Blue Jays at Phillies: May 9th to May 10th

2014 Topps Heritage #345

2014 Topps Heritage #17

Tuesday 6:40 and Wednesday 4:05
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

At the Ballpark:  It's yet another Dollar Dog Night on Tuesday.

Blue Jays 21-14
3rd Place in the A.L. East, 7 games behind the Rays

Blue Jays Probables
Alek Manoah (1-2, 4.71)
Kevin Gausman (2-3, 3.86)

Blue Jays Leaders
Average:  Matt Chapman - .349
Runs:  Bo Bichette - 25
Home Runs:  Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero - 7
RBIs:  Bo Bichette - 22
Stolen Bases:  Whit Merrifield - 7

Wins:  Yusei Kikuchi - 5
ERA:  Yusei Kikuchi - 3.35
Strikeouts:  Kevin Gausman - 58
Saves:  Jordan Romano - 9

Phillies 16-19
4th Place in the N.L. East, 8 games behind the Braves

Phillies Probables
Aaron Nola (2-2, 4.64)
Zack Wheeler (3-2, 4.26)

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Brandon Marsh - .314
Runs:  Nick Castellanos - 26
Home Runs:  Kyle Schwarber - 8
RBIs:  Alec Bohm - 25
Stolen Bases:  J.T. Realmuto - 5

Wins:  Taijuan Walker and Zack Wheeler - 3
ERA:  Zack Wheeler - 4.26

Strikeouts:  Zack Wheeler - 46
Saves:  Jose Alvarado - 5

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

3rd Annual Doug's Big Night of Autographs (Part 2)

Here are the rest of the cards I created featuring Phillies alumni signing for Doug during Saturday night's Wall of Fame celebration.


Memory Lane - Past Induction Ceremonies/Alumni Weekends

2009 - Harry Kalas

2010 - Darren Daulton

2011 - John Kruk

2012 - Mike Lieberthal

2013 - Curt Schilling

2014 - Charlie Manuel
2015 - Pat Burrell
2016 - Jim Thome
2017 - Tribute to Jim Bunning, Dallas Green and Darren Daulton
2018 - Roy Halladay and Pat Gillick
2019 - Bobby Abreu (Part One and Two)

2014 Topps Phillies

2014 Topps #502

2014 Topps #484

2014 Topps #312

2014 Topps #105

My oldest son Doug recently asked me to help him organize his quickly expanding baseball card collection.  I of course dropped everything and immediately obliged.  When sorting his cards into years, I had no problem identifying Topps cards up through 2010.  I was a little alarmed to discover that I had to check the backs of some of the cards to identify Topps flagship cards from between 2011 and 2014.  (As an aside, I had no issue identifying 2015 Topps cards, which I think is a good thing. And I know I won't have an issue picking out a card from the even more unique 2016 Topps set.)

2014 Topps #180 (Back)

Some people might love the Topps designs for the 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 sets, but I find the designs mostly forgettable.  My thought on the 2014 Topps set when it first came out was that it had way too much going on with the design elements on the front, and overall look reminded me of something I'd see in a recent Bowman set.

With that underwhelming assessment out of the way, let's take a look at the 2014 Topps Phillies cards.  I'll be all caught up with this series (finally) until the 2015 Topps Update set comes out next month.

The Set
Number of cards in the set:  For the ninth year in a row, Series 1 and Series 2 have 330 cards each with #7 omitted in honor of Mickey Mantle.  The Update Series adds another 330 cards.  It's important to note that I'm omitting any gimmick or short-printed cards in these tallies.  A number of star cards are available with a sparkle added to the photo on the front.
My very brief thoughts on the set:  In light of what would come after it, with the unique designs of the 2015 and 2016 Topps sets, this set's design comes off as uninspired and seemingly a mish-mosh of design elements Topps couldn't fit into other sets.  For the third year in a row, the backs of the cards are very plain.

