Game 38 - Cleveland Rocks Nola, Phils

Philadelphia Phillies	0
Cleveland Guardians	6

2019 Topps Big League #354

Friday Night, May 9th

Progressive Field - Cleveland, OH
22-16, 2nd Place, 2 1/2 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  Aaron Nola surrendered two costly home run and the Phillies offense managed six hits, dropping this series opener with a 6-0 loss.

What It Means:  The Phillies have been shut out four times already this season.  Nola started two of those games.

What Happened:  Nola gave up home runs to Kyle Manzardo in the fourth, a solo shot, and to Angel Martinez in the fifth, a two-run homer.  He departed the game after five innings with his team trailing, 4-0.  Joe Ross gave up two more runs, including a Jose Ramirez solo home run, in the seventh.  Trea Turner and Nick Castellanos both had two hits for the Phillies but the offense overall went 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position.

Featured Card:  I managed to amass 20 Carlos Santana cards in my Phillies Collection based on the one year he played with the club in 2018.  This one, from the 2019 Topps Big League set, features a future Phillie more prominently than Santana.  Santana is a 16-year veteran, now in his third stint with Cleveland, and he's gotten off to a slow start, batting .229 with four home runs and 17 RBIs so far in 2025.

2025 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2025 Season Summary Index / 2025 Chachi Set Checklist

Game 102 - Bullpen, Defense Blows It Against Twins

2018 Topps National Baseball Card
Day Philadelphia Phillies #PH-7

Twins 5, Phillies 4
Game 102 - Wednesday Afternoon, July 24th in Minneapolis
Record - 64-38, 1st Place, 9 games ahead of the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Late bullpen troubles doomed the Phillies in this 5-4 loss to the Twins.

What It Means:  Heading back to the Athletics series before the All-Star break, the Phillies are 3-6 in their last nine games.  As the trade deadline looms, the team is in search of bullpen reinforcements and perhaps a corner outfielder.

What Happened:  Aaron Nola allowed a second inning solo home run and six hits overall in his six innings of work.  With the Phillies up 4-1 in the bottom of the seventh, Orion Kerkering loaded the bases with two walks and a hit batter.  Kerkering exited and Matt Strahm entered, and a few batters' later the Twins had tied the score at 4-4.  The most painful blow was a two-run double by Carlos Santana on a ball that should have been caught by left fielder Brandon Marsh.

In the bottom of the ninth, Gregory Soto hit the Twins' lead-off hitter, Trevor Larnach, and Larnach advanced to second on a wild pitch.  He'd score the winning, walk-off run on a Max Kepler infield single, giving the Twins a 5-4 win.

Featured Card:  I have 20 Santana cards in my Phillies Collection, marking his one season with the team in 2018.  This is a card I've not featured before, from the SGA Topps National Baseball Card Day Phillies team set.

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

Game 134 - Bohm's Costly Error Costs Phils the Win

2018 Topps Update #US125

Brewers 7, Phillies 5
Game 134 - Friday Night, September 1st in Milwaukee
Record - 74-60, 2nd Place, 15 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  This game took two dramatic turns - one great, one horrible - in this 7-5 loss to the Brewers.

What It Means:  The Phillies are 4 1/2 games ahead in the Wild Card race, and 2 1/2 games up on the second Wild Card team, the Cubs.  They'll try to rebound against the first place Brewers on Saturday night.

What Happened:  Kyle Schwarber hit his 38th home run to lead off the top of the first, and then the Phillies weren't able to push across any more runs until the eighth inning.  Zack Wheeler pitched six innings, striking out 10, but he allowed a big three-run home run to Willy Adames in the sixth before departing.  With All-Star closer Devin Williams on the mound attempting a four-out save, and two runners on, Trea Turner hit a three-run home run to left, giving the Phillies an improbable 5-3 lead.  It was Turner's 20th home run of the season.

In the bottom of the eighth, Jose Alvarado allowed two singles and a walk to load the bases.  He walked a run home, cutting the lead to a run, before yielding to Jeff Hoffman.  With two outs, Owen Miller grounded a ball to the right of third baseman Alec Bohm that went by Bohm and into left field, scoring three runs.  The Brewers took a 7-5 lead, and the good vibes resulting from Turner's home run were gone.

Featured Card:  This was a mess of a game, and the first (mostly) full game I've watched since we returned from vacation.  I'll give the featured card to current Brewers' first baseman Carlos Santana, who was a Phillies Room Favorite during his one season with the club in 2018.

Transactions:  With active rosters expanding to 28 players on September 1st, the Phillies activated Ranger Suarez (lhp) and Cristian Pache (of) from the Injured List.

