2017 Hall of Fame Canidate: Pat Burrell

Today we take a look at the most prominent Phillies player on the 2017 Hall of Fame Ballot, Pat Burrell.

2009 UD A Piece of History Box Score Memories #BSM-PB Pat Burrell

For close to a decade Pat Burrell was fixture in the Middle of the Phillies batting order. The 2009 UD card featured here honors one of those games. On October 5th 2008 the Phillies defeated the Brewers 6-2 in game 4 of the NLDS. The W clinched the franchise first Postseason series victory in 15 years.

WAR Stories (actually WPA stories)
Pat Burrell was the offense hero of that game going 3-4 with a pair of Homers and 4 RBI. The big blow was a 2 out/2 strike three run homer in the third. The shot gave the Phillies a 4-0 which they never relinquished. Burrell led all players in Win Probability Added for the game with a healthy 0.282 number. The 3 run homer accounted for 23 of those 28 points.

Flip

2009 UD A Piece of History Box Score Memories #BSM-PB Pat Burrell (b-side)

Back of the card has a nice box score with Burrell Boldfaced in the #5 spot in the batting order. Other noteworthies in the box are Jimmy Rollins who Homered to lead off the game and Jayson Werth who hit a dinger immediately after Burrell's 3 run blast.

Upper Dreck
couple of complaints with the UD box score. I would like to see the line score of the game - Hell UD doesn't even mention who the Phillies played. There pitching portion of the box is also ignored. The often overlooked Joe Blanton went 6 innings allowing just 5 hits and a single run (Homer Prince Fielder)

I have one other complaint. That is on the front of the card - The Phillies and Brewers played this game in Milwaukee, wish that UD would have selected a photo Burrell in an away uni. It is one of those things that I am OCD about on baseball cards - especially cards that are "inserts"

Phungo Verdict

Hell Yes Hall of Fame!

Pat Burrell's tenure in Philadelphia concluded with a World Championship. He followed that up by being part of a World Series winner in San Francisco.  Phungo Verdict = HoF


Phungo Pat Burrell Index 

1999 Topps #T44
1999 Topps Stadium Club #151 Pat Burell - 1998 First overall Pick
2001 Topps #144 (rookie cup)
2001 Topps Stadium Club
2002 Topps Heritage #179
2003 Topps Heritage #11
2004 Fleer Authentix #50
2006 Topps Opening Day #117
2006 Fleer Ultra Diamond Producers #DP19 
2007 Topps Heritage #90 
2008 UD Documentary 2008 06 20
2009 Phungo #5
2011 Topps (w/ Giants)

2010 08 17 Game Report (Burrell returns to Philadelphia with Giants)
2015 Alumni Weekend
Pat Burrell's farewell letter to Philadelphia

Sources and Links
2017 HoF Candidates
Game Dated Card Index
Baseball-ref
Check out my Cards 

Philly Show returns to Valley Forge this weekend.

The Philly Show is back in Valley Forge this weekend. Busy times at HQ right now, Not sure if team Phungo will be able to make the trek.

1971 Topps #49 Don Money

I hope I get there as both of my favorite dealers are scheduled to be at the show. If anyone else is going let me know and I will keep an eye open for you.

There are always autograph guests at the Philly Show, this edition of the show is largely football based, but there is one baseball player scheduled to appear, Don Money.

1971 Topps #49 Don Money (b-side)

1971T finds Money at the peak of the five seasons he spent with Philadelphia. As can seen on his back stats he compiled 14 Homers along with a .295 average - In today's modern stats that would be a very healthy 123 OPS+ and a 3.5 WAR. 

Other Autographs
There are a number of football guests at the show including Hall of Famers Jack Lambert, Lenny Moore (age 83!), Gino Marchetti (89!), and Herb Adderley. Famous Notre Dame alum Rudy will be there as well.

The show runs December 2-4 and admission is $8. For more information on the show click here.

Sources and Links
PhillyShow
baseball-ref

2017 Hall of Fame Candidate: Vladimir Guerrero

Getting to the 2017 HoF Candidates a little late this year. There are at least a half dozen players I would like to profile including a couple of prominent players who spent time with the Phillies.

We open this series with a longtime member of the Phillies division rival Montreal Expos, Vladimir Guerrero.

