Game 77 - 2021 Topps #653 Vince Velasquez

Phillies 4, Marlins 3
Game 77 - Tuesday Night, June 29th in Philadelphia
Record - 37-40, 3rd Place, 5 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  Vince Velasquez threw seven shutout innings, allowing only two hits, as the bullpen barely held on to preserve this 4-3 Phillies victory.

What It Means:  Velasquez was fantastic, throwing 97 pitches in his outing and striking out seven.  It was a much-needed performance after the prior day's bashing.

What Happened:  The Phillies scored their runs on an RBI-single from Andrew McCutchen in the first, a solo home run from Rhys Hoskins in the sixth and an RBI-double from Odubel Herrera in the seventh.  Herrera scored the team's fourth run on a wild pitch.  Newly (and briefly) appointed closer Jose Alvarado entered the game with two outs in the eighth to attempt a four-out save.  His eighth inning sequence wasn't pretty - walk, wild pitch to score a run, ground out.  He started the ninth with a single and two-run home run to Adam Duvall before finally settling in and retiring the side.

Featured Card:  Velasquez has been frustratingly inconsistent since 2016, but when he's on, like he was in this game, it's a thing of beauty.

Transaction:  Jean Segura (2b) was activated from the injured list and Spencer Howard (rhp) was optioned to Lehigh Valley.

2021 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2021 Season Summary Index / 2021 Chachi Set Checklist

Game 49 - 2021 Topps Now Road to Opening Day #OD-285 Vince Velasquez

Phillies 2, Marlins 0
Game 49 - Tuesday Night, May 25th in Miami
Record - 24-25, 3rd Place, 1 1/2 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  Vince Velasquez turned in yet another solid performance as the Phillies won with only two hits, 2-0.

What It Means:  To the surprise of everyone but himself, Velasquez has been a reliable starting pitcher for the past month.  In his last four starts he's gone at least five innings and allowed one run or less each time.  That's pretty good.

What Happened:  Velasquez went six innings in this game, allowing three hits while striking out five.  The bullpen locked down the shutout with Hector Neris recording his eighth save.  The Phillies only runs came in the fourth when Rhys Hoskins battled through a tough at-bat against Sandy Alcantara and ultimately hit a two-run home run to left.

Featured Card:  This is the only card released in 2021 (so far) for Velasquez.

Transactions:  The Phillies finally place Bryce Harper (of) on the injured list with a left wrist bruise and Roman Quinn (of) was activated.  The club also announced the signing of minor league free agent Jorge Bonifacio (of).

2021 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2021 Season Summary Index / 2021 Chachi Set Checklist

2021 Chachi #20 Vince Velasquez

#21
Vincent John Velasquez
Relief / Starting Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'3"  Weight:  212
Opening Day Age:  28
Born:  June 7, 1992, Montclair, CA
How Obtained:  Acquired with Mark Appel, Brett Oberholtzer, Thomas Eshelman and Harold Arauz from the Houston Astros for Ken Giles and Jonathan Arauz, December 12, 2015
Contract Status:  Arbitration eligible in 2021, free agency eligible in 2022
Major League Teams:  Houston Astros 2015; Philadelphia Phillies 2016-

First Phillies Card:  2016 Phillies Team Issue #28
First Phillies Minor League Card:  N/A
First Phillies Team Issued Card:  2016 Phillies Team Issue #28

Newest Card Added:  2020 Topps Total #498

Topps Flagship Set Appearances (6):  2015-2020

39 - Velasquez baseball cards in my collection per The Phillies Room Checklist as of 5/1/21.

Complete Chachi Checklist
2016 Chachi New Additions #10
2016 Chachi #18
2016 Chachi #35 HL - 16 strikeouts
2016 Chachi #69 Pitching Leaders - with Jeremy Hellickson and Jerad Eickhoff
2016 Chachi #70 Strikeout Leaders - with Jerad Eickhoff and Jeremy Hellickson
2016 Chachi Archives #8
2016 Chachi Photo Day #18
2017 Chachi #18
2017 Chachi Photo Night #27
2018 Chachi #15
2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #15 - with Adam Morgan
2019 Chachi #17
2019 Chachi #60 - Weird Loss HL with Roman Quinn
2019 Chachi Phillies Phestival #4 - with JD Hammer
2020 Chachi #17

2021 Chachi #20

2021 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2021 Season Summary Index / 2021 Chachi Set Checklist

Game 5 - 2020 Topps #402 Vince Velasquez

Mets 8, Phillies 4
Game 5 - Tuesday Night, April 6th in Philadelphia
Record - 4-1, 1st Place, 1 game ahead of the Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  The bullpen struggled in the Phillies' first loss of the season.

