Random Phillies cards of the Week

Pre-1980s: 1972 Topps 167 Deron JohnsonDeron Johnson played for 16 years. He was with the Phillies from 1970-1973. He was purchased from the Braves in late 1968 and then traded to the A's in May 1973 for a minor league player. He hit 78 home runs for the Phillies from 1969 through 1971, but his playing time was limited in 1972, perhaps by injury. He mainly played 1st and 3rd base and I suspect he was traded to make room for Mike Schmidt.

1980s: 1986 Donruss #477 Darren Daulton
Darren wouldn't become the Phillies every day catcher until 1989. He made is debut with the Phillies in 1983. In '86, John Russell caught most of the games with Daulton and Ronn Reynolds sharing backup.

1990's: 1993 Stadium Club #4 Bob AyraultBob only had a 2-year career, mostly with the Phillies. He was a middle reliever for the Phillies, appearing in 40 games between 1992 and 1993, with a 4-2 record. He missed out on the 1993 World Series because he was traded to the Mariners during the season.

2000s: 2007 Bowman Heritage #162 Tadahito Iguchi
Tadahito played 2nd base for the Phillies in 2007, hitting .304 in 45 games. He went 0 for 1 in the NLDS.

Fleer Retail Box Sets from 1988

In the mid to late 1980s, Topps, Fleer and Donruss sold smaller boxed sets through a variety of chain department, toy and drug stores. These Fleer sets from 1988 were typical. These all were 44-card sets, featuring many of the same players. Each set had a different theme. The backs of all the cards were very much the same, patterned on the main 1988 Fleer release which was similar for most Fleer cards of the period.

I'm pretty sure I never saw any of these sets for sale anywhere or I'd have bought them. Many of them were available in stores which did not have outlets in the Philadelphia area, where I lived at the time. I've managed to acquire a few cards from each of these through the years. This is probably not all the boxed sets Fleer produced in 1988 but it's all I've got.

1988 Fleer Baseball All Stars #39 Ozzie SmithThis set was available in Ben Franklin Stores. According to Wikipedia, this chain is still around although I've never seen one. I bought 13 cards from the set on eBay in 2003. It this design looks familiar it may be because Fleer recycled the design for the 2003 Fleer Platinum set.

1988 Fleer League Leaders #16 Tony GwynnThis set was available at Walgreen Drug Stores, a chain not located in the Philadelphia area in the 1980s. Although not a Phillie or Astros card, I got this in the big 2010 Summer Clearance Trade last summer. The same person also sent me the Benito Santiago card from the set.

1988 Fleer Record Setters #2 George BellThis set was available at Eckerd's Drug stores, another chain not in the Philadelphia area in the late 1980s. I got this one in a batch of assorted George Bell cards on eBay. The only other one is the Mike Schmidt, which I bought at a card show last year.

1988 Fleer Sluggers/ Pitchers #36 Mike SchmidtMy big Beckett catalog says these were sold in department stores like McCrory and McLellan. I don't remember seeing these stores in the Philadelphia area. Half of the cards were "Sluggers", the other half were "Pitchers". I have two of these. This one I got in trade during my 2010 Summer Clearance trade last summer. The other, George Bell, I got in a batch of assorted George Bell cards on eBay.

1988 Fleer Superstars #9 Roger ClemensAlso available in McCrory and McLellan. I got this card in a lot of assorted Clemens cards in an eBay auction. I have 4 of these in total. The others I think I found in repacks.

1988 Fleer Exciting Stars #18 Von HayesThis was acquired in a trade with a fellow blogger. It's the only card from the set I have. This set was available from Cumberland Farms, a convenience store in the mid-Atlantic area. These stores I remember.

1988 Kay-Bee Team Leaders #33 Juan SamuelTopps was producing little boxed sets for Toys 'R Us. I also have the Mike Schmidt card from this set. This card came from friend of the blog, Max. I had little kids in 1988 but Kay Bee didn't have a big presence in Philadelphia then. I did most of our shopping in Toys 'R Us.

1988 Fleer Hottest Stars #32 Shane RawleyShane Rawley was 8-16 with the Phillies in 1988, not really what you'd call hot. This set was available from Revco Stores. Revco was a drug store operating in the Eastern half of the US although I don't remember there being any in the Philadelphia area. I got this card, the only one from this set I own, from Dave, the Cardboard Junkie.

