Happy Tug McGraw Day 2012!

Do something nice today...

Go to the TUG McGRAW FOUNDATION and spend some money

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All Burgundy: Jimmy, Ryan, Chase & Cole

Last week's 1979 Mike Schmidt redux post rekindled my curiosity/obsession with the infamous all burgundy Saturday Night Special uniforms the Phillies wore on May 19th, 1979. Much to my continuous dismay, there weren't many photos taken that night. In fact, in the 33 years later, I have only ever seen four actual pictures from that game.

As I was colorizing the far left Mike Schmidt picture, I started thinking about the current Phillies. The team has participated in both home and away "throwback" uniform games several times in the last couple of years. What would it look like if the current Phillies got to throwback to the magic of the 1979 all-burgundy threads?

1980 Mike Schmidt Topps redux

For Mike Schmidt, 1980 was a magical year both individually and the franchise he had come to represent. After three bitter playoff defeats following the 1976, 1977, and 1978 seasons -- the Phillies finally won the World Series. It was the first championship in the 97 year history of the franchise.

For his part, Mike Schmidt was the best player on the best team in the league. His 48 home runs broke his own team record from the season before. He won the NL HR crown for a fourth time, by a margin of thirteen over Bob Horner, his nearest competitor. Added with a league leading 121 RBIs and 342 total bases... Schmidt was a unanimous choice for the National League's Most Valuable Player Award.

On October 3, 1980 the Phillies went into Montreal tied with the Expos for first place in the NL East. He vaulted the team with a sacrifice fly in the first and a solo home run in the sixth. When it was done, the Phillies won 2-1 and were sitting in first place. The next day, Schmidt hit his 48th home run of the year in the 11th inning to give the Phillies the 6-4 extra innings division clinching win over the Expos. Listen to Andy Muser's memorable HR call here.

After a dismal NLCS (24 ABs, 5 hits, one double, 1 RBI) against the Houston Astros, his bat came alive in the 1980 World Series, hitting two homers and driving in seven runs against the Kansas City Royals to earn him the World Series MVP Award.

To me, no single image of Mike Schmidt is more memorable than him jumping into the arms of Tug McGraw as the rest of the 1980 World Champion Phillies mob them. I had to use it for the 1980 redux card.

New wallpaper: Baltimore's smiling bird

I got a chance to shoot the Baltimore Orioles in Texas last week.

Here is a shot I made into a 1366x768 wallpaper.

You can view the entire gallery of my pics from this game here.

Familiar Faces / Strange Places: Blockbuster

Adrian Gonzalez and James Loney in their strange new uniforms

Somewhere... Charlie O. Finley is shaking his head slowly and calling Bowie Kuhn the "village idiot".

Domonic Brown

After watching him gun down Jay Bruce at home...
I've decided to go public with the fact Domonic Brown is going to be my favorite player on the Phillies from now on.

Happy Cal Ripken Day

Born on this day in 1960... Oriole Hall of Famer and baseball IronMan Cal Ripken.

Yes playing in 2,632 consecutive games is impressive, but I believe Cal's most important legacy is... more than any one player he provided the spark to re-energize the fans. Doing so he saved the game following the devastation of the 1994 strike.

1979 Mike Schmidt Topps redux

If this story sounds like the 2012 Phillies, it is only a coincidence...

The 1979 Philadelphia Phillies were coming off of three straight NL East titles and three bitter NLCS defeats. In an effort to push the franchise over the hump the organization signed the biggest available free agent on the market... superstar Pete Rose. With Charlie Hustle wearing red pinstripes, batting lead-off and manning first-base the Phillies were the clear favorites to waltz away with the world championship. Except things don't always go the way you expect in baseball.

Instead the "We are Family" Pittsburgh Pirates won the NL East leaving the Phillies 14 games behind a distant fourth. Then the Pirates went on the win the World Series and Phillies fans were beginning to believe their window of opportunity for a championship was closed for good. It all turned out OK the next year, but 1979 was painful to Phillies fans.

