Giants at Phillies: August 21st to August 23rd

2014 Topps Heritage #479

2023 Chachi 1965 Topps Missing Links #14

Monday and Tuesday 6:40, Wednesday 4:05
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

At the Ballpark:  Tuesday is Star Wars night at the ballpark, and the first 4,000 fans who purchase a special theme ticket will receive a Schwarbie-Wan Kenobi bobblehead.

2023 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2023 Season Summary Index / 2023 Chachi Set Checklist

2011 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards - 2nd Edition

Number of Cards:  42
Card Size:  4" x 6"
Description:  The cards have a very basic design, with full color photos and a red and white bottom border including the player's number, name and position.  The Phillies script logo appears in one of the upper corners.  The horizontal card backs feature biographical information and complete career statistics.

How Distributed:  The Phillies issued a second edition 40-card set much earlier than in the previous year, as I found this set for sale at Citizens Bank Park on June 12, 2011.  A few months later in mid-August, the Phillies reconfigured the set's make-up, perhaps several times, ultimately resulting in two new cards (I think) for Domonic Brown and Hunter Pence.  I wrote about my discovery of these two extra cards in this post.

A version of the set was sold throughout August and September with a somewhat fluid checklist.  As detailed in a post at the 14,000 Phillies blog at the time, his version of the set dropped five cards - Jose Contreras, J.C. Romero, Dane Sardinha, Mike Zagurski and the Broadcasters card - and added the Pence card.  Fellow collector Steve also pointed out at the time that his first version of the set included the Brown card, but not the Pence card.  And to confuse things further, his second version of the set dropped six cards - the five cards noted above and Danys Baez.  I've taken a closer look below at the comings and goings of these players.

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

1. Danys Baez (#55 - RHP) 2. Antonio Bastardo (#58 - LHP)           3. Mick Billmeyer (#17 - CO) 4. Joe Blanton (#56 - RHP) 5. Jose Contreras (#52 - RHP) 6. Rich Dubee (#30 - CO) 7. Ben Francisco (#10 - OF) 8. Ross Gload (#7 - OF/1B) 9. Greg Gross (#18 - CO) 10. Roy Halladay (#34 - RHP) 11. Cole Hamels (#35 - LHP) 12. David Herndon (#57 - RHP) 13. Ryan Howard (#6 - 1B)

14. Raul Ibanez (#29 - LF) 15. Kyle Kendrick (#38 - RHP) 16. Cliff Lee (#33 - LHP) 17. Brad Lidge (#54 - RHP) 18. Pete Mackanin (#22 - CO) 19. Ryan Madson (#46 - RHP) 20. Charlie Manuel (#41 - MG) 21. Michael Martinez (#19 - INF/OF)           22. John Mayberry Jr. (#15 - OF) 23. Pete Orr (#5 - INF/OF) 24. Roy Oswalt (#44 - RHP) 25. Sam Perlozzo (#2 - CO) 26. Placido Polanco (#27 - 3B)

27. J.C. Romero (#16 - LHP) 28. Jimmy Rollins (#11 - SS) 29. Carlos Ruiz (#51 - C) 30. Dane Sardinha (#4 - C) 31. Juan Samuel (#12 - CO) 32. Brian Schneider (#23 - C) 33. Michael Stutes (#40 - RHP) 34. Chase Utley (#26 - 2B) 35. Wilson Valdez (#21 - INF) 36. Shane Victorino (#8 - CF) 37. Vance Worley (#49 - RHP) 38. Mike Zagurski (#59 - LHP)           39. Phillie Phanatic 40. Phillies Broadcasters

Complete Update Checklist, 2nd Version: 

1. Domonic Brown (#9 - OF)

2. Hunter Pence (#3 - RF)

One and Only Phillies Baseball Card (1):  Sardinha

First Appearance in Phillies Team Issued Set (3):  Pence, Stutes, Worley
Returning Players in Phillies Team Issued Set (29):  Baez, Bastardo, Blanton, Brown, Contreras, Francisco, Gload, Halladay, Hamels, Herndon, Howard, Ibanez, Kendrick, Lee, Lidge, Madson, Martinez, Mayberry Jr., Orr, Oswalt, Polanco, Rollins, Romero, Ruiz, Schneider, Utley, Valdez, Victorino, Zagurski

Manager (1):  Manuel
Coaches (6):  Billmeyer, Dubee, Gross, Mackanin, Perlozzo, Samuel
Phillie Phanatic (1)
Broadcasters (1):  This card features the same line-up of broadcasters and photo as found in the first edition set - Tom McCarthy, Scott Franzke, Larry Andersen, Jim Jackson, Chris Wheeler and Gary Matthews.

