1988 Tastykake Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

Number of Cards:  39
Card Size:  4 7/8" x 6 1/4"
Description:  The Phillies broke the mold for their 1988 photo card set and went with a set of supersized cards.  The fronts of the cards feature full color action photos while the backs contain biographical information and complete minor and Major League statistics.  The nine photo cards found in the update set have blank backs.  I've always thought this was one of the more impressive team-issued sets released by the Phillies, but I guess the larger size may have indirectly led to less cards in the set.  This is seventh year in a row the set was sponsored by Tastykake.

How Distributed:  Saturday, April 9, 1988, the first Saturday night home game of the season, was Tastykake Photo Card day with all fans receiving the original 30-card set.  (The Phillies won the game, 9-3 over the Mets, behind a complete game effort from Don Carman and 5 RBIs from Lance Parrish.)  The set was comprised of the entire opening day roster, 1987 Cy Young Award winner Steve Bedrosian, who opened the season on the disabled list, manager Lee Elia and cards for the coaches, top prospects, a team photo and the Phillie Phanatic.

The nine-card update set was released later in the season, and I believe was sold at various vendor stands throughout Veterans Stadium.  The update set checklist would have been finalized in mid-July as Larry Bowa took over for the fired Dave Bristol on July 15th and Ricky Jordan was recalled on July 16th.

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

1. Luis Aguayo (#16 - INF) 2. Bill Almon (#15 - INF) 3. Steve Bedrosian (#40 - P) 4. Phil Bradley (#29 - OF) 5. Jeff Calhoun (#31 - P) 6. Don Carman (#42 - P) 7. Darren Daulton (#10 - C) 8. Bob Dernier (#22 - OF) 9. Lee Elia (#4 - MG, Vertical)       10. Todd Frohwirth (#52 - P)

11. Greg Gross (#21 - OF-1B)       12. Kevin Gross (#46 - P) 13. Von Hayes (#9 - 1B) 14. Chris James (#18 - OF) 15. Steve Jeltz (#30 - SS) 16. Mike Maddux (#44 - P) 17. David Palmer (#45 - P) 18. Lance Parrish (#13 - C) 19. Shane Rawley (#28 - P) 20. Wally Ritchie (#38 - P)

21. Bruce Ruffin (#47 - P) 22. Juan Samuel (#8 - 2B) 23. Mike Schmidt (#20 - 3B) 24. Kent Tekulve (#27 - P) 25. Milt Thompson (#24 - CF) 26. Mike Young (#19 - OF) 27. Phillies Coaches 28. Phillies Prospects 29. Team Card 30. Phillie Phanatic

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

1. Larry Bowa (#16 - CO) 2. Lee Elia (#4 - MG, Horizontal)       3. Jackie Gutierrez (#15 - INF)

4. Greg Harris (#33 - P) 5. Ricky Jordan (#17 - 1B) 6. Keith Miller (#11 - INF-OF)

7. John Russell (#6 - C) 8. John Vukovich (#7 - CO) 9. Phillies Broadcasters

One and Only Phillies Baseball Card (1):  Almon

First Appearance in Phillies Team Issued Set (7):  Bradley, Gutierrez, Harris, Jordan, Miller, Palmer, Young
Returning Players in Phillies Team Issued Set (22):  Aguayo, Bedrosian, Calhoun, Carman, Daulton, Dernier, Frohwirth, G. Gross, K. Gross, Hayes, James, Jeltz, Maddux, Parrish, Rawley, Ritchie, Ruffin, Russell, Samuel, Schmidt,  Tekulve, Thompson

Managers (2):  Elia (2)
Coaches (3):  The coaches card in the base set includes Dave Bristol, Claude Osteen, Mike Ryan, Tony Taylor, Del Unser and John Vukovich.  Bowa and Vukovich get solo cards in the update set.

Phillie Phanatic (1):  The Phanatic is once again pictured atop his ATV.

