1989 Tastykake Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

Number of Cards:  46

Number of Cards (SGA Version):  32
Card Size:  4 1/8" x 6"

Description:  The Phillies came up with this card design . . . and then took the next six years off.  The 1989 to 1995 team issued sets are all identical in design, containing the player's, coach's or manager's name in a red band with white text.  The card backs feature biographical information along with complete career statistics.  This set is notable as it's the last set (to date) to be sponsored by Tastykake.

How Distributed:  A 32-card set was given away to all fans on May 13, 1989 at Veterans Stadium and a 37-card set was available for sale at the ballpark throughout the season.  Both sets contain identical photos, but the 32-card giveaway set cards feature a darker tint and are not as vibrant as their 37-card counterparts.  The 32-card sets can be found in uncut sheets and thanks to fellow collector Rick, I added these cards to my collection via an eBay auction.  As (I believe) the 37-card set is more prevalent, I've listed the stadium giveaway 32-card set (and its variations) under the Variations/Rarities section below.

Given the ton of roster moves made by the club in the first half of the season, a nine-card update set was issued and available for purchase at souvenir stands throughout the Vet.  This was the second year in a row that a nine-card update set was released.  Of the nine players in the set, Jim Adduci made his debut the latest, on July 3rd, so this set would have been first available for sale in mid to late July.

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

1. Header / Sponsor Card 2. Steve Bedrosian (#40 - RHP) 3. Larry Bowa (#2 - CO) 4. Don Carman (#42 - LHP) 5. Darren Daulton (#10 - C) 6. Bob Dernier (#22 - OF) 7. Curt Ford (#24 - OF) 8. Todd Frohwirth (#52 - RHP) 9. Greg Harris (#33 - RHP) 10. Von Hayes (#9 - OF-1B) 11. Tom Herr (#28 - 2B) 12. Ken Howell (#43 - RHP) 13. Chris James (#26 - OF-3B)

14. Steve Jeltz (#30 - SS) 15. Ron Jones (#26 - OF) 16. Ricky Jordan (#17 - 1B) 17. Darold Knowles (#3 - CO) 18. Steve Lake (#25 - C) 19. Nick Leyva (#16 - MG) 20. Mike Maddux (#44 - RHP) 21. Alex Madrid (#34 - RHP) 22. Larry McWilliams (#46 - LHP) 23. Denis Menke (#4 - CO) 24. Dwayne Murphy (#6 - OF) 25. Tom Nieto (#19 - C)

26. Randy O'Neal (#27 - RHP) 27. Steve Ontiveros (#41 - RHP) 28. Jeff Parrett (#49 - RHP) 29. Bruce Ruffin (#47 - LHP) 30. Mark Ryal (#31 - OF) 31. Mike Ryan (#5 - CO) 32. Juan Samuel (#8 - OF) 33. Mike Schmidt (#20 - 3B) 34. Tony Taylor (#12 - CO) 35. Dickie Thon (#21 - SS) 36. John Vukovich (#7 - CO) 37. Floyd Youmans (#15 - RHP)

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

1. Jim Adduci (#18 - INF) 2. Eric Bullock (#35 - OF)      3. Dennis Cook (#39 - LHP)

4. Lenny Dykstra (#4 - OF) 5. Charlie Hayes (#8 - 3B) 6. John Kruk (#11 - OF-1B)

7. Roger McDowell (#13 - RHP) 8. Terry Mulholland (#45 - LHP) 9. Randy Ready (#23 - 3B)

One and Only Phillies Baseball Card (5):  Adduci, Bullock, Nieto, O'Neal, Ryal

First Appearance in Phillies Team Issued Set (18):  Cook, Dykstra, Ford, C. Hayes, Herr, Howell, Kruk, Lake, Madrid, McDowell, McWilliams, Mulholland, Murphy, Ontiveros, Parrett, Ready, Thon, Youmans
Returning Players in Phillies Team Issued Set (15):  Bedrosian, Carman, Daulton, Dernier, Frohwirth, Harris, V. Hayes, James, Jeltz, Jones, Jordan, Maddux, Ruffin, Samuel, Schmidt

This is the only set featuring Phillies baseball cards of the five players listed in the One and Only One category.  The First Appearance designation is for players who have never before appeared on a Phillies team issued set.  These players may have already appeared on other Phillies baseball cards.