What It Means:  I genuinely wonder how long a leash Vince Velasquez has at this point.  The team's fifth starter, Chase Anderson, kept the Phillies in the game by allowing two runs in five innings of work.  The bullpen duo of Velasquez and David Hale couldn't keep the Mets off the scoreboard.

What Happened:  In his Phillies debut, Anderson allowed a pair of hits, including a two-run home run to Dominic Smith in the fourth.  Didi Gregorius got the Phillies to within a run when his solo home run made it a 2-1 game in the bottom of the fourth.  Velasquez dominated in the sixth, striking out the side.  But then he fell apart in the seventh, walking four in a row before departing.  Hale allowed a two-run home run to Pete Alonso in the ninth.

Featured Card:  In five seasons with the Phillies, Velasquez has been maddeningly inconsistent.  He's either brilliant and unhittable or wild and extremely hittable.  He doesn't have any 2021 baseball cards yet, and this is his card from last year's Topps flagship second series release.

2021 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2021 Season Summary Index / 2021 Chachi Set Checklist

Game 52 - 2020 Topps Heritage #19 Vince Velasquez

Phillies 3, Blue Jays 1
Game 52 - Saturday Night, September 19th in Philadelphia
Record - 27-25, 3rd Place, 3 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Vince Velasquez turned in six quality innings and the bullpen mercifully did their jobs in this 3-1 win over the Blue Jays.

What It Means:  With 8 games remaining, the Phillies are still the 7th seed in the postseason race.  The Brewers and Giants are now a game behind them.

What Happened:  The only run allowed by Velasquez was a solo home run to Travis Shaw in the fifth.  He allowed only one other hit while striking out six.  Blake Parker, David Phelps and Tommy Hunter combined to throw three hitless and scoreless innings, striking out a combined five batters, with Hunter getting his first save of the season.  All Phillies runs came from RBI singles - Andrew Knapp and Andrew McCutchen in the fifth, with Adam Haseley driving in another in eighth.

Featured Card:  It brings me joy to be able to feature a Velasquez baseball card in a game summary post, as he's been mostly maddeningly inconsistent again this season.  But his strong start was sorely needed and he picked an excellent time to record his fist win of 2020.

Transaction:  On Friday afternoon it was officially announced the three prospects heading to the Brewers to complete the David Phelps trade are Brandon Ramey (rhp), Israel Puello (rhp) and Juan Geraldo (rhp).  The trio haven't been in the Phillies system long enough to appear in any minor league team sets.

2020 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2020 Season Summary Index / 2020 Chachi Set Checklist

2020 Chachi #17 Vince Velasquez

#21
Vincent John Velasquez
Starting Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'3"  Weight:  212
Opening Day Age:  28
Born:  June 7, 1992, Montclair, CA
How Obtained:  Acquired with Mark Appel, Brett Oberholtzer, Thomas Eshelman and Harold Arauz from the Houston Astros for Ken Giles and Jonathan Arauz, December 12, 2015
Contract Status:  Arbitration eligible in 2021, free agency eligible in 2022
Major League Teams:  Houston Astros 2015; Philadelphia Phillies 2016-

First Phillies Card:  2016 Phillies Team Issue #28
First Phillies Minor League Card:  N/A
First Phillies Team Issued Card:  2016 Phillies Team Issue #28

Newest Card Added:  2020 Topps #402

Topps Flagship Set Appearances (6):  2015-2020

31 - Velasquez baseball cards in my collection per The Phillies Room Checklist as of 8/2/20.

