Phillies at Reds: April 13th to April 16th

1965 Topps #489

1965 Topps #158

Thursday and Friday 6:40, Saturday 4:10, Sunday 1:40
Great American Ball Park - Cincinnati, OH

At the Ballpark:  There's a postgame fireworks show scheduled for Friday and on Saturday, all fans receive a cool-looking Great American Ball Park replica, celebrating 20 years of the ballpark.  It's also Jackie Robinson day on Saturday and all fans will receive a commemorative Jackie Robinson baseball card.  Finally, on Sunday, all kids will receive a Kids Sticker Sheet and all fans are invited to run the bases following the game.  (The Reds seem to have one of the strongest promotional schedules.)

Phillies 4-8
4th Place in the N.L. East, 4 1/2 games behind the Braves

Phillies Probables
Bailey Falter (0-1, 2.61)
Taijuan Walker (0-1, 6.00)
Matt Strahm (1-0, 0.00)
Aaron Nola (0-2, 7.04)

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Bryson Stott - .420
Runs:  Nick Castellanos - 11
Home Runs:  Alec Bohm and Kyle Schwarber - 3
RBIs:  Alec Bohm - 11
Stolen Bases:  Bryson Stott and Trea Turner - 3

Wins:  Four tied with - 1
ERA:  Zack Wheeler - 4.02

Strikeouts:  Zack Wheeler - 18
Saves:  Craig Kimbrel - 1

Reds 4-7
5th Place in the N.L. Central, 3 1/2 games behind the Brewers

Reds Probables
Nick Lodolo (1-0, 1.50)
Connor Overton (0-0, 10.13)
Graham Ashcraft (1-0, 2.08)
Luis Cessa (0-1, 7.00)

Reds Leaders
Average:  TJ Friedl - .350
Runs:  Jonathan India - 12
Home Runs:  Jason Vosler - 3
RBIs:  Jake Fraley and Jason Vosler - 9
Stolen Bases:  Jake Fraley and Jonathan India - 2

Wins:  Four tied with - 1
ERA:  Nick Lodolo - 1.50
Strikeouts:  Hunter Greene - 23
Saves:  Three tied with - 1

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

Series Preview - Dodgers at Phillies: August 10th to August 12th

1986 Topps #496

2021 Chachi Fan Favorites #1

Tuesday and Wednesday 7:05, Thursday 1:05
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

At the Ballpark:  Wednesday night is Star Wars night and the first 6,000 fans to purchase a special theme ticket will receive a Millennium Falcon figurine.

The Phillies Room staff is currently taking its second of two summer sabbaticals, and the blog will be on auto pilot until later this week.  During our absence, a daily gallery of a prior year Topps Phillies team set will be posted.  Thanks for your continued support and Go Phils!

2021 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2021 Season Summary Index / 2021 Chachi Set Checklist

1965 Topps - 2nd Series Phillies Alumni

In celebration of the completion of the first series (cards 1 to 88) of our 1965 Topps set, here's a look at each card from that first series featuring a former, current or future Phillies player, coach or manager.  You can follow along as we collect this set here.

#103

#106

#107

#116

#118

#123

#147

#158

#163

#165

#166

1965 Topps 1st Series Phillies Alumni / 1965 Topps 3rd Series Phillies Alumni

Series Preview - Phillies at Yankees: August 3rd to August 4th

2020 Chachi Fan Favorites #1

2020 Chachi Fan Favorites #23

Monday 7:05 and Tuesday 6:05
Yankee Stadium - New York, NY

At the Ballpark:  Let's try this thing again.  The Phillies paused their season following last Sunday's game against the Marlins amid news of a COVID-19 outbreak among most of the Marlins' players and their staff.  The entire four-game home and away Yankees series, originally scheduled for last week, was postponed and the entire weekend series against the Blue Jays was postponed as well.  That's seven games that will need to somehow be made up or just erased from the already shortened 60-game schedule.

The Phillies were supposed to be in Miami for a three-game series beginning Tuesday night, but instead they'll kick off their postponed away and home series against the Yankees.