Manager (1):  Leyva
Coaches (6):  Bowa, Knowles, Menke, Ryan, Taylor, Vukovich

Other Cards (1):  Header / sponsor card

Surprises:  The 37-card set includes the entire 25-man opening day roster, the manager and all six coaches, Juan Samuel and Tom Nieto, who both began the season on the disabled list, and three players who started the year in the minors but who would eventually spend time with the Phillies - Todd Frohwirth, Alex Madrid and Randy O'Neal.  There aren't really any surprises here, and it's a fairly inclusive checklists.

The Chris James card is an uncorrected error.  James wore #18 in 1989, but the back of the card lists his uniform as #26.  James had switched from #26 mid-way through the 1988 season and Ron Jones wore #26 in 1989.

Omissions:  47 players appeared with the Phillies in 1989.  Only 10 of them didn't have cards in the original 37-card set or the 9-card update set.  Bob Sebra, Gordon Dillard and Marvin Freeman all briefly appeared on the roster and weren't considered for either set.  Neither were any of the seven September call-ups - Tom Barrett, Pat Combs, Chuck McElroy, Keith Miller, Steve Stanicek, Al Pardo and Jason Grimsley.

Variations/Rarities:  The 32-card stadium giveaway set omitted the following five cards - the Header/sponsor card and the cards for four players - Nieto, Jones, O'Neal and Madrid.  Both O'Neal and Madrid were on the 24-man roster on the giveaway day, as was Dillard who was around for all of two weeks.  It's a shame, but completely understandable, that Dillard didn't somehow make it into the SGA set.  

In addition to these omissions, this set contains the following name placement variations, as well as being darker in tone as mentioned above.

• Don Carman, name is bottom center (instead of bottom left)
• Todd Frohwirth, name is more to the right (instead of centered)
• Ken Howell, name is bottom center (instead of bottom left)
• Steve Ontiveros, name is top center (instead of top right)
• Bruce Ruffin, name is top center (instead of bottom left)
• Mike Ryan CO, name is top center (instead of top left)
• Floyd Youmans, name is bottom right (instead of bottom left)

Unless you're a Phillies team issued set or Bruce Ruffin super collector (and why wouldn't you be?) there's really no need to add these cards to your collection.

Also See:  1989 Phillies - The Missing Links, 1989 Topps Phillies

Resources:  14,000 Phillies; Beckett.com; Phillies collector Rick (@rickphils)

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 nine years.

1988 Tastykake Phillies Photo Cards / 1990 Phillies Photo Cards

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

What I've Learned While Posting on the Phillies Team Issued Sets

1989 Tastykake Phillies Update #18

If you'll been following along on this blog over the past few months, I've been methodically working my way through a review and checklist post of each and every Phillies team issued set of cards since the early 1950s.  I started this exercise because I finally wanted to take the plunge and start collecting the relatively rare Phillies photocards from the 1970s and early 1980s, and I wanted to chronicle the known rarities and variations available from the sets of the 2000s and 2010s.

I'm nearing the end of this series of posts, so I thought I'd look back and reflect upon what I've learned and why I've undertaken this particular task.

2004 Phillies Team Issue #53
(white auto variation)

1.  I have no idea what constitutes a full and complete checklist for these sets.

I like to think of myself as a fairly knowledgeable Phillies baseball card collector, and until I began these posts I was confident in the knowledge that I knew exactly which Phillies photocards/team issued cards I needed in order to have a "complete" set.  I was so wrong.

Through comments and e-mails sent primarily from fellow collectors Rick and Steve, I've learned that there are a ton of late season additions, one time giveaways and blank backed or facsimile autograph cards that I had no idea existed.

I've also become more familiar with the photocards from the 1970s and I've added a couple dozen of these cards to my collection through eBay searches for "Phillies postcard," or "Phillies photo card," or even just "Phillies photo."

2.  The experts and the usual resources may not know what constitutes a full and complete checklist for these sets.

Despite the valuable resources The Trading Card Database and even Beckett have proven to be, these online checklists aren't complete.  As Rick points out in one of his comments, some of these cards were never meant for the public and he's obtained them either by luck or by knowing the right people and being in the right place at the right time.

