New York Mets at Philadelphia Phillies: Big Weekend at the Bank

2006 Topps #207

2026 Chachi Previews #3

Thursday, June 18th - 6:40
Saturday, June 20th - 7:15
Sunday, June 21st - 7:20

Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA
The Phillies will have a rare Friday off-day thanks to the World Cup Tournament being in town.  Thursday night is Pride Night at the ballpark and on Sunday, all men will receive a Phillies hat as part of Father's Appreciation Day.

New York Mets 33-41
5th Place in the N.L. East, 14 games behind the Braves

Mets Probables
Sean Manaea (1-2, 4.78)
Freddy Peralta (5-5, 3.90)
TBD

Mets Leaders
Average:  Juan Soto - .297
Runs:  Bo Bichette - 39
Home Runs:  Juan Soto - 15
RBIs:  Bo Bichette - 42
Stolen Bases:  Carson Benge - 10

Wins:  Freddy Peralta - 5
ERA:  Nolan McLean - 3.67

Strikeouts:  Nolan McLean - 97
Saves:  Devin Williams - 10

Philadelphia Phillies 40-34
2nd Place in the N.L. East, 7 games behind the Braves

Phillies Probables
Aaron Nola (3-4, 5.86)
Cristopher Sanchez (8-3, 1.82)
Zack Wheeler (6-1, 2.01)

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Brandon Marsh - .323
Runs:  Bryce Harper - 48
Home Runs:  Kyle Schwarber - 25
RBIs:  Kyle Schwarber - 43
Stolen Bases:  Trea Turner - 15

Wins:  Cristopher Sanchez - 8
ERA:  Cristopher Sanchez - 1.82

Strikeouts:  Cristopher Sanchez - 116
Saves:  Jhoan Duran - 18

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

Series Preview - Mets at Phillies: August 14th to August 16th

2020 Chachi Fan Favorites #16

2020 Chachi 1991 Topps Missing Links #4

Friday 7:05, Saturday 6:05 and Sunday 1:05
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

At the Ballpark:  Our family's cutouts are concerned about getting wet this weekend.  When they've showed close-ups of the cutouts on the TV broadcasts, it's clear they've been zip tied to the back of the seats, so at least they won't blow away.  If the Phillies continue to play poorly, I wonder if we could request our cutouts be moved to Bull's BBQ so we could at least enjoy a good virtual meal.

Mets 9-11
3rd Place in the N.L. East, 3 games behind the Marlins

Mets Probables
Jacob deGrom (2-0, 2.45)
Steven Matz (0-3, 8.20)
Rick Porcello (1-2, 5.68)

Mets Leaders
Average:  Michael Conforto - .333
Runs:  Brandon Nimmo - 14
Home Runs:  Dominic Smith - 4
RBIs:  Dominic Smith - 12
Stolen Bases:  Andres Gimenez - 5

Wins:  David Peterson - 3
ERA:  Jacob deGrom - 2.45
Strikeouts:  Jacob deGrom - 28
Saves:  Seth Lugo - 3

Phillies 5-9
5th Place in the N.L. East, 4 games behind the Marlins

Phillies Probables
Spencer Howard (0-1, 7.71)
Aaron Nola (1-1, 2.79)
Zack Wheeler (2-0, 2.89)

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Bryce Harper - .356
Runs:  Bryce Harper - 15
Home Runs:  J.T. Realmuto - 7
RBIs:  J.T. Realmuto - 17
Stolen Bases:  Bryce Harper - 2

Wins:  Zack Wheeler - 2
ERA:  Aaron Nola - 2.79

Strikeouts:  Aaron Nola - 29
Saves:  Hector Neris - 2

Game 88 - 2018 Chachi Fan Favorites #3 Ty Kelly (@ArchesNPS)

Mets 4, Phillies 3 (Game 1, 10 Innings)
Game 88 - Monday Afternoon, July 9th in Flushing
Record - 49-39, Tied for 1st place, 5 1/2 games ahead of the Nationals

Massive, Meandering Post-Vacation Catch-Up, Part 9 of 11

One Sentence Summary:  Wilmer Flores hit a walk-off home run in the 10th off Victor Arano to give the Mets a Game 1, 4-3 victory.

What It Means:  Zach Eflin's streak of winning pitching performances was broken, as he allowed three runs in his five innings of work on the way to a no decision.

