2012 Phillies Team Issue - 1st Edition

Number of Cards:  39
Card Size:  4" x 6"
Description:  The card fronts feature color photos from spring training and a wood grained bottom border containing the player's name, number and position.  Each card also contains the "2012 First Edition" legend on the front, which at the time was a really good indication that a second edition set would eventually be issued.  The Phillies script logo appears in one of the upper corners.  The horizontal card backs feature biographical information and complete career statistics.

How Distributed:  Sets were available for sale at Citizens Bank Park through early July.  I picked up my 38-card set at the sixth game of the season in mid-April and I discussed the set's checklist in a post found here.

As pointed out by Steve in his comment, the set he purchased actually contains 39 cards with the additional card being a broadcaster card.  Honestly, if I've learned nothing else by putting together these posts it's that I should buy the annual team issued sets early and often.  It seems as if the composition of these sets changes repeatedly throughout the season.

Complete Standard Checklist:  The cards are unnumbered, but I've presented them below ordered by uniform number.

2 - Sam Perlozzo CO 3 - Hunter Pence 5 - Pete Mackanin CO 6 - Ryan Howard 7 - Michael Martinez 8 - Shane Victorino 9 - Domonic Brown 10 - Juan Pierre 11 - Jimmy Rollins 12 - Juan Samuel CO 13 - Freddy Galvis 15 - John Mayberry, Jr. 17 - Mick Billmeyer CO 19 - Laynce Nix 21 - Greg Gross CO 22 - Scott Podsednik 23 - Brian Schneider 24 - Ty Wigginton 25 - Jim Thome 26 - Chase Utley

27 - Placido Polanco 30 - Rich Dubee CO 33 - Cliff Lee 34 - Roy Halladay 35 - Cole Hamels 37 - Antonio Bastardo 38 - Kyle Kendrick 40 - Michael Stutes 41 - Charlie Manuel MG 44 - Michael Schwimer 49 - Vance Worley 50 - Chad Qualls 51 - Carlos Ruiz 52 - Jose Contreras 56 - Joe Blanton 57 - David Herndon 58 - Jonathan Papelbon Phillie Phanatic Broadcasters

One and Done (2):  Podsednik, Qualls
First Appearances (6):  Galvis, Nix, Papelbon, Pierre, Schwimer, Wigginton
Returning Players (22):  Bastardo, Blanton, Brown, Contreras, Halladay, Hamels, Herndon, Howard, Kendrick, Lee, Martinez, Mayberry Jr., Pence, Polanco, Rollins, Ruiz, Schneider, Stutes, Thome, Utley, Victorino, Worley

Podsednik was close to making the the team out of spring training, but the final outfielder's roster spot went to Pierre instead.  He was traded to the Red Sox in mid-May and never officially suited up with the Phillies.  This set also contains the one and only Phillies baseball card for reliever Qualls, who struggled mightily in his short time with the club.

The First Appearance designation is for players who have never before appeared within a Phillies team issued set.  These players may have already appeared on other Phillies baseball cards.  I'm not counting the relatively rare Wigginton card found in the style of the 2011 second edition set as his first appearance.

Manager (1):  Manuel
Coaches (6):  Billmeyer, Dubee, Gross, Mackanin, Perlozzo, Samuel
Phillie Phanatic (1)
Broadcasters (1)
Commemorative Cards (0)

Variations/Rarities:  I'm not aware of any variations or rarities to be found within this set although the existence of the broadcaster's card was news to me.  As has been the case with the 2010 and 2011 team issued sets, variations or rarities are usually found with the design of the second series set.

Also See:  My youngest son Ben attended his first ever Phillies game on April 29, 2012.
Resources:  14,000 Phillies; The Trading Card Database; Phillies collector Steve

2012 Chachi Almost #4 Scott Podsednik

Padres 2, Phillies 1
Game 34 - Saturday Night, May 12th in Philadelphia
Record - 15-19, 5th Place, 6 1/2 games behind the Nationals

Happy Mother's Day!

One Sentence Summary:  The offense couldn't string together enough consecutive hits to support Roy Halladay's strong outing as the Phillies lost to the lowly Padres, 2-1.

What It Means:  Halladay was 3-0 after his first three starts this season, and he's gone 0-2 with three no decisions in his five starts since.  Halladay pitched seven strong innings, scattering seven hits and striking out ten.  The Phils will try to win the series this afternoon.

What Went Wrong:  The Phils left 12 runners on base and were collectively 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position.  The offense's futility was at its low point when the Phillies had runners at second in third in the seventh with no outs, yet they couldn't manage to push a run across the plate.

Featured Card:  Another game, another featured card that has nothing to do with the actual game.  Such is the case when the Phillies don't give me any reason to post a card of anyone on their current 25-man roster.  At least the Phillies have good company in the "What the crap is going on this year" department.  Case in point, the Boston Red Sox are now 14-19 and in the cellar in the A.L. East.

