2008 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

Number of Cards:  39
Card Size:  4" x 6"

Description:  Full color action photos are featured over a gold tinted background.  The Citizens Bank Park logo makes an appearance on the card fronts for the second year in a row and Jimmy Rollins' card contains a golden logo marking his 2007 National League MVP win. 

The set features a blank-backed header card with a photo of Chase Utley fist bumping a young fan and the declaration that a portion of the proceeds received from the sale of the set would benefit The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.  (This was a nice gesture, and it's odd this is the first and last year - at least publicly - the Phillies have done this.)  The horizontal card backs feature biographical information and complete career statistics.

How Distributed:  The original 37-card set was available at Citizens Bank Park throughout the first half of season.  Given the inclusion of Rudy Seanez, acquired on March 31st, and Chris Snelling, recalled on April 12th, the set was likely not sold until late April.  Following the acquisition of Joe Blanton on August 3rd, cards of Blanton and J.A. Happ were inserted into the set.  The only way to add the two update cards was to purchase the complete set at the ballpark, which included all 37 cards found in the originally released set.

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

1. Header Card / Chase Utley 2. Mick Billmeyer (#17 - Catching Instructor)    3. Eric Bruntlett (#4 - INF-OF) 4. Pat Burrell (#5 - LF) 5. Clay Condrey (#55 - RHP) 6. Chris Coste (#27 - C) 7. Greg Dobbs (#19 - INF-OF) 8. Rich Dubee (#30 - Pitching Coach) 9. Chad Durbin (#37 - RHP) 10. Adam Eaton (#21 - RHP) 11. Pedro Feliz (#7 - 3B) 12. Tom Gordon (#45 - RHP) 13. Cole Hamels (#35 - LHP)

14. Ramon Henderson (#31 - Bullpen Coach)    15. Ryan Howard (#6 - 1B) 16. Geoff Jenkins (#10 - OF) 17. Kyle Kendrick (#38 - RHP) 18. Brad Lidge (#54 - RHP) 19. Davey Lopes (#15 - First Base Coach) 20. Ryan Mason (#63 - RHP) 21. Charlie Manuel (#41 - MG) 22. Jamie Moyer (#50 - LHP) 23. Brett Myers (#39 - RHP) 24. Jimmy Rollins (#11 - SS) 25. J.C. Romero (#16 - LHP) 26. Carlos Ruiz (#51 - C)

27. Rudy Seanez (#57 - RHP) 28. Steve Smith (#2 - Third Base Coach)    29. Chris Snelling (#9 - OF) 30. So Taguchi (#99 - OF) 31. Milt Thompson (#25 - Hitting Coach) 32. Chase Utley (#26 - 2B) 33. Shane Victorian (#8 - CF) 34. Jayson Werth (#28 - OF) 35. Jimy Williams (#22 - Bench Coach) 36. Phillies Broadcasters 37. Phillie Phanatic

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

1. Joe Blanton (#56 - RHP) 2. J.A. Happ (#43 - LHP)

One and Only Phillies Baseball Card (1):  Seanez

First Appearance in Phillies Photo Card Set (10):  Blanton, Bruntlett, Condrey, Durbin, Feliz, Jenkins, Happ, Kendrick, Lidge, Snelling, Taguchi
Returning Players in Phillies Photo Card Set (17):  Burrell, Coste, Dobbs, Eaton, Gordon, Hamels, Howard, Kendrick, Madson, Moyer, Myers, Rollins, Romero, Ruiz, Utley, Victorino, Werth

Manager (1):  Manuel
Coaches (7):  Billmeyer, Dubee, Henderson, Lopes, Smith, Thompson, Williams
Phillie Phanatic (1)
Broadcasters (1):  Tom McCarthy returned to the Phillies in 2008, and he's joined on this card by Gary Matthews, Chris Wheeler, Scott Franzke, Larry Andersen and Harry Kalas.

Phillies Prospects (1):  Features eight prospects on one card - Tom Barrett, Brad Brink, Steve DeAngelis, Ron Jones, Keith Miller, Brad Moore, Howard Nichols and Shane Turner.  DeAngelis and Nichols never played for the Phillies.
Other Cards (1):  Header Card with Utley

Set Composition:  The Phillies waited a week or so before creating the checklist for this set.  Both Wes Helms and Tim Lahey were on the opening day roster, with Helms lasting just one game and Lahey sticking around for four games.  Snelling was recalled on April 12th when Shane Victorino landed on the Disabled List, and he was active for all of seven games between then and April 19th.

J.A. Happ had a brief stint with the club the first week of July and the last week of July, and was up for good beginning September 1st.  Joe Blanton's inclusion makes sense, and if the Phillies had waited another week, they could have snuck Scott Eyre, acquired on August 7th, into the set as well.

Omissions:  Eyre is the clear omission, especially given his postseason role for the Phillies.  Mike Cervenak could have been included in an update set, as he was on the active roster for 48 games.  Matt Stairs was acquired too late in the season to be an option for the update set, but he would get a 2008-style photo card - see below.