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

Final Look at 2018-2019 Phillies Player Moves

2020 Chachi Preview #6

2020 Chachi Preview #8

2020 Chachi Preview #7

2020 Chachi Preview #5

2020 Chachi Preview #4

The World Series is underway, the Nationals seem to be unstoppable and the Phillies may be naming their new manager as soon as Thursday.  Before we get too far into the Phillies' offseason, here's a look at all the major league players who joined and left the organization during the past year.

The "New Arrivals - 2018-2019 Offseason" gave us cause for optimism but then things fell apart once we got to the "Arrived During the 2019 Season" section.

Moving On - 2018-2019 Offseason

• Jose Bautista - of (10/29/18) - Elected free agency.
• Asdrubal Cabrera - inf (10/29/18) - Elected free agency, signed with the Texas Rangers on 1/24/19.
• Aaron Loup - lhp (10/29/18) - Elected free agency, signed with the San Diego Padres on 2/16/19.
• Wilson Ramos - c (10/29/18) - Elected free agency, signed with the New York Mets on 12/18/18.
• Pedro Beato - rhp (11/2/18) - Elected free agency, signed with the Diablos Rojas del Mexico of the Mexican League.
• Jesmuel Valentin - inf (11/2/18) - Elected free agency, signed with the Baltimore Orioles on 4/11/19.
• Pedro Florimon - inf/of (11/3/18) - Outrighted off 40-man roster, elected free agency and signed as a minor league free agent with the Atlanta Braves, 11/22/18.
• Luis Avilan - lhp (11/30/18) - Non-tendered, becoming a free agent, signed as a minor league free agent with the New York Mets on 1/10/19.
• Justin Bour - 1b (11/30/18) - Non-tendered, becoming a free agent, signed with the Los Angeles Angels on 12/15/18.
• Carlos Santana - 1b and J.P. Crawford - ss (12/3/18) - Traded to the Seattle Mariners for James Pazos, Juan Nicasio and Jean Segura.
• Luis Garcia - rhp (12/6/18) - Traded to the Los Angeles Angels for Jose Alvarez.
• Jorge Alfaro - c (2/7/19) - Traded with Sixto Sanchez and Will Stewart (with cash) to the Miami Marlins for J.T. Realmuto.
• Trevor Plouffe - inf (3/21/19) - Released.

New Arrivals - 2018-2019 Offseason

• Juan Nicasio - rhp and Jean Segura - ss (12/3/18) - Acquired from the Seattle Mariners with James Pazos for J.P. Crawford and Carlos Santana.
• Jose Alvarez - lhp (12/6/18) - Acquired from the Los Angeles Angels for Luis Garcia.
• Andrew McCutchen - of (12/12/18) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the New York Yankees.
• Rob Brantly - c (12/21/18) - Signed as a minor league free agent formerly with the Cleveland Indians organization.
• Phil Gosselin - inf (12/21/18) - Signed as a minor league free agent formerly with the Atlanta Braves organization.
• David Robertson - rhp (1/3/19) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the New York Yankees.
• J.T. Realmuto - c (2/7/19) - Acquired from the Miami Marlins for Jorge Alfaro, Sixto Sanchez, Will Stewart and cash.
• Sean Rodriguez - inf-of (2/8/19) - Signed as a minor league free agent formerly with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
• Bryce Harper - of (3/1/19) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the Washington Nationals.

Arrived During the 2019 Season

• Jay Bruce - of (6/2/19) - Acquired from the Seattle Mariners with cash considerations for Jake Scheiner.
• Brad Miller - inf (6/13/19) - Purchased from the New York Yankees.
• Fernando Salas - rhp (6/13/19) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the Acereros de Monclova of the Mexican League.
• Logan Morrison - 1b (7/15/19) - Signed as a minor league free agent formerly with the New York Yankees organization.
• Mike Morin - rhp (7/20/19) - Acquired from the Minnesota Twins for cash considerations.
• Drew Smyly - lhp (7/21/19) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the Milwaukee Brewers organization.
• Jose Pirela - of (7/27/19) - Purchased from the San Diego Padres.
• Jason Vargas - lhp (7/29/19) - Acquired with cash from the New York Mets for Austin Bossart.
• Blake Parker - rhp (7/30/19) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the Minnesota Twins.
• Corey Dickerson - of (7/31/19) - Acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates for a player to be named later and international bonus money.
• Nick Vincent - rhp (8/10/19) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the San Francisco Giants.
• Jared Hughes - rhp (8/15/19) - Claimed off waivers from the Cincinnati Reds.