2014 Topps #182

2014 Topps #4

2014 Topps #296

2014 Topps #180

2014 Phillies
Record and finish:  In manager Ryne Sandberg's first (and only) full season, the Phillies went 73-89, finishing in last place in the N.L. East, 23 games behind the Nationals.
Key players:  Chase Utley had a decent year, hitting .270 with 11 home runs and 78 RBIs and he was the team's sole representative at the All-Star game.  Marlon Byrd returned to his original team and led the way with 25 home runs.  Ryan Howard had 95 RBIs, but hit an awful .223 while Jimmy Rollins dipped down below .250 with a .243 average.

The pitching was rough to witness with Kyle Kendrick leading the staff with 10 wins and his 4.61 ERA was just a little worse than team leader A.J. Burnett's 4.59.  Burnett (8-18) was one and done with the Phillies in 2014, opting to take a severe pay cut to return to the Pirates for 2015.  Cole Hamels received very little run support, which explains his 9-9 record despite a 2.46 ERA in 30 starts.  Jonathan Papelbon recorded 39 saves.
Key events:  There were a few big events for the club in 2014 that kept the fans entertained.  First, on June 14th, Rollins collected his 2,235th career hit, eclipsing the franchise mark for most hits previously held by Mike Schmidt.  On Labor Day, Hamels combined with Jake Diekman, Ken Giles and Papelbon to throw a combined no-hitter against the Braves.

Finally, top prospect Maikel Franco made his Major League debut the day after the combined no-hitter on September 2nd.

2014 Phillies in 2014 Topps
Who's in:  The complete Phillies team set consists of 29 cards, broken down with 10 cards in Series 1, 11 cards in Series 2 and eight cards in the Update Series.  There are no short-printed, photo variation cards for any of the Phillies.

• Cards of the eight starting position players - 8 cards

#182 Carlos Ruiz (c), #105 Ryan Howard (1b), #502 Chase Utley (2b), #312 Jimmy Rollins (ss), #4 Cody Asche (3b), #296 Domonic Brown (lf), #180 Ben Revere (cf), #484 Marlon Byrd (rf)

2014 Topps #641

2014 Topps #196

2014 Topps #503

2014 Topps Update #US-281

• Cards of the starting pitching rotation - 4 cards

#641 A.J. Burnett, #196 Cole Hamels, #503 Kyle Kendrick, #US-281 David Buchanan

Roberto Hernandez, who started 23 games but was traded to the Dodgers in early August, got shut out from having a Phillies card.  It bugs me that Topps couldn't bother with an actual photo of Burnett in a Phillies uniform.  His base card is obviously photoshopped, and it still shows him wearing his gold and black Pirates necklaces.  Similarly annoying, but less egregious, is that Byrd's card features a photo from his first stint with the club from between 2002 and 2005.  Byrd wore #3 with the Phillies in 2014.

• Base cards of players who played with the Phillies in 2014 - 14 Cards

#74 John Mayberry Jr., #90 Ethan Martin, #122 Jonathan Papelbon, #345 Darin Ruf, #451 Luis Garcia, #609 Jonathan Pettibone, #629 Cliff Lee, #637 Freddy Galvis, #US-33 Grady Sizemore, #US-74 Antonio Bastardo, #US-77 Wil Nieves, #US-78 Reid Brignac, #US-129 Mike Adams, #US-181 Tony Gwynn Jr.

• Base cards of players who did not play with the Phillies in 2014 - 2 Cards

#498 Steve Susdorf, #565 Roy Halladay

• 2014 National League All-Star cards - 1 card, #US292 Chase Utley

2014 Topps #122

2014 Topps Update #US-33

2014 Topps #74

2014 Topps #637

Who's out:  I feel like Topps really picked up its game over the past decade in terms of player selection.  Once again, they did a nice job including a full array of Phillies players this season, from the bench guys to the bullpen.  Of the players not receiving cards, I'd include Cesar Hernandez (66 games), along with relievers Diekman, Justin De Fratus, Mario Hollands and Giles.