Broadcasters (1):  Features Richie Ashburn, Harry Kalas, Garry Maddox, Andy Musser and Chris Wheeler
Phillies Prospects (1):  Features eight prospects on one card - Tom Barrett, Brad Brink, Steve DeAngelis, Ron Jones, Keith Miller, Brad Moore, Howard Nichols and Shane Turner.  DeAngelis and Nichols never played for the Phillies.
Other Cards (1):  Team card

Surprises:  The original 30-card set doesn't have many surprises, although there are a few omissions - see below.  The update set surprises me somewhat as I'm not sure why the Phillies decided we needed a second card of manager Elia and a stand-alone card of coach John Vukovich.  For some background here, the Phillies fired third base coach Bristol and hitting coach Del Unser on July 15th.  Vukovich, who had been serving as Elia's bench coach, moved over to third for a few games before the Phillies hired old friend Bowa who had recently been let go as the Padres manager.  Vukovich would switch jobs again on September 23rd, taking over as interim manager when Elia was fired.  Bowa wore #16 in his first stint as a Phillies coach, before switching to #2 at the start of the 1989 season.

Vukovich and Elia aren't the only two to appear in the set twice.  Prospect Keith Miller is one of eight prospects on the multi-player Phillies Prospects card and then he received his own card in the update set.  Five of the eight players on the Prospects card appeared with the Phillies in 1988 - Tom Barrett, Ron Jones, Miller, Brad Moore and Shane Turner.

Omissions:  If we use July 16th as a cut-off date for the update set, there are a few more deserving candidates.  The oft-injured pitcher Bill Dawley was recalled from Maine on April 22nd but was on the disabled list between May 11th and August 18th.  Reliever Danny Clay was recalled on April 30th and had three different stints with the Phillies in between trips back to Maine.  The only other possibility is pitcher Bill Scherrer who joined the team on July 5th but was gone less than a month later on August 2nd.  Wild speculation on my part here, but maybe one or more of those three pitchers were slated to receive cards in the update set only to be replaced by second cards for Elia and Vukovich.

Variations/Rarities:  As fellow collector Rick e-mailed me, there's also a smaller-sized Mike Schmidt card available, featuring the same photo as his regular 1988 Tastykake photo card, but on a smaller scale.

Smaller Sized Variation 1. Mike Schmidt (#20 - 3B)

Also See:  1988 Topps Phillies - Missing Links

Resources:  Beckett.com; Phillies collector Rick G.

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.

1987 Tastykake Phillies Photo Cards / 1989 Tastykake Phillies Photo Cards

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

1988 Tastykake Phillies

I updated this post here in November 2020 and this original post is now outdated.

 
Number of Cards:  39
Card Size:  4 7/8" x 6 1/4"
Description:  The Phillies broke the mold for their 1988 set and went with a set of supersized cards.  The fronts of the cards feature full color action photos while the backs contain biographical information and complete minor and Major League statistics.  The cards found in the update set have blank backs.  I've always thought this was one of the more impressive team issued sets released by the Phillies, but I guess the larger size may have indirectly led to less cards in the set.
How Distributed:  The 2001 Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards states that these cards weren't available in set form, but I'm deferring to the Phillies SGA database which shows the set being given away on the April 9th home game at Veterans Stadium.  The set given away to fans included 30 cards and another nine cards were issued later in the season as an update set.

For what it's worth, and I believe it's wrong, the checklist for the set currently found at Beckett.com lists three different Elia cards.

Complete Standard Checklist (30):  The cards are unnumbered, but I've presented them below ordered by uniform number.

4 - Lee Elia MG (vertical) 8 - Juan Samuel 9 - Von Hayes 10 - Darren Daulton 13 - Lance Parrish 15 - Bill Almon 16 - Luis Aguayo 18 - Chris James 19 - Mike Young 20 - Mike Schmidt 21 - Greg Gross 22 - Bob Dernier 24 - Milt Thompson 27 - Kent Tekulve 28 - Shane Rawley

29 - Phil Bradley 30 - Steve Jeltz 31 - Jeff Calhoun 38 - Wally Ritchie 40 - Steve Bedrosian 42 - Don Carman 44 - Mike Maddux 45 - David Palmer 46 - Kevin Gross 47 - Bruce Ruffin 52 - Todd Frohwirth Phillies Coaches Phillies Prospects Team Card Phillie Phanatic

Complete Update Checklist (9):