1998 Topps #5 Vladimir Guerrero 

Vlad deserves HOF nod just for this card alone. One of my gripes about recent Topps is the plethora of action shots. While 1998T might not have the best design, at least there is some interesting variations in the photography.

1998 Topps #5 Vladimir Guerrero (b-side)

The text on the back discusses a play early in Vlad Guerrero's career where he scored from second on a sacrifice fly. The run gave the Expos a 2-1 lead versus the Braves and future Hall of Famer Greg Maddux. Unfortunately for Montreal Ugueth Urbina would later give up a 2 Run Homer to Keith Lockhart which would give Atlanta a 3-2 victory. 

Regardless the rare 2 base sacrifice score gave us a glimpse into the talent of the young Vlad Guerrero. The fly out came off the bat of Doug Strange who hit the ball to Right Fielder Michael Tucker.

The play was featured on a 1998 Stadium Club Card

 1998 Stadium Club #3 Vladimir Guerrero (image swiped from Play at the Plate)

A nice analysis of this card was done by the fine crew at Play at the Plate (who else).  I may need to add this card to the Phungo Collection just as a companion for the 1998 Base card.

Phungo Verditct

HOF


The scoring from 2nd on a Fly Out is the kind of hustle that makes one want to cast a Yes HoF vote.

Sources and Links
Vladimir Guerrero HOF Index
Play at the Plate
2017 HoF Candidates Index
Phungo Game Dated Index
Baseball-ref
Check Out My Cards 

2017 Hall of Fame Candidates Index

This is an index of our posts related to the 2017 Hall of Fame Candidates

 2009 UD A Piece of History Box Score Memories #BSM-PB Pat Burrell

New to the BBWAA HoF Ballot in 2017

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Aaron Rowand

Arthur Rhodes

Carlos Guillen

Danys Baez

Derrek Lee

Edgar Renteria

Freddy Sanchez

Ivan Rodriguez

J.D. Drew

Jason Varitek

Javier Vazquez

Jorge Posada

Julio Lugo

Magglio Ordonez

Manny Ramirez

Melvin Mora

Mike Cameron

Orlando Cabrera

Pat Burrell

Tim Wakefield

Vladimir Guerrero

Final BBWAA Ballot in 2017

Tim Raines

Lee Smith

Players from previous BBWAA Ballots 

-->

Barry Bonds

Billy Wagner

Curt Schilling

Edgar Martinez

Fred McGriff

Gary Sheffield

Jeff Bagwell

Jeff Kent

Larry Walker

Mike Mussina

Roger Clemens

Sammy Sosa

Trevor Hoffman

Sources and Links

Phungo HoF Index

Baseball-ref

Baseball Hall of Fame

2008 Topps Heritage News Flashbacks #NF3 Fidel Castro

I honestly did not think I had any Fidel Castro cards but came across the one when doing some weekend paging.

 2008 Topps Heritage News Flashbacks #NF3 Fidel Castro

The Card Title "Fidel Castro Becomes Prime Minister of Cuba" pretty much sums it up. The Back goes into a bit more detail and briefly alludes to Castro's baseball career. 

2008 Topps Heritage News Flashbacks #NF3 Fidel Castro (b-side)

One of the benefits of a SABR membership is access to the Paper of Record archives which includes back issues of "The Sporting News". The late 1950s articles on Cuban baseball are pretty interesting, The Havana Sugar Kings were a pretty successful team playing in a very uncertain environment.

As you can see on the card above Castro took power on February 16 1959. The issue of "The Sporting News" that hit the stands two days later included the following:

The Sporting News (1959 02 18)

The Sugar Kings President Bob Maduro appeared to truly believe that Havana would eventually get a Major league baseball team. According to future issues of the Sporting News Castro did hold up his commitment to throw out the first pitch at the Havana opener.

However any trust between Maduro and Castro quickly ended. In 1962 Maduro fled the country after the Castro Regime confiscated all of his assets.

Bobby Maduro immigrated to the United States and remained in Baseball. He held a variety of different positions with different minor league clubs and worked for Major League Baseball as a liaison with Latin American Leagues and ballplayers. 

