Mets at Phillies: October 5th to October 6th

2024 Chachi Series Preview #10

2024 Chachi Series Preview #11

Saturday and Sunday 4:08
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

At the Ballpark:  After a dramatic win over the Brewers on Thursday night, the Mets travelled to Philadelphia to take on the division-winning Phillies.  Larry Andersen and Kevin Stocker will throw out the ceremonial first pitches before Game 1.  Hopes are high.

New York Mets 89-73
Defeated Brewers in NLWCS, 2-1

Mets Probables
Kodai Senga (1-0, 3.38)
Luis Severino (11-7, 3.91)

Mets Leaders
Average:  Francisco Lindor - .273
Runs:  Francisco Lindor - 107
Home Runs:  Pete Alonso - 34
RBIs:  Francisco Lindor - 91
Stolen Bases:  Francisco Lindor - 29

Wins:  Sean Manaea - 12
ERA:  Sean Manaea - 3.47

Strikeouts:  Sean Manaea - 184
Saves:  Edwin Diaz - 20

Philadelphia Phillies 95-67
National League East Champions

Phillies Probables
Zack Wheeler (16-7, 2.57)
Cristopher Sanchez (11-9, 3.32)

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Trea Turner - .295
Runs:  Kyle Schwarber - 110
Home Runs:  Kyle Schwarber - 38
RBIs:  Kyle Schwarber - 104
Stolen Bases:  Bryson Stott - 32

Wins:  Zack Wheeler - 16
ERA:  Zack Wheeler - 2.57
Strikeouts:  Zack Wheeler - 224
Saves:  Jose Alvarado - 13

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

Game 74 - Costly Error from Bohm Helps Pads Avoid Sweep

1959 Topps #317

Padres 5, Phillies 2
Game 74 - Wednesday Afternoon, June 19th in Philadelphia
Record - 49-25, 1st Place, 7 games ahead of the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies couldn't complete the sweep against the Padres, dropping this sweltering hot matinee by a 5-2 score.

What It Means:  The heat wave continues in Philadelphia as the Diamondbacks come to town on Friday night for a three-game weekend series.

What Happened:  The Phillies couldn't get much going against Padres' starter Matt Waldron.  Bryce Harper hit a solo home run in the third inning, his 16th of the season.  Ranger Suarez pitched well again, departing after six innings with the score tied, 1-1.  The Padres took the lead in the seventh off reliever Orion Kerkering and a costly error in the eighth by Alec Bohm led to three unearned runs.  Harper would homer again in the bottom of the eighth inning, his 17th, but it wouldn't be nearly enough.

Featured Card:  The baseball world is mourning the loss of Willie Mays, who passed away on Tuesday at the age of 93.  One of the greatest to ever play the game, he shows up on four baseball cards in my Phillies collection, including this wonderful card from the 1959 Topps set.

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

1995 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

Number of Cards:  36
Card Size:  4" x 6"

Description:  For the seventh and final year, the card fronts feature a photo with the player's, coach's or manager's name in a red band with white text.  The card backs feature biographical information along with complete career statistics.  At the time, I considered it a major step forward that the set's designer had actually modified the appearance of the backs of the cards.

How Distributed:  The original 36-card set was available for sale at Veterans Stadium throughout the season.  There was no update set issued, marking the first time since 1986 no new cards were issued later in the season.

Complete Set Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here alphabetically with uniform number and position from the back of cards): 

1. Kyle Abbott (#39 - LHP) 2. Toby Borland (#42 - RHP) 3. Ricky Bottalico (#52 - RHP) 4. Larry Bowa (#2 - Third Base Coach)         5. Norm Charlton (#37 - LHP) 6. Darren Daulton (#10 - C) 7. Mariano Duncan (#7 - INF) 8. Lenny Dykstra (#4 - CF) 9. Jim Eisenreich (#8 - RF) 10. Jim Fregosi (#11 - MG) 11. Dave Gallagher (#17 - OF) 12. Tyler Green (#28 - RHP)