Departed During the 2019 Season

• Aaron Altherr - of (5/12/19) - Selected off waivers by the San Francisco Giants.
• Dylan Cozens - of (8/1/19) - Released and signed as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Rays, 8/9/19.
• Yacksel Rios - rhp (8/3/19) - Selected off waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
• Drew Anderson - rhp (9/2/19) - Released.

Game 154 - 2019 Topps 1984 Topps Baseball #T84-6 Carlos Santana

Indians 10, Phillies 1
Game 154 - Sunday Night, September 22nd in Cleveland
Record - 79-75, 4th place, 15 1/2 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  A nightmare seventh inning and a quiet Phillies offense resulted in a 10-1 loss to the Indians.

What It Means:  Following this loss, the Phillies headed to Washington for what was deemed at the time to be a crucial series for their dwindling play-off hopes.  It didn't go well.

What Happened:  Back-to-back errors in the fifth by Jean Segura and Vince Velasquez followed by a three-run home run from Oscar Mercado, put the Indians up 4-1 with three of the four runs unearned.  In the seventh, Mike Morin, Cole Irvin and Edubray Ramos combined to allow six runs on a single, a pair of doubles, a walk, a hit batter and a two-run home run from Franmil Reyes.

Featured Card:  Carlos Santana is having a career year after his one-year stint with the Phillies in 2018.  He's set or tied career highs in RBIs (93) and home runs (34) and he's on pace to eclipse his career high in walks (113), all while hitting .284 for an Indians team still in the Wild Card hunt.  A few Phillies cards for him snuck into some 2019 Topps releases, including the card shown here.

Grapefruit Game 25 - 2018 Topps Heritage High Numbers #711 Carlos Santana

Cardinals 4, Phillies 1
Spring Training Game 25 - Monday Afternoon, March 18th in Jupiter
Record - 11-11-3

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies offense couldn't solve the Cardinals pitching, as the team dropped this one, 4-1.

What It Means:  With today's game against the Astros already cancelled because of rain, there are just six games remaining on the Grapefruit League schedule for the Phillies.

What Happened:  Zach Eflin pitched 5 innings, allowing 3 runs (2 earned) on 4 hits.  Bryce Harper had a pair of hits (his first of the spring) in a minor league game.

Featured Card:  Strangely enough, former Phillie first baseman Carlos Santana, was the big story for the Phillies yesterday.  ESPN published an account of Santana taking a bat to a TV following a game in late September, angered that his teammates were playing Fortnite during the game.  The game in question was summarized here and I mentioned in that post that Doug was successful with adding autographs from Scott Kingery, Roman Quinn and Rhys Hoskins prior to the game.

With this news, Santana, back with the Indians this season, solidifies his position as a Phillies Room Favorite despite his short time with the club.

Camp Head Count:  48.  I would expect the roster reductions to start coming fast and furious at this point.

Segura Joins Phillies in 5-Player Deal with Mariners

2019 Chachi New Additions #1

2019 Chachi New Additions #2

2019 Chachi New Additions #3

On Monday morning, I noticed a flurry of Tweets reporting the Phillies were close to acquiring All-Star shortstop Jean Segura from the Mariners in exchange for Carlos Santana and J.P. Crawford.  I had to fly to Atlanta for work, but when I landed that afternoon the deal was all but official.  Finally, word came as I was en route to my hotel that the Phillies had traded Santana and Crawford to the Mariners for Segura and relievers Juan Nicasio and James Pazos.  I've been anxious to get home so that I could (1) see my family and (2) create Chachi cards for the new additions.

The move remakes half the Phillies infield for 2019 (for now) as Segura will take over at shortstop and Rhys Hoskins will move back to first base.  Righty Nicasio and lefty Pazos will join a suddenly crowded bullpen, with both relievers expected to see action in later innings next season.  Their presence alone immediately makes the Phillies bullpen better.

2019 Chachi Departures #1

2019 Chachi Departures #2

In just one season with the Phillies, Santana appeared in 161 games and hit .229 with 24 home runs and 86 RBIs.  He leaves behind a fair amount of Phillies baseball cards and his complete Chachi checklist can be found below.  I'm a little bummed to see Crawford go, but I understand the move.  The team's first round pick in 2013, Crawford has seemingly been one of their top tier prospects for the past five years.  He was all but invisible during the Phillies complete collapse towards the end of last season.  I have a whopping 95 Crawford cards in my Phillies collection, which is an obscene tally for a player who hit .214 for the club over 72 games.