Surprises:  Given I purchased my set on June 12th, I went back and looked at the active Phillies roster on that date, noting everyone on the 25-man roster, except Brown, received a card.  So I'm even more confused as to why my set initially excluded the Brown card.  The set adds Blanton, Lidge, and Schneider, who were all on the disabled list on June 12th, along with Orr and Mayberry, Jr. who were with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs on that date.

Looking at the key dates of the added and subtracted players from the updated versions of the set:

June 4 - Mike Zagurski optioned to Lehigh Valley.

June 16 - J.C. Romero designated for assignment.

June 23 - Jose Contreras placed on the disabled list and he'd miss the rest of the season.

June 24 - Dane Sardinha outrighted to Lehigh Valley and Romero released. 

July 22 - Danys Baez designated for assignment.

July 29 - Hunter Pence acquired from Astros.

August 1 - Baez released.

Why the Phillies would go through the trouble of pulling cards of players who had departed the organization is a mystery to me.

Omissions:  Pitcher Juan Perez spent 37 days on the Phillies' active roster, recalled on June 23rd when Contreras went out for the season.  I'm reaching here as that 's the only logical addition that could have been included in any updated set.  I'm guessing the Phillies employees responsible for these sets didn't spend a lot of time deciding if they should add Pence and Perez or just Pence.

Variations/Rarities:  Over the years, and again with the help of Steve, I've learned there are a number of somewhat rare cards available in the style of this set.  There are at least 7 versions of these photo cards available with a Phillies logo on the back, and these cards were used primarily for the players to sign at various public appearances.  The photos for these variations are the same used for the regularly issued cards and the list below might not be complete.

Phillies Logo Back        1. Greg Gross (#18 - CO)  2. Hunter Pence (#3 - RF) 3. Placido Polanco (#27 - 3B) 4. Brian Schneider (#23 - C) 5. Michael Stutes (#40 - RHP)      6. Shane Victorino (#8 - CF) 7. Vance Worley (#49 - RHP)

Offseason Additions 1. Laynce Nix (#7 - OF) 2. Jonathan Papelbon (#58 - RHP) 3. Jim Thome (#25 - 1B) 4. Ty Wigginton (#24 - INF/OF) 5. Dontrelle Willis (#53 - LHP)

Additionally, the Phillies used this design to feature new players who joined the team during the 2011-2012 offseason.  These cards were presumably produced for the sole purpose of public appearances during the team's various winter caravan stops, and again there's only the Phillies script logo on the backs.  Thome, Papelbon and Wigginton joined the club in November while Nix and Willis were signed in December.  All of these variations and rarities have a 2012 copyright date on the backs.

Also See:  I featured a few cards from the 2011 Phillies Postcards set here, and these cards aren't to be confused with the 2011 Phillies Fan Appreciation Night Postcard set, which 14,000 Phillies covered in a post here.

Resources:  14,000 Phillies; Phillies collector Steve

This set was originally featured in a post back in January 2015, and I'm going to slowly go through some of these team issued set posts and update them with new information gleaned (if any) over the past five-plus years.

2011 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards - 1st Edition / 2012 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards - 1st Edition

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

2016 Topps - Phillies Cards (So Far)

2016 Topps Update #US112

2016 Topps Update #US199

2016 Topps #154

2016 Topps Update #US300

My wife and kids purchased a 2016 Topps factory set for me for Christmas and while this year's flagship design isn't my favorite, I still enjoyed looking through the set.  I believe in the adage of "Once a Phillie, Always a Phillie" which is why as I was going through the set I found myself absent-mindedly setting aside the past, current and future Phillies.  I ended up with a nice little stack of cards and for no other reason than I find this stuff interesting and entertaining, here's a list of the cards with Phillies connections in the 2016 Topps factory set, with the cards from the Update series thrown in for good measure.

This list will grow in future years, and I'm including four players (marked with an *) who haven't officially suited up for the team yet.

At some point in the coming weeks, I'll take a closer look at the 2016 Topps Phillies cards.  Until then, this page links to all my past Topps Phillies posts.

