2017 Chachi Fan Favorites #16 Howie Kendrick

Nationals 3, Phillies 2
Game 143 - Sunday Afternoon, September 10th in Washington
Record - 54-89, 5th place, 34 games behind the Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  Ben Lively was outdueled by Stephen Strasburg as the Nationals won, 3-2.

What It Means:  This win coupled with the Marlins loss clinched the National League East pennant for the Nationals.

What Happened:  Lively was credited with a complete game, pitching eight solid innings and giving up just six hits while striking out seven.  A pair of RBI-doubles in the sixth from the Nationals along with a solo home run from Trea Turner in the seventh sunk the Phils.  Nick Williams contributed a two-run single in the ninth.

Featured Card:  Howie Kendrick will head to the postseason with the Nationals, and he's going to end up playing in more games this seasons for them (37 through Sunday) than the Phillies (39). Kendrick, along with Michael Saunders and Jeremy Hellickson, is one of three Phillies players in their opening day line-up no longer with the the organization.

Kendrick Shipped to Nationals for Pitching Prospect

2017 Topps Phillies #PHI-16

The trade announcement we were expecting following Friday night's game was that Jeremy Hellickson had been dealt to a contender.  We'd have to wait for that announcement, as the Phillies first announced they had traded Howie Kendrick (and cash) to the Nationals for Class A left-handed pitcher McKenzie Mills and international signing bonus money.

In his half a season with the Phillies, Kendrick was one of their more reliable hitters although he battled several nagging injuries.  In 39 games, Kendrick hit .340 with 2 home runs and 16 RBIs, receiving 24 starts in left field and 10 starts at second base.  His Phillies baseball card legacy (for now) is limited to the team-issued photo card, and cards in the Topps Heritage and Topps Phillies retail team set.  He also shared a Topps Now card with the also departed Michael Saunders.

Coming to the Phillies is 21-year-old McKenzie Mills, an All-Star this year with the Class A Hagerstown Suns.  He's 12-2 with a 3.01 ERA over 18 starts, with an impressive 118 strikeouts to just 22 walks.  He had just been promoted to the High A Potomac Nationals, which makes it likely he'll join Clearwater's roster.  It appears as if the only baseball card appearances to date for Mills have been within Nationals' minor league team sets.

Howie Kendrick Complete Chachi Checklist
2017 Chachi New Additions #2
2017 Chachi #2
2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #16
2017 Chachi Photo Night #21

Departed During the 2017 Season

• Tyler Goeddel - of (4/5/17) - Claimed off waivers by the Cincinnati Reds.
• Dalier Hinojosa - rhp (5/16/17) - Released.
• Mario Hollands - lhp (5/23/17) - Released.
• Taylor Featherston - inf (6/9/17) - Traded to the Tampa Bay Rays for cash.
• Joely Rodriguez - lhp (6/13/17) - Traded to the Texas Rangers for a player to be named later or cash.
• Jeanmar Gomez - rhp (6/20/17) - Designated for assignment, released on 6/25/17 and signed a minor league contract with the Milwaukee Brewers' organization, 7/15/17.
• Michael Saunders - of (6/20/17) - Designated for assignment, released on 6/25/17 and signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays' organization, 6/28/17.
• Pat Neshek - rhp (7/26/17) - Traded to the Colorado Rockies for Jose Gomez, Alejandro Requena and J.D. Hammer.
• Howie Kendrick - lf-2b (7/28/17) - Traded with cash to the Washington Nationals for McKenzie Mills and future considerations.

Arrived During the 2017 Season

• Ty Kelly - inf (4/22/17) - Acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays for cash.
• Casey Fien - rhp (5/9/17) - Purchased from the Seattle Mariners.

Phils Take Series; Photo Night Highlights! (Part Two)

2017 Chachi Photo Night #8

2017 Chachi Photo Night #32

Phillies 6, Brewers 3
Game 96 - Sunday Afternoon, July 22nd in Philadelphia
Record - 34-62, 5th place

One Sentence Summary:  Jerad Eickhoff pitched six solid inning and Nick Williams started the scoring with a two-run home run in the fourth as the Phillies defeated the Brewers, 6-3.

What It Means:  The Phillies have won back-to-back series for the first time since April.  The first place Astros roll into town to begin a three-game series on Monday night.

What Happened:  Along with allowing only two runs on three hits over six innings, Eickhoff also contributed two hits and scored a run.  Luis Garcia pitched a perfect ninth to record his first save of the season.  Howie Kendrick had a clutch two-run single in the fifth.

Featured Cards:  Here's the next gallery of extremely limited edition Chachi insert cards from Saturday's Photo Night.  Eickhoff and Williams highlight the post given their efforts in this win.

2017 Chachi Photo Night #12

2017 Chachi Photo Night #13

2017 Chachi Photo Night #14

2017 Chachi Photo Night #15

2017 Chachi Photo Night #16

2017 Chachi Photo Night #17

2017 Chachi Photo Night #18

2017 Chachi Photo Night #19

2017 Chachi Photo Night #20

2017 Chachi Photo Night #21

Highlights from the 2017 Phillies Phestival (Part 2) #StrikeOutALS

Here are the remaining 13 cards from the very limited edition Chachi set from Thursday's Phillies Phestival to benefit ALS reasearch.  Part 1 can be found here.

