Phillies at Reds: April 22nd to April 25th

2024 Chachi 1984 Topps Missing Links #15

1984 Topps #475

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday 6:40, Thursday 1:10
Great American Ball Park - Cincinnati, OH

At the Ballpark:  Each of these four games have theme tickets available for various deals or promotional items, and Wednesday's game is a Bark in the Park night with "ticket packages available for dogs and their owners with pet activities, samples and more."

Phillies 14-8
2nd Place in the N.L. East, 1 1/2 games behind the Braves

Phillies Probables
Ranger Suarez (3-0, 1.73)
Cristopher Sanchez (1-2, 2.53)
Spencer Turnbull (2-0, 1.23)
Zack Wheeler (1-3, 2.30)

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Trea Turner - .348
Runs:  Trea Turner - 17
Home Runs:  Kyle Schwarber - 6
RBIs:  Alec Bohm - 18
Stolen Bases:  Johan Rojas - 6

Wins:  Aaron Nola and Ranger Suarez - 3
ERA:  Spencer Turnbull - 1.23
Strikeouts:  Zack Wheeler - 38
Saves:  Jose Alvarado - 4

Reds 12-9
3rd Place in the N.L. Central, 2 1/2 games behind the Brewers

Reds Probables
Hunter Greene (0-1, 4.35)
Andrew Abbott (1-2, 2.70)
Nick Lodolo (2-0, 0.75)
Graham Ashcraft (3-1, 5.24)

Reds Leaders
Average:  Spencer Steer - .307
Runs:  Elly De La Cruz - 20
Home Runs:  Elly De La Cruz - 6
RBIs:  Spencer Steer - 18
Stolen Bases:  Elly De La Cruz - 10

Wins:  Graham Ashcraft - 3
ERA:  Andrew Abbott - 2.70
Strikeouts:  Hunter Greene - 30
Saves:  Alexis Diaz - 4

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

Series Preview - Phillies at Pirates: July 30th to August 1st

1986 Topps #686

1986 Topps #278

Friday and Saturday 7:05, Sunday 1:05
PNC Park - Pittsburgh, PA

At the Ballpark:  The Pirates have one of the best ballparks in baseball, and their promotional giveaways are always top notch too.  Tonight is Free Shirt Friday, with the first 20,000 fans receiving a yellow "Let's Go Bucs" t-shirt.  On Saturday, the first 20,000 fans will receive a Pirates Hawaiian shirt.  And on Sunday, kids will receive a pack of Topps baseball cards in celebration of the annual Baseball Card Day.

Phillies 51-51
2nd Place in the N.L. East, 3 1/2 games behind the Mets

Phillies Probables
Vince Velasquez (3-5, 5.54)
Aaron Nola (7-6, 4.37)
TBD

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Jean Segura - .306
Runs:  Rhys Hoskins - 58
Home Runs:  Rhys Hoskins - 23
RBIs:  Rhys Hoskins - 63
Stolen Bases:  Bryce Harper - 12

Wins:  Zack Wheeler - 8
ERA:  Zack Wheeler - 2.45
Strikeouts:  Zack Wheeler - 165
Saves:  Hector Neris - 12

Pirates 38-64
5th Place in the N.L. Central, 22 1/2 games behind the Brewers

Pirates Probables
Wil Crowe (2-5, 5.89)
JT Brubaker (4-10, 4.67)
TBD

Pirates Leaders
Average:  Adam Frazier - .324
Runs:  Adam Frazier - 58
Home Runs:  Bryan Reynolds - 18
RBIs:  Bryan Reynolds - 57
Stolen Bases:  Gregory Polanco - 11

Wins:  Tyler Anderson - 5
ERA:  Tyler Anderson - 4.35

Strikeouts:  JT Brubaker - 99
Saves:  Richard Rodriguez - 14

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

1984 Tastykake Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

Number of Cards:  47
Card Size:  3 1/2" x 5 1/4"

Description:  The 1984 Tastykake photo card set got a little more ambitious than its predecessor by adding cards for all the coaches and a broadcaster card.  The fronts are nearly identical to the 1983 set, with the exception of the Phillies script logo added to the top.  The photographer also requested that everyone remove their hats for this set, which was unfortunate for some of the subjects and is reminiscent of the 1976 team-issued photo card set.  The backs of the cards feature a facsimile autograph of the player, coach or manager, and some of the cards include words of encouragement.