Complete Chachi Checklist
2016 Chachi New Additions #10
2016 Chachi #18
2016 Chachi #35 HL
2016 Chachi #69 Pitching Leaders - with Jeremy Hellickson and Jerad Eickhoff
2016 Chachi #70 Strikeout Leaders - with Jerad Eickhoff and Jeremy Hellickson
2016 Chachi Archives #8
2016 Chachi Photo Day #18
2017 Chachi #18
2017 Chachi Photo Night #27
2018 Chachi #15
2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #15 - with Adam Morgan
2019 Chachi #17
2019 Chachi #60 - Weird Loss HL with Roman Quinn
2019 Chachi Phillies Phestival #4 - with JD Hammer
2020 Chachi #17

2020 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2020 Season Summary Index / 2020 Chachi Set Checklist

Summer Camp Game 3 - Exhibition Season (Finally) Concludes

2020 Topps Now Road to
Opening Day #OD-285

Phillies 2, Yankees 2
Summer Camp Game 3 - Monday Night, July 20th in New York
Record - 15-6-2

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies finally wrapped up their 2020 exhibition play finishing with a 2-2 tie with the Yankees at an empty Yankee Stadium.

What It Means:  There was no fanfare for manager Joe Girardi's first trip back to Yankee Stadium since he left the club following the 2017 season.

What Happened:  Vince Velasquez got into some first inning trouble, but then settled down to pitch five scoreless innings.  The lone run he allowed came on a solo home run from Aaron Judge after three outs had already been recorded in the bottom of the fifth.  Velasquez struck out six.

The Phillies scored both their runs early courtesy of a J.T. Realmuto first inning double, scoring Didi Gregorius who had also doubled, and an RBI single from Roman Quinn.  Pitching the ninth, Mauricio Llovera couldn't lock down the save as he allowed a game-tying solo home run to Mike Ford.

2020 Chachi Almost #7

Featured Card:  It sure seems as if Velasquez has once again input himself into the conversation for a role in the starting pitching rotation.  He finished off the spring/summer strong and he could be in line to start one of the first few games of the 2020 season.

Camp Head Count:  45 - 1 = 44.  Reliever Anthony Swarzak asked for and was granted his release.  While my official head count stands at 44, there are five players currently on the Injured List who have appeared in recent game action - Scott Kingery (2b), Hector Neris (rhp), Austin Davis (lhp), Rafael Marchan (c) and Tommy Hunter (rhp).  If you're keeping score at home, that means the camp head count might actually be 49.  There are also a number of players who were optioned from the 40-man roster who have been active as well, so who knows?

The Phillies will get down to a roster size of 30 for Friday night's opener against the Marlins.  They'll carry 30 players until August 7th when roster sizes are trimmed to 28.  On August 21st, the final cuts will be made and all teams will carry 26 players through the end of the season.

By my tally, only David Robertson (rhp), Seranthony Dominguez (rhp) and Ranger Suarez (rhp) are officially and actually injured or not available as of yet.

2020 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2020 Season Summary Index / 2020 Chachi Set Checklist

Game 112 - 2019 Phillies Team Issue 2 #21 Vince Velasquez

Phillies 7, Diamondbacks 3
Game 112 - Late Monday Night, August 5th in Phoenix
Record - 59-53, Tied for 2nd place, 6 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Vince Velasquez pitched seven strong innings and the Phillies offense banged out 13 hits in this 7-3 win in Phoenix.

What It Means:  The Phillies and Nationals currently occupy the two Wild Card spots in the National League.  The surging Mets, 9-1 in their last 10 games, are only 2 1/2 games back of both teams.

What Happened:  Velasquez has a 2.04 ERA over his past three starts, and he allowed two runs on six hits in this game.  Scott Kingery started the scoring for the Phillies in the second with a solo home run (14).  J.T. Realmuto later added an RBI double and Jean Segura had two RBI singles.

Featured Card:  I have five baseball cards for Velasquez this year, including this photo card signed at the annual ALS Phestival.  I've now featured three of those five cards, and if Velasquez keeps pitching this way I'll hopefully post the last two in future game summary posts.

Game 109 - Velasquez and Quinn Star in 15 Inning "Horse****" Loss

2019 Chachi #60

White Sox 4, Phillies 3 (15)
Game 109 - Friday Night, August 2nd in Philadelphia
Record - 57-52, 3rd place, 7 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Despite the best efforts of Vince Velasquez (in left field) and Roman Quinn (at bat and on the mound), the Phillies fell to the White Sox, 4-3, in 15 innings.