Sources and Links
SABR Bobby Maduro Biography - Rory Costello
New York Times

Welcome to the HoF Eric Lindros!

Tonight Eric Lindros is being inducted into the Hall of Fame. This gives us another chance to post this fun card.

1990 Score Traded #100T Eric Lindros

I remember Lindros quite fondly. He is probably the number one reason I developed any interesting in Hockey. One of my favorite playoff games was a 1996 Conference Semi-Final contest versus the Panthers. The Flyers won the game 3-2, Lindros scored a goal and recorded a pair of assists. At the end of the game he basically kept the puck away from the Panthers for a good 10 seconds.  Greatest single player performance I ever saw live.

Sources and Links
Phungo Eric Lindros Index
Hockey HoF
Hockey-Ref

1991 Upper Deck Final #50F Dennis Martinez

Tonight Denny Martinez is scheduled to throw out the first pitch prior to game six of the World Series.

This gives an opportunity to present a fun card of Martinez from his Expos days.

1991 Upper Deck Final #50F Dennis Martinez Perfecto!

Hopefully I will return to this post at some future time, but for now I will just mention that the card was part of UDs 1991 Final Set and honored the Perfect game pitched by Martinez earlier that year - which as close as we got to Topps Now in 1991.

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1991 Upper Deck Final #50F Dennis Martinez Perfecto! (b-side / image swiped from COMC)

Nice summary on the back of the card including quotes from not just Dennis Martinez but also his catcher Ron Hassey. Your not going to get that kind of quality write up on any card much less a Topps Now issue today.

Ticket

The Baseball Hall of Fame has a ticket to the perfect game on display as part of their Viva Baseball exhibition.  It is one of 45,560 tickets that the Dodgers sold for the game.

Notice that the Viva Baseball exhibit is curated with the artifact descriptions presented in Spanish - and the Spanish is expressed first.  

Sources and Links
No-Hitter Index
Hall of Fame
VWellsArt 
Baseball Almanac
Cleveland.com
Check Out My Cards

2016 World Series

I will be rooting for the Indians this year. However I like both squads.

2004 UD USA Baseball #USA-60 Terry Francona

One of the reasons that I will be cheering for Cleveland is that their manager led some very bad Phillies teams in the late 1990s. In my opinion he took a little to much heat here for that lack of success of those teams. 

Prediction
However....I believe the Indians are way overmatched, I predict the Cubs in a quick four games. MVP goes to Ben Zobrist.

For more information on this card an 2004 UD USA Baseball see our original posting on this card which is here


Sources and Links
baseball-ref

Nobel Prize Winner: Bob Dylan?

First the Nobel prize folks give Bob Dylan an award, now the committee is upset that the iconic troubadour won't return their calls.

Well I think the Nobel folks shouldn't be to upset, I have been trying to get a hold of Bob Dylan for 20 years and he still hasn't gotten back to me....

The Nobel news got me curious about Bob Dylan trading cards which led me to this interesting find.

Bob Dylan (Topps 1963 / 2003 design)

Here in Philadelphia there is a venerable shed called the Mann Music center which hosts a summer concert series. The last couple of years the Mann has commissioned illustrator Alex Fine to design baseball card inspired artwork for their shows. 

The above card of Bob Dylan bears a resemblance to 2003 Topps right down to the Baseball field in the lower corner. However the Mann card has the icon in the lower right rather than lower left. I do like that Fine used the Phillies Red White Blue color scheme, and chose the liberty bell as a logo. The red background running the full width of the card is from 1963 Topps as is presenting the Surname in larger font then the first name.

The many acts for which Mann cards have been created include Robert Plant, Phish, the Monkees, John Fogerty, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Ray LaMontagne, Norah Jones, Steely Dan, Bare Naked Ladies, Weird Al Yankovic, Faith No More and several others.

The Nobel Prize
I am no experts on the fine arts, and know significantly less about literature than I do about how Baseball-Ref calculates WAR. Regardless I did find it odd that Dylan was given the honor.

The Nobel's I am most familiar with are Peace and the Science oriented ones which I have always assumed were given to folks connected to contemporary events and solving problems of the present era.

Near as I could tell Dylan's recent catalog was not any more significant than any recent era - and definitely not as significant as say his 60s output.

