Series Preview - Phillies at Rockies: August 4th to August 6th

Friday 8:40, Saturday 8:10 and Sunday 3:10
Coors Field - Denver, CO

Phillies 39-67, 5th Place in the N.L. East, 24 games behind the Nationals
Rockies 62-47, 3rd Place in the N.L. West, 14 1/2 games behind the Dodgers

Phillies Probables:  Vince Velasquez (2-6, 4.91), Nick Pivetta (4-6, 5.42), Aaron Nola (8-7, 3.16)
Rockies Probables:  Kyle Freeland (11-7, 3.71), Jon Gray (3-2, 5.52), Jeff Hoffman (6-3, 5.38)

At the Ballpark:  The first 10,000 fans will receive a Rockies license plate frame before tonight's game.  On Saturday night, all fans will receive a "Topps Baseball Card Special Edition Set," which is the Rockies' contribution to the National Baseball Card Day event.

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Aaron Altherr - .293
Runs:  Cesar Hernandez - 53
Home Runs:  Three tied with - 16
RBIs:  Maikel Franco - 55
Stolen Bases:  Cesar Hernandez - 11

Wins:  Aaron Nola - 8
ERA:  Jeremy Hellickson - 4.73
Strikeouts:  Aaron Nola - 110
Saves:  Hector Neris - 10

Rockies Leaders
Average:  Charlie Blackmon - .330
Runs:  Charlie Blackmon - 97
Home Runs:  Charlie Blackmon - 25
RBIs:  Nolan Arenado - 96
Stolen Bases:  Ian Desmond - 10

Wins:  Kyle Freeland - 11
ERA:  Kyle Freeland - 3.71
Strikeouts:  German Marquez - 100
Saves:  Greg Holland - 33

1982 Topps #127

1982 Topps #389

1982 Topps #745

1982 Topps Appreciation:  It seemed as if every other pack of 1982 Topps baseball cards I opened back in the day contained one of these three cards of a former Phillies outfielder.  Lonnie Smith was an All-Star with the Cardinals in 1982, having been traded to the Cardinals (via the Indians) in November 1981.  The Phillies and Indians were active trading partners prior to the 1982 season, as a month after the Smith deal the two teams swapped six players.  Of course five of those players, including George Vukovich, went to the Indians and only one player (Von Hayes) came back to the Phillies.

Finally, in February 1982, Bake McBride joined his former teammates when the Phillies sent him to Cleveland for Sid Monge.

1985 Topps - Phillies Cards

1985 Topps #600

1985 Topps #650

1985 Topps #348

1985 Topps #149

I spent a lot of time in 2015 with the 1985 Topps set, as it was the basis for this year's custom Chachi set and I tried to feature relevant cards in each series preview post.  As I've done the last few years, it's time to tally up the Phillies related cards in the 1985 Topps set.  I came up with 153 cards from the base set and the 132-card traded set, falling just short of the 154 Phillies related cards in the 1988 Topps set.  (Links to past posts are below.)

The list below contains every player, coach or manager who spent time with the Phillies and also appeared in the 1985 Topps set.  You'll notice that the N.L. Central blows away the competition thanks to the future and ex-Phillies-heavy Cubs, Reds, Pirates and Cardinals.

National League East (55 - 16 without Phillies)
Atlanta Braves (4) - #25 Steve Bedrosian, #129 Gene Garber, #320 Dale Murphy, #716 Dale Murphy AS
Miami Marlins (0)
New York Mets (6) - #53 Tom Gorman, #492 Dave Johnson MG, #517 Jerry Martin, #649 Sid Fernandez, #677 Wally Backman, #83T Roger McDowell
Philadelphia Phillies (39)
Washington Nationals (Montreal Expos) (6) - #134 Terry Francona FS, #448 Derrel Thomas, #501 Dan Schatzeder, #526 Dave Palmer, #578 Terry Francona, #733 Tony Scott

