2009 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

Number of Cards:  41
Card Size:  4" x 6"

Description:  The Phillies went with black borders for the first time ever.  The cards have a very basic design featuring the team logo and the player's number, name and position in a digital font.  Other than the 2008 World Champions card, which is my all-time favorite card from a team-issued set, there's no indication the Phillies had won the World Championship in 2008 on the cards themselves.  The horizontal card backs feature biographical information and complete career statistics.

How Distributed:  The original 37-card set was available at Citizens Bank Park throughout the first half of the season.  Following the signing of Pedro Martinez on July 15th and the acquisition of Cliff Lee and Ben Francisco on July 29th, cards of Martinez, Lee and Francisco, along with back-up catcher Paul Bako, were inserted into the set.  With the addition of these four cards to the updated set, five cards available from the original set were removed - the 2008 World Champions card, along with the cards for Chris Coste, Tim Gradoville, Geoff Jenkins and Ronny Paulino.  Jenkins and Paulino had been released prior to the start of the season and Coste was claimed off waivers by the Astros on July 10th.

Complete Set Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here alphabetically with uniform number and position): 

1. 2008 World Champions 2. Mick Billmeyer (#17 - Bullpen Coach) 3. Joe Blanton (#56 - RHP) 4. Eric Bruntlett (#4 - INF/OF) 5. Clay Condrey (#55 - RHP) 6. Chris Coste (#27 - C) 7. Greg Dobbs (#19 - INF/OF) 8. Rich Dubee (#30 - Pitching Coach) 9. Chad Durbin (#37 - RHP) 10. Scott Eyre (#47 - LHP) 11. Pedro Feliz (#7 - 3B) 12. Tim Gradoville (#60 - Bullpen Catcher)         13. Cole Hamels (#35 - LHP)

14. J.A. Happ (#43 - LHP) 15. Ryan Howard (#6 - 1B) 16. Raul Ibanez (#29 - LF) 17. Geoff Jenkins (#10 - OF) 18. Brad Lidge (#54 - RHP) 19. Davey Lopes (#15 - First Base Coach) 20. Pete Mackanin (#45 - Bench Coach) 21. Ryan Madson (#46 - RHP) 22. Charlie Manuel (#41 - Manager)         23. Jamie Moyer (#50 - LHP) 24. Brett Myers (#39 - RHP) 25. Chan Ho Park (#61 - RHP)

26. Ronny Paulino (#23 - C) 27. Sam Perlozzo (#2 - Third Base Coach) 28. Jimmy Rollins (#11 - SS) 29. J.C. Romero (#16 - LHP) 30. Carlos Ruiz (#51 - C) 31. Matt Stairs (#12 - OF) 32. Milt Thompson (#25 - Hitting Coach)         33. Chase Utley (#26 - 2B) 34. Shane Victorino (#8 - CF) 35. Jayson Werth (#28 - RF) 36. Phillie Phanatic 37. Phillies Broadcasters

Complete Update Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here alphabetically with uniform number and position):

1. Paul Bako (#23 - C) 2. Ben Francisco (#10 - OF)

3. Cliff Lee (#34 - LHP) 4. Pedro Martinez (#45 - RHP)

One and Only Phillies Baseball Card (1):  Bako

First Appearance in Phillies Photo Card Set (8):  Eyre, Francisco, Ibanez, Lee, Martinez, Park, Paulino, Stairs
Returning Players in Phillies Photo Card Set (21):  Blanton, Bruntlett, Condrey, Coste, Dobbs, Durbin, Feliz, Hamels, Happ, Howard, Jenkins, Lidge, Madson, Moyer, Myers, Rollins, Romero, Ruiz, Utley, Victorino, Werth

Paul Bako wrapped up his 12-year career playing 44 games with the Phillies in 2009.  His card in this set is his sole Phillies baseball card.  Paulino was traded on March 27th to the Giants for Jack Taschner, and never appeared in a game for the Phillies.  He has a second Phillies card in the 2009 Topps Heritage set.

Manager (1):  Manuel
Coaches (7):  Billmeyer, Dubee, Gradoville, Lopes, Mackanin, Perlozzo, Thompson

Phillie Phanatic (1):  The Phanatic is shown atop the dugout is his alternate day-game uniform.

