Game 29 - Astros Edge Phils to Avoid Sweep

1982 Donruss #625

Astros 4, Phillies 3
Game 29 - Sunday Night, April 30th in Houston
Record - 15-14, 4th Place, 4 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Bailey Falter was seemingly in trouble every inning, and the offense couldn't mount a rally in this 4-3 loss in Houston.

What It Means:  The Phillies couldn't complete the series sweep, but they still left Houston with a series win.  Three games with the Dodgers in Los Angeles are on tap next, with the possible return of Bryce Harper as early as Tuesday.  After starting the month with a 5-10 record, they're 10-4 over the last two weeks.

What Happened:  Falter gave up four runs in 4 1/3 innings on eight hits and three walks.  The bullpen kept the Astros off the board, but the Phillies went 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position.  J.T. Realmuto hit a solo home run in the second, and Kody Clemens homered again in Houston, for this third of the season.

Featured Card:  Over the past few months, I've started the daunting exercise of adding my Phillies baseball card collection to my account at the Trading Card Database, or tcdb.com.  I'm going slowly, updating my personal checklists and want lists as I go, and spending time with Phillies baseball card binders I've not opened in years.  This Dave Roberts card, from my 1982 Phillies binder as he spent time with the team in 1982, popped up during Sunday night's baseball game.  Had the Phillies pulled out a win, I would have gone with a card of a current Phillies player, but given the loss, I'll feature Roberts here from the glorious 1982 Donruss set.

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

1983 Tastykake Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

Number of Cards:  32
Card Size:  3 1/4" x 5 1/4"

Description:  This is the first team-issued photo card set featuring full color photos.  A color head shot of each player is on the front and the backs are either blank or contain an encouraging message "written" by the player.  Most of these messages begin with a standard, "Dear Fan: Thanks for your letter.  the Phillies and I appreciate your interest."  In the checklist below, I've indicated which photo cards have the "Dear Fan" greeting on the back, which are blank and which have a message variation.  This is the second consecutive year Tastykake sponsored the set, and the black Tastykake logo can be found on the backs of all cards with the exception of the card for Veterans Stadium.

Interestingly enough, the 2001 Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards lists Joe Amalfitano in the checklist instead of Porfi Altamirano.  The Beckett database entry for the set perpetuates this error.  As pointed out by 14,000 Phillies in his checklist entry for the set, both Beckett and the Standard Catalog omit the Dave Roberts card from their checklists.

How Distributed:  My guess is these photo cards were available to purchase in set form at Veterans Stadium and also available individually as players responded to fans' autograph requests.  I personally had a tough time tracking down the cards for John Denny, Von Hayes and Bill Robinson.

Complete Standard Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here alphabetically, with Dear Fan inscriptions unless otherwise noted): 

1. Luis Aguayo 2. Porfi Altamirano 3. Marty Bystrom (blank) 4. Steve Carlton (blank) 5. Larry Christenson 6. Pat Corrales MG (blank)       7. Ivan DeJesus 8. John Denny 9. Bob Dernier 10. Bo Diaz 11. Ed Farmer

12. Greg Gross 13. Von Hayes 14. Al Holland 15. Garry Maddox 16. Gary Matthews 17. Tug McGraw (Support . . . )       18. Larry Milbourne 19. Bob Molinaro 20. Sid Monge 21. Joe Morgan 22. Tony Perez

23. Ron Reed (blank) 24. Dave Roberts 25. Bill Robinson 26. Pete Rose 27. Dick Ruthven (blank) 28. Mike Schmidt (blank) 29. Ozzie Virgil 30. Phillies Coaches (blank) 31. Phillie Phanatic  32. Veterans Stadium (blank)

One and Only Phillies Baseball Card (0)

First Appearance in Phillies Team Issued Set (7):  Denny, Hayes, Holland, Milbourne, Molinaro, Morgan, Perez
Returning Players in Phillies Team Issued Set (21):  Aguayo, Altamirano, Bystrom, Carlton, Christenson, DeJesus, Dernier, Diaz, Farmer, Gross, Maddox, Matthews, McGraw, Monge, Reed, Roberts, Robinson, Rose, Ruthven, Schmidt, Virgil

Manager (1):  Corrales
Coaches (1):  There's one card featuring all five Phillies coaches - Mike Ryan, Deron Johnson, Bobby Wine, Dave Bristol and Claude Osteen.

