1980 World Champions: Manny Trillo 1983 Topps #5 Record Breaker

One of the casualties of Fan-less Baseball Games is the Phillies Alumni weekend.  I have been to several of these events over the years and they are always enjoyable.

Typically Alumni weekend occurs in early August and have a theme including the honoring of a player on the clubs Wall of Fame. This year the Phillies were scheduled to honor the 1980 Phillies with Manny Trillo getting added to the Wall.

1983 Topps #5 Record Breaker Manny Trillo

It is a shame that the Phillies are unable to honor Trillo this year. I have been to a several Alumni weekends, and don't recall Trillo participating and was looking forward to his 2020 induction.

1983 Topps RB
To rep Trillo in our 1980 Phillies Series I have chosen his 1983 Topps Record Breaker. The card honors Manny setting the record for consecutive chances fielded for a second baseman. Trillo's achievement occured during a 98 game stretch in 1982.  The streak began on April 9th during a Phillies 2-0 victory vs the Expos. It ended during another 2-0 victory, this time versus the Cubs. The beneficiary of the Trillo miscue was Bill Buckner - Who would make his own error a few years later.

Flip

1983 Topps #5 Record Breaker Manny Trillo

The blurb is written as a newspaper byline from the day the streak ended. It also goes on to mention the previous record holder Jerry Adair. As expected Adair was also a very good in the field. It isn't as specific date wise but Adair's 1967T card has a 2 panel cartoon that notes the streak.

1967 Topps #484 Jerry Adair (detail/comic)

In that 2nd shot I guess he is carrying a basket full of error free games

Phungo Original Jesus Trillo
For my Manny Trillo Phungo sketch I took the 1983 RB card and turned it to landscape format.

 1980T RB Jesus Manny Trillo

I noticed that the borders for the 1983 Record Breaker Card are Blue Red and Yellow. Those match the colors of the flag of Manny Trillo's native of Venezuela. This was the genesis of the idea to go with a flag motif for the card. In the bottom left I modified the 1982 Record Breaker logo to reflect this years Phungo series 1980 World Champs. The various scorebook tags listed on the card are the 33 fielding plays that Trillo made during that series.

Now I direct you to the bottom of the card - Jesus Manny Trillo. This isn't Trillo's given name - but it is closer than just Manny. His first name really is Jesus but through typical Phillies ignorance the organization messed up both his first and last names. Read more about it in his SABR Bio here.

Finally I direct you to the 4 stars that arc through the card/flag. The Venezuelan Flag has 8 stars representing the countries 8 provinces. Here I have chosen to feature four stars as a nod to the 4 times that Manny Trillo made the All-Star team.

Peanut Gallery
For a bit more on this card and a progressive record of the Error-less streak check out the 1983 Topps Blog.

Manny Trillo Links
1983 Fleer #631 Pride of Valenzuela
1983 Topps Blog

Sources & Links
1980 Phillies
Phillies Wall of Fame
Baseball-Ref
SABR - Leonte Landino
Encyclopedia Britannica

RTC Braves Howie Bedell 1962 Topps

The Phillies are currently hosting their alumni weekend bring back many of the teams legends from the Past such as Schmidt, Carlton, Dick Allen, John Kruk, Dallas Green, Charlie Manuel and Latest Wall of Fame inductee Pat Burrell.

The Club also brings back some lesser known players such as Howie Bedell

 

1962 Topps #76 Howie Bedell (rookie flair but not a RC)

Howie Bedell only played 9 games with the Phillies and I don't think he ever represented the local team on card. The remainder of his career was 58 games with the Braves - The Team that is town to face the Phillies during the Alumni festivities.

On Opening day of the 1962 Season Bedell made his Major league debut as the leadoff hitters for the then Milwaukee Braves versus the San Francisco Giants and their Hall of Fame starter Juan Marichal. Bedell played Left Field along side Center Fielder Hank Aaron, They backed up Warren Spahn and another Hall of Famer Eddie Matthews started at 3rd Base.

Unfortunately for Bedell and the Braves lost 6-0 that day, but Bedell got his first career hit, a 3rd inning single off Marichal

Chester County Baseball
Bedell is more a representative of the Phillies and the Philadelphia region for his post playing career baseball activities. He did some coaching with the Phillies and more recently has been part of a group trying to bring a minor league team to Chester County.