13. Gene Harris (#33 - RHP) 14. Charlie Hayes (#13 - 3B) 15. Dave Hollins (#15 - 1B) 16. Gregg Jefferies (#25 - LF) 17. Tony Longmire (#16 - OF) 18. Denis Menke (#14 - Hitting Instructor)         19. Michael Mimbs (#45 - LHP) 20. Mickey Morandini (#12 - 2B) 21. Bobby Munoz (#35 - RHP) 22. Johnny Podres (#46 - Pitching Coach) 23. Paul Quantrill (#48 - RHP) 24. Randy Ready (#23 - INF)

25. Mel Roberts (#26 - First Base Coach) 26. Mike Ryan (#9 - Bullpen Coach)         27. Curt Schilling (#38 - RHP) 28. Heathcliff Slocumb (#51 - RHP) 29. Kevin Stocker (#19 - SS) 30. Gary Varsho (#5 - OF) 31. John Vukovich (#18 - Dugout Assistant) 32. Lenny Webster (#27 - C) 33. David West (#40 - LHP) 34. Richie Asburn HOF (#1 - CF) 35. Mike Schmidt HOF (#20 - 3B) 36. Phillies Team

One and Only Phillies Baseball Card (0):  N/A

First Appearance in Phillies Photo Card Set (7):  Bottalico, Gallagher, Harris, Jefferies, Mimbs, Varsho, Webster
Returning Players in Phillies Photo Card Set (19):  Abbott, Borland, Charlton, Daulton, Duncan, Dykstra, Eisenreich, Green, Hayes, Hollins, Longmire, Morandini, Munoz, Quantrill, Ready, Schilling, Slocumb, Stocker, West

Managers (1):  Fregosi
Coaches (6):  Bowa, Menke, Podres, Roberts, Ryan, Vukovich

Phillie Phanatic (0):  N/A

Broadcasters (0):  N/A
Other Cards (2):  Asburn, Schmidt

The Ryan card uses the same photo as his 1994 photo card.  Ashburn and Schmidt were both inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 30, 1995.  The backs of their cards indicate their Hall of Fame status and list career highlights.

Set Composition:  Of the 26 players featured in the set, 25 were on the Phillies' opening day roster and one (Munoz) started the season on the disabled list.

Omissions:  The Phillies carried 28 players for the first 17 games of the season, due to the strike-shortened spring training.  That means three players on the opening day roster were omitted from this set - Mike Lieberthal (c), Andy Carter (lhp) and Mike Williams (rhp).  Tommy Greene (rhp) also started the season on the disabled list, and he was omitted while Munoz got a card.  

There are a bunch of good candidates had the Phillies decided to issue an update set.  If we go with the same 10 card set-size from 1994, and use the Mark Whiten acquisition on July 24th as the cut-off, my imaginary update set would include:  Kevin Elster, Sid Fernandez, Tommy Greene, Mike Lieberthal, Tom Marsh, Omar Olivares, Andy Van Slyke, Mark Whiten, Mike Williams, Phillie Phanatic.

Variations/Rarities:  This is relatively tame year in terms of variations or rarities, most likely thanks to the lingering effects of the strike.  In the original post for this set (see link below), fellow collector Rick mentioned there are some cards available with facsimile autographs.  He also passed along he had added a Larry Andersen photo card to his collection with a 1995 copyright date, the same photo as Andersen's 1994 photo card and this quote on the back:  "You're only young once, but you can be immature forever."  Andersen spent the 1995 season as the pitching coach for the Reading Phillies.

Also See:  1995 Topps Phillies - featuring a list of the 92 players (including replacement players) in camp with the Phillies during spring training 1995.

Resources:  Phillies collector Rick G.

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

1994 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards / 1996 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

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

1990 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

Number of Cards:  45
Card Size:  4 1/8" x 6"

Description:  For the second year in a row, the card fronts feature an action photo with the player's, coach's or manager's name in a red band with white text.  The card backs feature biographical information along with complete career statistics.  The set is sponsor-less, as Tastykake sponsored its final set in 1989 and the Medford Food Company wouldn't come along as the new sponsor until 1991.