What It Means:  If Gabe Kapler ends up getting fired at season's end, we may look back at this game as the beginning (or middle?) of the end.  I can't help but feel a more experienced manager would have handled his bench a little better, especially knowing he had Jason Vargas making his first start and he'd be down to a six-man bullpen with Hector Neris suspended and Ranger Suarez apparently unavailable due his recent work load.  Velasquez still threw his normal bullpen session pregame and was therefore unavailable if needed.  Postgame, Kapler called it a, "horse*** situation."  Agreed.

What Happened:  Vargas pitched well in his Phillies debut, lasting 6 1/3 innings, striking out five and leaving with the game tied at two.  The offense couldn't find a clutch hit all night long and they'd ultimately go 2 for 13 with runners in scoring position.  In the ninth, now ahead 3-2, Juan Nicasio and Jose Alvarez allowed the Pirates to tie it up.

Featured Card:  Fast forward to the 14th inning and the Phillies ran out of pitchers.  Roman Quinn, who had homered and stolen a pair of bases earlier in the game, came on to pitch and escaped the inning when Velasquez, playing left, gunned down the potential go-ahead run at the plate.  Per this Tweet, he's the first pitcher to have an outfield assist since Ned Garver did it for the St. Louis Browns on May 17, 1950.  In the 15th, Quinn was back on the mound and Velasquez again made a great throw to almost get Leury Garcia at the plate.  Replay review showed Garcia was safe, and the White Sox had the lead.  Velasquez still wasn't done as he made a diving catch to end the inning and limit further damage.  The Phillies went down in order in the bottom of the 15th.

Transactions:  Corey Dickerson was activated and Adam Morgan landed back on the injured list with a left flexor strain.

Game 102 - 2019 Topps #480 Vince Velasquez

Phillies 4, Tigers 0
Game 102 - Wednesday Afternoon, July 24th in Detroit
Record - 54-48, 3rd place, 5 1/2 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies rode a solid start from Vince Velasquez along with home runs from J.T. Realmuto and Nick Williams to a 4-0 win in Motown.

What It Means:  Having swept the short, two-game series the Phillies will have an off day Thursday and then open a crucial weekend series at home against the first place Braves.

What Happened:  Velasquez went 5 2/3 innings and allowed four hits while striking out nine.  Along with the homers from Realmuto and Williams, Cesar Hernandez added an RBI double in the fifth and Rhys Hoskins then singled him home.

Featured Card:  I'm happy to feature a Velasquez card as it seemed as if his season would completely derail at one point.  This is his first win since rejoining the starting rotation in mid-June and his first start since April 24th in which he didn't allow a run.

Transactions:  Brad Miller landed on the injured list with a right hip flexor strain and Sean Rodriguez was activated from his stint on the list.

Highlights from the 2019 Phillies Phestival (Part 1) #StrikeOutALS

2019 Chachi Phillies Phestival #1

2019 Chachi Phillies Phestival #19

2019 Chachi Phillies Phestival #16

On Thursday afternoon, we attended the annual Phillies Phestival, which raises money in the fight against ALS.  One of my collecting regrets (and a regret as a lifelong Phillies fan) is that we never even considered going to this event until three years ago.  As rookies in 2017, we meandered through the ballpark using our pre-assigned autograph tickets and paying cash for autographs when the lines died down.  In 2018, I attended the event on behalf of my employer, which unbeknownst to me, had been a long-time sponsor of the Phestival.  I became involved with the Philadelphia ALS Chapter over the past few years partly in tribute to our friend Bob who passed away in January 2019 after a courageous battle with the disease.  I'm looking forward to continuing (and increasing) my involvement in the coming years.

This year, we again attended as sponsors and it's the first year we were fully prepared to collect autographs as efficiently as possible while still having fun.  Sponsors are given a button to wear, which allows us to stand in any autograph line.  Within the sponsors packet were explicit instructions informing us we couldn't go to the front of any line, which makes complete sense, and that we couldn't go to the Bryce Harper photo booth.

2019 Chachi Phillies Phestival #2

2019 Chachi Phillies Phestival #5

2019 Chachi Phillies Phestival #7

2019 Chachi Phillies Phestival #8

2019 Chachi Phillies Phestival #14

Similar to the past two years, I created a special set of Chachi cards to commemorate our day and the autographs we hunted down.  Here's a summary of what and how we did:

• The sponsors assemble in the Diamond Club and my company's name was called around 2:45.  We made our way down to the field to meet with Phil Gosselin and Jay Bruce who would be signing autographs at our designated station.  I let Bruce know it was great not to boo him this season, and my son Doug talked to Gosselin about their mutual history with the All-Star Baseball Academy.  Gosselin is an alumni and Doug is currently on one of their travel teams.