Broadcasters (1):  Harry Kalas, who passed away on April 13, 2009, is joined on this card by Tom McCarthey, Gary Matthews, Chris Wheeler, Larry Andersen and Scott Franzke.
Commemorative Cards (1):  2008 World Champions

The 2008 World Champions card (see below) features manager Charlie Manuel along with the team's main stars (minus Pat Burrell who had departed during the offseason) decked out in tuxedos with red bow ties flanking the World Series trophy.

Set Composition:  The Phillies created the first 37-card checklist a few days before the start of the regular season, accounting for the cards in the set for Paulino and Jenkins.  Miguel Cairo and Taschner, both on the opening day roster, got left out of the original set and the update set.  J.C. Romero started the season on the Restricted List, but he's in the set as well.

Omissions:  The Phillies could have included a few more update cards, in addition to the four players who were added late in the season to the set.  Cairo and Taschner would have been in the set had the Phillies waited until early April to create the checklist.  Kyle Kendrick, John Mayberry, Jr., Sergio Escalona and Tyler Walker all spent sufficient enough time on the roster to merit cards as well.  Escalona spent quite a bit of time going back and forth between Philadelphia and Lehigh Valley, as the lefty pitcher was with the team in six different stints.

Variations/Rarities:  I'm going to separate the known rarities into two different groups - non-set cards and cards with a 2009 National League Champions logo on the back.  14,000 Phillies featured a post many years ago containing a Jayson Werth card I had never seen before, and I've never seen since.  The card was distributed to kids participating in the team's annual Home Run Derby competition and contains a purple facsimile autograph and the Home Run Derby logo. The card uses a different photo than Werth's regular team issued card.

As pointed out in a comment from Steve F. in an earlier post, a card was issued for Placido Polanco in the style of the 2009 team-issued set.  Polanco was signed as a free agent on December 3rd.  Finally, fellow collector and invaluable resource Rick added a comment to this set's original post with a number of other rarities available - clipped and shown below.  Roy Halladay received his first Phillies baseball card in the style of this set, as the future Hall of Famer had signed with the Phillies on December 16, 2009.

Other than the Halladay card, which is an original, the cards featuring the 2009 National League Champions logo on the back use the same photos as the cards found in the set sold at the ballpark.

Non-Set Cards 1. Kyle Drabek (#4 - Reading Phillies) 2. Lou Marson (#3 - C) 3. Placido Polanco (#27 - blank back) 4. Brian Schneider (#23 - blank back) 5. Michael Taylor (#40 - Reading Phillies)         6. Jayson Werth (#28 - Home Run Derby)

National League Champions 1. Chad Durbin (#37 - RHP) 2. Roy Halladay (#34 - RHP) 3. Cole Hamels (#35 - LHP) 4. J.A. Happ (#43 - LHP) 5. Brad Lidge (#54 - RHP) 6. Ryan Madson (#46 - RHP) 7. Jimmy Rollins (#11 - SS)

Also See:  Here's my original post from August 31, 2009, covering the discovery of the updated team issued set.

Resources:  The Trading Card Database; Phillies collector Rick (@rickphils)

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

2008 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards / 2010 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards - 1st Edition

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

Nationals at Phillies - May 17th to May 19th

2012 Topps Archives #162

1984 Topps Traded #129T

Friday 6:40, Saturday 6:05, Sunday 1:35
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

At the Ballpark:  The Phillies are wearing their City Connect uniforms tonight and all fans are getting a Bryson Stott bobble head.  There's a pregame ceremony tomorrow night as part of the Salute to Service Night.  And on Sunday, all kids will get a Phanatic children's book.

Washington Nationals 20-22
3rd Place in the N.L. East, 9 1/2 games behind the Phillies

Nationals Probables
Jake Irvin (2-3, 3.55)
MacKenzie Gore (2-4, 3.38)
Trevor Williams (4-0, 1.94)

Nationals Leaders
Average:  Luis Garcia Jr. - .283
Runs:  CJ Abrams - 26
Home Runs:  CJ Abrams - 7
RBIs:  Joey Meneses - 21
Stolen Bases:  Jacob Young - 14

Wins:  Trevor Williams - 4
ERA:  Trevor Williams - 1.94
Strikeouts:  MacKenzie Gore - 51
Saves:  Kyle Finnegan - 13

Philadelphia Phillies 31-14
1st Place in the N.L. East, 2 1/2 games ahead of the Braves

Phillies Probables
Zack Wheeler (4-3, 2.53)
Cristopher Sanchez (2-3, 3.43)
Aaron Nola (5-2, 3.10)