A moot point now, the Blue Jays were scheduled to be the home team for their postponed series as Canada would not permit the club to play in Toronto this season due to ongoing pandemic concerns.  Honestly, just typing up this stuff is surreal.  My mindset at this point is to enjoy these games while they last as it's hard to imagine the season playing out uninterrupted to its conclusion all the way to October.

Phillies 1-2
Tied for 3rd Place in the N.L. East, 2 1/2 games behind the Braves

Phillies Probables
Jake Arrieta (0-0, 0.00)
Aaron Nola (0-1, 6.75)

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Didi Gregorius - .364
Runs:  Phil Gosselin and Did Gregorius - 3
Home Runs:  Phil Gosselin and Did Gregorius - 2
RBIs:  Three tied with - 3
Stolen Bases:  N/A

Wins:  Zack Wheeler - 1
ERA:  Zack Wheeler - 1.29

Strikeouts:  Aaron Nola - 7
Saves:  N/A

Yankees 7-1
1st Place in the A.L. East, 2 games ahead of the Orioles


Yankees Probables
Gerrit Cole (2-0, 3.09)
J.A. Happ (0-0, 9.00)

Yankees Leaders
Average:  DJ LeMahiru - .400
Runs:  Aaron Judge - 10
Home Runs:  Aaron Judge - 6
RBIs:  Aaron Judge - 14
Stolen Bases:  Mike Tauchman - 3

Wins:  Gerrit Cole - 2
ERA:  Gerrit Cole - 3.09
Strikeouts:  Gerrit Cole - 12
Saves:  Zack Britton - 3

Dad's Birthday and Dick Sisler

Corson Park, Millville - February 1980

1947-1966 Exhibits #270

I'll be thinking of my Dad today, on what would have been his 76th birthday.  Not a day goes by where I don't think of him.

As pure luck would have it, one of Dad's favorite players, Dick Sisler, is the featured card over at my relatively new blog celebrating the 1965 Topps set.  My oldest son Doug and I are building that set card by card in the same manner my Dad and I built our 1956 Topps set.  Please check it out and while you're there you can browse through the other cards we've added so far.  Dad would be proud.

Philly Baseball Card Show Report - Finishing 1971 Topps, Starting 1965 Topps

On Saturday, and for the third and final time this year, Doug and I attended the Valley Forge baseball card show.  Doug was given a "loan" based on his anticipated upcoming birthday money haul and he spent the show picking up new Bryce Harper, Scott Kingery and other Phillies cards along with adding to his Mike Trout personal collection.

We added autographs from Benito Santiago, Brad Lidge and Ryan Howard, and I'll have photos of those friendly encounters up in a separate post.  Doug was happy to get the other half of his Pride of the Phillies print signed by Howard, as it had been previously signed by Carlos Ruiz.

Here's a summary of what I tracked down during another very productive, very crowded show:

•  I completed my 1971 Topps set, giving me a complete run of Topps flagship sets from 1970 to 2018.  The entire set took about 18 years to complete with the first batch of cards arriving from Santa on Christmas morning in either 2001 or 2002.  I purchased a large lot of cards (maybe 150 or so?) in the summer of 2002, and I've been slowly adding cards ever since.  The final three cards needed were #596 Mike Jorgensen, #662 Mike Hedlund and #715 Horace Clarke.
• Doug and I officially started our 1965 Topps set with the addition of 26 cards.  We had a goal of adding a bunch of commons and one or two semi-star cards, and that mission was accomplished.  I was very happy to add cards of Robin Roberts, Dick Sisler, Jim Fregosi, Cookie Rojas, Rick Wise, Johnny Callison, Dallas Green and Tony Taylor as part of this first batch.  I'll slowly post each of the cards added over at my new 1965 Topps blog.  I'm also proud to say that Doug rejected a few cards I had picked if they had corners a little too dinged up.  We're looking to build a set in great shape.
• I added three Phillies cards that had been on my want lists for quite a while - the 1972 Topps Steve Carlton, the Traded version, a 1941 Play Ball card of Chuck Klein and the 1962 Topps Rookie Parade card featuring Jack Hamilton, whose face is covered by a price tag in the photo above.
• Finally, a 1965 Phillies Yearbook entered my collection as I continue to slowly fill in the gaps I have in my Phillies Yearbooks collection.

