Jimmy Rollins, #26 Chase Utley, #35 Cole Hamels

Still Available - 60 and Under

#19, #48, #52, #54

#19 was worn by Matt Vierling in 2022, #48 was Vinny Nittoli, #52 was Brad Hand and #54 was Sam Coonrod.  I always suspect they're saving these for an acquisition that hasn't been  made official yet.  Coonrod was the latest departure, as he was claimed by the Mets off waivers on February 6th.

Memory Lane

2012 New Numbers

2013 New Numbers
2014 New Numbers - Part One and Part Two
2015 New Numbers
2016 New Numbers - Part One and Part Two
2017 New Numbers
2018 New Numbers
2019 New Numbers - Part One, Part Two and Part Three
2020 New Numbers

2021 New Numbers - Part One and Part Two

2022 New Numbers - Skipped it!

2023 New Numbers

Introducing the 2023 Chachi Set Design

On Labor Day afternoon, Topps released the first images of its 2023 baseball card set on social media.  As has been my recent tradition, I'll wait until Topps makes their presentation of the next year's flagship set design before releasing the first images of the next year's Chachi custom Phillies card set.  I'm generous, not needing much attention, and I like for Topps to have their time in the spotlight for a little bit.

For those of you new to the Chachi set of cards, they're named after our late, great first dog Chachi, and not (directly) the character from Happy Days or the weird actor who played him.  Here's a page with links to details on the genesis of the set, as well as a launch pad to view all prior year base cards from Chachi sets dating back to 2005.  To date, I've used old Topps designs as the basis for my Chachi sets, and I'm getting closer to eventually breaking that pattern.  But not yet.

As I write this, we're six cards away from a complete 1965 Topps set, which will forever be known as my lockdown set as it helped keep me sane during the pandemic years.  We started collecting the set in December 2019, a few short months before the world was turned upside down, and I'd like to think we'll complete the set in either late 2022 or early 2023.  With this set and its iconic design taking up so much space in my brain in recent years, I thought I'd pay tribute to it by using it for the design of my 2023 Chachi cards.  This is the first Topps set from the 1960s I've tackled with a Chachi set, and you can expect to see all the usual inserts in 2023 - Fan Favorites, 1965 Topps Missing Links and Friendly Encounters.  What you won't see are many action shots.  I'm going to try to stay true to the original, using only cropped shots or posed photos.

I'm excited to spend 2023 and one more year with the 1965 Topps set, and I hope you are too.

Here's a look at what could come next in the Chachi set lineage, and I'm a little surprised I'm anxious to tackle another set from the 2000s.  The 2022 Chachi set has been a lot of fun so far, and I'm hoping to need to figure out how to design postseason cards in the style of the 2000 Topps set.

1969 - Not a great design, but I'm going to spending more time with this set in the coming years, so it's now a possibility.
1972 - The only flagship set from the 1970s I've not used yet.
1984, 1987, 1989 - Topps has spoiled these designs for me, due to overuse in recent years' insert sets.
2001, 2003, 2006, 2008 - Over the past few years, I've really come to appreciate the designs of the 2006 and 2008 sets.
Other Future Candidates - 1981 Donruss, 1981 Fleer, 1982 Donruss, 1983 Fleer, 1985 Fleer, 1987 Donruss

Memory Lane
2014 Chachi Preview #1 (8/8/13)
2015 Chachi Preview #1 (8/15/14)
2016 Chachi Preview #1 (8/11/15)
2017 Chachi Preview #1 (8/10/16)
2018 Chachi Preview #1 (8/7/17)
2019 Chachi Preview #1 (8/20/18)
2020 Chachi Preview #1 (8/2/19)
2021 Chachi Preview #1 (8/7/20)

2022 Chachi Preview #1 (8/13/21)

2023 Chachi Preview #1 (9/7/22)

Game 108 - Current Phillies Mash, Past Phillies Return

2022 Choice Lehigh Valley
IronPigs #17

Phillies 13, Nationals 1
Game 108 - Sunday Afternoon, August 7th in Philadelphia
Record - 60-48, 3rd Place, 9 1/2 game behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies destroyed the Nationals in this Alumni Weekend finale.

What It Means:  The Phillies are hot, having won 11 of their last 13 and now five in a row.

What Happened:  The ballpark welcomed back dozens of alumni in a wonderful pregame ceremony, including most of the living members of the 1980 World Championship club, and various Wall of Famers in attendance for the weekend.  Mike Schmidt was a notable absence, as he had tested positive for Covid earlier that morning.  The Hall of Famer sent a pre-recorded message, celebrating the 1980 team and thanking the fans.  Pete Rose made his first appearance at a Phillies event since being banned from baseball, and he quickly reminded everyone why it's probably best he doesn't return again.