Phillies on other teams:  Jerome Williams (#US-236) is in the Update Series with the Rangers.

2014 Topps #498

What's he doing here:  I have no problem at all with the final tribute card for Halladay, showing his full career statistics.  Halladay announced his retirement prior to the 2014 season.  And I think it's great that career minor leaguer Susdorf ended up on a card.  Susdorf made it into three games with the 2013 Phillies after having spent 5 1/2 years in the Phillies minor league system.  He was released by the Triple-A IronPigs in July 2014.

Cards that never were candidates:  Both Hernandez's - Cesar and Roberto, Diekman, De Fratus, Hollands and Giles.  Just to amuse by oldest son Doug, I'd also have a card for reliever Jeff Manship.

Favorite Phillies card:  I really liked the Galvis card when I first saw it, but then it bothered me that you can't even see Galvis's face.  (Besides, I like to think I did this card better.)  I'll go with the Rollins card as my favorite, since it's his last Phillies card as an active player.  Rollins would be traded to the Dodgers in December following the season.

Other Stuff

Variations:  There are no variations to be found between the flagship, retail, Chrome and Opening Day sets.  After years of asking myself, "Well why did they bother to do that?", I find that I'm actually disappointed now when there are no strange, unexplained variations.

2013 Topps Phillies

2013 Topps #625

2013 Topps #26

2013 Topps #637

2013 Topps #367

Over the past few years, I've fallen into a pattern with these Topps Phillies posts where I ignore them throughout the year and then I rattle off a few years during the Phillies-less postseason.  The patten continues again this season.  While trying to stay up for Game 1 of the Dodgers-Mets N.L.D.S., I somehow found myself flipping through my 2013 Phillies binder.

2013 Topps #367 (Back)

The wheels completely fell off the Phillies in 2013 as they endured their first losing season since 2002.  Manager Charlie Manuel was dumped in mid-August right after winning his 1,000th career game and the non-productive Ryne Sandberg era began.

The Set
Number of cards in the set:  Both Series 1 and Series 2 have 330 cards with #7 once again omitted in honor of Mickey Mantle.  As such, the full set is numbered to 661.  The Update Series once again contains 330 cards.
My very brief thoughts on the set:  I was underwhelmed by the 2013 Topps set when it first came out, and almost three years later I find the set, like the 2013 Phillies season, fairly forgettable.  Night Owl Cards christened the set the "sea turtle set" since the curved home plate and baseball diamond in the bottom left corner vaguely resemble an abstract swimming turtle.  Once you see the turtle in the set's front border design, you can never un-see it.

2013 Topps #6

2013 Topps Update #US90

2013 Topps Update #US242

2013 Topps #206

2013 Phillies
Record and finish:  The Phillies finished fourth in the N.L. East, 23 games behind the Braves, with a record of 73-89.  As mentioned previously, Manuel was dismissed in mid-August and the brief Sandberg era began.
Key players:  Domonic Brown made his first and only All-Star team and he'd finish the season with a .272 average and team leading 27 home runs and 83 RBIs.  He hasn't touched those numbers since. Chase Utley hit .284 over 131 games and was second on the team in both home runs (18) and RBIs (69).  Carlos Ruiz (.268) had a solid year behind the plate while newcomer Ben Revere hit .305 with 22 stolen bases.

Cliff Lee (14-8, 2.87) and Cole Hamels (8-14, 3.60) led the pitching staff and third starter Kyle Kendrick contributed 10 wins.  In his final season, Roy Halladay struggled mightily, going 4-5 with a 6.82 ERA in 13 starts.  Jonathan Papelbon led the team with 29 saves with Antonio Bastardo (2.32 ERA, 2 saves) and Jake Diekman (2.58 ERA) serving as reliable relievers.

Key events:  Looking at the Chachi Highlight cards for the season, the most notable events include Halladay winning his 200th career game and walk-off home runs from Freddy Galvis and John Mayberry, Jr.  Outfielder Casper Wells and infielder John McDonald both pitched in an 18-inning loss to the Diamondbacks in August.