It was another great day, although I'm happy (and my wallet is happy) that we now have a few months off until our next show.

Memory Lane

Valley Forge 1 - September 2010 - Thinking of my Dad
Valley Forge 2 - October 2012 - Doug's first baseball card show
Valley Forge 3 - September 2014 - Meeting Darren Daulton
Oaks 1 - October 2015 - Meeting Pete Rose and Steve Carlton
Valley Forge 4 - September 2016 - Phillies acquisitions and 4 Phillies Legends
Valley Forge 5 - December 2016 - Meeting Don Money
Valley Forge 6 - September 2017 - Doug's big day
Valley Forge 7 - December 2017 - Ben's first baseball card show with Mike Schmidt and Rhys Hoskins!
Oaks 2 - December 2018 - Meeting Matt Stairs and Cole Hamels
Valley Forge 8 - March 2019 - 5 Phillies Autographs and Vintage Phillies Additions
Valley Forge 9 - September 2019 - Closing in on 1971 Topps set and Andrew McCutchen
Valley Forge 10 - December 2019 - Finishing 1971 Topps set, Starting 1965 Topps set, adding key autographs from Ryan Howard and Brad Lidge

Series Preview - Mets at Phillies: August 30th to September 1st

2019 Chachi Fan Favorites #18

2019 Chachi Fan Favorites #19

Friday 7:05, Saturday 4:05 and Sunday 7:05
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

Mets 67-66, 4th place in the N.L. East, 13 games behind the Braves
Phillies 69-63, 3rd place in the N.L. East, 10 1/2 games behind the Braves

Mets Probables:  Zack Wheeler (9-7, 4.52), Steven Matz (8-8, 4.06), Marcus Stroman (1-1, 4.91)
Phillies Probables:  Aaron Nola (12-4, 3.53), Jason Vargas (0-1, 4.34), Zach Eflin (8-11, 4.50)

At the Ballpark:  Prior to the Sunday night baseball game, all kids will receive a Phillies back-to-school backpack.

Mets Leaders
Average:  Jeff McNeil - .330
Runs:  Pete Alonso - 79
Home Runs:  Pete Alonso - 42
RBIs:  Pete Alonso - 101
Stolen Bases:  Amed Rosario - 15

Wins:  Noah Syndergaard and Zack Wheeler - 9
ERA:  Jacob deGrom - 2.66
Strikeouts:  Jacob deGrom - 214
Saves:  Edwin Diaz - 25

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Jean Segura - .286
Runs:  Bryce Harper - 82
Home Runs:  Bryce Harper - 28
RBIs:  Bryce Harper - 94
Stolen Bases:  Scott Kingery - 10

Wins:  Aaron Nola - 12
ERA:  Aaron Nola - 3.53

Strikeouts:  Aaron Nola - 187
Saves:  Hector Neris - 23

Series Preview - Marlins at Phillies: September 14th to September 16th

2018 Chachi Fan Favorites #40

2018 Chachi Fan Favorites #41

Friday and Saturday 7:05, Sunday 1:35
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

Marlins 57-89, 5th place in the N.L. East, 25 games behind the Braves
Phillies 74-71, 2nd place in the N.L. East, 7 1/2 games behind the Braves

Marlins Probables:  Wei-Yin Chen (6-10, 4.72), Elieser Hernandez (2-7, 5.25), Jose Urena (6-12, 4.29)
Phillies Probables:  Zach Eflin (9-7, 4.42), Vince Velasquez (9-11, 4.30), Jake Arrieta (10-9, 3.66)

At the Ballpark:  There are some themed tickets available for this series, but otherwise no special promotions or giveaways.