2019 Chachi Phillies Phestival #3

2019 Chachi Phillies Phestival #4

2019 Chachi Phillies Phestival #6

• We had a plan.  Doug and I took the left side of the ballpark while Jenna and Ben took the right side.  Doug and I started in the Hall of Fame Club, where the lines were very short to start and some of the tables had no lines.  We walked right into the suite where Gabe Kapler was signing and had two people in front of us.  Kapler's a fascinating guy.  Very intense, very polite, very engaging and he made his hat work.

• Jenna and Ben made Aaron Nola their first target, so they had a longer wait to get started.  Doug and I had cleared four tables by the time they were getting Nola's autographs.

• All the players were engaging and friendly, and even though there was a loose "no posed photographs" policy in place this year, pretty much everyone stopped to look and smile while we were taking pictures.  Rhys Hoskins said he remembered being in our Christmas card, although he may have just been being polite.

• Ben's highlight was getting Maikel Franco to sign the back of his favorite Franco t-shirt.  He also talked to the broadcast team for awhile.  When he asked why they didn't have any cards to sign, Scott Franzke said it was because the Phillies couldn't get them all together at the same time.  He was then invited by Ben Davis to sign their table cloth, and he obliged.

• Larry Andersen had run out of photo cards by the time we got to his station (with John Kruk and Mickey Morandini) so he offered Doug a cookie instead of an autograph.  Doug took him up on the offer.

• I was bummed that none of the newer Phillies players had any photo cards produced for them to sign.  I had come prepared with a list of potential exclusive photo cards - Bruce, Edgar Garcia, JD Hammer, Adam Haseley and Ranger Suarez - but there were no new cards to be had.  Bruce and Gosselin had what looked like regular paper at their station with their names printed at the top.

2019 Chachi Phillies Phestival #9

2019 Chachi Phillies Phestival #10

2019 Chachi Phillies Phestival #11

• When the autograph session time expired, we had visited all but three tables - J.T. Realmuto (by choice since we had already received his autographs in May), Charlie Manual (since we forgot to bring anything for him to sign) and Pat Neshek/Jim Gott.  The Neshek/Gott omission was a symptom of simply running out of time.  The only table we doubled up on was Scott Kingery's as we both had time to visit with him as the clock was ticking down.

• We met up with fellow collector Steve and his son in time to stand in line for our mystery grab bags.  Our five bag haul was decent, with baseballs signed by Roman Quinn (two), Nick Pivetta, and Hector Neris.  We received a pair of Raul Ibanez bobble heads, three solar Liberty Bells, a Jimmy Rollins World Series ring and Jenna got her Mother's Day fleece she had wanted from the May giveaway.

We had a blast, the Phillies raised over $768,000 to aid in the fight against ALS, and we're already making our plans for next year's Phestival!  I've share Part 2 with the rest of the cards from the event in a post coming soon.

The almost completed checklist

Our grab bag haul

Phillies Phestival Memory Lane

2017 Part 1 and Part 2

2018 Part 1 and Part 2
2019 Part 1 and Part 2

Game 51 - 2019 Topps Heritage #149 Vince Velasquez

Phillies 6, Brewers 4
Game 51 - Friday Night, May 24th in Milwaukee
Record - 30-21, 1st place, 1 1/2 games ahead of the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  The bullpen came through and the offense collected some timely hits in this 6-4 series opening win against the Brewers.

What It Means:  The Phillies have been either a game and a half or two games a half ahead of the Braves for the past ten days.  Here's hoping for a prolonged winning streak by the Phillies coupled with a lengthy losing streak for the Braves.

What Happened:  The Phillies and Brewers traded runs and were tied at 4-4 until Andrew McCutchen broke the tie with a clutch sixth inning double.  Rhys Hoskins homered (12) in the seventh for some breathing room.  Scott Kingery had a pair of hits including a double and Bryce Harper had a pair of RBIs.

Starting pitcher Jerad Eickhoff was pulled after three innings, having allowed four runs on five hits.  The recently activated Vince Velasquez pitched two scoreless innings followed by scoreless frames from Seranthony Dominguez, Adam Morgan and Hector Neris, who recorded his ninth save.