Variations/Rarities:  Fellow collectors Steve and Rick clued me in to the existence of three more cards via comments to this set's original post, back in December 2014.  The Phillies created a card in this style for Stairs to sign at a February 2009 meet and greet.  There was also a late season Meet and Greet in the Hall of Fame Club with Minor League Pitcher of the Year Happ and Minor League Player of the Year, Lou Marson.  Happ is wearing a Lehigh Valley IronPigs jersey in this version.  All three of these rare photo cards have blank backs.

Non-Set Cards 1. J.A. Happ (Lehigh Valley IronPigs) 2. Lou Marson (Reading Phillies) 3. Matt Stairs

Resources:  The Trading Card Database; Phillies collectors Steve and Rick (@rickphils)

This set was originally featured in a post back in December 2014, and I'm going through these older team-issued photo card set posts to update them with new information learned (if any) over the past nine years.

2007 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards / 2009 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

2000-2022 Phillies Team-Issued Photo Cards Want List / Phillies Team Issued Sets Index Page

3rd Annual Doug's Big Night of Autographs (Part 2)

Here are the rest of the cards I created featuring Phillies alumni signing for Doug during Saturday night's Wall of Fame celebration.


Memory Lane - Past Induction Ceremonies/Alumni Weekends

2009 - Harry Kalas

2010 - Darren Daulton

2011 - John Kruk

2012 - Mike Lieberthal

2013 - Curt Schilling

2014 - Charlie Manuel
2015 - Pat Burrell
2016 - Jim Thome
2017 - Tribute to Jim Bunning, Dallas Green and Darren Daulton
2018 - Roy Halladay and Pat Gillick
2019 - Bobby Abreu (Part One and Two)

Series Preview - Phillies at Marlins: April 30th to May 2nd

2018 Chachi Fan Favorites #20

2018 Chachi Fan Favorites #21

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday 7:10
Marlins Park - Miami, FL

Phillies 16-11, Tied for 2nd place in the N.L. East, 1 1/2 games behind the Mets
Marlins 9-18, 5th place in the N.L. East, 8 1/2 games behind the Mets

Phillies Probables:  Jake Arrieta (3-0, 1.82), Zach Eflin (0-0, 0.00), Aaron Nola (3-1, 2.58)
Marlins Probables:  Dan Straily (0-0, 0.00), Jarlin Garcia (1-0, 1.00), Jose Urena (0-4, 4.91)

At the Ballpark:  Unless I'm missing it, the Marlins don't even appear to have a link to promotions and giveaways on their website.  In any event, it doesn't look as if there's anything special scheduled in Miami for this three-game series other than hopefully a Phillies sweep.

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Odubel Herrera - .337
Runs:  Cesar Hernandez - 19
Home Runs:  Rhys Hoskins - 4
RBIs:  Maikel Franco - 20
Stolen Bases:  Cesar Hernandez - 5

Wins:  Three tied with - 3
ERA:  Aaron Nola - 2.58
Strikeouts:  Nick Pivetta and Vince Velasquez - 34
Saves:  Hector Neris - 5

Marlins Leaders
Average:  Starlin Castro - .292
Runs:  Starlin Castro - 13
Home Runs:  Three tied with - 4
RBIs:  Justin Bour - 13
Stolen Bases:  Seven tied with - 1

Wins:  Orisamer Despaigne and Dillon Peters - 2
ERA:  Jarlin Garcia - 1.00
Strikeouts:  Caleb Smith - 41
Saves:  Brad Ziegler - 3

2008 Phillies Team Issue

I updated this post here in May 2024 and this original post is now outdated.

 
Number of Cards:  39
Card Size:  4" x 6"
Description:  Full color action photos are featured overtop a gold tinted background.  The Citizens Bank Park logo makes an appearance on the card fronts for the second year in a row and Jimmy Rollins' card contains a golden logo marking his 2007 N.L. MVP win.

The set features a blank-backed header card with a photo of Chase Utley fist bumping a young fan and the declaration that a portion of the proceeds received from the sale of the set would benefit The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.  (This was a nice gesture, and it's odd that this is the first and last year - at least publicly - that the Phillies have done this.)  The horizontal card backs feature biographical information and complete career statistics.

How Distributed:  The original 37-card set was available at Citizens Bank Park throughout the first half of season.  Following the acquisition of Joe Blanton on August 3rd, cards of Blanton and J.A. Happ were inserted into the set.  The only way to add the two update cards was to purchase the complete set at the ballpark, which included all 37 cards found in the originally released set.

Complete Standard Checklist (37):  The cards are unnumbered, but I've presented them below ordered by uniform number.