You can find great, in depth analysis of this trade elsewhere but I'm particularly interested in the baseball cards of the new Phillies trio.  Segura started appearing in Bowman products in 2010 with the Angels, and his first Topps flagship card appeared in 2013 when he was with the Brewers.  It appears as if he's in just about every major 2018 baseball card release.

Nicasio, who earned a 2017 Chachi card for his 2-game appearance with the Phillies that season, hasn't appeared on a mainstream baseball card since his 2015 Topps Update appearance with the Dodgers.  Finally, the only Pazos baseball cards out there are in the 2016 Topps, 2016 Topps Heritage and 2017 Topps Update sets.

Crawford Complete Chachi Checklist
2017 Chachi #60
2018 Chachi #6
2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #7
2019 Chachi Departures #1

Santana Complete Chachi Checklist
2018 Chachi New Additions #4
2018 Chachi #2
2018 Chachi Friendly Encounters #5
2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #3
2019 Chachi Departures #2

Moving On - 2018-2019 Offseason

• Trevor Plouffe - inf (10/4/18) - Elected free agency.
• Jose Bautista - of (10/29/18) - Elected free agency.
• Asdrubal Cabrera - inf (10/29/18) - Elected free agency.
• Aaron Loup - lhp (10/29/18) - Elected free agency.
• Wilson Ramos - c (10/29/18) - Elected free agency.
• Pedro Beato - rhp (11/2/18) - Elected free agency.
• Jesmuel Valentin - inf (11/2/18) - Elected free agency.
• Pedro Florimon - inf/of (11/3/18) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency.
• Luis Avilan - lhp (11/30/18) - Non-tendered, becoming a free agent.
• Justin Bour - 1b (11/30/18) - Non-tendered, becoming a free agent.
• Carlos Santana - 1b and J.P. Crawford - ss (12/3/18) - Traded to the Seattle Mariners for James Pazos, Juan Nicasio and Jean Segura.

New Arrivals - 2018-2019 Offseason

• James Pazos - lhp, Juan Nicasio - rhp and Jean Segura - ss (12/3/18) - Acquired from the Seattle Mariners for J.P. Crawford and Carlos Santana.

You can find the updated Virtual Phillies Wall here, showing the team's updated 40-man roster.

Game 132 - 2018 Topps Now Road to Opening Day #OD-275 Carlos Santana

Phillies 8, Nationals 6
Game 133 - Wednesday Night, August 29th in Philadelphia
Record - 71-62, 2nd place, 3 1/2 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Carlos Santana gave the Phillies a temporary lead with a 5th inning grand slam and Jose Bautista drove in the winning run with a 7th inning single in this much-needed 8-6 win over the Nationals.

What It Means:  The Phillies have the day off today before opening up a weekend series with the Cubs.  They are 8-14 since sweeping the Marlins to begin August.

What Happened:  Jake Arrieta's only contribution was a 2-run single in the 2nd.  He lasted just three innings, allowing four runs on four hits.  Tommy Hunter pitched the final two innings, shutting down the Nationals and earning his 3rd save.

Santana's slam was the first exciting moment for the Phillies in quite some time.  Bautista then came through in the 7th with a big two-out single to score Cesar Hernandez with the eventual winning run. Rhys Hoskins added some insurance with an RBI double in the 8th.

Roman Quinn was 3 for 5 with two runs scored, raising his average to .369.

Featured Card:  Santana became the first switch-hitter in franchise history with at least 20 home runs and 90 walks in a season, and the first to do it since Jayson Werth in 2009.  (Source - Meghan Montemurro Tweet.)

Game 101 - 2018 Topps Allen & Ginter #312 Carlos Santana

Phillies 7, Dodgers 3
Game 101 - Wednesday Afternoon, July 25th in Philadelphia
Record - 57-44, 1st place, 1 1/2 games ahead of the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies rode a 5-run 5th inning to a 7-3 win over the Dodgers, winning the series and making it seem as if maybe a playoff run isn't such a far-fetched idea at this point.

What It Means:  Following this win, the Phillies find themselves with the second best win percentage (.564) in the N.L., right behind the Cubs (.584).

What Happened:  In that eventful 5th inning, Scott Kingery started it off with a solo home run (5) and then Andrew Knapp doubled home Jesmuel Valentin who had singled.  After walks to Rhys Hoskins and Odubel Herrera, Carlos Santana cleared the bases with a triple.  Hoskins had earlier hit his 18th home run in the 1st inning.

Jake Arrieta picked up the win, allowing 3 runs (2 earned) on 5 hits in his 6 innings of work.

