Game 2 - Impressive Comeback Falls Short

Texas Rangers	5
Philadelphia Phillies	4

10 Innings

2021 Topps Chrome Platinum
Anniversary #271

Saturday Afternoon, March 28th

Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA
1-1, Tied for 4th Place, 1 game behind the Braves, Marlins and Mets

One Sentence Summary:  After collecting just one hit through the first eight innings, the Phillies miraculously tied the game in the ninth, only to lose in the tenth.

What It Means:  The Phillies will not finish the season 162-0.

What Happened:  Aaron Nola got the start and allowed two home runs - a solo shot from Corey Seager in the first and a two-run home run to Jake Burger in the third.  Nola went five, and Tanner Banks, Jose Alvarado and Tim Mayza all pitched scoreless frames to keep the Phillies in the game.  In the bottom of the ninth, Alec Bohm singled with two outs, and went to second on an Edmundo Sosa walk.  Adolis Garcia should have been out to end the game on a foul pop-up dropped by Burger, and Garcia's subsequent double scored Bohm.  Brandon Marsh brought Sosa and Garcia home to tie the game at 3-3.

Jhoan Duran uncorked a wild pitch in the top of the 10th allowing ghost runner Brandon Nimmo to score the go-ahead run, and Andrew McCutchen provided an important insurance run with an RBI single to left.  The Phillies pushed across a run in the bottom of the 10th on a Bryce Harper RBI single, but they could not come back for a second time.

Featured Card:  It seems as if McCutchen has had a lot of big hits against his former team since departing following the 2021 season.

2026 Virtual Phillies Wall (Coming Soon) / 2026 Season Summary Index / 2026 Chachi Set Checklist

Game 152 - Marchan Shocks Dodgers with Ninth Inning Homer

Philadelphia Phillies	9
Los Angeles Dodgers	6

2021 Topps Chrome Platinum
Anniversary #76

Late Tuesday Night, September 16th

Dodger Stadium - Los Angeles, CA
91-61, 1st Place, 12 1/2 games ahead of the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies scored nine runs after being no-hit by Shohei Ohtani through five innings in this this thrilling 9-6 win over the Dodgers.

What It Means:  The Phillies won the season series over the Dodgers, which gives them the tiebreaker if needed for home field advantage, if the teams finish with identical records.

What Happened:  Absolutely nothing happened for the Phillies' offense until Ohtani was removed from the pitching mound, as the Dodgers held a 4-0 lead through five innings.  The Phillies plated six runs in the sixth to take a 6-4 lead, doing most of the damage against reliever Justin Wrobleski.  Rafael Marchan, Harrison Bader and Kyle Schwarber all singled to load the bases with one out.  Bryce Harper connected for a two-run double, scoring a pair.  Brandon Marsh then hit a three-run home run to give the Phillies a 5-4 lead.  After Wrobleski was relieved by Edgardo Henriquez, Max Kepler hit a solo home run to give the Phillies a two-run lead.

In the bottom of the eighth, Ohtani hit his 50th home run of the year to welcome David Robertson to the game.  The Dodgers would tie the game before Robertson was able to get out of the inning.  With two outs in the top of the ninth, Weston Wilson doubled, Bryson Stott was intentionally walked and Rafael Marchan hit a three-run home run to give the Phillies an improbable 9-6 lead.  Jhoan Duran set the Dodgers down in order in the bottom of the ninth and the night again belonged to the Phils.

Featured Card:  The Rafael Marchan Game!  I admittedly went to bed early, having watched all of Monday night's game.  But I awoke to gleefully read about Marchan's heroics and what could be his career highlight game with the team.  I added this card last week, giving me 14 Marchan cards so far in my Phillies Collection.

Transaction:  Edmundo Sosa (inf) was placed on the injured list with a mild right groin strains and Rafael Lantigua (inf) had his contract purchased from Lehigh Valley.  Brewer Hicklen (of) was designated for assignment to make room for Lantigua on the 40-man roster.

2025 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2025 Season Summary Index / 2025 Chachi Set Checklist

Focused on Vintage During Lock-Out

While the owners continue to lock-out the players, and with the first week of spring training games now canceled, I wanted to publish a post to (a) say I'm still here, anxiously awaiting the 2022 Phillies season and (b) remind readers my other three blogs are going strong with now daily posts from the 1934-36 Diamond Stars set, the 1956 Topps set and the 1965 Topps set.  I don't how much longer daily posting on these blogs is feasible, but for now I've settled into a schedule of a new Diamond Stars card on Sunday, a 1956 Topps card on Friday and a 1965 Topps card all other days of the week.

