Phillies Missing Links of the 1990s - #17 Mike Robertson

#34
Michael Francis Robertson
Outfield-First Base

In an under-the-radar offseason trade, the Phillies sent the homegrown Gene Schall to the White Sox for Mike Robertson on January 31, 1997.  Schall was a year older than Robertson and the recent acquisition of Rico Brogna from the Mets meant that he'd be without a position with the big club in 1997.  Robertson was also primarily a first baseman, but he had seen some time in the outfield while moving up through the White Sox system.  In 1996, he attained career highs in home runs (21) and RBIs (74) while hitting .258 for the Nashville Sounds.

Robertson started the 1997 season with the Triple-A Red Barons, appearing in 121 games and tallying impressive numbers - .298, 12 home runs, 72 RBIs.  Terry Francona's team was mired in last place when Gregg Jefferies injured his hamstring in mid-August and Robertson got the call on August 24th.  He'd appear in 22 games through the end of the season, hitting .211 (8 for 38) with two doubles and four RBIs.  Following the season, despite his decent numbers in the minors, Robertson was let go and he'd eventually sign with the Diamondbacks.

In 1998, he appeared in 11 games with the Diamondbacks and then bounced from the Pirates to the Astros to the Braves organizations between 1999 and 2001 before retiring.

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  180
Born:  October 9, 1970, Norwich, CT
Drafted:  Drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 3rd round of the 1991 amateur player draft.
Major League Teams:  Chicago White Sox 1996; Phillies 1997; Arizona Diamondbacks 1998
Professional Affiliations:  Chicago White Sox 1991-1996; Phillies 1997; Arizona Diamondbacks 1998; Pittsburgh Pirates 1999; Houston Astros 2000; Atlanta Braves 2001

Phillies Career
22 games, .211 (8 for 38), 2 doubles, 4 RBIs
Acquired:  Acquired from the Chicago White Sox for Gene Schall, January 31, 1997.
Debut:  August 24, 1997 - Pinch-hit for Mark Parent in the eighth inning against the Dodgers, popping out to second.
Final Game:  September 28, 1997 - In the final game of the season, entered the game in the fourth inning playing first base, and went 0 for 2 with a strikeout.
Departed:  Granted free agency on October 10, 1997, and signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks, January 12, 1998.

1992 Bowman #687

1993 Upper Deck #448

1994 Bowman #43

1997 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons #18

1 Robertson Baseball Card in My Collection
1997 Best Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons #18

Other Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1992 Bowman #687
First Topps Base Card:  N/A
Last Mainstream Card:  1994 Bowman #43
Other Notable Cards:  1993 Bowman #315, 1993 Upper Deck #448, 1994 Fleer/ProCards #634

Sources:  Baseball Reference and The Trading Card Database

Phillies Missing Links of the 1990s
1 Louie Meadows
2 Dave LaPoint
3 Darrin Chapin
4 Mickey Weston
5 Bob Wells
6 Tom Edens
7 Omar Olivares

8 Kevin Elster

9 Jim Deshaies

10 Chuck Ricci
11 Dennis Springer
12 Manny Martinez
13 Rafael Quirico
14 Bronson Heflin
15 Glenn Dishman
16 Rob Butler
17 Mike Robertson
18 Matt Whiteside
19 Robert Dodd
20 Joel Bennett
21 Joe Grahe
22 Domingo Cedeno
23 Torey Lovullo

This is a continuing series looking at those players who spent time with the Phillies but possess no baseball card proof of their time in Philadelphia.  In some cases, the First and Last Mainstream cards listed above have been subjectively chosen if multiple cards were released in that year.

1997 Phillies - The Missing Links

1997 Score #448, 1997 Ultra #344, #438 and 1998 Pacific Online #576

My post on the 1997 Topps Phillies cards is still a work in progress and I hope to publish it next Sunday.  It's been a rough week in the coal mine, and there's been little to no time for spending time with the 1997 Topps set.  That being said, I still managed to find time to put together the next Missing Links post, this time looking at the short-timers from the unfortunate 1997 season.

With 46 players appearing with the Phillies in 1997, I honestly thought this post was going to feature a very long list of names.  I'm as surprised as you are that there are only two players from this team with no cardboard proof of their time in red pinstripes.

1997 Phillies Team Issue #40 and #41

3 Cards or More
38 Players

Perhaps more shocking than the two guys without Phillies baseball cards is the fact that these guys actually have three or more Phillies baseball cards - Midre Cummings, Derrick May, Rex Hudler, Billy McMillon, Jerry Spradlin, Scott Ruffcorn and Billy Brewer.  And by my unofficial tally, Danny Tartabull, who broke his foot in his third game with the Phillies never to play Major League baseball again, is featured on five different Phillies baseball cards.  The mind boggles.

2 Cards
Darrin Winston (7 games in 1997 and 27 games in 1998) - 1998 Pacific Online #576 and 1998 Phillies Team Issue #58

Not to be confused with Darrin Chapin, Winston appeared in 34 games with the Phils, compiling a 4-2 record with a 5.84 ERA.  Sadly, while researching this post, I learned that Winston passed away back in 2008.  I found this article featuring a nice tribute to the former Phillie who left us way too soon.

1 Card
Tony Barron (57 games in 1997) - 1998 Collector's Choice #202
Reggie Harris (50 games in 1997) - 1997 Phillies Team Issue #40
Erik Plantenberg (35 games in 1997) - 1997 Phillies Team Issue #41
Ryan Karp (1 game in 1995 and 15 games in 1997) - 1994 Bowman #552
Edgar Ramos (4 games in 1997) - 1997 Fleer #649

I could have sworn Barron played in more than just 57 games with the Phillies.  It seems as if every game I watched that summer somehow featured Barron.  His tenure with the Phils resulted in just one lone baseball card.  The Phillies Team Issue set comes through again with the only cards of relievers Harris and Plantenberg.  Karp was previously featured on the 1994 Missing Links post.

1998 Collector's Choice #202, 1997 Fleer #649,
1997 Best Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons #9 and #18

0 Cards
Rob Butler (43 games in 1997)
Mike Robertson (22 games in 1997)

Butler actually came to the Phillies organization in December 1994, and he appeared in over 200 games with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons before getting the call to the big club in mid-April 1997.  He was the guy who replaced Tartabull on the roster after the former slugger broke his foot.  Had he cracked the team's opening day roster, he would have presumably at least had a card within the team issued set available at The Vet.

Robertson was acquired from the White Sox in January 1997 for Gene Schall.  His decent numbers with the Red Barons (.298, 12 home runs, 72 RBIs in 121 games) led to a late August call-up, which was too late for him to be featured as a Phillie in any late season baseball card releases.

Past Missing Link Posts

1990 Phillies - Louie Meadows

1991 Phillies - Dave LaPoint

1992 Phillies - Darrin Chapin and Mickey Weston

1993 Phillies - None

1994 Phillies - Tom Edens and Bob Wells

1995 Phillies - Jim Deshaies, Kevin Elster, Omar Olivares, Chuck Ricci and Dennis Springer

1996 Phillies - Glenn Dishman, Bronson Heflin, Manny Martinez and Rafael Quirico