I really wish the Phillies had chosen, "Wherever you go, there you are" for the back of Larry Andersen's card.

How Distributed:  All fans 14 and under attending the Phillies game at Veterans Stadium on April 21, 1984, received a complete 40-card set, shrink-wrapped and containing a logo/checklist card on the top.  The back of the logo/checklist card advertised that additional sets could be purchased from the Phillies via mail order for $3.

There are also 7 somewhat rare "update" cards available, and by all accounts at least three of these cards were never released to the general public, at least not in very large quantities.  Here's a verbatim report from a reliable hobby source on the origins of these 7 cards:

"That set was a mess from day 1.  We obtained some uncut sheets from the printer right off the bat.  When the team started selling the shrink wrapped sets, we found that the seven players on one side of the sheets were not included.  I called a friend in the PR dept and asked him what was going on.  He was upset that we’d obtained the sheets and explained that they knew that prospects would be called up from the minors during the season and wanted to avoid making special print runs in order to have pictures for them.  So they picked 7 prominent players and filled out the sheet with their pictures.  When I spoke to him, all the cut cards were in stacks in a back store room.  He was concerned that, if word got out as to which 7 they picked, other players would be upset at not having been included.  As the season went on, I believe that they pulled and used the pictures for Carman, Russell, Stone and Wehrmeister but not for Daulton, Fireovid and Jeltz.  In speaking with the PR guy at the end of the season, he asked what I thought he should do with the supplies of the last three.  I told him I’d deep-six them as they hadn’t been “issued”.  They [the Phillies] ended up selling a bunch of the entire run to a dealer up around, I think, Wilkes Barre.  I believe he sold them as separate “extension” sets for a while."

Fellow collector Steve sent me the scan of the uncut sheet shown here, showing the 7 "update" cards in the far right column.  I'm calling these update cards, but they could just as easily be labelled as unreleased rarities.

Complete Standard Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here based  on the numbered checklist found on the back of the header card): 

1. Header Card / Checklist 2. Team Photo 3. Phillie Phanatic 4. Veterans Stadium 5. Steve Carlton - Future HOF 6. Mike Schmidt - Future HOF         7. Phillies Broadcasters       8. Paul Owens MG 9. Dave Bristol CO 10. John Felske CO 11. Deron Johnson CO 12. Claude Osteen CO 13. Mike Ryan CO 14. Larry Andersen

15. Marty Bystrom 16. Bill Campbell 17. Steve Carlton 18. John Denny 19. Tony Ghelfi 20. Kevin Gross 21. Al Holland 22. Charles Hudson 23. Jerry Koosman 24. Tug McGraw 25. Bo Diaz 26. Ozzie Virgil 27. John Wockenfuss

28. Luis Aguayo 29. Ivan DeJesus 30. Kiko Garcia 31. Len Matuszek 32. Juan Samuel 33. Mike Schmidt 34. Tim Corcoran 35. Greg Gross 36. Von Hayes 37. Joe Lefebvre 38. Sixto Lezcano 39. Garry Maddox 40. Glenn Wilson

Complete Update Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here alphabetically): 

1. Don Carman 2. Darren Daulton         3. Steve Fireovid

4. Steve Jeltz 5. John Russell

6. Jeff Stone 7. Dave Wehrmeister

One and Only Phillies Baseball Card (2):  Fireovid, Wehrmeister

First Appearance in Phillies Team Issued Set (19):  Andersen, Campbell, Carman, Corcoran, Daulton, Garcia, Ghelfi, K. Gross, Hudson, Jeltz, Koosman, Lefebvre, Lezcano, Matuszek, Russell, Samuel, Stone, Wilson, Wockenfuss
Returning Players in Phillies Team Issued Set (12):  Aguayo, Bystrom, Carlton, DeJesus, Denny, Diaz, G. Gross, Hayes, Maddox, McGraw, Schmidt, Virgil