National League East (33 - 5 without Phillies)
Atlanta Braves (2) - #82 Michael Bourn, #US271 Jeff Francoeur
Miami Marlins (0)
New York Mets (0)
Philadelphia Phillies (28)
Washington Nationals (3) - #266 Jonathan Papelbon, #342 Jayson Werth, #US112 Ben Revere

National League Central (3)
Chicago Cubs (0)
Cincinnati Reds (0)
Milwaukee Brewers (1) - #152 Kyle Lohse
Pittsburgh Pirates (1) - #169 Charlie Morton
St. Louis Cardinals (1) - #US199 Brandon Moss

National League West (7)
Arizona Diamondbacks (1) - #104 Jeremy Hellickson
Colorado Rockies (1) - #US82 Chad Qualls
Los Angeles Dodgers (3) - #351 Chase Utley, #US245 Howie Kendrick*, #US300 A.J. Ellis
San Diego Padres (1) - #163 Joaquin Benoit*
San Francisco Giants (1) - #154 Hunter Pence

2016 Topps #449

2016 Topps #622

2016 Topps #512

2016 Topps Update #US116

American League East (7)
Baltimore Orioles (1) - #6 Jimmy Paredes
Boston Red Sox (1) - #77 Clay Buchholz*
New York Yankees (0)
Tampa Bay Rays (0)
Toronto Blue Jays (5) - #349 Ben Revere, #449 J.A. Happ, #655 Domonic Brown, #US35 Joaquin Benoit*, #US179 Ezequiel Carrera

American League Central (0)
Chicago White Sox (0)
Cleveland Indians (0)
Detroit Tigers (0)
Kansas City Royals (0)
Minnesota Twins (0)

American League West (6)
Houston Astros (2) - #270 Pat Neshek*, #622 Ken Giles
Los Angeles Angels (0)
Oakland Athletics (1) - #512 Ryan Madson
Seattle Mariners (0)
Texas Rangers (3) - #588 Cole Hamels, #US38 Cole Hamels AS, #US116 Jake Diekman

Memory Lane

1970 Topps - 114 cards with Phillies connections
1973 Topps - 107 cards with Phillies connections
1979 Topps - 111 cards with Phillies connections, plus one more
1985 Topps - 153 cards with Phillies connections
1988 Topps - 154 cards with Phillies connections
2016 Topps - 56 cards with Phillies connections, as of 1/2/17

2012 Topps Triple Threads #29 Hunter Pence

Giants 15, Phillies 2
Game 89 - Late Friday Night, July 10th in San Francisco
Record - 29-60, 5th Place, 19 games behind the Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  Cole Hamels suffered one of the worst outings of his career as the Giants destroyed the Phillies, 15-2.

What It Means:  It's not going well.

What Happened:  Hamels set a career high with nine earned runs allows and tied a career high with 12 hits allowed.  He was mercifully pulled after 3 1/3 innings.

Featured Card:  Former Phillie Hunter Pence capped the eight-run fourth inning with a grand slam off Hamels.  By the time this Topps Triple Threads card was released in September 2012, Pence had already been with the Giants for a few months.

Transaction:  Following the game, Severino Gonzalez was optioned to the IronPigs to make room on the roster for tonight's starting pitcher, David Buchanan.

2015 Topps Heritage #401 Hector Neris/Chris Heston

Reds 11, Phillies 2
Game 60 - Tuesday Night, June 9th in Cincinnati
Record - 22-38, 5th Place, 9 1/2 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  Joey Votto's three home run night sunk the hapless Phillies as the Reds easily won, 11-2.

What It Means:  So . . . how 'bout those Astros?  (I got nothing.)

What Happened:  Aaron Harang turned in another troubling start, allowing seven runs on seven hits through six innings.  The Phillies offense actually banged out 11 hits (including three from Odubel Herrera) but they went 2 for 9 with runners in scoring position.

2012 Topps Heritage #1

Featured Cards:  It's getting increasingly more difficult to find Phillies baseball cards with a relevant connection to these games as the Phillies season is officially in free-fall mode.  I actually have a Votto card in my collection as he's one of the floating heads on the 2012 Topps Heritage N.L. Batting Leaders card that includes former Phillies outfielder Hunter Pence.

I decided to go with that card for this post, but then I read this Tweet from Phungo this morning.  Giants pitcher Chris Heston, who threw a no-hitter last night against the Mets, shares his 2015 Topps Heritage card with Phillies/IronPigs reliever Hector Neris.  As Phungo points out, it's not often that the game featuring a player with three home runs isn't the best game of the day.

2012 Phillies Team Issue - 1st Edition

Number of Cards:  39
Card Size:  4" x 6"
Description:  The card fronts feature color photos from spring training and a wood grained bottom border containing the player's name, number and position.  Each card also contains the "2012 First Edition" legend on the front, which at the time was a really good indication that a second edition set would eventually be issued.  The Phillies script logo appears in one of the upper corners.  The horizontal card backs feature biographical information and complete career statistics.

How Distributed:  Sets were available for sale at Citizens Bank Park through early July.  I picked up my 38-card set at the sixth game of the season in mid-April and I discussed the set's checklist in a post found here.