However I did some digging. Turns out I know very few Nobel-Lit winners.  It appears the Nobel Lit is a bit of a lifetime achievement award.  The most recent winner that I had heard of was Alice Munro (2013). There are several other winners over the last few decades who I knew by name but not by product: Doris Lessing (2007), Harold Pinter (2005), Toni Morrison (1993), Saul Bellow (1976), Pablo Neruda (1971).  You have to go clear back to 1962 to find someone who wrote something that I actually read, John Steinbeck - and the book I read was NOT "The Grapes of Wrath" - It was "the Pearl" which I read over 30 years ago in either High or Middle School. The selection was solely based on the fact that it was the shortest book on the reading list we were given.

Sources and Links 
Vittles Pop
In Search of Lost Cards
Alex Fine
Nobel Prize
The Mann Center

1976 ASG +40: Larry Bowa

Larry Bowa made Five All-Star teams during his 16 year career. 1976 was the 3rd of those five games. Bowa was beat out at the ballot box by Reds Shortstop Davey Concepcion and did not enter the game until the fifth inning. In his only AB in the game Bowa popped out to Right Field versus Frank Tanana

1975 Topps #420 Larry Bowa

Bowa's 1975T All-Star swatch honors his start in his start in the 1974 Mid-Summer classic hosted by the Pirates. As a batter the most successful ASG for Bowa was 1978 when he went 2 for 3 and scored a run. All five of his appearance came as a Phillies player and the NL won each of those games.

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1975 Topps #420 Larry Bowa (b-side)

The back of Bowa's card mentions his 1974 All-Star Appearance in Pittsburgh along with Bowa's early career fielding accomplishments.

A note on the cartoon, Ping Bodie, The man has a pretty interesting SABR Bio. First off his official name contains neither Ping nor Bodie. He was born Francesco Stephano Pezzolo - through a series of events his name evolved to Ping Bodie. Among other tidbits found in his Bio is that he swung a 52 oz bat and roomed with Babe Ruth when he played for the Yankees.

In the film "the Babe" Ping was portrayed by horror movie actor Ralph Marrero. It was Marrero's last film as he died in a car accident prior to the movies release.

Sources and Links
Larry Bowa Index
1976 All-Star Game Index
Baseball-ref
imdb

1976 ASG +40: Steve Garvey

With the Dodgers hosting the Cubs during the middle games of the NLCS we turn to one of the LA representatives for our 1976 All-Star Game retrospective.

In 1976 Steve Garvey made the third of his ten All-Star teams. He was the only infielder that represented a team other than the Reds.

1981 Topps #530 Steve Garvey

Garvey went 1-3 in the 1976 All-Star Game. In the first inning he picked up an RBI on a triple off of Mark Fidrych and later scored on a ground out by George Foster. The two runs gave the NL Squad a 2-0 lead which they never relinquished in the 7-1 victory.

Steve Garvey always liked the bright lights of big games. He was the MVP of two all-star games (1974 and 1978) as well as a pair of NLCS  - 1978 versus the Phillies, and 1983 with the Padres vs the Cubs.

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1981 Topps #530 Steve Garvey (b-side)

Just one thing I wanted to note from the back - check the Games Played column. 1980 was the last of six consecutive years that Garvey would play 160 games or more. He played only 110 in 1981, but that was because of the strike. He would return to play the full 162 the following season.

Garvey started a consecutive games played run on September 3rd 1975 that would continue until 1983. The streak reached 1207 games on July 29 1983 and ranks fourth on all-time list.

Sources and Links
1976 ASG Index
Baseball-Ref
Baseball-Almanac

1976 ASG +40: Dave Cash

Things been busy here at Phungo HQ and I sort of abandoned our 1976 All-Star Game series around the time of the games Anniversary in July. I wanted to get to all the HoFs and Philllies in the game this year and will do my best to clean up the rest of the profiles in the coming weeks - although I may mail in some of the offerings.

Today we are discussing Phillies second baseman Dave Cash. 1976 was the third and final appearance in the mid-summer classic for Cash, in each of his three appearance he was the back-up behind future hall of famer Joe Morgan. Cash was the only Phillie to get a hit for the Home fans in 1976, He singled off Frank Tanana to lead off the eighth inning and later came around to score on a Ken Griffey base hit. 