If you've never gone to this event before, try to make every effort to come out to it in 2018.

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #11

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #12

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #13

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #16

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #17

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #18

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #19

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #21

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #22

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #14

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #15

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #20

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #23

Highlights from the 2017 Phillies Phestival (Part 1) #StrikeOutALS

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #10

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #4

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #1

On Thursday afternoon, we attended our first Phillies Phestival at Citizens Bank Park.  This annual event, which the Phillies have held every year since 1984, features games, giveaways, photo opportunities and autograph tables with all proceeds benefitting research into striking out ALS.  The Phillies raised $656,600 at the Phestival, adding to their $17 million total raised since 1984.

Before we entered the left field gate right before 4pm and again as we were leaving right after 6pm, my wife Jenna summed up my exact thoughts by saying, "I can't believe you've never done that before."

Armed with nine autograph tickets, we split into two groups with Jenna and Ben in search of a Maikel Franco autograph (Ben's favorite player) and Doug and me in search of as many autographs as possible.  Doug came away with over 20 autographs, Ben ultimately got to meet Franco and I came away with a lot of great memories and some terrific pictures.  I made a limited edition Chachi card set to commemorate the day, and I'll split the set into two separate posts starting with this one.

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #2

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #3

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #5

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #6

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #7

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #8

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #9

Some highlights and random thoughts:

• When Ben met John Kruk he informed Kruk he'd rather be getting an autograph from Franco, his favorite player.  Kruk actually tried to get a ticket for Ben, was unsuccessful, and told him to stop back later . . .

• . . . Which Ben did, securing an autograph and a picture with his favorite player!

• The newly acquired Ty Kelly had nothing for anyone to sign.  Paired up with Larry Bowa, Kelly signed a Phillies team card for Doug.

• Doug informed Bowa he'd be making the big leagues one day to which Bowa responded with a fist pump and told him to "Get it."  Bowa was happy to hear that Doug's best position was third base.

• Jerad Eickhoff seemed a little punchy, photobombing our picture with Andres Blanco.

• Mickey Morandini and Tommy Joseph both told Doug they really liked his hair.

• Daniel Nava was very impressed when Doug referred to him as Mr. Nava.  "First kid to do that all day," he mentioned.

2017 Topps Now #23

• Doug's favorite new autographed card is the dual signature Topps Now card of Howie Kendrick and Joseph.  Honestly, the kid can't stop looking at it and remarking, "This is so cool."

• We bought a number of $20 grab bags and the boys scored autographed hats from Nick Williams, Dylan Cozens, Vince Velasquez and Jeremy Hellickson.  We also received two of the special edition Greg Luzinski bobble heads.

• Special photo cards were created for Zach Eflin, Mark Leiter, Jr., and Nick Pivetta, given that those pitchers were omitted from the first series team issued set.  I grabbed a Leiter, Jr. card but totally missed out on the Eflin and Pivetta cards.  Rookie mistake!  Next year, I'll look closer at the tables of those players not in the photo card set.  (Thanks to Rick and Steve for confirming the existence of these extra cards.)

• Team president Andy MacPhail was walking around personally thanking each of the players for their time at this event.  We had the chance to meet MacPhail towards the end of the event. He was extremely gracious and struck up a small conversation with Doug about his Little League season.

What a fantastic event and we'll be back next year!

2017 Chachi #2 Howie Kendrick

#47
Howard Joseph Kendrick III
Left Field

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  220
Born:  July 12, 1983, Jacksonville, FL
Home:  Phoenix, AZ
Drafted:  Selected by the Anaheim Angels in the 10th round of the June 2002 draft
Teams:  Los Angeles Angels 2006-2014; Los Angeles Dodgers 2015-2016; Phillies 2017
Acquired:  Acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers for Darin Ruf and Darnell Sweeney, November 11, 2016

2004 Topps Traded #T154

2017 Topps Heritage #26

3 Kendrick Baseball Cards in My Collection per The Phillies Room Checklist
First Card:  2017 Topps Heritage #26
First Phillies Card:  2017 Topps Heritage #26
First Phillies Team Issued Card:  2017 Phillies Team Issue #47
Latest Card:  2017 Phillies Team Issue #47

First Topps Flagship Base Card:  2004 Topps Traded #T154

Click to enlarge

Complete Chachi Checklist
2016 Chachi New Additions #2
2017 Chachi #2

Card statistics through 4/14/17.

New Phillies Uniform Numbers (Getting Closer to Clearwater!)

2016 Topps Heritage #547

2016 Topps Heritage #590

2016 Topps Heritage #694

2016 Topps Heritage #575

At some point over the past few days, I checked the Phillies roster page on their official website and noticed that the dreaded "--" in place of a uniform number for all new players had been replaced with actual uniform numbers.  Friends, this is yet another milestone to the glorious promised land that is spring training.

