1994 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

Number of Cards:  46
Card Size:  4" x 6"

Description:  For the sixth year in a row, the card fronts feature a photo with the player's, coach's or manager's name in a red band with white text.  The card backs feature biographical information along with complete career statistics.  The card backs also feature the club's 1993 N.L. Champions logo.  From this point forward (as of this writing), the Phillies team issued sets have been sponsor-less.  Medford Food Company sponsored its third and final set in 1993.

How Distributed:  The original 36-card set was available for sale at Veterans Stadium throughout the season.  A ten-card update series was produced and sold at the ballpark in the second half of the season, before the player's strike ended the season prematurely on August 11th.  The update series is fairly difficult to track down.  I attended a few games at the Vet that July, adding the set to my collection.  The Phillies played on only 19 days following the All-Star break and before the strike, meaning the set was on sale for only a short time.

Complete Set Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here alphabetically with uniform number and position from the front of cards): 

1. Larry Andersen (#47 - RHP) 2. Kim Batiste (#5 - INF) 3. Larry Bowa (#2 - Third Base Coach)      4. Wes Chamberlain (#44 - OF) 5. Norm Charlton (#37 - LHP) 6. Darren Daulton (#10 - C) 7. Mariano Duncan (#7 - INF) 8. Lenny Dykstra (#4 - OF) 9. Jim Eisenreich (#8 - OF) 10. Jim Fregosi (#11 - MG) 11. Tyler Green (#28 - RHP) 12. Tommy Greene (#49 - RHP)

13. Dave Hollins (#15 - INF) 14. Pete Incaviglia (#22 - OF) 15. Danny Jackson (#27 - LHP) 16. Doug Jones (#23 - RHP)* 17. Ricky Jordan (#17 - 1B) 18. Jeff Juden (#43 - RHP) 19. John Kruk (#29 - 1B) 20. Tony Longmire (#16 - OF) 21. Roger Mason (#48 - RHP) 22. Denis Menke (#14 - Hitting Instructor)      23. Mickey Morandini (#12 - INF) 24. Bobby Munoz (#35 - RHP)

25. Johnny Podres (#46 - Pitching Coach) 26. Todd Pratt (#6 - Catcher) 27. Ben Rivera (#34 - RHP) 28. Mel Roberts (#26 - First Base Coach) 29. Mike Ryan (#9 - Bullpen Coach) 30. Curt Schilling (#38 - RHP) 31. Heathcliff Slocumb (#51 - RHP) 32. Kevin Stocker (#19 - INF) 33. Milt Thompson (#25 - OF) 34. John Vukovich (#18 - Dugout Assistant)      35. David West (#40 - LHP) 36. Mike Williams (#41 - RHP)

Complete Update Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here alphabetically with uniform number and position from the front of cards):

1. Toby Borland (#42 - RHP)      2. Andy Carter (#50 - LHP) 3. Billy Hatcher (#3 - OF) 4. Mike Lieberthal (#24 - C)

5. Tom Marsh (#21 - OF) 6. Paul Quantrill (#48 - RHP)        7. Randy Ready (#31 - INF)

8. Fernando Valenzuela (#33 - LHP)      9. Phillie Phanatic 10. 1994 Phillies All-Stars

One and Only Phillies Baseball Card (1):  Carter

First Appearance in Phillies Team Issued Set (12):  Borland, Charlton, Hatcher, Jones, Juden, Lieberthal, Longmire, Marsh, Munoz, Quantrill, Slocumb, Valenzuela
Returning Players in Phillies Team Issued Set (24):  Andersen, Batiste, Chamberlain, Daulton, Duncan, Dykstra, Eisenreich, Green, Greene, Hollins, Incaviglia, Jackson, Jordan, Kruk, Mason, Morandini, Pratt, Ready, Rivera, Schilling, Stocker, Thompson, West, Williams

*The Jones card in the original 36-card set erroneously lists his date of birth of January 2, 1972.  This was corrected with a second Jones card (with an identical photo) issued with the update set.

