Phillies Missing Links of the 1990s - #9 Jim Deshaies

#44
James Joseph Deshaies
Starting Pitcher

Jim Deshaies was at the end of his 12-year major league career when the Phillies came calling in need of starting pitching depth.  In the midst of the 1994-1995 player's strike, the Phillies signed Deshaies in late February 1995 and he started the season with the team's AAA affiliate in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.  The Phillies needed a starting pitcher in late July when Curt Schilling went on the disabled list and Deshaies, who had started 19 games for the Red Barons, got the call.  It didn't go well.  Deshaies started two games, giving up six runs in each outing, and he was promptly released.

Deshaies' best years came with the Houston Astros, where he was a 15-game winner in 1989.

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'4"  Weight:  222
Born:  June 23, 1960, Massena, NY
Drafted:  Drafted by the New York Yankees in the 21st round of the 1982 amateur draft.
Major League Teams:  New York Yankees 1984; Houston Astros 1985-1991; San Diego Padres 1992; Minnesota Twins 1993; San Francisco Giants 1993; Minnesota Twins 1994; Phillies 1995
Professional Affiliations:  New York Yankees 1982-1985; Houston Astros 1985-1991; Oakland Athletics 1992; San Diego Padres 1992; Minnesota Twins 1993; San Francisco Giants 1993; Minnesota Twins 1994; Phillies 1995

Phillies Career
2 games, 0-1, 20.25 ERA, 5 1/3 innings, 12 earned runs, 15 hits, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts
Acquired:  Signed as a free agent formerly with the Minnesota Twins, February 26, 1995
Debut:  July 25, 1995 - Started against the Rockies at Veterans Stadium, allowing six runs on 10 hits, including a three-run home to Dante Bichette.
Final Game:  July 30, 1995
Departed:  Released, July 31, 1995

1986 Donruss Rookies #34

1987 Topps #167

1995 Pacific #246

1995 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons Team Issue #6

4 Deshaies Baseball Cards in My Collection
First Card:  1987 Sportflics #156 (with Mike Schmidt and Don Sutton)
Last Card:  1995 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons Dunkin' Donuts #7

Other Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1986 Donruss Rookies #34
First Topps Base Card:  1987 Topps #167
Last Mainstream Card:  1995 Pacific #246
Other Notable Cards:  1987 Topps #2 RB, 1990 Donruss #7 DK, 1993 Upper Deck #648

Sources:  Baseball Reference and The Trading Card Database

Phillies Missing Links of the 1990s
1 Louie Meadows
2 Dave LaPoint
3 Darrin Chapin
4 Mickey Weston
5 Bob Wells
6 Tom Edens
7 Omar Olivares

8 Kevin Elster

9 Jim Deshaies

10 Chuck Ricci
11 Dennis Springer
12 Manny Martinez
13 Rafael Quirico
14 Bronson Heflin
15 Glenn Dishman
16 Rob Butler
17 Mike Robertson
18 Matt Whiteside
19 Robert Dodd
20 Joel Bennett
21 Joe Grahe
22 Domingo Cedeno
23 Torey Lovullo

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.  In some cases, the First and Last Mainstream cards listed above have been subjectively chosen if multiple cards were released in that year.

1995 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons #6 Jim Deshaies

Cubs 7, Phillies 2
Game 50 - Sunday Afternoon, May 29th in Chicago
Record - 26-24, Tied for 3rd place, 3 1/2 games behind the Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  The Cubs effortlessly completed a sweep of the sinking Phillies with a 7-2 win.

What It Means:  This was the first time the Phillies had been swept by the Cubs in Chicago since July 1995.  They'll head home to open a ten-game homestand against the Nationals, Brewers and Cubs.

What Happened:  Vince Velasquez wasn't able to escape the fifth inning for the second straight start. He allowed seven runs on nine hits (including two home runs) in 4 2/3 innings.  The two Phillies runs came courtesy of solo home runs from Tyler Goeddel (2) and Tommy Joseph (3).

Featured Card:  When the Phillies were swept in a late July weekend series in Chicago in 1995, the losing pitchers were Bobby Munoz, Heathcliff Slocumb and Jim Deshaies.  Speaking of Deshaies, I'm still working on my Missing Links series of custom baseball cards which is attempting to create Phillies cards for those players from the 1980s (and eventually the 1990s) who never appeared with the team on cardboard.

The complete checklist for the Phillies Missing Links of the 1990s insert set can be found here, and Deshaies will eventually be card #9 in the set.

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

Astros at Phillies: August 5th to August 7th

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 7:05
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

Astros 47-65, 4th Place in the A.L. West, 21 1/2 games behind the Athletics
Phillies 49-63, 5th Place in the N.L. East, 12 games behind the Nationals

Astros Probables:  Dallas Keuchel (10-7, 2.97), Brad Peacock (3-7, 4.93), Collin McHugh (4-9, 3.32)
Phillies Probables:  Kyle Kendrick (5-11, 4.92), David Buchanan (5-5, 4.40), Roberto Hernandez (6-8, 3.87)

At the Ballpark:  There are a few different theme nights during this series, but otherwise no giveaways or special promotions.  The true fun will come over the weekend when the Phillies host their annual alumni weekend and Wall of Fame festivities.