4 - Lee Elia MG (horizontal) 6 - John Russell 7 - John Vukovich CO 11 - Keith Miller 15 - Jackie Gutierrez

16 - Larry Bowa CO 17 - Ricky Jordan 33 - Greg Harris Broadcasters

One and Done (1):  Almon
First Appearances (7):  Bradley, Gutierrez, Harris, Jordan, Miller, Palmer, Young
Returning Players (22):  Aguayo, Bedrosian, Calhoun, Carman, Daulton, Dernier, Frohwirth, G. Gross, K. Gross, Hayes, James, Jeltz, Maddux, Parrish, Rawley, Ritchie, Ruffin, Russell, Samuel, Schmidt,  Tekulve, Thompson

Veteran infielder Almon played his final 20 games with the Phillies before getting released in mid-June.  The card in this set is his sole Phillies card.  Miller appears on the eight-player prospect card in the base set and on a solo card in the update set.

The First Appearance designation is for players who have never before appeared within a Phillies team issued set.  These players may have already appeared on other Phillies baseball cards.

Manager (2):  Elia - both versions
Coaches (3):  The coaches card in the base set includes Dave Bristol, Claude Osteen, Mike Ryan, Tony Taylor, Del Unser and John Vukovich.  Bowa and Vukovich get solo cards in the update set.
Phillie Phanatic (1):  The Phanatic is once again pictured atop his ATV.
Broadcasters (1):  Features Richie Ashburn, Harry Kalas, Garry Maddox, Andy Musser and Chris Wheeler
Phillies Prospects (1):  Features eight prospects on one card - Tom Barrett, Brad Brink, Steve DeAngelis, Ron Jones, Keith Miller, Brad Moore, Howard Nichols and Shane Turner.  DeAngelis and Nichols never played for the Phillies.
Other Cards (1):  Team card

Variations/Rarities:  I'd personally consider the update set to be rare, as I've never come across a set for sale on eBay.  As collector Rick e-mailed me, there's also a regular-sized Schmidt card available, featuring the same photo as his regular 1988 Tastykake card, but on a smaller scale.

Also See:  1988 Topps Phillies - Missing Links
Trivia:  The Phillies fired third base coach Bristol and hitting coach Unser on July 15th.  Vukovich, who had been serving as Elia's bench coach, moved over to third for a few games before the Phillies hired old friend Bowa who had recently been let go as the Padres manager.  Vukovich would switch jobs again on September 23rd, taking over as interim manager when Elia was fired.  Bowa apparently wore #16 in his first stint as a Phillies coach, before assuming #2 at the start of the 1989 season.
Resources:  Phillies SGA 1988; Beckett.com; Philly.com - Bristol and Unser Are Fired

1988 Phillies - The Missing Links

1989 Score Hottest 100 Rookies #67, 1989 Upper Deck #430,
1988 Donruss #487 and 1988 Fleer Update #U-108

An awful team with a large number of fringe, journeyman relievers results in the highest number of "Missing Links" Phillies thus far in our look back to the 1980s.  In the late '80s, Donruss, Fleer, Score and Topps were churning out more sets than ever and trying to cash in on the booming rookie card business.  For this reason alone, guys who probably wouldn't have a Phillies card today (and I'm looking at you, Alex Madrid) ended up with numerous Phillies cards over several brands and products.

Alas, as you'll see below, if you were a short-term bullpen plug or a fourth-string catcher for the 1988 Phillies, there's absolutely no cardboard proof of your time in marroon pinstripes.  However, thanks to my limited computer graphic design skills, I've created 1988 Topps Phillies cards for each player not appearing on a 1988 Topps card here and here.

3 Cards or More
35 Players

1988 Tastykake Phillies #15

Infielder Shane Turner squeaks onto this list.  Turner shares card space with seven other prospects on a multi-player 1988 Tastykake Phillies card, and he shares a Major League Prospects card in the 1989 Fleer set with Scott Service.  His lone solo Phillies card can be found in the 1989 Score Hottest 100 Rookies set.

Along with his appearance in the 1989 Fleer set, Service appeared on Phillies cards in the 1990 Bowman and Upper Deck sets.  Until researching this post, I had no idea that Service put together an impressive 12-year career.