Andy Carter's only Phillies baseball card can be found within the update set.  

Manager (1):  Fregosi
Coaches (6):  Bowa, Menke, Podres, Roberts, Ryan, Vukovich

Phillie Phanatic (1):  The Phanatic is shown atop the Phillies dugout, wearing his blue hat which was briefly introduced at certain home games during the 1994 season.

Broadcasters (0):  N/A
Other Cards (1):  1994 Phillies All-Stars, featuring Vukovich, Fregosi, Podres, Dykstra, Jones, Jackson and Duncan.

Set Composition:  The entire 25-man opening day roster made it into the set, with the exception of outfielder Tom Marsh, who didn't get a card until the update set was released.  Also appearing in the original set were John Kruk, Norm Charlton, Wes Chamberlain and Larry Andersen, who all began the season on the Disabled List.  Charlton would miss the entire season.  The oft-injured Tyler Green got a card too, but he spent the entire season with the Triple-A Red Barons.

The eight players included in the update set were added to the roster between opening day (Marsh) and June 29th (Mike Lieberthal), meaning the update set was likely released shortly after the All-Star break.  Fernando Valenzuela looks as if he was asked to put on a uniform for the sole purpose of letting the Phillies take pictures.

Omissions:  Shawn Boskie, who pitched in 18 games for the Phillies in 1994, is the big omission here.  Boskie was added too late for inclusion in the original set, as the Phillies acquired him from the Cubs on April 12th for Kevin Foster.  He could have been added to the update set, as he was with the club and active up until his trade to the Mariners on July 21st.  Boskie was included within the Mellon Bank Phillies SGA set, given away to all kids attending the June 26th game.  There are four other players who appeared with the Phillies during the strike-shortened season who didn't get team-issued photo cards:  Tom Quinlan, on the roster for 45 days in May and June, Bob Wells, Ricky Bottalico and Tom Edens, who was acquired from the Astros a few weeks before the end of the season.

Variations/Rarities:  In the comments to the original post for this set, fellow Phillies collector Rick  pointed out the following non-set cards/variations.  Rick also adds some of the popular players (including John Kruk) had cards issued including a facsimile autograph.

1. Dick Allen (with 1994 copyright) 2. Doug Jones (corrected birthday of 6/24/57)

Trivia:  The Beckett database lists the set as "1994 Phillies Medford" even though Medford Food Company was not the sponsor of this set.  The listing also omits the ten card update set.  The set's listing in the 2001 Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards lists the set as "1994 Phillies Photocards" and includes only the base 36 cards.

Resources:  Beckett.com; Phillies collector Rick (@rickphils)

This set was originally featured in a post back in November 2014, and I'm going through these older team-issued set posts to update them with new information learned (if any) over the past six years.

1993 Medford Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards / 1995 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

1980-1999 Phillies Team-Issued Photo Cards Want List / Phillies Team Issued Sets Index Page

1994 Phillies Team Issue

I updated this post here in September 2023 and this original post is now outdated.

 
Number of Cards:  46
Card Size:  4" x 6"
Description:  For the sixth year in a row, the card fronts feature a photo with the player's, coach's or manager's name in a red band with white text.  The card backs feature biographical information along with complete career statistics.  The card backs also feature the club's 1993 N.L. Champions logo.  From this point forward (as of this writing), the Phillies team issued sets have been sponsor-less.  Medford Food Company sponsored its third and final set in 1993.

How Distributed:  The original 36-card set was available for sale at Veterans Stadium throughout the season.  A ten-card update series was produced and sold at the ballpark in the second half of the season, before the strike ended the season prematurely on August 11th.

Complete Standard Checklist (36):  The cards are unnumbered, but I've presented them below ordered by uniform number.