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Trea Turner - .343
Runs:  Kyle Schwarber - 33
Home Runs:  Bryce Harper - 10
RBIs:  Alec Bohm - 36
Stolen Bases:  Bryson Stott - 12

Wins:  Ranger Suarez - 8
ERA:  Ranger Suarez - 1.37
Strikeouts:  Zack Wheeler - 65
Saves:  Jose Alvarado - 8

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

Nationals at Phillies: June 30th to July 2nd

2014 Topps Heritage #402

2014 Topps Heritage #280

Friday 6:05, Saturday 4:05 and Sunday 1:35
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

At the Ballpark:  It's a busy weekend at the ballpark.  Following Friday night's game, the Phillies present their first of two fireworks shows, which have been traditionally legendary.  Following Saturday afternoon's game, Diesel will perform a postgame concert/DJ set.  Diesel is the stage name of Shaquille O'Neal and I'm OK that we're missing this one.  On Sunday, all kids will receive an Alec Bohm cooling headband.

All staff and paid personnel from The Phillies Room will be taking some much-needed vacation time and live posting will resume upon our return at the All-Star Break.

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

Nationals at Phillies: August 4th to August 7th

2022 Chachi Fan Favorites #14

2000 Topps #120

Thursday and Friday 7:05, Saturday 6:05 and Sunday 1:35
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

At the Ballpark:  It's the biggest weekend of the year at the ballpark as Alumni Weekend returns.  Tonight, all adults will receive a Mike Schmidt 1980 World Champions replica ring.  Tomorrow night, the Phillies will salute public address announcer Dan Baker on his 50 seasons with the club in a pregame ceremony.  On Saturday, Ron Reed and Bake McBride will be inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame, with many members of the 1980 club on hand, including Pete Rose, to celebrate.  All fans will receive a Wall of Fame commemorative print.  And Sunday is alumni day, with a pregame ceremony and Reed throwing out the ceremonial first pitch to Bob Boone.

Nationals 36-70
5th Place in the N.L. East, 31 games behind the Mets

Nationals Probables
Paolo Espino (0-3, 3.78)
Josiah Gray (7-7, 4.59)
Patrick Corbin (4-15, 6.57)
Cory Abbott (0-0, 1.00)

Nationals Leaders
Average:  Josh Bell - .301
Runs:  Juan Soto - 62
Home Runs:  Juan Soto - 21
RBIs:  Josh Bell - 57
Stolen Bases:  Victor Robles - 13

Wins:  Josiah Gray - 7
ERA:  Patrick Corbin - 6.57

Strikeouts:  Josiah Gray - 118
Saves:  Tanner Rainey - 12

Phillies 56-48
3rd Place in the N.L. East, 10 games behind the Mets

Phillies Probables
Noah Syndergaard (0-0, 0.00)
Kyle Gibson (6-4, 4.60)
Ranger Suarez (7-5, 3.60)
Aaron Nola (7-8, 3.25)

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Alec Bohm - .296
Runs:  Kyle Schwarber - 66
Home Runs:  Kyle Schwarber - 33
RBIs:  Kyle Schwarber - 66
Stolen Bases:  J.T. Realmuto - 13

Wins:  Zack Wheeler - 10
ERA:  Zack Wheeler - 2.69

Strikeouts:  Aaron Nola - 152
Saves:  Corey Knebel - 12

2022 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2022 Season Summary Index / 2022 Chachi Set Checklist

Game 111 - Alumni Weekend Continues

White Sox 10, Phillies 5
Game 111 - Sunday Afternoon, August 4th in Philadelphia
Record - 58-53, 3rd place, 7 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  In a game celebrating the 10 year anniversary of the 2009 N.L. Champions, the current version of the Phillies lost to the White Sox, 10-5.

What It Means:  The Phillies lost two out of three to the White Sox, who are not a very good team.  They'll head to the west coast next, opening a three-game series in Phoenix against the Diamondbacks on Monday night.

Alumni and the 2009 Phillies

Pedro Martinez throws to Jayson Werth

What Happened:  One bad inning ruined Drew Smyly's successful start to his Phillies career, as he allowed five runs - including a Leury Garcia grand slam - in the second.  Mike Morin also fared poorly, giving up four more runs in his two innings of work.  Corey Dickerson received his first start, going 2 for 5 with a home run and three RBIs.

Featured Cards/Field Report:  We got to the ballpark early as the Phillies had announced there would be autograph opportunities with alumni before the game.  They didn't announce who or where the autograph tables would be, but we did know there would be a table in the Hall of Fame Club.