As an example, catcher Brian Schneider was scheduled to appear at an autograph signing at the Majestic Clubhouse Store at Citizens Bank Park following his acquisition as a free agent in the 2009/2010 offseason.  Cards were made up for Schneider in the style of the 2009 Phillies Team Issue set, but the appearance had to be cancelled due to inclement weather.  Rick managed to snag a few of the unused and unissued Schneider cards and the rest of the cards were either recycled or presumably stored away in a box somewhere deep in the confines of the ballpark.

As many Phillies events that Rick attends, I can't imagine he's attended every single autograph signing or random alumni appearance over the past two decades so there are undoubtedly other one-off cards or card variations that have missed even his watchful eye.

1973 Phillies Photocards

3.  This is fun.

I'm a natural checklist maker.  I like taking a group of information that's seemingly disconnected and unorganized and putting it together into a meaningful, useful resource.  Anyone stumbling across my blog is now going to be able to click on the "Phillies Team Issued Sets" page link at the top and come to a gallery of linked profiles for each set.  It's been fun putting together these posts and interacting with fellow collectors.

4.  That guy had a Phillies baseball card?

Cy Acosta, Dane Iorg, Scott Munninghoff, Felipe Crespo, Lou Collier and dozens of other short-time Phillies players have appeared on these team issued cards and I had no idea of the existence of these cards until recently.  There's something irrationally wrong about a grown, married man with children getting excited when discovering for the first time that Lou Collier does in fact have a Phillies baseball card.  But that's who I am, and so be it.

As a direct result of this project, I now know that . . .

5.  My Missing Links posts, detailing those Phillies players with no or only a few baseball cards, are wrong and outdated.

This is a project for another day.  I have players listed as having only one Phillies baseball card and I now know that they actually had several Phillies baseball cards sprinkled throughout these team issued sets.

Thanks again to everyone who has contributed to this project and thanks for following along.

1990 CMC #238 Jim Adduci (@Greatest21Days)

Rangers 4, Phillies 3
Game 3 - Wednesday Night, April 2nd in Arlington
Record - 1-2, 4th Place, 1 1/2 games behind the Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  Jonathan Papelbon couldn't hold a two-run lead and walked in the winning run as the Rangers walked off, 4-3.

What It Means:  Just when you thought Papelbon's trade value and popularity couldn't go any lower.  They do.

What Happened:  Kyle Kendrick pitched a fantastic ballgame, allowing just a run on five hits in seven innings of work.  Mario Hollands earned redemption for the previous night's rough outing with a perfect eighth inning.  Papelbon entered the ninth with a 3-1 lead and allowed a single, double, single, single, walk, and finally a bases loaded walk to end the game.  Dating back to last season, he's now blown eight of his last 24 save opportunities.

Ryan Howard hit his first home run of the season with a two-run shot in the third.

Featured Card:  Rangers pinch-hitter Jim Adduci knocked in the first run of the ninth with an RBI-single.  If that name sounds familiar to Phillies fans, it's because his Dad, also Jim Adduci, appeared in 13 games for the Phils back in 1989 when the younger Adduci was only four years old.

The elder Adduci has a Phillies card in the extremely elusive 1989 Tastykake Phillies Update set, but the only Phillies-related cards I currently have of his are from his time with the the Triple-A Red Barons.  Here's a nice profile on Adducci Sr. from the fantastic The Greatest 21 Days blog.

1989 Phillies - The Missing Links

1987 Donruss #583, 1989 Topps #338, 1990 ProCards #608 and 1989 Fleer #106

When I started to put together this post, I wanted to start with a few sentences summarizing the 1989 Phillies season.  I stumbled around a little and then decided to just cut and paste what I had written about that team in my 1989 Topps Phillies post:

The 1989 season was a hot mess for the Phillies.  Mike Schmidt tearfully announced his retirement, fan favorites Chris James, Steve Bedrosian and Juan Samuel were all sent packing, and the team continued to underwhelm with another last place finish.

Nick Leyva's squad fielded 48 different players during the long 1989 season, which at the time was one short of the all-time high 49 players used by the 1946 Phillies.  As you'll see below, four of those 48 players have never graced a Phillies baseball card.  If not for the 1989 Tastykake Phillies set, that number would have jumped to nine players.