As pointed out by Steve in his comment, the set he purchased actually contains 39 cards with the additional card being a broadcaster card.  Honestly, if I've learned nothing else by putting together these posts it's that I should buy the annual team issued sets early and often.  It seems as if the composition of these sets changes repeatedly throughout the season.

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

2 - Sam Perlozzo CO 3 - Hunter Pence 5 - Pete Mackanin CO 6 - Ryan Howard 7 - Michael Martinez 8 - Shane Victorino 9 - Domonic Brown 10 - Juan Pierre 11 - Jimmy Rollins 12 - Juan Samuel CO 13 - Freddy Galvis 15 - John Mayberry, Jr. 17 - Mick Billmeyer CO 19 - Laynce Nix 21 - Greg Gross CO 22 - Scott Podsednik 23 - Brian Schneider 24 - Ty Wigginton 25 - Jim Thome 26 - Chase Utley

27 - Placido Polanco 30 - Rich Dubee CO 33 - Cliff Lee 34 - Roy Halladay 35 - Cole Hamels 37 - Antonio Bastardo 38 - Kyle Kendrick 40 - Michael Stutes 41 - Charlie Manuel MG 44 - Michael Schwimer 49 - Vance Worley 50 - Chad Qualls 51 - Carlos Ruiz 52 - Jose Contreras 56 - Joe Blanton 57 - David Herndon 58 - Jonathan Papelbon Phillie Phanatic Broadcasters

One and Done (2):  Podsednik, Qualls
First Appearances (6):  Galvis, Nix, Papelbon, Pierre, Schwimer, Wigginton
Returning Players (22):  Bastardo, Blanton, Brown, Contreras, Halladay, Hamels, Herndon, Howard, Kendrick, Lee, Martinez, Mayberry Jr., Pence, Polanco, Rollins, Ruiz, Schneider, Stutes, Thome, Utley, Victorino, Worley

Podsednik was close to making the the team out of spring training, but the final outfielder's roster spot went to Pierre instead.  He was traded to the Red Sox in mid-May and never officially suited up with the Phillies.  This set also contains the one and only Phillies baseball card for reliever Qualls, who struggled mightily in his short time with the club.

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 relatively rare Wigginton card found in the style of the 2011 second edition set as his first appearance.

Manager (1):  Manuel
Coaches (6):  Billmeyer, Dubee, Gross, Mackanin, Perlozzo, Samuel
Phillie Phanatic (1)
Broadcasters (1)
Commemorative Cards (0)

Variations/Rarities:  I'm not aware of any variations or rarities to be found within this set although the existence of the broadcaster's card was news to me.  As has been the case with the 2010 and 2011 team issued sets, variations or rarities are usually found with the design of the second series set.

Also See:  My youngest son Ben attended his first ever Phillies game on April 29, 2012.
Resources:  14,000 Phillies; The Trading Card Database; Phillies collector Steve

2011 Phillies Team Issue - 2nd Edition

I updated this post here in October 2020 and this original post is now outdated.

 
Number of Cards:  42
Card Size:  4" x 6"
Description:  The cards have a very basic design, with full color photos and a red and white bottom border including the player's number, name and position.  The Phillies script logo appears in one of the upper corners.  The horizontal card backs feature biographical information and complete career statistics.

How Distributed:  The Phillies issued a second edition 40-card set much earlier than in the previous year, as I found this set for sale at Citizens Bank Park on June 12th.  To date, this is the earliest a second edition set has been issued.  In August, cards for Domonic Brown and Hunter Pence were inserted into the set and I wrote about my discovery of these two extra cards in this post.  Pence was acquired from the Astros on July 29th.

It's interesting to note that the second edition set acquired by 14,000 Phillies dropped five cards - Contreras, Romero, Sardinha, Zagurski and the broadcaters card.  As such, these cards could be considered short-prints within this set, along with the Brown and Pence cards.

Steve's comment below also indicates that the Brown card existed prior to the insertion of the Pence card and that his version of the "update" set excluded a card for Danys Baez.

Complete Standard Checklist (40):  The cards are unnumbered, but I've presented them below ordered by uniform number.

