Phillies Missing Links of the 1990s - #11 Dennis Springer

#47
Dennis LeRoy Springer
Starting Pitcher

In 1995, two different pitchers with the surname Springer pitched for the Phillies.  Russ Springer, a right-handed relief pitcher, appeared in 14 games.  Dennis Springer, a knuckle-balling right-hander, started four games for the Phillies.  Russ stuck around through 1996, appearing on two Phillies baseball cards.  Dennis moved on following the season and was doomed to never have a cardboard appearance with the Phillies.

A September call-up along with Chuck Ricci, Springer's best start came against the Marlins on September 19th when he pitched seven innings allowing just a run on four hits.  He'd finish the season with an 0-3 record and a 4.84 ERA.  Springer bounced around a little after leaving the Phillies, pitching in a career high 38 games for the 1999 Florida Marlins and compiling a record of 6-16.  On October 7, 2001, while pitching for the Dodgers, Springer allowed Barry Bonds' record-setting 73rd home run of the season.

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'10"  Weight:  185
Born:  February 12, 1965, Fresno, CA
Drafted:  Drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 21st round of the 1987 amateur draft.
Major League Teams:  Phillies 1995; California Angels 1996; Anaheim Angels 1997, Tampa Bay Devil Rays 1998; Florida Marlins 1999; New York Mets 2000; Los Angeles Dodgers 2001-2002
Professional Affiliations:  Los Angeles Dodgers 1987-1993; Phillies 1994-1995; California Angels 1996; Anaheim Angels 1997, Tampa Bay Devil Rays 1998; Florida Marlins 1999; New York Mets 2000; Los Angeles Dodgers 2001-2002

Phillies Career
4 games, 0-3, 4.84 ERA, 22 1/3 innings pitched
Acquired:  Signed as a free agent formerly with the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, May 19, 1994.
Debut:  September 13, 1995 - Pitched 5 1/3 innings against the Expos, allowing five runs (three earned) on eight hits.
Final Game:  September 29, 1995
Departed:  Granted free agency on December 21, 1995 and signed with the California Angels on January 5, 1996.

1995 Dunkin' Donuts Scranton/ Wilkes-Barre Red Barons #22

1998 Topps #243

1998 Collector's Choice #503

2000 MLB Showdown 1st Edition #185

1 Springer Baseball Card in My Collection
First Card:  1995 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons Dunkin' Donuts #22
Last Card:  1995 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons Dunkin' Donuts #22

Other Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1998 Topps #243
First Topps Base Card:  1998 Topps #243
Last Mainstream Card:  2000 MLB Showdown 1st Edition #185
Other Notable Cards:  1990 CMC #414, 1998 Collector's Choice #503, 1998 Upper Deck #294

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 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