Header Card with Chase Utley 2 - Steve Smith CO 4 - Eric Bruntlett 5 - Pat Burrell 6 - Ryan Howard 7 - Pedro Feliz 8 - Shane Victorino 9 - Chris Snelling 10 - Geoff Jenkins 11 - Jimmy Rollins 15 - Davey Lopes CO 16 - J.C. Romero 17 - Mick Billmeyer CO 19 - Greg Dobbs 21 - Adam Eaton 22 - Jimy Williams CO 25 - Milt Thompson CO 26 - Chase Utley 27 - Chris Coste

28 - Jayson Werth 30 - Rich Dubee CO 31 - Ramon Henderson CO 35 - Cole Hamels 37 - Chad Durbin 38 - Kyle Kendrick 39 - Brett Myers 41 - Charlie Manuel MG 45 - Tom Gordon 50 - Jamie Moyer 51 - Carlos Ruiz 54 - Brad Lidge 55 - Clay Condrey 57 - Rudy Seanez 63 - Ryan Madson 99 - So Taguchi Phillie Phanatic Phillies Broadcasters

Complete Update Checklist (2):

• 43 - J.A. Happ
• 56 - Joe Blanton

One and Done (1):  Seanez
First Appearances (10):  Blanton, Bruntlett, Condrey, Durbin, Feliz, Jenkins, Happ, Kendrick, Lidge, Snelling, Taguchi
Returning Players (17):  Burrell, Coste, Dobbs, Eaton, Gordon, Hamels, Howard, Kendrick, Madson, Moyer, Myers, Rollins, Romero, Ruiz, Utley, Victorino, Werth

Seanez appeared pitched in 42 games for the eventual World Champions, and his only Phillies baseball card can be found within this set.

The First Appearance designation is for players who have never before appeared within a Phillies team issued set.  These players may have already appeared on other Phillies baseball cards.  I'm not counting the semi-rare cards of Jenkins and Lidge, available in the style of the 2007 Phillies Team Issue set, as their official first appearances.

Manager (1):  Manuel
Coaches (7):  Billmeyer, Dubee, Henderson, Lopes, Smith, Thompson, Williams
Phillie Phanatic (1)
Broadcasters (1):  Tom McCarthy returned to the Phillies in 2008, and he's joined on this card by Gary Matthews, Chris Wheeler, Scott Franzke, Larry Andersen and Harry Kalas.
Commemorative Cards (0)
Other Cards (1):  Header Card with Utley

Variations/Rarities:  As pointed out in a comment from Steve F. in an earlier post, late season addition Matt Stairs received a card in the style of this set.  Stairs was acquired from the Blue Jays on August 30th.

And per Rick's comment, cards were created for a special meet and greet with minor league player and pitcher of the year - Lou Marson and J.A. Happ, respectively.  The cards are blank backed and feature the players in their minor league uniforms.

• 3 - Lou Marson (Reading Phillies)
• 12 - Matt Stairs
• 43 - J.A. Happ (Lehigh Valley IronPigs)

Also See:  Beginning in 2008, the Phillies began the practice of issuing a small set of postcards to fans attending the game on Fan Appreciation Day.  These sets feature highlights and popular players from the past season.  A seven card set was issued in 2008, and I'd like to take a look at these postcard sets once I wrap up my overall series of posts on the main team issued sets.
Trivia:  To date, the only World Series game I've ever attended was Game 3 of the 2008 World Series.  Photographic proof can be found within this post.
Resources:  The Trading Card Database; Phillies collectors Steve and Rick (@rickphils)

2008 Topps Phillies

2008 Topps #100, #460, #30 and #615

Five years ago this weekend, the Phillies were celebrating their 2008 N.L.D.S. victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.  The Phils handled the Brewers in four games, with Shane Victorino's grand slam off C.C. Sabathia in Game 2 being the image that still comes to my mind when I think back on that awesome series.  The Phillies reached the N.L.C.S. for the first time since 1993 where they dispatched of the Dodgers in five games.

They met up with the Tampa Bay Rays in the World Series and the pure joy I experienced on October 29, 2008, when Brad Lidge struck out Eric Hinske, easily marks the high-water mark in terms of my Philadelphia Phillies fandom.  And five years later I'm still rooting and still hoping to feel that pure joy again.

The Set

2008 Topps #238 (Back)

Number of cards in the set:  There are 660 cards in the base set, which was once again released in two series.  I'm not counting the super short-printed gimmick cards in my tally, including cards of former New York City mayor Rudy Guiliani celebrating with the Red Sox following their World Series victory and the fictional Japanese player Kazuo Uzuki.  The update series added another 330 base cards and several more gimmick cards.
My very brief thoughts on the set:  With the cool multi-colored circle letters at the tops of each card spelling out team names, I should love this set.  But the much-maligned and blog-documented Topps "logo bump" interfering with the photos is just too annoying for me to overcome.  If you've never noticed this, please check out the Redefine the Design post from Uncle Doc's Card Closet from earlier this year.  The redefined design is much, much better.  And not to pile on, but some of the photo choices used for the Phillies cards are just bizarre.  Rollins is literally just standing around, Utley is too far away and Lidge was the recipient of an awful Photoshop job.
Notable competition:  Upper Deck folded the Fleer brand in 2007, so 2008 saw the release of card sets from just two major manufacturers - Upper Deck and Topps.  In a way, it was good to not have to chase so many different card sets . . . but I still miss Donruss, Fleer, Pacific, etc.