2 - Larry Bowa CO 4 - Lenny Dykstra 5 - Kim Batiste 6 - Todd Pratt 7 - Mariano Duncan 8 - Jim Eisenreich 9 - Mike Ryan CO 10 - Darren Daulton 11 - Jim Fregosi MG 12 - Mickey Morandini 14 - Denis Menke CO 15 - Dave Hollins 16 - Tony Longmire 17 - Ricky Jordan 18 - John Vukovich CO 19 - Kevin Stocker 22 - Pete Incaviglia 23 - Doug Jones

25 - Milt Thompson 26 - Mel Roberts CO 27 - Danny Jackson 28 - Tyler Green 29 - John Kruk 34 - Ben Rivera 35 - Bobby Munoz 37 - Norm Charlton 38 - Curt Schilling 40 - David West 41 - Mike Williams 43 - Jeff Juden 44 - Wes Chamberlain 46 - Johnny Podres CO 47 - Larry Andersen 48 - Roger Mason 49 - Tommy Greene 51 - Heathcliff Slocumb

Complete Update Checklist (10):

3 - Billy Hatcher 21 - Tom Marsh 24 - Mike Lieberthal 31 - Randy Ready 33 - Fernando Valenzuela

42 - Toby Borland 48 - Paul Quantrill 50 - Andy Carter Phillie Phanatic 1994 Phillies All-Stars

One and Done (1):  Carter
First Appearances (12):  Borland, Charlton, Hatcher, Jones, Juden, Lieberthal, Longmire, Marsh, Munoz, Quantrill, Slocumb, Valenzuela
Returning Players (24):  Andersen, Batiste, Chamberlain, Daulton, Duncan, Dykstra, Eisenreich, Green, Greene, Hollins, Incaviglia, Jackson, Jordan, Kruk, Mason, Morandini, Pratt, Ready, Rivera, Schilling, Stocker, Thompson, West, Williams

The Jones card in the original 36-card set lists his date of birth of January 2, 1972.  This was corrected with a second Jones card (with an identical photo) issued with the update set.

Andy Carter's only Phillies baseball card can be found within the update set.  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.

Manager (1):  Fregosi
Coaches (6):  Bowa, Menke, Podres, Roberts, Ryan, Vukovich
Phillie Phanatic (1):  The Phanatic is shown atop the Phillies dugout, wearing his blue hat which was briefly introduced at certain home games during the 1994 season.
Broadcasters (0)
Commemorative Cards (1):  1994 Phillies All-Stars, featuring Vukovich, Fregosi, Podres, Dykstra, Jones, Jackson and Duncan.

Variations/Rarities:  The update series is fairly difficult to track down.  I attended a few games at the Vet that July, adding the set to my collection.  Phillies collector Rick also points out the following variations in his comment below.

• 15 - Dick Allen (with 1994 copyright)
• 23 - Doug Jones (corrected birthday of 6/24/57)

Finally, Rick also adds that some of the popular players (including Kruk) had cards issued including a facsimile autograph.

Also See:  Mellon PSFS (a local Philadelphia based bank) sponsored a 25 card set handed out to all kids 14 and under at the June 26th game.  As this is also a team-issued set, I'd like to eventually put together a post for these cards as well.  (H/T to Phillies SGA for the date of the giveaway.)
Trivia:  The Beckett database lists the set as "1994 Phillies Medford" even though Medford Food Company was not the sponsor of this set.  The listing also omits the ten card update set.  The set's listing in the 2001 Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards lists the set as "1994 Phillies Photocards" and includes only the base 36 cards.
Resources:  Beckett.com; Phillies collector Rick (@rickphils)

1995 Topps Phillies

1995 Topps Traded #140T, 1995 Topps #326, 1995 Topps Traded #77T and 1995 Topps #120

I have disliked the 1995 Topps set since I opened my first pack 17 years ago.  I think the traditionalist in me thought the cards were too over the top.  Difficult to read foil script, the jagged border around the picture, the too small and difficult to read number on the backs of the cards, and the inordinate amount of unneeded subsets within the set - it was all too much for me.  I remember thinking that these cards looked like they belonged in an insert set or a Fleer set, but not in a base Topps set.  For these reasons, I probably opened less packs of 1995 Topps than any year before or since.

