2013 Topps Phillies

2013 Topps #625

2013 Topps #26

2013 Topps #637

2013 Topps #367

Over the past few years, I've fallen into a pattern with these Topps Phillies posts where I ignore them throughout the year and then I rattle off a few years during the Phillies-less postseason.  The patten continues again this season.  While trying to stay up for Game 1 of the Dodgers-Mets N.L.D.S., I somehow found myself flipping through my 2013 Phillies binder.

2013 Topps #367 (Back)

The wheels completely fell off the Phillies in 2013 as they endured their first losing season since 2002.  Manager Charlie Manuel was dumped in mid-August right after winning his 1,000th career game and the non-productive Ryne Sandberg era began.

The Set
Number of cards in the set:  Both Series 1 and Series 2 have 330 cards with #7 once again omitted in honor of Mickey Mantle.  As such, the full set is numbered to 661.  The Update Series once again contains 330 cards.
My very brief thoughts on the set:  I was underwhelmed by the 2013 Topps set when it first came out, and almost three years later I find the set, like the 2013 Phillies season, fairly forgettable.  Night Owl Cards christened the set the "sea turtle set" since the curved home plate and baseball diamond in the bottom left corner vaguely resemble an abstract swimming turtle.  Once you see the turtle in the set's front border design, you can never un-see it.

2013 Topps #6

2013 Topps Update #US90

2013 Topps Update #US242

2013 Topps #206

2013 Phillies
Record and finish:  The Phillies finished fourth in the N.L. East, 23 games behind the Braves, with a record of 73-89.  As mentioned previously, Manuel was dismissed in mid-August and the brief Sandberg era began.
Key players:  Domonic Brown made his first and only All-Star team and he'd finish the season with a .272 average and team leading 27 home runs and 83 RBIs.  He hasn't touched those numbers since. Chase Utley hit .284 over 131 games and was second on the team in both home runs (18) and RBIs (69).  Carlos Ruiz (.268) had a solid year behind the plate while newcomer Ben Revere hit .305 with 22 stolen bases.

Cliff Lee (14-8, 2.87) and Cole Hamels (8-14, 3.60) led the pitching staff and third starter Kyle Kendrick contributed 10 wins.  In his final season, Roy Halladay struggled mightily, going 4-5 with a 6.82 ERA in 13 starts.  Jonathan Papelbon led the team with 29 saves with Antonio Bastardo (2.32 ERA, 2 saves) and Jake Diekman (2.58 ERA) serving as reliable relievers.

Key events:  Looking at the Chachi Highlight cards for the season, the most notable events include Halladay winning his 200th career game and walk-off home runs from Freddy Galvis and John Mayberry, Jr.  Outfielder Casper Wells and infielder John McDonald both pitched in an 18-inning loss to the Diamondbacks in August.

2013 Phillies in 2013 Topps
Who's in:  Series 1 and Series 2 each include 10 Phillies cards, with the Update Series adding 10 more for a total of 30.  There are three short-printed variation cards for Howard, Utley and John Kruk (in the Update Series).

• Cards of the eight starting position players - 8 cards

#367 Carlos Ruiz (c), #6 Ryan Howard (1b), #26 Chase Utley (2b), #206 Jimmy Rollins (ss), #US90 Michael Young, #625 Domonic Brown (lf), #637 Ben Revere (cf), #US242 Delmon Young (rf)

Michael Young's card is baffling, as it features a photo of him scoring the winning run in a thrilling 4-3 win over the Royals on April 6th.  We get a nice look at Young's back and short-term Phillie Ezequiel Carrera is to his left, but Young's face is completely obscured.