Spring Training stand-out Scott Podsednik was recently traded to the Sox for cash considerations, ending his hopes of playing for the Phillies.  Podsednik signed a minor league deal with the Phils last May, and in 36 games with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs he hit just .220.  The Phillies jumped the gun by including Podsednik in their team issued postcard set, but the outfielder merits only a Chachi Almost card from The Phillies Room.  Maybe Podsednik will help cure some of the Sox' woes.

Field Report:  I attended this game with my five-year-old son, Doug, in what was his first ever Phillies night game.  Once he got over the initial shock that he'd be up (and out) way past his bedtime, he seemed to thoroughly enjoy himself.  I don't think it mattered too much that there was a baseball game being played as his favorite things from the evening were the Phanatic's performances, the nachos we shared after the first inning and the cherry Italian water ice he scarfed down between the fifth and sixth innings.

He did ask repeatedly if the Phillies were winning, and he at least seemed a little disappointed when I answered that no, they weren't winning yet.  It was nothing a little cherry Italian water ice couldn't cure however.  The Phillies are now 1-3 in games I've attended this year.

2012 Topps Classic Walk-Offs #CW-13 Scott Podsednik

Phillies 5, Pirates 4
Spring Training Game 27 - Tuesday Afternoon, March 27th in Clearwater
Record - 11-13-3

One Sentence Summary:  Cliff Lee threw six scoreless frames and the Phils won on a walk-off home run from Scott Podsednik.

What It Means:  We're getting even closer to meaningful baseball.

What Went Right:  Lee looked great in his penultimate start of the spring, scattering three hits and striking out three.  Jim Thome, playing at first again, had an RBI-double and he's now hitting .296.  Podsednik played the hero, hitting a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth.

Featured Card:  It wasn't exactly a classic walk-off yesterday, but Podsednik is doing his best to stick around once the team heads north.  He's now hitting .362 this spring with five steals and he's in direct competition with Juan Pierre for the final outfield spot.  Pierre, who has hit .289 this spring, has an out-clause in his contract that stipulates the Phillies have to release him if he's not on the Major League roster by the end of March.  Podsednik has a similar clause, but it doesn't go into effect until the end of May.  For that reason alone, Pierre may have the edge over Podsednik.

Camp Headcount:  37

With a little more than a week to go until Opening Day, the Phillies trimmed three pitchers from the roster yesterday.  Brian Sanches and Scott Elarton were both reassigned to minor league camp and lefty Jake Diekman, who left a very favorable impression this spring, was optioned out.

Non-Roster Invitees - The First 8

2007 Topps Heritage #474, 2011 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs Series 2 #13 and #23,
2011 Multi-Ad Reading Phillies #13

Earlier this week, the Phillies announced they had signed eight minor league free agents and given them invitations to Spring Training.  A few of the faces who will be wearing red pinstripes and numbers in the 60’s are very familiar to the organization.  Here’s a quick look at the eight along with their last known cardboard appearances.

Player (position) – 2011 Organization – Last Major Cardboard Appearance
1.  Scott Elarton (rhp) – Out of baseball – 2007 Upper Deck #132 (Royals)
2.  Pat Misch (lhp) – Mets – 2010 Upper Deck #338 (Mets)
3.  Brian Sanches (rhp) – Marlins – 2007 Topps Heritage #474 (Phillies)
4.  Raul Valdes (lhp) – Cardinals/Yankees – 2006 Bowman Prospects #B90 (Cubs)

The long-shot here is Elarton.  He’s attempting a comeback after sitting out the entire 2011 season.  Elarton last pitched in the Majors in 2008 with the Indians and he was the first-round draft pick of the Astros back in 2004.  His best season by far was back in 2000 when he won 17 games for the Astros.  Sanches is no stranger to the organization, having pitched in 30 games with the Phils in 2006 and 2007.  He developed into a steady middle inning reliever with the Marlins over the past three seasons.  Misch and Valdes are lefties, which of course means they’ll get long looks during the spring to see if they can be this year’s J.C. Romero or Mike Zagurski or even Juan Perez.

5.  Kevin Frandsen (inf) – Phillies – 2010 Upper Deck #431 (Giants)
6.  Tuffy Gosewisch (c) – Phillies – Only minor league cards so far for Tuffy
7.  Pete Orr (inf) – Phillies – 2008 Topps Update #UH72 (Nationals)
8.  Scott Podsednik (of) – Blue Jays/Phillies – 2010 Topps Update #US226 (Dodgers)

Podsednik missed most of last year while he recovered from a foot injury.  He was the National League stolen base champ in 2004 and won a ring with the White Sox in 2005.  Orr and Frandsen spent all of 2011 in the Phillies system, and both will be back to provide minor league depth in 2012.  Gosewisch is becoming somewhat of a non-roster invitee regular, as this will be his fourth Spring Training with the big club in Clearwater.  He’s currently fourth on the catching depth chart behind Carlos Ruiz, Brian Schneider and Erik Kratz.

Random thought:  "Non-Roster Invitees" would make an awesome band name.