What Happened:  The Phillies offense couldn't capitalize on plenty of opportunities, going 2 for 13 with runners in scoring position.  Nick Williams had three hits and Maikel Franco hit a solo home run (11) in the 4th.

Featured Card:  Phillies Room favorite Ty Kelly was the 26th man added to the Mets roster for this double header.  He entered the game at third base as part of a double switch in the 5th, eventually going 0 for 2 at the plate.  (This card was originally featured in a post from early March.)

Transaction:  Drew Anderson was sent back to the IronPigs with Hoby Milner taking his spot on the roster.  Jake Thompson was also recalled to serve as the 26th man on the roster for the Phillies.

Field Report:  We spent the morning exploring Arches National Park in Moab, and I'm proud to report we made the difficult trek out to Delicate Arch.  It was a brutal hike, but definitely worth it once we got there.  Many bottles of water later, we piled back into our rental car and started the drive towards Denver, making a pitstop for the night in Glenwood Springs, Colorado.  We were able to listen to a portion of the Phillies broadcast of this double header through the At Bat app, and it was a little surreal to hear Scott Franzke's voice and we drove up and down through canyons, mountain ranges and valleys.

Tracking the Ex-Phillies - Featuring Utley, Revere, Fasano, Schu and More!

One of my annual habits is to review the complete rosters of all 30 Major League teams, paying particular attention to see where former Phillies have ended up.  I'll review the 40-man rosters, the non-roster invitees and the coaches pages on each team's website.  Even though I do this every year, I don't always formalize my findings in a post, but it seemed like a good idea this year to give me an excuse to create a few custom cards.

Presented below, at least by my unofficial tally, are the former Phillies players in camp across the majors this spring.  I'm only tracking those players (or coaches/managers) who spent time with the Phillies.  So while Jesse Biddle is in camp with the Braves, he won't appear on the list below as he never played for the big club.  (And I think some of these players may have already moved on.)

N.L. East
Atlanta Braves:  Sal Fasano - catching coach
Miami Marlins:  Tylor Cloyd - rhp (NRI), Brian Schneider - catching coach
New York Mets:  Ruben Amaro Jr. - first base coach, Ty Kelly - inf (NRI)
Washington Nationals:  Joaquin Benoit - rhp, Reid Brignac - inf (NRI) , Howie Kendrick - of, Ryan Madson - rhp

N.L. Central
Chicago Cubs:  Peter Bourjos - of (NRI)
Cincinnati Reds:  Billy Hatcher - third base coach, David Hernandez - rhp, Ben Revere - of (NRI), Darnell Sweeney - of (NRI), Vance Worley - rhp (NRI)
Milwaukee Brewers:  None
Pittsburgh Pirates:  Daniel Nava - of (NRI), Tom Prince - bench coach, Kevin Siegrist - lhp (NRI)
St. Louis Cardinals:  John Mabry - hitting coach, Mike Maddux - pitching coach


N.L. West
Arizona Diamondbacks:  Antonio Bastardo - lhp (NRI), Torey Lovullo - manager, Humberto Quintero - bullpen catcher
Colorado Rockies:  None
Los Angeles Dodgers:  Chase Utley - inf, Turner Ward - hitting coach
San Diego Padres:  A.J. Ellis - c (NRI), Freddy Galvis - inf, Michael Mariot - rhp (NRI), Matt Stairs - hitting coach
San Francisco Giants:  Andres Blanco - inf (NRI), Chase d'Arnaud - inf (NRI) Hunter Pence - of, Rich Schu - assistant hitting coach

A.L. East
Baltimore Orioles:  Alec Asher - rhp, Roger McDowell - pitching coach, Joely Rodriguez - lhp (NRI), John Russell - bench coach
Boston Red Sox:  Ron Roenicke - bench coach
New York Yankees:  Erik Kratz - c
Tampa Bay Rays:  Dustin McGowan - rhp (NRI), Colton Murray - rhp (NRI)
Toronto Blue Jays:  Ezequiel Carrera - of, J.A. Happ - lhp


A.L. Central
Chicago White Sox:  Jeanmar Gomez - rhp (NRI)
Cleveland Indians:  Terry Francona - manager, Michael Martinez - inf (NRI), Brad Mills - bench coach
Detroit Tigers:  Daniel Stumpf - lhp
Kansas City Royals:  Cody Asche - dh (NRI). Michael Saunders - of, Dale Sveum - bench coach
Minnesota Twins:  Taylor Featherston - inf (NRI), Brock Stassi - inf (NRI)