1993 Upper Deck BAT  Tri-Fold #26 Dave Cash

Since he was never a starter Cash never got a Topps card with an All-Star flair. I chose a 1993 Retro card from UD to represent Cash. Nice to see a semi-star like Cash get the retro treatment.

Flip

1993 Upper Deck BAT  Tri-Fold #26 Dave Cash (b-side)

You may need to click on the above images to expand the the cards (and the text) to view them more clearly.

Although Cash is featured in his Phillies threads on the front of the card, the first panel discusses his exploits with the Pirates in the 1971 ALCS. UD finally gets to the Phillies on the middle panel. Interesting tidbit here is that the Cash's All-Star 1976 season is mentioned along with his low Strikeout (13) total. In the "Things have Changed" department, last year among players that had a similar K total or less only two had over 100 ABs Yulieski Gurriel (130 AB) and Mike Moustakas (104 AB). Cash totaled 666 ABs for his 13 Ks.

The final Panel reference BAT (Baseball Assistance Team) an organization that helps current in former players in need of Assistance. The organization is still functioning today and a number of testimonials can be found on their website.

A few weeks ago Paul Hagen posted an article on Dave Cash at MLB.com. It sounds like the Phillies former second baseman who is now 68 years old is enjoying a relaxing retirement.

Sources and Links
1976 ASG Index
MLB Paul Hagen
Baseball-ref
MLB Community/BAT

Happy 75th Birthday Paul Simon

On October 13th Music Icon Paul Simon will be celebrating his 75th birthday.  I don't believe there are any Paul Simon cards in the Phungo collection, however I think we have found a worthy substitution.

2012 Topps Archivess #138 Joe DiMaggio

I also don't have any Joe DiMaggio  cards from his active years (likely out of Phungo budget ranges), but I do have a  handful of retro cards of the Yankees legend.

As I am sure most folks are aware DiMaggio is named dropped in Simon's song "Mrs Robinson" from "the Graduate".

Paul Simon is still a baseball fan, earlier this summer he was shown on TV at an Orioles game after being spotted the previous day in Pittsburgh watching the Pirates. Pretty cool trip for any fan.

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2012 Topps Archivess #138 Joe DiMaggio

The day Paul Simon was born Joe DiMaggio was enjoying one of the first few days off following his celebrated 1941 season. That was the year DiMaggio authored his 56 game hit streak while on the way to his 2nd of 3 MVP awards. The streak was so Compelling that DiMaggio won the MVP award over Ted Williams who hit .406 in 1941, a mark that has been unmatched since.

The Hitting streak is noted in the cartoon on the back of the archives card. A solid choice with some rather fun artwork.

Compare

1980 Topps #300 Ron Guidry

The Archives card draws from Topps 1980 issue. For Yankees cards the homage is satisfactory, the design and colors definitely evoke the original. If one were to quibble I supposes there could be complaints about the font sizes of the text on the two pennants, but I think it is close enough for Archives.

Sources and Links
Joe DiMaggio HoF Index
imdb
MLB Network

Topps Now #362: Thanks Phillies Room!!

I am sending out a big Thank You to the fine crew over at the Phillies Room.

All season long Jim has has been keeping his eye out for Phillies Topps Now cards. He has been picking them up in bulk and passing along a card to Phungo HQ.

2016 Topps Now #362 Chase Utley

While not a Phillies card this is certainly one in spirit. There are very few folks Phillies fans are going to miss more than Chase Utley. I am glad to see him in the postseason even if it is with the Philllies west coast rival from my youth.

There are a number of things I love about this card. This is the kind of even that Suits Topps Now well especially for a club like the Phillies who are a bit short on highlights for the 2016 season.

The card also represents a Phungo Game. It was a 15-5 Phillies loss, but I definitely had a good time, you can read more about the game here.

2016 Topps Now #362 Chase Utley (b-side w/ Ryan Howard)

Typically I like some interesting copy on the back of the card, but I think Topps makes the right decision here. Sometimes you can say everything without saying anything at all.

Phungo Pix


I tried to capture a similar idea with this Photo I took at the Utley Return game. I like taking two player photos especially of opponents. It is interesting to see what relationships exist within the sportsworld.

