2020 Phillies Team Set (1971 Style)

Providence Bruins Meet the Team Night & Catching Up

Tonight was Meet the Team night at Dunkin Donuts Center for the Providence Bruins. The majority of the roster was in attendance signing autographs.  The two noticeable exceptions I picked up were Chris Breen and Cameron Hughes.  Hughes we heard was ill and stayed home. Not sure why Breen wasn't there.

We arrived fairly late for session two, but the event was pretty well organized.  Players were sitting two or three to a table around the concourse, and big thumbs up for having not just the team store, but also the Dunkin' in the building be open to sell not just gimmicks, but coffee for the coffee drinkers.

I won't bore you with the details.  But I was able to zip through the autograph lines pretty quickly.  The team also did a very good job of having a pretty big paper stock poster for people to get signed.  The only person on the poster not available to get an autograph from was Hughes, which isn't bad.

So, going in, the plan was to get the team to sign the pennant.  Really nice of the boys to keep their signatures small (and also number tag), so that I could get everybody.  But I also picked up a logo puck with a lot of white space to get Peter Cehlarik's auto.  His signature was small enough that I was also able to get Trent Fredric and Max Legace on there, too. 

So, I've added my first autographs to my Providence Bruins collection.

In the last few weeks I've also had some TTM and fanpack returns.  I'm going to get back on posting more often, but I don't have pics to go with the post, so we'll just tag them in here.

Gene Garber and Dick Groat returned some custom cards that I sent out a while ago.  And fan packs came back from the Arizona Cardinals, Oakland Raiders and just today the Jacksonville Jaguars (BORTLES!).

I am also less than 100 days away from going to Ireland.  We are missing a chance to see an EIHL game just a day or two.  But I am hoping to see SSE Arena Belfast, home of the Belfast Giants while we're there (and will be getting a puck for the collection, because count it).

TTM Success #32 & 33 - The Voice of Bonnie Swanson, Jennifer TIlley, and former Phillie Bill Campbell

Sorry, but no photos.  As I mentioned on Sunday, my current computer is slowly going the way of the buffalo.  So instead of trying to wrestle any sort of performance out of this thing, I'm just going to report very simply that I did receive two TTM returns today.

I also now have about 80% of the parts I need for my new computer.  But of course I'm waiting for the most important parts (you know, useless stuff, like a motherboard, memory kit, hard drive and power supply).

Regardless.  Today's returns came back from voice actress and poker player Jennifer Tilley as well a former Phillies pitcher Bill Campbell.

Campbell had a 57 game shot with the Phillies in 1984, the beginning of the tail end of what had been a workhorse bullpen career.  Campbell twice lead his league in games or games finished and in 1977 lead the American League in saves (31) grabbing his only All-Star Game nod as well as some MVP and Cy Young votes.  Impressive feat for the 70's when relievers were the punters of the the sport.  In 1983 Campbell pitched in exactly half the regular season games the Chicago Cubs played.  But his ERA ballooned to four and a half, and after the '83 season he began a 4 team in 4 season tour that would lead into the end of his career.  His only post season glory came as a rostered pitcher for Whitey Herzog's Cardinals in 1985, striking out 5 in 4 innings against the Kansas City Royals.

Campbell returned 2 Phillies TTM Frankenset customs in 15 days (give or take, since I think my partner left the envelopes in her handbag for a few days...)

Jennifer Tilley first shot into my consciousness about 20 years ago.  I was (am?) a massive fan of the first Matrix movie, and was told that the Wachovski Brothers had made a move called Bound as a demo tape to Warner Brothers before the studio would trust them with a very large boat load of money to make the greatest cyberpunk film ever.

Bound was a very different movie, and was a three-hander starring Tilley and Gina Gershon as the protagonists and Joe Pantaliano as Tilley's gangster husband bad guy.  Tilley's character falls for Gershon (and I mean, who wouldn't), and pulls Gershon's character - fresh out of a 5 year bid - into a Tarantino meets Thelma and Louise spiral.

The movie is incredibly well done.  There are hints at the pioneering cinematography that we would see in the Matrix series, but the handling of a very small story as well as a really unique take on a love triangle make Bound a great stand alone watch. 

After Bound, Tilley stayed in my ear as a voice actress, handling the microphone as Bonnie Swanson, the perma-pregnant wife of Joe in Family Guy.  More recently, Tilley found herself in a relationship with poker's Unabomber, Irish player Phil Laak.  Laak introduced her to the game, and she found a fantastically lucrative second career in card rooms.  She is one of a handful of women to win bracelets at the World Series of Poker and for the last few years has been a mainstay at the top of "Best Female Players" lists.