2008 Topps #281, 2008 Topps Update #UH250, 2008 Topps #238 and #521

2008 Phillies
Record and finish:  The Phillies finished the season with a 92-70 record, three games ahead of the second place Mets.  They defeated the Brewers in the N.L.D.S., 3 games to 1, and then the Dodgers in the N.L.C.S., 4 games to 1.  It took them five games - with game five being played over three days due to severe weather - to defeat the Rays in the World Series.

2008 Topps #443

Key players:  Ryan Howard had another monster year, hitting .251 with 48 home runs and 146 RBIs.  Not far behind him were Chase Utley (.292, 33, 104) and Pat Burrell (.250, 33, 86).  Jimmy Rollins took a step back after his MVP-season, but he was still a key contributor (.277 and 47 stolen bases) to the offense.  Jayson Werth became an everyday player for the first time in his career and hit .273 with 24 home runs.  The Phils also received solid support off the bench from Geoff Jenkins, Chris Coste and Greg Dobbs, who hit .301 with a league leading 22 pinch hits.  Cole Hamels had an impressive regular season on the mound, going 14-10 with a 3.09 ERA and 196 strikeouts in 227 1/3 innings.  But he truly dazzled during the postseason, going 4-0 in his five starts with a 1.80 ERA.  His efforts won him both the N.L.C.S. and the World Series MVP honors.  Jamie Moyer led the team with 16 wins and Brett Myers returned from the bullpen to win 10 as a starter.  Joe Blanton, acquired in July to bolster the rotation, went 4-0 with a 4.20 ERA in 13 strong starts.  Finally, Lidge enjoyed a career year, converting 41 saves in 41 opportunities in the regular season and another 7 saves in the postseason.
Key events:  I'd call winning the franchise's second World Championship in its then 125-year history pretty key.

2008 Phillies in 2008 Topps
Cards needed for a complete team set:  Here's the break-down - 15 cards in series one, 9 cards in series two, and an impressive 12 cards in the update set.  That's a total of 36 Phillies cards in the 2008 Topps and Topps Update sets.
Who's in:

• Cards of the eight starting position players - 8 cards

#281 Carlos Ruiz (c), #100 Ryan Howard (1b), #460 Chase Utley (2b), #30 Jimmy Rollins (ss), #UH250 Pedro Feliz (3b), #615 Pat Burrell (lf), #238 Shane Victorino (cf), #521 Jayson Werth (rf)

2008 Topps #35, #173, #262 and 2008 Topps Update #UH228

• Cards of the starting pitching rotation - 5 cards

#35 Cole Hamels, #173 Jamie Moyer, #262 Brett Myers, #28 Kyle Kendrick, #572 Adam Eaton

• Base cards of players who played with the Phillies in 2008 - 12 cards

#184 Tadahito Iguchi, #443 Greg Dobbs, #496 Brad Lidge, #573 Tom Gordon, #UH63 Eric Bruntlett, #UH81 J.C. Romero, #UH93 Chris Coste, #UH158 Chad Durbin, #UH220 Geoff Jenkins, #UH228 Joe Blanton, #UH236 Chris Snelling, #UH278 So Taguchi

• Base cards of players who didn't play with the Phillies in 2008 - 3 cards

#18 J.D. Durbin, #67 Wes Helms, #532 Tim Lahey

Both Helms and Lahey were on the Phillies active roster to start the season.  Helms was designated for assignment following the season opener to make room on the roster for the recently signed reliever, Rudy Seanez.  Lahey was designated for assignment four games into the season when Lidge was activated from the disabled list.  I wrote about both Helms' and Lahey's short time with the 2008 Phillies in this post.

• Award cards - 1 card, #233 Jimmy Rollins (N.L. MVP)
• N.L. Leaders cards - 2 cards, #58 Ryan Howard (RBI Leaders) and #298 Ryan Howard (Home Run Leaders)
• Classic Combos cards - 1 card, #98 Ryan Howard and Chase Utley
• Home Run Derby cards - 1 card, #UH184 Chase Utley
• 2008 N.L. All-Star cards - 2 cards, #UH241 Chase Utley and #UH304 Brad Lidge
• Manager card - 1 card, #632 Charlie Manuel

2008 Topps #496, 2008 Topps Update #UH81, #UH220 and #UH93

Who's out:  Relievers Ryan Madson (76 games, 3.05 ERA) and Clay Condrey (56 games, 3.26 ERA) were both key components of the Phillies strong bullpen, but both got left out of any Topps sets in 2008.  He wasn't as effective, but Seanez appeared in 42 games for the Phillies and also got shut out.  Matt Stairs was acquired too late in the season to be included within the update set, but his N.L.C.S. Game 4 heroics against the Dodgers will forever endear him to Phillies fans.