Marlins Leaders
Average:  Starlin Castro and J.T. Realmuto - .284
Runs:  Brian Anderson - 80
Home Runs:  J.T. Realmuto - 20
RBIs:  J.T. Realmuto - 70
Stolen Bases:  Cameron Maybin - 8

Wins:  Wei-Yin Chen and Jose Urena - 6
ERA:  Jose Urena - 4.29
Strikeouts:  Jose Urena - 122
Saves:  Kyle Barraclough and Brad Ziegler - 10

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Maikel Franco - .268
Runs:  Cesar Hernandez - 83
Home Runs:  Rhys Hoskins - 30
RBIs:  Rhys Hoskins - 89
Stolen Bases:  Cesar Hernandez - 18

Wins:  Aaron Nola - 16
ERA:  Aaron Nola - 2.42
Strikeouts:  Aaron Nola - 201
Saves:  Seranthony Dominguez - 14

Baseball Card Show Report - Valley Forge 4

1941 Play Ball #9

1957 Topps #174

1958 Hire's Root Beer #43

1959 Topps #338

On Sunday, Doug and I attended the Philadelphia Sportscard & Memorabilia Show in Valley Forge. Doug had actually saved Christmas money for this show and he's spent the last few weeks preparing his checklists.  We had a fantastic day, and I'm OK with the fact that Doug came away with way more cards than I did.  I'm always grateful to those dealers that give Doug some extra attention, especially when they realize that this kid is truly a collector and not just looking for the big hits.

There were four former Phillies signing autographs on Sunday, and Doug admittedly had never heard of any of them.  That being said, we still decided to buy four autograph tickets so that he could at least meet them and add to a growing autograph collection.  I'll have a separate post coming up to show off our new autographs.

Doug was very happy going through the bargain bins and he added a small stack of vintage (1970s is vintage to him) Hall of Famer cards to his collection.  He also came away with a bunch of newer Phillies cards and some more Mike Trout cards for his growing player collection.  He's within a few cards now of completing his 2016 Topps Opening Day set, and he needs just one more card (Johnny Bench) for a complete 2016 Topps Bunt set.  Not to leave out his brother Ben, Doug hunted down an autographed Ben Revere card and a signed 8 x 10 photo of Revere for his brother's collection.

1948 Philadelphia Bulletin Stand-Ups

1949 Philadelphia Bulletin Phillies

While we weren't adding cards to Doug's collection, I managed to add a bunch of cool cards to my collection as well.  The "newest" card I brought home was from 1971:

• I wanted to add at least one of the four following big stars to my 1971 Topps set:  Ernie Banks, Willie Mays, Bench or Roberto Clemente.  I came away with both the Banks and Bench cards along with several other semi-stars and a few high numbers.  I'm slowly making progress on this set and once it's completed I'll be the proud owner of a complete run of Topps sets from 1970 through 2015.
• I picked up a nice assortment of Phillies cards from the 1950s and 1960s, with the highlight being the addition of Sparky Anderson's rookie card from the 1959 Topps set.
• I found a gorgeous (and cheap!) Pinky May card from the 1941 Play Ball set.
• I found a few oddball Dick Sisler items from newspaper sets from the late 1940s.
• Finally, I added two 1911 T205 Gold Border Phillies cards to my collection, and I'll show these off in a future post.

It was truly a fantastic day and we're already making plans for our next big baseball card show outing!

Memory Lane

Valley Forge 1 - September 2010 - Thinking of my Dad
Valley Forge 2 - October 2012 - Doug's first baseball card show
Valley Forge 3 - September 2014 - Meeting Darren Daulton
Valley Forge 4 - September 2016

1950 Philadelphia Bulletin Pin-Ups Dick Sisler

Today would have been my Dad's 72nd birthday.  There's not a day that goes by that I don't think of him or wish that I could tell him something.  He would have loved the new Star Wars movie and he'd be amazed at how quickly his grandsons are growing up.  His oldest grandson Doug is showing signs of the athleticism that he possessed, although those skills skipped a generation since they missed me. Doug keeps busy with soccer and basketball and he'll enter his second year of Little League in the spring.

Dad's youngest grandson Ben is a knowledge sponge, soaking in everything he can about the 50 states and anything else that interests his five-year-old brain.  Ben says and does things on a daily basis that would send my Dad into hysterics.