Tilley returned in about 3 weeks via an email request sent to an address that is widely available.  If you can't find it, feel free to leave a comment below, and I'll dig through my outbox to accommodate.

New computer is being built tomorrow night.  Thursday, fingers crossed, I will be doing some NHL 20 streaming on twitch.tv/revdonkbonkers.  And then from there, it should be back to a more consistent posting schedule.

Hope your mailboxes are full of autographs and light on bills.

More Phillies Customs Printed and Getting Ready to Go

I've been dawdling on the TTM front lately.  And talking to Jeff Baker last week stoked some motivation.  I've printed and sent about half of the Phillies Frankenset.  But tonight, I ran 9 more through the printer.

Bill Campbell, Jose Cardenal, Ramon Aviles, Darold Knowles, Tommy Hutton, Charles Hudson, Dick Groat, Gene Garber and Ray Culp.  A handful of lesser knowas an players, Charles Hudson is the only one I remember seeing play as a Phillie, and Gene Garber is probably best known for his run with the Atlanta Braves.

TTM Return # 31 - Former Phillies' Outfielder & Coach, Milt Thompson || Fan Pack Return #19 Da Bears

Player: Milt Thompson
Sent: 7/6/19
Return: 9/21/19 (77 days)
Ratio: 2/2
Address Source: Cincinnati Reds' Stadium listed on SCF.


Team: Chicago Bears
Sent: 9/13/19
Return: 9/21/19 (8 days)
Items: 2 stickers, 2 2019 pocket schedules
Address Source: email from SCF.
See all Fan Pack Returns Here

Nice way to end the week, getting two returns in a day.  That's pretty uncommon here, considering the low volume of requests I actually send out.  But it was nice to get Milt Thompson back after almost two months (77 days).  And an 8 day turn around to get a couple of Chicago Bears schedules is really good, too.

Fantasy Football Content: I had Concerns Starting Jackson Over Ryan...

For most of the last 20 years, I have considered myself an alt-football fan.  I have enjoyed watching indoor, Canadian and semi-pro football when I've had the opportunity (and thoroughly enjoyed the AAF for as long as that lasted), but never really enjoyed the NFL or NCAA football.

But when I moved to New England, I started a fantasy league as a way of staying in contact with my coordinator at work, as he would be in a position to promote me, and I wanted to make sure he didn't forget who I was while I was whiling away at one of his locations.

That's how the Masshole Fantasy Football League was born.  I got promoted right before draft season last year, and was too busy to run the league, but after a career change this spring, I found myself with plenty of time to bring the MFFL back.

And this year, I'm taking it seriously.  During the first season, I decided that we were going to go big with the championship trophy.  The team that won got an undisclosed sum of money, and also a professionally made, custom 2ft x 3ft championship banner (which, according to his wife, "will never see the light of day as long as I'm around".)

The MFFL drafted two weeks ago.  We're a 12 team, .5 pt PPR league.  During our draft, I picked up Lamar Jackson in round 9 as a back-up to Matt Ryan.  Patrick Mahomes had gone #2 overall to my partner's brother's team Flutie Flakes.  So everyone's quarterback strategy was immediately screwed up.  I went with Jackson as a back-up because I liked the synergy of Jackson coming off a week 8 bye into Ryan's week 9 bye.  But then as I looked at the match-ups, and read some coverage, I started to like Jackson versus the Dolphins more and more.

TTM Success #30: Fourth Phillies' Manager Return - Pat Corrales

Player: Pat Corrales 
Sent: 7/6/19
Return: 9/7/19 (63 days)
Ratio: 2/2
Address Source: Atlanta, GA address listed on SCF.

Most of us have probably moved into fantasy football mode (I'm currently up 92-74 with an 83% win probability).  So I'll keep this short.

TTM Success #29: 1963 Gold Glove Winner Bobby Wine

Player: Bobby Wine
Sent: 7/6/19
Return: 8/2/19 (44 days)
Ratio: 2/2
Address Source: Norristown, PA address listed on SCF.

This is the longest I've waited for a return at 111 days. But for an 80 year old, Bobby Wine is still returning autographs for fans and still has a great, fluid, sharp signature.

TTM Success #28: Dale Sveum & New SCF.com Site Seems to Be Rolling Out

Player: Dale Sveum
Sent: 7/6/19
Return: 8/2/19 (44 days)
Ratio: 2/2
Address Source: Scottsdale, AZ address listed on SCF.

Dale Sveum is definitely a first ballot Baseball Name Hall of Fame entry.  Sveum played for the Phillies in 1992.  Philly was the first stop on a seven team tour that started after he spent the first six years of his career in Milwaukee (way back when that meant playing in the American League.

