Phillies at Cardinals: September 15th to September 17th

1965 Topps #322

1965 Topps #373

Friday 8:15, Saturday 7:15, Sunday 2:15
Busch Stadium - St. Louis, MO

At the Ballpark:  The Cardinals always seem to have great giveaway items.  Tonight, the first 25,000 fans will receive a Cardinals hockey sweater.  On Saturday night, the first 25,000 fans will receive a really nice-looking Ozzie Smith "Wizard" bobble head.  And on Sunday, the first 10,000 kids will receive a Build-A-Bear Workshop Cardinals puppy plush.  Not a bad haul for a three-game series!

Phillies 79-67
2nd Place in the N.L. East, 17 games behind the Braves

Phillies Probables
Aaron Nola (12-9, 4.64)
Ranger Suarez (2-6, 3.93)
Taijuan Walker (15-5, 4.30)

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Bryce Harper - .295
Runs:  Kyle Schwarber - 100
Home Runs:  Kyle Schwarber - 43
RBIs:  Kyle Schwarber - 94
Stolen Bases:  Bryson Stott - 28

Wins:  Taijuan Walker - 15
ERA:  Zack Wheeler - 3.70

Strikeouts:  Zack Wheeler - 196
Saves:  Craig Kimbrel - 23

Cardinals 65-81
5th Place in the N.L. Central, 17 games behind the Brewers

Cardinals Probables
Zack Thompson (5-5, 4.06)
Miles Mikolas (7-11, 4.75)
Dakota Hudson (6-2, 5.10)

Cardinals Leaders
Average:  Paul Goldschmidt - .271
Runs:  Paul Goldschmidt - 82
Home Runs:  Nolan Gorman - 27
RBIs:  Nolan Arenado - 89
Stolen Bases:  Tommy Edman - 24

Wins:  Miles Mikolas - 7
ERA:  Miles Mikolas - 4.75

Strikeouts:  Miles Mikolas - 116
Saves:  Giovanny Gallegos and Ryan Hensley - 10

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

1965 Topps - 4th Series Phillies Alumni

Having recently completed our 1965 Topps set, the final card we added was posted on my 1965 Topps blog yesterday.  The only remaining tasks are to finish up a few more of this Phillies Alumni posts, showcasing the cards of former players, coaches and managers who appeared in that iconic set.  And I'll be spending all of 2023 with this set's design as it's the basis of the 2023 Chachi custom card set.

Here's a look at the 15 cards in the fourth series of the 1965 Topps set (cards 265 to 352) with a Phillies connection.

#275

#280

#288

#294

#296

#310

#313

#322

#324

#327

#334

#338

#339

#346

#352

1965 Topps 3rd Series Phillies Alumni / 1965 Topps 5th Series Phillies Alumni

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

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

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

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

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

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

Memory Lane

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

Series Preview - Phillies at Cardinals: May 6th to May 8th

1971 Topps #598

1971 Topps #55

Monday 8:05, Tuesday 7:45 and Wednesday 1:15
Busch Stadium - St. Louis, MO

Phillies 19-14, 1st place in the N.L. East, 1 1/2 games ahead of the Braves
Cardinals 20-14, 2nd place in the N.L. Central, 1/2 game behind the Cubs

Phillies Probables:  Vince Velasquez (1-1, 2.73), Aaron Nola (2-0, 5.06), Jerad Eickhoff (1-1, 2.05)
Cardinals Probables:  Miles Mikolas (3-2, 4.73), Dakota Hudson (2-2, 4.80), Jack Flaherty (3-2, 4.17)

At the Ballpark:  On Tuesday night, the first 20,000 fans age 16 and older will receive a Paul Goldschmidt t-shirt.

