ANNIVERSARY: 1993 May 10 - Phillies Win on Dauton Slam, Push record to 23-7

Today marks the 25th Anniversary of the first Grand Slam that I saw in person. This is a re-issue of a posting published here 5 years ago:

I had always been a baseball fan but in 1993 it reached another level. The 93 Phils is where my fascination with baseball as an adult began.

And if I was to point to a single game where this all happened it would have been the Pirates @ Phillies game on May 10th 1993.

1993 05 10 Game Ticket - Pirates 1 @ Phillies 5

The Phillies were coming off a big comeback win where Mariano Duncan had hit an 8th inning Grand Slam off of Lee Arther Smith.  Smith was one of the most dominating closers of the late 80s and The game completed a 3 game sweep of the St Louis Cardinals.

The next afternoon a colleague popped into my office and asked if I wanted to go down to the game.  It was the first time I had ever considered going to a Phils game on a whim - and I am glad I did.

The Pirates and Phils were knotted at 1 in the 7th inning, Lenny Dykstra reached with a one out single Mickey Morandini reached on a 2 base error and John Kruk was intentionally walked to load the bases.  Dave Hollins grounded into a force at home setting up a bases loaded 2 out AB for team leader Darren Daulton.  And Daulton delivered - One day after Mariano Duncan hit a go-ahead slame Daulton had one of his own.  The Philllies had won 4 in a row and ran their record to 23-7 16 games over .500.  They would not look back going all the way to the World Series.

1994 Topps Black Gold #28 Darren Daulton

It was the first time I ever saw a Grand Slam in person and it was the first time I ever really understood what it was like to be watching a great baseball team. To this day it remains one of the greatest games I have ever been to.

Friday marks the 20th anniversary of that game - This year I plan on focussing on commemorating the 1983 Phillies NL Pennant but there will definitely be a few nods to the 1993 Clubs as well.

 Go Phightins!  

Sources and Links
Baseball-Ref
1993 Phillies Index
Darren Daulton Index

1993 Phillies @ 25: Dave Hollins - 1993 UD #458 Peter Gammons Inside the Numbers

For our second installment on the 1993 Philadelphia Phillies we take a look at one of the anchors of Macho Row, Dave Hollins.

1993 UD #458 Peter Gammons Dave Hollins

Hollins made his lone all-star team in 1993 posting 18 Home Runs with 93 RBIs. He batted cleanup for the Phillies in all 143 of his starts. His big blow in the postseason was a 2 Run Homer off of Greg Maddux in the Phillies 6-3 NLCS clinching victory over Atlanta.

1993 UD Gammons
Today we have another subset that I loved at first sight. Back in the pre-internet pre-MLB Network days Baseball Tonight was something I checked in on whenever possible. One of the many fine baseball folks that I discovered there was Peter Gammons. He had a way of getting to the important issues without hyperbole, He was honest firm but never said anything unnecessary.

The 1993 UD Peter Gammons Inside the Numbers set is 21 cards that run from #450-470, They directly follow the Derek Jeter RC which resides at #449. As of now the subber contains 3 Hall of Famers with Mike Mussina lurking.

The card fronts are minimal with a photo on top and player name. The Peter Gammons logo is out of the way at the bottom of the card. Gammons facsimile sig on the front of the card give the set the illusion that the players were handpicked and adds some authenticity to the text on the back.

Speaking of backs lets see what Mr Gammons had to say about today's hero.  

flip

1993 UD #458 Peter Gammons Dave Hollins (b-side)

No pressure as Gammons mentions a comparative with Pete Rose while quoting Larry Bowa. I am not sure of exactly what he means but I am pretty sure I like Gammons describing the 1993 Phillies as the "Slapshot of baseball".

Checker

1993 UD #458 Peter Gammons Checklist (b-side)

This subset is part of the Phungo Collection and lifetime permitting I may get to covering all of these cards someday. This posting will serve as an index to those columns.

