1997 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

Number of Cards:  36
Card Size:  4" x 6"

Description:  The fronts feature full color photos with the player's, coach's or manager's name in grey letters against a red stripe background.  The Interleague Play Inaugural Year logo is also featured on the fronts of the cards.  The card backs feature biographical information along with complete career statistics.

How Distributed:  The 36-card set was available for sale at Veterans Stadium throughout the season.  The 2001 Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards notes that the set was sold for $10.  For the third year in a row, there was no update set issued.

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

1. Ruben Amaro (#37 - OF) 2. Ron Blazier (#22 - RHP) 3. Ricky Bottalico (#52 - RHP) 4. Rico Brogna (#2 - 1B) 5. Galen Cisco (#42 - Pitching Instructor)         6. Chuck Cottier (#3 - Bench Coach) 7. Darren Daulton (#10 - 1B/OF) 8. Terry Francona (#7 - MG) 9. Reggie Harris (#40 - RHP) 10. Rex Hudler (#14 - INF) 11. Gregg Jefferies (#25 - LF) 12. Kevin Jordan (#23 - INF)

13. Mark Leiter (#31 - RHP) 14. Mike Lieberthal (#24 - C) 15. Calvin Maduro (#50 - RHP) 16. Wendell Magee, Jr. (#29 - OF) 17. Derrick May (#34 - OF) 18. Hal McRae (#56 - Hitting Instructor)         19. Brad Mills (#9 - First Base Coach) 20. Michael Mimbs (#47 - LHP) 21. Mickey Morandini (#12 - 2B) 22. Bobby Munoz (#35 - RHP) 23. Mark Parent (#8 - C) 24. Erik Plantenberg (#41 - LHP)

25. Mark Portugal (#21 - RHP) 26. Joe Rigoli (#59 - Bullpen Coach) 27. Scott Rolen (#17 - 3B) 28. Scott Ruffcorn (#33 - RHP) 29. Ken Ryan (#51 - RHP) 30. Curt Schilling (#38 - RHP) 31. Kevin Sefcik (#31 - INF) 32. Jerry Spradlin (#48 - RHP) 33. Kevin Stocker (#19 - SS) 34. Danny Tartabull (#45 - OF) 35. John Vukovich (#18 - Third Base Coach)         36. Phillie Phanatic

One and Only Phillies Baseball Card (2):  Harris, Plantenberg

First Appearances (14):  Blazier, Brogna, Hudler, Leiter, Maduro, Magee Jr., May, Parent, Portugal, Rolen, Ruffcorn, Sefcik, Spradlin, Tartabull
Returning Players (12):  Amaro, Bottalico, Daulton, Jefferies, Jordan, Lieberthal, Mimbs, Morandini, Munoz, Ryan, Schilling, Stocker

Kevin Sefcik's card shows his uniform number as #31, even though Sefcik had switched to #11 at the start of spring training to accommodate veteran addition Mark Leiter who took over #31.  

Manager (1):  Francona
Coaches (6):  Cisco, Cottier, McRae, Mills, Rigoli, Vukovich

Phillie Phanatic (1):  The Phanatic is once again pictured riding his ATV.

Broadcasters (0):  N/A

Set Composition:  Change was in the air in 1997, as less than half of the players or coaches featured in this set had appeared in previous team-issued photo card sets.  Relievers Reggie Harris and Erik Plantenberg make their first and last appearances on Phillies baseball cards.  The entire 25-man opening day roster is included in the set, along with Kevin Jordan, who opened the season in the minors, and pitchers Mark Portugal and Ken Ryan, who started the season on the disabled list.  Four additional players began the year on the DL and did not receive cards in the set - pitchers Edgar Ramos, Tyler Green and Mike Grace and long-time center fielder Lenny Dykstra.

Omissions:  Any one not on the opening day roster missed getting a photo card, save for two players who were active at the time of the annual ALS Autograph and Auction Party, held on June 19th - see below.  If the Phillies wanted to issue an update set following the All-Star Break, the set could have included Billy Brewer, Rob Butler, Midre Cummings, Bobby Estalella, Wayne Gomes, Ryan Nye, Ricky Otero and Garrett Stephenson.

Variations/Rarities:  As fellow collector Rick commented on the original post back in November 2014, the Phillies created cards for two additional players for the ALS Autograph and Auction Party - Beech and Gomes.  Also active on June 19th, and not getting cards for the event, were Butler, Nye and Otero.

ALS Autograph and Auction Party 1. Matt Beech (#55 - LHP) 2. Wayne Gomes (#58 - RHP)

Resources:  Beckett.com; Phillies collector Rick (@rickphils)

This set was originally featured in a post back in November 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.

1996 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards / 1998 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

1980-1999 Phillies Team-Issued Photo Cards Want List / Phillies Team Issued Sets Index Page

Just One Card - 1990s Phillies Edition (Part Two - 1996 to 1999)

Having wrapped up my Phillies Missing Links custom card sets from the 1980s and 1990s, I wanted to look back and those players who just barely missed inclusion.  These are the players who have been featured on one and only one Phillies baseball card.

There were 23 Phillies players from the 1990s with no Phillies baseball card appearances, and there were 26 Phillies players from the decade with only one Phillies baseball card appearance.  Here's part two of the list.  Part one can be found here.