National League Central (37)
Chicago Cubs (10) - #98 Steve Lake, #124 Rich Hebner, #189 Warren Brusstar, #210 Gary Matthews, #460 Ryne Sandberg, #484 Larry Bowa, #538 Keith Moreland, #563 Dick Ruthven, #589 Bob Dernier, #713 Ryne Sandberg AS
Cincinnati Reds (8) - #6 Pete Rose RB, #107 Tom Foley, #547 Pete Rose MG, #600 Pete Rose, #675 Tony Perez
Milwaukee Brewers (1) - #203 Bob McClure
Pittsburgh Pirates (9) - #125 Kent Tekulve, #139 Bob Skinner FS, #183 Larry McWilliams, #385 Jose DeLeon, #433 Jim Morrison, #537 Bill Robinson, #2T Bill Almon, #55T Al Holland, #75T Sixto Lezcano
St. Louis Cardinals (9) - #113 Tom Herr, #229 Dave LaPoint, #255 Lonnie Smith, #294 Tom Nieto, #421 Dave Rucker, #499 Danny Cox, #551 Andy Van Slyke, #15T Bill Campbell, #30T Ivan DeJesus

1985 Topps #103

1985 Topps #212

1985 Topps #221

1985 Topps Traded #109T

National League West (15)
Arizona Diamondbacks (0)
Colorado Rockies (0)
Los Angeles Dodgers (5) - #57 Pat Zachry, #440 Fernando Valenzuela, #32T Mariano Duncan, #58T Ken Howell, #88T Al Oliver
San Diego Padres (3) - #242 Greg Harris, #273 Bill Almon DP, #558 Carmelo Martinez
San Francisco Giants (7) - #74 Mike Krukow, #103 Randy Lerch, #310 Manny Trillo, #365 Danny Ozark MG, #541 Mark Davis, #27T Jim Davenport MG, #71T Dave LaPoint

American League East (9)
Baltimore Orioles (3) - #173 Mike Young, #289 Tom Underwood, #366 Todd Cruz
Boston Red Sox (2) - #89 Jackie Gutierrez, #686 Mike Easler
New York Yankees (3) - #284 Marty Bystrom, #724 Oscar Gamble, #769 Joe Cowley
Tampa Bay Rays (0)
Toronto Blue Jays (1) - #80T Len Matuszek

American League Central (18)
Chicago White Sox (3) - #221 Ron Reed, #650 Greg Luzinski, #37T Oscar Gamble
Cleveland Indians (5) - #119 Pat Corrales MG, #212 George Vukovich, #237 Julio Franco, #788 Steve Comer, #99T Vern Ruhle
Detroit Tigers (7) - #160 Lance Parrish, #307 Sparky Anderson MG, #333 Willie Hernandez, #408 Sid Monge, #586 Bill Scherrer, #708 Lance Parrish AS, #744 Doug Bair
Kansas City Royals (3) - #671 Dane Iorg, #773 Hal McRae, #109T Lonnie Smith
Minnesota Twins (0)

1985 Topps #333

1985 Topps #724

1985 Topps #754

1985 Topps Traded #75T

American League West (19)
Houston Astros (3) - #44 Dickie Thon, #426 Vern Ruhle, #634 Bill Dawley
Los Angeles Angels (3) - #133 Bob Boone FS, #348 Bob Boone, #81T Gene Mauch MG
Oakland Athletics (7) - #5 Joe Morgan RB, #12 Dave Lopes, #231 Dwayne Murphy, #352 Joe Morgan, #472 Jim Essian, #607 Bill Almon, #50T Steve Henderson
Seattle Mariners (4) - #449 Phil Bradley, #640 Steve Henderson, #656 Chuck Cottier MG, #754 Larry Milbourne
Texas Rangers (2) - #149 Dickie Noles, #47T Greg Harris

Other
Team USA (0)

Memory Lane

1973 Topps - 107 cards with Phillies connections
1979 Topps - 111 cards with Phillies connections, plus one more
1988 Topps - 154 cards with Phillies connections

1982 Topps Phillies

1982 Topps #100, #680, #780 and 1982 Topps Traded #29T

I don't have much love for the 1982 Topps set.  In just its second year of producing baseball cards, Donruss won me over with its 1982 set.  The colors were brighter, the pictures were more interesting and as a nine-year-old collector, I preferred getting a puzzle piece with my cards rather than a stick of gum.  Sealing the deal for 1982 Donruss was the 26-card Diamond King set, featuring actual paintings of the day's stars, one per team.  Once I saw the Diamond Kings, the 1982 Topps set never even had a chance.