450 CL Ivan Rodriguez, David McCarty
451 Jim Abbott
452 Jeff Bagwell
453 Jason Bere
454 Delino DeShields
455 Travis Fryman
456 Alex Gonzalez
457 Phil Hiatt
458 Dave Hollins
459 Chipper Jones
460 David Justice
461 Ray Lankford
462 David McCarty
463 Mike Mussina (2014 HoF Ballot)
464 Jose Offerman
465 Dean Palmer
466 Geronimo Pena
467 Eduardo Perez
468 Ivan Rodriguez
469 Reggie Sanders
470 Bernie Williams

David "Bubba" Hollins
Dave's son David is also a Professional Baseball Player. Last year he signed with the Miami Marlins out of St Bonaventure. He got into a dozen games with the Batavia Muckdogs batting .214 across 42 ABs. Like his father David is a Third Baseman and he appears to also have his fathers batting eye. His offensive numbers were modest but he did draw 8 walks in those 12 games.

Apparently David (the younger) goes by "Bubba" which is a nickname that he shares with Dave (the elder) Hollins Macho Row teammate Darren Daulton.  
 

David "Bubba" Hollins (image from the Daily News)
David is sporting #34, a number that his father never wore during his major league career


Dave Hollins Index
1993 UD Team Stars #485 1993 Phillies (2008 Retrospective of Phillies World Series Teams)

Sources and Links 
1993 Phillies @ 25 Index
1993 NLCS Game 6 Index
St Bonaventure Bonnies
The Daily News (Nate Rider)
Phillies '93: An Incredible Season - Rich Westcott
youtube (1993 NLCS Game 6)
Cardboard Connection
Deadspin 

1993 Phillies @ 25: Mickey Morandini

Each year I attempt to do an anniversary series on a theme, Previous subjects have included the 1964 Phillies and the 1976 All-Star Game.

This year we will be taking a look at the 1993 Phillies on the 25th Anniversary of their crazy fun National League Championship season.

I figure this may be one of the last times this teams is remembered. They happen to share their 5yr Anniversaries with the 2008 Phillies and the World Champions will always trump the NL Champs.

I have put together an index to link all the post and it can be found here with some of the players I hope to cover.

Today our first article in the series covers Fan Favorite Mickey Morandini

1992 Studio #77 Mickey Morandini

Mickey Morandini spent most of his career with the Phillies and returned to the team to coach after his playing days were over. The past two seasons Mickey has served as the clubs first base coach but is not expected return to the team in an on-field capacity this year. It appears that Morandini will remain with the club as a team ambassador. Morandini is 51 which seems a bit young to ease into a PR role, I think he will eventually end up taking a coaching position with a different organization.

As a fan I have many fond memories of Mickey Morandini the player. He played flawless defense and seemed to come up with a lot of big hits including one we will talk about below.

1992 Studio
I like the look of 1992 Studio a bit better then it's predecessor, The profile pix on a action shot background works better for me then the School Photo backdrop of 1991.

The classic minimalist front is not the reason I picked this card.

1992 Studio #77 Mickey Morandini (b-side)

The Studio cards have a lot of fun info in the Up Close section for each player. I would love to see somebody do an entire series on this set. Some of the answers are timeless, On a different card Morandini listed his favorite players as Roberto Clemente. Others are planted firmly in the early 1990s - Arsenio Hall gets mentioned on a bunch of cards.

Morandini also mentions John Feinstein's fine book "A Season on the Brink" which followed Bobby Knight through a season at Indiana. Mickey played his college baseball for the Hoosiers and it is interesting to see his local interest. It is also notable that he majored in Elementary Education rather than kinesiology.

All that stuff is fun, but what really drew me to this card was one line:

LOVES TO FACE: Greg Maddux, .417 10 for 24

This transitions us to October 13 1993, Game 6 of the NLCS. The Phillies hosted the Braves and their Ace Greg Maddux. Mickey Morandini batted #2 in the lineup and would have 2 very big ABs versus the future Hall of Famer. In the first inning Morandini lined a ball up the middle that lined off of Maddux' calf. Ultimately the Braves got the out, but I am inclined to believe that the contact hurt Maddux enough to affect his performance. You can see the AB at the 11:30 mark here. 

The second big AB between the two occurs at 1:44:20 in the video. This is the sixth inning and the Phillies lead 4-1. Maddux walked Dykstra intentionally to get to Morandini.

Mickey Morandini followed with a hard fought At Bat that ended with a Triple down the Right Field line. The hit would chase Maddux and the Phillies took the contest 6-3 which advanced them to the World Series.