2 - Sam Perlozzo CO 4 - Dane Sardinha 5 - Pete Orr 6 - Ryan Howard 7 - Ross Gload 8 - Shane Victorino 10 - Ben Francisco 11 - Jimmy Rollins 12 - Juan Samuel CO 15 - John Mayberry, Jr. 16 - J.C. Romero 17 - Mick Billmeyer CO 18 - Greg Gross CO 19 - Michael Martinez 21 - Wilson Valdez 22 - Pete Mackanin CO 23 - Brian Schneider 26 - Chase Utley 27 - Placido Polanco 29 - Raul Ibanez

30 - Rich Dubee CO 33 - Cliff Lee 34 - Roy Halladay 35 - Cole Hamels 38 - Kyle Kendrick 40 - Michael Stutes 41 - Charlie Manuel MG 44 - Roy Oswalt 46 - Ryan Madson 49 - Vance Worley 51 - Carlos Ruiz 52 - Jose Contreras 54 - Brad Lidge 55 - Danys Baez 56 - Joe Blanton 57 - David Herndon 58 - Antonio Bastardo 59 - Mike Zagurski Phillie Phanatic Phillies Broadcasters

Complete Update Checklist (2):

• 3 - Hunter Pence
• 9 - Domonic Brown

One and Done (1):  Sardinha
First Appearances (3):  Pence, Stutes, Worley
Returning Players (29):  Baez, Bastardo, Blanton, Brown, Contreras, Francisco, Gload, Halladay, Hamels, Herndon, Howard, Ibanez, Kendrick, Lee, Lidge, Madson, Martinez, Mayberry Jr., Orr, Oswalt, Polanco, Rollins, Romero, Ruiz, Schneider, Utley, Valdez, Victorino, Zagurski

Sardinha receives his only Phillies baseball cards in 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.

Manager (1):  Manuel
Coaches (6):  Billmeyer, Dubee, Gross, Mackanin, Perlozzo, Samuel
Phillie Phanatic (1)
Broadcasters (1):  This card features the same line-up of broadcasters and photo as found in the first edition set - Tom McCarthy, Scott Franzke, Larry Andersen, Jim Jackson, Chris Wheeler and Gary Matthews.
Commemorative Cards (0)

Variations/Rarities:  Thanks to a few comments left by Steve to earlier posts, I know of the existence of three offseason additions to this set - Nix, Wigginton and Willis.  I found the fourth addition (Thome) via an eBay auction.

• 19 Laynce Nix (portrait)
• 24 Ty Wigginton (portrait)
• 25 Jim Thome
• 53 Dontrelle Willis (portrait)
• 58 Jonathan Papelbon (portrait)

These players were all acquired following the 2011 season and these cards were presumably issued so that the players could honor autograph requests.  I have the Willis card, and the back features a Phillies script logo and a 2012 copyright.

Steve also notified me to the existence of black backed cards for the following - Gross, Pence, Polanco, Schneider, Stutes, Victorino and Worley.

Update (December 2016) - A posed Jonathan Papelbon card has appeared, along with additional Phillies script logo backed cards for Greg Gross and Michael Stutes.

Also See:  I featured a few cards from the 2011 Phillies Postcards set here, and these cards aren't to be confused with the 2011 Phillies Fan Appreciation Night Postcard set, which 14,000 Phillies covered in a post here.
Resources:  14,000 Phillies; Phillies collector Steve

2012 Topps Phillies

2012 Topps #617, #117, #449 and #120

The timing of this post is fitting as my oldest son Doug recently brought home a complete 2012 Topps factory set.  The cards are currently strewn about our dining room table in various stacks as he's slowly sorting and putting the set in order.

2012 Topps #280 (Back)

I wasn't overly thrilled when this set was first released, and I had no real emotional ties to it.  But the cool thing is . . . my son will.  He loves this set.  He's learning the players and showing me the cards he finds cool and asking me questions.  This set to him is what the 1979 Topps set was to me . . . already an "old" set when I discovered it, and therefore slightly mysterious and definitely awesome.

The Set
Number of cards in the set:  There are 660 regular cards to be found in the first and second series, with card #661 of rookie Bryce Harper added as a short-print and included within the factory set.  Before researching for this post, I didn't realize there are actual four different variations of the Harper card.  The update series added 330 cards.
My very brief thoughts on the set:  I wrote about my initial thoughts on the 2012 Topps set upon opening my first packs in February 2012.  Given my son's new found love for this set means that it now also holds special meaning to me as well.

2012 Topps #658, #28, #280 and #98

2012 Phillies
Record and finish:  Cracks in the Phillies armor first started showing this season, and they'd finish at an even 81-81 and in third place in the N.L. East.  Their undoing was a miserable month of June in which they went 9-19.  The Phils would miss the playoffs for the first time since 2006, and they haven't been back since.

Key players:  Injuries cut the seasons of Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Placido Polanco and Carlos Ruiz short and it speaks volumes that the most consistent hitter throughout the season was the veteran outfielder Juan Pierre.  The Phillies traded two-thirds of their starting outfield at the July non-waiver trade deadline, shipping Shane Victorino to the Dodgers and Hunter Pence to the Giants.  Domonic Brown and John Mayberry, Jr. assumed starting roles for the remainder of the season.  Jimmy Rollins led the team in home runs (23) and tied Ruiz for the team lead in RBIs (68).