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Rhys Hoskins - .291
Runs:  Andrew McCutchen - 25
Home Runs:  Rhys Hoskins - 10
RBIs:  Rhys Hoskins - 31
Stolen Bases:  Cesar Hernandez - 3

Wins:  Jake Arrieta and Zach Eflin - 4
ERA:  Zach Eflin - 3.00
Strikeouts:  Aaron Nola - 38
Saves:  Hector Neris - 5

Cardinals Leaders
Average:  Paul DeJong - .336
Runs:  Paul DeJong - 29
Home Runs:  Marcell Ozuna - 11
RBIs:  Marcell Ozuna - 30
Stolen Bases:  Kolten Wong - 6

Wins:  Four tied with - 3
ERA:  Jack Flaherty - 4.17
Strikeouts:  Jack Flaherty - 45
Saves:  Jordan Hicks - 9

Series Preview - Phillies at Red Sox: July 30th to July 31st

1978 Topps #540

1978 Topps #572

Monday and Tuesday 7:10
Fenway Park - Boston, MA

Phillies 58-47, 1st place in the N.L. East, 1 1/2 games ahead of the Braves
Red Sox 74-33, 1st place in the A.L. East, 5 1/2 games ahead of the Yankees

Phillies Probables:  Aaron Nola (12-3, 2.42), Jake Arrieta (8-6, 3.45)
Red Sox Probables:  David Price (11-6, 4.17), Drew Pomeranz (1-4, 6.91)

At the Ballpark:  On Tuesday night, the first 10,000 fans will receive a Xander Bogaerts "Splash" bobble head.  (I'll have to rely on the good folks from Section 36 to let me know what that means.)

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Odubel Herrera - .275
Runs:  Cesar Hernandez - 66
Home Runs:  Rhys Hoskins - 21
RBIs:  Rhys Hoskins - 70
Stolen Bases:  Cesar Hernandez - 14

Wins:  Aaron Nola - 12
ERA:  Aaron Nola - 2.42
Strikeouts:  Aaron Nola - 136
Saves:  Seranthony Dominguez and Hector Neris - 10

Red Sox Leaders
Average:  Mookie Betts - .344
Runs:  Mookie Betts - 84
Home Runs:  J.D. Martinez - 32
RBIs:  J.D. Martinez - 89
Stolen Bases:  Mookie Betts - 20

Wins:  Rick Porcello - 13
ERA:  Chris Sale - 2.04
Strikeouts:  Chris Sale - 207
Saves:  Craig Kimbrel - 33

Game 42 - 1970 Topps Posters #8 Rick Wise

Cardinals 12, Phillies 4
Game 42 - Friday Night, May 18th in St. Louis
Record - 25-17, 2nd place, 1/2 game behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  This game quickly got out of hand for the Phillies and Jake Arrieta, as the Cardinals won a laugher, 12-4.

What It Means:  The game started after a 95 minute delay and Arrieta clearly didn't have his best stuff.  He was pulled after three innings having allowed four runs (two earned) on five hits.

What Happened:  Drew Hutchison (3 innings, 5 runs) and Yacksel Rios (1 inning, 3 runs) didn't fare much better against the Cardinals offense and Pedro Florimon found himself on the pitching mound for the second time this season.  Florimon pitched a perfect eighth inning, lowering his season ERA to 9.00.

Featured Card:  Florimon (technically as a relief pitcher) hit a solo home run in the ninth, becoming the first relief pitcher to hit a home run for the Phillies since Rick Wise did it in 1970.  This is from Matt Breen, who also points out that Omar Olivares hit a home run for the Phillies in 1995 but as a pinch-hitter and not technically as a relief pitcher.

Series Preview - Phillies at Padres: August 14th to August 16th

Monday and Tuesday 10:10, Wednesday 3:40
Petco Park - San Diego, CA

Phillies 43-72, 5th Place in the N.L. East, 26 1/2 games behind the Nationals
Padres 51-66, 4th Place in the N.L. West, 32 games behind the Dodgers

Phillies Probables:  Jerad Eickhoff (3-7, 4.45), Mark Leiter, Jr. (1-2, 4.08), Nick Pivetta (4-7, 6.09)
Padres Probables:  Travis Wood (1-1, 6.19), Dinelson Lamet (6-4, 5.00), Clayton Richard (5-12, 5.14)

At the Ballpark:  The Padres are giving away a few hats to fans who purchase special theme night tickets.  Tuesday night is Italian Heritage Night with a green, white and red Padres hat giveaway, while Wednesday afternoon is "Way Back Wednesday" with a retro-style hat available.