Phillies Phanatic (1):  The more readily available version features the Phanatic on his ATV.

Other Cards (1):  Veterans Stadium.

Surprises:  There are no real surprises here, and I'm assuming the set was issued once with no updates made.  The entire 25-man opening day roster, with the exception of the two players discussed below, received photo cards.  The Phillies also had five players on the disabled list to start the 1983 season, and they all received cards too - Luis Aguayo, Marty Bystrom, Hayes, Al Holland and Roberts.

Omissions:  Len Matuszek and Alejandro Sanchez both made the opening day roster, but were omitted from the set.  Sanchez returned to the minors a week into the season when Hayes was activated from the disabled list.  Matuszek stuck around a bit longer, optioned down to Triple-A Portland on April 29th.  Kiko Garcia started the season at Portland, but was recalled on May 17th and he'd remain with the club through the rest of the season.  I wish the Phillies had considered an update set as Garcia and a number of players acquired during the season - Joe Lefebvre, Willie Hernandez, Larry Andersen and Sixto Lezcano - would have been obvious choices.  There were also a number of prospects who debuted during 1983, including Charles Hudson, Kevin Gross, Steve Jeltz, Juan Samuel and Darren Daulton, and update cards for those players would have been highly sought after by collectors.

Variations/Rarities:  According to the set's entry in the 2001 Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards, several cards are available with different backs.  There's also a different Phanatic card available showing him walking around the field in the vicinity of home plate.  I've listed these variations below.

Fellow collector Bill e-mailed to let me know of a few other back variations.  The Greg Gross card can be found with both "Dear Fan" and "Support amateur baseball" backs.  And the ATV variation of the Phanatic can be found with "Dear Fan" and "Tell your parents" backs.

Back Variations       1. Greg Gross (Support . . . ) 2. Sid Monge (Quitters never win)      3. Pete Rose (A good eduction) 4. Phillie Phanatic (Tell your parents)

Phanatic Variation        1. Phillie Phanatic - Not on ATV

Resources:   14,000 Phillies, Beckett.com, Phillies collector Bill, 1984 Phillies Media Guide.

This set was originally featured in a post back in October 2014, and I'm going to slowly go through these team-issued set posts and update them with new information gathered (if any) over the past six years.

Standard Version

Variation

1982 Tastykake Phillies Photo Cards / 1984 Tastykake Phillies Photo Cards

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

1982 Tastykake Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

Number of Cards:  35
Card Size:  3 1/4" x 5 1/2"
Description:  This is the first of eight years during which Tastykake sponsored the Phillies team issued set.  The cards feature black and white pictures, with a mix of action shots and portraits.  Some of the cards include blue facsimile autographs on the fronts, and the backs of all cards are blank.

How Distributed:  The Phillies released two versions of most of these cards.  The first version, and the more readily available version, was released early in the 1982 season and included the Tastykake logo and cards of the coaches and manager with most cards adding a blue facsimile autograph. My best guess is that these cards weren't ever distributed in set form, although I could be wrong.  The cards were most likely handed out to fans individually and supplied to the players in order to reply to fan mail or honor autograph requests.

The second version was issued in set form later in the 1982 season and omitted the coaches, the manager, the Tastykake logo and the blue facsimile autographs.  There are 25 cards in this rare issuance, with Bill Robinson replacing Dick Davis as Robinson was acquired from the Pirates on June 15th and Davis was swapped to the Blue Jays on the same day.  The Dave Roberts card shown below is an example of what the cards from this second set look like.  (I'm not sure of the exact make-up of this 25-card set, other than the fact there's a Bill Robinson card and no Dick Davis card.)