Featured Card:  It appears as if Velasquez will finally see some time pitching in relief, which is where he may be best suited.  So far this year, he's had baseball card appearances in Topps Heritage and the Topps retail Phillies team set.

Transactions:  Velasquez was activated from the Injured List, taking Drew Anderson's spot on the roster.  Anderson collected some more frequent flyer miles with his trip back to Lehigh Valley.

2019 Chachi #17 Vince Velasquez

#21
Vincent John Velasquez
Starting Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'3"  Weight:  203
Opening Day Age:  26
Born:  June 7, 1992, Montclair, CA
Drafted:  Selected by the Houston Astros in the 2nd round of the June 2010 draft
Teams:  Houston Astros 2015; Phillies 2016-
Acquired:  Acquired with Mark Appel, Brett Oberholtzer, Thomas Eshelman and Harold Arauz from the Houston Astros for Ken Giles and Jonathan Arauz, December 12, 2015
Contract Status:  Arbitration eligible in 2020, free agency eligible in 2022

2015 Topps Update #US258

2016 Chachi #18

2016 Chachi Photo Day #18

2016 Topps Update #US55

2017 Chachi Photo Night #27

First Topps Flagship Base Card:  2015 Topps Update #US258
First Phillies Card:  2016 Phillies Team Issue #28
First Phillies Team Issued Card:  2016 Phillies Team Issue #28
First Topps Phillies Flagship Base Card:  2016 Topps Update #US55
Newest Card Added:  2019 Topps Phillies #PP-12

2016 Phillies Team Issue #28

31 - Velasquez baseball cards in my collection per The Phillies Room Checklist as of 4/23/19.

Complete Chachi Checklist
2016 Chachi New Additions #10
2016 Chachi #18
2016 Chachi #35 HL
2016 Chachi #69 Pitching Leaders (with Jeremy Hellickson and Jerad Eickhoff)
2016 Chachi #70 Strikeout Leaders (with Jerad Eickhoff and Jeremy Hellickson)
2016 Chachi Archives #8
2016 Chachi Photo Day #18
2017 Chachi #18
2017 Chachi Photo Night #27
2018 Chachi #15
2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #15 (with Adam Morgan)
2019 Chachi #17

2019 Chachi Set Checklist
Virtual Phillies Wall - Featuring Current Active Roster

Annual Section 36 Package Arrives, Marking End of Winter

2018 Topps All-Star Game Factory Set #11

2018 Topps Big League Rainbow Foil #227

2018 Topps Big League Black & White #297

1987 Sportflics #123

2014 Topps Chrome Rookie Autographs Refractors #128

Like the groundhog emerging from its hole or the first sign of green leaves on the trees, the annual arrival of a box of baseball cards from Section 36 means that we've survived another winter and spring time is almost here.  Each year, Section 36 reduces its baseball card inventory by parting with cards from 10 years prior.  I was expecting the haul to be heavy with cards from 2009, but to my surprise most of the cards were from the past two years.  I think this is because the prior year packages had already featured quite a few cards from 2009, leaving more room for newer cards in this year's box.

I always enjoy receiving this package, flipping through the cards initially and then sorting them.  I couldn't help but notice Doug eyeing up a few cards as I first flipped through them, and sure enough there are a few cards that have already mysteriously disappeared and have already made their way into his Phillies binder.

Here are some other observations from this year's installment:

• The oldest card received was a 1987 Sportflics Juan Samuel card.  I remember when Sportflics first came out and thinking we were truly living in the future.  Cards that move?  What magical witchcraft is this?
• Curt Schilling, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt were heavily featured in this year's assortment of cards.
• Doug was a huge fan of the 2018 Topps Big League set, so numbered parallels from that set for Vince Velasquez and Nick Williams have already entered his collection.  His favorite autograph-seeking cards are the black and white parallels Topps puts out, so it's only a matter of time before he tracks down a new Williams' autograph.
• Manufactured "Patch" cards confuse me somewhat as an old school collector, but I think these are cool.
• I received a full 2018 Topps Phillies team set with a special foil All-Star Game stamp on the front.  These were available only with complete Topps factory sets and I'm always happy to add these quirky parallels to my collection.
• Finally, and what could be the first of many Bryce Harper cards sent to me from Section 36 over the next 13 years, I received a rare French text variation card of Harper's from the recently released 2019 Topps Heritage set.