A.L. West
Houston Astros:  Ken Giles - rhp, A.J. Hinch - manager, Charlie Morton - rhp
Los Angeles Angels:  JC Ramirez - rhp
Oakland Athletics:  Brandon Moss - dh
Seattle Mariners:  Juan Nicasio - rhp, Cameron Perkins - of
Texas Rangers:  Jake Diekman - lhp, Cole Hamels - lhp, Dan Warthen - assistant pitching coach

Updated Roster Moves - Kelly, Blanco & Nava Find New Homes

2018 Chachi Departures #6

2018 Chachi Departures #7

2018 Chachi Departures #8

Three more members of the 2017 Phillies squad found new homes in recent weeks, and I wanted to update my offseason player tracker below before pitchers and catchers officially report to Clearwater on Wednesday.

Andres Blanco had been in the Phillies system since 2012.  A team leader in the clubhouse, Blanco played in 301 games for the Phils, appearing at every position except catcher, center field and right field.  He batted .257 and was one of the more reliable pinch-hitters over the past few seasons.  Appearing mainly in the team-issued sets, Blanco did receive Phillies baseball cards in a few Topps sets between 2015 and 2017.  Blanco signed a minor league deal with the Giants.

Ty Kelly became a quick Phillies Room favorite for his incredibly clutch hitting and for never failing to sign a pre-game autograph for my oldest son Doug.  In 69 games for the Phils, Kelly hit .193 and his Phillies cardboard legacy is limited to a card within the Topps Now set and the late season, team-issued photo card set.  Kelly is returning to the Mets as a non-roster invitee.

Finally, outfielder Daniel Nava signed a minor league deal with the Pirates.  Nava was limited to just 80 games with the Phillies last season due to lingering back issues.  His sole mainstream Phillies baseball card can be found within the 2017 Topps Heritage High Numbers set.

By my unofficial tally below, the only recent ex-Phillies still looking for new teams are Henderson Alvarez, Kevin Siegrist and Clay Buchholz.

2017 Phillies Team Issue
Update #15

Ty Kelly Complete Chachi Checklist
2017 Chachi #39
2017 Chachi In Action #1
2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #6 and Signature Edition
2017 Chachi Archives #8
2018 Chachi Departures #6

Andres Blanco Complete Chachi Checklist
2014 Chachi #56
2015 Chachi #11
2016 Chachi #12
2016 Chachi Archives #2
2016 Chachi Photo Day #36
2017 Chachi #11
2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #19 (with Jerad Eickhoff)
2017 Chachi Photo Night #15
2018 Chachi Departures #7

Daniel Nava Complete Chachi Checklist
2017 Chachi #14
2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #21
2017 Chachi Photo Night #18
2018 Chachi Departures #8

Moving On - 2017-2018 Offseason

• Henderson Alvarez - rhp (10/4/17) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency.
• Ty Kelly - 2b-of (10/4/17) - Outrighted off 40-man roster, elected free agency and signed as a minor league free agent with the New York Mets, 1/22/18.
• Kevin Siegrist - lhp (10/4/17) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency.
• Andres Blanco - inf (11/2/17) - Elected free agency and signed as a minor league free agent with the San Francisco Giants, 1/30/18.
• Clay Buchholz - rhp (11/2/17) - Elected free agency.
• Hyun Soo Kim - of (11/2/17) - Elected free agency, signed with the LG Twins of the Korea Baseball Organization, 12/18/17.
• Daniel Nava - of (11/2/17) - Elected free agency, signed as a minor league free agent with the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2/6/18.
• Jesen Therrien - rhp (11/6/17) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency, signed as a minor league free agent with the Los Angeles Dodgers, 11/29/17.
• Michael Mariot - rhp (11/6/17) - Elected free agency, signed as a minor league free agent with the San Diego Padres, 11/29/17.
• Colton Murray - rhp (11/6/17) - Elected free agency, signed as a minor league free agent with the Tampa Bay Rays, 12/14/17.
• Brock Stassi - 1b (11/6/17) - Elected free agency, signed as a minor league free agent with the Minnesota Twins, 12/7/17.
• Cameron Perkins - of (12/11/17) - Claimed off waivers by the Seattle Mariners.
• Freddy Galvis - ss (12/15/17) - Traded to the San Diego Padres for Enyel De Los Santos.