1995 Topps #2 (Back)

The Set
Number of cards in the set:  The set size dropped to 660 cards, which was the lowest number of cards in a Topps base set since way back in 1977.  Topps again released the set in two separate series, with 396 cards in series one and only 264 in series two.  Another first, the traded series was not released in set form but rather sold in packs just like the base set.  There are 165 cards in the traded series (essentially series three) and the Standard Catalog officially refers to the set as the 1995 Traded and Rookies set, with the "and Rookies" bit new for 1995.
My very brief thoughts on the set:  All these years later, and I don't know why I had such an intense dislike for this set.  One theory I have is that I was still quite bitter about the whole player's strike and I took my feelings out on anything connected with the current crop of baseball players. 
Notable competition:  I didn't buy many 1995 baseball cards when they were first released, having turned my attention (and what little disposable income I had at the time) to working on my 1970 Topps set. Flipping through my 1995 Phillies binder now, there's not a whole heck of a lot that jumps out at me.  One thing is for certain - the 1995 Fleer set has got to be one of the worst baseball card sets, in terms of design, of all-time.

1995 Topps #477, #586, #533 and #260

1995 Phillies
Record and finish:  The Phillies finished the abbreviated season with a respectable record of 69-75, but they finished 21 games behind the first place Atlanta Braves in the East.  This would be the closest the team would come to a winning season until 2001 when they finished with a record of 86-76.
Key players:  There wasn't much offense, as Charlie Hayes returned to the Phils to lead the team in RBIs (with 85) and tie for the team lead with 11 home runs.  The newly acquired Gregg Jefferies also had 11 home runs and was second on the team in RBIs with 56.  Hard Hittin' Mark Whiten, acquired in late July when Dave Hollins was shipped to the Red Sox, tallied 11 home runs in just 60 games.  Jim Eisenreich had his second straight strong year, hitting .316 with 10 home runs and 55 RBIs.  Injuries hobbled the core of the 1993 team as Darren Daulton (98 games) and Lenny Dykstra (62 games) saw significantly reduced playing time.  The pitching was even less spectacular.  Paul Quantrill led the staff with 11 wins (but possessed a 4.67 ERA) while Tyler Green (8-9, 5.31 ERA) and Mike Mimbs (9-7, 4.15 ERA) were inserted into the rotation following injuries to Curt Schilling, Bobby Munoz and Tommy Greene.  Heathcliff Slocumb had a wonderful season out of the bullpen, saving 32 games and earning the win in the All-Star Game.  And rookie Ricky Bottalico appeared in 62 games while pitching to an impressive 2.46 ERA.
Key events:  There wasn't much to get excited about on the field, but in July, both Mike Schmidt and Richie Ashburn were elected to baseball's Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

1995 Topps Traded #127T, #152T, #19T and 1995 Topps #297

1995 Phillies in 1995 Topps
Cards needed for a complete team set:  There are 28 Phillies cards in the base set and another 11 Phillies cards in the traded set, for a total of 39 Phillies cards.
Who’s in:

• Cards of the eight starting position players - 7 cards

#477 Darren Daulton (c), #586 Dave Hollins (1b), #2 Mickey Morandini (2b), #533 Kevin Stocker (ss), #140T Charlie Hayes (3b), #77T Gregg Jefferies (lf), #326 Jim Eisenreich (rf)

Andy Van Slyke is deemed to be the team's regular center fielder by a hair, having started in one more game in center (53) than Dykstra (52).

1995 Topps #2

• Cards of the starting pitching rotation - 4 cards

#127T Paul Quantrill, #152T Tyler Green, #19T Mike Mimbs, #297 Curt Schilling

You know it's been a long year when your three top starting pitchers appear for the first time on Phillies cards in the traded set.  Sid Fernandez started 11 games for the Phillies, but he wouldn't make it into the traded set.

• Base cards of players who played with the Phillies in 1995 - 11 cards

#31 David West, #59 Ricky Bottalico, #88 Heathcliff Slocumb, #103 Mariano Duncan, #120 Lenny Dykstra, #144 Tommy Greene, #351 Mike Williams, #458 Bobby Munoz, #554 Mike Lieberthal, #608 Tony Longmire, #90T Dave Gallagher

Bottalico's card is part of the "Star Track" subset which features a completely different design than the normal base cards.