Complete Standard Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here alphabetically): 

1. Luis Aguayo 2. Porfi Altamirano 3. Dave Bristol CO 4. Warren Brusstar 5. Marty Bystrom 6. Steve Carlton 7. Larry Christenson       8. Pat Corrales MG 9. Dick Davis 10. Mark Davis 11. Ivan DeJesus 12. Bob Dernier

13. Bo Diaz (action) 14. Ed Farmer 15. Greg Gross 16. Deron Johnson CO       17. Mike Krukow 18. Sparky Lyle 19. Garry Maddox 20. Gary Matthews 21. Len Matuszek 22. Tug McGraw 23. Sid Monge 24. Claude Osteen CO

25. Ron Reed 26. Dave Roberts 27. Pete Rose 28. Dick Ruthven 29. Mike Ryan CO 30. Mike Schmidt 31. Manny Trillo (without hat)       32. Del Unser 33. Ozzie Virgil 34. George Vukovich 35. Bobby Wine CO

One and Only Phillies Baseball Card (0)

First Appearance in Phillies Team Issued Set (11):  Altamirano, M. Davis, DeJesus, Dernier, Diaz, Farmer, Krukow, Matuszek, Monge, Roberts, Virgil
Returning Players in Phillies Team Issued Set (18):  Aguayo, Brusstar, Bystrom, Carlton, Christenson, D. Davis, Gross, Lyle, Maddox, Matthews, McGraw, Reed, Rose, Ruthven, Schmidt, Trillo, Unser, Vukovich

Manager (1):  Corrales
Coaches (4):  Bristol, Johnson, Osteen, Ryan, Wine
Phillie Phanatic (0)
Broadcasters (0)
Commemorative Cards (0)

Surprises:  None, and the player selection is representative of the players who suited up the most for the Phillies in 1982.

Omissions:  Had there been a normal update set, and not the later logo less update set, Bill Robinson would have been a natural inclusion.  Other potential update cards could have been issued for Julio Franco (16 games), Willie Montanez in his return to the club (18 games), Bob Molinaro (19 games) and Stan Bahnsen (8 games).

Variations/Rarities:  The Beckett database entry for this set omits the Bystrom card and adds three cards for a total of 37 cards in the master set. The three cards added are photo variations for Diaz and Trillo, along with a card for ball girl Karen Eberhard.  As fellow collector Rick recently pointed out to me, this Eberhard card shouldn't be included within the set's checklist as a photo of the card shows it has a completely different design.  Also, I'm not sure which versions of the Diaz and Trillo cards are more prevalent or if both versions were printed in equal quantities.

Photo Variations 1. Bo Diaz (portrait) 2. Manny Trillo (with hat)

Second Set, No Tastykake Logo 1. Bill Robinson

Ball Girl Card   1. Karen Eberhard

Also See:  1982 Topps Phillies, 1982 Topps Traded #28T Bob Dernier

Resources:  The Trading Card Database; Beckett.com; Phillies collector Rick (@rickphils)

This set was originally featured in a post back in October 2014, 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 years.

1981 Phillies Team-Issued Photo Cards / 1983 Tastykake Phillies Photo Cards

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

Series Preview - Astros at Phillies: July 24th to July 26th

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday 7:05
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

Astros 65-33, 1st Place in the A.L. West, 17 games ahead of three teams
Phillies 34-62, 5th Place in the N.L. East, 24 1/2 games behind the Nationals

Astros Probables:  Brad Peacock (8-1, 2.49), Charlie Morton (7-4, 4.18), Mike Fiers (7-4, 3.59)
Phillies Probables:  Vince Velasquez (2-5, 5.14), Nick Pivetta (3-5, 5.58), Aaron Nola (7-6, 3.38)

At the Ballpark:  Tuesday night will be the club's annual Christmas in July celebration.

