2008 Phillies - Where are they now? (Outfielders)

A review of where all Phillies (at least the regulars) from the 2008 World Season have gone.

Pat Burrell - Left Field

2008 Bowman Gold #62

2011 Topps #546

Pat the Bat was in his 9th season with the Phillies in 2008. He had, for him, an average season. Not that that was a bad thing. He hit .250 with 33 home runs and 89 rbi. Pat did not have a good playoff season. He hit only 1 home run (in the NLDS) and only hit .071 (1 for 19) in the World Series. 2008 was his last season with the Phillies. He signed as a free agent by the Rays in 2009 and was released at the end of the season, and then signed with the Giants for 2010. He got a second chance at the World Series in 2010 but didn't perform any better than in 2008. He came back with the Giants in 2011 but spent most of the season on the DL with a foot injury. He signed a one-day contract with the Phillies so he could retire as a Phillie and was subsequently inducted to the Phillies Wall of Fame. He is currently a special assignment scout for the Giants.

Shane Victorino - Center Field

2008 Upper Deck #200

2015 Topps Allen & Ginter #336

The Phillies got Victorino from the Dodgers in the 2004 Rule 5 draft. In his first few years with the Phillies he spent time in all 3 outfield positions, but in 2008 and on, he primarily played center. He hit .293, had 14 home runs and 8 triples and won a gold glove in 2008. In the NLDS he hit a grand slam, the first Phillies slam in playoff history. In the NLCS he became a villain for the Dodgers fans after an altercation with Dodgers pitcher Hiroki Kuroda which resulted in the clearing of both benches. As an aside, you always hear that both benches cleared during an altercation. Is there ever a circumstance where only one bench clears and the other team stays in their dugout?  Anyway, in 2012 the Phillies traded Shane back to the Dodgers, where I'm sure they loved him. He signed with the Red Sox for the 2013 season when he had one of his best seasons, hitting .294 with 15 home runs and leading the league with 18 HPB. Ouch.  He has been in decline since then and was traded to the Angels earlier this season.

Jayson Werth - Left Field

2008 Topps Heritage #85

2015 Topps Heritage #295

After missing the entire 2006 season due to a wrist injury, the Phillies took a chance on him in 2007. In had 4 respectable years with the Phillies, from 2007-2010. On May 16, 2008 he had three home runs against the Blue Jays, a grand slam, a 3-run homer and a solo-shot, just missing the so-called "homer cycle". In the 2008 World Series, he was 8 for 18 with 3 doubles and 6 walks. After the 2010 season, Werth signed a 7-year, $126 million contract with the Nationals. His first 3 seasons with the Nats were productive, but he's struggling in 2015, hitting only .226.

Here are a few non-starters who made contributions to the 2008 Phillies

Geoff Jenkins - Right Field

2008 SP Authentic By The Letter Signatures

2008 Topps Allen & Ginter #317

After a successful 10-year career with the Brewers, Jenkins signed a 2-year, $13 million deal with the Phillies in Dec. 2007. He appeared in 115 games (all but two in right field) for the Phillies in 2008 hitting .246 with 9 home runs. He only had 4 at bats in the playoffs but his only hit, in the 6th game of the World Series, a double, helped the Phillies win the game and thus the series. The Phillies released Jenkins during spring training in 2009 and he decided to retire as a Brewer. He is currently on the coaching staff of the Peoria Explorers in the Freedom Pro Baseball League.

Greg Dobbs - 3rd Base

2008 Upper Deck Phillies World Series Champions #14

2013 Topps #356

Dobbs started 46 games for the Phillies in 2008 but made a real contribution as a pitch hitter. He led the majors with 22 pitch hits in 2008 for a .355 average. He also finished 2 in the majors with 16 rbi. He had 7 hits in 16 at bats in the playoffs. After disappointing seasons in 2009 and 2010, the Phillies released him and he spent a couple of years with the Marlins. He finished his career in 2014 with the Nationals. He is currently living in California and seeking a business degree.

Eric Bruntlett - Infield

2008 Topps Update #63

One last position player worth mentioning is Eric Bruntlett. Eric came over to the Phillis in 2008 from the Astros. He only started 48 games with the Phillies, ultimately getting into 115 games, playing the 3 infield positions in 2008. He had 6 at bats in the playoffs and only 2 hits, but one of those was a solo shot in the World Series. For a fairly short career, Bruntlett appeared in 3 World Series, 2008 and 2009 with the Phillies and 2005 with the Astros. After the 2010 season he decided to retire and be a stay-at-home Dad.