How Distributed:  It took me years to track down this set, and I finally found one in September 2014 at The Philly Show.  The dealer I bought the set from told me these cards were never sold in complete set form and he had hand-collated the entire 1990 set.  According to him, the cards were distributed four or five at a time throughout the season at Veterans Stadium.  I don't know if all that's true or not, and I don't know how to verify it, but it would help explain why this photo card set eluded my collection for 24 years.

An eight-card update set was produced very late in the season, featuring what was most likely Dale Murphy's first Phillies baseball card.  Murphy was acquired from the Braves on August 3rd.

Complete Standard Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here alphabetically with uniform number and position from the back of cards): 

1. Darrel Akerfelds (#35 - RHP) 2. Rod Booker (#37 - INF) 3. Sil Campusano (#6 - OF) 4. Don Carman (#42 - LHP) 5. Pat Combs (#38 - LHP) 6. Dennis Cook (#39 - No position)    7. Darren Daulton (#10 - C) 8. Lenny Dykstra (#4 - OF) 9. Curt Ford (#27 - OF) 10. Jason Grimsley (#54 - RHP) 11. Charlie Hayes (#8 - 3B) 12. Von Hayes (#9 - OF) 13. Tom Herr (#28 - 2B)

14. Dave Hollins (#15 - INF) 15. Ken Howell (#43 - RHP) 16. Ron Jones (#26 - OF) 17. Ricky Jordan (#17 - 1B) 18. John Kruk (#11 - OF-1B) 19. Steve Lake (#25 - C) 20. Nick Leyva (#16 - MG) 21. Carmelo Martinez (#24 - OF) 22. Roger McDowell (#13 - RHP) 23. Chuck McElroy (#51 - LHP) 24. Terry Mulholland (#45 - LHP)    25. Jeff Parrett (#49 - RHP)

26. Randy Ready (#23 - 3B) 27. Bruce Ruffin (#47 - LHP) 28. Dickie Thon (#21 - SS) 29. Jim Vatcher (#31 - OF) 30. Phillies Coaches 31. Phillie Phanatic 32. Richie Ashburn (#1 - OF) 33. Steve Carlton (#32 - LHP) 34. Robin Roberts (#36 - RHP)    35. Mike Schmidt (#20 - 3B) 36. Phillies Broadcasters 37. PRISM Broadcasters

Complete Update Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here alphabetically with uniform number and position from the back of cards):

1. Joe Boever (#30 - RHP) 2. Jose DeJesus (#54 - RHP) 3. Marvin Freeman (#48 - RHP)

4. Tommy Greene (#49 - RHP)    5. Chuck Malone (#53 - RHP) 6. Brad Moore (#46 - RHP)

7. Dale Murphy (#3 - OF) 8. Dickie Noles (#34 - P)

One and Only Phillies Baseball Card (0):  N/A

First Appearance in Phillies Team Issued Set (15):  Akerfelds, Boever, Booker, Campusano, Combs, DeJesus, Freeman, Greene, Grimsley, Hollins, Malone, Martinez, McElroy, Murphy, Vatcher
Returning Players in Phillies Team Issued Set (21):  Carman, Cook, Daulton, Dykstra, Ford, C. Hayes, V. Hayes, Herr, Howell, Jones, Jordan, Kruk, Lake, McDowell, Moore, Mulholland, Noles, Parrett, Ready, Ruffin, Thon

Manager (1):  Leyva
Coaches (1):  The coach's card features Larry Bowa, Darold Knowles, Hal Lanier, Denis Menke, Mike Ryan and John Vukovich.

Phillie Phanatic (1):  The Phanatic returns after a one year absence.  The photo used pictures him atop the Phillies dugout.