After a mediocre 1978 season, Mike Schmidt returned to his typical elite level in 1979. With Rose now playing first, Schmidt was finally elected as the third base starter for the NL All Star team. He hit 45 home runs and drove in 114 runs. More importantly, for the first time in his career, he walked more times than he struck out. Mike Schmidt had developed into a great player.

My first 1979 redux card used a beautifully lit Heinz Kluetmeier/Sports Illustrated image. It looked great. But  late last night my browser bumped into a rare image of Michael Jack Schmidt sporting the infamous all-burgundy Phillies uniform... and just like that I had a new colorization project. Worn only once on Saturday night May 19, 1979 in a 10–5 loss to the Expos. The all-burgundy "Saturday Night Specials" uniforms never saw the turf of Veterans Stadium again.

1978 Mike Schmidt Topps redux

Of the ten baseball card designs Topps produced in the 1970s, I would have to rate the 1978 set dead last. In my eyes the design is pretty darn boring and I have never found the correct font type to match the script for the team names, which makes creating a good template very hard.

For a non-action photo... the 1978 edition of the Mike Schmidt card catalog is pretty darn awesome. I love the mustache, the Dick Allen memorial ear-flapless helmet (I don't think Schmidt ever actually wore one to the plate) and the wide collared warm-up jacket under the jersey.

Besides a third straight NL East title and another gold glove, nothing about the 1978 season was that memorable for Mike Schmidt. He produced his lowest HR & RBI totals since his forgettable rookie season and his OPS+ was almost 30 points lower than his previous 2 seasons. He did not have a single multi-HR game and 1978 was the only season from 1974 though 1984 the he did not get at least one vote in the NL MVP ballot.

I couldn't recreate the magic of the original Topps card in my redux version, but I did use a era appropriate home action shot. I can't tell if this pic was from '78 or '79. From what I could tell he wore adidas shoes those seasons. I know it isn't from 1976 (no bicentennial sleeve patches) or 1977 (he wore Pumas). By 1980 he had moved to nike.

1977 Mike Schmidt Topps redux

The 1977 Topps set was the first year I attempted to piece together the entire 660 card set, the old fashioned way... one pack at a time. I was 11 years old. I bought an untold number of wax packs, rack packs, and celo packs. I even got into a bit of trouble because I pulled off what would be ruled an unfair trade with a younger (cough... stupid) neighborhood boy. I think it was something like 4 of my Detroit Tiger doubles (including Mark Fidrych) for his prized Pete Rose card. Little did I know, but this set would go onto become what the PSA would call "the Rodney Dangerfield of '70s baseball issues".

In 1977 Mike Schmidt led the Phillies to the first 100 win season in franchise history. They recorded the best record in the National League (KC won 102 in the AL), and a second straight NL East title. They lost to the LA Dodgers in a heartbreaking 4 game NLCS. Individually, Schmidt's streak of NL HR crowns was broken at three, but he won the 2nd of what would be 10 career gold gloves and continued to establish himself as a superstar.

For my redux card, I decided to show Mike Schmidt playing defense. In 1977 he recorded 2.5 dWARs (Defensive Wins Above Replacement), which would be the best defensive single season of his hall of fame career. Everyone remembers Mike Schmidt for hitting 500+ home runs, but it was the combo of this powerful offense and stellar defense that separates him as the greatest third baseman in the history of the game.

2013 Topps Dick Allen - White Sox

Topps unveiled the new design for their 2013 baseball cards on Friday. 

Of course that meant that I had another card to add to the Dick Allen legacy card project.

Download my 2013 Topps template here

1976 Topps Mike Schmidt redux

I absolutely love Mike Schmidt's 1976 Topps card for a couple of reasons: 1) it is the first action shot card in his career 2) he appears to be bunting and 3) he is wearing the white shoes the team wore during the 1975 season.