2012 Topps #361, #392 and 2012 Topps Update #US206

On the mound, Cole Hamels was outstanding, winning 17 games and pitching to a 3.05 ERA.  Cliff Lee also turned in another fine season, owning a 3.16 ERA in 30 starts, but earning only six wins due to horrendous run support.  Roy Halladay's injuries starting taking their toll, and in his penultimate season the former ace went 11-8 with a 4.49 ERA in 25 starts.  Jonathan Papelbon joined the club in the offseason and saved 38 games.  Antonio Bastardo and Jeremy Horst were the team's other top relievers.

Key events:  Jim Thome returned to the Phillies in an offseason free agent signing, playing only four games in the field and being used mainly as a pinch-hitter and DH in American League ballparks.  He had his biggest hit of the season on June 23rd when his walk-off home run gave the Phils a 7-6 win over the Rays.  It was his 13th game-winning home run, the most in Major League history.

Thome joined Victorino, Pence and Joe Blanton in getting traded to contenders half-way through the season when the Phillies fell out of contention.  A week before the fire sale, the Phillies and Hamels reached an agreement on a six-year contract extension, which includes a vesting option for the 2019 season.  Howard hit his 300th career home run on September 22nd.

2012 Phillies in 2012 Topps
Who's in:  Phillies players appear on an impressive 17 cards in the first series and another 13 cards in the second series.  Add in the 9 Phillies cards from the update set, and that's a total of 39 cards for a complete Phillies team set.  That's the most since the 41 Phillies cards found within the 2009 offerings.  There's also a short-printed Howard variation card, which is probably the best Phillies card in the entire team set.

• Cards of the eight starting position players - 8 cards

#117 Carlos Ruiz (c), #280 Ryan Howard (1b), #361 Chase Utley (2b), #617 Jimmy Rollins (ss), #28 Placido Polanco (3b), #658 Juan Pierre (lf), #449 Shane Victorino (cf), #120 Hunter Pence (rf)

2012 Topps #190, #458, #150 and #307

• Cards of the starting pitching rotation - 5 cards

#190 Cole Hamels, #392 Cliff Lee, #458 Kyle Kendrick, #150 Roy Halladay, #307 Vance Worley

• Base cards of players who played with the Phillies in 2012 - 17 Cards

#64 Michael Martinez, #98 Domonic Brown, #243 Justin De Fratus, #259 Michael Stutes, #287 Antonio Bastardo, #345 Jonathan Papelbon, #353 John Mayberry, Jr., #371 Jim Thome, #464 Joe Savery, #465 Michael Schwimer, #551 Joe Blanton, #634 Jose Contreras, #US82 Ty Wigginton, #US85 Jake Diekman, #US130 Laynce Nix, #US199 Nate Schierholtz, #US225 Josh Lindblom

• Base cards of players who did not play with the Phillies in 2012 - 0 Cards

Topps did a really nice job with player selection for the Phillies, and for the first time since 2007 everyone who received a Phillies base card in 2012 actually played for the team in 2012.

2012 Topps #371, #353, 2012 Topps Update #US82 and 2012 Topps #345

• 2011 National League Leaders cards - 3 cards

#156 Roy Halladay (Victory Leaders), #224 Ryan Howard (RBI Leaders), #297 Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee (ERA Leaders)

• Active National League Leaders cards - 2 cards

#29 Roy Oswalt (Active Wins Leaders), #92 Roy Oswalt (Active ERA Leaders)

I kind of liked these cards when they came out, but I soured on them when it seemed as if every pack I opened had one of these cards in it.  The idea for this subset is unique, but I would have rather it been an insert set instead of taking up valuable room in the base set.

• 2012 National League All-Star cards - 3 cards

#US91 Jonathan Papelbon, #US206 Cole Hamels, #US295 Carlos Ruiz

• 2012 Record Breaker cards - 1 card, #US152 Jim Thome

Who's out:  As is the norm, the bench and the bullpen could have been shown more love.  Kevin Frandsen, Freddy Galvis and Erik Kratz were on the bench for most of the season, and a case could be made that relievers Chad Qualls and Horst deserved cards.

Phillies on other teams:  Thome has three cards in the first series featuring him with other teams.  He appears on two Active Leaders cards (#91 and #324) with the Indians and a Higlight/Checklist card (#97) with the Twins.  There are also cards of Schierholtz (#63 with the Giants) and Wigginton (#154 with the Rockies) in the first series.  Finally, if you want a 2012 Topps card of Mike Fontenot, who appeared in 47 games for the Phillies, he can be found within the Giants retail team set (#SF7).