2008 Topps #134

Phillies on other teams:  Stairs (#134) appears with the Blue Jays in the base Topps set.  Others receiving cards with their former teams within the base set include Taguchi (#82, Cardinals) and Blanton (#436, Athletics).  Iguchi was let go by the Phillies following the 2007 season, and he appears with the Padres (#UH133) in the update set.  The Phils brought him back for the final month of the season to help provide late-inning defense.  Finally, reliever Scott Eyre has a card within the 55-card Cubs Topps Gift set.
What's he doing here:  Without a doubt, it's got to be Lahey.
Cards that never were candidates:  In order to have Topps cards of everyone on the Phillies 25-man World Series roster, we need cards of the following players - Stairs, Eyre, Condrey, Madson and J.A. Happ.  Happ went 1-0 with a 3.69 ERA during the regular season and pitched three innings of relief against the Dodgers in the N.L.C.S.
Favorite Phillies card:  I'll go with Howard's card.  Just looking at it again for purposes of this post brings back such great memories of the beginning of the team's magical run.  Blanton has a great card too, and the photo actually works well with the logo bump.

Other Stuff
Recycled:  Topps Opening Day was back again this year, and the cards have a garish all-red border.  The release of Topps Chrome saw the use of slightly different photos compared to what was used in the regular base set.  This was a welcome change.  The Topps Phillies retail set contained 14 cards and the cards of Dobbs, Jenkins and Utley featured different or cropped photos when compared to their cards appearing in the base or update sets.
Memory Lane:  To date, the only World Series game we've ever attended was Game 3 of the 2008 World Series.  This was the game delayed over 90 minutes at the outset and started in a steady drizzle.  We braved the elements, cheered for Moyer at the outset and erupted with everyone else when Bruntlett scored the winning run on Chooch's walk-off infield hit.  We didn't mind that we didn't get home until almost 3 in the morning, and our babysitter made out very well that night too.

2007 Topps Phillies

2007 Topps #330, #350, #441 and #110

It was an exciting time to be a Phillies fan in the summer of 2007, although most of the summer is a blur for me.  We welcomed our first son, Doug, in December 2006 so the early part of 2007 was filled with sleepless nights and anxiety-filled days as we tried to figure out how to be parents.  I have a nice little binder of Phillies cards from 2007, but I honestly can't remember how most of them came into my collection.  My best guess is that they were the result of late night or early morning eBay hunts.

The Set

2007 Topps #110 (Back)

Number of cards in the set:  There are a total of 661 cards in series one and series two, and another 330 cards in the update set.  Continuing with the gimmick cards introduced in the 2006 Topps set, there are variations of 13 different cards in the base set and the update series contains a super short-printed card of a squirrel.  Shaking my damn head.

My very brief thoughts on the set:  If the 2006 Topps set was inspired by the 1972 Topps set, then the black borders of the 2007 Topps set attempt to harken back to the awesome 1971 Topps set.  In my opinion, however, the 2007 Topps set completely lacks the fun and personality found within the 1971 set.  After the circus-like 2006 set, Topps went minimalist in 2007 with the only color on the front being the four little team color-coded squares in each corner.  In retrospect, this may be my least favorite Topps base set design of the 2000s.

Notable competition:  For the second year in a row, Topps and Upper Deck were limited to releasing 20 sets a piece.  Only two of the Upper Deck sets carried the Fleer name.  With the release of Fleer Ultra in July 2007, the brand name rode into the sunset and it hasn't been heard from since.  Shaking my damn head again.

2007 Topps Update #UH99, #UH100, 2007 Topps #372 and 2007 Topps Update #UH98

2007 Phillies

Record and finish:  For the first time in 14 years, the Phillies appeared in the Postseason, improbably winning the N.L. East with a record of 89-73.  On September 12th, the Mets held a seven game lead in the division, but their 5-12 collapse down the stretch coupled with the Phillies 13-4 streak gave the Phils the pennant.  It came down to the last game of the season, with the Phillies winning behind a strong pitching performance from Jamie Moyer while the Mets lost their game to the Marlins.  Unfortunately, if you blinked you missed the Phillies in the Postseason, as the red-hot Rockies swept them in three games in the N.L.D.S.

Key players:  Jimmy Rollins threw down the gauntlet at the start of Spring Training, declaring that theRyan Howard (.268, 47 home runs, 136 RBIs) and Chase Utley (.332, 22 home runs, 103 RBIs) continued to put up fantastic numbers.  The infield was strong, but the outfield held their own with Pat Burrell (30 home runs, 97 RBIs), Aaron Rowand (.309, 27 home runs, 89 RBIs) and Shane Victorino (.281, 37 stolen bases) bolstering the team's strong offense.  Cole Hamels assumed the role of staff ace, winning 15 games with a 3.39 ERA.  Moyer backed him up with 14 wins and Kyle Kendrick came up from Double-A Reading to win 10 games.  Brett Myers assumed the team's closer role and saved 21 games.  In the month of September, relievers Myers, Tom Gordon and J.C. Romero went 4-2 with 8 saves and a 2.36 ERA.  Finally, Greg Dobbs led the Majors with 18 pinch-RBIs.
 Phillies "were the team to beat" in the N.L. East.  He backed up his words, putting together an MVP season while hitting .296 with 30 home runs, 94 RBIs and 41 stolen bases.  He became the first player in history to tally at least 200 hits, 20 triples, 30 home runs and 40 stolen bases.