My redux card shows a photo of him from the 1976 season (note the Bicentennial patches on both sleeves) against Johnny Bench and the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds swept the 1976 Phils out of the NLCS en-route to their World Series victory.

On April 17th, 1976 Mike Schmidt hit four consecutive home runs at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The Phillies and Cubs combined for a staggering 43 hits and 9 home runs, as the Phils won 18-16.

In the game Schmidt got Cubs starter Rick Reuschel twice and finished his record day going deep on Rick's big brother Paul. By the end of the month, Schmidt tied the National League record with 11 April home runs.

This was one of several "career" days at Wrigley Field for Mike Schmidt. With eight multiple home run days and 50 career blasts at "the Friendly Confines" Schmidt . This total is 21 more than any other ballpark the Phillies visited.

Happy Roberto Clemente Day 2012

"I am convinced that God wanted me to be a baseball player... 
I was born to play baseball." 
~ Roberto Clemente

1975 Topps Mike Schmidt redux

Mike Schmidt hoped to build on his breakout 1974 season with a fast start to the 1975 campaign, but baseball has a way of humbling everyone. After leading the majors in 1974 with 36 home runs, he hit a grand total of two in April of 1975. May ended not much better, as the HR champ was sitting on six.

According to Schmidt, the 1975 season turned around in the second half for both Mike and the Phillies, because of one reason: Dick Allen.

From Schmidt's book Clearing the Bases:

At that time we badly needed a hitter in the five hole who would command enough respect to force the other team to pitch to Greg Luzinski. Dick became that man -- and more. I had another mentor, someone who decided to put on that Phillies uniform for one reason: to help us understand what it took to win. We responded. I can alive under Dick's and (Dave Cash) A.C.'s watch in the second half of 1975 to finish with 38 home runs and again lead the league. We finished second, one step closer to the top.

1974 Topps Mike Schmidt redux

In 1974 Mike Schmidt delivered a remarkable turnaround from what was a dismal rookie season. He struck out at a much lower rate (although he still led the NL in strike outs wit 138) he also raised his OPS from .697 to .914 while doubling his HR and RBI totals.

He captured his first (of eight) NL home run crowns and made the first (of 12) All Star appearances. He finished 6th in the NL MVP race.

In June of 1974, Mike Schmidt hit the longest single in MLB history when he hit the speaker mounted speaker 300 feet away and 100 feet high at the Astrodome. Don't believe me? Listen to this

On This Day... Terry Mulholland's gem

22 years ago today Phillies lefthander Terry Mulholland energized an otherwise dismal summer of Phillies baseball by throwing the club's first no-hitter in the history of Veterans Stadium.

Mulholland shut out the Giants, his former team, 6-0. He lost his perfect game in the seventh inning after 3rd baseman Charlie Hayes made a throwing error. Hayes made up for his miscue in the end... snagging pinch hitter Gary Carter's hard liner over the 3rd base bag to end the game. It is the record eighth no-hitter of the 1990 season surpassing the previous record set in 1908 and 1917.

Redux Project: 1973 Topps Mike Schmidt

Mike Schmidt shared his first baseball card with fellow NL rookies Ron Cey and John Hilton. Cey went on to have a solid career making six All Star appearances and blasting 316 home runs. John (Dave) Hilton was the #1 overall pick in the 1971 draft and accumulated a .216 batting average in 161 major league games before heading to Japan. For my 1973 redux card, I decided to give him his own card.

Following his 1972 cameo appearance, Paul Owens and the Phillies must have felt Mike Schmidt was ready to be their everyday third baseman. The club traded the popular Don Money to the Milwaukee Brewers to open a spot for him.

As his first full big league season unfolded, it was clear they may have jumped to gun. To put it simply.... Schmidt struggled. He played in 132 games and hit .196, the worst average among major league regular position players. He struck out in an astonishing 37.1% of his at bats. However, he did demonstrate his power potential with 18 home runs.

From an August 1974 Sports Illustrated article:

Last year Schmidt was swinging too hard, pulling away from the pitch and trying to jerk everything over the left-field fence. He did hit 18 homers, but Manager Danny Ozark had so little faith in him that once, with first and second open and a man on third, Ozark had the runner break for the plate on a grounder hit directly at the third baseman. The man was thrown out easily, and the manager explained his unorthodox tactics by saying, " Schmidt was the next hitter and he strikes out a lot."

Redux Project: 1972 Topps Mike Schmidt

Not many people remember this, but before Mike Schmidt wore the number 20, he donned number 22. That just happened to be the uniform the Phillies assigned him as a September call-up in 1972. He played in 13 games, including the only start at second base he would make in his career. He also hit his first major league home run off Montreal starter Balor Moore on September 16th to lead the Phils over the Expos.

You can see Phillies interim manager Paul Owens in the background of this photo. Owens had replaced Frank Lucchesi in July of 1972 in an effort to evaluate the entire franchise.

Redux Project: 1971 Topps Mike Schmidt

Kicking off a new "Redux Project"... this time I am taking on the career of Phillies Hall of Famer: Michael Jack Schmidt.

The first card features him as a ballplayer at Ohio University. He was a four-year letter-winner for the Bobcats from 1967-1971 and was an All-American shortstop in 1970 and 1971. Ohio appeared in the College World Series in that 1970 season. Schmidt was selected in the second round of the 1971 MLB Draft (30th overall pick) by the Phillies in 1971.

Phillies Wall of Famer: Mike Lieberthal

Congrats to former Phillies catcher Mike Lieberthal on his induction into the Philadelphia Phillies Wall of Fame last night. Article from Phillies.com

A first-round (third overall) selection of the Phillies in 1990, Lieberthal spent 13 seasons (1994-2006) with the Phillies and is regarded as one of the franchise's best at his position. Among Phillies' catchers all-time, Lieberthal is the leader in hits (1,128), home runs (149) and games caught (1,139). In 1999, he became just the sixth catcher in Major League history to hit .300 with more than 30 home runs in a single season.

A great picture of Mike Schmidt, Larry Bowa, Dick Allen, and Greg Luzinski watching Jimmy Rollins congratulate his former teammate.

New wallpaper: Sunset in Central Texas

Sharing my new desktop wallpaper using an image I made. This was the sunset on Tuesday (8/7) at the Dell Diamond in Round Rock, Texas.

Hello George Myatt

Yesterday I posted about Bob Skinner quitting the Phillies in 1969. He was replaced in the Phillies dugout by veteran coach George Myatt. According to Myatt's wikipedia page:

Myatt came by three nicknames: Foghorn, for his loud voice; Mercury, for his speed on the bases; and Stud, a name he applied to almost every other player, coach and manager he encountered in baseball.

He also has a supporting role in what has become one of my favorite Dick Allen images ever. This picture shows Myatt on his first day as the Phils interim manager, holding on tight to an obviously disgruntled Dick Allen.

I am not 100% sure, but I think that is Larry Hisle in the background between Allen & Myatt. Hisle was the Phils everyday centerfielder in 1969. He went on to the Twins and Brewers later in his career, appearing in two AL All Star teams and leading the AL with 119 RBIs in 1977.

On this day... Bob Skinner quits

On this day in 1969, manager Bob Skinner abruptly quits the Phillies because of what he terms the "lack of front office support" in his efforts to discipline Dick Allen. As you read the below article and subsequent quote from Dick Allen, try to imagine this happening in 2012 with a major league team and a star player.

If Joe Mauer or Prince Fielder or David Wright wanted to take a day off rather than play in a mid-season exhibition game, do you think it would become a controversy and lead to a manager quitting?

From Dick Allen's 1989 autobiography CRASH:

On August 7, Bob Skinner quit. His resignation came after I decided not to play in an exhibition game against our farm team in Reading, Pennsylvania. For Skinner it was the final straw.

"You're coming with us, Allen," he yelled at me when I told him of my plans to miss the game.