On the field, the offense continued to mash.  Four more home runs were hit in this game, including two from Darick Hall and one each from Nick Maton and Rhys Hoskins, and the team set a new franchise record with 14 home runs in a single regular season series.  Bryson Stott was 2 for 5 with three RBIs.  Aaron Nola pitched six innings, allowing a run on five hits on the way to his eighth win.

Featured Card:  Hall gets the honors again, and the Phillies will need to get creative with their line-up once Bryce Harper returns in September to make sure Hall continues to get at-bats.  Hall has four baseball cards available so far in 2022, three Topps Now cards and this card from the IronPigs team set.

Field Report:  After attending Friday and Saturday night's games, we sat this one out.  Friend of the blog Rick reported there were multiple alumni signing stations available briefly before the game throughout the ballpark as follows:

• Bobby Abreu and Juan Samuel in the Hall of Fame Club, at separate tables
• Warren Brusstar and Greg Gross on the main concourse
• Dick Ruthven and Del Unser on the main concourse, and
• Dickie Noles and Kevin Saucier on the  main concourse

New Alumni Photo Cards were available for Abreu, Gross, Ruthven and Saucier.  I won't update the master list I've compiled here (yet), but I'll at least add a note that these four new cards are now out in the wild.

Oddly enough, the new Abreu card features a different photo from his original card, using a photo taken during the same at-bat.  The photo courtesy of Rick below shows the original Abreu card on the left, with the new one on the right.

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

Game 99 - Offense Supports Wheeler's Gem

2022 Topps Now #445

Phillies 8, Pirates 7
Game 99 - Thursday Night, July 28th in Pittsburgh
Record - 52-47, 3rd Place, 9 1/2 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies held on to preserve Zack Wheeler's gem, winning 8-7 in this series opening game in Pittsburgh.

What It Means:  Reliever Jeurys Familia made the game a lot closer than it needed to be, entering the ninth inning with the Phillies ahead, 8-2.  He recorded just one out and was charged with five runs on four hits and a walk to raise his season ERA to an even 6.00.  Seranthony Dominguez put out the fire to record his sixth save of the season.

What Happened:  Wheeler picked up his ninth win, with his only blemish a two-run home run surrendered to Cal Mitchell in the seventh.  Wheeler struck out eight.  The Phillies offense collected 15 hits overall, putting up three-run innings in the first and sixth.  Darick Hall started the scoring with a two-run triple in the first.  Kyle Schwarber hit a three-run home run, his 32nd of the season, in the sixth.  The struggling Nick Castellanos collected three hits, and Alec Bohm extended his hitting streak to 13 games while raising his July average to a league leading (for the month) .436 (27 for 62).

Featured Card:  I'll give Hall the card here as the rookie has produced following his promotion when Bryce Harper landed on the injured list.  Hall has an .819 OPS since making his debut on June 29th, with six doubles, a triple and five home runs.  This is one of two Topps Now cards he's already received so far in his brief big league career.

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

2022 Chachi #47 Darick Hall

#25
Darick Hall
Designated Hitter

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'4"  Weight:  250
Opening Day Age:  26
Born:  July 25, 1995, Hereford, AZ
How Obtained:  Selected by the Phillies in the 14th round of the June 2016 amateur player draft
Major League Teams:  Philadelphia Phillies 2022

First Phillies Minor League Card:  2016 Choice Williamsport Crosscutters #13
First Phillies Card:  2019 Bowman Chrome Talent Pipeline #TP-PHI
Newest Card Added:  2022 Topps Now #445
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A

15 - Hall baseball cards in my collection per The Phillies Room Checklist as of 7/19/22.

Complete Chachi Checklist
2017 Chachi BlueClaws Signing Autographs #3
2022 Chachi #47

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

2022 Chachi #46 Oscar Mercado / 2022 Chachi #48 Rafael Marchan

Game 77 - Hall, Phils Unload on Braves

2022 Topps Now #442

Phillies 14, Braves 4
Game 77 - Thursday Night, June 30th in Philadelphia
Record - 40-37, 3rd Place, 7 1/2 games behind the Mets

Post-Vacation Catch-Up Post 6 of 11

One Sentence Summary:  Led by the recently promoted Darick Hall, the Phillies offense came back to life in this 14-4 romp over the Braves.

What It Means:  The Phillies salvaged the series against the Braves, avoiding a three-game sweep.  The Cardinals would come into town next for a crucial four-game series.  Per a Tweet from the Phillies Notes account, the team finished June with 43 home runs, which is tied for third for most in a calendar month in franchise history.  Their 19 wins in June were the most in a calendar month since winning 21 games in September 2010.

What Happened:  The Phillies scored seven runs in the second inning, capped by a two-run double from Matt Vierling and a three-run home run from Nick Castellanos.  Kyle Schwarber and Rhys Hoskins both homered in the third inning, and Hall connected for his first hit, home run, run and RBI in the fourth.  He'd collect his second hit, and his second home run, in the eighth inning.