2007 Topps #265

Key events:  Howard hit his 100th home run on June 27th in his 325th game, becoming the fastest player in history to reach that mark.  On July 8th, the entire team made highlight reels for their work in assisting the Rockies ground crew in holding down an out of control tarp on the infield of Coors Field.  I put together a Chachi card to commemorate the event.  Utley missed a month of the season after breaking his hand on a pitch from the Nationals John Lannan.  GM Pat Gillick dealt for second baseman Tadahito Iguchi, who hit .304 in his 45 games with the Phils.  Perhaps the most exciting four games of the season came in late August when the Phillies completed a four-game sweep of the first place Mets.  The sweep cut the Mets lead in the N.L. East from six games down to two, and it just so happens there's a Chachi card for that event as well.

2007 Phillies in 2007 Topps

Cards needed for a complete team set:  There are 21 Phillies cards found within series one and two and another 20 Phillies cards found within the update series.

Who's in:

• Cards of the eight starting position players - 8 cards

#UH99 Carlos Ruiz (c), #330 Ryan Howard (1b), #350  Chase Utley (2b), #265 Jimmy Rollins (ss), #UH100 Abraham Nunez (3b), #441 Pat Burrell (lf), #110 Aaron Rowand (cf), #372 Shane Victorino (rf)

2007 Topps #55, #562, 2007 Topps Update #UH102 and #UH186

• Cards of the starting pitching rotation - 5 cards

#562 Jamie Moyer, #55 Cole Hamels, #UH102 Adam Eaton, #UH186 Kyle Kendrick, #535 Jon Lieber

• Base cards of players who played with the Phillies in 2007 - 18 cards

#24 Tom Gordon, #108 Wes Helms, #193 Rod Barajas, #197 Freddy Garcia, #217 Chris Coste, #377 Zack Segovia, #406 Ryan Madson, #504 Brett Myers, #UH16 Francisco Rosario, #UH21 J.D. Durbin, #UH23 Tadahito Iguchi, #UH98 Greg Dobbs, #UH101 Jayson Werth, #UH103 Antonio Alfonseca, #UH198 Mike Zagurski, #UH199 Yoel Hernandez, #UH204 Kyle Lohse, #UH302 J.A. Happ

2007 Topps #658

This has got to be some sort of a record.  In total, 31 different players from the 2007 Phillies team are featured on Topps cards.

• Base cards of players who didn't play with Phillies in 2007 - 0 cards
• Award cards - 1 card, #322 Ryan Howard (N.L. MVP)
• Classic Combos cards - 3 cards, #658 Aaron Rowand and Jimmy Rollins, #UH279 Chase Utley and Ichiro, #UH281 Cole Hamels and Russell Martin

Instead of being called "Classic Combos," these cards should have been called, "Combos."  In the first instance, Rowand and Rollins are both Phillies, but that in and of itself doesn't make their combo classic.  In the second instance, it looks as if Ichiro just happens to be running past Utley at the conclusion of a play during the 2007 All-Star Game.  The third card features Hamels and Martin having a mound conference during the All-Star Game.  None of these combos are classic and therefore none of these cards are necessary.

• 2007 N.L. All-Star cards - 3 cards, #UH225 Chase Utley, #UH240 Cole Hamels, #UH262 Aaron Rowand
• 2007 MLB Home Run Derby cards - 1 card, #UH290 Ryan Howard
• Team card - 1 card, #238
• Manager card - 1 card, #251 Charlie Manuel

2007 Topps #504, 2007 Topps Update #UH103,  #UH101 and #UH23

Who's out:  The only deserving players left out are rookie and speedster Michael Bourn, who received an autographed card in the Topps Chrome release, and relief pitcher Geoff Geary (4.41 ERA in 57 games.)

Phillies on other teams:  Lohse (#353 with the Reds) and Iguchi (#485 with the White Sox) appear with their former teams, as does short-timer Russell Branyan (#UH19 with the Padres).  Reliever Romero, claimed off waivers in June from the Red Sox, appears on a few harder to find 2007 Topps cards - within the Red Sox retail team set (#BOS8) and within the bonus set of cards found within the Red Sox themed Topps factory set (#5 of 5).

2007 Topps Chrome #359

What's he doing here:  I'm not sure if this has ever happened before, but every single player appearing with the Phillies in the base and update sets actually played with the team in 2007.  That's incredible.  What's more, every deserving new acquisition received a card within the update series.  Topps completely nailed it in terms of Phillies player selection this year.  I'll give the annual what's he doing here award to the three not-so-Classic Combos cards.

Cards that never were candidates:  Honestly, there aren't many.  I'd have cards for Bourn and Geary, as mentioned previously.  Relievers Romero, Clay Condrey and Jose Mesa (brought back for a second tour of duty) merit cards as well.  Condrey appeared in 39 games for the club, but got completely shut out from any Phillies baseball cards during the year - even the team-issued sets.

Favorite Phillies card:  I absolutely love the card showing Utley and Ichiro in an action-packed photo from the All-Star Game.  Just kidding . . . Howard's card has to be the best, showing his trademark sizing-the-pitcher-up pose from his 2006 N.L. MVP campaign.  A close second is Rollins' card.  I like that Topps opted to go horizontal with his card.