Broadcasters (2):  The core TV/radio broadcast team of Richie Ashburn, Harry Kalas, Andy Musser and Chris Wheeler are featured on a card.  The PRISM broadcast team of Jim Barniak, Garry Maddox and Mike Schmidt are featured on another.
Commemorative Cards (4):  Ashburn, Carlton, Roberts and Schmidt

Schmidt's #20 was retired in a pre-game ceremony on May 26th, and cards of the four players to have their numbers retired - Ashburn, Roberts, Carlton and Schmidt - are included in the set.  Also of interest is Schmidt's first card as a broadcaster, featuring him with his fellow PRISM broadcasters.  Schmidt's first stint as a broadcaster lasted just the one season.

For those of you not in the Philadelphia area, PRISM was the Philadelphia-based HBO equivalent that broadcast a handful of Phillies games every year between 1976 and 1997.

Set Composition:  Of the 27-man opening day roster, only Moore and Frohwirth are omitted from the original set, with Moore getting a card in the update set.  Tommy Barrett and Floyd Youmans spent the entire season on the Disabled List, and Steve Ontiveros spent all but the last month of the season out with an injury, and none of those three are in the set.  Beginning the year in the minors, but earning a spot on the checklist are Grimsley, Jones and Vatcher.  The latter two were added to the roster on May 30th, and Grimsley wasn't called up until August 8th.

The eight card update set may not have all been issued all at once, given Freeman and Boever are both in it and they were traded for each other on July 23rd.  Freeman headed to the Braves with Boever coming to the Phillies.  Murphy and Greene were acquired from the Braves on August 3rd for Parrett, Vatcher and minor leaguer Victor Rosario.  Noles is a surprise addition, as he was on the active roster for three games in early May, his comeback attempt cut short by arm injuries.

Omissions:  Back-up catcher Tom Nieto appeared in 17 games but was on the team's active roster for 73 games during the season.  Late season call-ups Wes Chamberlain, Mickey Morandini, Louie Meadows and Darrin Fletcher all saw time with the Phillies in September, so it's understandable no photo cards were created for that quartet.

Variations/Rarities:  Fellow collector Rick left a few comments on my original post for this set and sent me an e-mail with scans showing 12 cards made available at the 1990 ALS Autograph Party fund raising event (later the Phillies Phestival) held at Veterans Stadium on July 30th.  The Phillies issued 10 cards celebrating the ten year anniversary of the 1980 World Champions.  Coach Hal Lanier received his own card and there are two versions of cards for Larry Bowa - one showing him as a coach, and one showing him up at bat.  The back of the 1980 commemorative cards feature a 10th Reunion logo.

ALS Autograph Party 1. Larry Bowa (coach) 2. Larry Bowa (1980) 3. Dallas Green (1980)    4. Greg Gross (1980)

5. Hal Lanier (coach) 6. Greg Luzinski (1980) 7. Garry Maddox (1980) 8. Bake McBride (1980)

9. Tug McGraw (1980) 10. Paul Owens (1980) 11. Manny Trillo (1980)    12. Del Unser (1980)

Also See:  The Mysterious Jim Vatcher Card
Trivia:  The Beckett database incorrectly lists the set as "1990 Phillies Tastykake" even through the Tastykake logo or name is nowhere to be found on the set.  The Beckett database also omits the eight update cards.  The 2001 Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards lists the set at "1990 Phillies Photocards," and omits the Vatcher card from the main set.  For years, my want list for this set included only 44 cards as most published checklists for the set omit the Vatcher card.
Resources:  Beckett.com; Phillies collector Rick (@rickphils)

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.

1989 Tastykake Phillies Photo Cards / 1991 Medford Phillies Photo Cards

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

Phillies at Mets: May 27th to May 29th

2022 Chachi 2000 Topps Missing Links #31

2022 Chachi Fan Favorites #6

Friday 7:10, Saturday 7:15, Sunday 7:08
Citi Field - Flushing, NY

At the Ballpark:  Saturday night is fireworks night and fans can stay after the Phillies victory for a post-game fireworks show.