Here's a look at Curt Simmons' card from the 1965 Topps set, from a post originally published a few weeks ago.  As we wait for live baseball to resume, I hope you'll enjoy taking a look back at some great older baseball cards as much as I've enjoyed writing about them.

1965 Topps #373 Curt Simmons - St. Louis Cardinals

Curtis Thomas Simmons
St. Louis Cardinals
Pitcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  175
Born:  May 19, 1929, Egypt, PA
Signed:  Signed by the Philadelphia Phillies as an amateur free agent before 1947 season
Major League Teams:  Philadelphia Phillies 1947-1950, 1952-1960; St. Louis Cardinals 1960-1966; Chicago Cubs 1966-1967; California Angels 1967

Curt Simmons will forever be associated with the beloved Whiz Kids, the 1950 Phillies club that made it to the World Series for the first time since 1915.  Simmons was a 17-game winner for the Phillies in 1950 and formed a solid one-two punch atop their starting pitching rotation with Robin Roberts (#15).  He missed the 1950 World Series against the Yankees after being drafted to serve in the Korean War.  Simmons was a three-time All-Star with the Phillies in 1952, 1953 and 1957.  He won at least 12 games with the club in six different seasons.  Released by the Phillies in May 1960, Simmons signed with the Cardinals where he enjoyed a career resurgence.  His best seasons actually came during his time in St. Louis as he went 15-9 in 1963 with a 2.48 ERA and was 18-9 for the team in 1964 when they upset the Phillies in the final week of the season to advance to the World Series.  Simmons pitched well in his Game 3 and Game 6 starts, and while he was the losing pitcher in Game 6, he compiled a 2.51 ERA over 14 1/3 innings.  The Cardinals would win the series in seven games over the Yankees.

2006 Toyota Phillies Wall of Fame Postcards

A competent fielder as well, Simmons had errorless seasons in 1950, 1952, 1957 and 1963.  Simmons would finish up his 20-year big league career with a few seasons with the Cubs and Angels, retiring in 1967.  At the time, along with Smoky Burgess (#198), he was the last person to retire who had played in the majors in the 1940s.  Simmons had a lifetime record of 193-183 with a 3.54 ERA over 569 games pitched.  His career strikeout total of 1,697 is currently 149th on the all-time list.  Hank Aaron (#170) named Simmons as one of the toughest pitchers he faced during his career.

Building the Set
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #399
You'll be seeing this particular passage on my 1965 Topps blog for quite some time as we added a whopping 97 cards to our set during the December Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show.  If I'm ambitious and compose posts for five cards a week, I should be completely caught up by the end of May.  If I'm not as ambitious, I might still be going through this stack by the time we hit July.  Either way, I'll enjoy the process and I'm looking forward to taking my time.  I've posted a complete summary of this fantastic show over at The Phillies Room.

Looking to kill some time while we were waiting for our number to be called for Doug's autograph from Jim Thome, I found a bargain bin of 1965 Topps cards at Uncle Dick's and I texted Doug that I'd be standing at the table where the dealers were wearing neon green shirts.   This Simmons card was one of 15 from that first batch of purchases, totaling $40, and it was a little less than $3 after the dealer discount.  After getting the Thome autograph, and grabbing a slice of pizza from the "food court" upstairs, I'd settle in at Uncle Dick's for my second and biggest haul of the show.

The Card / Cardinals Team Set
Simmons' veteran status and his lengthy major league career up to this point allowed no room for anything other than statistics.

1965 Season
Simmons, and the entire Cardinals team, came back down to Earth in 1965, with Simmons going 9-15 with a 4.08 ERA over 34 appearances, including 32 starts.  Only Bob Gibson (#320) with 36 made more starts than Simmons with the lefty pitcher crossing the 200-inning threshold for eighth and final time in his career.

Phillies Career
The Phillies signed Simmons as a bonus baby in 1947 for $65,000, one of the highest amounts received to date by an amateur player.  He made his debut on September 28th that season and he'd be a fixture in the Phillies' starting pitching rotation for the next decade.  He was the National League's starting pitcher in the 1952 All-Star Game, hosted at Shibe Park, and he pitched three shutout innings while striking out three.  With the Phillies entering a rebuilding phase, Simmons was released by the club on May 17, 1960.  He'd return briefly to the franchise in 1970 as a member of the Phillies' minor league instructional staff.

