Phillies Missing Links of the 1990s - #5 Bob Wells

#56
Robert Lee Wells
Relief Pitcher

Signed by the Phillies as an amateur free agent in August 1988, Bob Wells spent five seasons toiling in the minors before getting the call to the big leagues in May 1994.  John Kruk went on the disabled list on May 12th and Wells was recalled as the Phillies were in need of a bullpen arm.  He lasted the month with the club before being sent down in part to make room for the newly acquired Paul Quantrill on the club's roster.  Wells was waived a month later to free up a spot on the 40-man roster for Fernando Valenzuela, and the Mariners picked him up.

Wells would find success as an American League reliever, bolstering the bullpens of the Mariners (1995-1998) and Twins (1999-2002) while leading the league in appearances (76) in 1999.

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  180
Born:  November 1, 1966, Yakima, WA
Signed:  Signed by the Phillies as an amateur free agent, August 18, 1988
Major League Teams:  Phillies 1994; Seattle Mariners 1994-1998; Minnesota Twins 1999-2002
Professional Affiliations:  Phillies 1989-1994; Seattle Mariners 1994-1998; Minnesota Twins 1999-2002

Phillies Career
6 games, 1-0, 1.80 ERA, 5 innings pitched
Acquired:  Via free agency
Debut:  May 16, 1994 - Relieved Curt Schilling in the sixth inning of a game against the Expos, allowing a run on two hits.
Final Game:  May 30, 1994
Departed:  Selected off waivers by the Seattle Mariners, June 30, 1994.

1990 Best Spartaburg Phillies #10

1994 Fleer ProCards #2063

1995 Fleer Update #U-79

1997 Topps #357

5 Wells Baseball Cards in My Collection
First Card:  1990 Best Spartanburg Phillies #10
Last Card:  1994 Fleer ProCards #2063

Other Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1995 Fleer Update #U-79
First Topps Base Card:  1997 Topps #357
Last Mainstream Card:  2002 Upper Deck 40-Man #381
Other Notable Cards:  1998 Pacific Online #699, 2000 MLB Showdown 1st Edition #262, 2002 Topps Total #341

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.

1994 Phillies - The Missing Links

1995 Pacific #337, 1994 Mellon Phillies #45, 1994 Flair #169 and 1990 Best Spartanburg Phillies #10

One of the things I've enjoyed about this Missing Links exercise as well as the process of researching each of the Topps Phillies posts is that I'm rediscovering players I had completely forgotten about.  For example, and I mean this as no offense to him, but I have little to no recollection of Andy Carter pitching for the Phillies.  Now obviously, Andy Carter did pitch with the Phillies and I'm sure he remembers it well, but his time in Philadelphia has been completely lost in the fog of my memory.  Contributing to my shoddy memory is the fact that Carter only ever appeared on one Phillies baseball card.

There were 40 players who appeared with the Phillies during the shortened 1994 season.  All but two of them ended up on at least one Phillies baseball card.

3 Cards or More
35 Players

2 Cards
Tom Quinlan (24 games in 1994) - 1994 Sportflics Rookie/Traded #67 and 1995 Pacific #337
Shawn Boskie (18 games in 1994) - 1994 Mellon Phillies #45 and 1994 Topps Traded #53T

Technically, Randy Ready only appeared on two cards representing his second stint with the club (1994 Phillies Team Issue Update and 1995 Phillies Team Issue), but he appeared on a ton of Phillies cards from his first go-around between 1989 and 1991.  The Dickie Noles rule is once again invoked.

1994 Phillies Team Issue
Update #50

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

With all the dozens of sets released in 1994 and 1995 geared specifically towards a team's prospects, it's very surprising to me that Carter never ended up in mainstream set.

0 Cards
Bob Wells (6 games in 1994)
Tom Edens (3 games in 1994)

Wells started his professional career in the Phillies organization in 1989 and he climbed the minor league ladder until finally getting the call in May 1994.  He appeared in 6 games with the Phillies, pitching fairly decent over his 5 total innings.  His Phillies career line is 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA.  Wells was waived by the team in June and picked up by the Seattle Mariners, where he'd appear in parts of the next five seasons.  He also pitched for the Twins from 1999 to 2002, at one point serving as the team's closer for part of the 2000 season.  Wells has a 1994 Fleer ProCards card featuring him with the Reading Phillies that I have yet to add to my collection.

Edens came to the Phillies at the end of July when they traded Milt Thompson away to the Houston Astros.  He appeared in just 3 games with the Phils, although like Wells, he had a fairly decent line - 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA over 4 innings pitched.  A little over a week after he was acquired though, the players' strike began and Edens tenure with the Phillies was over.  He appeared in 5 games with the 1995 Cubs before calling it a career after 7 seasons.

Past Missing Link Posts
1990 Phillies - Louie Meadows

1991 Phillies - Dave LaPoint

1992 Phillies - Darrin Chapin and Mickey Weston

1993 Phillies - None