The Jon Zuber card, available only at the 1998 Phillies Phestival, has eluded my search so far.

1996 Phillies Team Issue #5

1996 Phillies Team Issue #43

1996 Phillies Team Issue #54

1997 Phillies Team Issue #40

1997 Phillies Team Issue #41

1998 Phillies Team Issue ALS Phestival #40

1996
Mike Benjamin - 1996 Phillies Team Issue #5
Carlos Crawford - 1996 Phillies Team Issue #54
Ricardo Jordan - 1997 Pacific #381
Dave Leiper - 1996 Phillies Team Issue #43
J.R. Philllips - 1996 Leaf Signature Extended Autographs #159
Jon Zuber - 1998 Phillies Team Issue ALS Phestival #40

1996 Leaf Signature Extended Autographs #159

1997 Fleer #649

1997 Pacific #381

1998 Upper Deck Collector's Choice #202

1997
Tony Barron - 1998 Upper Deck Collector's Choice #202
Reggie Harris - 1997 Phillies Team Issue #40
Erik Plantenberg - 1997 Phillies Team Issue #41
Edgar Ramos - 1997 Fleer #649

1999
Scott Aldred - 2000 Phillies Team Issue #30

Jim Poole - 1999 Phillies Team Issue #41

Steve Schrenk - 2000 Phillies Team Issue #52

Paul Spoljaric - 1999 Phillies Team Issue #50

1999 Phillies Team Issue #41

1999 Phillies Team Issue #50

2000 Phillies Team Issue #30

2000 Phillies Team Issue #52

1997 Phillies - The Missing Links

1997 Score #448, 1997 Ultra #344, #438 and 1998 Pacific Online #576

My post on the 1997 Topps Phillies cards is still a work in progress and I hope to publish it next Sunday.  It's been a rough week in the coal mine, and there's been little to no time for spending time with the 1997 Topps set.  That being said, I still managed to find time to put together the next Missing Links post, this time looking at the short-timers from the unfortunate 1997 season.

With 46 players appearing with the Phillies in 1997, I honestly thought this post was going to feature a very long list of names.  I'm as surprised as you are that there are only two players from this team with no cardboard proof of their time in red pinstripes.

1997 Phillies Team Issue #40 and #41

3 Cards or More
38 Players

Perhaps more shocking than the two guys without Phillies baseball cards is the fact that these guys actually have three or more Phillies baseball cards - Midre Cummings, Derrick May, Rex Hudler, Billy McMillon, Jerry Spradlin, Scott Ruffcorn and Billy Brewer.  And by my unofficial tally, Danny Tartabull, who broke his foot in his third game with the Phillies never to play Major League baseball again, is featured on five different Phillies baseball cards.  The mind boggles.

2 Cards
Darrin Winston (7 games in 1997 and 27 games in 1998) - 1998 Pacific Online #576 and 1998 Phillies Team Issue #58

Not to be confused with Darrin Chapin, Winston appeared in 34 games with the Phils, compiling a 4-2 record with a 5.84 ERA.  Sadly, while researching this post, I learned that Winston passed away back in 2008.  I found this article featuring a nice tribute to the former Phillie who left us way too soon.

1 Card
Tony Barron (57 games in 1997) - 1998 Collector's Choice #202
Reggie Harris (50 games in 1997) - 1997 Phillies Team Issue #40
Erik Plantenberg (35 games in 1997) - 1997 Phillies Team Issue #41
Ryan Karp (1 game in 1995 and 15 games in 1997) - 1994 Bowman #552
Edgar Ramos (4 games in 1997) - 1997 Fleer #649

I could have sworn Barron played in more than just 57 games with the Phillies.  It seems as if every game I watched that summer somehow featured Barron.  His tenure with the Phils resulted in just one lone baseball card.  The Phillies Team Issue set comes through again with the only cards of relievers Harris and Plantenberg.  Karp was previously featured on the 1994 Missing Links post.

1998 Collector's Choice #202, 1997 Fleer #649,
1997 Best Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons #9 and #18

0 Cards
Rob Butler (43 games in 1997)
Mike Robertson (22 games in 1997)

Butler actually came to the Phillies organization in December 1994, and he appeared in over 200 games with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons before getting the call to the big club in mid-April 1997.  He was the guy who replaced Tartabull on the roster after the former slugger broke his foot.  Had he cracked the team's opening day roster, he would have presumably at least had a card within the team issued set available at The Vet.

Robertson was acquired from the White Sox in January 1997 for Gene Schall.  His decent numbers with the Red Barons (.298, 12 home runs, 72 RBIs in 121 games) led to a late August call-up, which was too late for him to be featured as a Phillie in any late season baseball card releases.

Past Missing Link Posts

1990 Phillies - Louie Meadows

1991 Phillies - Dave LaPoint

1992 Phillies - Darrin Chapin and Mickey Weston

1993 Phillies - None

1994 Phillies - Tom Edens and Bob Wells

1995 Phillies - Jim Deshaies, Kevin Elster, Omar Olivares, Chuck Ricci and Dennis Springer

1996 Phillies - Glenn Dishman, Bronson Heflin, Manny Martinez and Rafael Quirico