With the Phillies, he was 115-110 with a 3.66 ERA in 325 games.  Simmons was inducted onto the Phillies Wall of Fame in 1993, and he was by far the best left-handed pitcher in franchise history until Steve Carlton (#477), Chris Short and Cole Hamels all came along.  Simmons still ranks in the top ten among all Phillies pitchers in games started (263), shutouts (18), wins (115), innings pitched (1,939 2/3), and strikeouts (1,052).

1949 Bowman #14

1952 Topps #203

1957 Topps #158

1963 Topps #22

1967 Topps #39

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1949 Bowman #14
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (13):  1952, 1956-1967
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2016 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-CS

92 - Simmons non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/29/21.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Phillies Room
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Game 69 - 1952 Berk Ross Del Ennis

Giants 11, Phillies 2
Game 69 - Sunday Afternoon, June 20th in San Francisco
Record - 34-35, 2nd Place, 4 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  Zach Eflin couldn't contain the Giants offense and the Phillies managed four hits in this Father's Day 11-2 loss.

What It Means:  The Phillies have their fifth off-day of the month on Monday before opening a quick two-game series with the Nationals on Tuesday night.  That's followed by their sixth off-day of the month on Thursday.

What Happened:  Eflin labored through five innings, giving up seven runs (six earned) on nine hits - including a staggering four home runs.  J.T. Realmuto hit a two-run home run in the third accounting for the only scoring by the Phillies.

Featured Card:  I had a wonderful day with my family for this Father's Day, and of course I thought of my Dad who left us way too soon almost ten years ago.  Here's a card of one of his favorite players, Del Ennis, in his honor.  It's getting harder for me to find cards to post of either Ennis or his other favorite player, Dick Sisler, on this blog that haven't been featured before given the number of times over the years I've used either one of Ennis' or Sisler's cards any time I've wanted to honor or remember my Dad.  Chances are I'll run out of unfeatured cards at some point, and I'll just start re-posting cards I've already shared as there's no chance I'll ever stop wanting to celebrate my Dad.

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

Game 21 - 2021 Topps 1952 Topps Redux #T52-21 Bryce Harper

Rockies 12, Phillies 2
Game 21 - Sunday Afternoon, April 25th in Denver
Record - 10-11, 2nd Place, 1 game behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies escaped Denver after being demolished in this 12-2 loss.

What It Means:  Somehow, despite mediocre play, a complete lack of production from any outfielder not named Bryce Harper, only three good starting pitchers and a bullpen that has looked incredibly 2020-ish at times, the Phillies are in second place and only one game in back of the Mets.  They'll open a four-game series in St. Louis tonight against the Cardinals, who are riding a three-game winning streak.

What Happened:  The first three innings were great for the Phillies, with Harper hitting two home runs and Chase Anderson shutting down the Rockies.  The fourth inning was a nightmare.  Anderson allowed four singles and a pair of walks to allow the Rockies to take a 3-2 lead.  David Hale entered the game with the bases loaded and promptly surrendered a grand slam to Trevor Story.  Spencer Howard and Bailey Falter were then sacrificed for the final two innings with the duo allowing five more runs on eight hits.  Falter was making his major league debut and he K'd Ryan McMahon in the eighth for his first career strikeout.

Nick Maton continues to swing a hot bat, and his two hits in this game raised his season average to an even .500 (11 for 22).

Featured Card:  Harper is on fire, and he's almost single-handedly carrying the offense at this point.  His two homers tied him for the team lead (with six) with Rhys Hoskins.  Topps once again went back to the 1952 well for an insert set called 1952 Topps Redux included within packs of 2021 Topps.

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

Ending 2020 on a High Note (#SBWTMABCTJ)

I've always prided myself in trying to live in the moment and to not spend too much time looking forward to what comes next.  With that being said, I'm more than ready to turn the page on 2020 and I'm hopeful for a safe, healthy and less anxiety-filled 2021.  I'm extremely grateful my family made it through this year with our health and clinging to a few annual traditions that mean a lot to us.  Selfishly, one of those annual traditions I look forward to is the opening of presents at my Mom's house the day after Christmas.  The gathering was in doubt this year, but with everyone masked up, spread out as much as we could and with hand sanitizers readily available, we did it.  Dr. Fauci would have been proud.  The gathering was shorter than usual, with less hugs and less eating, but it still meant a lot.  We gathered for a quick family selfie at the end of the evening, which was really the only time we all briefly came together.