• Base cards of players who didn't play with the Phillies in 1995 - 7 cards (with new teams listed)

#173 Kim Batiste (minors with the Phillies and Orioles), #239 Ben Rivera (out of baseball), #269 Ricky Jordan (minors with the Angels), #383 Billy Hatcher (Rangers and minors with the Royals), #420 Danny Jackson (Cardinals), #495 Doug Jones (Orioles), #572 John Kruk (White Sox)

Kruk signed with the White Sox in mid-May and primarily served as the team's DH before his abrupt retirement on July 30th.  Kruk singled in the first inning that day and upon returning to the dugout informed manager Ozzie Guillen and his teammates that he was officially retired.  Frank Thomas pinch-hit for him in the third inning and Kruk's 10-year career was over.

1995 Topps #88, #59, #507 and #351

• Phillies appearing on multi-player 1995 Prospects cards - 3 cards

#79 Gene Schall (with Scott Talanoa, Harold Williams and Ray Brown), #237 Shane Pullen (with Brian L. Hunter, Jose Malave and Karim Garcia), #88T Larry Wimberly (with Pat Ahearne, Gary Rath and Robbie Bell)

Schall had previously appeared on a Coming Attractions card within the 1994 Topps set and he actually played 24 games with the 1995 Phillies.  Pullen played in parts of three seasons within the Phillies minor league system from 1994 to 1996, and he made it as high as Class A Clearwater.  Wimberly was shipped to the Red Sox in January 1996 as part of the six-player deal that sent Slocumb to Boston for Ken Ryan, Glenn Murray and Lee Tinsley.  He bounced around the minor league systems of the Red Sox and Pirates until 2002, never making it to the Majors.

• Phillies appearing on 1994 Topps All Stars cards - 1 card, #393 Danny Jackson (with Jimmy Key)
• Phillies appearing on Draft Pick cards - 2 cards

#421 Ryan Nye, #108T Reggie Taylor

1995 Topps #79

Nye, the team's second pick in the June 1994 draft, eventually played with the Phillies in 5 games in 1997 and 1998.  Taylor, the team's #1 pick in the June 1995 draft, played in 14 games with the Phils in 2000 and 2001.  The team's #1 pick from the June 1994 draft, Carlton Loewer, got completely left out of the set.

• Phillies appearing on multi-player On Deck cards - 2 cards

#654 Wayne Gomes and Kevin Jordan, #107T Rob Grable with Glenn Dishman (Padres)

Jordan made it into 24 games with the 1995 club and Gomes made his Phillies debut in June 1997.  Grable enjoyed a break-out season with Reading in 1995 (.300, 16 home runs, 67 RBIs), but he never made it to the Majors.  Ironically, his counterpart on the card did play for the Phillies at one point, as Dishman appeared in 4 games for the 1996 Phillies.

• Phillies appearing on '95 Rookie Year Candidates cards - 1 card, #131T Tyler Green
• Phillies appearing on Mid All-Star cards - 1 card, #162T Lenny Dykstra with Kirby Puckett (Twins)

Who’s out:  The case could be made for both Tom Marsh (43 games, .294) and Gary Varsho (72 games) being deserving of cards.  And pitchers Jeff Juden (10 starts), Toby Borland (50 games, 6 saves), Norm Charlton (25 games) and Gene Harris (21 games) could also have had Phillies cards.  But I won't argue too loudly for anybody but Borland.
Phillies on other teams:  Only Hayes (#81 with the Rockies) and Jefferies (#526 with the Cardinals) made it into the traded series with the Phillies.  Whiten appears on this list twice with the Cardinals (#409) and Red Sox (#102T).  And there are four other members of the 1995 Phillies featured on cards with their former teams - #201 Steve Frey (Giants), #260 Andy Van Slyke (Pirates), #374 Lenny Webster (Expos), and #507 Sid Fernandez (Orioles).
What’s he doing here:  Seeing cards of Pullen, Wimberly and Grable frustrates me when prospects such as Andy Carter and Kevin Sefcik were shut out.