Featured Card:  I'm playing catch-up with these game summary posts, which means I already have the Topps Now card Hall received for his performance in hand.  According to this card, Hall became the first Phillies player in franchise history to record his first two big league hits via the long ball.  However, I don't think that's entirely true.  Todd Zolecki would Tweet out the following day, following Hall's third home run, that Hall was the second Phillies player since 1900 whose first three career hits were home runs, joining Ed Sanicki who did it in 1949.

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

Game 39 - Phillies Offense Continues to be AWOL

2021 Choice Lehigh Valley
IronPigs #12

Dodgers 4, Phillies 1
Game 39 - Friday Night, May 20th in Philadelphia
Record - 18-21, Tied for 2nd Place, 7 1/2 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  With Bryce Harper missing his fifth straight game, the offense was nowhere to be found in this 4-1 loss to the Dodgers.

What It Means:  The Phillies as a team are struggling mightily at the plate.  Before scoring their ninth inning run in this game, they had been shutout for over 40 consecutive innings.

What Happened:  Ranger Suarez labored and was lifted after only three innings, having allowed three runs on five hits.  But the bullpen, led by four scoreless innings from Nick Nelson and James Norwood, kept the Phillies in this game.  Unfortunately, the Phillies couldn't string together any meaningful hits and were nearly shut out again until J.T. Realmuto delivered an RBI double in the ninth.

Featured Card:  I'd give Darick Hall a shot.  The slugging first baseman is batting .280 for Triple-A Lehigh Valley with 14 home runs and 45 RBIs.  He's been in the Phillies system since 2016, and calling him up to inject some life into a lifeless line-up couldn't hurt.

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

Spring Training Game 1 - Baseball is Back!

2021 Choice Lehigh Valley
IronPigs Update #14

Phillies 6, Tigers 6
Spring Training Game 1 - Friday Afternoon, March 18th in Lakeland
Record - 0-0-1

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies received home runs from Darick Hall and Matt Kroon as they played to a tie against the Tigers in Lakeland.

What It Means:  After another long offseason, which included a 99-day lock-out by the owners, baseball is back!  Spring training games this year will be played over only three weeks, and the start of the regular season will be pushed back a week as a residual effect of the lock-out.  I'm thrilled to be able to compose these daily game summary posts for another year.

What Happened:  None of the team's veterans made the trip for this game, which featured quite a few prospects and non-roster invitees.  Michael Kelly received the start for the Phillies and he pitched two scoreless innings.  The offense had 12 hits, including a pair from Justin Williams.

Featured Card:  I'd love to see Hall got a shot with the Phillies at some point.  He's collected 98 minor league home runs with the organization since his professional debut back in 2016.

First pitch of the spring to Jhailyn Ortiz

Camp Head Count:  58

The Phillies' official website has gotten progressively worse over the years in updating its roster and transactions pages.  Memorialized below are the 58 players in camp with the club as Grapefruit League action began.  New acquisition Kyle Schwarber has yet to be added to the 40-man roster.

Right-handed pitchers (21) - Cam Bedrosian*, Andrew Bellatti*, Connor Brogdon, Sam Coonrod, Tyler Cyr*, Nick Duron*, Joe Gatto*, Hans Crouse, Seranthony Dominguez, Zach Eflin, Jeurys Familia, Kyle Gibson, Michael Kelly*, Corey Knebel, Dillon Maples*, James McArthur, Francisco Morales, Nick Nelson, Jake Newberry*, Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler

Left-handed pitchers (10) - Jose Alvarado, Kyle Dohy*, Kent Emanuel, Bailey Falter, Brad Hand, Damon Jones, Braeden Ogle*, Cristopher Sanchez, Ryan Sherriff, Ranger Suarez

Catchers (6) - Edgar Cabral*, Rafael Marchan, Logan O'Hoppe*, J.T. Realmuto, Donny Sands, Garrett Stubbs

Infielders (11) - Alec Bohm, Johan Camargo, Luis Garcia, Didi Gregorius, Darick Hall*, Rhys Hoskins, Scott Kingery*, Nick Maton, Yairo Munoz*, Jean Segura, Bryson Stott*

Outfielders (10) - Bryce Harper, Adam Haseley, Odubel Herrera, Mickey Moniak, Simon Muzziotti, Jhailyn Ortiz, Johan Rojas*, Matt Vierling, Justin Williams*, Luke Williams

JoJo Romero (lhp) is on the 60-day injured list, recovering from Tommy John surgery.  On Friday, Yoan Lopez (rhp) was claimed by the Marlins off waivers after being designated for assignment to make room for Odubel Herrera (of), resigned to a one-year contract.