1982 Topps #220 (Back)

The Set
Number of cards in the set:  A complete set jumped to 792 cards in 1982, and this was the magic number of cards in a complete Topps set throughout the first golden age of my collecting youth.  Topps once again tacked on a 132-card Traded series, this time re-starting the numbering with a "T" suffix for each of the red-backed cards.
My very brief thoughts on the set:  Looking at the cards now, I can't help but feel nostalgic about the set, despite the pink and orange used for the Phillies cards and the olive green backs.  Back in the day, we thought the In Action cards were pretty cool, and I remember my disappointment at the realization there weren't team cards, with a team photo, in the set.
Notable competition:  As already mentioned, Donruss won over my lawn mowing money.  I still collected Topps, but I actually had more 1982 Topps Stickers in my collection than baseball cards from the flagship set.  Fleer was an afterthought for me.  Even then, I could tell it was a crappy set.  (Although we all thought the color team logo on the back of each card was pretty radical.)

1982 Phillies
Record and finish:  The Phillies compiled a respectable record of 89-73, but they finished three games behind the Cardinals in the East.
Key players:  The offense was led once again by Mike Schmidt (.280, 35 home runs, 87 RBIs) and Gary Matthews (.281, 19 home runs, 83 RBIs).  Bo Diaz, acquired in an unpopular off-season trade in exchange for Lonnie Smith, hit .288 with 18 home runs and 85 RBIs as he slowly won over the fans.  Rookie Bob Dernier was handed the starting center fielder job, but his low average eventually led to Garry Maddox reclaiming the position.  Steve Carlton turned in another 20-win season, going 23-11 with a 3.10 ERA and 286 strikeouts on his way to his fourth (and final) Cy Young Award.
Key events:  Former Phillie Pat Corrales replaced Dallas Green as the team's skipper, as Green was hired by the Cubs to be their new General Manager.  The Phils made two major trades prior to the start of the season.  First, in November 1981, they sent Smith and a player to be named later to the Cardinals as part of a three-team trade in which the Phils netted Diaz from the Indians.  Then, in January, they traded long-time shortstop Larry Bowa along with a prospect to the Cubs for new shortstop Ivan DeJesus.  The prospect that Green acquired as the "throw-in" in the trade was infielder Ryne Sandberg.

1982 Topps #220, 1982 Topps Traded #27T, 1982 Topps #20 and #389

1982 Phillies in 1982 Topps
Cards needed for a complete team set:  All told, with subset cards included, there are 39 Phillies cards in the 1982 Topps base set.  Add the seven Phillies cards from the Traded set, and that's 46 total Phillies cards - the new high-water mark.  (Running tally - 115 Topps Phillies cards from the '80s and 873 cards overall.)
Who’s in:

• Cards of the eight starting position players - 8 cards

#29T Bo Diaz (c), #780 Pete Rose (1b), #220 Manny Trillo (2b), #27T Ivan DeJesus (ss), #100 Mike Schmidt (3b), #680 Gary Matthews (lf), #20 Garry Maddox (cf), #389 George Vukovich (rf)

• Cards of the starting pitching rotation - 5 cards

#480 Steve Carlton, #544 Larry Christenson, #59T Mike Krukow, #317 Dick Ruthven, #416 Marty Bystrom

1982 Topps #480, #544, 1982 Topps Traded #59T and 1982 Topps #317

• Base cards of other players who played with the Phillies in 1982 - 12 cards

#53 Greg Gross, #250 Tug McGraw, #285 Sparky Lyle, #352 Dick Davis, #449 Luis Aguayo, #581 Ron Reed, #647 Warren Brusstar, #713 Del Unser, #28T Bob Dernier, #32T Ed Farmer, #73T Sid Monge, #100T Bill Robinson

• Phillies appearing on multi-player "Future Stars" cards - 1 card

#231 Mark Davis, Bob Dernier and Ozzie Virgil

Dernier and Virgil spent time with the club in 1982, while Davis spent the entire season in the minors.