Phillies 21-24
Tied for 2nd Place in the N.L. East, 7 1/2 games behind the Mets

Phillies Probables
Bailey Falter (0-1, 3.75)
Zach Eflin (1-3, 3.65)
Zack Wheeler (3-3, 3.38)

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Bryce Harper - .316
Runs:  Bryce Harper - 32
Home Runs:  Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber - 10
RBIs:  Bryce Harper - 31
Stolen Bases:  Bryce Harper and Jean Segura - 6

Wins:  Ranger Suarez - 4
ERA:  Zack Wheeler - 3.38

Strikeouts:  Aaron Nola - 74
Saves:  Corey Knebel - 8

Mets 29-17
1st Place in the N.L. East, 7 1/2 games ahead of the Braves and Phillies

Mets Probables
Carlos Carrasco (4-1, 3.50)
Taijuan Walker (2-0, 2.70)
TBD

Mets Leaders
Average:  Jeff McNeil - .321
Runs:  Francisco Lindor - 31
Home Runs:  Pete Alonso - 11
RBIs:  Pete Alonso - 41
Stolen Bases:  Starling Marte - 6

Wins:  Max Scherzer - 5
ERA:  Max Scherzer - 2.54
Strikeouts:  Max Scherzer - 59
Saves:  Edwin Diaz - 10

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

Game 40 - Weather Turns Hot, Phils Remain Tepid

1959 Topps #317

Dodgers 7, Phillies 4
Game 40 - Saturday Night, May 21st in Philadelphia
Record - 18-22, 3rd Place, 8 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies offense showed some sparks, but the Dodgers bullpen proved to be better than the Phillies bullpen in this 7-4 loss.

What It Means:  In the series finale this afternoon, the team will try to avoid the sweep and break their three-game losing streak.

What Happened:  Bryce Harper was back in the lineup for the first time in five games, and he was largely a non-factor in this game.  Jean Segura doubled home Nick Castellanos in the second for the first run of the game.  Alec Bohm hit a two-run home run in the third, with Kyle Schwarber adding a solo home run in the fourth.

Aaron Nola started for the Phillies, allowing four runs on five hits in 5 1/3 innings of work, including two costly home runs.  Jose Alvarado and his 7.94 ERA gave the Dodgers the lead in the eighth, allowing a pair of runs.

Featured Card/Field Report:  Game time temperature was 93 degrees, and the four of us were in our seats in the Diamond Club for the first pitch.  Doug successfully obtained two pre-game autographs from Rhys Hoskins, as he's trying to get a full 2022 Topps Phillies retail team set signed.  The first four innings of the game were exciting, but slow.  As the game slogged along and the Phillies bullpen entered, our interest in listening to the large amount of Dodgers fans around us cheer for their team's comeback waned.

Doug and I made our way over to the Phillies Authentics store, and while I was happy to finally add a Yearbook and Media Guide to my collection, I was once again disappointed at the lack of any team-issued photo cards.  It seems as if the early season predictions that these sets would be available for sale in May was a bit optimistic.  I did purchase the 1959 Topps card shown at the top of this post for what I deemed to be an extremely reasonable price.  It's great to see actual baseball cards for sale at the ballpark, and I wish the Phillies had jumped on this bandwagon a decade or so sooner.

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

Game 1 - An Electric Opening Day!

2022 Chachi Special Edition #1

2022 Topps Now Spring Training #ST-11

2020 Topps Heritage Minor League #175

1959 Topps #300

Phillies 9, Athletics 5
Game 1 - Friday Afternoon, April 8th in Philadelphia
Record - 1-0, 2nd Place, 1/2 game behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  In an electric Citizens Bank Park, the first "normal" opening day since 2019 was celebrated with a 9-5 win over the visiting Athletics.

What It Means:  As promised, the offense was impressive and the defense was at times shaky.  Bryson Stott, making his big league debut, mishandled three balls in a rough seventh inning, but redeemed himself with an RBI-double in the eighth.  The base running was also suspect, which I believe can be chalked up to an over-excited and aggressive Phillies line-up.