1995 Topps Traded #102T

Cards that never were candidates:  There could be an entire series of cards that never were of the 1995 fringe Phillies, but I've narrowed my selection to five - Van Slyke, Whiten, back-up catcher Webster, fifth starter Fernandez and Varsho.  And if I had my way, I'd make a "normal" card for Bottalico.
Favorite Phillies card:  Morandini's horizontal action shot is cool, but I'll go with Daulton's posed shot at home plate.

Other Stuff
Recycled:  As far as I know, the 1995 Topps design has yet to be revisited by the company.
Blogs/Websites:  Goose Joak has nothing to do with the 1995 Topps set, but for some reason I remember commenting on one of his past posts that 1995 was the "worst Topps base set designs ever."  So while I don't appreciate the 1995 Topps set, I do appreciate Goose Joak's wonderful custom cards.  Check it out and get ready to witness some of the best custom cards around.
Did You Know?:  With the player's strike bumping up against the beginning of Spring Training, teams began filling their rosters with replacement players.  Fortunately, the strike was settled and fans weren't subjected to replacement player baseball in the regular season, but it was still a fairly surreal spring.  I clipped the following from a newspaper article in 2005 following the 10 year anniversary of that bizarre Spring Training.  (Click to enlarge.)  A whopping 92 "Phillies" suited up that spring, including former Phillies Marty Bystrom, Todd Cruz and Jeff Stone.  Bystrom had last appeared in the Majors with the Yankees in 1985,   Cruz hadn't been on a big league roster since 1984 with the Orioles and Stone hadn't played professionally since 1992.  It was quaint at first, but then the novelty of it all quickly wore off.


Blogger's labeling limitations are causing Mike Williams and Gene Schall to not be tagged in this post.  It's probably for the best.

1994 Topps Phillies

1994 Topps #380, #401, #323 and #504

After the improbable success of the 1993 season, things completely fell apart for the Phillies.  1994 marked the first of seven consecutive losing seasons as the aging team suffered through a rash of injuries.  On August 11, 1994, the baseball season ended prematurely due to an impasse between the players and the owners.  The players' strike that would go on until the following spring stained the game and sent away countless long-time fans, disgusted by the greed on both sides of the argument.

My baseball card collecting priorities also changed in 1994.  As a direct result of the strike, I became more focused on collecting vintage Topps sets, and much less focused on attempting to collect new Phillies cards.  It wasn't until much later in the '90s that I filled out my 1994 through 1998 Phillies collection, as the strike caused me to all but stop buying packs of new baseball cards for several years.

1994 Topps #504 (Back)

The Set

Number of cards in the set:  Topps went back to its magic number of 792, releasing two series of 396 cards each.  The traded series contained the now-standard 132 cards.

My very brief thoughts on the set:  I wasn't really that into this set at the time, although this is the set I still tend to associate with the 1993 National League Champs.  I believe this is the last Topps base set to not feature some sort of gold or silver foil element on the fronts of the cards.  Which means we've been straining our eyes and tilting the cards since 1994 in order to read the name of the player on the fronts of baseball cards.

Notable competition:  I've always loved the 1994 Fleer set.  It's very simplistic in its design and it features a lot of great photos.  (What happened to the Fleer design team between 1994 and 1995?)  The Collector's Choice set (from Upper Deck), the Pinnacle set and the Triple Play set (from Donruss) are also terrific sets with great designs.

1994 Topps #692, #57, #476 and #635

1994 Phillies

Record and finish:  The Phils finished the strike-shortened season with a record of 54-61 in the newly aligned five-team National League East.  They were 20 1/2 games behind the Montreal Expos when the season stopped.