Now Here's a Dumb Idea: Start a Trading Card Company

We can do better than this.

If you're around me long enough, you'll hear at least one of what I call "Awesome or Awful Ideas".  Yesterday was a very slow day at work, so I was watching Jack of All Trades on Netflix.  The movie, plus a lot of free time "on the clock" yesterday triggered one of these ideas.

Start a Trading Card Company

What would it take to start a card company?

1. Team or league licensing agreements
2. Photographer or photo licensing
3. Designer
4. Manufacturer for printing & packaging
5. Distribution

1. One of the things about baseball up here in New England, is that there are a lot of teams and leagues operating outside of Major/Minor League Baseball.  Three summer college leagues, a couple Atlantic and Can-Am League teams just south of Connecticut.  So while the dream scenario is to be the mega millionaire to crack Topps' MLB/MiLB stranglehold, the real deal is to jump in at a smaller level.  Be a big, lonely fish, in a small pond.

TTM Success #27: Gary Varsho

Player: Gary Varsho
Sent: 7/6/19
Return: 8/2/19 (27 days)
Ratio: 2/2
Address Source: Chilli, WI address listed on SCF.

Gary Varsho had a short Major League career, spending his 8 years as corners outfielder playing mostly off the bench, and only twice playing in more than half a season's games twice.  He finished out his career with the Phillies in '95, he retired after the season.

TTM Success #26: Ron Roenicke

Player: Ron Roenicke
Sent: 7/6/19
Return: 8/1/19 (26 days)
Ratio: 2/2
Address Source: Fenway Park, listed on SCF.

Ron Roenicke made an impression on me as a member of the first Phillies team I was functionally aware of as a utility piece of the '86 & '87 teams.  I was eight and nine for those teams and that was when I was truly becoming aware as a sentient  person.  It was not a great time to be "coming of age" as a baseball fan in Philadelphia. 

The '86 Phils finished 2nd in the East a mere 21 some games out of the pennant, and the '87 team finished 2 games under .500 before the bottom fell out of the whole operation in '88.  But I can still name some of those cardboard legends that patrolled the thinly covered concrete of The Vet.  That era of the Phillies is a real "Who's Who?"

TTM Success #25: Philadelphia Athletics' Art Ditmar

Player: Art Ditmar
Sent: 7/6/19
Return: 7/27/19 (21 days)
Ratio: 2/2
Address Source: Myrtle Beach, SC address listed on SCF.

Between Art Ditmar and Bobby Shantz, I've managed to get two of the few remaining men who played for the Philadelphia Athletics.  I think it's vitally important to keep the memory of that team alive.  With the history the behind the team since the club moved to Oakland, it's easy to forget that the team not only had a stop over in Kansas City, but was there right at the beginning, in 1901 when the Western League moved east and decided to go toe-to-toe with the National League.  Connie Mack and Ben Shibe launched the Athletics to compete with the Phillies.  That team went on to stomp all over the newly minted American League, winning six pennants and three World Series titles in 15 years. 

TTM Success #24: Denny Doyle

Player: Denny Doyle
Sent: 7/6/19
Return: 7/26/19 (20 days)
Ratio: 2/2
Address Source: Oakland, FL address listed on SCF.

Denny Doyle came from the generation of Phillies that immediately preceded me.  He is also one of a dwindling number of players who spent part of their career at Connie Mack Stadium.  I feel drawn to that era and that stadium.  I've probably mentioned it before, but I'm obsessed with the idea of the Philadelphia Athletics.  What would the city's sports culture, and what would my sports fandom be like if the Athletics had never left for Kansas City?  How would my appreciation of baseball been different had the A's stayed in town and played in Connie Mack through the 80's and 90's?  It's likely that as a natural contrarist, and a traveler of the road not taken, that I would have been an A's fan.  Mostly because my grandfather was a Phillies' guy through and through, and being an A's fan probably would have gone right up his ass.

TTM Success #23: Former Phillies Pitcher and Current Color Commentary Guy Larry Anderson

Player: Larry Anderson
Sent: 4/19/19
Return: 7/27/19 (97 days)
Ratio: 2/2
Address Source: Citizens Bank Park listed on SCF.

Larry Anderson was a mediocre relief pitcher with one of the legendary senses of humor in the history of the game.  If there is a Mount Rushmore of utility player/middle relievers with hall of fame senses of humor, I believe that Larry Anderson and former Phillies' coconspirator Jay Johnstone occupy two of those giant, bouldery heads. 

Custom Cards: 18 New Editions to the Phillies Frankenset