2013 Topps #33

2013 Topps #332

2013 Topps #71

2013 Topps #410

• Cards of the starting pitching rotation - 5 cards

#33 Cliff Lee, #332 Cole Hamels, #71 Kyle Kendrick, #US281 Jonathan Pettibone, #US280 John Lannan

• Base cards of players who played with the Phillies in 2013 - 12 cards

#83 Darin Ruf, #197 Tyler Cloyd, #361 Erik Kratz, #410 Roy Halladay, #424 Steven Lerud, #472 John Mayberry, #514 Jonathan Papelbon, #646 Phillippe Aumont, #US30 Mike Adams, #US58 Kevin Frandsen, #US71 Cody Asche, #US156 Laynce Nix

• Base cards of players who did not play with the Phillies in 2013 - 2 cards

#152 Jose Contreras, #249 Vance Worley

• 2013 National League All-Star cards - 2 cards, #US188 Cliff Lee, #US309 Domonic Brown
• 2013 Record Chase cards - 1 card, #264 Roy Halladay

The Record Chase card doubles as a checklist for cards 264 to 331 and calls attention to Halladay's chase of 200 wins.

2013 Topps #514

2013 Topps #472

2013 Topps Update #US58

2013 Topps #83

Who's Out:  Infielder Galvis got left out of the set for the second year in a row and the entire bullpen, except Papelbon, was ignored.  The top four relievers in terms of number of appearances could have merited cards in the set - Justin De Fratus, Bastardo, Diekman and Jeremy Horst.
Phillies on other teams:  Delmon Young (#121, Tigers) and Michael Young (#320, Rangers) both appear with their former teams in the base set.  Wells (#US247, White Sox) appears in the Update Series as well as the Mariners retail team set (#SEA11).

What's he doing here:  Contreras and Worley both departed during the off-season so it makes sense they'd appear in Series 1 with the Phillies.  As has been the case with the past few years of Topps sets, I really don't have any issues with their Phillies player selections.  Back-up catcher Lerud is a surprising inclusion, as he appeared in three games with the Phillies in 2012 and just six more games in 2013.
Cards that never were candidates:  Galvis, De Fratus, Basardo and Diekman.
Favorite Phillies card:  Phillies Room Favorite Frandsen finally received a Topps card, and the photo is perfect - Frandsen is smiling on his way up to the plate with his filthy, pine tar stained helmet on full display.  Easily my least favorite Phillies card, and perhaps my least favorite Phillies card ever, is Papelon's card showing him in mid-maniacal scream.

2013 Topps Phillies #PHI-1

2013 Topps Phillies #PHI-9

2013 Topps Phillies #PHI-10

2013 Topps #424

Other Stuff
Variations:  There are a few variations to be found in the Chrome, Opening Day and retail team set as shown on the table below.  I'd love to pick the brain of the Topps photo-selection committee and ask them why Revere had different photos on his flagship and Chrome cards, both showing him making a diving catch.  Both Young's received Photoshopped Phillies uniforms in the retail team set.

The First Moves of the 2015-2016 Offseason

2015 Phillies Team Issue 2 #30

While the rest of the baseball world was preparing for the Cubs-Pirates Wild Card game, the Phillies were busy making their first roster moves of the off-season.

Catcher Erik Kratz, infielder Chase d'Arnaud, outfielder Jordan Danks and relievers Justin De Fratus, Adam Loewen and Ken Roberts were all outrighted off the 40-man roster.  Jonathan Pettibone, who was on the 60-day disabled list all season, was activated and also outrighted.  The moves leave the Phillies with 34 players on their 40-man roster and six players still on the 60-day DL.

2015 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs Update #8

2015 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs Update #9

2012 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs Update #13

2007 Topps #78

Given their years of service, d'Arnaud, De Fratus, Loewen and Kratz can all immediately elect to become free agents or they can wait until after the World Series when they'll automatically become minor league free agents.  Danks and Pettibone can become free agents following the World Series and Roberts will be reassigned to a Phillies minor league team.

Of the seven players outrighted, De Fratus had been in the Phillies system the longest, having made his debut with the club in 2011.  He leaves behind a Phillies baseball card legacy that began with the 2011 Bowman set and ended with the 2015 team issued photo card sets.

d'Arnaud, Danks and Loewen could join the ranks of those unfortunate (or fortunate depending on your point of view) Phillies players who never appeared on a Phillies baseball card.  Roberts appears to still have a chance if he's in the mix next season.