Astros Leaders
Average:  Jose Altuve - .358
Runs:  George Springer - 82
Home Runs:  George Springer - 27
RBIs:  Carlos Correa - 67
Stolen Bases:  Jose Altuve - 21

Wins:  Dallas Keuchel - 9
ERA:  Mike Fiers - 3.59
Strikeouts:  Lance McCullers - 114
Saves:  Ken Giles - 21

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Aaron Altherr - .288
Runs:  Cesar Hernandez - 46
Home Runs:  Tommy Joseph - 15
RBIs:  Maikel Franco - 52
Stolen Bases:  Howie Kendrick - 8

Wins:  Aaron Nola - 7
ERA:  Jeremy Hellickson - 4.73
Strikeouts:  Aaron Nola - 97
Saves:  Hector Neris - 9

1982 Topps #218

1982 Topps #377

1982 Topps #404

1982 Topps Appreciation:  The three Astros pictured here would go on to join the Phillies later in their careers.

Dave Roberts (1982) appeared in 28 games with the Phillies at the end of his 10-year career, hitting .182 (6 for 33).  Kiko Garcia (1983-1985) provided a boost to the Phillies offense during their pennant-winning season of 1983, hitting .288.

Dickie Thon (1989-1991) served as the Phillies starting shortstop for three years, in between the Steve Jeltz and the Juan Bell eras.  In 431 games, Thon hit .259 with the Phils.

1983 Tastykake Phillies

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

 
Number of Cards:  32
Card Size:  3 1/2" x 5 1/4"

Description:  This is the first team-issued set featuring full color photos.  A color head shot of each player is on the front and the backs are either blank or contain an encouraging message "written" by the player.  This is the second consecutive year Tastykake sponsored the set.

How Distributed:  My guess is that these cards were available to purchase in set form at Veterans Stadium and also available individually as players responded to fans' autograph requests.

Additionally, the checklist was most likely finalized prior to the start of the season.  Kiko Garcia is omitted from the set, despite appearing in 84 games for the 1983 Phillies beginning on May 18th.  Dave Roberts was released the day before Garcia made his Phillies debut, and both Sid Monge (to the Padres) and Dick Ruthven (to the Cubs) were traded away on May 22nd.

Complete Standard Checklist:

Luis Aguayo (Dear Fan) Porfi Altamirano (Dear Fan) Marty Bystrom (blank) Steve Carlton (blank) Larry Christenson (Dear Fan) Pat Corrales MG (blank) Ivan DeJesus (Dear Fan) John Denny (need) Bob Dernier (Dear Fan) Bo Diaz (Dear Fan) Ed Farmer (Dear Fan) Greg Gross (Dear Fan) Von Hayes (need) Al Holland (Dear Fan) Garry Maddox (Dear Fan) Gary Matthews (Dear Fan)

Tug McGraw (Support . . . ) Larry Milbourne (Dear Fan) Bob Molinaro (Dear Fan) Sid Monge (Dear Fan) Joe Morgan (Dear Fan) Tony Perez (Dear Fan) Ron Reed (blank) Dave Roberts (Dear Fan) Bill Robinson (need) Pete Rose (Dear Fan) Dick Ruthven (blank) Mike Schmidt (blank) Ozzie Virgil (Dear Fan) Phillies Coaches (blank) Phillie Phanatic (need) Veterans Stadium (blank)

I've listed the inscription that can be found on the back of each of the cards I have in my collection.  As of this writing, I still need the Denny, Hayes, Robinson and Phanatic cards.

One and Done (0):  None.  All players featured in the set also appear on other Phillies baseball cards.

First Appearances (7):  Denny, Hayes, Holland, Milbourne, Molinaro, Morgan, Perez

Returning Players (21):  Aguayo, Altamirano, Bystrom, Carlton, Christenson, DeJesus, Dernier, Diaz, Farmer, Gross, Maddox, Matthews, McGraw, Monge, Reed, Roberts, Robinson, Rose, Ruthven, Schmidt, Virgil

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.  (However, in the case of the seven players listed above, I do believe these Tastykake cards represent their first Phillies baseball cards.)