Manager (1):  Owens
Coaches (5):  Bristol, Felske, Johnson, Osteen, Ryan

Phillie Phanatic (1):  Uses the same ATV photo from the 1983 Tastykake set.
Broadcasters (1):  Chris Wheeler, Harry Kalas, Andy Musser and Richie Ashburn.
Commemorative Cards (2):  Carlton and Schmidt get Future Hall of Famer cards.  The back of the Carlton card features a list of all-time victories leaders, while the back of the Schmidt card features a list of all-time home run leaders.
Other Cards (3):  Header/checklist card, team photo and Veterans Stadium.

Surprises:  Knowing what I know now about the genesis of the 7 update cards, the Phillies PR department did a great job of predicting future roster additions.  Only Darren Daulton didn't see playing time with the club in 1984.  The set contains the entire 25-man opening day roster, plus pitcher Tony Ghelfi who started the season on the disabled list and Marty Bystrom who began the season with Triple-A Portland.

Omissions:  Minor leaguers who would ultimately appear with the Phillies in 1984 who could have received consideration for the update set are Francisco Melendez, Mike Lavalliere and Rick Schu.  And for completists, the Phillies added four players from outside their organization throughout the season - Jim Kern, Shane Rawley, Al Oliver and Renie Martin.  Kern and Martin would never receive actual Phillies baseball cards.

Variations/Rarities:  Again, the 7 update cards could easily appear here as they're not technically true update cards and they're not readily available.

Also See:  The Curious Case of Dave Wehrmeister; Memories of 1984 Phillies Photo Day

Resources:  Beckett.com; 14,000 Phillies - Dave Wehrmeister, Worst Phillies Card of All Time; Fellow collectors Steve F., Rick G. and Bill W.

This set was originally featured in a post back in October 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.

1983 Tastykake Phillies Photo Cards / 1985 Tastykake Phillies Photo Cards

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

1985 Tastykake Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

Number of Cards:  47
Card Size:  3 1/2" x 5 1/4"
Description:  Beginning in 1985, the Phillies used the exact same card design for three straight years.  The only differences with these cards are the photos used and the copyright line on the bottom right of the cards' fronts.  The design removes the Phillies script logo found on the 1984 cards and adds the player's uniform number and position.  The set's sponsor, Tastykake, has its logo featured on the backs of the cards.

How Distributed:  All fans attending the Phillies game at Veterans Stadium on April 21, 1985, received a complete shrink-wrapped set with a header/checklist card on the top.  The back of the header/checklist card advertised that additional sets could be purchased from the Phillies via mail order for $3.50.  The Phillies raised the price of a complete set by fifty cents over the previous year.

The 1985 Tastykake Phillies set seems to be the most ubiquitous of all the team-issued sets from the 1980s.  Up through the mid-2010s, the sets could be readily found on eBay and for sale at Citizens Bank Park.  The Memorabilia Store from Hunt Auctions located behind Section 126 had several of these sets for sale throughout the 2014 season.

Complete Standard Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here based on the numbered checklist found on the back of the header card): 

1. Header Card / Checklist 2. John Felske (#7 - MG) 3. Dave Bristol (#4 - CO) 4. Lee Elia (#2 - CO) 5. Claude Osteen (#3 - CO) 6. Mike Ryan (#5 - CO) 7. Del Unser (#25 - CO) 8. Manager and Coaches 9. Pitchers 10. Catchers 11. Infielders 12. Outfielders 13. Larry Andersen (#47 - RHP)      14. Steve Carlton (#32 - LHP) 15. Don Carman (#42 - LHP) 16. John Denny (#40 - RHP)