Key players:  Darren Daulton was on his way to another solid season, hitting .300 with 15 home runs and 56 RBIs.  A fractured clavicle suffered on a play at the plate at the end of June ended his season early.  John Kruk (.302, 5 home runs, 38 RBIs) and Jim Eisenreich (.300, 4 home runs, 43 RBIs)  helped with their bats while Pete Incaviglia added 13 home runs.  Danny Jackson led the pitching staff with 14 wins and a 3.26 ERA, followed by the newly-acquired Bobby Munoz, who won 7 games with a 2.67 ERA.  The dependable 1993 trio of Curt Schilling, Tommy Greene and Ben Rivera spent the bulk of the season on the disabled list.  New closer Doug Jones saved 27 games and pitched to a very impressive 2.17 ERA, while Heathcliff Slocumb (2.86 ERA, 5-1) served as a very effective set-up reliever.

Key events:  Mitch Williams and Terry Mulholland, both key contributors on the 1993 squad, were traded over the winter to the Astros and Yankees respectively.  Kruk battled testicular cancer during the off-season and returned on the team's home opening day to a very lengthy and very loud standing ovation.  The cheers only intensified when Kruk doubled in the first inning to drive home the first run of the season for the Phils.  The Phils sent four players to the All-Star Game in Pittsburgh - Jackson, Jones, Lenny Dykstra and Mariano Duncan.

1994 Phillies in 1994 Topps

Cards needed for a complete team set:  There are 30 Phillies cards in the base set and another 6 Phillies cards in the traded set.

Who’s in:

• Cards of the eight starting position players - 8 cards

#380 Darren Daulton (c), #401 John Kruk (1b), #692 Mickey Morandini (2b), #57 Kevin Stocker (ss), #476 Dave Hollins (3b), #323 Pete Incaviglia (lf), #635 Lenny Dykstra (cf), #504 Jim Eisenreich (rf)

• Cards of the starting pitching rotation - 5 cards

#199 Danny Jackson, #102T Bobby Munoz, #53T Shawn Boskie, #266 David West, #142 Curt Schilling

1994 Topps #199, 1994 Topps Traded #102T, #53T and 1994 Topps #266

• Base cards of players who played with the Phillies in 1994 - 14 Cards

#28 Tony Longmire, #86 Ricky Jordan, #238 Kim Batiste, #352 Ben Rivera, #419 Wes Chamberlain, #447 Mike Williams, #533 Roger Mason, #570 Tommy Greene, #597 Todd Pratt, #663 Mariano Duncan, #722 Milt Thompson, #5T Toby Borland, #43T Heathcliff Slocumb, #126T Doug Jones

Longmire's card is futuristic "Future Stars" card, complete with some sort of green computer chip background.

• Base cards of players who didn't play with the Phillies in 1994 - 4 Cards (with new teams listed)

#114 Mitch Williams (Astros), #170 Terry Mulholland (Yankees), #294 Tyler Green (minors), #328 Donn Pall (Yankees/Cubs)

• Phillies appearing on 1993 Topps All Stars cards - 1 card, #388 Lenny Dykstra with Ken Griffey, Jr. (Mariners)
• Phillies appearing on Measures of Greatness cards - 1 card, #608 Darren Daulton

I've always thought this was a bizarre subset.  Daulton's career-to-date stats are measured against Roy Campanella and the average stats for all Hall of Fame catchers.  Topps concludes that with several more years like 1992 and 1993, Daulton's power numbers would be "truly Cooperstown-ish."  At the time, I thought it was a silly comparison and the cards in this subset took away from players who should have had cards in the set.  All these years later and my thinking hasn't changed.

• #1 Draft Pick card - 1 card, #742 Wayne Gomes
• Phillies appearing on Coming Attractions cards - 1 card, #786 Kevin Foster and Gene Schall
• Ryne Sandberg Commemorative card - 1 card, #130T Ryne Sandberg

Gomes made his debut with the Phillies in June 1997, and he'd become the team's full-time closer for a portion of the 1999 season.  Foster was shipped to the Cubs at the start of the season for Boskie.  Schall played in parts of two seasons with the Phillies in 1995 and 1996.  And Sandberg appears here on his first "official" Phillies card as part of a two-card subset commemorating his retirement part-way through the 1994 season.  Sandberg would change his mind and come back to play in 1996 and 1997 for the Cubs.