Coming Back - 2017-2018 Offseason

• Pedro Florimon - inf-of (11/13/17) - Signed to a minor league contract.
• Pedro Beato - rhp (12/22/17) - Signed to a minor league contract.

New Additions - 2017-2018 Offseason

• Engelb Vielma - inf (11/20/17) - Claimed off waivers from the San Francisco Giants.
• Pat Neshek - rhp (12/15/17) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the Colorado Rockies.
• Tommy Hunter - rhp (12/15/17) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the Tampa Bay Rays.
• Carlos Santana - 1b (12/20/17) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the Cleveland Indians.

Already Gone - 2017-2018 Offseason

• Engelb Vielma - inf (12/11/17) - Claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

First Phillies Moves of the Offseason

While nine teams were gearing up for the postseason (sorry Twins), the Phillies were busy making their first roster moves of the offseason.  Phillies Room favorite Ty Kelly was outrighted off the 40-man roster and opted for free agency.  Joining him on the outright and opt for free agency list were pitchers Henderson Alvarez and Kevin Siegrist.  The moves drop the number of players on the 40-man roster down to 37, with seven players still on the 60-day disabled list.

Kelly had a knack for coming up with clutch hits throughout the season, and in 69 games he hit .193 (17 for 88) with a pair of home runs.  His playing time dwindled with the arrival of several top prospects, and the last game Kelly started was way back on July 16th.  He earned two Phillies cards for his efforts - one in the team-issued update set and the Topps Now card featured here showcasing his game-winning hit from July 29th.  Kelly is a favorite in our household as he never denied an autograph request from our son Doug throughout the season.

Siegrist had seven relief appearances with the Phillies following the team picking him up on a waiver claim on September 2nd.  Alvarez started three games for the Phillies in his first big league action since 2015.  He went 0-1 with a 4.30 in those three starts.  Both Siegrist and Alvarez join the long and distinguished list of former Phillies Missing Links, as neither of them will likely ever appear on an official Phillies baseball card.

Moving On - 2017-2018 Offseason

• Henderson Alvarez - rhp (10/4/17) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency.
• Ty Kelly - 2b-of (10/4/17) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency.
• Kevin Siegrist - lhp (10/4/17) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency.

Doug "Interviews" Gregg Murphy; Ben Successfully Nabs Water Ice

Phillies 7, Nationals 5
Game 159 - Wednesday Night, September 27th in Philadelphia
Record - 64-95, 5th place, 31 1/2 games behind the Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies used two separate three-run innings to overcome the Nationals in this 7-5 victory.

What It Means:  The Phils took the series from the division-winning Nationals, and they'll close out the season with a final weekend series against the Mets at home.

What Happened:  The offense had three big hits in this game - Jorge Alfaro's two-run double in the second, Aaron Altherr's two-run triple in the fifth and then Odubel Herrera's double to bring home Altherr.  Yacksel Rios picked up his first Major League win in relief after starting pitcher Mark Leiter, Jr. failed to complete five innings.  Hector Neris recorded his 26th save.

Doug's autograph haul. Morandini signed the sweet spot of one of Doug's baseballs.

Field Report/Featured Cards:  The whole family attended this game, as we found ourselves with a rare week night off.  Doug positioned himself at his now-usual spot at the corner of the Phillies dugout, and scored autographs (all repeats) from coaches Larry Bowa, Mickey Morandini and Juan Samuel along with players Ty Kelly and Neris.  Kudos to all those guys for never failing to sign this season for Doug whenever he's asked for an autograph.

Doug also got to "interview" Phillies TV broadcaster Gregg Murphy before the game.  Doug asked Murphy for a picture and Murphy obliged only after asking Doug to hold his microphone.  For that, and for being a genuinely good guy, Murphy earns a Chachi Fan Favorites card along with frequent autograph signer Neris.

As for our youngest son Ben, he hasn't caught the autograph bug like Doug, but he was still very happy with his nachos, crab fries and water ice.

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #6 Ty Kelly - Signature Edition

Phillies 4, Braves 3 (11)
Game 101 - Saturday Night, July 29th in Philadelphia
Record - 37-64, 5th place, 24 games behind the Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  Odubel Herrera tied up the game in the ninth with a solo home run and Ty Kelly delivered a game-winning hit in the 11th to give the Phillies a 4-3 win.

What It Means:  Don't look now, but the Phillies are playing decent baseball.