17. Tony Ghelfi (#35 - RHP) 18. Kevin Gross (#46 - RHP) 19. Al Holland (#19 - RHP) 20. Charles Hudson (#49 - RHP) 21. Jerry Koosman (#24 - LHP)      22. Shane Rawley (#48 - LHP) 23. Pat Zachry (#38 - RHP) 24. Darren Daulton (#10 - C) 25. Bo Diaz (#6 - C) 26. Ozzie Virgil (#17 - C) 27. John Wockenfuss (#14 - C) 28. Luis Aguayo (#16 - INF) 29. Kiko Garcia (#18 - INF) 30. Steve Jeltz (#30 - SS) 31. John Russell (#29 - OF-1B) 32. Juan Samuel (#8 - 2B)

33. Mike Schmidt (#20 - 3B) 34. Tim Corcoran (#22 - 1B-OF) 35. Greg Gross (#21 - OF-1B) 36. Von Hayes (#9 - CF) 37. Joe Lefebvre (#23 - OF) 38. Garry Maddox (#31 - OF) 39. Jeff Stone  (#26 - OF) 40. Glenn Wilson (#12 - OF) 41. Ramon Caraballo / Mike Diaz 42. Mike Maddux / Rodger Cole 43. Rick Schu / Chris James 44. Francisco Melendez / Ken Jackson 45. Randy Salava / Rocky Childress 46. Rich Surhoff / Ralph Citarella 47. Team Photo

One and Only Phillies Baseball Card (1):  Zachry

First Appearance in Phillies Team Issued Set (1):  Rawley
Returning Players in Phillies Team Issued Set (26):  Aguayo, Andersen, Carlton, Carman, Corcoran, Daulton, Denny, Diaz, Garcia, Ghelfi, G. Gross, K. Gross, Hayes, Holland, Hudson, Jeltz, Koosman, Lefebvre, Maddox, Russell, Samuel, Schmidt, Stone, Virgil, Wilson, Wockenfuss

Manager (1):  Felske
Coaches (5):  Bristol, Elia, Osteen, Ryan, Unser
Phillie Phanatic (0)
Broadcasters (0):  But see below.
Future Phillies (6):  Caraballo / Diaz, Maddux / Cole, Schu / James, Melendez / Jackson, Salava / Childress, Surhoff / Citarella
Other Cards (2):  Header Card / Checklist, Team Photo

Surprises:  There was very little roster turnover between the end of the 1984 season and spring training 1985, as Shane Rawley and Pat Zachry are the only two new additions to the set.  Along with Zachry's one and done Phillies card, this set includes the only Phillies baseball card of Rich Surhoff.  The stand-alone cards feature the entire opening day line-up and adds Tony Ghelfi, Darren Daulton and Joe Lefebvre, who would spend the entire season on the disabled list.

The set's designer's decided to try something different with group photos of coaches and players by position.  Batting practice pitcher Hank King is featured on the coach's card, making this (I believe) his sole Phillies baseball card.  Bill Campbell is featured on the pitcher's card and Ivan DeJesus is featured on the infielder's card, but both are omitted from the regular set.  As the regular season was about to begin, Campbell and DeJesus were traded to the Cardinals for pitcher Dave Rucker.

Of the players receiving solo cards in the regular set, Ghelfi was left off the pitcher's card, John Wockenfuss was (sadly) left off the catcher's card, Kiko Garcia was left off the infielder's card and Lefebvre and Garry Maddox were not on the outfielder's card.

Omissions:  The day before these sets were handed out to fans, the Phillies traded Al Holland to the Pirates for Kent Tekulve.  An update set could have featured Tekulve and other players acquired during the season, such as Derrel Thomas, Tom Foley, Freddie Toliver, Alan Knicely and with a few weeks left to go in the regular season, Dave Stewart.