The last present I opened yesterday contained eight individually wrapped gifts in the exact shape and size of baseball cards.  If you've read this blog each December for the past 10 years, you're now familiar with the annual event of Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim.  Thanks largely to my Mom, it's actually getting harder to populate my Most Wanted - Vintage list on this blog's sidebar, and I may need to change up my tactics for 2021's installment.  From this year's haul, the 10th Annual SBWTMABCTJ:

1949 Bowman #228 Jackie Mayo - The addition of this Mayo card, since jail-breaked from its slab, means I'm only one card away from a 1949 Bowman Phillies team set.  The Richie Ashburn rookie card is going to need to wait a little bit longer.

1952 Topps #13 Johnny Wyrostek - Wyrostek is on the Reds here, but he played with the Phillies in 1952 which means he fits into my definition of belonging in my 1950s Phillies binder.  The only remaining 1952 Topps Phillies cards I need now are from the pricey high-number series.

1953 Bowman Black & White #47 Jack Lohrke - Compared to their Color counterparts, the 1953 Bowman Black & White set often gets overlooked.  For a complete run of Bowman Phillies cards, I'm down to needing three cards - the '49 Ashburn rookie, along with Wyrostek and Andy Hansen from this 1953 Bowman set.

1956 Topps #114 Jim Owens and #274 Frank Baumholtz - I already own these cards in our 1956 Topps set, and I'm selfishly adding second copies of each for my 1950s Phillies binder.

1966 Topps #543 Roger Craig - This card gets me one card away from a complete run of Phillies cards from the 1960s Topps sets.  I'm down to needing just the Gary Sutherland card (shared with the Mets' Don Shaw) from the tough 1967 Topps high-number series.  The only cards standing in the way of my having a complete run of Topps Phillies team sets from 1951 to 2020 are four cards from the 1952 Topps high-number series, two cards from the 1956 Topps set and the Sutherland Rookie Stars card.

1971 Topps #664 Ken Reynolds and #692 Wayne Twitchell - These two cards wrap up my complete run of 1970s Topps Phillies team sets.  Again, Twitchell is with the Brewers here but since he played with the Phillies in 1971, it's worthy of a spot in my team set.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and your families!  Stay safe, mask up and go wash your hands.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! (Social Distancing Version)

Tax day has been pushed back to at least July 15th this year due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.  However, that didn't stop my best client, my Mom, from paying for her tax services in advance and in full.  As has been the tradition in recent years, she took it upon herself to wipe out my Ten Most Wanted list from my sidebar as payment for preparing her tax returns.  The payment received does not come close to matching the value of the services rendered, but she insists on overpaying and I'm certainly not complaining.

These Most Wanted lists are getting more difficult to populate as I've slowly accumulated most of the Phillies cards from the Bowman and Topps sets of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.  The cards remaining on my want lists from those sets are mostly high priced cards I'll eventually track down one at a time.  Here's a look at the cards from my Mom and an update on where I stand with completing some landmark Phillies team sets.

1952 Topps #187 Bob Miller and #281 Tommy Brown - This might be it for a little while in terms of progress on my 1952 Topps Phillies team set.  The remaining cards I need are all from the high number series, meaning they're all somewhat pricey.  As of this writing, I need four more cards for a complete 1952 Topps Phillies team set.

1953 Topps #22 Howie Fox - This card completes the 9-card 1953 Topps Phillies team set for me.  I still have Johnny Lindell (#230) on my want list, as Lindell appears in the set with the Pirates but he played in 1953 with the Phillies.


1956 Topps #7 Ron Negray and #60 Mayo Smith - I always feel a little selfish adding second versions of these cards to my collection.  My Dad and I collected the entire 1956 Topps set together, and now I'm adding second copies of the Phillies cards from the set to my 1950s Phillies binder.  I'm four cards away from completing a Phillies team set (for the second time).  I'm pretty sure these Negray and Smith cards are in better shape than the cards in our actual 1956 Topps set.

1957 Topps #332 Bob Bowman - This completes my 27-card Phillies team set from the 1957 Topps set.  I've never been a big fan of the 1957 Topps set, but these cards look incredible together.

1966 Topps #595 Larry Jackson - With the addition of this card, I'm one card away from completing this Phillies team set as well.  I'm down to needing only the Roger Craig card (#543) which is one of the pricier Phillies cards from the 1966 Topps set.  (I tracked down the elusive Grant Jackson Rookie Stars card a few years ago.)