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Cesar Hernandez - .294
Runs:  Cesar Hernandez - 59
Home Runs:  Maikel Franco - 17
RBIs:  Maikel Franco - 59
Stolen Bases:  Cesar Hernandez - 12

Wins:  Aaron Nola - 9
ERA:  Aaron Nola - 3.02
Strikeouts:  Aaron Nola - 125
Saves:  Hector Neris - 13

Padres Leaders
Average:  Wil Myers - .239
Runs:  Wil Myers - 58
Home Runs:  Wil Myers - 24
RBIs:  Wil Myers - 58
Stolen Bases:  Manuel Margot and Wil Myers - 11

Wins:  Jhoulys Chacin - 11
ERA:  Jhoulys Chacin - 4.06
Strikeouts:  Jhoulys Chacin - 112
Saves:  Brandon Maurer* - 20

*Now with the Royals

1982 Topps #480

1982 Topps #330

1982 Topps Appreciation:  For the third time since I've been preparing these series preview posts, here's a look at the cards of two pitchers forever linked since they were traded for each other on February 25, 1972.

1970 Topps Appreciation, from 2016
1973 Topps Appreciation, from 2013

Series Preview - Cardinals at Phillies: August 19th to August 21st

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

Cardinals 64-56, 2nd place in the N.L. Central, 13 games behind the Cubs
Phillies 57-65, 4th place in the N.L. East, 15 games behind the Nationals

Cardinals Probables:  Adam Wainwright (9-7, 4.72), Luke Weaver (0-0, 4.50, Mike Leake (8-9, 4.78)
Phillies Probables:  Adam Morgan (1-7, 6.62), Jeremy Hellickson (9-7, 3.65), Vince Velasquez (8-5, 4.14)

At the Ballpark:  On Saturday night, all fans will receive a nice looking mini Harry Kalas replica statute.  On Sunday afternoon, all kids will receive a ShopRite back-to-school set, including two Phillies folders, a spiral notebook, spiral memo pad, eraser, pencil pouch and four pencils.  Nicely done, Phillies.

Cardinals Leaders
Average:  Aledmys Diaz - .312
Runs:  Stephen Piscotty - 67
Home Runs:  Brandon Moss - 22
RBIs:  Stephen Piscotty - 67
Stolen Bases:  Jeremy Hazelbaker and Kolten Wong - 5

Wins:  Carlos Martinez - 11
ERA:  Carlos Martinez - 3.24
Strikeouts:  Carlos Martinez - 119
Saves:  Trevor Rosenthal - 14

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Cesar Hernandez - .294
Runs:  Odubel Herrera - 64
Home Runs:  Maikel Franco - 22
RBIs:  Maikel Franco - 71
Stolen Bases:  Odubel Herrera - 19

Wins:  Jeremy Hellickson - 9
ERA:  Jeremy Hellickson - 3.65
Strikeouts:  Vince Velasquez - 130
Saves:  Jeanmar Gomez - 32

1970 Topps #220

1970 Topps #605

1970 Topps Appreciation:  Matching up the cards of Rick Wise and Steve Carlton is always a natural fit when looking for cards to feature before a Cardinals-Phillies series.  Back in 2013, I featured their 1973 cards and I had this to say:

Rick Wise and Steve Carlton were traded for each other in a straight-up pitcher for pitcher deal in February 1972.  Both pitchers received "Traded" cards within the 1972 Topps high series, but the 1973 Topps set contained their first proper base cards with their new teams.  Over the short-term and eventually over the long-term, it's safe to say the Phillies got the better end of the deal. 

Wise lasted two seasons in St. Louis, going a combined 32-28 in 70 games and making the All-Star team in 1973.  He enjoyed one of his best seasons as a member of the 1975 Red Sox when he went 19-12 and helped the Sox reach the World Series.  Lefty's first season in Philly marks perhaps one of the best single-season pitching performances in the game's history.  Pitching for a horrendous 1972 Phillies squad, Carlton went 27-10 with a 1.97 ERA and 310 strikeouts in 346 1/3 innings.  His 27 wins represented almost half of the team's 59 wins for the entire season.