Variations/Rarities:  Once again, fellow collector Rick came through with a few rarities back when I originally published a post for this set.  These could have been first made available during this season's ALS Autograph Party which would have been in its second season in 1985.  (The Phestival became an official event in 1989.)  Tug McGraw announced his retirement following the 1984 season and this card seems to be a final tribute to the popular lefty reliever.  Fronts and backs of these cards are presented below.

Rarities 1. Tug McGraw - Former Phillies Great 2. Phillies Broadcasters - Richie Ashburn, Harry Kalas, Andy Musser and Chris Wheeler

Also See:  With the 2020 season put on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic, I went back and recapped the Phillies games played in 1985 between that season's opening day and the All-Star break.  An index to those game summaries can be found here.

And here's a commercial from 1985, featuring Garry Maddox and inviting fans to the game on April 21st for their free Phillies photo cards.

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

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

1984 Tastykake Phillies Photo Cards / 1986 Tastykake Phillies Photo Cards

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

1985 Game 56 - 1985 Fleer #266 Jeff Stone

Mets 7, Phillies 3 (11 Innings)
Game 56 - Wednesday Night, June 12th in Philadelphia
Record - 21-35, 5th Place, 14 1/2 games behind the Cubs

One Sentence Summary:  Ron Darling got things back under control for the Mets as he held the Phillies to only three hits in this 7-3 loss.

What It Means:  The Phillies came back down to Earth with a lazy offensive performance in this game, and I'm sure quite a few fans wished they had saved a few of their 27 hits from the prior game for this one.

What Happened:  Darling went seven strong innings, allowing an inside the park home run to Glenn Wilson in the fourth.  Jesse Orosco and Rick Aguilera pitched the final four scoreless innings for the Mets.  The Phillies held a 3-1 lead heading to the eighth, thanks to another strong outing from Steve Carlton.  Seriously, Carlton had to be taking it personally that his offense couldn't score for him.  Carlton pitched six innings, allowing a run on six hits.  Kent Tekulve blew the save when he allowed the Mets to tie the game on a two-run home run from Danny Heep in the eighth.  Don Carman pitched three scoreless innings and the score remained tied at three heading into the 11th.

That's when the wheels fell off for reliever Dave Rucker.  Rucker's first five Mets batters went like this - Keith Hernandez triple, Gary Carter single scoring Hernandez, George Foster single, Heep sacrifice fly scoring Carter, John Christensen two-run home run scoring Foster.  Aguilera struck out Wilson and Von Hayes to end the game and give the Mets the win.

Featured Card:  Jeff Stone went 1 for 3 and his average stood at .250 at this point in the season.  The team's opening day left fielder, and a player expected to have a superstar year, he had driven in only two runs since a five-RBI performance on April 20th.  Even worse, he hadn't been on base enough to utilize his speed and he had stolen a paltry six bases since the beginning of May.  This was to be Stone's final start for a while as the team was a day away from sending him back down to Portland to work on his aggressiveness at the plate.

1985 Virtual Phillies Wall / 1985 Season Summary Index

1985 Game 17 - 1984 Tastykake Phillies Phillie Phanatic

Phillies 3, Cubs 2
Game 17 - Sunday Afternoon, April 28th in Philadelphia
Record - 6-11, 5th Place, 5 1/2 games behind the Expos

One Sentence Summary:  Kevin Gross and Larry Andersen handled the Cubs offense as the Phillies squeaked by with a 3-2 win.

What It Means:  The good news was this win allowed the Phillies to crawl out of the N.L. East cellar and they wouldn't spend another day in last place for the rest of the season.  The bad news is the Phillies would pretty much park themselves in fifth place for the rest of the season.  The Pirates were now behind the Phillies in the division and this win helped the Expos overtake the Cubs for the top spot.

What Happened:  With the frequent off days in April, this was the first time the services of the team's fifth starter, Kevin Gross, were needed.  Gross pitched six solid innings, allowing two runs on five hits.  Andersen pitched the final three scoreless innings to record his second save of the season.