Manager (1):  Corrales

Coaches (1):  There's one card featuring all five Phillies coaches - Mike Ryan, Deron Johnson, Bobby Wine, Dave Bristol and Claude Osteen.

Phillie Phanatic (1):  The more readily available version features the Phanatic on his ATV.

Broadcasters (0)

Commemorative Cards (0)

Other Cards (1):  Veterans Stadium

Variations/Rarities:  According to the set's entry in the 2001 Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards, several cards are available with different backs.  There's also a different Phanatic card available showing him walking around the field in the vicinity of home plate.  I've listed these variations below.

• Sid Monge (Quitters never win)
• Bill Robinson (Stay in school)
• Pete Rose (A good education)
• Phillie Phanatic (not on ATV)

I'm the lucky owner of one of the Monge variation back cards.  Behold its majesty.  As of this writing, the Phanatic variation is available on eBay (item 130988665304) but significantly overpriced.

Image from eBay auction 130988665304

Update (3/11/18):  Fellow collector Bill e-mailed to let me know of a few other back variations.  The Greg Gross card can be found with both "Dear Fan" and "Support amateur baseball" backs.  And the ATV variation of the Phanatic can be found with "Dear Fan" and "Tell your parents" backs.

Also See:  I'd eventually like to feature a post on the 1983 Phillies Greatest Moments and Greatest Players postcard sets.
Trivia:  Interestingly enough, the 2001 Standard Catalog lists Joe Amalfitano in the checklist instead of Porti Altamarano.  The Beckett database entry for the set perpetuates this error.  As pointed out by 14,000 Phillies in his checklist entry for the set, both Beckett and the Standard Catalog omit the Roberts card from their checklists.

Resources:  14,000 Phillies, Beckett.com, Phillies collector Rick (@rickphils)

Padres at Phillies: September 10th to September 12th

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 7:05
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

Padres 65-77, 3rd Place in the N.L. West, 18 1/2 games behind the Dodgers
Phillies 66-77, 3rd Place in the N.L. East, 20 games behind the Braves

Padres Probables:  Andrew Cashner (8-8, 3.45), Robbie Erlin (2-2, 5.56), Burch Smith (0-1, 9.17)
Phillies Probables:  Tyler Cloyd (2-3, 3.57), Roy Halladay (3-4, 7.19), Cliff Lee (12-6, 3.01)

At the Ballpark:  It's bound to be a sparsely populated three-game series against the Padres, but at least tonight is Bark in the Park night.  This is the first ever event held at the ballpark in which pet owners are permitted to bring their dogs with them to the game.

Please don't tell Chachi this is happening.  I can't make it to the game tonight, and I'll try to make it up to him next year.

Phillies Leaders

Average:  Chase Utley - .276*

Runs:  Chase Utley - 64

Home Runs:  Domonic Brown - 27

RBIs:  Domonic Brown - 81

Stolen Bases:  Ben Revere - 22

Wins:  Cliff Lee - 12

ERA:  Cliff Lee - 3.01
Strikeouts:  Cole Hamels - 183

Saves:  Jonathan Papelbon - 25

*Michael Young, now with the Dodgers, is tied for the overall team lead (.276) among players with enough qualifying plate appearances.

1973 Topps #57 and #133

1973 Topps Flashback:  Derrel Thomas and Dave Roberts were teammates on the Padres from 1972 to 1974, wearing the brown and mustard yellow that has since been replaced with a very boring navy blue.  Roberts stuck around with the Padres through the 1978 season before he was traded to the Rangers along with Phillies Room favorite Oscar Gamble.

The Phillies acquired Roberts in March 1982 from the Astros, but injuries limited him to just 28 games with the club.  He stuck around long enough to appear with the Phillies in the 1983 Donruss and Topps sets, before the team released him in May 1983.

