Phillies Missing Links of the 1990s - #3 Darrin Chapin

#41
Darrin John Chapin
Relief Pitcher

On January 8, 1992, the Yankees traded pitching prospect Darrin Chapin to the Phillies for a player to be named later.  The move was made to clear roster space for the Yankees, and it was a poorly kept secret that Charlie Hayes would eventually be the player to be named later once the Yankees did a little more roster maneuvering.  Hayes was officially dealt on February 19th to complete the trade.

Chapin's Phillies career was limited to just one inning of relief on April 27th against the Padres.  He was recalled earlier that day to take Andy Ashby's spot in the rotation after Ashby suffered an injury. He wouldn't appear in another game before being sent back down to Scranton on May 6th to make room for Dale Murphy, who was activated from the disabled list.

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  170
Born:  February 1, 1966, Warren, OH
Drafted:  Drafted by the New York Yankees in the 6th round of the 1986 amateur draft, January 14, 1986
Major League Teams:  New York Yankees 1991; Phillies 1992
Professional Affiliations:  New York Yankees 1986-1991; Phillies 1992; Minnesota Twins 1993; Florida Marlins 1994; Cleveland Indians 1995

Phillies Career
1 game, 2 innings, 2 runs on Jerald Clark 2-run home run
Acquired:  Acquired from the New York Yankees for a player to be named later (Charlie Hayes), January 8, 1992
Debut:  April 27, 1992 - Relieved Curt Schilling in the seventh inning
Final Game:  April 27, 1992
Departed:  Granted free agency, October 11, 1992 and signed with the Minnesota Twins organization

1992 Donruss #745

1992 Topps Debut '91 #33

1992 ProCards #2441

1992 Scranton/Wilkes- Barre Team Issue #8

5 Chapin Baseball Card in My Collection
First Card:  1992 Donruss #745
Last Card:  1992 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons Team Issue #8

Other Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1992 Donruss #745
First Topps Base Card:  N/A
Last Mainstream Card:  1992 Topps Debut '91 #33
Other Notable Cards:  1988 Ft. Lauderdale Yankees #4; 1992 ProCards #2441; 1992 SkyBox AAA #219; 1994 ProCards #2867

Sources:  Baseball Reference and The Trading Card Database

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.  I will make my way through the decade of the 1980s first and then work my way forward.  In some cases, the First and Last Mainstream cards listed above have been subjectively chosen if multiple cards were released in that year.

1992 Phillies - The True Missing Links

1992 Donruss Rookies #108, 1993 Donruss #332, #356 and 1993 Fleer #495

A few comments from 14,000 Phillies on my 1992 Topps Phillies post made me curious enough to check in on the Phillies cards available for each of the 48 players who appeared in a game with the 1992 Phillies.  Amazingly enough, according to my very scientific calcualtions, only two members of the 1992 Phillies sqaud never appeared on an actual Phillies baseball card.

I actually find this to be fairly stunning.  In today's day and age, there are a number of relievers, utility players and minor league fill-ins who get completely shut out from having a baseball card in any one of the dozen or so mainstream sets produced.  In recent years, if not for the Phillies team-issued postcard sets, these players would never appear on a Phillies baseball card at all.

So while I'd argue there were too many sets and too many cards to collect in the early '90s, at least the card manufacturers afforded us the opportunity to own Phillies cards of Greg Mathews, Julio Peguero and Jay Baller.  And that's a good thing.  (Right?)

1992 Medford Phillies
Update #35

3 Cards or More
40 Players

2 Cards
Keith Shepherd (12 games) - 1993 Donruss #332 and 1993 Fleer #109

1 Card
Greg Mathews (14 games) - 1993 Fleer #495
Julio Peguero (14 games) - 1992 Ultra #547
Don Robinson (10 games) - 1992 Medford Phillies Update #35
Jay Baller (8 games) - 1993 Donruss #356
Steve Scarsone (7 games) - 1992 Donruss Rookies #108

0 Cards
Darrin Chapin (1 game)
Mickey Weston (1 game)

Chapin was the player the Phillies acquired from the Yankees in exchange for Charlie Hayes prior to the start of the '92 season.  He spent the majority of the season with the team's Triple-A affiliate, but he made it into one game for the Phils on April 27th.  I have three cards of Chapin with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons, but he never received a proper Phillies baseball card.

Weston signed with the Phillies as a minor league free agent in December 1991.  He was a teammate with Chapin in Scranton for much of the 1992 season, but he found himself with the big club for one game in June making a spot start against the Expos.  He didn't make it out of the fourth inning after allowing five runs, and his Phillies career was over.  I have a couple of cards of Weston with the Red Barons, but again, no Phillies cards.

1992 Donruss #745, 1992 SkyBox AAA #219,
1992 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons Team Issue #24 and 1992 ProCards #2447