There wasn't much offense in the game as two of the Phillies runs were unearned.  In the first, Juan Samuel reached on an erroneous throw from Cubs shortstop Larry Bowa.  Samuel stole second and third and came home when Von Hayes grounded out to short.  In the fourth, Mike Schmidt reached on an error from third baseman Richie Hebner, scoring Hayes who had doubled to lead off the inning.  Ozzie Virgil then singled Schmidt home.  The badly slumping John Russell went 0 for 3 with three strikeouts, dropping his average to .120.

Featured Card:  Many years later, as one of the team's broadcasters, Andersen would comment it seemed to be a strange coincidence how the Phillie Phanatic's birthday always fell on a Sunday with a home game.  The Phanatic's birthday was celebrated before this game with all kids receiving a free Phanatic undershirt.  The Phanatic was left out of the 1985 and 1986 team-issued photo card sets, so here's his card from the 1984 set.

Below is a look at the team's promotional give-aways for the 1985 season.  There's a typo with the Phanatic undershirt, as the giveaway happened on the 28th and not the 23rd.  How many of these did you get?

1985 Game 10 - 1985 Donruss #624 Jeff Stone

Phillies 7, Mets 6
Game 10 - Saturday Afternoon, April 20th in Philadelphia
Record - 2-8, 6th Place, 6 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  Jeff Stone drove in five runs as the Phillies squeaked by the first place Mets, 7-6.

What It Means:  This was the Phillies' second win in their first 10 games, and they nearly gave it away.  With the tying run on first base and nobody out in the top of the ninth, Larry Andersen induced a ground ball out and then struck out Wally Backman and Mookie Wilson to end the game.

What Happened:  Stone and Von Hayes hit back-to-back home runs off Ed Lynch in the third to tie the game at three.  Stone struck again with a three-run home run in the fourth followed by an RBI double from Mike Schmidt a few batters later.  John Denny pitched into the ninth before running into trouble and getting relieved by Andersen.

Featured Card:  Stone went 3 for 4 with 5 RBIS and two runs scored in his big game.  As the Phillies regular left fielder, Stone was batting .314 through the first 10 games of the season.

Transaction:  In a transaction that absolutely thrilled me, and as announced shortly after this game ended, the Phillies traded reliever Al Holland and minor leaguer Frankie Griffin to the Pirates for their long-time closer Kent Tekulve.  Tekulve had always been one of my favorite players, and the thought of him in maroon pinstripes had me giddy at the time.  Tekulve was excited for the deal, but Holland was not according to media reports.

In announcing the trade, club President Bill Giles noted that Holland was in the last year of his contract and the team had decided not to extend him.  When asked if he was bitter about the trade, Holland's quote was, "No comment."

Tekulve would be a fantastic reliever for the Phillies for 3 1/2 seasons, departing following the 1988 season for the Reds.  Holland would appear in 38 games for the Pirates, pitching relatively well, before being dealt in August with John Candelaria and George Hendrick to the Angels.

1985 Topps Traded #117T

1985 Topps Traded #55T

1983 TCMA Reading Phillies #6

Here's the updated 25-man Phillies roster following the trade:

Starting pitchers (4) - Steve Carlton, John Denny, Jerry Koosman, Shane Rawley
Relief pitchers (6) - Larry Andersen, Don Carman, Kevin Gross, Charles Hudson, Kent Tekulve, Pat Zachry
Catchers (3) - Darren Daulton, Ozzie Virgil, John Wockenfuss
Infielders (6) - Luis Aguayo, Kiko Garcia, Steve Jeltz, John Russell, Juan Samuel, Mike Schmidt
Outfielders (6) - Tim Corcoran, Greg Gross, Von Hayes, Garry Maddox, Jeff Stone, Glenn Wilson
Disabled List (2) - Bo Diaz, Joe Lefebvre

1985 Game 3 - 1985 Topps #428 Larry Andersen

Astros 8, Phillies 3
Game 3 - Friday Night, April 12th in Houston
Record - 0-3, Tied for 5th Place, 3 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  The Astros plated seven runs in a nightmarish sixth inning, easily defeating the Phillies, 8-3.