Other Stuff

Recycled:  Topps Opening Day used the same design as the base set, but with an all-white border in place of the black border.  There is also a 14-card Topps Phillies set available to purchase from various retail outlets.  I dismissed these sets at the time, so I don't know if there are any variations in the 2007 set from the base Topps set.

Did You Know?:  Victorino tried to steal my son Doug during the Phillies Photo Day back in 2007.  The day was smoking hot and we waited patiently on the field for the players to start making their way through the picture-taking crowd.  A lot of the players were kind enough to pause for a picture with our seven-month-old son, but Victorino took the extra step of asking if he could hold Doug.  It's a gesture I'll never forget, and it's the reason why Victorino is still Doug's favorite player, even though he now calls Boston home.

2008 Topps Heritage #625 Greg Dobbs

Marlins 9, Phillies 2
Game 117 - Wednesday Afternoon, August 15th in Miami
Record - 54-63, 4th Place, 18 1/2 games behind the Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  The bullpen converted a one-run game into a blowout loss as the Phillies dropped the series finale in Miami, 9-2.

What It Means:  The Phils are now 10 1/2 games back in the Wild Card race, with four teams ahead of them.

What Went Wrong:  Roy Halladay allowed three runs in his seven innings of work and then turned the game over the bullpen.  In the remaining two innings, the bullpen allowed six runs on five hits and two walks.

The Phillies offense managed only five hits - two of which came from Ty Wigginton in his first start in recent memory.

Featured Card:  Former Phillie (and former Phillies Room favorite) Greg Dobbs went 3 for 4 with the go-ahead solo home run off Halladay in the sixth inning.  He's now hitting an even .300 for the season.

Where the Ex-Phillies Are - N.L. East

2008 Upper Deck Phillies World Series Champions #PP-39, #PP-29, #PP-23 and #PP-34

I pay fairly close attention to the transaction wire throughout the off-season, but I still get surprised every spring when I find out where some ex-Phillies have ended up.  One of my rituals of spring is to scan each and every team's 40-man roster and non-roster invitee list and pick out the number of ex-Phillies populating each team's roster.  I used to complete this exercise with the help of The Sporting News or the wonderful, but short-lived Baseball Weekly, but now, through the wonder of technology, I have every team's roster a few clicks away.

I'm going to take a look at each the ex-Phillies warming up this week in Florida and Arizona, starting with the N.L. East.

Atlanta Braves
Pitching Coach Roger McDowell (1989-1991), Special Assistant Lee Elia (coach 1980-1981; 1985-1987 and manager 1987-1988), Outfielder Michael Bourn (2006-2007)

Miami Marlins
Infielder Greg Dobbs (2007-2010), Outfielder Aaron Rowand* (2006-2007)

New York Mets
I noticed a few former Phillies farmhands on the roster, but no ex-Phillies.

Washington Nationals
Manager Davey Johnson (1977-1978), Hitting Coordinator Rick Schu (1984-1987; 1991), Pitchers Brad Lidge (2008-2011) and Chad Durbin* (2008-2010), Outfielders Jayson Werth (2007-2010) and Jason Michaels* (2001-2005)

* Non-Roster Invitee

2008 Topps #443 Greg Dobbs

Marlins 6, Phillies 5
Game 129 - Friday Night, August 26th in Philadelphia

One Sentence Summary:  A grand slam from Marlins catcher John Buck sunk Roy Oswalt and the Phillies as the Marlins won, 6-5.

What It Means:  The Phillies are now 83-46.  Thankfully, the Braves lost too, so the lead in the East holds steady at six games.

What Went Wrong:  As Hurricane Irene bore down on the East Coast, the Marlins took advantage of a seemingly lifeless Phillies offense and a sub-par outing from Oswalt.  Wilson Valdez hit his first home run of the year in the third and Ryan Howard hit a three-run home run in the sixth (his 27th), but it wasn't enough to overcome the Marlins lead.

The big hit for the Marlins was Buck's slam off Oswalt (6-8).  Oswalt allowed a career high twelve hits, lasting only 5 2/3 innings and allowing all six Marlins runs.  Former Phillie favorite Greg Dobbs enjoyed a four-hit night for the Marlins.

Featured Card:  I tried without success to find some sort of a hurricane-themed Phillies card.  In lieu of that, here's one of Dobbs' cards back when he was still one of the good guys.

2008 Chachi #46 Greg Dobbs RB

Marlins 4, Phillies 3
Game 13 - Friday Night, April 15th in Philadelphia

One Sentence Summary:  Greg Dobbs punished his former team with a two-run pinch-single in the seventh, after Roy Oswalt's strained lower back forced his departure from the game and forced the entrance of a rusty bullpen.

What It Means:  If you want to beat the Phillies, sign one of their former players.  The Phillies fell to 9-4 and two of their four losses have featured key hits from former players - Dobbs tonight and Jayson Werth on Tuesday night.  The Phils maintain a one game lead over the Marlins in the N.L. East and they'll send Cole Hamels to the mound tomorrow night.