Movie of the Week - Source Code

In Source Code, Jake Gyllenhaal plays Captain Colter Stevens. He's on a commuter train heading into Chicago. He doesn't know why he's there or who the woman sitting across from him is, even though she seems to know him. She's babbling on about quitting her job, dumping her old boyfriend, and going back to school. Captain Stevens is very confused. Are you alright she asks. Then the train explodes.Stevens wasn't really on the train. He appears to be in the cockpit of a crashed helicopter. A woman army officer is talking to him on a screen on the wall. He's on a mission to find out who blew up the train. It's important they find this person because he has threatened to denote a nuclear device in Chicago later in the day. Through some wizardly science, explained quickly with a few technobabble phrases, Stevens is being sent into the mind of one of the train passengers to relive the last 8 minutes of the guy's life before the explosion.

First, I'll say that the characters in this movie are terrific. Gyllenhaal does a great job as Stevens goes from complete confusion about what is happening to him, to an acceptance of the situation he's in, to actively and cleverly trying to find the bomber. Vera Farmiga as Collen Goodwin, his contact on the mission is also quite good as she goes from all efficient we've got little time we have to get this done, to understanding what Stevens is experiencing and trying to help him as much as possible. And Michelle Monagham as Christina Warren the woman on the train is pretty good too. She has to essentially play the same scene over and over, with minor changes each time. The movie resembles the Bill Murray classic Groundhog Day but with the deadly seriousness of a nuclear bomb. Given all that, we liked the movie and I highly recommend it.

The movie does have some problems, however. I have no problem accepting the premise, that somehow, they can send Steven's conscience into this dead guy's brain and that Stevens, once there can interact with the people on the train in ways that didn't actually happen. But how can he find out stuff that wasn't known, and couldn't possibly be known to the dead guy? For example, he finds the bomb in the vent above the men's room.

Even worse is the replay where he actually gets the girl off the train. He's following a suspicious looking character who gets off at a station and convinces Christina to come with him. The train leaves without them and they hear the explosion a few minutes later. Then Stevens gets hit by another train and finds himself back at base. He's convinced that he saved her life, but they tell him, no that's impossible. They even look up a list of victims on the computer and confirm that she is dead. I don't what to tell you the ending but this scene seems to totally contradict the ending.

But I recommend you see the movie anyway. As a story about human beings it's pretty good.

2 catchers, 2 home runs

In Saturday's Phillies 10-2 win over the Braves, Brian Schneider hit a 2-run home run in the 4th.In the 7th inning, Carlos Ruiz came up and hit a grand slam home run.
According to baseball-reference.com, this was only the 36th time since 1919 that 2 catchers for the same team hit a home run in the same game. Crazy.

Song of the Week - Don't Call Them Twinkies by The Baseball Project

I just downloaded this from Minnesota Public Radio. I don't get the title, but the song is about the Twins. It's not often I get to combine the Song of the Week with baseball. I even have lyrics.



In 1965 I wasn’t quite alive yet, but I'm told they gave the MVP to Zoilo Versalles. Oliva hit the singles and Harmon hit the homers. Mudcat Grant won 20 games and they didn't play in a dome yet. The Dodgers came to Bloomington to play for the World Series. The Twins took the first two -- you can even ask Vin Scully. But Sandy Koufax proved to be a bit too much to crack, and the Twins went down in seven but they vowed that they’d be back.

From Nicollet to Hennepin, from St. Paul to St. Cloud, the Minnesota Twins are making Minnesotans proud. We don't buy our titles so the summers where we stay. These are grown men. These are heroes. Please don't call them Twinkies.

In the fall of 87 I was pretty much in heaven. I got my license and a girlfriend and the Twins had won the pennant. I prayed more in the Dome than I ever did at church. Kirby Puckett had the smile; Kent Hrbek had the smirk. First we tamed the Tigers, then we were dealt the Cards, and they came to the Twin Cities to try to make sense of our park. It was loud, and it was close, and it went to seven games. But the Twins took home the title and that sweet music played.

From Edina to Duluth, from the south side to downtown, the Minnesota Twins are making Minnesotans proud. So hey, let’s make some noise. C'mon, wave those Homer Hankies. These are grown men. These are heroes. Please don't call them Twinkies.


In 1991 the Twins were once again on top. We faced Atlanta in the Series. They thought that they were hot. I’ve never seen nothing so lame as that Fondahawk chop. But we were up against the ropes when Kirby called his shot. And as he ran around the bases, smiling and pumping fists, we all knew that he had won it, though it was only just game six. And the next night Jack Morris came and made his hometown proud. You should watch it in slow motion: Ron Gant was clearly out.

