Phillies Missing Links of the 1980s - #3 Jerry Reed

#35
Jerry Maxwell Reed
Relief Pitcher

Of the three players the Phillies traded to the Indians in mid-September 1982 for John Denny, Jerry Reed was the only one with Major League experience.  Drafted by the Phillies in 1977, Reed was a September call-up in 1981.  He'd appear in four games that season and he'd get the call again in August 1982 when Porfi Altamirano was sent down to Triple-A Oklahoma City.  Reed would appear in seven more games for the Phils before his trade to Cleveland.

Reed enjoyed a nine-season big league career, pitching mostly in middle relief but occasionally closing.  Perhaps his best season was with the Mariners in 1987, when he went 1-2 with a 3.42 ERA and 7 saves in 81 2/3 innings pitched.

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  190
Born:  October 8, 1955, Bryson City, NC
Drafted:  Drafted by the Phillies in the 22nd round of the June 1977 amateur draft
Major League Teams:  Phillies 1981-1982, Cleveland Indians 1982-1983, 1985, Seattle Mariners 1986-1990, Boston Red Sox 1990
Professional Affiliations:  Phillies 1977-1982, Cleveland Indians 1982-1985, Seattle Mariners 1986-1990, Boston Red Sox 1990

Phillies Career
11 games, 1-1, 6.08 ERA in 13 1/3 innings
Acquired:  Via draft
Debut:  September 11, 1981 - Relieved Steve Carlton and pitched the final two innings of a 8-0 win over the Pirates
Final Game:  August 30, 1982
Departed:  Traded with Wil Culmer and Roy Smith to the Cleveland Indians for John Denny, September 12, 1982

1982 TCMA Oklahoma City 89ers #9

1986 Topps #172

1989 Upper Deck #529

1991 Fleer #110

1 Reed Baseball Card in My Collection
First Card:  1982 TCMA Oklahoma City 89ers #9
Last Card:  1982 TCMA Oklahoma City 89ers #9

Using a photo from the 1981 Phillies Yearbook, I had previously created a card for Reed in the style of the 1982 Topps set.  That card can be found here.  I decided to try to use different photos for this new set (where possible) and I liked this photo of Reed, which I had never seen before.

Other Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1986 Fleer #592
First Topps Base Card:  1986 Topps #172
Last Mainstream Card:  1991 Fleer #110
Other Notable Cards:  1980 Oklahoma City 89ers Team Issue #28, 1987 Topps #619, 1989 Upper Deck #529, 1990 Topps #247

Sources:  Baseball Birthdays, Baseball Reference and The Trading Card Database

This is a continuing series looking at those players who spent time with the Phillies but possess no baseball card proof of their time in Philadelphia.  I will make my way through the decade of the 1980s first and then work my way forward.  In some cases, the First and Last Mainstream cards listed above have been subjectively chosen if multiple cards were released in that year.

1982 Phillies - The Missing Links

1983 Donruss #525, 1982 TCMA Oklahoma City 89ers #9 and #7, and 1983 TCMA Portland Beavers #23

The 2012 game summary posts are done, the offseason is upon us and I'm dusting off a few draft posts to fill the Phillies void while other teams battle it out in the postseason.  My last Missing Links post was published way back in June, when I looked at the 1981 Phillies players with little to no cardboard appreciation.  This post examines the 1982 squad, of which all but 3 of the 37 total Phillies that year ended up on a Phillies baseball card.

1982 Fleer #486

3 Cards to More
32 Players

Willie Montanez didn't appear on any Phillies cards during his short 18-game swan song with the Phillies in 1982, but he appeared on plenty of Phillies cards during his initial stint with the club in the early '70s.

Dave Roberts and Bob Molinaro also barely make it onto the "3 Cards or More" list thanks to their inclusion in Phillies Tastykake sets.

1 Card
Julio Franco (16 games in 1982) - 1983 Donruss #525
**Jay Baller (4 games in 1982 and 8 games in 1992) - 1993 Donruss #356

Franco began his 25-year Major League odyssey with 16 games at short and third base for the 1982 Phillies.  In December 1982, he, along with Baller and three other players were shipped to Cleveland in the infamous 5-for-1 Von Hayes deal.  I first posted my attempt at a 1982 Topps cards for Franco back in the blog's infancy.

If I was doing this post back before 1993, which would have been pretty impressive given that only the government was using a version of the internet at the time and all, Baller would have appeared as a Missing Link.  However, Donruss somehow deemed his 8-game performance with the 1992 Phillies as worthy of a Phillies card, despite his 8.18 ERA in his 11 innings pitched.

0 Cards

1982 Topps #PR9

Alejandro Sanchez (15 games from 1982-1983)
Jerry Reed (11 games from 1981-1982)
Stan Bahnsen (8 games in 1982)

All three players had their share of cardboard with other teams - especially Bahnsen - but they've never been featured on a proper Phillies baseball card.  The awesome Cards That Never Were blog created a 1982 Topps Bahnsen card back in June, linked here.

I created a custom 1982 Topps card for Reed using his picture from the 1982 Phillies Yearbook.  Reed was traded to the Indians in September 1982 as part of the John Denny deal, and he'd go on to enjoy a 9-season career in the Majors.  My sole recollection of Reed's tenure with the Phillies was that it forced Ron Reed to add an "R." to the back of his jersey.

Past Missing Link Posts

1980 Phillies - Orlando Isales and Don McCormack

1981 Phillies - Jerry Reed

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

1997 Phillies - Rob Butler and Mike Robertson

1998 Phillies - Robert Dodd and Matt Whiteside

1999 Phillies - Joel Bennett, Domingo Cedeno, Joe Grahe and Torey Lovullo

2000 Phillies - Clemente Alvarez, Kirk Bullinger, Mark Holzemer and Bryan Ward

**UPDATE (6/19/15) - I know now that Baller had an additional Phillies baseball card in the 1992 Medford Phillies ALS Phillies Phestival/Late Season set.