As a continuing tribute to him, here's a Dick Sisler item I've never featured on this blog.  Sisler and Del Ennis were his favorite players as a kid and I never miss an opportunity to add one of their cards to my Phillies collection.

We miss you Sir and we'll be thinking about you today.

1950-1952 Royal Desserts #19 Dick Sisler

I recently added this early oddball card to my growing Dick Sisler collection.  Whenever I track down a card like this, I like to try to find out as much as possible about the card and the set it comes from.

According to the 2012 edition of the Standard Catalog of Vintage Baseball Cards, these cards were issued one per box on the backs of various Royal Dessert products between 1950 and 1952.  24 total players were included in the set, although numerous variations exist as the makers of the cards either switched up the tint used for the photo (black or blue) or updated the player's biography.  There's also a nice summary of the set with a few more pictures over at Old Cardboard.

According to the Catalog, there are four different versions of the Sisler card available and the Beckett online database indicates that one of the latter versions was updated to mark Sisler's move to the Reds.  The only other Phillies card available from the set is a card for Andy Seminick.

I'm going to forgive the kid who haphazardly cut this Sisler card out of his box of pudding, solely because of what can be found on the back of the card.  The original owner included his or her own back of the card biography, which in my opinion makes this card even more fantastic.

Dick Sisler - OF

Philadelphia Phillies 

No. 19

Broke in with 

Cardinals was traded; 

Sisler caught fire 

and became one of the 

better hitters in baseball.

* * *

My Dad would have been 71 today, and he would have found this card to be equally fascinating.  He'd probably even have a story or two to tell me about his favorite brand of Royal Desserts.  I'm collecting these Sisler cards (and cards of his other favorite player, Del Ennis) as a continuing tribute to him and it makes me happy to be able to share these cards here.

We don't have any Royal Desserts products in our pantry, but I think tonight I'll have a big bowl of ice cream in my Dad's honor.

(P.S.  At some point during this offseason, my Dad would have intoned in a ridiculous, sarcastic voice that his new favorite Phillie was Odubel Herrera.  He would have then shook his head and said, "I mean, what are they even doing?")

1949 Eureka Sportstamps #149 Dick Sisler

Dick Sisler, along with Del Ennis, were my Dad's two favorite Phillies players.  Because of this, I'm slowly accumulating as many Sisler and Ennis cards as possible.  Featured here isn't a card but a stamp from the 1949 Eureka Sportstamps set.  14,000 Phillies ran a post a few years ago

containing information on this set, along with a complete Phillies checklist.

* * *

My Dad would have absolutely loved the fact that his oldest grandson Doug is now officially a baseball card collector.  Doug and I spent a lot of time talking about his Pop-Pop last night as it's three years today that he passed away.  Doug and I looked at old pictures, listened to some of his Pop-Pop's favorite songs, and we talked about how his Pop-Pop and I used to collect baseball cards together, just like he and I are doing now.

Doug's Pop-Pop would have been so proud of him and his little brother, Ben.  I know I am.

Updating the The Phillies Room Banner

I recently tweaked The Phillies Room's banner (look up) with a few minor changes.  I wanted to incorporate pictures of my entire family in the banner, so there are now pictures of my parents, my sister, my wife and my two sons enjoying Phillies games from the past.

I left the Phillies cards in the banner pretty much the same, with the exception of a few random additions.  Have I missed any key Phillies?  Are there are any other players or sets you feel have been unjustly omitted?  Do I need more/better representation from Johnny Wockenfuss and Kent Tekulve?

Presented below is a small gallery of a few of the blog's banners through the years.

The original banner - April 2009

April 2010

August 2011

January 2014

1951 Bowman #52 Dick Sisler

I don't often re-read my posts, but reading my tribute to my Dad from last year always brings a smile to my face.  Thinking about him and sharing stories about him has proven to be very therapeutic for me over the past two years.  Dad passed away two years ago today, and I wanted to post a simpler tribute to him today.  A simple tribute for a simple man, he would have said . . .