So yes Apparently Mickey Morandini did love to Face Greg Maddux. Good think for Mickey as he faced Maddux more than any other pitcher. His Master of the Braves star continued throughout his career. Over the course of 111 Plate Appearances Morandini batted .337 with a slugging number of .490. Only three batters collected more hits off of Maddux than Morandini: Craig Biggio, Tony Gwynn, and Luis Gonzalez. Among players that faced Maddux 100+ times the only player with a better average is Gwynn (.415 , .337)

Conversely Morandini never figured out Denny Martinez. He finished 1 of 22 versus El Presidente.

Mickey Morandini Index

1988 Topps Traded #71T - Team USA/4th of July
1993 Score / 1993 Topps - Unassisted Triple Play / Cardboard Mystery
1999 Stadium Club #39 - Guest on a Bobby Abreu Card
1989 Star #120 - Minor League card as Mike Morandini

2009 Phillies Alumni Night

Sources and Links
1993 Phillies @ 25 Index
1993 NLCS Game 6 Index
The Phillies Room
That's Ball's Outta here
youtube (1993 NLCS Game 6)
John Feinsein
Basebal-Ref

1993 Phillies 25th Anniversary

This is an index to our feature on the 25th anniversary of the 1993 NL Champion Philadelphia Phillies.

1993 UD #485 Hammers and Nails

Folks
Larry Andersen
Wes Chamberlain
Darren Daulton
Lenny Dykstra
Jim Eisenreich
Jim Fregosi
Tommy Greene 
Dave Hollins
Pete Incaviglia
Danny Jackson
John Kruk
Mickey Morandini
Terry Mulholland
Curt Schilling
Kevin Stocker

Games
April 9 (Home Opener)
May 10 (Daulton hits Game Winning Slam)
July 28 (2 Grand Slams Cardinals Zeile, Daulton)




Sources and Links
Baseball-Reference 1993 Team Page

USA USA USA: 1988 Topps #71T Mickey Morandini

We continue our 4th of July celebration today by posting this great card of Fan Favorite Mickey Morandini

1988 Topps #71T Mickey Morandini

Morandini was a member of the 1988 Olympic team. He played one game for the USA squad which took first place (Baseball was a non-medal exhibition in 1988) in the tournament.

Today Mickey Morandini is still in the Phillies organization as Bench Coach for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. He has been with the Phils in some sort of coaching or instructional role since 2009. It does appear the Phils may be grooming Morandini to be the next Manager of the big club.

Sources
Lehigh Valley IronPigs

Jim Fregosi 1942-2014

Earlier this week we got the sad news that Jim Fregosi had suffered a stroke while on an MLB cruise. Today MLB.com reported that Fregosi has passed away at age 71.

Jim Fregosi at Phillies Alumni Weekend August 3 2013 (click to enlarge)


Here is Fregosi at the 2013 Phillies Alumni weekend which honored the 1993 NL championship club which he helmed.

Jim Fregosi brought a lot of fun to this town, I enjoyed his humor and honesty while he was the Phillies Manager. I was in my middle 20s when the Phillies had that magical season. It was an era when I learned a lot about baseball and Jim Fregosi was a key figure in that education.

Obituaries Tributes Memorials Bios
The Phillies Room (1992 Medford Phils)
1960s Baseball (1966, 1967, 1992 Topps)
14,000 Phillies (1992 Topps Gold)
Paul's Random Baseball Stuff (1973 Topps)
Von's Card (1972 Topps)
Core Contrarian (1986 Topps)

Jayson Stark (ESPN)
Mark Armour (SABR - 1965 Topps)
Matt Gelb (Philly.com)

Spats Grudges and Card Shows - Mitch Williams v Lenny Dykstra

I spent the last decent weather day of the year in a mall at a card show. Yes I questioned the wisdom of the decision, but Darren Daulton was there and he is battling brain cancer. The man had provided me with many baseball memories and I wasn’t sure when I would get a chance to see him again.

Autograph collecting at shows isn’t really my thing, the lines and cost really don’t fit my collection budget. But I do enjoy going to the shows to check out cards, take pictures and chat with other collectors. Seeing the players off the field is always fun and sometimes interesting.

Apparently Saturday was more interesting than most shows as Mitch Williams and Lenny Dykstra got themselves into a snit.

Mitch Williams

 

 

Unfortunately, I left before the incident. I don’t have much to add to the story other than I saw Mitch close to the end of his signing stint and he appeared annoyed, which is converse to the attitude he generally has on TV as a commentator and at the few events I have seen him appear in the past.

Darren Daulton

 

Darren Daulton  appeared pretty decent for a man in such a dire situation. He was in good spirits and was willing to spend time with fans and take pictures. Hard to believe that a man with enough issues already had to keep Mitch Williams and Lenny Dykstra from getting into a fistfight.

1993 07 28 - 20 years ago today: 1 Game, 2 Grand Slams

One of the many great games I was fortunate enough to attend in the Phillies memorable 1993 season

Ticket Stub 1993 07 28

The game didn't  start off well, 14 pitches in Terry Mulholland gave up a grand slam to the fourth batter of the game. Yes four batters into a critical game with the St Louis Cardinals the Phillies found themselves down 4-0 before recording an out.  

1990 Fleer Todd Zeile (note the position)


That night the then Cardinals third baseman Todd Zeile hit his first of 9 career grand slams to give the Redbirds an early four run lead. Fortunately 4 runs was never enough against the 1993 Phillies.

Terry Mulholland basically settled down after the slam and got through 7 innings. The Phillies dependable offense came through tying the game in the 3rd and taking the lead in the 5th.

1988 Topps #468 Darren Daulton

The Phillies were already up 9-6 in the 8th when Darren Daulton blew the game wide open with a Grand Slam of his own. The Phillies went home 14-6 winners in a game in which they were done four runs in the first inning.   
. 
20 years ago today that was one of the most memorable games that I ever witnessed. 200+ games later and it is the only game in which I have seen 2 grand slams. Over the course of those 200 games Darren Daulton is the only person I have seen hit multiple grand slams. 

Oddly if you look into the baseball-ref boxscore, Daulton's Slam doesn't rank in the top 5 Win Probability Added scores, and there are 4 ABs that rank higher then Zeile's. In fact the Cardinals lost by 8 runs but recorded the highest WPA of the game when Bernard Gilkey hit a 3 run homer in the 7th. That is just the crazy stuff that happens in a game where 20 runs are scored.

Flashback 1993 Phillies Postings
1993 04 09 - Opening Day - Cubs 11@ Phillies 7 
1993 05 10 - Pirates 1 @ Phillies 5

Sources
baseball-ref.com

The Game that Changed Everything - 1993 05 10 Pirates 1 @ Phillies 5

I had always been a baseball fan but in 1993 it reached another level. The 93 Phils is where my fascination with baseball as an adult began.

And if I was to point to a single game where this all happened it would have been the Pirates @ Phillies game on May 10th 1993.

1993 05 10 Game Ticket - Pirates 1 @ Phillies 5

The Phillies were coming off a big comeback win where Mariano Duncan had hit an 8th inning Grand Slam off of Lee Arther Smith.  Smith was one of the most dominating closers of the late 80s and The game completed a 3 game sweep of the St Louis Cardinals.

The next afternoon a colleague popped into my office and asked if I wanted to go down to the game.  It was the first time I had ever considered going to a Phils game on a whim - and I am glad I did.

The Pirates and Phils were knotted at 1 in the 7th inning, Lenny Dykstra reached with a one out single Mickey Morandini reached on a 2 base error and John Kruk was intentionally walked to load the bases.  Dave Hollins grounded into a force at home setting up a bases loaded 2 out AB for team leader Darren Daulton.  And Daulton delivered - One day after Mariano Duncan hit a go-ahead slame Daulton had one of his own.  The Philllies had won 4 in a row and ran their record to 23-7 16 games over .500.  They would not look back going all the way to the World Series.

1994 Topps Black Gold #28 Darren Daulton

It was the first time I ever saw a Grand Slam in person and it was the first time I ever really understood what it was like to be watching a great baseball team. To this day it remains one of the greatest games I have ever been to.

Friday marks the 20th anniversary of that game - This year I plan on focussing on commemorating the 1983 Phillies NL Pennant but there will definitely be a few nods to the 1993 Clubs as well.

 Go Phightins!  


Sources and Links
Baseball-Ref
1993 Phillies Index
Darren Daulton Index


Updates
2018 05 10 - Added Source and Links


             

1993 04 09 - 20 years ago today my first home opener

The game didn't go real well, but the magical season that followed was a lot of fun.

I honeslty don't remember much about the game - I think it was a little windy and chilly for the suckers in the shade.  Krukker got to 2nd on a defensive indifference in the 9th, which brought a cheer from a bunch of fans that saw it as a fat man steal. Game featured a bunch of Homers by all the Phils stars, Kruk,  Dykstra and Daulton (2).  Unfortunately got four of their own including one by Mark Grace.