*Non-roster invitee

Spring Training Game 3 - 2018 Topps Pro Debut #185 Darick Hall

Blue Jays 4, Phillies 2 (6 Innings)
Spring Training Game 3 - Tuesday Afternoon, March 2nd in Dunedin
Record - 0-2-1

One Sentence Summary:  Zack Wheeler threw two scoreless innings in his spring debut as the Phillies lost to the Blue Jays in an abbreviated six-inning game.

What It Means:  Teams have been given the option to play only six or seven innings over the first few weeks of spring training, and it seems as if the Phillies are taking advantage of that option.  

What Happened:  Bailey Falter and Cristopher Sanchez gave up the four Blue Jays runs, with Adonis Medina and Damon Jones joining Wheeler in throwing scoreless frames.  Odubel Herrera returned to the Phillies line-up for the first time since his suspension for domestic abuse.  Batting fifth, Herrera had a single and stole a base.

Featured Card:  Mini-camper Darrick Hall's double in the fifth drove in Herrera and C.J. Chatham, the only two runs the Phillies would score in this game.  I'm looking forward to so many things in 2021, including hopefully the return of minor league games and minor league baseball card team sets.  With no minor league games in 2020, and therefore no minor league team sets, most of the Phillies minor leaguers, including Hall, have not had a baseball card appearance since 2019.  This is Hall's card from the 2018 Topps Pro Debut set.

Camp Head Count:  73

2021 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2021 Chachi Set Checklist

15 Prospects Coming to Camp as Non-Roster Invitees

2019 Choice Reading Fightin Phils #1

2019 Grandstand Reading Fightin Phils #10

2019 R-Phils Phillies Top 25 Prospects #5

2019 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs #10

2019 Choice Reading Fightin Phils #7

Right on schedule, the Phillies released a list of 15 prospects invited to camp as non-roster invitees.  These 15 join the list of the prior four (officially) announced invitees.  For this next batch, instead of listing out their last major baseball card appearance, I've listed their most recent card added to my collection as most of these guys are still waiting for their first major baseball card appearance.

For me, the two most interesting names on this list are Alec Bohm and Spencer Howard, as both have a realistic chance of contributing to the 2020 Phillies.  Bohm could be the team's regular third baseman at some point this upcoming season while Howard could find himself in the starting pitching rotation.

2019 Topps Heritage Minor League #27

2018 Choice Lakewood BlueClaws #13

2019 Choice Reading Fightin Phils #12

2019 Choice Reading Fightin Phils #13

2019 Grandstand Clearwater Threshers #6

Player (position) - 2019 Organization - Last Major Baseball Card Appearance

1.  Phil Gosselin (inf) - Phillies - 2017 Topps Heritage #135 (Diamondbacks)

2.  Josh Harrison (inf) - Tigers - 2019 Topps Heritage #552 (Tigers)

3.  Mikie Mahtook (of) - Tigers - 2019 Topps #477 (Tigers)

4.  Matt Szczur (of) - Diamondbacks - 2018 Topps Heritage #528 (Padres)

Player (position) - 2019 Organization - Last Card Added to Collection

5.  Alec Bohm (inf) - Phillies - 2019 Choice Reading Fightin Phils #1

6.  Connor Brogdon (rhp) - Phillies - 2019 Grandstand Clearwater Threshers #44

7.  Kyle Dohy (lhp) - Phillies - 2019 R-Phils Phillies Top 25 Prospects #5

8.  Tyler Gilbert (lhp) - Phillies - 2019 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs #10
9.  Darick Hall (1b) - Phillies - 2019 Choice Reading Fightin Phils #7
10.  Spencer Howard (rhp) - Phillies - 2019 Topps Heritage Minor League #27
11.  Damon Jones (lhp) - Phillies - 2018 Choice Lakewood BlueClaws #13
12.  Henri Lartigue (c) - Phillies - 2019 Choice Reading Fightin Phils #12
13.  Austin Listi (1b-of) - Phillies - 2019 Choice Reading Fightin Phils #13
14.  Nick Maton (ss) - Phillies - 2019 Grandstand Clearwater Threshers #6
15.  Mickey Moniak (of) - Phillies - 2019 Choice Reading Fightin Phils #15
16.  Ramon Rosso (rhp) - Phillies - 2019 Choice Reading Fightin Phils #19
17.  Addison Russ (rhp) - Phillies - 2019 Choice Reading Fightin Phils #20
18.  Zach Warren (lhp) - Phillies - 2019 Grandstand Clearwater Threshers #33
19.  Luke Williams (inf-of) - Phillies - 2019 Choice Reading Fightin Phils #23

2019 Choice Reading Fightin Phils #15

2019 Choice Reading Fightin Phils #19

2019 Choice Reading Fightin Phils #20

2019 Grandstand Clearwater Threshers #33

2019 Choice Reading Fightin Phils #23