2012 Topps #280b

What's he doing here:  I don't share the same venom towards Martinez as other Phillies fans, but I do find in a little strange that a utility infielder who struggled to sniff the Mendoza Line received Topps cards two years in a row.  Frandsen, a Phillies Room Favorite, got robbed.

Cards that never were candidates:  Frandsen, Galvis, Kratz, Horst and reliever Raul Valdes over Qualls.

Favorite Phillies card:  I love the short-printed Howard variation card, but since I'm not counting that as part of the regular team set, I'll go with Polanco's card featuring him at the bat rack.  The card definitely makes me think of Tony Taylor's 1970 Topps card.

Other Stuff

Variations:  After several years of quirky and interesting variations to be found in the Opening Day, Chrome or retail team sets, there were only two minor variations within the 2012 Topps family of products.  I'm not sure if this is a symptom of the Phillies becoming a mediocre team or if this was widespread for all teams.

In any event, the only variations to be found are the cards of Kendrick and Mayberry within the retail team set which feature the same photos as their flagship cards, but more tightly cropped.  Oswalt, who parted ways with the Phillies in October 2011, has a Phillies card in the Opening Day set.

Memory Lane:  I took a stab at drafting a working checklist for the set back in January 2012.  I'm still waiting to hear from Topps on this.  

2011 Topps Phillies

2011 Topps #300, 2011 Topps Update #US100, 2011 Topps #460 and #174

Trying to stay awake during the Phillies-less postseason gives me a good reason to look back to the last year the Phillies kept me up late at night in prior Octobers.  I'm going to try to get through my look back at the 2012 and 2013 Topps Phillies cards during this postseason so that this series is finally current.  I'll take a look at the 2014 Topps Phillies cards following the release of this year's update set.

The Set

2011 Topps #300 (Back)

Number of cards in the set:  Omitting any short-print or gimmick cards, series one, series two and the update series all contained 330 cards, for a whopping 990 cards for the complete 2011 Topps set.
My very brief thoughts on the set:  The set has a nice, clean design allowing for plenty of room for the photography to take center stage.  As I wrote back in February 2011 after I had opened my first packs of 2011 Topps, the full team name circling the baseball in the lower right doesn't need to be there twice.  Other than that, it's hard to find fault with the design or this set in general.
Notable competition:  None to speak of, and this is the last post in which I'll even list this as a sub-category.  Upper Deck issued a logo-less set in 2010 and Panini would come along in a few years with more logo-less products.

2011 Topps #420, #219, #495 and #89

2011 Phillies
Record and finish:  For the fifth and final year in a row, the Phillies won the N.L. East, finishing with a franchise high 102 wins to just 60 losses.  The second place Braves finished 13 games back.  Unfortunately, the postseason ended prematurely as the Phils were defeated in five games by the eventual World Champion Cardinals.

Key players:  Pitching was the emphasis in 2011 as the Four Aces - Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt - came together to open the season.  Lee had been traded away following the 2009 season, but he re-signed with the Phillies prior to the 2011 season.  The four starters would finish with a combined record of 59-33 and a 2.71 ERA.  Halladay and Lee led the way with 19 and 17 wins respectively, and Halladay started the All-Star Game for the National League.  Ryan Madson assumed the closer's role with Brad Lidge missing significant time due to injuries.  Madson ended up saving 32 games and Antonio Bastardo recorded eight saves.

2011 Topps #656, 2011 Topps Update #US92 and 2011 Topps #638

Ryan Howard turned in another solid season, driving in 116 and hitting 33 home runs.  Unfortunately, his bat really hasn't been heard from since.  Raul Ibanez drove in 84 runs and Carlos Ruiz hit .283 while the rest of the offense had relatively mediocre years.  Hunter Pence provided a spark following his acquisition from the Astros in July.  In 54 games with the Phils, Pence hit .324 with 11 home runs.  Placido Polanco provided steady defense, winning his third Gold Glove and his first as a third baseman.

2011 Topps #359

Key events:  The key takeaway from the regular season is that the Phillies absolutely dominated the competition throughout the year.  However, it's hard to appreciate and look back fondly on their play during the 162 regular season games given their quick exit in the playoffs.  Halladay and the Cardinals' Chris Carpenter battled throughout the decisive N.L.D.S. Game 5, with the Cardinals emerging with a 1-0 victory.  In a play that's still hard to watch, Howard grounded out to end the game, rupturing his Achilles on the way to first.