What Happened:  The Phils couldn't get much going early in the ballgame, finding themselves down 3-1 heading to the bottom of the eighth.  Aaron Altherr singled home Cesar Hernandez to get the team to within a run, setting up Herrera's heroics in the bottom of the ninth. Singles by Tommy Joseph and Herrera, followed by a walk to Cameron Rupp, loaded the bases for pinch-hitter Kelly in the 11th.  He delivered, and the on-field celebration commenced!

Featured Cards/Field Report:  We were there and let it be known that if you sign an autograph for Doug before the game, you have a really good chance of doing something big.  Doug spent an hour before the game autograph hunting and came away with signatures of coaches Mickey Morandini and Juan Samuel (both repeat signers), Cameron Perkins (repeat signer), Herrera, Kelly and new Phillie Jessen Therrien.  I'm fairly certain this could be the first autograph Therrien has signed as a major leaguer.

2017 Topps Phillies #PHI-10

2017 Topps #38 (Quin-Sig version)

2017 Grandstand Reading Fightin Phils #29

Kelly liked his custom card from the Phillies Phestival, pausing to look at it and telling Doug, "This is really cool!"  Doug is particularly proud of his quintuple-signature card which features autographs from Kelly, Samuel, Morandini, Perkins and Phillies broadcaster Gregg Murphy.  (The Kelly and Murphy autographs were from previous games.)

Transaction:  Pitcher Pedro Beato was recalled from Lehigh Valley to take the roster spot of Jeremy Hellickson.  The Phillies played with 24 players in this game as new outfielder Hyun Soo Kim had not yet arrived in Philadelphia.

Phillies Debuts:  Therrien and Beato both made their debuts.  Therrien is the 10th player making his Major League debut for the Phillies this season.

18.  Jesen Therrien (rhp) - Relieved Jerad Eickhoff in the sixth, allowing a hit and striking out one (Micah Johnson).
19.  Pedro Beato (rhp) - Relieved Hoby Milner in the eighth and retired the only two batters he faced before leaving the game with a hamstring injury.  It was Beato's first appearance in the majors since 2014.

Righteous! 2017 Chachi Archives Cards . . . with a Twist!

Phillies 7, Padres 1
Game 87 - Sunday Afternoon, July 9th in Philadelphia
Record - 29-58, 5th place, 22 1/2 games behind the Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies blasted six (!) home runs in this 7-1 win over the Padres as Jerad Eickhoff notched his first win of the season.

What It Means:  The first half of the 2017 season is thankfully in the books for the Phillies.

What Happened:  Eickhoff had it easy in this game, getting plenty of run support on the way to his first victory.  He struck out eight in his five innings.  Home runs came from Nick Williams (his first), Cameron Rupp (6), two from Freddy Galvis (9 and 10), Odubel Herrera (6) and Aaron Altherr (14). It was the first time the Phillies had six home runs in a game since August 11, 2004.  Homering that day were Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Jim Thome (2) and pitcher Randy Wolf (2).

Featured Card:  This is a first for my custom Chachi series of cards, and I'm not sure what took me so long.  Since my custom card sets' inception in 2005, every card I've created has featured a past Topps design.  I wanted to use a 1983 baseball card design for this weekend's retro uniform games, but I didn't like the way the 1983 Topps customs were looking.  The big picture was fine, but the small portrait picture looked silly with the modern "P" on the player's hats.  (And I had already produced a full "set" of Chachi cards back in 2011 using this design.)

So I went with another option from 1983, the design of the 1983 Donruss set.  Using the photos from Friday night and Sunday afternoon that I could find from the game, I created an 11-card limited edition Chachi Archives set.  Now that a non-Topps set has made its debut within the Chachi family of cards, perhaps I'll branch out to other years and brands with future creations.

Transaction:  Ben Lively was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley to make room for the activated Eickhoff.

2017 Chachi #39 Ty Kelly

#15
Tyler Patrick Kelly
Outfield-Infield

Bats:  Switch  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  180
Born:  July 20, 1988, Dallas, TX
Drafted:  Selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 13th round of the June 2009 draft
Teams:  New York Mets 2016-2017; Phillies 2017
Acquired:  Purchased from the Toronto Blue Jays, April 22, 2017

0 Kelly Baseball Cards in My Collection per The Phillies Room Checklist
First Card:  N/A
First Phillies Card:  N/A
First Topps Flagship Base Card:  N/A
First Phillies Team Issued Card:  N/A
Latest Card:  N/A

Complete Chachi Checklist
2017 Chachi #39
2017 Chachi In Action #1
2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #6

Card statistics through 6/20/17.