Both of the images on the Topps card were captured by Philadelphia based Photographer Mitchell Leff. The Front of the card is here and the back here. 




Sources and Links 
Phungo Games Collection
Chase Utley Player Collection
Ryan Howard Player Collection
Mitchell Leff
Getty Images
Baseball-ref

Updates
2016 10 11 Added Paragraph regarding Photograher Mitchell Leff

ANNIVERSARY: October 8 1956 - Don Larsen Throws World Series Perfect Game

October 8th marks the 60th Anniversary of Don Larsen's perfect game, which he threw in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series.

1961 NU-Cards Baseball Scoops #418 Larsen Hurls Perfect World Series Game

Larsen and the Yankees defeated the crosstown rival Brooklyn Dodgers 2-0 that day. Offensive Heroes including Mickey Mantle who clubbed a fourth inning Home Run and Hank Bauer who plated the games other run with a single in the sixth.

The event was honored by this beautiful 1961 Basesball Scoops Card. Nice touches include a decent photo for the era and a date line specific to the game. I am also a fan of the title logo which contains the bouncing baseball iconography rather in place of the OOs in scOOps.

The pivotal game five victory gave the Yankees a 3 games to 2 advantage over the Dodgers in a Series that would eventually go the distance. The Yanks won game 7 and Larsen took home MVP honors.

Flip

 1961 NU-Cards Baseball Scoops #418 Larsen Hurls Perfect World Series Game (b-side)

Great back of the card for a game that certainly warrants the attention.  Four Paragraphs of text! Some of it is a little awkward - the 2nd Paragraph has two sentences that essentially state the same fact about 3 ball counts. Pee Wee Reese's first inning AB is mentioned both here and in the final paragraph. Regardless I still love the card.

Topps honored Larsen with a similar card in their 1961 set which can be found here.

Update (2020 01 02)
1961 Topps #402 Baseball Thrills / Don Larsen memorial

Sources and Links
Phungo No-Hitter Index
Phungo Game Dated Cards Index
Check out My Cards
Baseball Card Database
Baseball-ref

ANNIVERSARY: September 16 1976 - Jerry Morales Sets Pinchhitting Mark

Check it out an Expos Posting!

1977 Topps #233 Record Breaker Jose Morales Most Hits, Season, Pinchhitter

40 Years ago the manager Charlie Fox did something that he and the Expos previous manager Karl Kuehl had already done 73 times in 1976 - He sent Jose Morales to Pinch Hit.

Montreal was clinging to a 1-run lead but had the bases loaded. The scheduled batter was reliever Steve Dunning. Morales who had recorded 24 pinch hits on the season was the clear choice for the critical AB. 

Facing future Hall of Famer Bruce Sutter, Jose Morales came through one more time. He hit a bases clearing double to put the Expos up 4-0, o their way to an eventual 4-3 victory. A grand total of 2877 Fans witnessed the feat - which is probably the appropriate number for a team that would go on to lose 107 games.

1977 Topps #233 Record Breaker Jose Morales Most Hits, Season, Pinchhitter (b-side)

The flip side of the card has a synopsis of the game and includes nods to the previous record holders Dave Philley (who did play for the Phillies but not during his record setting season) and Vic Davalillo. Philley Remains the AL Record Holder today - A standard he has maintained for 55 Years.

John Vander Wal
Morales was surpassed in 2005 by Catcher John Vander Wal who logged 28 Pinch Hits for the Rockies.

Sources and Links
1977 Topps Record Breakers Index
Stand and Deliver: A History of Pinch Hitting - Paul Votano
Baseball Almanac
Baseball-Ref
 

Game Report: 2016 09 12 - Pirates 2 @ Phillies 6

The Phillies turned another page in their 2016 rebuild during Monday Night's 6-2 victory over the struggling Pirates.

Not one but two of their prospects crossed milestones: Jorge Alfaro made his Major League Debut and Roman Quinn got his first home start. Even sweeter each of the rookies recorded their first hits as well.

Snapshots

Roman Quinn got to bat at CBP for the first time and had a pretty good night. He went 2-4 with a pair of doubles, 2 RBIs and a walk.