From Mankato up to Brainerd, from Burnsville to Bemidji. Now we're playing outdoor baseball and that’s the way it should be. Raise a toast to Kirby Puckett, raise another to Tom Kelly. These are Minnesota Twins. So please don't call them Twinkies. We've got Justin, we've got Joe. That’s enough reason to party.
We don't buy our titles and we've still won two World Series. Grab yourself a 3.2 beer and raise a toast to Gardy. These are the Minnesota Twins. So please don't call them Twinkies.

Trade with gcrl

Here are some of the cards I got in trade from Jim over at gcrl. The link will take you to his post of what I sent him. He's pretty much wiped out my excess Dodgers. Let's start out with the shiny stuff.

2010 Topps Chrome X-Fractor #121 Roy OswaltI had a handful of these 2010 X-Fractor cards but no Astros. Of course, Roy O is an Astro killer now.

2010 Topps Chrome X-Fractor #149 Carlos LeeCarlos had a pretty disappointing 2010. In Saturday's 9-4 loss to the Phillies, he knocked in all the Astro's runs with a homer, triple and single.

2010 Topps Chrome Orange Refractor #91 Wandy RodriguezI didn't have a single one of these orange refractor cards. Into the reference collection. In that same 9-4 lose to the Phillies, Wandy got roughed up, giving up 7 earned runs in 4 innings.

1995 Topps #454 Tony EusebioI already had most of the mid-1990 Astros cards Jim sent. But not this one. Looks to have been taken in spring training. Note the line of autograph seekers over Tony's right shoulder.

2010 Topps Tales of the Game #7 Mike SchmidtMike Schmidt isn't pictured on this card but this "Tale" is about Mike. On June 10, 1974, he walloped a massive hit which would have been well out of any park, but not the Astrodome. It hit a speaker 300 feet from home plate and 117 feet in the air. It was ruled a single.

2011 Topps Heritage #146 Placido PolancoI did pretty well pulling Phillies from 2011 Topps Heritage, but here's one I missed.

2009 Fan Pak #20 Jayson WerthI'm pretty sure I bought a pack of these cards in 2009 but I don't remember opening them or what happened to them.

1978 Hostess #8/9 Greg Luzinski and Enos CabellI've heard of these but had never seen one. Living in Philadelphia, we didn't buy Hostess products. It was Tastykakes for us. These panels were part of the packaging for Hostess products. There are supposed to be three players to a panel. Missing from this one is Tommy John. But that's OK, it's got Greg Luzinski on it.

2004 Topps Cracker Jack #40 Rafael FurcalMy first thought was "Why did he send me a Rafael Furcal card"? Then I realized it was a 2004 Topps Cracker Jack, plus 3 others I didn't have. Hey, I'm collecting that set! Jim started his post with the Topps Heritage Furcal Dodger I sent him so I'll end this post with Furcal.

Random Phillies cards of the Week

1956 Topps #220 Del EnnisDel Ennis was born in Philadelphia in 1925 and was a graduate of Olney High School. He played for the Phillies from 1946 to 1956 and was very popular with the fans. He hit 259 home runs for the Phillies with a .286 batting average. He was one of the original Whiz Kids and a 3-time All-Star. After baseball he came back to the Philadelphia area and opened a bowling alley in Huntingdon Valley. I went there once and I think it is the biggest bowling alley I ever saw. He passed away in 1996.

1987 Topps Tiffany #755 Luis AguayoPrior to about 1992, baseball cards were generally just plain pieces of cardboard. The weren't glossy, had no foil, no holograms, nothing fancy at all. In the mid to late 1980's Topps produced a version of their regular cards which they called Tiffany. These cards had a heavy glossy finish and are quite nice. You could only get them as a set. I managed to acquire all the Phillies 1987 Topps Tiffany cards a few years ago.

1994 SP #137 Danny JacksonI featured a 1994 Danny Jackson card a few weeks ago. There's not much more to say about him so I'll talk about the card. Like I said above, from 1992 on, the card companies were trying to out-do each other with special printing techniques. This set, produced by Upper Deck, featured a type of foil printing called Dufex. This is my least favorite card type. The cards pick up fingerprints easily and are difficult to scan.

2009 Upper Deck #811 Scott EyreYou may not remember Scott on the 2009 Phillies. He appeared in 42 games in short relief. He actually pitched 2 scoreless and hit less innings in the World Series. He became a free agent after the 2009 series and no one has signed him. Although he was a starter when he first came up in 1997, he spent most of his career in short relief. In 2005 he led the league in appearances with 86 but only pitched 68.1 innings.