What Went Wrong:  Never mind the loss, Oswalt's back injury could be the biggest blow of the night.  He appeared to have injured himself running out a bunt fielder's choice in the bottom of the sixth.  He's suffered from back problems before, and he's been on the twice with the same ailment - once in 2006 and again in 2009.  Both occurrences landed him on the 15-day DL.

After Oswalt was forced from the game, the bullpen couldn't get the job done.  J.C. Romero and Danys Baez combined to record one out while allowing three hits, a walk and two runs.

Featured Card:  On August 10, 2008, Dobbs' 21st pinch-hit of the 2008 season set the Phillies single season pinch-hit record, breaking the 95-year-old record set by Roy Miller in 1913.  This was back when I liked it when Dobbs got pinch-hits.

Field Report:  My record fell to 2-1 in games I've attended this year.  Jenna and I went with the chicken tenders and fries at the ballpark, mixing it up a little from the usual fare.  We also checked out the life-size Jackie Robinson statue on display in Ashburn Alley, carved completely out of wood (click to enlarge).  Both teams wore Robinson's #42 in honor of the baseball (and American) pioneer.

2007 Upper Deck Phillies #15 Greg Dobbs

Finally!  Phillies pitchers and catchers had their first official work out in Clearwater today and the long, fairly miserable winter of 2011 is close to being completely behind us.  One of the things I like to do at the start of Spring Training is scour each team's 40-man rosters and non-roster invitees for former Phillies.  I'm going to go around the league to see who ended up where, starting with the NL East and Central teams.

I'm limiting my search to former Phillies, and not former Phillies prospects, as that task could be a little too labor intensive.

NL East
Atlanta Braves
40-Man Roster - Closer Billy Wagner (04-05) (although he's announced his retirement)
Non-Roster Invitee - Pitcher Rodrigo Lopez (09)

Staff - Pitching coach Roger McDowell (89-91)

Florida Marlins
40-Man Roster - Reliever Brian Sanches (06) and 3rd baseman Wes Helms (07)
Non-Roster Invitees - 3rd baseman Greg Dobbs (07-10) and infielder Joe Thurston (06)

New York Mets
Staff - Pitching coach Dan Warthen (77)
I'm not counting catcher Ronny Paulino or pitcher Taylor Buchholz as neither player suited up for the Phillies in an actual regular season game.

Washington Nationals

2007 Upper Deck
Phillies #25

40-Man Roster - Outfielder Jayson Werth (07-10)
Non-Roster Invitees - Pitcher Joe Bisenius (07) and outfielder Matt Stairs (08-09)

NL Central
Chicago Cubs
40-Man Roster - Pitcher Carlos Silva (02-03) and outfielder Marlon Byrd (02-05)
Staff - First base coach Bob Dernier (!) (80-83; 88-89) and third base coach Ivan DeJesus (82-84)
Each year when I perform this exercise, I'm always surprised to see where certain former Phillies have landed.  I had no idea my all time favorite Phillie was named the Cubs' first base coach this offseason.  Very, very cool.

Cincinnati Reds
40-Man Roster - Infielder Miguel Cairo (09) and third baseman Scott Rolen (96-02)
Staff - First base coach Billy Hatcher (94)

2007 Upper Deck
Phillies #21

Houston Astros
40-Man Roster - Pitchers Sergio Escalona (09), Nelson Figueroa (01;10) , J.A. Happ (07-10) and Brett Myers (02-09), outfielders Michael Bourn (06-07) and Jason Michaels (01-05)
Staff - Manager Brad Mills (coach 97-00)

Milwaukee Brewers
40-Man Roster - Pitcher Randy Wolf (99-06)
Non-Roster Invitee - Pitcher Zack Segovia (07)
Staff - Manager Ron Roenicke (86-87) and hitting coach Dale Sveum (92)

Pittsburgh Pirates
Staff - Third base coach Nick Leyva (manager 89-91)

St. Louis Cardinals
40-Man Roster - Relievers Ryan Franklin (06) and Trever Miller (00), pitcher Kyle Lohse (07), infielder Nick Punto (01-03)

2008 Chachi #11 Greg Dobbs

The Phillies Room bids a fond farewell to Greg Dobbs, who signed a minor league deal with the Florida Marlins today.  Dobbs was a member of the 2008 World Championship team, and he was one of the premier pinch-hitters in the game in 2007 and 2008.  He led the majors in pinch-RBIs (18) in 2007 and he eclipsed Greg Gross' all-time single season Phillies pinch-hit record with 22 in 2008.  Injuries, a slumping bat, and a team of rarely rested regulars, cut his playing time significantly in 2009 and 2010.

Dobbs is a favorite of my wife, Jenna, as his first daughter was born the week after our first son, Doug.  Not that he'd remember us, but we've met Greg on three different occasions - once at a pre-season luncheon and twice during the Phillies' photo days.  On all three occasions, Jenna asked him how his daughter was doing and he was kind enough to twice pose with Jenna and Doug.

Best of luck, Greg, except of course when the Fish are playing the Phils.