Featured Card:  Historically a second half hitter, Santana is 7 for 23 (.304) with 8 RBIs since the break.

Transactions:  In need of some bullpen help after the marathon, 16-inning game on Tuesday night, the Phillies sent Mitch Walding back to the IronPigs and recalled Jake Thompson.

Field Report:  Jenna took the boys to this matinee for the sole purpose of cheering for Chase Utley one last time.  Doug scored more autographs from Pedro Florimon, Gabe Kapler and coach Pedro Guerrero, Jr., while Aaron Nola was a surprise signer.

Game 96 - 2018 Stadium Club #24 Carlos Santana

Phillies 11, Padres 5
Game 96 - Friday Night, July 20th in Philadelphia
Record - 54-42, 1st place, 1/2 game ahead of the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  The offense overcame a bad start from Jake Arrieta, as the Phillies went on to a rout of the Padres, 11-5.

What It Means:  The Braves also won and the Phillies maintained a half-game lead in the division.

What Happened:  Arrieta couldn't escape the fourth inning, and his final line wasn't pretty - 3 2/3 innings, 6 hits, 3 walks, 5 runs.  He was also charged with an error and uncorked a wild pitch.  The Phillies enjoyed a six-run 2nd inning capped by a three-run home run (15) from Carlos Santana.  They'd add four more runs in the 8th with the big hit being a two-run double from Cesar Hernandez.

Freddy Galvis returned to Philly for the first time, going 3 for 4 with a pair of RBIs.  Galvis received a warm reception throughout the game.

Featured Card:  This is the newest Santana card in my collection from Topps' Stadium Club release.

Transaction:  Enyel De Los Santos was optioned to the IronPigs and Mitch Walding was recalled, giving the Phillies another bat off the bench until a fifth starter is needed again.

Field Report:  Doug and I attended this game, marking the third Padres game we've witnessed in the past 3 weeks.  It was a beautiful night for baseball.  Before the game, Doug added three signatures to one of his baseballs from Jerad Eickhoff, Pedro Florimon and coach Pedro Guerrero, Jr.

Highlights from the 2018 Phillies Phestival (Part 1) #StrikeOutALS

2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #1

2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #2

2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #3

I still can't believe we had never attended this event until last year.  On Thursday afternoon, Jenna and our two sons attended the annual Phillies Phestival benefiting the ALS Association.  For those of you not familiar with this event, it's the Phillies' signature charity event featuring an afternoon of player autograph stations, a silent auction, mystery grab bags for sale featuring signed memorabilia and everything else Citizens Bank Park has to offer.  The Phillies raised over $725,000 during the afternoon, passing the $18 million mark in terms of money raised for the charity since 1984.

We have a close family friend currently battling ALS, and I've recently become more involved with the Association.  My employer was a table sponsor at the event, giving us the opportunity to arrive early and have our pictures taken with Cesar Hernandez and coach Jose David Flores.  As I did last year, I've made a set of special edition cards to commemorate our day, and I'll break the set into two separate posts.

Here are my best memories from the event:

• We hustled.  We learned from last year that you go as quickly as you can to each autograph station, saving the other fun stuff for last after the players stop signing.  There were 20 total autograph stations and we hit 14, breaking into groups of two about 45 minutes into the event.  Had we broken up earlier, we probably could have hit more but it was fun to stick together for the beginning.  For the record, we missed the tables of Nick Williams/Andrew Knapp, Scott Kingery/Dylan Cozens, Rhys Hoskins, Charlie Manuel, Gabe Kapler/coach Rob Thomson and Tommy Hunter/coach Rick Kranitz.  No offense to the last table mentioned, but my autograph-seeking son flat out opted to pass on their table.

•  As was the case last year, everyone was exceedingly pleasant.  I stood in line by myself for the 1993 Alumni table, adding autographs of Kevin Stocker, Tommy Greene, Larry Andersen, John Kruk, Larry Bowa and Mickey Morandini.  Somewhat predictably, that bunch spent the time I was in line cracking jokes and discussing their plans for the evening.

• Thanks to fellow collectors Steve F. and Rick for the texts with table updates and leads on potential new photo cards.  The only new photo cards seemingly available from the event is a new card of J.P. Crawford in the style of the 2017 team-issued update set and a new Phillies Alumni photo card for former manager Charlie Manuel.  I've updated the 2017 Phillies Team Issue Update post here, and I'll have a comprehensive post on the Alumni Cards out soon.

2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #4

2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #5

2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #6

2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #7

2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #8

• Relatively new additions Austin Davis, Mitch Walding and Dylan Cozens had nothing available to sign.  My hope was that the Phillies would produce special photo cards for the trio but they were sitting at their stations with nothing but Sharpies in front of them.