The most important baseball card in my collection is the 1951 Bowman Dick Sisler card that graces this blog's banner.  Almost six years ago on Christmas Day, my Dad handed me an envelope with my name on it.  I opened the envelope to find a short note from my Dad and the card you see here.  What a perfect gift from a great Dad.

As I drafted this post, the thought occurred to me that I should do the same thing for my sons Doug and Ben, only their envelopes would contain a 1979 Burger King Phillies Pete Rose card.

P.S. Dad would have loved that Larry Bowa is back.

1953 Canadian Exhibits #62 Dick Sisler

My Dad's two favorite Phillies were Del Ennis and Dick Sisler, and I'm slowly adding cards of both players to my collection.

Not to be confused with the regular Exhibits cards released between 1921 and 1966, there was a set of 64 Exhibits cards released in 1953 exclusively in Canada.  Appropriately enough, the set is known as the 1953 Canadian Exhibits.  As far as I know, this Sisler card was the only Phillie included in the set and it shares the blue tint found on cards 33 through 64.  The first 32 cards in the set can be found with either a green or red tint.  And now you know.

Dad

1949 Bowman #205

"They're all bums," would have been Dad's assessment of the 2012 Phillies season.

"Trade 'em all, fire Charlie and Ruben and bring back Bowa," he would have said before adding a few moments later, "Of course I have no idea what I'm talking about."  Then he'd most likely give me a mischievous smile and perhaps even burst into song.

Dad passed away one year ago today.  And it was hard some days over this past year to keep it together.

Opening day was particularly rough, as was the night of the All-Star Game.  Baseball aside, I missed him at Christmas, riding Peter Pan's Flight at Disney World, at every family get-together, on the boardwalk this summer, on Doug's first day of Kindergarten and on countless other occasions.

I think about my Dad every day, and there have been particular moments over the past year when I can hear his voice with such clarity that it actually feels as if we’re having a conversation.  I know that everyone grieves differently and part of my healing process has involved smiling at particular moments and imagining how my Dad would have reacted.

Without fail, at the end of every family get-together, Dad would say to no one in particular, "Boy, I love this stuff.  This was really great, you know?"  I've heard myself saying that out loud this year and whenever I do, I hear his voice and he's there.

He’s also there with me whenever Doug, his first grandson, asks me to play catch with him in our backyard.  And you better believe he was there with me when Doug and I attended our first baseball card show together recently.  Doug is only five, but he knows what he wants.  Doug wants to play soccer and tee ball and he wants to learn to be a better swimmer and a better reader and he wants to be a police officer when he grows up because he wants to help catch bad guys.  And by God, I’ll support him 100% in whatever endeavor he chooses to pursue because that's exactly what my Dad did for me.

My Dad is there with me whenever Ben, his second grandson, recites the alphabet for the 100th time in a row.  Ben is only two but he loves letters and numbers and spelling, and I can practically see his little wheels turning whenever he figures out how and why certain letters come together to make words he recognizes.  He's got a brain that works very methodically (like his Dad's) and his fits of sudden laughter and joy whenever he learns something new would have thrilled my Dad.

And my Dad is there with me whenever Molly, the granddaughter he never met and my favorite niece, smiles.  She lights up a room with her smile and she's destined to break many a suitor's heart in the coming years.  As she grows up, I'm going to bore her (and her cousins) with stories of growing up on 12th Street.  Her Pop-Pop and Mimi provided her Mom and me with an amazing childhood and like it not, we're going to tell the same stories over and over again about Christmas mornings and Disney trips and the Chocolatetown Motel.

Doug, Ben and Molly are going to grow up without their Pop-Pop, but they'll know him.  They'll know him through the funny stories I'll tell, the happy memories I'll share and the qualities of being a good father I learned from him that I'm trying my best to emulate.

I've said it before, and I'll never stop saying it:  Thank you Dad, and you're very much missed.

November 2008 - Doug & Pop-Pop

May 2010 - Ben & Pop-Pop

October 2012 - Molly & Uncle Jimmy