Game 106 - Gibson Pitches Gem as Alumni Return

Phillies 7, Nationals 2
Game 106 - Friday Night, August 5th in Philadelphia
Record - 58-48, 3rd Place, 9 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  Kyle Gibson was perfect through six and masterful through eight, and the offense contributed five home runs in this 7-2 win over the Nationals.

What It Means:  There was a game?

What Happened:  Gibson had a perfect game going through six innings before he hit Victor Robles with a pitch to open the seventh.  Luis Garcia singled two pitches later and the no-hitter as gone too.  Overall, Gibson allowed a pair of hits, one run and struck out four on the way to his seventh win.  The Phillies line-up continued to mash the ball, with Rhys Hoskins, Nick Castellanos, Darick Hall, J.T. Realmuto and Kyle Schwarber all connecting for home runs.

Featured Cards/Field Report:  All four of us were on-hand to watch the pre-game ceremony honoring public address announcer Dan Baker and his 50 years with the Phillies.  But while Jenna and Ben settled into their seats, Doug and I prepared to stand for the duration of the game in the Hall of Fame Club in the hopes of Doug adding a few autographs to his collection.  We didn't see many alumni, but those we did see all stopped to sign for the gathered collectors.  He was thrilled to get signatures on his Wall of Fame prints from John Kruk, Manny Trillo and Charlie Manuel.  At one point, Gary "Sarge" Mathews wheeled out a cart of milkshakes and handed them out to the assembled fans.  Also signing were Tommy Greene, Del Unser, Marty Bystrom, Pat Gillick and newest Wall of Fame inductee Ron Reed.  As an added bonus, it was great chatting with the proprietor of the Relief Room throughout the night, as we shared our appreciation of Barry Jones, Steve Fireovid and Scott Eyre.

For the first time since 2019, I'm happy to present a small set of custom cards to memorialize the Phillies alumni who signed for Doug, along with a few photos taken by Jenna of the fantastic pre-game ceremony.  I particularly liked the picture she captured of Larry Bowa and Cesar Hernandez having a lengthy discussion during the National Anthem.

Transaction:  Yairo Munoz (inf) was optioned to Lehigh Valley and Nick Maton (inf) was recalled.

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Game 110 - Doug's Big Night of Autographs, The Sequel

Phillies 8, Marlins 3
Game 110 - Saturday Night, August 4th in Philadelphia
Record - 62-48, 1st place, 1 1/2 games ahead of the Braves

Another Post-Vacation Catch-Up, Part 1 of 7

One Sentence Summary:  Four home runs backed another impressive outing from Zach Eflin as the Phils downed the Fish, 8-3.

What It Means:  The win extended the Phillies' lead in the division to a game and a half over the Braves.

What Happened:  Nick Williams (15), Asdrubal Cabrera (19 overall, 1 with the Phillies), Carlos Santana (17) and Cesar Hernandez (9) all homered.  Eflin went eight strong innings, allowing 3 runs on 4 hits.

Featured Cards/Field Report:  We were fortunate enough to be able to take two separate vacations this summer and before leaving for vacation #2, Doug and I decided to attend the Phillies Wall of Fame ceremony for the late Roy Halladay and former General Manager Pat Gillick.  We really wanted to witness the ceremony (which was fantastic, as expected) but Doug also wanted to try to get some alumni autographs in the Hall of Fame Club.

It seemed much more crowded than last year (see link below) and Doug wasn't able to wiggle his way to the front of the roped off area outside the suite where the alumni were gathering . . . or so we thought they were gathering.  He just missed getting a Pat Gillick signature and managed autographs from Dickie Noles and Pete Mackanin before frustration and some boredom set in.

That's when I noticed that the players were leaving the suite by another door, mostly unnoticed, and heading down to a different suite.  With most autograph hunters positioned by the first door, the casual fans walking through the Hall of Fame Club didn't notice the alumni leaving by the second door.  But I did.