What It Means:  A season that had so much promise is getting off to a rocky start for the Phils.  At the time, I was still convinced the team would turn it around and reach the postseason.  They would not.

What Happened:  Phillies starting pitcher Jerry Koosman cruised through the first five innings but then ran into trouble in the bottom of the sixth.  He allowed three hits to start the inning and then was relieved by Larry Andersen.  Andersen allowed a double and a pair of singles along with an intentional walk before yielding to Don Carman.  When it was all over, the Astros had scored seven runs in the inning on seven hits and a pair of walks.

Enos Cabell went 4 for 5 for the Astros.  Terry Puhl went 3 for 4 with 4 RBIs.

Von Hayes had an RBI single in the sixth for the Phils, followed by an RBI double from Glenn Wilson.  Through the first three games of the season, neither Mike Schmidt nor regular first baseman John Russell had a hit.

Featured Card:  It would get better for Andersen, one of the team's top relievers in 1984, but after his first outing of the season his ERA was 108.00 - four earned runs in a third of an inning.

Series Preview - Phillies at Braves: July 2nd to July 4th

2019 Chachi 1971 Topps Missing Links #2

1971 Topps #507

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 7:20
SunTrust Park - Atlanta, GA

At the Ballpark:  On Tuesday night, all fans in attendance will receive a Braves All-Star poster, featuring the team's representative(s) in the upcoming 2019 All-Star Game.  A postgame fireworks show will follow Thursday night's game.  (I always find it odd when there are night games on a holiday.)

1971 Topps Missing Links:  Acquired from the White Sox on January 12th for Rick Joseph, Bucky Brandon spent the entire season in the Phillies bullpen and led the team in appearances with 52.  He appeared in the team's 1971 Photocard set, but he'd have to wait until 1972 to receive his first Topps card with the Phillies.  In three seasons with the club from 1971 to 1973, Brandon compiled a 15-17 record with a 4.06 ERA over 130 games.

The Phillies Room is taking a short summer break, and semi-regular posting will resume shortly.

Phillies at Orioles: June 15th to June 16th

Monday and Tuesday 7:05
Oriole Park at Camden Yards - Baltimore, MD

Phillies 22-42, 5th Place in the N.L. East, 12 games behind the Mets
Orioles 31-31, 4th Place in the A.L. East, 3 games behind the Rays and Yankees

Phillies Probables:  Aaron Harang (4-7, 3.04), Jerome Williams (3-6, 5.71)
Orioles Probables:  Wei-Yin Chen (2-4, 3.21), Chris Tillman (4-7, 5.68)

At the Ballpark:  Every Monday and Thursday, 90 minutes before game time, former Orioles players sign autographs on Eutaw Street.

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Ben Revere - .277
Runs:  Ben Revere - 31
Home Runs:  Ryan Howard - 11
RBIs:  Ryan Howard - 28
Stolen Bases:  Ben Revere - 15

Wins:  Cole Hamels - 5
ERA:  Cole Hamels - 2.96
Strikeouts:  Cole Hamels - 103
Saves:  Jonathan Papelbon - 12

1985 Topps Traded #104T

1985 Topps #476

1985 Topps #173

1985 Topps Appreciation:  A few years after these cards were first released, on March 21, 1988, the Rick Schu Era for the Phillies came to an end.  Schu was traded on that day to the Orioles with Keith Hughes and Jeff Stone for Mike Young and a player to be named later (eventually Frank Bellino).

Schu was on the other end of the 1985 experiment that sent Mike Schmidt to first base for a season before the team executives came to their senses and moved the future Hall of Famer back to the hot corner.  Schu would serve as Schmidt's back-up at third for two more seasons until he was shipped to the Orioles.

Young didn't even make a full season with the Phillies, as he was traded to the Brewers in August 1988 for pitcher Alex Madrid.