After a tough first inning Jeremy Hellickson settled down and pitched into the 7th only allowing 1 unearned run and three singles.

Gerrit Cole's first start off of the DL didn't go well. He was lifted after two innings. He gave up 5 Runs on four hits and four ugly walks.

 Freddy Galvis homered for the Good Guys.

I understand how Roman Quinn got the Anonymous Treatment in the Topps Starting Lineup department. However....

How is it that Jeremy Hellickson doesn't have a card yet?

GGA

Good Guy Awards go out to the Pirates Josh Harrison (above) and David Freese who each signed a bunch of autographs pregame.

 I picked up my first Rob Manfred Baseball on Monday Night.

Moving on Up

Now that school is back in session tix for selected games are even cheaper $14 for a night at the ballpark ain't bad, even if your watching a fourth place team. The Phillies recorded their 64th Win last night which guarantees they will finish with an improved record over the 63-99 of 2015.

Sources
Baseball-Ref

ANNIVERSARY: September 12 1976 - Minnie Minoso becomes Oldest Player to Hit Safely in a Major League Game

Today marks the 40th anniversary of an event that gave birth to one of my favorite cards from my youth.

1977 Topps #232 Minnie Minoso (Oldest Player to Hit Safely)

On September 12th 1976 Minnie Minoso started the first game of a Double Header for the White Sox. He was the DH and batted 9th. With two outs in the 2nd inning Minoso singled off of Angels left-hander Sid Monge. This made Minoso the oldest player to get a Hit in a Major League game.  is a

1977 Topps #232 Minnie Minoso (b-side)

The Fact that the White Sox won 4-2 in extras is such an afterthought that the games outcome is not even mentioned on the back of the card.

Topps does mention discuss Nick Altrock who held the record previous to Minoso.  Altrock single was recorded for the Washington Senators during a 2-1 Loss to the Boston Red Sox. The hit was off of a 20 year old reliever named Pat Simmons, in what turned out to be Simmons last major league game. 

Altrock was a pitcher who also had a side career as an entertainer, his interesting SABR Bio can be found here.

Index
1977 Topps Record Breakers Index
MInnie Minoso Index
Baseball-Ref
SABR Bio Nick Altrock - 
 

1997 Topps Record Breakers Index

This is an Index to our postings regarding 1977 Topps Record Breakers

1977 Topps #232 Minnie Minoso (Oldest Player to Hit Safely)

Index
1977 Topps #231 George Brett (Six Consecutive 3-Hit Games)
1977 Topps #232 Minnie Minoso (Oldest Player to Hit Safely) 
1977 Topps #233 Jerry Morales (Most Pinch Hits Season)

SNAPSHOTS: 2016 08 30 Nationals 3 @ Phillies 2

Just a couple of pictures from the most recent Team Phungo trek to the ballpark, a 3-2 loss to the Division leading Nationals.

2016 0830 Max Scherzer vs Cameron Rupp @ Philadelphia PA

The Phillies may look ugly on the diamond but the field still can look nice.

2016 0830 Max Scherzer vs Ryan Howard @ Philadelphia PA

The Phillies didn’t have many highlights in the game. Both runs came courtesy of a Ryan Howard Homer. The above in the above shot is not the from the Home Run AB, this is the Bottom of the 5th - one of two times when Howard Struck Out.

2016 0830 Max Scherzer

The Star of the night was Max Scherzer who took a no-hitter into the sixth and struck out 11 over eight innings. As a batter he also successfully executed a suicide squeeze to give the Nats their third run – which ended up being the difference in the game.

I am Pretty happy with this photo as it sort of captures the oft mentioned differences of Scherzer's eye color

2016 0830 Jerad Eickhoff

The Phillies starting pitcher, Jerad Eickhoff, fought through some early control issues and was able to give the club six innings. If it weren't for a misplayed fourth inning fly ball by Aaron Altherr in the fourth inning, Eichoff may have left the game deadlocked 2-2 with the Nats and Scherzer. 
 

2016 0830 Trea Turner

Nats Rookie Trea Turner is having a good season. The outfielder had a pair of hits on Wednesday boosting his average to .344.

Familiar Faces

 Ben Revere

Jayson Werth

Sources and Links
Baseball-ref