1971 Phillies Photocards Rick Wise

Mets 3, Phillies 1
Game 132 - Monday Night, August 31st in Flushing
Record - 52-80, 5th Place, 21 1/2 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  Bartolo Colon once again shut down the Phillies and Jared Eickhoff's rough fifth inning led to the 3-1 loss.

What It Means:  This was the Mets' 10th win in a row against the Phillies, matching a streak they set between September 1971 and June 1972.

What Happened:  Eickhoff pitched well and really only made two bad pitches in his outing - the solo home run he allowed to Michael Comforto and two batters later, the two-run home run he allowed to Curtis Granderson.  Colon held the Phillies to four singles and the lone run came in the ninth when Jeff Francoeur grounded into a double play scoring Cesar Hernandez.

Featured Card:  The first loss in the 10-game losing streak against the Mets back in 1971 came on September 2nd.  The Phillies also lost that game by a score of 3-1 and Rick Wise pitched a complete game for the Phillies in a losing effort.

Planning the 2016 Chachi Set - Part One

1970 Topps #486

1971 Topps #77

1972 Topps #43

1978 Topps #715

The 2016 Chachi Set Planning Committee is meeting much earlier this year than in normal years, given that we've all just about had it with the 2015 edition of these Philadelphia Phillies and we're already daydreaming about 2016.  As we've done a few years in the past, we've decided to share our thought process with you, those dozens of (tens of? few?) Chachi set fans who eagerly await the announcement of the next year's design each August or September.

I still have quite a few Topps baseball card designs to choose from between the years of 1970 and 1989, and I haven't yet reached that point where I'm willing to entertain set designs from 1990 onwards.  The Planning Committee and I have our favorites among the remaining designs, but I wanted to seek input from others as to the 2016 set's design.

This is part one of a three-part post, first looking at the Topps baseball card designs from 1970 to 1979.  Please leave a comment, share with others and let us know what you think!

1970 Topps - This is in my personal top four.  It's a simple design, easy enough for me to replicate given my basic knowledge of graphic design software.  (Even though I don't think I have the cursive font matched up exactly right on the prototype I'm working on.)  But it might be a little too simple, or perhaps a little too bland?

1971 Topps - This design really intrigues me as well, and I'm come very close to using it in the past.  I'm motivated to use this design for a set before Topps gets to it in 2020 for its Topps Heritage set.

1972 Topps - I love this set and I love this design, but I have no interest in using the design for a Chachi set.  I like to customize the designs for cards for my kids and special occasions, and this very unique design doesn't really lend itself to much customization.  (Unless you're this guy, who has way more talent than I do.)

1973 Topps - Design already used for the 2013 Chachi set.

1974 Topps - Design already used for the 2010 Chachi set.

1975 Topps - Design already used for the 2005 Chachi set.

1976 Topps - Design already used for the 2007 Chachi set.

1977 Topps - Design already used for the 2008 Chachi set.

1978 Topps - I've definitely threatened to use this design in the past, but similar to the 1972 Topps set, I fear I couldn't pull it off.  The script font for the team names is troublesome and although most post-1978 expansion team names are now available (with the exception of the Marlins), I wouldn't be able to customize the cards for my kids.  This is a minor hurdle to get over, which also places this set's design in my personal top four.

1979 Topps - Design already used for the 2012 Chachi set.

Of the designs remaining between 1970 and 1979, the realistic candidates are 1971 and 1978, with 1970 in there as a possibility.  I'll have a post up soon looking at the Topps baseball card designs from 1980 to 1989.

1971 Arco Phillies

With all of the vintage baseball card designs Topps has recylced over the years, I'm surprised they haven't used the clean, classic design of the 1971 Arco cards.  In 1971, 8" x 10" cards were produced for four different teams to be given away at Arco gas stations serving those team's markets.  The Red Sox, Yankees, Pirates and Phillies each participated in the promotion, and the 13 Phillies cards are featured here.

Click on any card below to enlarge.