1967 Topps #244 N.L. Home Run Leaders - This might be my favorite card out of this lot.  Featuring two Hall of Famers with Hank Aaron and Willie Mays, and someone who should be in the Hall of Fame - Dick Allen.  I still need to track down the high-number Rookie Stars card of Gary Sutherland to complete my 1967 Topps Phillies team set.

1970 Topps #539 Doyle/Bowa and #654 Oscar Gamble - These two cards close out my 1970 Topps Phillies team set.  Larry Bowa looks so young here.


Finally, I've scheduled this post to publish on my Mom's birthday.  I'm eternally grateful for her health, her humor, her good spirits and her constant encouragement.  I can't wait to celebrate properly when everything gets back to normal.  Happy birthday Mom!

A Look at What Santa Brought . . . with Help from My Mom (#SBWTMABCTJ)

This is a post I look forward to writing all year.  We're on the other side of another Christmas, and our family continued our tradition of turning Christmas into a 3-day event.  We celebrate in our house on Christmas day, at my Mom's house the day after Christmas and with my wife's family a few days after that.  It's a fun three days that leave me happy, slightly tired and stuffed with food.

At my Mom's house, I anxiously unwrapped a present to find a box of Fralinger's Salt Water Taffy.  There wasn't any salt water taffy inside the box, but instead I found the first card needed from my (now outdated) Ten Most Wanted list and a clue to the location of more cards.  With the help of my sons and my nieces, the clue was solved and my boyhood teddy bear was found holding a package with the rest of the cards shown in the photo above.  Once again, my Mom had made a Ten Most Wanted list obsolete!  It was another successful installment of Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim, and the hauls from past Christmases are linked below.

Here's a list of the treasures added in the 2019 Edition of #SBWTMABCTJ:

1949 Bowman #216 Schoolboy Rowe
1952 Topps #185 Bill Nicholson
1953 Topps #10 Smoky Burgess
1956 Topps #296 Andy Seminick
1957 Topps #314 Ed Bouchee
1965 Topps #474 Cookie Rojas
1966 Topps #585 Tony Taylor
1967 Topps #242 RBI Leaders
1970 Topps #645 Don Money
1972 Topps #690 Willie Montanez

These ten most wanted lists are going to be tougher to put together as I'm getting closer and closer to a complete run of Bowman and Topps cards throughout the 1950s and 1960s.  The 1965 Topps Cookie Rojas card completed my Phillies team set from that year, and I now have the pleasure of tracking down those Phillies cards all over again for our 1965 Topps set.

An unexpected surprise was the addition of the 1966 Phillies Yearbook and a Sports Illustrated from 1958 with outfielding and base running tips from Richie Ashburn.  My Mom once again did an amazing job and she already knows how much she means to me.

2011 Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim

Part 1 - Continuing a Tradition

Part 2 - 1971 Topps Set - 13 More Down

Part 3 - 1952 Topps Phillies

Part 4 - 1951 Bowman Phillies

Part 5 - Curt Simmons - Two New Bowman Cards

Part 6 - 1955 Bowman and Topps Phillies

2012 Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim
Part 1 - 1941 Double Play Litwhiler & May
Part 2 - 1963 Topps John Herrnstein rookie card (featuring Willie Stargell)
Part 3 - 1940 Play Ball Phillies - Part 1
Part 4 - 1940 Play Ball Phillies - Part 2
Part 5 - 1950 Bowman Del Ennis

2013 Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim
Part 1 - 1998 Upper Deck Scott Rolen
Part 2 - 1968 Topps Phillies Team Card
Part 3 - 1966 Topps Bob Uecker
Part 4 - 1955 Bowman Robin Roberts
Part 5 - 1965 Topps Johnny Callison
Part 6 - 1954 Bowman Richie Ashburn

2014 Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim
Part 1 - 1952 Bowman and 1953 Bowman Color Richie Ashburn
Part 2 - 1950 Bowman Roberts, 1951 Topps Blue Backs Jones, 1955 Bowman Wyrostek
Part 3 - 1995 Collector's Choice Hayes and 1999 Fleer Mystique Burrell

2015 Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim
Seven Phillies Cards from the 1950s Crossed Off the List

2016 Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim
Part 1 - 10 vintage Phillies cards added to the collection
Part 2 - 2 modern oddball Phillies cards find a new home

2017 Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim
Vintage cards crossed off the list, 1959 Topps Phillies team set completed!