To be honest, I'm not sure how Thomas came to be with the Phillies.  His Baseball Reference page says he was granted free agency by the Angels in November 1984 and then the Phillies purchased him from Miami (Florida State) in May 1985.  Was this some sort of independent league back in the day?  In any event, Thomas appeared in 63 games for the 1985 Phillies, hitting just .207 but seeing time at shortstop, left field, center field, second base and third base.  He even caught two innings in a game back on August 21, 1985, hitting a three-run home run in the process.

Padres at Phillies: May 11th to May 13th

Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA
Friday and Saturday 7:05, Sunday 1:35

Padres 11-21, 5th Place in the N.L. West, 9 1/2 games behind the Dodgers
Phillies 14-18, 5th Place in the N.L. East, 5 1/2 games behind the Nationals

Padres Probables:  Clayton Richard (1-4, 4.89), Edinson Volquez (1-2, 2.98), Jeff Suppan (2-0, 0.90)
Phillies Probables:  Vance Worley (2-2, 2.84), Roy Halladay (3-2, 3.28), Cole Hamels (4-1, 2.45)

At the Ballpark:  Sunday is Mother's Appreciation Day at the ballpark and all women 15 and older in attendance will receive a lovely Phillies scarf.

Phillies Leaders

Average:  Juan Pierre - .341

Runs:  Hunter Pence - 19

Home Runs:  Hunter Pence - 7

RBIs:  Hunter Pence - 23

Stolen Bases:  Shane Victorino - 9

Wins:  Cole Hamels - 4

ERA:  Cliff Lee - 2.17

Strikeouts:  Cole Hamels - 44

Saves:  Jonathan Papelbon - 9

1979 Topps #342, #679 and #616

1979 Topps Flashback:  This is the final time the Phillies and Padres will face off in 2012, so I had to cram the three remaining Phillies-related 1979 Topps Padres cards into this post.  All three of these players enjoyed more than ten season in the big leagues, and all three saw their careers end as bit players for Phillies teams in the 1980s.

Dave Roberts finished up his 10-year career by appearing in 28 games with the 1982 Phillies.  The bulk of his career was spent in San Diego where he played every position except pitcher while wearing the glorious yellow and brown jerseys of the 1970s Padres.

Derrel Thomas was teammates with Roberts during his first stay in San Diego from 1972 until 1974, and upon his one-year return in 1978.  Like Roberts, he wrapped up his career with the Phillies, appearing in 63 games for the 1985 squad.

And Bill Almon spent the first six seasons of his career with the Padres before bouncing to five different teams and finally ending up with the Phillies in 1988.  Almon appeared in only 20 games with the club, and his .207 average probably contributed to his release that June.

If there's a petition somewhere out there to get the Padres to go back to their old yellow and brown color scheme, I will gladly sign it.

1982 Topps Phillies - Ultimate Edition

1982 Topps #PR1 Porfi Altamirano & #PR10 Dave Roberts

Pre-blog, a few years ago, I started putting together my "ultimate" Phillies team sets for each year between 1980 and 1989. The sets consisted of the base Topps cards for each player appearing with the Phillies in a given year, plus cards that never were for the folks who played with the Phils but didn't make it into either the Topps base or traded sets. I've previously featured cards from this series for Ryne Sandberg, Julio Franco and Larry Andersen, just to name a few.

One of the relatively newer blogs I've enjoyed following is the Ultimate Baseball Card Set blog, which I've previously touted. Kevin's recent post on the ultimate 1982 Phillies team set led me to dig out these 1982 Topps cards that never were. By my earlier count, and as confirmed by Kevin, there were 12 players to play with the 1982 Phillies and not appear within the Topps base or traded sets that year - including Stan Bahnsen and Dave Roberts, who both appear with other teams within the base set.

Here are the 1982 Topps cards that never were for Porfi Altamirano and Dave Roberts. Both appeared in quite a few games with the '82 club (29 for Porfi, 28 for Roberts) so it's only fitting they finally receive their 1982 Topps baseball cards, as Phillies.