1994 Topps Traded #126T, #43T, 1994 Topps #663 and #86

Who’s out:  Topps did a really nice job with player selection for the Phillies this year.  Of the returning players from 1993, only Larry Andersen was completely omitted from the set.  He appeared in 29 games for the 1994 club.  Lefty Andy Carter, who pitched in 20 games, would have been a better choice for the Coming Attractions card over Foster.

Phillies on other teams:  Bobby Munoz (#144 with the Yankees), Shawn Boskie (#177 with the Cubs) and Doug Jones (#334 with the Astros) appeared in the base set with their former teams before getting Phillies cards in the traded set.  These guys weren't so lucky - #26 Billy Hatcher (Red Sox), #175 Fernando Valenzuela (Orioles), #417 Paul Quantrill (Red Sox), #427 Tom Edens (Astros) and #541 Jeff Juden (Astros).  Valenzuela, who appeared in 8 games for the 1994 Phillies appeared in (I believe) 9 cards with the Phillies, none of which were produced by Topps.

1994 Topps #175

What’s he doing here:  Topps jumped the gun a little by giving Green his third base card in as many years.  Green appeared in 3 games with the 1993 Phillies and he spent all of 1994 in the minors.  When Topps was going through player selection for the set, I'd imagine this final spot for a Phillies card came down to Green versus Andersen and the prospect beat out the veteran.

Cards that never were candidates:  Andersen and Carter are deserving, and Hatcher, Valenzuela and Quantrill should get Phillies cards.  I'd also make a Coming Attractions card for Mike Lieberthal and Ricky Bottalico, who both made their debuts during the season.

Favorite Phillies card:  Eisenreich has always been one of my favorite players, and he's got a great 1994 Topps card featuring him taking a warm-up swing with the sun on his face.

Other Stuff

Recycled:  Topps used the 1994 Topps design for Daulton's card in its 2004 All-Time Fan Favorites set. The design is also featured on Bobby Abreu's 2006 Topps Wal-Mart card.

Blogs/Websites:  Lifetime Topps Project recently concluded its look at the 1994 Topps set.

Did You Know?:  The Phillies adopted all-blue hats for home Sunday games in 1994.  Besides the fact that the hats clashed badly with the team's uniform, many players deemed the hats to be unlucky once the blue-hat Phils went 0-3 over the first three home Sundays.  A meeting was held between team captain Daulton and General Manager Lee Thomas and it was decided that the hats would only be worn during the remaining afternoon home games.  The blue hats completely disappeared after the season.

1995 Upper Deck Update Phillies

1995 Upper Deck Update #477 Heathcliff Slocumb & #478 Mark Whiten

Just when I was starting to think 1995 Upper Deck Update cards did not actually exist, I received all four Phillies cards from the set from GCRL, aka Jim, aka the O-Pee-Chee guy. (In addition to the cards featured, Tyler Green and Gregg Jefferies appear in the set.) Similar to the Kevin Stocker insert card I recently featured, the cards themselves aren't all that thrilling. What is thrilling to me about these cards is that I've had them on a wantlist for 15 years . . . and now I can officially cross them off.

1995 was somewhat of a black hole year as far as baseball and baseball card collecting were concerned. The 1994 players' strike was still fresh in my mind, and I lived in North Carolina year-round. Both these factors contributed to a dearth of 1995 Phillies cards in my collection, since the Tar Heel state isn't exactly a hotbed for the Phillies or Phillies baseball cards. In fact, it's safe to say I watched less Phillies baseball in 1995 than any other year I've followed the team.

The 1995 Phillies were a forgettable bunch, finishing 21 games behind the Atlanta Braves in the NL East. Whiten, Jefferies and Charlie Hayes tied for the team lead in home runs with 11 a piece, and Paul Quantrill led the pitching staff with 11 victories. In retrospect, it appears as if I really wasn't missing much.