* * *

2015 Phillies Team Issue 2 #12

2015 Phillies Team Issue 2 #54

2014 Phillies Team Issue #44

Also of note is the dismissal of two Phillies coaches following the final game of the season.  Third base coach John Mizerock and bullpen coach Rod Nichols were let go and the other four coaches - bench coach Larry Bowa, first base coach Juan Samuel, hitting coach Steve Henderson and pitching coach Bob McClure were all invited back for 2016.  There's been no official word yet if those four will actually decide to return for 2016 and Bowa recently interviewed for the manager's job in Miami.

Phillies Missing Links of the 1980s - #10 Tom Gorman

#33
Thomas Patrick Gorman
Relief Pitcher

The season before he had eight relief appearances with the Phillies, Tom Gorman was on the other end of one of the most memorable games in Phillies history.  Gorman was the starting pitcher for the Mets on June 11, 1985, lasting a third of an inning and allowing six runs including the first of two Von Hayes home runs hit in the first inning.  The Phillies would go on to win the game 26-7.

Gorman was released by the Mets at the end of spring training in 1986, and signed a few weeks later with the Phillies.  He'd spend the bulk of the 1986 season pitching for the Triple-A Portland Beavers, but he'd get the call to the Phillies in early July when the struggling Mike Maddux was sent down.  Gorman struggled in his eight outings and he was sent back to Portland in early August, replaced on the roster by Michael Jackson who would soon make his big league debut and assume Gorman's #33.

Gorman finished out the season in Portland and was released following the 1986 season.

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'4"  Weight:  194
Born:  December 16, 1957, Portland, OR
Drafted:  Drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 4th round of the 1980 amateur player draft, June 3, 1980
Major League Teams:  Montreal Expos 1981-1982, New York Mets 1982-1985, Phillies 1986, San Diego Padres 1987
Professional Affiliations:  Montreal Expos 1980-1982, New York Mets 1982-1985, Phillies 1986, San Diego Padres 1987, Minnesota Twins 1987, Oakland Athletics 1988

Phillies Career
8 games, 0-1 and 7.71 ERA in 11 2/3 innings pitched
Acquired:  Signed as a free agent formerly with the New York Mets, April 19, 1986
Debut:  July 5, 1986 - Relieved Tom Hume in the 6th inning and allowed a run over two innings to the Reds
Final Game:  August 5, 1986
Departed:  Released on October 7, 1986.  Signed as a minor league free agent with the San Diego Padres, January 13, 1987

1984 Topps #774

1986 Fleer #82

1986 Topps #414

1986 ProCards Portland Beavers #7

3 Gorman Baseball Card in My Collection
First Card:  1986 Fleer #82
Last Card:  1986 ProCards Portland Beavers #7

Other Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1984 Topps #774
First Topps Base Card:  1984 Topps #774
Last Mainstream Card:  1986 Topps #414
Other Notable Cards:  1985 Topps #53, 1991 WIZ Mets #146

I first attempted a Phillies card for Gorman using the photo from his 1986 ProCards Portland Beavers card a few years ago.  This original card can be found here.

Sources:  Baseball Reference and The Trading Card Database

This is a continuing series looking at those players who spent time with the Phillies but possess no baseball card proof of their time in Philadelphia.  I will make my way through the decade of the 1980s first and then work my way forward.  In some cases, the First and Last Mainstream cards listed above have been subjectively chosen if multiple cards were released in that year.

Farewell, 2015 Phillies Season!

Phillies 7, Marlins 2
Game 162 - Sunday Afternoon, October 4th in Philadelphia
Record - 63-99, 5th Place, 27 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  Aaron Altherr paced the offense and David Buchanan ended on a pitching high note as the Phillies closed out this awful season with a 7-2 win over the Marlins.

What It Means:  The Phils avoided 100 losses, but the 99 losses were still the most in a season since 1969.  Pitchers and catchers report to Clearwater in a little over four months.

