Phillies Missing Links of the 1990s - #10 Chuck Ricci

#37
Charles Mark Ricci
Relief Pitcher

After a successful season with the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons (3.05 ERA over 68 games), Chuck Ricci was one of a slew of September call-ups by the Phillies in 1995.  Ricci is from the area, having attended Shawnee High School in Medford, NJ, so getting the call from the Phillies must have been a thrill.  He pitched well in his seven relief appearances, compiling a 1.80 ERA over 10 innings, but he'd never make it back to the majors again.

Originally drafted by the Orioles in 1987, Ricci was signed by the Phillies as a minor league free agent prior to the start of the 1994 season.  Following two seasons with the Phillies' organization, he spent the 1996 and 1997 seasons pitching in the minors for the Red Sox, Athletics and Expos.

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  180
Born:  November 20, 1968, Abington, PA
Drafted:  Drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 4th round of the June amateur player draft, June 2, 1987.
Major League Teams:  Phillies 1995
Professional Affiliations:  Baltimore Orioles 1987-1993; Phillies 1994-1995; Boston Red Sox 1996; Oakland Athletics 1997; Montreal Expos 1997

Phillies Career
7 games, 1-0, 1.80 ERA, 10 innings pitched
Acquired:  Signed as a free agent formerly with the Baltimore Orioles, April 7, 1994.
Debut:  September 8, 1995 - Pitched three innings of relief against the Astros after Tyler Green, Mike Mimbs and Paul Fletcher had all been roughed up.  Allowed a run on two hits.
Final Game:  October 1, 1995
Departed:  Granted free agency, October 16, 1995, and signed with the Boston Red Sox, December 26, 1995.

1994 Fleer ProCards #2061

1995 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons Dunkin' Donuts #22

1995 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons Team Issue #20

2 Ricci Baseball Cards in My Collection
First Card:  1995 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons Dunkin' Donuts #22
Last Card:  1995 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons Team Issue #20

Other Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  N/A
First Topps Base Card:  N/A
Last Mainstream Card:  N/A
Other Notable Cards:  1989 ProCards #1783, 1991 Classic Best Federick Keys #7, 1994 Fleer ProCards #2061

Sources:  Baseball Reference and The Trading Card Database

Phillies Missing Links of the 1990s
1 Louie Meadows
2 Dave LaPoint
3 Darrin Chapin
4 Mickey Weston
5 Bob Wells
6 Tom Edens
7 Omar Olivares

8 Kevin Elster

9 Jim Deshaies

10 Chuck Ricci
11 Dennis Springer
12 Manny Martinez
13 Rafael Quirico
14 Bronson Heflin
15 Glenn Dishman
16 Rob Butler
17 Mike Robertson
18 Matt Whiteside
19 Robert Dodd
20 Joel Bennett
21 Joe Grahe
22 Domingo Cedeno
23 Torey Lovullo

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.  In some cases, the First and Last Mainstream cards listed above have been subjectively chosen if multiple cards were released in that year.

1995 Phillies - The Missing Links

1996 Leaf Signature Extended Autographs (#190), 1995 Topps Traded #90T,
1995 Fleer Update #U-120 and 1996 Score #238

This little project of mine really picked up some speed with the rogue's gallery that made up the 1995 Phillies team.  There were 50 players who appeared at some point with the 1995 Phillies, so it's only natural that some of them would never be represented on cardboard as Phillies.  Couple the large number of players with decreased baseball card production in 1995, and there are quite a few missing links.

3 or More Cards
36 Players

1995 Phillies Team Issue #5 and
1996 Phillies Team Issue #37

2 Cards
Russ Springer (14 games in 1995 and 51 games in 1996) - 1996 Leaf Signature Extended Autographs and 1996 Phillies Team Issue #33
Dave Gallagher (62 games in 1995) - 1995 Phillies Team Issue #17 and 1995 Topps Traded #90T
Gene Harris (21 games in 1995) - 1995 Fleer Update #U-120 and 1995 Phillies Team Issue #33

Springer was actually a key contributor to the 1996 squad, but as a middle reliever he was among the first to get cut by the card companies when it came to player selection.  Gallagher wrapped up his 9-year career with a decent season with the Phillies.  He hit .318 as the team's fourth outfielder.  Harris was shipped to the Orioles in June for Andy Van Slyke.  By the time his Fleer Update card was released, he was already an ex-Phillie.

1 Card
Gary Varsho (72 games in 1995) - 1995 Phillies Team Issue #5

Steve Frey (9 games in 1995 and 31 games in 1996) - 1996 Phillies Team Issue #37

Andy Carter (20 games in 1994 and 4 games in 1995) - 1994 Phillies Team Issue Update #50

Kevin Flora (24 games in 1995) - 1996 Score #238

Ryan Karp (1 game in 1995 and 15 games in 1997) - 1994 Bowman #552

Paul Fletcher (1 game in 1993 and 10 games in 1995) - 1993 Bowman #272

Varsho appeared on a number of team-issued cards between 2002 and 2006 during his time as a Phillies coach, but he had only one card with the Phillies as a player.

1994 Bowman #552,
1995 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons Team Issue (#6), (#20) and (#22)

0 Cards
Kevin Elster (26 games in 1995)

Omar Olivares (5 games in 1995)

Chuck Ricci (7 games in 1995)

Dennis Springer (4 games in 1995)
Jim Deshaies (2 games in 1995)

1995 Pacific #410

If you remember Elster and Deshaies playing with the Phillies, than you are truly a die-hard Phillies fan.  Elster came to the Phillies in July after bouncing from the Yankees and Royals organizations in June.  The Beckett database shows that Elster didn't appear on one single baseball card in 1994 or 1995, and by the time he was featured on a few 1996 cards he was already with the Rangers.

The only thing I remember about Olivares' stay with the Phillies is that he wore #00.  Ricci actually won a game with the Phillies, and the only Phillies-related card I have of him doesn't even feature a photo of the guy.  Dennis Springer (no relation to Russ) started his 8-year career with 4 games with the 1995 Phillies.  His claim to fame is that he gave up Barry Bonds' 73rd home run back in 2001.  He's featured in the same all-painting minor league set as Ricci.

Deshaies caught on with the Phillies in a last-ditch effort to keep his career going after 11 seasons spent mostly with the Astros.  He started two games with the club in late July, going 0-1 with a 20.25 ERA in 5 1/3 innings.  He was released on July 31st.

So there were five Phillies from the 1995 season who never appeared on a Phillies baseball card.  I have a feeling that number is about to jump once we hit the dark days of 1996, 1997 and 1998.

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