2013 Phillies in 2013 Topps
Who's in:  Series 1 and Series 2 each include 10 Phillies cards, with the Update Series adding 10 more for a total of 30.  There are three short-printed variation cards for Howard, Utley and John Kruk (in the Update Series).

• Cards of the eight starting position players - 8 cards

#367 Carlos Ruiz (c), #6 Ryan Howard (1b), #26 Chase Utley (2b), #206 Jimmy Rollins (ss), #US90 Michael Young, #625 Domonic Brown (lf), #637 Ben Revere (cf), #US242 Delmon Young (rf)

Michael Young's card is baffling, as it features a photo of him scoring the winning run in a thrilling 4-3 win over the Royals on April 6th.  We get a nice look at Young's back and short-term Phillie Ezequiel Carrera is to his left, but Young's face is completely obscured.

2013 Topps #33

2013 Topps #332

2013 Topps #71

2013 Topps #410

• Cards of the starting pitching rotation - 5 cards

#33 Cliff Lee, #332 Cole Hamels, #71 Kyle Kendrick, #US281 Jonathan Pettibone, #US280 John Lannan

• Base cards of players who played with the Phillies in 2013 - 12 cards

#83 Darin Ruf, #197 Tyler Cloyd, #361 Erik Kratz, #410 Roy Halladay, #424 Steven Lerud, #472 John Mayberry, #514 Jonathan Papelbon, #646 Phillippe Aumont, #US30 Mike Adams, #US58 Kevin Frandsen, #US71 Cody Asche, #US156 Laynce Nix

• Base cards of players who did not play with the Phillies in 2013 - 2 cards

#152 Jose Contreras, #249 Vance Worley

• 2013 National League All-Star cards - 2 cards, #US188 Cliff Lee, #US309 Domonic Brown
• 2013 Record Chase cards - 1 card, #264 Roy Halladay

The Record Chase card doubles as a checklist for cards 264 to 331 and calls attention to Halladay's chase of 200 wins.

2013 Topps #514

2013 Topps #472

2013 Topps Update #US58

2013 Topps #83

Who's Out:  Infielder Galvis got left out of the set for the second year in a row and the entire bullpen, except Papelbon, was ignored.  The top four relievers in terms of number of appearances could have merited cards in the set - Justin De Fratus, Bastardo, Diekman and Jeremy Horst.
Phillies on other teams:  Delmon Young (#121, Tigers) and Michael Young (#320, Rangers) both appear with their former teams in the base set.  Wells (#US247, White Sox) appears in the Update Series as well as the Mariners retail team set (#SEA11).

What's he doing here:  Contreras and Worley both departed during the off-season so it makes sense they'd appear in Series 1 with the Phillies.  As has been the case with the past few years of Topps sets, I really don't have any issues with their Phillies player selections.  Back-up catcher Lerud is a surprising inclusion, as he appeared in three games with the Phillies in 2012 and just six more games in 2013.
Cards that never were candidates:  Galvis, De Fratus, Basardo and Diekman.
Favorite Phillies card:  Phillies Room Favorite Frandsen finally received a Topps card, and the photo is perfect - Frandsen is smiling on his way up to the plate with his filthy, pine tar stained helmet on full display.  Easily my least favorite Phillies card, and perhaps my least favorite Phillies card ever, is Papelon's card showing him in mid-maniacal scream.

2013 Topps Phillies #PHI-1

2013 Topps Phillies #PHI-9

2013 Topps Phillies #PHI-10

2013 Topps #424

Other Stuff
Variations:  There are a few variations to be found in the Chrome, Opening Day and retail team set as shown on the table below.  I'd love to pick the brain of the Topps photo-selection committee and ask them why Revere had different photos on his flagship and Chrome cards, both showing him making a diving catch.  Both Young's received Photoshopped Phillies uniforms in the retail team set.