What Happened:  Altherr's three-run triple in the seventh broke the game open.  He also had an RBI-double in the fifth, which could have easily been ruled an E4 by the gracious official score keeper.  Andres Blanco capped off his career year with an RBI-double int he fourth to start the scoring.

Buchanan pitched 6 2/3 solid innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits while striking out seven.  He also had seven strikeouts.

Featured Cards/Field Report:  Doug and I got washed out on Friday night, so we exchanged those tickets to tickets to this game.  I finished the 2015 season with an impressive 9-6 record in Phillies games I attended.  Some of the highlights from this game for us:

• Doug got a retro bobble head at the gate and we both received our 2016 Phillies schedule magnets.
• Walking past the Ashburn Alley entrance, I noticed Phillies pitcher Colton Murray hanging out pretty much by himself.  He was kind enough to pose for a picture with Doug.
• A few feet away from Murray, Doug spotted Phillies pitcher Adam Morgan and Morgan signed Doug's baseball and also posed for a picture.  (We missed our chance to get Murray to sign the ball.)
• At the entrance to the Hall of Fame Club, Phillies braodcasters Scott Franzke and Larry Andersen were chatting with fans entering the ballpark.  They both signed Doug's ball, which was the same ball Franzke had dropped to Doug in August.
• Carlos Ruiz was honored before the game for having caught four Phillies no-hitters.  Former manager Charlie Manuel was on hand to present Ruiz with an awesome looking painting commemorating his feat.
• A dead hawk had to be removed from the left field foul area in the middle of the game, temporarily delaying the game.  Can't say I've ever seen that before.
• Future Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki pitched (!) the eighth inning for the Marlins.  He allowed doubles to Odubel Herrera and Darnell Sweeney but escaped having allowed just a run.

Ken Giles faces the final batter of the 2015 season

Memory Lane - Game 162
For the seventh season in a row, I posted on the daily highs and lows of the Phillies and (God willing) I'll be back for an eighth season in 2016.

I'll keep doing this as long as I'm able and as long as it continues to be fun for me.  It's your comments, your e-mails and your participation that make this even more enjoyable for me.  As always, thank you for reading!

October 4, 2009 - Catcher Paul Hoover singled in the winning run in the 10th in a 7-6 win over the Marlins.
October 3, 2010 - The Phillies lost 8-7 to the Braves in their final tune-up before facing the Reds in the N.L.D.S.
September 28, 2011 - The Phillies closed out the 2011 regular season with a 13-inning victory against the Braves, setting a franchise record with their 102nd regular season win.
October 3, 2012 - The Phillies closed out their 2012 season with a lethargic 5-1 loss to the N.L. East Champion Nationals.
September 29, 2013 - Zach Miner got the ball for the Phillies and lasted 2 1/3 innings in a 12-5 loss to the Braves.
September 28, 2014 - Cole Hamels pitched another fine game and suffered through another outing with minimal run support.

2015 Topps Stadium Club #116 Maikel Franco

Marlins 5, Phillies 2 (Game 2)
Game 161 - Saturday Night, October 3rd in Philadelphia
Record - 62-99, 5th Place, 27 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  In the nightcap of the double header, the bats couldn't get anything going against Marlins starting pitcher Justin Nicolino and Alec Asher ended his season with an 0-6 record.

What It Means:  One more game to go and one more chance to avoid 100 losses.

What Happened:  Marlins left fielder Christian Yelich tied a Marlins record with hits in eight straight at-bats.  He went 4 for 4 in game one and 3 for 4 in game two.  Asher allowed three runs in his his two innings of work.

Featured Card:  Maikel Franco returned to the starting line-up for the first time since breaking his hand on August 11th in Arizona.  He went 2 for 4 with his 14th home run of the season and made a few fine plays at third.  I'm definitely looking forward to featuring more of Franco's cards in 2016.