I haven't heard much about the project recently but at one time there were proposals for West Chester, Where Howie Bedell went to College, and Phoenixville which has made a strong resurgences over the last decade. According to the 2010 Phoenix article cited above Bedell has been involved in the building of close to a dozen stadiums.

I am disappointed that the one that Bedell hasn't gotten done is in ChesCo, but understand there are a lot of factors that aren't positives for a community - including the high monetary cost. Regardless I hope that Howie Bedell, now a few weeks short of his 80th birthday gets a chance to see a local stadium.

Sources and Links
The Phoenix
baseball-ref
Topps Baseball Card Database

Snapshots - Mike Lieberthal Phillies Wall of Fame Induction

Mike Lieberthal and his son get the red carpet treatment from the Phillies

I appreciated the Mike Lieberthal WoF induction significantly more then I thought it would.  Some great players returned for the occasion, the Phils video team put together another great production which gave me and other Phillies fans a chance to re-examines the long-time catchers career.

Lieberthal has caught more games for the Phils than any other player including Bob Boone (one time MLB record holder for Games), 1993 NLCS champ team Captain Darren Daulton and current All-Star receiver Carlos Ruiz.  Lieberthal also has the team Home Run record for the position.  He was a two time all-star and earned a gold glove behind the plate.

Ceremony  

Bob Boone

I wasn't sure who would introduce Lieberthal.  The Phillies made an nice choice in bringing back Bob Boone.   

Phillies PA announcer Dan Baker and Mike Lieberthal 

Lieberthal recognized the late John Vukovich among others when speaking about is early career.

Steve Carlton and Mike Schmidt

 If I get time, I will get a posting up on the actual game sometime this weekend - which includes another HR batting stance (unfortunately not Chase Utley's).  I also have a Phungo 5 with Kerry from Cards on Cards in the On-Deck bin. 

2012 Phillies Wall of Fame Night - Mike Lieberthal

Phillies Alumni weekend is upon us.  If you're a Phils fan and you can make it, I recommend the outing.  The organization does a good job bringing back former players and holding events. 

This year the Phillies Wall of Fame inductee is Mike Lieberthal. I haven't seen who will be introducing him, but a number of Phils luminaries are expected to be on hand for the occasion including Steve Carlton and Mike Schmidt.


  

2003 Topps Chrome #140 Mike Lieberthal

Mike Lieberthal is the one guy that most connects all the non-playoff years between 1994 and 2006.  Did a little research and found out he does not have the most games played as a Phil without repping them in the playoffs.  That dubious distinction belongs to Tony Taylor.

Despite his long tenure as a Phillies player I have only featured one Lieberthal card here previously, but I did put him on my Phillies all oughts team.  Which I may rethink with Carlos Ruiz having a very successful post-oughts career. 

Lieberthal did make the all-star team twice (1999, 2000) and hit 150 Home Runs during his Phillies career which I suppose is Wall of Fame worthy - but I got him as one of their weaker candidates.

Phillies 2011 Alumni Weekend

The Phillies Annual Alumni Weekend is upon us.  Unfortunatley Team Phungo will not be able to make the festivities this year, but I strongty encourage you to go, whether your a Phils fan or Baseball fan in general.  I have enjoyed the Alumni weekends I have been to in the past and they will likely always remain on my todo list.

2010 Phungo #13 John Kruk

On Friday Night the Phils are inducting fan favorite and ESPN analyst John Kruk into the Wall of Fame.  Saturday Night will feature the return of dozens of Phils players from the past.  The Phils typically have a couple of former players signing autographs throughout the stadium during the entier weekend.  Past signers have included Mickey Morandini, Jim Eisenreich, and Mike Lieberthal. 

Among the players expected to return for Saturday night are all 3 of the Phils living Hall of Famers:  Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton, and Jim Bunning.

The big event on Sunday is the unveiling of a statue honoring Harry Kalas - I am sure this will be a joyful and emotional moment for many Phillies Fans. 

For the Phillies press release for the weekend click here.

For a look back at the Phils 2009 Alumni Weekend click here.

Phillies 2010 Alumni Weekend

1986 Topps #264 Darren Daulton

The Philadelphia Phillies 2010 Alumni Weekend is upon us. This year the Phils will be inducting Darren Daulton into their "Wall of Fame"

Daulton was the captain of the 93 Phils NLCS team and Won a World Series with the 97 Marlins. He was a 3 time All-Star with 137 Homers over a 14 year career. The 1993 season was his best as he hit 27 Homers and a league leading 109 RBIs.

Alumni Weekend will start this Friday August 6th and Run through August 8th. The Phils will be hosting the New York Mets for a 3 game series.

I have been to a couple of Alumni Nights and have had a good time. In the past couple of years there have been some painless autograph opportunities as well. Last year the signers were Jim Eisenreich, Mickey Morandini, and Mike Lieberthal.

For a look back at Phillies 2009 Alumni Weekend click here.

For the Collector

The card above is Daulton's first Topps Card. His Rookie Card is 1985 Fleer #U-33.

The Bull says there is less than 24 hours left in the John Hughes Memorial Trading Card Contest!

Team Phungo brings you another Photo from the Phils Alumni Weekend. This is Greg Luzinski signing autographs for fans at the Bulls BBQ Competition stand. Each year the Bull's Teammate Garry Maddox hosts a charity Barbecue competition and since Luzinski lends his name to a BBQ establishment at the Phils Ballpark he always has a stand at the event.

While singing a youngsters hat the Bull was mentioning how important it was for everyone to enter the...

John Hughes Memorial Trading Card Trivia Contest!

So far we have entries by Dayf, White Sox Cards, and 72 Topps Baseball.

The Phungo Judges have assured me that none of these trivia aficianados have run the table however and you can still win the competition and be declared the King or Queen of the Eighties!

Why watch the Bosox and Yanks tonight when you can spend it combing the internet for John Hughes Facts?

Phillies 2009 Alumni Night

First off I want to let everyone know that there is still time to get involved in the

John Hughes Memorial Trading Card Trivia Contest!

It's looking like a crummy weather day here in the Northeast, I'm sure there are some 80s trivia buffs out there who could waste 20 minutes on the net finding the answers, and someone has to challenge Dayf.

Moving on to the present post:

Alumni Night was a bit of a bummer for several reasons. The Phils lost for the 2nd game in a row v the 2nd place Marlins. The Phils appeared to have a favorable pitching matchup (Cole Hamels v Sean West). The Alumni accessibility was not as good as expected. And finally we got caught up in a traffic jam on the way home.

Within the game itself the Marlins were terribly sloppy but the Phils let the Fish off the hook several times by going about 2 for 20 with runners on base. The Marlins won 6-4. Dingers were hit for the bad guys by Chris Coghlan (member of Phungo Fantasy Squad at least) and Cody Ross. Former Phil Brian Sanches got the W in relief, Cole Hamels was unimpressive in yet another loss and failed to go 6 innings. On a positive note Ryan Howard looked good without hitting a homer - a rare event. He has not been hitting well recently, hopefully his 4-4 night gets him out of his slump.

Despite the frustrating loss, I did have a good time and I am glad I went. I was able to pick up a couple of autos and got a couple of decent pictures.

Here are some of the hilights (all pix can be clicked to enlarge):

Harry Kalas was this years inductee to the Phillies Wall of Fame, this is his brand new plaque.


Phils New Addition:
Anybody notice anything odd about the above picture?



Mickey Morandini


Jim Eisenreich



National Anthem with Phillies Alumni and Current Phillies on the field

Close Up of Alums including all four Phils living HOFs

And I got some shots of the bad guys.



This is what Chris Coghlan looks like right before he hits a homer to center field

and Marlins Pitcher Sean West:


I met West's Aunt and Uncle at a local restaurant last year and have been following him a bit since then. He is young and has had mixed starts this year. Last night he was fair at best, he was able to get out of a few jams, but lasted less than 5 innings. The Marlins bullpen did a great job of holding the Phils in check and along with Chris Coghlan were the stars of the game.

2008 08 10 - Pirates @ Phillies - Alumni Weekend

Philllies take 2 of 3 games from the lowly Pirates this weekend. The Sunday game was largely won because of poor play by the Bucos as the Phils meager offense failed to generate much offense.

It was also Alumni Weekend. This weekend the Phils Inducted Juan Samuel into the Wall-of-Fame and Robin Roberts was also honored.

Samuel will be getting a plaque added to the Phillies Wall-of-Fame. Here is Roberts plague.