2008 Phillies - Where are they now? (Infielders)

2008, of course, was a big year for the Phillies. They made the playoffs for the 2nd consecutive year and, better yet, won the World Series. They would go on to a lose in the 2009 World Series and again reach the playoffs in 2010 and 2011. With the departures of Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley this year. There aren't many left from that 2008 team.

Carlos Ruiz - Catcher

2008 Topps Chrome #77

2015 Topps Heritage #57

Ruiz is only one of two players left from the 2008 team. He was in his second year as the Phillies regular catcher (catching 115 games) but didn't have much offensive impact during the regular season, hitting just .219 with one home run. But the playoffs were a different story. He hit .313 against the Dodgers in the NLCS and .375 against the Rays in the World Series with one home run. In 2015, Ruiz isn't even the regular catcher (appearing in only 79 games) and he's only hitting .219 again. His best season was 2012 when he hit .325 with 16 home runs and an All-Star berth.

Ryan Howard - 1st Base

2008 Topps T205 #10

2015 Stadium Club #199

The Big Piece is the only other 2008 Phillie still with the team. In 2008, Howard lead the league with 48 home runs and 146 rbi. He hit .300 in the NLCS and .286 in the World Series with 3 home runs. After being injured for large parts of the 2011 and 2013 seasons, Howard is not the offensive player he once was. In 2015 he's batting .228 with only 21 home runs. He also has an enormous contract ($25,000,000/year currently) and 2 years to go on his contract.

Chase Utley - Second Base

2008 Sweet Spot #24

2015 Topps #163

In 2008, Chase was in the prime of his career. He played in 159 games, hit .292 with 33 home runs and 104 rbi. He was also an All-Star. He had a great NLCS hitting .353 but tailed off considerably in the World Series. He has lost a lot of playing time since with various leg injuries. For the Phillies in 2015 he was batting only .217 with 5 home runs in 73 games before the Phillies traded him to the Dodgers for John Richy (minors) and Darnell Sweeney.

Jimmy Rollins - Short Stop

2008 UD Masterpieces #70

2015 Topps #659

J-Roll was coming off an MVP season in 2008. And although he had a good 2008 season, his best years were already behind him in his 9th season. He hit .277 with 11 home runs in 2008 and also won a Gold Glove. His defensive abilities were never in question. He hit .375 in the NLDS but was pretty quiet the rest of the 2008 playoffs. In 2014, his last season with the Phillies he hit .243 with 17 home runs. He ended the 2014 season as the Phillies all time hits leader (passing Mike Schmidt) with 2,306 hits. He was traded to the Dodgers in December 2014 or Zach Eflin (minors) and Tom Windle (minors), where he is the Dodgers everyday shortstop.

Pedro Feliz - Third Base

2008 Topps Allen & Ginter #293

2011 Topps Cognac Diamond Anniversary #212

Feliz was a free agent pickup by the Phillies for the 2008 season to replace Abraham Nunez at third. Hitting .249 with 14 home runs, he was a considerable upgrade from Nunez (.234, no home runs). He hit .333 in the 2008 World Series. The Phillies released him after the 2009 season. He signed with the Astros and was then traded to the Cardinals. He retired after the 2010 season. In 2011-2012 he was playing for the Camden Riversharks and a team in the Dominican Republic. The Wikipedia trail ends there.

2008 Topps Gold Foil

2008 Topps had white borders with silver foil for the player name and their logo.

You remember this set. Not a lot of people liked it due to the cartoon-like team name lettering. As I remember people didn't much like the tab at the top of the photo either.

As I may have mentioned, I'm in the process of putting away 2-3 years worth of cards and while I'm doing it I'm checking the Phillies cards I have against my database and correcting counts. I had listed two of these Kendrick cards. On closer inspection, I realized that one of them was actually the Gold Foil variation.

If you use your imagination you can see the difference between the cards. According to baseballcardpedia.com, the Gold Foil cards were available 1 in 2 packs in both retail and hobby.  I didn't see them in anything like at profusion. Maybe I have more but it is very difficult, even in person, to see the difference between the silver and gold foil.

This isn't really that big of a deal but I was watching the Phillies play the Braves when I pulled up these cards. Kyle Kendrick was pitching when I made the discovery. During the summer when I'm mostly working on my collection I am usually watching or listening to either a Phillies or Astros game.  I can't tell you how many times its happened that I'd be holding a card and that player would come into the game. And not just Phillies or Astros, often it will be a player on the other team.