• Our oldest son Doug was on a mission to get as many autographs as possible in the two-hour signing period and by his count, he came away with 35 different autographed cards!  Credit needs to go to our youngest son Ben who helped his older brother with his mission, at one point telling Victor Arano that his name was Doug so that Arano would personalize the autograph for his brother.  Ben does not show the same zeal for autograph collecting as his brother, but I was beyond proud of him for being helpful.

• Doug and I were the last two people in line to get Jake Arrieta's autograph.  He was actually unbuttoning his jersey as we walked in, getting ready to leave the room.  He saw Doug round the corner, put his jersey back on and posed for a picture with Doug.  Great memory.

• Our luck with the mystery grab bags wasn't great, but I'm fine with that as everything went towards a great cause.  We came away with autographed baseballs from Luis Garcia (x 2) and Adam Morgan and an autographed hat from Hector Neris, as well as 3 Mike Schmidt bobble heads and a mini Harry Kalas statue.

Phillies Phestival Memory Lane

2017 Part 1 and Part 2

2018 Part 1 and Part 2

Game 47 - On the Field for Batting Practice #StrikeOutALS

Phillies 4, Braves 0
Game 47 - Wednesday Night, May 23rd in Philadelphia
Record - 28-19, 2nd place, 1/2 game behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Jake Arrieta dealt against the Braves, helping secure the series win.

What It Means:  The Phillies are a half game behind the Braves in the division as they open up a Memorial Day weekend series at home against the Blue Jays.

What Happened:  Arrieta struck out 7 in his 6 2/3 innings of work.  Seranthony Dominguez and Hector Neris took care of the final 7 outs.  Carlos Santana and Cesar Hernandez contributed RBI singles while Maikel Franco and Nick Williams added RBI doubles.

2018 Chachi Friendly Encounters #4

2018 Chachi Friendly Encounters #3

2018 Chachi Friendly Encounters #5

2018 Chachi Friendly Encounters #6

Featured Cards/Field Report:  Back in November, my wife Jenna and I attended the 40th Anniversary Gala of the Philadelphia ALS Association.  A close family friend of ours is battling ALS and the work of the Association is invaluable to the ALS patients and families in our community.

Jenna bid on and won a Phillies VIP Package that included a signed baseball from Rhys Hoskins, a signed bat from Nick Williams and a signed catcher's mitt from Cameron Rupp.  The package also included the opportunity to watch the Phillies take batting practice before a game and a behind the scenes tour of Citizens Bank Park.

The Phillies contacted Jenna in April and we picked this game against the Braves for our "VIP" experience, partly because it was also Star Wars Night.  The experience did not disappoint.

2018 Chachi Friendly Encounters #7

2018 Chachi Friendly Encounters #9

2018 Chachi Friendly Encounters #8

2018 Chachi Friendly Encounters #10

The highlight of course was getting to watch the Phillies take batting practice from right behind home plate.  We were told not to call over to the players, but several of them wandered over to us anyway.  Thanks to Scott Kingery, Carlos Santana, Rhys Hoskins, Nick Williams and Jesmuel Valentin for taking time to sign some autographs and pose for pictures.  Santana offered Ben a hug, and Ben managed to avoid touching the pine tar already accumulating on Santana's right shoulder.  Broadcasters Tom McCarthy and Gregg Murphy also obliged with autographs and pictures.

After the players had all batted, manager Gabe Kapler made his way over to us and asked to see Doug's stack of Phillies baseball cards.  He looked at each one, pausing for comments, and then was impressed to see a Williams card in the style of the original 1983 Topps set.  It's something we and our sons will never forget.  Thanks again to the Phillies for a truly memorable experience!

Game 36 - 2018 Phillies Team Issue #41 Carlos Santana

Phillies 11, Giants 3
Game 36 - Wednesday Night, May 9th in Philadelphia
Record - 21-15, 2nd place, 1/2 game behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies banged out 10 hits in this 11-3 win over the Giants.

What It Means:  The Phillies and Braves continue to play their games in lockstep as both teams seem to either win or lose together.  The Phils remain a half game behind the Braves in the division and inexplicably they're atop the N.L. Wild Card standings.

What Happened:  Carlos Santana had a career high five RBIs with three hits while Maikel Franco contributed three hits of his own including a solo home run (7) in the fourth.  Nick Pivetta battled through five innings of shutout ball.