2018 Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim
8th annual haul completes 1953 Bowman Color Phillies team set

2019 Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim
1965 Topps team set completed, getting closer to most 1950s team sets

1965 Topps #15 Robin Roberts

I'm trying to get the word out that I've started a new blog and here's a crossover post from it, chronicling each card we add to our new 1965 Topps set.  We started collecting the set this month and I'll be taking a deep dive look at each card we add.  Please click on over there for all of the posts to date, including a look at the Phillies Alumni featured so far.


Robin Evan Roberts
Baltimore Orioles
Pitcher

Bats:  Both  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  190
Born:  September 30, 1926, Springfield, IL
Signed:  Signed by the Philadelphia Phillies as an amateur free agent before 1948 season
Major League Teams:  Philadelphia Phillies 1948-1961; Baltimore Orioles 1962-1965; Houston Astros 1965-1966; Chicago Cubs 1966
Hall of Fame Induction:  1976
Died:  May 6, 2010, Temple Terrace, FL (age 83)

Hall of Famer Robin Roberts was one of the most dominant right-handed pitchers of the 1950s, leading the National League in wins for four straight seasons between 1952 and 1955 and earning seven straight All-Star Game appearances.  A work horse for the Phillies, his 20-win season in 1950 led the Phillies to the World Series and made him the first pitcher to win at least 20 games for the club since Grover Cleveland Alexander did it in 1917.  Straddling the 1952 and 1953 seasons, he pitched 28 complete games in a row with his appearance on September 6, 1952 lasting 17 innings.  He led the league in strikeouts in 1953 and 1954, and was named The Sporting News pitcher of the year in both 1952 and 1955.

After departing the Phillies, Roberts bounced from the Yankees, Orioles, Astros and Cubs, pitching a total of 19 seasons and retiring at the age of 39.  He finished with a career record of 286-245 with a 3.41 ERA and exactly half of his 609 starts resulted in complete games (305).  His 609 games started currently rank 20th on the all-time list.  He was the first Phillies player to have his number retired in 1962 and the first player inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame in 1978.

Building the Set
December 7, 2019 from King of Prussia, PA - Card #8
Doug and I attended the Philadelphia Sportscard & Memorabilia Show held inside the Valley Forge Casino.  After meeting Benito Santiago, Brad Lidge and Ryan Howard and having secured the first five cards for our 1965 Topps set, I continued scanning tables for the final two cards I needed to complete my 1971 Topps set.

I found a dealer with organized binders of vintage Topps cards, and I dug in.  Quickly finding the last two cards I needed from 1971 - #662 Mike Hedlund and #715 Horace Clarke,  both in great shape - I started browsing through binders from other years, in search of cards for my 1960s Phillies team sets.  I added five cards (all high numbers) for those sets and then decided to look through the 1965 Topps binder, figuring Doug wouldn't mind if I added a few more cards to our set.  I found four more sharp cards for our set, featuring players who all had some meaning for me personally.  This Roberts card was the first of those four cards along with Jim Fregosi (#210), Juan Pizarro (#125) and Harvey Haddix (#67).  For all 11 cards, the dealer gave me a price of $62, which I felt was fair given I had calculated a price of $75 in my head for the lot.  I snapped a quick picture of his table before moving along.

The Card

2006 Toyota Phillies Wall of Fame Postcards

This is Roberts' third and final Topps card showing him with the Orioles, as he previously appeared with the team in the 1963 and 1964 Topps sets.  It's still odd seeing Roberts in anything other than red pinstripes.  It's also odd that Roberts wore #38 with the Orioles instead of his familiar #36.  Darrell Johnson wore #36 for the Orioles in 1962, Roberts first year with the club, and he only appeared in six games.  No one wore #36 for the Orioles during Roberts' remaining time with the club.

With the palm tree visible over Roberts' right shoulder, it would appear this photo was taken during spring training.

1965 Season
At the start of the 1965 season, Roberts was relegated to the Orioles bullpen as the team already had set its starting pitching rotation with Steve Barber (#113), Dave McNally (#249), Wally Bunker (#290) and Milt Pappas (#270).  With Pappas missing a few games in May, Roberts got his shot and pitched four straight complete games.  But he struggled after that, going 1-7 over his final eight starts with the club and the Orioles released him on July 31st.

The Astros picked him up a week later, and he immediately rewarded them with two shutouts in first two starts.  His first Astros start came against the Phillies, and he allowed just four hits while striking out six.  In total, Roberts started 25 games for both teams, going a combined 10-9 with a 2.78 ERA.