Weird.

And just as I was ready to hit the post button, Chase Utley hit a home run to put the Phillies up over the Braves, 6-2, in the bottom of the eighth.

Phillies Playoff Teams - Second Base

These posts are time consuming. Here's hoping that the Phillies make it to the World Series and it goes 7 games so I have time to finish this series. I own all these cards, except for the 1950 Bowman and the 1977 Topps.

1950 Bowman Mike Goliat #205Of all the whiz kids, Mike Goliat is the one I probably know the least about. In fact, I'd never heard of him. He is probably a candidate for my Phorgotten Phillie Phile. He was a free agent pick up in 1947. He got some playing time in 1948, and was the regular 2nd baseman in 1950. He hit .234 for the season and had 20 errors (which sounds like a lot). He had 3 hits in the World Series.

1976 Topps Dave Cash #295
Dave Cash played for the Phillies from 1974 to 1976. He was traded to the Phillies for Ken Brett by the Pirates after the 1973 season. He brought a lot of play-off experience with him, including the Pirates 1971 World Series win. He had a good run with the Phillies, hitting .296 with 43 steals. He was on the All-Star team all three years. He hit .308 in the NLCS.

1977 Topps Ted Sizemore #366
No 1977 Phillies cards for Ted. He was traded by the Dodgers in December 1976 to the Phillies for Johnny Oates. He was Rookie of the Year in 1969. He hit .281 for the 1977 Phillies with 47 rbis. He did not hit well in the NLCS in a losing cause against his former team.

1978 Topps Ted Sizemore #136
Ted did not have a good year in 1978, hitting just .219. He did hit well in the NLCS as the Phillies once again lost to his former team, the Dodgers. In February 1979, he was traded to the Cubs in a multi-player deal which, among others, brought Manny Trillo to the the Philles. Manny will be a key player for the 1980 World Series team.

1980 Topps Manny Trillo #90
As mentioned above, Manny came to the Phillies in 1979. In 1980 he hit .292 with a .987 fielding percentage, good enough for a Silver Slugger award. He hit .381 against the Astros in the NLCS, but only .217 in he World Series. In December 1982, Trillo was one of the five players (including Julio Franco) traded to the Indians for Von Hayes. We'll visit with Von when we get to center fielders.

1983 Topps Traded Joe Morgan #77
You know him and love him today as a baseball color man for ESPN but in 1983, Joe was in the 21st year of his 22 year career. Another part of the old Big Red Machine which helped make up the Wheeze Kids of 1983. At 39, Joe was a shadow of his former self he was popular with the team and the fans.

1993 Score Mickey Morandini #512
1992 was a dismal year for the Phillies but the year did boast an unassisted triple play by Mickey Morandini on September 20. Yes, that's a pre-steroid Barry Bonds making one of the outs. Mickey was a 5th round draft pick by the Phillies in 1988 and played for the team from 1990 through 1997. He wasn't a great hitter (he hit .247 in 1993) but a good fielder (.990 in 1993). He wasn't much of a hitting factor in either the NLCS (over the Braves) or the World Series (lost to the Blue Jays).

2007 Topps Allen and Ginter Chase Utley #80
Utley was the Phillies 1st round pick in 2000 and came up to the big club in 2003. He became the regular 2nd baseman in 2006. Unlike all the previous 2nd basemen in past postseasons, Utley can hit. He hit .332 with 22 home runs in 2007. He was also an All-Star in 2007. Unfortunately, Chase, like most of the Phillies did not hit in the 2007 NLDS and went down in 3 games to the Rockies.

2008 Topps Highlights Relics #HR-CU
2008 was the year the Phillies put it together. Utley's BA was down a bit (to .292) but he hit more home runs (33). He once again went to the All-Star game. He had a great NLCS against the Dodgers, hitting .353

2009 Upper Deck Icons Chase Utley #20
Another good year, another All-Star game and another World Series for Utley. He hit .429 against the Rockies in the NLDS and .286 in a losing cause against the Yankees in the World Series.

2010 Upper Deck Portraits Chase Utley #65
At this point there can be no doubt that Chase Utley is among the elite players in the National League. His playing time was limited by injury this year but he made the All-Star Game for the 5th straight year. Although the story of the 2010 NLDS is pitching, Chase did get a key home run in Game 3.