1998 Multi-Ad Clearwater Phillies #4 Pat Burrell

Marlins 7, Phillies 6 (Game 1)
Game 160 - Saturday Afternoon, October 3rd in Philadelphia
Record - 62-98

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies dug out of an early hole established by Aaron Harang, but couldn't keep the Marlins off the board in the late innings in a 7-6 loss.

What It Means:  The double header was necessitated by heavy rains on Friday.  At game-time, it looked as if there were at most a few hundred people in the stands.

What Happened:  Harang allowed four runs (three earned) in his 5 2/3 innings of work - most likely his final appearance with the Phillies.  Ken Giles blew the save in the ninth, marking the first time the Phillies had lost a game this season when leading after eight innings.  They had been 47-0.

Cody Asche had a big three-run triple in the third.  Brian Bogusevic hit a solo home run in the fourth to tie up the score and Odubel Herrera had a three-hit game.

Featured Card:  With the Reds winning their game over the Pirates, the Phillies clinched the top spot in the June 2016 draft.  It will be their first #1 overall pick since they took Pat Burrell first in the 1998 draft.

Marlins at Phillies: October 3rd to October 4th

Saturday Double Header 4:05, Sunday 3:05
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

Marlins 69-90, 3rd Place in the N.L. East, 20 games behind the Mets
Phillies 62-97, 5th Place in the N.L. East, 27 games behind the Mets

Marlins Probables:  Justin Nicolino (4-4, 4.16), Tom Koehler (11-14, 4.00), Adam Conley (4-1, 3.84)
Phillies Probables:  Aaron Harang (6-15, 4.86), Alec Asher (0-5, 9.00), David Buchanan (2-9, 7.54)

At the Ballpark:  This is it . . . the final series of the 2015 season.  Sunday is Fan Appreciation Day with "prizes and surprises" promised for all fans in attendance.

Marlins Leaders
Average:  Dee Gordon - .329
Runs:  Dee Gordon - 83
Home Runs:  Giancarlo Stanton - 27
RBIs:  Justin Bour - 71
Stolen Bases:  Dee Gordon - 56

Wins:  Tom Koehler - 11
ERA:  Tom Koehler - 4.00
Strikeouts:  Tom Koehler - 132
Saves:  A.J. Ramos - 30

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Odubel Herrera - .290
Runs:  Odubel Herrera - 62
Home Runs:  Ryan Howard - 23
RBIs:  Ryan Howard - 77
Stolen Bases:  Cesar Hernandez - 19+

Wins:  Ken Giles, Aaron Harang and Aaron Nola - 6*
ERA:  Aaron Harang - 4.86
Strikeouts:  Aaron Harang - 106*
Saves:  Ken Giles - 15^

+Ben Revere, now with the Blue Jays, is the overall team leader with 24 stolen bases.
*Cole Hamels, now with the Rangers, is the overall team leader with 6 wins (tied) and 137 strikeouts.
^Jonathan Papelbon, now with the Nationals, is the overall team leader with 17 saves.

1985 Topps #379

1985 Topps #763

1985 Topps Traded #62T

1985 Topps Appreciation:  I've got a post coming up which will tally up all the Phillies-related cards in the 1985 Topps set.  The three cards shown here are the last remaining 1985 Toopps Phillies cards that had no logical fit in any series preview posts throughout the season.  Sorry guys.

I'm looking forward to doing these series preview posts in 2016 looking back at Phillies-related cards in the 1970 Topps set.  I've already put together a list of former and future Phillies in the 1970 Topps set, and there were quite a few I wasn't familiar with.  Just one more reason to look forward to the 2016 season!

2013 Choice Myrtle Beach Pelicans #14 Jerad Eickhoff

Phillies 3, Mets 0
Game 159 - Thursday Afternoon, October 1st in Philadelphia
Record - 62-97, 5th Place, 27 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  Jerad Eickhoff and the Phillies completed the sweep of the Mets in a near empty Citizens Bank Park.