In other news, utility infielder Wilson Valdez earned the victory in a 19-inning game against the Reds in May.  Valdez came in to pitch the 19th, holding the Reds scoreless and earning his own Chachi Highlight card to commemorate his feat.

2011 Phillies in 2011 Topps
There are 25 Phillies cards to be found within the base set, and another six within the update series for a total of 31 cards.  There are also veteran variation cards for Mike Schmidt and Robin Roberts.
Who's in:

• Cards of the eight starting position players - 8 cards

#219 Carlos Ruiz (c), #420 Ryan Howard (1b), #214 Chase Utley (2b), #199 Jimmy Rollins (ss), #89 Placido Polanco (3b), #656 Raul Ibanez (lf), #495 Shane Victorino (cf), #US92 Hunter Pence (rf)

2011 Topps #214, #199, 2011 Topps Update #US189 and 2011 Topps #341

• Cards of the starting pitcher rotation - 4 cards

#300 Roy Halladay, #US100 Cliff Lee, #460 Cole Hamels, #174 Roy Oswalt

The Four Aces are all represented and Joe Blanton (who was limited to eight starts because of injuries) has a card, but rookie Vance Worley who spent the majority of the season as the team's fifth starter, was omitted.  Worley's sole mainstream 2011 baseball card can be found in the Topps Heritage set.

• Base cards of players who played with the Phillies in 2011 - 10 cards

#242 Brad Lidge, #267 Jose Contreras, #341 Kyle Kendrick, #379 Ben Francisco, #421 Domonic Brown, #469 Joe Blanton, #524 Michael Martinez, #638 Ryan Madson, #US117 Michael Stutes, #US189 Wilson Valdez

2011 Topps #232

• Base cards of players who did not play with the Phillies in 2011 - 2 cards

#232 Jamie Moyer and #325 Jayson Werth

Moyer missed the entire 2011 season due to Tommy John surgery, and he'd come back in 2013 to pitch with the Colorado Rockies at the age of 49.  Werth signed his mega-contract with the Nationals following the 2010 season, locking him up through the 2017 season.

• 2010 National League Leaders cards - 2 cards

#11 Roy Halladay (Wins) and #82 Roy Halladay (ERA)

• 2010 National League Award Winners cards - 1 card, #146 Roy Halladay (Cy Young)
• 2010 Highlights/checklist cards - 1 card, #359 Roy Halladay & Carlos Ruiz (Postseason no-hitter)
• Team card - 1 card, #511 Jimmy Rollins (Walk-off celebration from June 23, 2010)
• 2011 National League All-Star cards - 2 cards, #US85 Roy Halladay and #US154 Cliff Lee

Polanco, Hamels and Victorino, who also made the All-Star team in 2011, got left out of the update series.

Who's out:  There are three position players (John Mayberry, Jr., Brian Schneider and Ross Gload) and three pitchers (Worley, Bastardo and David Herndon) who were big parts of the 2011 team, but there wasn't enough room within the Topps checklist for their inclusion.

2011 Topps #511

Phillies on other teams:  Pence (#45) and Lee (#103) are featured with the Astros and Rangers respectively within the first series.  Pence has a Phillies card in the update series, but he also appears with the Astros on his 2011 N.L. All-Star card (#US304).
What's he doing here:  I can't fault Topps for including Moyer and Werth in the first series.  Although they may have wanted to hold off on Werth as it wasn't a guarantee he'd be back with the Phillies for 2011.  Werth's series one card was photoshopped to show him with the Nationals for the Topps Chrome release.

Cards that never were candidates:  I'll go with the six players I listed above under the Who's out section.  A case could also be made for a rookie card for pitcher Justin De Fratus who made his debut in 2011 and appeared in five games.

Favorite Phillies card:  The team card showing Rollins and a group of jubilant Phillies celebrating at home plate is cool, but my favorite Phillies card from this set is the card celebrating Halladay's no-hitter against the Reds in game one of the 2010 N.L.D.S.

Other Stuff

2011 Topps Silk Collection

Variations:  I liked the format I used for the 2010 Topps Phillies post, showing in chart form the different card variations to be found throughout the flagship, Chrome, Opening Day and Retail set, along with any variations to be found within the annual factory set.  Here's the 2011 chart, and it's interesting to note that Lee's cards in everything other than the flagship set most likely feature a photo from his first stint with the club in 2009.

Also of interest is the fact that Mayberry had a card within the Silk Collection insert set, which is his only card featuring him with the 2011 Topps design.  Why Topps decided to produce a silk card for Mayberry, but omit him from all other offerings is a mystery.

Memory Lane:  Here's a fun little post I did back in January 2012 showing Utley's various 2011 Topps cards all featuring photos taken within seconds of each other at Fenway Park in 2010.