Phillies at Braves: June 16th to June 18th

Monday and Tuesday 7:10, Wednesday 12:10
Turner Field - Atlanta, GA

Phillies 29-38, 5th Place in the N.L. East, 6 1/2 games behind the Braves
Braves 36-32, 1st Place in the N.L. East, 1 game ahead of the Nationals and Marlins

Phillies Probables:  Cole Hamels (2-3, 3.07), Kyle Kendrick (2-6, 4.09), Roberto Hernandez (2-5, 4.26)
Braves Probables:  Julio Teheran (6-4, 2.41), Ervin Santana (5-3, 4.09), Aaron Harang (5-5, 3.20)

At the Ballpark:  Tomorrow night is Greg Maddux Bobblehead Day at the ballpark.

Phillies Leaders

Average:  Chase Utley - .303

Runs:  Chase Utley - 35

Home Runs:  Ryan Howard - 11

RBIs:  Ryan Howard - 41

Stolen Bases:  Ben Revere - 19

Wins:  A.J. Burnett and Cliff Lee - 4

ERA:  Cole Hamels - 3.07

Strikeouts:  A.J. Burnett - 74

Saves:  Jonathan Papelbon - 15

1988 Topps #38 and #627

1988 Topps Appreciation:  There's no real connection between the players featured here, but I needed somewhere to fit in reliever Jeff Calhoun's card, so here he is.  Calhoun was one of the Phillies most reliable relievers in 1987, appearing in 42 games and pitching to an impressive 1.48 ERA.  The lefty had been acquired right before the start of the 1987 season from the Astros for third-string catcher Ronn Reynolds.

Calhoun couldn't repeat the success from the prior season in 1988, and after three games in which he allowed four runs in 2 1/3 innings of work, he was shipped to Triple-A Maine.  He spent the rest of the season pitching in the Phillies minor league system, and he was out of baseball by the time the 1989 season began.

Joe Boever came to the Phillies in a July 1990 deal that saw Marvin Freeman dealt to the Braves.  He spent the 1990 and 1991 seasons with the club, which was right in the middle of his 12-year career.  Used exclusively as a reliever, Boever went 5-8 with a 3.30 ERA in 102 games with the Phils.  He signed as a free agent with the Astros following the 1991 season, and he'd go on to pitch with the A's, Tigers and Pirates before calling it a career following the 1996 season.

Scrapbook Sunday: June 16, 1991

1992 Donruss #384 Wes Chamberlain

1992 Topps #456 Pat Combs

1992 Upper Deck #350 Wally Backman

1992 Stadium Club #156 Joe Boever

Turn back the clock games are fairly commonplace now, but that wasn't always the case. In June 1991, the Phillies tried the promotion for the first time, wearing retro uniforms from 1957. It was very, very strange to watch the Phils play a game in something other than their familiar maroon and white uniforms. So strange in fact, I distinctly remember videotaping this game for posterity. (The Phillies announcers did the pre-game opening in vintage '50s gear and the first few minutes of the broadcast was in black and white. I recall Andy Musser looked particularly out of place.)

The retro uniforms didn't help the Phils against the World Champion Reds in this game, as the team lost for the seventh time in eight games. Pat Combs was hammered, Dickie Thon made a crucial error in the 9th inning and Wes Chamberlain's first home run of the year was wasted.

Retro Cards: Pictures of the Phillies wearing these uniforms turned up on several baseball cards in late 1991 and throughout 1992, as follows:

1991 Medford Phillies Update #39 Wally Ritchie

1992 Donruss #384 Wes Chamberlain, #493 Joe Boever, #614 Danny Cox (back), #631 Wally Ritchie (back)

1992 Stadium Club #156 Joe Boever

1992 Topps #331 Steve Lake, #456 Pat Combs, #754 Charlie Hayes

1992 Triple Play #128 Andy Ashby, #220 Mitch Williams

1992 Upper Deck #350 Wally Backman, #402 Joe Boever, #410 Mitch Williams (back), #442 Pat Combs (back), #567 Tommy Greene

Dale Murphy shows up wearing a retro uniform on his 1991 Studio card (#220), but I didn't count that here as it's a staged studio shot. Pitchers Tommy Greene, Wally Ritchie and Mitch Williams show up on cards wearing their retro uniforms, even though they didn't pitch in the game.