Phillies Career
Roberts signed with the Phillies as an amateur free agent before the 1948 season and he was sold to the Yankees on October 16, 1961.  In the decade-plus in between, he established himself as the best right-handed pitcher in franchise history.  He still ranks first in franchise history in games (529), complete games (272), and innings pitched (3,739 1/3), and is second only to Steve Carlton in games started (472), wins (234) and strikeouts (1,871).

Following his big league career, and after a partial season with the Reading Phillies in 1967 attempting a comeback, Roberts' later crossed paths with the Phillies when he served as a color commentary on Phillies broadcasts for games between 1974 and 1976.  Along with his induction into the Phillies Wall of Fame in 1978, he was also named to their Centennial Team in 1983.  His statute sits outside the first base gate of Citizens Bank Park, and when he passed away in 2010 the Phillies wore a black #36 patch on their uniforms and hung a Roberts jersey in their dugout during each game.

1949 Bowman #46

1952 Topps #59

1956 Topps #180

1959 Topps #352

1966 Topps #530

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1949 Bowman #46
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (12):  1952, 1956-1966
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2019 Topps Archives #212

483 - Roberts non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/14/19.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
National Baseball Hall of Fame
The Phillies Room
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Doug in the Hall of Fame Club at Citizens Bank Park in 2015
Photo shows the four greatest Phillies players together in Cooperstown

In some cases, the first and last cards listed above are subjective and chosen by me if multiple cards were released within the same year.  Most recent mainstream card may also be subjective and does not include extremely low serial numbered cards, buybacks or cut autograph cards.

Phillies Missing Links of the 2000s - #29 Les Walrond

#44
Leslie Dale Walrond
Relief Pitcher

Les Walrond had already been playing professional baseball for 10 seasons, including very brief parts of two seasons with the Royals and Cubs, when the Phillies purchased his contract from the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs on August 2nd.  Reliever Rudy Seanez had landed on the disabled list and the Phillies went with the lefty Walrond to fill his spot.  He got knocked around a little in four appearances and was sent back down when Seanez returned.  Walrond was then one a slew of September call-ups for the club but he'd appear in just two more games that season.

Walrond was a 13th round draft pick of the Cardinals and his 15 year odyssey saw him spend time with the Cardinals, Royals, Marlins and Cubs before his six games with the Phillies.  He pitched for two seasons in Japan and Korea in 2009 and 2010 before coming back to the Phillies organization and appearing in 33 games for the Reading Phillies and IronPigs in 2011.

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'3"  Weight:  205
Born:  November 7, 1976, Muskogee, OK
Drafted:  Drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 13th round of the 1998 amateur draft, June 2, 1998.
Major League Teams:  Royals 2003; Cubs 2006; Phillies 2008
Professional Affiliations:  St. Louis Cardinals 1998-2003; Kansas City Royals 2003-2004; Florida Marlins 2005; Chicago Cubs 2006-2008; Phillies 2008; Yokohama Bay Stars (Japan) 2009; Doosan Bears (Korea) 2010; Phillies 2011; Lancaster Barnstormers (Independent) 2011-2012; Toronto Blue Jays 2012

Phillies Career

6 games, 10 1/3 innings, 1-1, 6.10 ERA, 13 hits, 9 walks, 12 strikeouts
Acquired:  May 3, 2008 - Signed as a minor league free agent formerly with the Chicago Cubs organization.
Debut:  August 5, 2008 - Relieved Clay Condrey in the 7th inning of a game against the Marlins.  Faced 5 batters, recording a strikeout and then allowing a walk, a wild pitch, another walk and a single to Alfredo Amezaga before he was pulled in favor of Ryan Madson.
Final Game:  September 28, 2008 - Was the winning pitcher the day after the Phillies had clinched the division, relieving Kyle Kendrick in the 5th and pitching 2 scoreless innings.
Departed:  November 4, 2008 - Selected off waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays.