2018 Topps Players Weekend Patches #PWP-RH

2019 Topps Heritage French Text #415

2019 Topps 150th Anniversary Manufactured Patches #AMP-RH

Another great package and all welcome editions to The Phillies Room archives!  A return package featuring nothing but Red Sox cards will soon be on its way to Section 36.

Memory Lane - Section 36 Purge

2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009 (Mostly in spirit only)

2017 - Mid-Year Surprise Package

Game 98 - 2018 Topps Big League #227 Vince Velasquez

Phillies 5, Padres 0 (Game 2)
Game 98 - Sunday Night, July 22nd in Philadelphia
Record - 55-43, 1st place, 1 game ahead of the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Vince Velasquez took a no-hitter into the sixth inning as the Phillies blanked the Padres, 5-0.

What It Means:  The teams played a split-admission double header necessitated by Saturday's rain-out.

What Happened:  Velasquez went seven strong inning, allowing 2 hits and striking out 7.  Odubel Herrera hit his team-leading 17th home run in the 4th and Rhys Hoskins padded the lead with a 3-run home run (16) in the 7th. 

Featured Card:  I thought this was pretty cool from Meghan Montemurro's Tweet - Velasquez became the first Phillies pitcher to have three or more instances of a no-hitter through 5 innings in one season since Steve Carlton did it in 1979.  I happen to like the Topps Big League design way better than the Topps flagship design this year.  This is the inaugural edition of the new, young collector-geared Topps Big League set.

Transaction:  Between games, the Phillies activated Luis Garcia from the disabled list and placed Edubray Ramos on the DL with a right patella tendon strain.  Yacksel Rios was also added to the roster as the 26th man.

Field Report:  This game was the make-up of the game originally scheduled for Saturday night.  The Saturday night game was washed out along with one of our favorite events of the year - Photo Night.  Rather than re-schedule Photo Night, the Phillies announced the event would be completely canceled this season.  I'm bummed.  We've really enjoyed Photo Night the past few seasons, especially now that our sons are old enough to recognize and interact with the players.  Doug also immediately realized that the Photo Night cancellation meant there would be no limited edition Photo Night Chachi insert set this year.

Perhaps this frees up the checklist for a limited Postseason edition of Chachi cards instead . . .

Game 91 - 2018 Phillies Team Issue 2 #28 Vince Velasquez

Mets 3, Phillies 0 (10)
Game 91 - Wednesday Night, July 11th in Flushing
Record - 51-40, Tied for 1st place, 5 1/2 games ahead of the Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies and Mets took a 0-0 tie into the 10th inning before Brandon Nimmo hit a three-run, walk-off home run off Mark Leiter, Jr. to end the game.

What It Means:  After a lengthy (and extremely enjoyable) vacation, live posting will return.  In years' past after a hiatus, I've fired off 8 or 9 or 10 game summary posts in a row in an attempt to quickly catch up.  I'm going to take my time this year, with my goal being to be caught up with game summary posts and new Chachi cards by the end of the All-Star break.

In case you didn't know, I have a running 2018 Season Summary page with links to every Phillies game this season that can be found here.

What Happened:  Vince Velasquez was terrific in his return from the DL, allowing just 2 hits in his 6 innings of work.  Jacob deGrom stifled the Phillies offense through 8 innings.

Featured Card:  My wife Jenna stood in line with my youngest son Ben at the recent Phillies Phestival to obtain this autographed card of Velasquez for my collection.

Transaction:  Enyel De Los Santos was sent back down to the IronPigs and Velasquez was activated from the disabled list prior to the game.

Highlights from the 2018 Phillies Phestival (Part 2) #StrikeOutALS

2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #13

2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #17

Presented here are the remaining cards from the limited edition Chachi insert set I created to commemorate our amazing time at this year's Phillies Phestival benefiting the ALS Association.  Part 1 can be found here along with some of my memories from the event.

If you plan to go to the event in 2019, we'll see you there!

2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #10

2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #9

2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #11

2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #12

2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #14

2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #15

Phillies Phestival Memory Lane

2017 Part 1 and Part 2

2018 Part 1 and Part 2

2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #16