Happy Birthday Matt Stairs 2009 Topps #139

Matt Stairs celebrates his 50th Birthday on February 27th. Of course Matt will always be remembered for one of the biggest Home Runs in Phillies history.

Game 4 of the 2008 NLCS Playoffs:

2009 Topps #139 Matt Stairs (image swiped from topps card db)

In the 8th inning of a 5-5 tie Stairs came in to pinch-hit and blasted a 3-1 pitch from Dodgers pitcher Jonathan Broxton deep into the Dodger Stadium bleachers. It is one of the hardest hit balls I have ever seen. The homer capped the scoring as the Phillies won the game 7-5 and took a 3-1 series lead. 

2009 Topps #139 Matt Stairs (b-sides /image swiped from topps card db)

The back of the card has a similar synopsis as we have written above along with the RHE box. Fumy how it is unlabeled bit all baseball fans know what it means. Stairs line for the game consists of his single PH AB - 2 RBI nobody Left on Base!


Pix

2008 Oct 13 Matt Stair Home Run in Game 4 of the NLCS

I was able to find the original image but it there is no associated photo credit in the accompanying Philly.com article. Notice that on this 2009 card the umpire has been digitally removed. Of course this meant that something had to be added in the umps absence. It looks like Topps took a crowd from a different game and inserted them in the space vacated by the ump. Check Stairs head then move to the right. The first guy is a match, Kid in orange shirt missing, Blue shirt w/ blue cap and shades over cap also missing. Same thing on row below - matches end with the person in the maroon shirt. ahh The joys of Photoshop.

UPDATE: I have found the source photo, it was taken by Chris Carlson and can be found here.  

Matt Stairs Index
1991 ProCards #259 (Swag)
2007 Topps #UH119 (Gold / Canadian Baseball HOF induction)
2009 Phungo #12

Sources & Links
2008 World Series Champs
Game Dated Cards Index
Topps Card DB
Baseball-Ref
Philly.com
AP Images

Update:
2018 0228: AP Image found
 

Sloppy Topps - 2010 Heritage Placido Polanco

2010 Topps Heritage #368 Placido Polanco

In general this is one of the poorer jobs of photoshopping done in the 2010 Topps products. In A lot of the cards I have seen the uniforms look pretty close and flow with the picture quite well. This one of Polanco looks like classic 70s airbrushing. The colors are a mess. This is supposed to be the Phils Home Day game uniform, I think, which are really a cream color not this bleached white they have dressed Placido in.

But what really caught my attention was the knob on the bat handle. While this card will surely not get as much attention as another bat knob, it does contain a rather irksome error.

If you look closer you can see that the handle contains a number.




It is a little hard to make out, but the number is #14. Once again the good folks in the Topps Art department have made it look like a current player is wearing a retired number. Yep #14 is retired, but not for the player you may think it is. It is retired for Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Bunning, not Pete Rose. Rose is banned from the sport and I suppose this keeps his number from being officially retired.




As can be seen from his Baseball-Reference page Polanco wore #14 with the Tigers. Since returning to the Phils, he has reclaimed the #27 which he wore in his previous sting with the Phils.

Sloppy Topps - 2008 Heritage Michael Bourn

This is another one of those great cards I received recently from White Sox Cards. The card here looks vaguely familiar, yet something seems amiss...

2008 Topps Heritage #244 Michael Bourn

Where the heck was this picture taken?? - Maybe it is all this recent talk about logos, but I think I have spotted a familiar looking one:



2008 Topps Heritage #244 Michael Bourn (enlarged)

Yep Topps has Photoslopped an Astros Uni on a recycled image, that we have seen before and.... before.

2007 Topps 52 Rookies #25 Michael Bourn
2007 Topps 52 Rookies #DD4 Dyanic Duos - Kyle Kendrick & Michael Bourn

Stale Gum National Chicle Parody Card Contest

Here are my entries in the Stale Gum National Chicle Parody Card Contest:

And I think many of you may find #2 to be funnier:

Phungo Readers Hall of Fame - Jim Rice - REJECTED. How about Tommy John?

The Phungo readers have spoken.

with 11 votes out of 18 Jim Rice did not get the required 75% of the vote to get into the Phungo Hall of Fame.


I was a little disappointed as I thought I made some compelling arguments for Rice's candidacy. The only comment on the post was for Rice. But even if I counted my vote five times and gave Night Owl's comment a weight of five votes that would have given Rice only 19 Yea's to 7 Nay's still short of the requisite 75%.

11/18 votes(61%) is enough to keep Rice on the Phungo Ballot and perhaps we will bring him back next year for another vote.

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This was an interesting exercise and I would like to bring up another borderline HOF candidate up, Tommy John.

Tommy John, unlike Rice was rejected by the BBWAA on his final ballot. John posted 288 career wins, 294 if you count the post season. He was the part of three World Series teams, and played for three different teams in the playoffs (Dodgers, Yankees, and Angels).

And of course, Tommy John is the first player to successfully recover from the surgery, that bears his name, to pitch again - and pitch very effectively. Check out the list of names under that surgery link - pretty impressive.

To your right you will see a new Hall of Fame Poll on Tommy John - Team Phungo is interested in your opinion.

Sloppy Topps - Aaron Rowand and the twins

2008 Topps #655 Aaron Rowand

Aaron Rowand was a big fan favorite during his short stay in Philadelphia. So much so that Topps appears to have used a shot of Rowand batting in Philadelphia on this O8 Topps card and photoshopped on the Giants uniform. But Topps didn't stop there. They were apparently appalled by the looks of the local fans and photoshopped them out. Check out the fans to the left and right of Rowand. On both sides near the top of the photo you see a person in a light blue top. going down pink shirt w/ white hat, person looking stage left, Red shirt. Everybody to the left of Rowand has a twin sitting about a half dozen seats down on the other side of Rowand.

Here's to Topps Lazy PhotoShopping.

I am also sending out the reminder that It is Sunday and the 12/28 Auto for Spot the Sig! will be posted at roughly 9:30 pm tonight.

Help! - I need Yankees and Mariners Fans - 2008 Topps U & H

I need to hear people's opinions on this Miguel Cairo card. Can anyone let me know if you think that this card has been photoshopped (from Cairo's days w/ the Yankees possibly) or if this is really Cairo playing for the Mariners. Big Thanks from Team Phungo.


2008 Topps U&H #UH163 Miguel Cairo

Also

This weeks Spot the Sig! was solved by Cardboard Junkie Dayf but there is still time to get in on the action and answer the bonus question. The bonus this week is total guesswork so anyone could possibly win - just go here and pick the section, row, and seat from the game ticket that is shown and you could be on the scoreboard in the Phungo Spot the Sig! contest. I will take guesses till 10:30p (Eastern) on Tuesday.