2017 Chachi In Action #1 Ty Kelly

Phillies 4, Nationals 3 (Game 1)
Game 34 - Sunday Afternoon, May 14th in Washington
Record - 14-20, 3rd place, 8 games behind the Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  The Phils battled back with three ninth inning runs, capped by Ty Kelly's big single, to beat the Nationals, 4-3.

What It Means:  After losing 11 of their last 13, hopefully this is the start of a good stretch for the Phillies.

What Happened:  The bullpen trio of Joely Rodriguez, Joaquin Benoit and Hector Neris held the Nationals scoreless for four innings after Jeremy Hellickson departed.  Down 3-0, Tommy Joseph got the Phillies on the board with his solo home run (5) in the seventh.  Aaron Altherr homered (8) to start the ninth.  Maikel Franco and Cameron Rupp added back-to-back doubles.  With Andrew Knapp running for Rupp, Freddy Galvis walked and Kelly came up with his big, game-winning hit.

Featured Card:  Kelly earns an official Chachi In Action card for his efforts, which shows off the pink accented uniforms worn this Mother's Day weekend.

Transaction:  The Phillies added Ben Lively to the active roster to serve as the 26th man given the double header on Sunday.

Highlights from the 2017 Phillies Phestival (Part 1) #StrikeOutALS

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #10

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #4

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #1

On Thursday afternoon, we attended our first Phillies Phestival at Citizens Bank Park.  This annual event, which the Phillies have held every year since 1984, features games, giveaways, photo opportunities and autograph tables with all proceeds benefitting research into striking out ALS.  The Phillies raised $656,600 at the Phestival, adding to their $17 million total raised since 1984.

Before we entered the left field gate right before 4pm and again as we were leaving right after 6pm, my wife Jenna summed up my exact thoughts by saying, "I can't believe you've never done that before."

Armed with nine autograph tickets, we split into two groups with Jenna and Ben in search of a Maikel Franco autograph (Ben's favorite player) and Doug and me in search of as many autographs as possible.  Doug came away with over 20 autographs, Ben ultimately got to meet Franco and I came away with a lot of great memories and some terrific pictures.  I made a limited edition Chachi card set to commemorate the day, and I'll split the set into two separate posts starting with this one.

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #2

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #3

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #5

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #6

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #7

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #8

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #9

Some highlights and random thoughts:

• When Ben met John Kruk he informed Kruk he'd rather be getting an autograph from Franco, his favorite player.  Kruk actually tried to get a ticket for Ben, was unsuccessful, and told him to stop back later . . .

• . . . Which Ben did, securing an autograph and a picture with his favorite player!

• The newly acquired Ty Kelly had nothing for anyone to sign.  Paired up with Larry Bowa, Kelly signed a Phillies team card for Doug.

• Doug informed Bowa he'd be making the big leagues one day to which Bowa responded with a fist pump and told him to "Get it."  Bowa was happy to hear that Doug's best position was third base.

• Jerad Eickhoff seemed a little punchy, photobombing our picture with Andres Blanco.

• Mickey Morandini and Tommy Joseph both told Doug they really liked his hair.

• Daniel Nava was very impressed when Doug referred to him as Mr. Nava.  "First kid to do that all day," he mentioned.

2017 Topps Now #23

• Doug's favorite new autographed card is the dual signature Topps Now card of Howie Kendrick and Joseph.  Honestly, the kid can't stop looking at it and remarking, "This is so cool."

• We bought a number of $20 grab bags and the boys scored autographed hats from Nick Williams, Dylan Cozens, Vince Velasquez and Jeremy Hellickson.  We also received two of the special edition Greg Luzinski bobble heads.

• Special photo cards were created for Zach Eflin, Mark Leiter, Jr., and Nick Pivetta, given that those pitchers were omitted from the first series team issued set.  I grabbed a Leiter, Jr. card but totally missed out on the Eflin and Pivetta cards.  Rookie mistake!  Next year, I'll look closer at the tables of those players not in the photo card set.  (Thanks to Rick and Steve for confirming the existence of these extra cards.)

• Team president Andy MacPhail was walking around personally thanking each of the players for their time at this event.  We had the chance to meet MacPhail towards the end of the event. He was extremely gracious and struck up a small conversation with Doug about his Little League season.

What a fantastic event and we'll be back next year!