What It Means:  The unexpected sweep means that the Phillies have just a one game lead over the Reds for sole possession of last place and the #1 pick in June's amateur player draft.  It also means they'll need to win just one game against the Marlins this weekend to avoid a 100 loss season.  It's the little things.

This game was moved up to a noon start time to get ahead of the storms expected to hit our area beginning Thursday night.  The paid attendance of 13,238 was the lowest attendance in Citizens Bank Park history and various Tweets I read had the actual attendance at around 1,500 die hard fans/lost souls.

What Happened:  Eickhoff had another fantastic outing, throwing seven shutout innings and striking out 10.  In his final four starts of the season, Eickhoff owns a 0.96 ERA over 28 innings pitched with 33 strikeouts to just seven walks.

Home runs from Darin Ruf (two-run shot in the fourth) and Andres Blanco (solo home run in the eighth) provided more than enough offense for the win.

Featured Card:  Again, I'll need to resort to posting a card I don't actually own.  I listed Eickhoff's complete baseball card checklist in this post, and this is one of his two cards I haven't featured yet. The Pelicans were the Rangers' High-A affiliate in 2013, but they switched affiliations to the Cubs beginning with the 2015 season.

2015 Topps Heritage High Number #596 Freddy Galvis

Phillies 7, Mets 5
Game 158 - Wednesday Night, September 30th in Philadelphia
Record - 61-97, 5th Place, 28 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies improbably came back from an early, five-run deficit to defeat the Mets behind great relief pitching and a clutch single from Freddy Galvis.

What It Means:  The Phillies waited until the final week of the season to start playing consistently well.

What Happened:  Starting pitcher Alec Asher was chased after 2/3 of an inning, having allowed two home runs and five runs overall.  The Phillies got back into the game on an RBI double from Darin Ruf and RBI singles from Cody Asche and Galvis in the fifth and sixth innings.  Four Mets wild pitches contributed to the win.

There were also a bunch of hit batters and Mets reliever Hansel Robles, who caused some angst last month, was ejected in the sixth after throwing at Cameron Rupp's head.

Featured Card:  It was Galvis' hit that tied the game up and he'd come around to score the go-ahead run on a wild pitch.  This is his 1966 Topps inspired card from the recently released Topps Heritage High Number set.

Meeting The Bull (Again)

Phillies 4, Mets 3
Game 157 - Tuesday Night, September 29th in Philadelphia
Record - 60-97, 5th Place, 29 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  Darin Ruf's three-run home run in the first along with excellent relief pitching gave the Phillies the 4-3 win.

What It Means:  The Phillies will need to go 3-2 the rest of the way to avoid 100 losses.

What Happened:  Ruf's home run was key but it turned out the Phillies also needed the insurance run delivered with an Aaron Altherr RBI single in the seventh.  Adam Loewen retired the final batter of the fifth inning which made him the pitcher of record.  He recorded his first win since 2007 and also recorded his first hit since 2011 when he was an outfielder for the Blue Jays.

Featured Card/Field Report:  The paid attendance was 15,227, but I'd estimate there were much fewer than half of that actually at the game.  Doug and I were at this game, along with a few thousand of our closest friends and a lot of empty blue seats.  We got a little wet from a steady rain in the later innings, but overall we had a good time.

The sparse crowd gave us just about all of Section 315 to ourselves and allowed us to leisurely browse the concourse and the various merchandise stores and kiosks prior to and during the game. The Phillies are now an improbable 8-6 this season in games I've attended.  A few other observations:

• Greg Luzinski was perched in his usual seat by Bull's BBQ and Doug had brought along a 1972 Ticketron Phillies card for The Bull to sign.  Luzinski obliged with an autograph and a picture, although he did seem a little cranky.  I guess sitting through 70+ Phillies home games this season will do that to a guy.
• Darnell Sweeney has an official giant line-up card, but Brian Bogusevic does not.
• I bought a $3 second series photo card set solely to confirm there were no new cards added to the set.  Suspicion confirmed.

Memory Lane

Bull Meeting #1 - April 2010

Bull Meeting #2 - August 2013