Here's a look at the new uniform numbers assigned to the newest members of the 2017 Phillies.

New Players (and a Coach) - Under 60 Division

• #5 Michael Saunders - Departed hitting coach Steve Henderson was #5 last year and the #21 Saunders wore the past few seasons with the Blue Jays had already been claimed by newcomer Clay Buchholz.
• #15 Sean Burnett - Emmanuel Burriss wore this number in 2016.
• #17 Pat Neshek - With Peter Bourjos moving on, Neshek reclaims the number he wore with the Twins from 2006 to 2010.
• #18 Pedro Florimon - Florimon takes Darin Ruf's old number.
• #21 Clay Buchholz - With #11 unofficially retired (see below), the new starting pitcher takes #21.  Buchholz has previously worn #11 and #61 with the Red Sox.
• #25 Daniel Nava - Nava will wear the number worn by Cody Asche the prior four seasons.
• #34 Ryan Hanigan - Hanigan takes over the number worn by both Brett Oberholtzer and A.J. Ellis last year.
• #40 Matt Stairs - Mickey Morandini already has #12, the number Stairs wore as a player with the Phillies, so the new hitting coach claims the number worn briefly last season by James Russell.
• #47 Howie Kendrick - No surprise here as the veteran has worn #47 for his entire 11-year career.  Charlie Morton wore the number last season for his four starts.
• #53 Joaquin Benoit - Daniel Stumpf, Frank Herrmann and now Joaquin Benoit are the most three recent #53s for the Phillies.
• #54 Pedro Beato - It appears as if Brad Lidge's number has been officially-unofficially retired.  I don't believe anyone has worn this number for the Phillies since Lidge's final appearance in 2011.  (Matt Harrison had been assigned the number when he came over from the Rangers in the Cole Hamels deal, but he never actually put on a Phillies uniform.)
• #55 Cesar Ramos - David Buchanan last wore #55 during the 2015 season.
• #59 Bryan Holaday - Elvis Araujo's old number goes to Holaday.

New Numbers

2016 Topps Heritage #542

• #30 Taylor Featherston - With Buchholz taking #21, Featherston switches to the number worn by reliever David Hernandez last season.

Highest Number
No one touches Dalier Hinojosa and his #94, but Drew Anderson and his #86 comes the closest.

Numbers Available - Unofficially Retired Division
The Phillies have an unwritten tradition of not giving out the uniform numbers of recently departed franchise players.  For that reason, no one on the roster has been assigned #6 (Ryan Howard), #11 (Jimmy Rollins), #26 (Chase Utley), #35 (Cole Hamels) or #51 (Carlos Ruiz).

Numbers Available - Up for Grabs Division
Of the numbers still available, I'm surprised no one has claimed #3 which was worn last season by David Lough.  This could be reserved for Chris Coghlan, who wore the number last season with the Athletics and who was recently signed on Friday.  #41 (Jimmy Paredes) and #43 (Phil Klein) are still available, as is #52 (Severino Gonzalez).

Memory Lane

2012 New Numbers

2013 New Numbers
2014 New Numbers - Part One and Part Two
2015 New Numbers
2016 New Numbers - Part One and Part Two

Phillies Acquire Kendrick from Dodgers for Ruf, Sweeney

2017 Chachi New Additions #2

2017 Chachi Departures #2

2017 Chachi Departures #3

On Friday afternoon, the Phillies seemingly found their coveted "professional hitter," acquiring Howie Kendrick from the Dodgers for Darin Ruf and Darnell Sweeney.  Kendrick is expected to be the team's everyday left fielder in 2017.  An 11-year veteran, Kendrick has played the majority of his career at second base and only 120 of his 1,112 games have been in left.  But the Phillies wanted his bat and they're hopeful he can add some punch to what was a mostly punchless offense in 2016.

In 146 games for the Dodgers last season, Kendrick hit .255 with 8 home runs and 40 RBIs.  An All-Star in 2011 with the Angels, Kendrick is a career .289 hitter.  His most recent mainstream baseball cards can be found within the 2016 Topps Update, Topps Allen & Ginter, Topps Gypsy Queen and Topps Heritage sets.

The Phils bid farewell to Ruf, part of the Phillies system since 2009.  Blocked at first base by Ryan Howard for most of his Phillies career, he's ironically departing the organization the same year as Howard.  Between 2012 and 2016, Ruf appeared in 286 games, hitting .240 with 35 home runs and 96 RBIs.

Sweeney was originally acquired from the Dodgers in the August 2015 Chase Utley deal.  He spent all of 2016 with the IronPigs, and he appeared in 37 games for the 2015 Phillies, hitting .176.  Here's a complete listing of Ruf's and Sweeney's Chachi cards:

Darin Ruf Chachi Checklist
2012 Chachi #57
2013 Chachi #48
2014 Chachi #43
2015 Chachi #13
2016 Chachi #11
2017 Chachi Departures #2

Darnell Sweeney Chachi Checklist
2015 Chachi #59
2016 Chachi IronPigs Signing Autographs #3
2016 Chachi Almost #24
2017 Chachi Departures #3