What Happened:  Kyle Schwarber introduced himself to the Phillies fans with a lead-off first inning home run, and then earned the first curtain call of the season.  In the third, Bryce Harper doubled home Schwarber, Rhys Hoskins drove in a pair with a line drive single to right and Didi Gregorius drove home Hoskins with his own RBI single.  Every Phillies starter had a least one hit, other than Matt Vierling, although Vierling contributed a sacrifice fly in the sixth.  Nick Castellanos, who had struck out in his first three at-bats, doubled home Harper in the seventh.  Stott and Schwarber added a few more runs in the eighth with Stott's first big league double and an RBI-single from Schwarber.

Aaron Nola cruised through the first three innings, and his first hit allowed was a solo home run to Chad Pinder in the fourth.  It was relatively smooth sailing for Jeurys Familia, Brad Hand and Seranthony Dominguez out of the bullpen, and Corey Knebel pitched a perfect ninth, striking out two, in his Phillies debut.

Featured Cards/Field Report:  For the second year in a row, Doug and I were there!  Here's a summary of a memorable opening day:

• We were there right after gates opened at 1:05.  Traffic was heavy and I've never seen the parking lots surrounding the ballpark so crowded.  Tailgating had obviously been going on for the better part of the day and we ended up parking right outside Lincoln Financial Field.
• Doug was craving Bull's and we waited in a long line for his standard order - BBQ pulled pork with cole slaw on top, with sides of baked beans and corn bread.
• The pre-game ceremony was once again impressive, with the Phanatic skydiving into the ballpark with the first pitch ball and Dan Baker throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.  Baker, the long-time public address announcer for the Phillies, was celebrating his 50th opening day with the club and his catcher for the first pitch was the first batter he every announced - Larry Bowa.
• We were lucky to have Diamond Club seats with my brother-in-law and his Dad.  Tommy Greene was seated a few rows in front of us.
• The Phillies Authentics store now has a wide selection of baseball cards for sale!  The cards all seemed reasonably priced and they were organized by player (Utley, Thome, Harper, Rollins, etc.) or alphabetical in white boxes.  There was a nice selection of star cards underneath a glass countertop.  I added the 1959 Topps Richie Ashburn card and Doug got a Luke Williams game-used base Topps Now card.  I'm not collecting the 1959 Topps set for a little bit, but we thought it would be cool to add a card to our set from the ballpark.
• The ballpark was PACKED.  We had trouble walking around and navigating through the lengthy lines that stretched beyond each concession stand.  The paid attendance was 44,232, and it seemed as if there were at least 10,000 more people than that there.
• Word is that team-issued photo card sets will make a return in 2022 after a two-year absence.  According to an employee from the Phillies Authentics store, they expect to have Yearbooks and photo card sets available for sale in May.

Transactions:  On Thursday, to get to the 28-man opening day roster, Stott (inf) had his contract selected from Lehigh Valley.  To make room for Stott on the 40-man roster, Rafael Marchan (c) was recalled and placed on the 60-day injured list with a knee injury.  Odubel Herrera (of), Sam Coonrod (rhp) and Ryan Sherriff (lhp) were placed on the 10-day injured list while James Norwood (rhp) was placed on the bereavement list.

On Thursday afternoon, we learned the unfortunate news that Mickey Moniak had suffered a hair-line fracture in his hand and would miss four to six weeks.  Moniak was set to be the club's opening day center fielder after his extremely impressive spring, and he received a warm welcome from the fans during pre-game introductions.  Simon Muzziotti (of) was recalled from Lehigh Valley to take his place.

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

1956 Topps - 2nd Series Phillies Alumni

Over on my 1956 Topps blog, I recently wrapped up posts on the 80 cards featured in that set's second series.  Presented below is a gallery of former Phillies players or coaches to appear in the 1956 Topps second series run, and clicking on the number below each card will take you to that card's blog post.

#114

#119

#120

#127

#147

#148

#153

#155

#158

#168

#172

#173

#174

#180