If I Were To Collect: Philadelphia Phillies Edition

[The tenth in a series:  I’m picking one player that I associate with a team (whether they spent the majority of their career there or not) that I would strongly consider adding to my official want lists.  They may not always be superstars, or the most popular, and honestly they may not always be my favorite player from the team, but that’s what will make this fun, no?]

Welllllll…..shiiiiiiiit.  The Cubs hadn’t been on the wrong side of a no-hitter since 1965, until yesterday when Cole Hamels came two walks away from a perfect game.  I was able to watch the whole thing on TV, and maybe this is hindsight talking, but there was a different atmosphere in the game.  I’d say as early as the 4th inning, the Cubs announcers were talking about the no-hitter and started to play it up as a real possibility.  Even though we lost, it was still pretty exciting and there were only a couple close calls.  I thought David Ross’ 8th inning shot was going to drop or go out.  I’m not sure Bryant’s final out would have ruined the no-hitter.  If it fell to the ground, there’s a good chance it would be called an error due to the slip before the great grab.

Needless to say, it was an incredible streak, and hopefully we can start to build that back up slowly.

Sepia Schmidt

Mike Schmidt gets the hypothetical call for the Phillies.  In the 80s and 90s when I followed the game, he was the Phillies.  One of the best third basemen of all time, and flies a tiny bit under the radar in the hobby.  I know his older cards command a good premium, but when comparing some of the newer releases, I think he’d be a somewhat manageable collection.

I really like seeing the full box score in these

Current player runner-up: Chase Utley

With the current players, I don’t have much connection or affection for the players.  I do appreciate that so many have had longevity.  I’m going with Utley.  He’s still playing, right?  If not, close enough.

This guy didn’t issue walks

Retired player runner-up: Roy Halladay

My other choice is the other guy that threw a no-hitter.  Oh, and a perfect game.  It’s weird to me that Halladay is retired already, but I guess time is moving faster than I thought.  Either that, or the fact that he played with the Blue Jays, but I only know him as a Philly means he had a longer career than I recognize.  Anyway, dude was good.

The Series So Far
Angels – (tie) Jim Abbott & Vladimir Guerrero
Astros
Athletics
Blue Jays
Braves
Brewers – Bob Eucker
Cardinals – Jim Edmonds
Cubs
Diamondbacks
Dodgers
Giants
Indians – Jim Thome
Mariners
Marlins
Mets – (tie) Darryl Strawberry & Dwight Gooden
Nationals/Expos
Orioles
Padres
Phillies – Mike Schmidt
Pirates –  Andrew McCutchen
Rangers – Nolan Ryan
Rays/Devil Rays
Red Sox
Reds – Eric Davis
Rockies
Royals
Tigers
Twins
White Sox – Paul Konerko
Yankees