• Base cards of players who didn't play with the Phillies in 1982 - 8 cards (with new teams listed)

#127 Lonnie Smith (Cardinals), #152 Ramon Aviles (Rangers), #183 Mike Proly (Cubs), #384 Keith Moreland (Cubs), #515 Larry Bowa (Cubs), #530 Dickie Noles (Cubs), #615 Bob Boone (Angels), #745 Bake McBride (Indians)

Look at all those Cubbies!

• Phillies appearing on 1981 Highlight cards - 2 cards

#1 Steve Carlton, #4 Pete Rose

• Phillies appearing on 1981 Leaders cards - 2 cards

#162 Home Run Leaders - Mike Schmidt with Tony Armas (Athletics), Dwight Evans (Red Sox), Bobby Grich (Angels) and Eddie Murray (Orioles), #163 RBI Leaders - Mike Schmidt with Eddie Murray (Orioles)

• Phillies appearing on National League All Star cards - 2 cards

#337 Pete Rose, #339 Mike Schmidt

• Phillies appearing on In Action cards - 5 cards

#101 Mike Schmidt, #481 Steve Carlton, #516 Larry Bowa, #616 Bob Boone, #781 Pete Rose

• Phillies 1981 Batting and Pitching Leaders - 1 card, #636 with Pete Rose and Steve Carlton, replacing the team photo card

1982 Topps Traded #28T, 1982 Topps #53, #581 and 1982 Topps Traded #32T

Who’s out:  Both Len Matuszek (25 games) and Dave Roberts (28 games) were omitted from the Traded set.  Porfi Altamirano (29 games in relief) would have also been a good candidate for the Traded set.
Phillies on other teams:  There are eleven cards featuring players who appeared with the Phillies in 1982, but are featured with other teams within the 1982 Topps set.  First, there are six players who would eventually get Phillies cards in the Traded set - #215 Mike Krukow (Cubs), #258 Bo Diaz (Indians), #328 Ed Farmer (White Sox), #484 Ivan DeJesus (Cubs), #543 Bill Robinson (Pirates) and #601 Sid Monge (Indians).  And here are other five - #131 Stan Bahnsen (Expos), #218 Dave Roberts (Astros), #363 Bob Molinaro (White Sox), #458 Willie Montanez (Pirates), and #773 John Denny (Indians).

1982 Topps #636

What’s he doing here:  Aviles was traded to the Rangers on October 20, 1981, yet he still made it into the set with the Phillies.  At some point, he made his way back to the Phils as he appeared in 88 games with Triple-A Oklahoma City in 1982.
Cards that never were candidates:  Matuszek, Roberts and Altamirano should have cards, as should rookie Julio Franco, who made his Major League debut and appeared in 16 games with the Phillies.  There were no manager cards in the 1982 Topps set, but I'd make a card for new manager Corrales.  I've previously published my cards for Altamirano and Roberts, as well as the card that should have been for Franco.
Favorite Phillies card:  Bob Dernier's Traded card is by far my favorite.  Bobby D. excited us all with his 42 stolen bases during the season, and I had the opportunity to play catch with him during a pre-game batting practice at The Vet.  (That's a good story for a future post.)

Other Stuff
Recycled:  Topps uses the 1982 Topps design for Dernier's card in the 2005 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites set.  It uses it again for Ryan Howard's 2008 Topps Trading Card History card.  Steve Carlton's card is reprinted (albeit as a "no black ink" variation) in the 2010 Topps The Cards Your Mom Threw Out insert set.
Blogs/Websites:  It's on hiatus now, but My First Cards is making its way through the 1982 Topps set.  I also need to point out the Donruss 1982 blog which covers (in my opinion) the best baseball card set from '82.
Did You Know?:  When it came to Mike Schmidt's appearances in the 1982 Topps line of releases, the photographer definitely got a little lazy.

1982 Topps #1, #481, #101 and #4