Featured Card:  Skipping ahead to include Thursday afternoon's game, Santana drove in 13 runs in the Giants series tying a franchise record for most RBI in a series of any length per this Phillies Tweet via the Elias Sports Bureau.  This is one of the four Phillies baseball cards (to date) available for Santana, from the team-issued photo card set.

Field Report:  Jenna and I attended this game, and we managed to not actually sit in our seats the entire time.  After picking up our free Phillies hats (courtesy of Teva respiratory awareness night), we enjoyed loaded pork nachos from a railing behind third base and then we enjoyed a few adult beverages overlooking the Giants bullpen in Ashburn Alley.  I did my best to send bad vibes the way of their bullpen just in case any of them had any aspirations of shutting down the Phillies line-up.

We spent our final few innings on the newly installed bar stools located in the right field corner overlooking the entire field.

2018 Chachi #2 Carlos Santana

#41

Carlos Santana

First Base

Bats:  Switch  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  210
Opening Day Age:  31

Born:  April 8, 1986, Santo Domingo, DR

Signed:  Signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent, August 13, 2004

Teams:  Cleveland Indians 2010-2017; Phillies 2018

Acquired:  Signed as a free agent formerly with the Cleveland Indians, December 20, 2017

2010 Topps Update #US330

2018 Topps #40

2018 Topps Gypsy Queen #136

5 Santana Baseball Cards in The Phillies Room Collection
First Topps Flagship Base Card:  2010 Topps Update #US330

First Card:  2018 Topps #40
First Phillies Card:  2018 Topps Gypsy Queen #136

First Phillies Team Issued Card:  2018 Phillies Team Issue #41
Latest Card:  2018 Topps Phillies #PP-10

2018 Phillies Team Issue #41

First Mention on The Phillies Room:  December 22, 2017 - On Wednesday afternoon, the Phillies held a press conference to officially introduce their new slugging first baseman, Carlos Santana.  Santana will wear his familiar #41 with the Phillies, the same number he wore for his eight seasons in Cleveland.  He comes to the team on a three-year, $60 million contract which is the Phillies' biggest free agent signing since the Cliff Lee deal ($120, five years) signed in December 2010.

The Phillies like the fact that Santana plays good defense at first base, but they love the fact that he will provide some legitimate power in the middle of their line-up.  And as Jayson Stark Tweeted, only two players have averaged at least 20 home runs and 100 walks over the past five seasons - Joey Votto and Santana.

The signing also brings with it some questions.  Will the Phillies add a big-name starting pitcher to supplement the questions marks in their rotation?  With Rhys Hoskins now moving to left field permanently, will one of Odubel Herrera, Aaron Altherr or Nick Williams be traded?

From a baseball card perspective, and as already pointed out by Phungo, Santana already unofficially has his first Phillies card.  He's featured on Chase Utley's 2014 Topps card, sliding into second.  Santana's first mainstream baseball card appearances (featuring him as a catcher) can be found in a few 2008 Bowman releases.  He made his big league debut in 2010, appearing in most of the 2010 baseball card releases and earning his first Topps flagship card in the 2010 Topps Update set.

Complete Chachi Checklist 
2018 Chachi New Additions #4
2018 Chachi #1

Card statistics through 4/21/18.

Game 2 - 2018 Topps Gypsy Queen #136 Carlos Santana

Phillies 5, Braves 4 (11)
Game 2 - Friday Night, March 30th in Atlanta
Record - 1-1, Tied for 2nd place, 1/2 game behind the Mets and Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  It took 11 innings and 9 pitchers, but thanks to Carlos Santana's 3-RBI game, the Phillies won their first game of the season.

What It Means:  Manager Gabe Kapler set a major league record by using 15 pitchers in the Phillies first two games to start the season.  (Tweet from Matt Gelb.)  They'll go for the series win tonight.

What Happened:  Nick Pivetta labored through four innings, allowing three runs on five hits, and the bullpen carousel kicked off in the fifth.  Luis Garcia allowed the Braves to tie it up in the eighth and Drew Hutchison eventually earned the win with a scoreless 10th and 11th innings.  The Braves appeared to score a go-ahead run in the eighth, but a replay review showed that Peter Bourjos was out at the plate on a throw from J.P. Crawford.

Rhys Hoskins (1) and Santana (1) homered while Scott Kingery collected his first big league hit - a single up the middle in the fourth off Mike Foltynewicz.

Featured Card:  This is the first Phillies card of Santana's in my collection, featuring him in a photoshopped Phillies uniform.

Transaction:  Prior to the game, Pat Neshek (shoulder) was placed on the disabled list and Yacksel Rios was recalled.  It's not a good sign that Neshek is already out this early in the season.  The Phillies' two big offseason bullpen signings - Neshek and Tommy Hunter - are now both on the DL.