I explained to him that Bob Carpenter had given me permission to miss the exhibition. He thought I was lying. He went to Carpenter and was told I had been given permission to skip the game.

As far as I was concerned, Bob Skinner was a quitter.

Skinner was an old school baseball man and resented the fact I had a relationship with Bob Carpenter. He thought it undermined his authority. But my relationship with Bob Carpenter had been going on for six years. Nobody, outside of my family, knew more about what I had gone through in the Phillies organization. Carpenter was more than an owner to me. That doesn't mean that he always condoned my behavior. "You've got to grow up," he'd tell me. I'd say "I did grow up, black and poor. You grew up white and rich. But we're both grown up."

Skinner never understood my time in Philadelphia. He never felt the boos, the abuse, the threats. There were times when I wanted to sit down and talk to Skinner. I had been with the Phillies for a lot of years. I could have helped him understand the way things worked. But Bob Skinner wanted me to just like everybody else. I wasn't like everybody else. I'd hit 40 home runs in one season for the Phillies. I hit over .300 for four seasons. I'd been to hell and back.

On this Day... Dale Murphy debut

On this day in 1990, the was some new excitement in Philadelphia when the great Dale Murphy, a two time NL MVP put on the Phillies uniform for the first time. One day earlier the Atlanta Braves traded their long time leader to a Phils club looking to make a move in the standings. At the time the club was 11 games behind the Pirates in the NL East.

Unfortunately, things didn't turn out as planned. After a couple of days it was clear the best days for the 34 year old former All Star had long since past. To put it kindly, he struggled. In 57 games he only hit 7 home runs and the club finished 18 games out.

The next season (1991), Murphy was respectable as he hit .252 with 18 home runs and 81 RBI in 153 games. But that was it...

Prior to the 1992 season the club announced a plan to give him more days off to help his sore left knee. Unfortunately, Murphy went on the disabled list two weeks into the season. He returned in early May, only to shut it down again ten days later. He would miss the rest of the season, except for one last Phillies at-bat on the season's final day. He led off the game, grounded out to second and was replaced by current Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr.

Murphy came to 1993 Spring Training with the Phillies needing only two more home runs to reach 400, but didn't make the club. That team would go on capture the hearts of Phillies fans and win the 1993 NL pennant.

The best thing about the Murphy trade is that the Phillies actually got the better end of the deal... Not because of Murphy. The Braves included a young pitcher named Tommy Greene. He would win 13 games in 1991 while throwing a no-hitter and in 1993, would win 16 games and the Game six clincher of the NLCS against the Braves.

1990 Donruss Template here.

Phoenix Script font here.

1951 Topps Dick Allen Red Backs

I've reached the end of the line for the Dick Allen Topps Legacy card Project. I've uploaded each card from start to finish on a special TUMBLR page -- you can view the entire project here.

From the Topps Wikipedia page:

In 1951, Topps produced its first baseball cards in two different sets known today as Red Backs and Blue Backs. Each set contained 52 cards, like a deck of playing cards, and in fact the cards could be used to play a game that would simulate the events of a baseball game. Also like playing cards, the cards had rounded corners and were blank on one side, which was colored either red or blue (hence the names given to these sets). The other side featured the portrait of a player within a baseball diamond in the center, and in opposite corners a picture of a baseball together with the event for that card, such as "fly out" or "single".

Instead of just choosing one team to finish my project, here is a different 1951 Topps Red Back for each of the six teams he played on during his career.

1951 Topps Red/Blue back template here

Familiar Faces / Strange Places: 2012 Trade Deadline

Shane Victorino & Hunter Pence in their new threads.

As expected, Tuesday's non-waiver trade deadline delivered a flurry of moves for the Phillies. I can't say I am overjoyed about Victorino & Pence going to other National League teams, but I certainly understand why Ruben Amaro had to make those moves. The economics and flexibility these two trades bring to the club is important as they re-tool for next season. 

Nate Schierholtz started his Phils career the right way with a difference making home run against the Nationals last night.