2 Walrond Baseball Card in My Collection
2008 Multi-Ad Lehigh Valley IronPigs #24
2011 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs #27

Complete Chachi Checklist
2008 Chachi #44
2009 Chachi Transactions #3

2001 Donruss Class of 2001 #127

2006 Topps 52 #28

2008 Multi-Ad Lehigh Valley IronPigs #24

2008 Chachi #44

2011 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs #27

Other Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  2001 Donruss Class of 2001 #127
First Topps Base Card:  N/A
Last Mainstream Card:  2006 Topps 52 #28
Other Notable Cards:  2002 Ultra #272, 2002 Upper Deck 40-Man #599, 2006 Upper Deck #1042

Sources:  Baseball Reference and The Trading Card Database

Phillies Missing Links of the 2000s
1 Kirk Bullinger
2 Chris Pritchett
3 Bryan Ward
4 Mark Holzemer
5 Turner Ward
6 P.J. Forbes
7 Matt Walbeck
8 Kelly Stinnett
9 Valerio de los Santos
10 Josh Hancock
11 Brian Powell
12 Paul Abbott
13 Todd Jones
14 A.J. Hinch
15 Ramon Martinez
16 Matt Kata
17 Aquilino Lopez
18 Adam Bernero
19 Jose Hernandez
20 Randall Simon
21 Anderson Garcia
22 Russell Branyan
23 John Ennis
24 Kane Davis
25 Pete LaForest
26 T.J. Bohn
27 R.J. Swindle
28 Mike Cervenak
29 Les Walrond

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.

Phillies Missing Links of the 2000s - #26 T.J. Bohn

#12
Thomas Joseph Bohn
Outfield

In the years since the Phillies won the 2008 World Series, I've honestly occasionally wondered, "Did T.J. Bohn receive a World Series ring?"

Bohn was claimed off waivers from the Braves on September 24, 2007 and came to spring training in 2008 as a member of the team's 40-man roster.  Chris Snelling was the first outfielder to join the club when Shane Victorino landed on the disabled list on April 12th, but when Snelling himself got hurt a week later Bohn got the call.  Bohn was sent down once Victorino was healthy, but got another shot when Jayson Werth landed on the disabled list on May 24th.  When Snelling was activated on June 2nd, Bohn was sent back to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, never to return.

Manager Charlie Manuel used Bohn very sparingly in the limited time he was on the roster, only entering 14 games as pinch-hitter, pinch-runner or late inning defensive replacement.  He never entered a game before the 6th inning, tallying 5 total at-bats and collecting 2 hits.

Bohn was let go following the 2008 season and was out of baseball for all of 2009.  He played the 2010 and 2011 seasons with the Sioux City Explorers of the independent American Association before calling it a career.  But did he receive a World Series ring?

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'5"  Weight:  200
Born:  January 17, 1980, St. Louis Park, MN
Drafted:  Drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 30th round of the 2002 amateur draft, June 4, 2002
Major League Teams:  Seattle Mariners 2006; Phillies 2008
Professional Affiliations:  Seattle Mariners 2002-2006; Atlanta Braves 2007; Phillies 2008; Sioux City Explorers (Independent) 2010-2011

Phillies Career
14 games, 2 for 5 with 3 RBIs, 1 strikeout, pinch-ran for Pat Burrell 5 times
Acquired:  September 24, 2007 - Selected off waivers from the Atlanta Braves.
Debut:  April 20, 2008 - Pinch hit for Chad Durbin, striking out against the Mets' Jorge Sosa.
Final Game:  June 1, 2008 - Pinch ran for Pat Burrell in the 7th inning, playing the remainder of the game in left field.
Departed:  November 3, 2008 - Granted free agency.

1 Bohn Baseball Card in My Collection
2008 Multi-Ad Lehigh Valley IronPigs #4

Complete Chachi Checklist
2008 Chachi #33

2003 Bowman #180

2006 Topps 52 #48

2006 Upper Deck #1177

2008 Multi-Ad Lehigh Valley IronPigs #4

2008 Chachi #33

Other Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  2003 Bowman #180
First Topps Base Card:  N/A
Last Mainstream Card:  2006 Upper Deck #1177
Other Notable Cards:  2003 Topps Total #917, 2006 Topps 52 #48, 2010 Sioux City Exployers Team Issue #4

Sources:  Baseball Reference and The Trading Card Database

Phillies Missing Links of the 2000s
1 Kirk Bullinger
2 Chris Pritchett
3 Bryan Ward
4 Mark Holzemer
5 Turner Ward
6 P.J. Forbes
7 Matt Walbeck
8 Kelly Stinnett
9 Valerio de los Santos
10 Josh Hancock
11 Brian Powell
12 Paul Abbott
13 Todd Jones
14 A.J. Hinch
15 Ramon Martinez
16 Matt Kata
17 Aquilino Lopez
18 Adam Bernero
19 Jose Hernandez
20 Randall Simon
21 Anderson Garcia
22 Russell Branyan
23 John Ennis
24 Kane Davis
25 Pete LaForest
26 T.J. Bohn

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.