Phillies Leaders

Average:  Ben Revere - .302

Runs:  Jimmy Rollins - 57

Home Runs:  Marlon Byrd - 21

RBIs:  Marlon Byrd and Ryan Howard - 63

Stolen Bases:  Ben Revere - 30

Wins:  A.J. Burnett, Cole Hamels and Roberto Hernandez - 6

ERA:  Cole Hamels - 2.42

Strikeouts:  Cole Hamels - 139

Saves:  Jonathan Papelbon - 26

1988 Topps #342, #306, #24 and #643

1988 Topps Appreciation:  This quartet of Astros spent time with the Phillies, with some making more of a mark than others.  Of the four, Larry Andersen is the most well-known ex-Phillie.  L.A. had his first stint with the Phils from 1983 to the beginning of the 1986 season when he was released by the club and signed by the Astros in mid-May.  He'd go on to pitch five scoreless innings over two games for the Astros in the 1986 N.L.C.S. against the Mets.

Phillies Room favorite Rocky Childress appeared in 18 games for the Phillies in 1985 and 1986 before becoming a regular in the Astros bullpen in 1987.  He kicked around for the Astros Triple-A teams until 1991.

You're forgiven if you don't recall Billy Hatcher's 43 games with the Phillies prior to the player's strike ending the 1994 season.  And I'd be very impressed if you remembered either of Jim Deshaies' two starts for the Phillies in 1995.  Deshaies lasted a combined 5 1/3 innings, allowing 12 runs on 15 hits for a career Phillies ERA of 20.25.  I wrote about his lack of a Phillies card (and rightfully so) back in my 1995 Phillies Missing Links post.

1995 Phillies - The Missing Links

1996 Leaf Signature Extended Autographs (#190), 1995 Topps Traded #90T,
1995 Fleer Update #U-120 and 1996 Score #238

This little project of mine really picked up some speed with the rogue's gallery that made up the 1995 Phillies team.  There were 50 players who appeared at some point with the 1995 Phillies, so it's only natural that some of them would never be represented on cardboard as Phillies.  Couple the large number of players with decreased baseball card production in 1995, and there are quite a few missing links.

3 or More Cards
36 Players

1995 Phillies Team Issue #5 and
1996 Phillies Team Issue #37

2 Cards
Russ Springer (14 games in 1995 and 51 games in 1996) - 1996 Leaf Signature Extended Autographs and 1996 Phillies Team Issue #33
Dave Gallagher (62 games in 1995) - 1995 Phillies Team Issue #17 and 1995 Topps Traded #90T
Gene Harris (21 games in 1995) - 1995 Fleer Update #U-120 and 1995 Phillies Team Issue #33

Springer was actually a key contributor to the 1996 squad, but as a middle reliever he was among the first to get cut by the card companies when it came to player selection.  Gallagher wrapped up his 9-year career with a decent season with the Phillies.  He hit .318 as the team's fourth outfielder.  Harris was shipped to the Orioles in June for Andy Van Slyke.  By the time his Fleer Update card was released, he was already an ex-Phillie.

1 Card
Gary Varsho (72 games in 1995) - 1995 Phillies Team Issue #5

Steve Frey (9 games in 1995 and 31 games in 1996) - 1996 Phillies Team Issue #37

Andy Carter (20 games in 1994 and 4 games in 1995) - 1994 Phillies Team Issue Update #50

Kevin Flora (24 games in 1995) - 1996 Score #238

Ryan Karp (1 game in 1995 and 15 games in 1997) - 1994 Bowman #552

Paul Fletcher (1 game in 1993 and 10 games in 1995) - 1993 Bowman #272

Varsho appeared on a number of team-issued cards between 2002 and 2006 during his time as a Phillies coach, but he had only one card with the Phillies as a player.

1994 Bowman #552,
1995 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons Team Issue (#6), (#20) and (#22)

0 Cards
Kevin Elster (26 games in 1995)

Omar Olivares (5 games in 1995)

Chuck Ricci (7 games in 1995)

Dennis Springer (4 games in 1995)
Jim Deshaies (2 games in 1995)

1995 Pacific #410

If you remember Elster and Deshaies playing with the Phillies, than you are truly a die-hard Phillies fan.  Elster came to the Phillies in July after bouncing from the Yankees and Royals organizations in June.  The Beckett database shows that Elster didn't appear on one single baseball card in 1994 or 1995, and by the time he was featured on a few 1996 cards he was already with the Rangers.

The only thing I remember about Olivares' stay with the Phillies is that he wore #00.  Ricci actually won a game with the Phillies, and the only Phillies-related card I have of him doesn't even feature a photo of the guy.  Dennis Springer (no relation to Russ) started his 8-year career with 4 games with the 1995 Phillies.  His claim to fame is that he gave up Barry Bonds' 73rd home run back in 2001.  He's featured in the same all-painting minor league set as Ricci.

Deshaies caught on with the Phillies in a last-ditch effort to keep his career going after 11 seasons spent mostly with the Astros.  He started two games with the club in late July, going 0-1 with a 20.25 ERA in 5 1/3 innings.  He was released on July 31st.

So there were five Phillies from the 1995 season who never appeared on a Phillies baseball card.  I have a feeling that number is about to jump once we hit the dark days of 1996, 1997 and 1998.

Past Missing Link Posts

1990 Phillies - Louie Meadows

1991 Phillies - Dave LaPoint

1992 Phillies - Darrin Chapin and Mickey Weston

1993 Phillies - None

1994 Phillies - Tom Edens and Bob Wells