Uniform Number Update - 2018 Edition

2014 Topps #502

1993 Topps #418

2009 Topps #232

2012 Topps #625

A sure sign that spring training is approaching is the appearance of new uniform numbers on the Phillies website's roster page, usually in mid-January.  New players and coaches have had the dreaded "--" in front of their names all offseason and the Phillies only updated their website for the new uniform number assignments this past week.  Here's a look at the new number assignments and a few number changes.

This is a longer post than in prior years given the complete overhaul of the coaching staff.

New Players (Under 60/Over 90 Division)

• #4 Ryan Flaherty - Flaherty takes over the number that Andres Blanco wore the past four seasons.
• #9 Adam Rosales - Bullpen coach John McLaren wore this number for the Phillies in 2017.
• #12 Will Middlebrooks - Middlebrooks assumes the number associated with former Phillies coach Mickey Morandini.
• #21 Collin Cowgill - Clay Buchholz briefly wore this number last season.
• #30 Matt McBride - Cameron Perkins most recently wore this number last season.
• #33 Drew Hutchison - This number opened up when pitching coach Rick Kranitz switched to #39.
• #40 Tommy Hunter - Former hitting coach Matt Stairs wore this number in 2017.
• #41 Carlos Santana - Santana has worn this number his entire career and with Brock Stassi headed to the Twins, there wasn't even a need to negotiate for it.
• #93 Pat Neshek - If Neshek has explained his reasoning for his new high number, I've missed it so far.  He wore #17 during his stint last season with the club before being traded to the Rockies.  He's the first person in franchise history to wear #93.

New Coaches

• #3 Jose Flores - Oddly enough, this number was vacant all last season.  David Lough last wore the number in 2016.
• #8 John Mallee - New hitting coach Mallee takes over the number that rightfully only belongs to Juan Samuel.
• #22 Gabe Kapler - Bob McClure wore this number the past four seasons.  Interestingly enough, Kapler never wore the number during his 12-year big league career.
• #35 Jim Gott - Gott becomes the first person to wear #35 since Cole Hamels departed for the Rangers in mid-2015.
• #45 Chris Young - The new assistant pitching coach takes over Pete Mackanin's old number.
• #58 Pedro Guerrero - Jeremy Hellickson's number goes to the new assistant hitting coach.
• #59 Rob Thomson - This number became available when Mark Leiter, Jr. switched to #31.
• #62 Dusty Wathan - Patrick Schuster briefly wore this number in 2016.

Number Swaps

1998 Phillies Team Issue #31

• #15 Andrew Knapp - Knapp wore #34 last season and the Phillies announced that no one would wear that number in 2018 in honor of Roy Halladay.
• #31 Mark Leiter, Jr. - This is kind of cool.  Leiter assumes the number his father wore for the Phillies in 1997 and 1998.  Hyun Soo Kim sported the number last season.
• #39 Rick Kranitz - Kranitz swapped the #33 he's worn the past two season for #39.
• #46 Adam Morgan - Morgan had worn #39, but he's now switched to #46.  Jesen Therrien and Jeanmar Gomez wore #46 last season.

Highest Number
If not for Neshek, non-roster invitee Nick Rickles would win the honors with his #86.

Numbers Available - Unofficially Retired Division
The Phillies have a cool, yet unofficial policy of not handing out the uniform number of recently departed players (or coaches) who had been with the team for a while, and left a significant legacy with the franchise.  I'm including #25 on the list below as this may be the Phillies paying tribute to recent Hall of Fame inductee Jim Thome.

#6 Ryan Howard
#10 Larry Bowa and Darren Daulton
#11 Jimmy Rollins
#13 Freddy Galvis
#25 Jim Thome (no offense to Daniel Nava, who wore the number in 2017)
#26 Chase Utley
#34 Roy Halladay

Number Available - Up for Grabs Division
And then there is the one stray number that just hasn't found a new home yet.  #54 was worn by both Casey Fien and Kevin Siegrist last season and it's the only number between 1 and 60, and not unofficially retired, currently up for grabs.  Non-roster invitee Fernando Abad may end up wearing #54, as he's currently numberless on the Phillies website.

Don't Forget Us
The Phillies went the extra mile and list out the following additional coaches/staff on the Coaches portion of their website - #81 Craig Driver (bullpen catcher/receiving coach), #82 Bob Stumpo (bullpen catcher/catching coach), #87 Sam Fuld (Major League player information coordinator) and #95 Mike Calitri (manager, advanced scouting)

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