  

Ticket Stub 1993 04 09 Darren Daulton

Phun Cards 1991 Donruss #744: Dale Murphy 2013 Hall of Fame Candidate

I didn't quite make it thru all of the Phillies on the HoF Ballot, but I did want top get to this one.  


1991 Donruss #744 Dr Dirt and Mr Clean

This card says a lot about this years ballot.  It has one player who got a single vote in 2001 and another that remained on the ballot for his full 15 years of eligiblity.

We have one player who was known as a good guy off the field and one guy who has had nothing but trouble since leaving baseball.

This card also shows both sides of the steroid issue.  One guy we're pretty sure is Mr Clean and on the other side of the PED issue we have Dr Dirt. 

Looking forward to Wednesday's Results.

My Apologies to the two Phillies Alums I didn't get to in the 2013 HoF candidates I didnt' get to - Julio Franco and Roberto Hernandez.  I supposed I may get a crack at Mr Franco in 2014 - doubtful for Hernandez. 


2013 HoF Candidate Postings

Jeff Conine

Kenny Lofton

Jose Mesa

Mike Piazza

Curt Schilling 

Also brief thoughts on

Barry Bonds
Roger Clemens

Philly Show in Valley Forge this weekend 12/7 - 12/9 HoFs and Terry Mulholland

The PhillyShow returns to the Valley Forge Convention Center (and now casino) this weekend.  Show is FSS 12/7 - 12/9 with $8 admiission per day ($1 off coupons are in local papers)   

 

 

 

It may be December but this show will defintely have a baseball focus for autograph hounds. MAB has dubbed the show "A Celebration of Lefty's Magical Season".  This is a nod to Steve Carlton's historic 1972 Campaign in which he won 27 games en route to his first of four Cy Young awards.  Carlton will be flanked by several Phils Pasts and Present as well as other oFs including John Kruk, Darren Daulton, Tim McCarver, Tommy Greene, Dave Winfield, Frank Robinson, and Pete Rose.

 

 

 

Phungo covered Carlton in this post a few weeks back.  Today I would like to take a look at a different Phillies Left-hander who pitched for the team during another magical season 1993. Terry Mulholland will be one of the other signers in town over the weekend.

 

 

 

1990 Topps #657 Terry Mulholland (pix stolen from Baseball Card Database)

 

 

Mulholland will be remembered for a couple of things in Philadelphia. Just about anybody associated with the 1993 Phillies will be forever remembered fondly.  They were the Oasis between 80 and 08.  The one brief moment when Philadelphia was the misfit center of baseball - at the time we didn't know how misfit.  Regardless they were loved and remain so.

 

 

There was another big moment of personal glory beyond 1993 for Terry Mullholland - on August 15 1990 Terry Mulholland through a No-Hitter versus the San Francisco Giants. The only baserunner he allowed was on a Charlie Hayes error. That runner was erased via double play.  Hayes redeemed himself by spearing a line drive for the games final out.  Mulholland faced the minimum 27 batters.

 

 

Amazingly Mulholland's career lasted 2 decades! Pretty good for a player that many would look upon as mediocre. He extended is career by becoming a lefty bullpen specialist. Long after he left Philadelphia I followed his career in it's many stops (Atlanta, Arizona, Twins, Pittsburgh back to the Giants etc). Part of the reason he could stick as a lefty was because he had developed the Step Off Pick Off move.  It is currently used throughout baseball. 20 years ago Lefthanders always had remained on the rubber then stepped to first - risking a balk call - when attempting to hold a runner.  Mullholland just took his Left foot offf the rubber and through to first without stepping to the bag at all.

 

 

1993 Phil, No-Hitter, Developed a Pick Off Move.  Nice resume for one guy. 

 

 

1990 Topps

 

 

We don't talk about 90 Topps much here with good reason.  I think it is the worst design in the Topps canon.  However, I did like two things about this card - first it features Mulholland in a Phillis uniform and in a decent action shot. and...

 

 

 

1990 Topps #657 Terry Mulholland (b-side)

 

 

Check out the 2nd sentence in the Mulholland Phun Phact.  That is what makes this common card a Phun Card.   

 

 

  

Terry Mullholland is scheduled to be one of the Saturday Signers - $30/auto.   There appears to be no complimentry autograph at this years show.