3 Cards or More
38 Players

Outfielder Keith Miller just makes the 3 Cards or More list.  Miller had solo cards in the 1989 Topps set, as well as the 1989 Score Hottest 100 Rookies set.  He's also featured on the multi-prospest card within the 1988 Tastykake Phillies set and a solo card (which I don't have yet) within the 1988 Tastykake Phillies Update set.

1989 Topps #268, 1987 Topps #196, 1987 Donruss Opening Day #220 and 1990 Fleer #569

2 Cards
Dwayne Murphy (98 games in 1989) - 1989 Tastykake Phillies #6 and 1990 Fleer #569

Veteran Murphy wrapped up his 12-year career with 98 games for the Phillies in 1989.  He hit .218 with 9 home runs and 27 RBIs, and was released following the season.  Thankfully, Fleer saw fit to include a "final tribute" card to Murphy with its 1990 release.

1 Card
Mark Ryal (29 games in 1989) - 1989 Tastykake Phillies #31
Tom Nieto (11 games in 1989 and 17 games in 1990) - 1989 Tastykake Phillies #24

Randy O'Neal (20 games in 1989) - 1989 Tastykake Phillies #27

Jim Adduci (13 games in 1989) - 1989 Tastykake Phillies Update #37
Eric Bullock (6 games in 1989) - 1989 Tastykake Phillies Update #38

1989 Tastykake Phillies #31 and #27

If you can actually recall any of the five players above suiting up for the Phillies, I'll tip my cap to you.  For some odd reason, there was actually a period during the 1989 season when Ryal was my favorite Phillies player.  He was only with the team from opening day to mid-June, hitting .242 in his 29 games, but I seem to remember he had a few big late-inning hits.  Checking the official record, it appears as if my memory is shoddy.  Perhaps I just liked rooting for an underdog.

Nieto was the back-up to Steve Lake, who was the back-up to Darren Daulton.  He hit .160 in his 28 games with the Phillies.

O'Neal stuck around for 20 games, and he made an emergency start for the Phillies in mid-August.  He was released following the season after compiling a 6.23 ERA in 39 innings.  Prior to landing with the Phillies, O'Neal had been a semi-reliable reliever with the Tigers in the mid-'80s.

Adduci appeared in 13 July games for the Phillies when the newly acquired John Kruk landed on the disabled list.  Once Kruk was healthy, Adduci headed back to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.  He wrapped up his 11-year professional career in 1990 with another full season as a Red Baron.

In October 1988, the Phillies traded starting pitcher Shane Rawley to the Twins for starting second baseman Tommy Herr, back-up catcher Nieto and outfielder Bullock.  Bullock earned a very brief call-up by the Phillies in late June, going 0 for 4 in his six games as either a late inning outfield defensive replacement or as a pinch-hitter.  Bullock was one of the five lucky recipients of a 1989 Topps Card That Never Was that I posted two years ago.  To date, I haven't yet made the other 14 cards needed to complete this series.

1989 CMC Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons #12, #4, #7 and #21

0 Cards
Steve Stanicek (9 games in 1989)
Bob Sebra (3 games in 1988 and 6 games in 1989)

Gordon Dillard (5 games in 1989)

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

Stanicek was a first round draft pick by the Giants in 1982.  He earned a brief call-up with the Brewers in 1987 and the Phillies signed him as a minor league free agent prior to the 1989 season.  After spending the season with the Red Barons, Stanicek was a September call-up appearing solely as a pinch-hitter in nine games.  He went 1 for 9 during his brief stay and was released immediately following the season.

Dillard, a lefty, came over to the Phillies from the Orioles in the Phil Bradley deal in December 1988.  He had his contract purchased in May and appeared in a total of five games with the Phillies.  He finished up the season in Scranton and bounced to the Pirates organization following the season.  He pitched briefly for the independent Salinas Spurs in 1991 before calling it a career.

I wrote about Sebra's and Pardo's time with the Phillies in my 1988 Missing Links post.

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

1988 Phillies - Salome Barojas, Bill Dawley, Al Pardo, Bill Scherrer and Bob Sebra

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