We stationed ourselves there and Doug was able to top his record from last year by gathering 20 autographs.  Players such as Clay Condrey, Scott Eyre, Pedro Feliz and Eric Bruntlett stood casually in the open while Doug asked them politely for an autograph.  Once other fans saw someone signing something, a slightly bigger crowd gathered.  Some of the returning players and coaches were happy to sign for Doug as long as he walked quickly with them to the second suite down the hall.  Brett Myers, Geoff Jenkins and Jamie Moyer were too quick for me to get pictures, but I managed to get a photo of Moyer from the back, featuring his glorious ponytail.

When the evening was through, Doug had collected autographs from most of the returning alumni, and I've included a legend above of his signed Wall of Fame print for our future reference.  (We're in the process of getting this framed.)  Some of the players/coaches lingered around long enough that he was able to get a second autograph to be included in my collection.  Eyre, Feliz, Rich Dubee and Milt Thompson signed photo cards for Doug along with his Wall of Fame print.  The prize of his collection was Pat Burrell.  Burrell personalized his Wall of Fame print from 2015 and he actually chatted a little with Doug before disappearing.  I don't know if Burrell signed for anyone else.

It was another memorable night, and we'll be back for more next year!  Of course I needed to make a very limited edition insert set to mark the occasion, and those cards are featured here.


Memory Lane - Past Induction Ceremonies/Alumni Weekends

2009 - Harry Kalas

2010 - Darren Daulton

2011 - John Kruk

2012 - Mike Lieberthal

2013 - Curt Schilling

2014 - Charlie Manuel
2015 - Pat Burrell
2016 - Jim Thome
2017 - Tribute to Jim Bunning, Dallas Green and Darren Daulton
2018 - Roy Halladay and Pat Gillick

MacPhail Joins the Phillies

2015 Chachi #47

Brewers 7, Phillies 4
Game 78 - Monday Night, June 29th in Philadelphia
Record - 27-51, 5th Place, 16 games behind the Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  The last place Brewers outslugged the last place Phillies, and the Brewers pitchers kept the Phillies off the board for the last seven innings in a 7-4 victory.

What It Means:  Pretty much more of the same stuff.

What Happened:  Starting pitcher Sean O'Sullivan saw his ERA increase to 5.76 by allowing six runs in five innings.  The Phillies jumped out to a 4-1 lead after two innings, but couldn't put anything else together the rest of the game.  Cesar Hernandez, now the everyday second baseman with Chase Utley out, stayed hot with two more hits.

Field Report/Featured Card:  My friend Tom and I took in this game from the Hall of Fame Club and we sat below the booth where soon-to-be club president Andy MacPhail was enjoying (?) the ballgame.  MacPhail was introduced at a press conference yesterday afternoon as Pat Gillick's replacement in the front office at the conclusion of the 2015 season.  It was a fairly monumental day for the franchise, and the Phillies website does a better job of summarizing the happenings than I would here and here.

I debated whether or not MacPhail should be part of the regular Chachi set this year, and I ultimately decided to go ahead and give him a card.  There was precedent to do this in the hallowed history of the Chachi sets, as both Gillick and Ruben Amaro, Jr. had received their own Chachi cards upon assuming the role of the team's general manager.  I figured MacPhail's hiring was bigger and more consequential than those hirings, so he gets a card.

And Andy, if you happen to read this:  Call or e-mail me.  I have ideas.

2005 Chachi #61

2008 Chachi #85

2010 Upper Deck Biography #SB-46 Barack Obama

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2005 Chachi #61 Pat Gillick HL

On the heels of the monster Jayson Werth signing by the Washington Nationals, it was announced earlier this week that former Phillies general manager, and current senior advisor for the team, Pat Gillick will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.  With an assist from outgoing general manager Ed Wade, Gillick cobbled together the pieces needed to return the Phillies to the Postseason in 2007.  The team has returned every year since, winning the 2008 World Championship during his reign.  He's the only general manager in history to lead four franchises (Blue Jays, Orioles, Mariners and Phillies) to the Postseason.

Gillick becomes the first person with a connection to the Phillies to be inducted since Ryne Sandberg gained admission in 2005.  Other recent inductees with Phillies connections are Sparky Anderson and Tony Perez (2000), Jim Bunning (1996) and (my favorite class) Mike Schmidt and Richie Ashburn (1995).

Thank you, Mr. Gillick for bringing a winning tradition back to the Phillies and good luck with your speech in Cooperstown!