2 Cards
Jackie Gutierrez (33 games in 1988) - 1989 Tastykake Phillies Update and 1989 Upper Deck #430

Gutierrez was the Super Michael Martinez of his day, hitting .247 in his 33 games with the 1988 Phillies, occassionally spelling Mike Schmidt at third or Steve Jeltz at shortstop.  Before coming to the Phillies, he played in parts of five seasons with the Red Sox and Orioles.

1 Card
Bill Almon (20 games in 1988) - 1988 Tastykake Phillies #15
Danny Clay (17 games in 1988) - 1988 Fleer Update #U-108

Almon wrapped his 15-year career with with the Phils, hitting .115 (3 for 26) in 26 games from April to mid-June.  Had he not been with the team on opening day, his 1988 Tastykake Phillies card probably wouldn't exist.  Clay was one of the two prospects acquired from the Twins in June 1987 for reliever Dan Schatzeder.  He made it into 17 games with the Phillies, compiling a 6.00 ERA thanks in part to his 21 walks in 24 innings.

1988 Score #337 and #328, 1987 Topps #98 and 1986 Donruss #489

0 Cards
Bob Sebra (3 games in 1988 and 6 games in 1989)
Bill Dawley (8 games in 1988)
Bill Scherrer (8 games in 1988)
Salome Barojas (6 games in 1988)

Al Pardo (2 games in 1988 and 1 game in 1989)

For some reason, I could have sworn Sebra spent more time with the Phillies than his nine games in 1988 and 1989.  My 15-year-old brain had him as one of the main pitchers with the '88 and '89 Phillies, but the fact is he really wasn't around that much.  Sebra was acquired from the Expos in September 1988 and traded away to the Reds in July 1989.  Given his short tenure with the club, it's no surprise that he doesn't have any Phillies cards.

1985 Fleer #482

Dawley and Scherrer are perhaps better known for their time with the Astros and Tigers, respectively.  Dawley pitched 8 2/3 total innings with the Phillies, going 0-2 with a 13.50 ERA before earning his release following the season.  Scherrer, who earned a World Series ring with the 1984 Tigers, signed with the Phillies in June 1988 after being released by the Orioles.  He lasted a little over a month with the team, pitching 6 2/3 innings with an ERA of 5.40 and was released on August 1st.

Perhaps the most obscure former Phillie on the 1988 squad was Mexican-born right-handed reliver Salome Barojas.  In between 16 seasons in the Mexican League, Barojas pitched for the White Sox (1982-1984), Mariners (1984-1985) and very briefly with the Phillies.  Barojas was purchased by the Phils from the Mexico City Reds on July 28th and he made six appearances with the club in September.  In 8 2/3 innings, Barojas compiled a 8.31 ERA and he was released immediately following the season.

Finally, catcher Pardo was a September call-up from Triple-A in both 1988 and 1989.  He went 0 for 3 in his 3 at-bats with the Phillies, understandably not earning any Phillies cardboard.

Past Missing Link Posts

1980 Phillies - Orlando Isales and Don McCormack

1981 Phillies - Jerry Reed

1982 Phillies - Stan Bahnsen and Alejandro Sanchez

1983 Phillies - Steve Comer

1984 Phillies - Renie Martin, Jim Kern and Mike LaValliere

1985 Phillies - None

1986 Phillies - Tom Gorman and Jeff Bittiger
1987 Phillies - None

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

1995 Phillies - Jim Deshaies, Kevin Elster, Omar Olivares, Chuck Ricci and Dennis Springer

1996 Phillies - Glenn Dishman, Bronson Heflin, Manny Martinez and Rafael Quirico

1997 Phillies - Rob Butler and Mike Robertson

1998 Phillies - Robert Dodd and Matt Whiteside

1999 Phillies - Joel Bennett, Domingo Cedeno, Joe Grahe and Torey Lovullo

2000 Phillies - Clemente Alvarez, Kirk Bullinger, Mark Holzemer and Bryan Ward

1988 Topps Phillies - Missing Links (Part 2)

While we await the official announcement of Jimmy Rollins' return . . . presenting Part 2 of the 1988 Topps Missing Links set.

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