Once inside, the four of us divided and conquered with Jenna and Ben waiting in line for Joe Blanton and Brett Myers while Doug and I hustled to the Hall of Fame Club.  (Side story . . . We rode up in the elevator with someone I could have sworn was a former player.  Turns out it was former Phillie Keith Hughes and we blew an opportunity to get his autograph.)  Somehow Doug and I managed to be the first in line for Kyle Kendrick and Jamie Moyer in the Hall of Fame Club, while Jenna and Ben made their way to Bull's BBQ to get in line for Dale Murphy.

Autographs from Blanton, Myers, Kendrick, Moyer and Murphy secured, Doug and I waited in the long line for Mike Lieberthal and Randy Wolf, while Jenna and Ben headed back up to the Hall of Fame Club to try to get Kendrick and Moyer again.  We managed to get Lieberthal and Wolf right before the line cut off while Jenna and Ben were among the last to get Moyer (Kendrick had already departed).

After catching our breath, we enjoyed the fantastic pre-game ceremony honoring alumni and the 2009 team.  It was especially cool to watch Pedro Martinez throw out the first pitch to Jayson Werth.

Transactions:  In a somewhat surprising move, Maikel Franco was optioned to the IronPigs and Brad Miller was activated from the injured list.  Franco has all but lost the starting third baseman's job and the move allows the Phillies to see more of Scott Kingery in the position while also giving more playing time in the outfield to Roman Quinn, Adam Haseley and Corey Dickerson.

2016 Chachi #65 Batting Leaders - Hernandez, Herrera, Franco

After a year's absence from the Chachi set, team leader cards have returned.  I skipped the process of creating team leader cards last season as I didn't feel like creating a brand new 1985 Topps based template for team leaders with poor to mediocre team leading statistics.  This year's performance was a little better (8 wins better to be exact) so I decided to forge ahead with some team leader cards.

I don't think anyone would have predicted that Cesar Hernandez would lead the team in hitting this season, and if not for the second half swoon of Odubel Herrera, Herrera would have won the title for the second year in a row.

Memory Lane - Chachi Batting Leaders Cards
2005 - Chase Utley, .291
2006 - Ryan Howard, .313
2007 - Chase Utley, .332
2008 - Shane Victorino, .293
2009 - Shane Victorino, .292
2010 - Placido Polanco, .298
2011 - Shane Victorino, .279
2012 - Jimmy Rollins, .250
2013 - Chase Utley, .284
2014 - Ben Revere, .306
2015 - Odubel Herrera, .297 (no card created)
2016 - Cesar Hernandez, .294

Here are the three Batting Leaders cards, from 2005, 2008 and 2010, that have not yet appeared on this blog until now.

2005 Chachi #52

2008 Chachi #55

2010 Chachi #53

Limited Edition Chachi #RacingPresidents Set!

Phillies 5, White Sox 3
Game 127 - Wednesday Night, August 24th in Chicago
Record - 59-68, 4th place, 15 games behind the Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  Jared Eickhoff had another solid start as the Phillies defeated the White Sox, 5-3.

What It Means:  The Phillies split the two-game series with the White Sox and after a day off on Thursday they'll open a weekend series at Citi Field with the Mets.

What Happened:  Eickhoff needed just 71 pitches to get through six innings, allowing four runs on two hits.  Cesar Hernandez (5) and Tommy Joseph (17) both homered for the Phillies.

Featured Cards/Field Report:  In our final trip of the summer, we took a two-day vacation to Washington D.C. on Wednesday and Thursday, visiting the historic sites and watching two Nationals-Orioles games.  Along with meeting each of the Racing Presidents, as commemorated on yet another very limited edition Chachi insert set, here were some of the other highlights from our trip.

• On Wednesday, we arrived mid-morning and walked to the Washington Monument, the World War II Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, the FDR Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial.  If that wasn't enough, we then walked to the White House.
• After a quick rest in our hotel, we watched the Orioles barely defeat the Nationals, 10-8.  It was HOT.  Watching Olympic gold medalist swimmer Katie Ledecky throw out the first pitch, while Bryce Harper held her five medals, was a highlight.  Our youngest son Ben was thrilled when his favorite player, Ben Revere, hit a pinch-double and scored in the seventh inning.  It was HOT.
• On Thursday, we enjoyed a morning at Mount Vernon and then paid our respects at Arlington National Cemetery.
• We watched Max Scherzer dominate the Orioles on Thursday night, allowing just two hits in his eight innings of work.  Jayson Werth hit his 17th home run in the fourth inning.  It was HOT.

Ben in front of the Ben Revere billboard

Jayson Werth at bat

As discussed in this post, I'm taking a poll on how collectors track baseball card collections. 

Please vote in the poll on the sidebar if you haven't already.  Thanks!

2009 O-Pee-Chee #366 Jayson Werth

Nationals 5, Phillies 4
Game 63 - Sunday Afternoon, June 12th in Washington
Record - 29-34, 4th place, 10 games behind the Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  Maikel Franco's solo home run in the top of the ninth off Jonathan Papelbon gave the Phillies a temporary lead, but Jeanmar Gomez couldn't keep the Nationals off the board in the bottom of the ninth.

What It Means:  What's worse - an 8-0 blow-out loss in which the Phillies are never really in the ballgame or a 5-4 walk-off, heart-breaker of a loss in which a former franchise hero seals the victory for the opposition?

What Happened:  We were ecstatic in The Phillies Room World HQ after Franco's blast off Papelbon.  But Gomez couldn't convert the save, loading the bases and then allowing a two-run single to Werth.  It was his second blown save of the season.  Cesar Hernandez certainly didn't help with a bad throw to first that allowed Bryce Harper to reach, starting the rally.

Prior to the dramatic ninth inning, the Phils battled back from a 3-0 deficit with a Cody Asche solo home (1), an RBI double from Odubel Herrera and an RBI single from Freddy Galvis.  Adam Morgan had a rough first few innings, but settled in to hold the Nationals off the board in the third through seventh innings.

Featured Card:  Here's a vintage Werth card, back when he didn't look like a crazed hobo.

Recently added to The Phillies Room - 2016 Season Summary page with game results and links to game summary posts.

Opening a 2015 Phungo HOT PACK from @phungo2008

I'm no stranger to the annual Phungo baseball card product and its world-renowned packs.  For the seventh year in a row, an unexpected bubbleope showed up in our mail box yesterday and when I saw the return address, I immediately knew there was going to be great stuff inside.  I was right.

I'll have to check the packs from prior years, but I certainly don't remember the packs being so jam packed as the 2015 edition.  Maybe I received a special retail-only blaster special hot pack?  In any event, and as has been the case in prior years, the pack was full of this year's Phungo cards and an assortment of "buyback" cards that were miraculous all needed for my (and Doug's!) collections.

2015 Phungo #1

2015 Phungo #42

2015 Phungo #53

2015 Phungo #26

I was happy to add the first card in this year's set, former Phillies ace Cole Hamels, to my collection. Sadly, Hamels' season is done courtesy of shoddy Rangers fielding and the Jose Bautista bat flip heard 'round the world.  Ben Revere will advance to the ALCS along with the rest of the Blue Jays. Current Phillies closer Ken Giles was in the pack as was a nice card of Chase Utley, showing him in a non-take-out slide pose.

2015 Phungo #54

2015 Phungo #19

2015 Phungo #11

2015 Phungo #27

Some of my favorite cards this year feature former Phillies.  I received my first ever card of infielder Don Hasenmayer, who appeared in 11 games for the 1945 and 1946 Phillies.  Strangely enough, his Baseball Reference page indicates he wore #21 and #40 with the Phillies, but the team gave him a jersey with #23 on it for Alumni Day.  I also received Jayson Werth's card, which features a cameo from Garry Maddox, and a Jim Fregosi In Memoriam card.  I was able to scan the Mike Trout card before my oldest son Doug added it to his Mike Trout binder.

And then there were the "buybacks" not so randomly inserted into my pack.  I received a few early 1970s Phillies cards needed for my team sets along with another Trout card (for Doug's collection) and a short-printed 2013 Topps Archives card of Anthony Rizzo (again, for Doug's collection). Minor league cards of obscure Phillies are always welcome, and I added cards of Jim Vatcher and Gene Schall to my collection.  And that's just scratching the surface!  Without a doubt, this was my favorite Phungo pack yet and I definitely consider myself fortunate to receive such awesomeness each year.

1971 Topps #533

1972 Topps #587

1989 Star Clearwater Phillies #14

1992 Classic Best #266

Memory Lane

2009 Phungo
2010 Phungo
2011 and 2012 Phungo
2013 Phungo
2014 Phungo