Lance Parrish Autographed 1988 Parker Bros. Starting Lineup Talking Baseball Philadelphia Phillies #11

This one is a great oddball Parrish issue and considerably different from the normal 1988 card releases. This 1988 Parker Brothers Starting Lineup Talking Baseball Philadelphia Phillies #11 Lance Parrish card was produced for use with the innovative Starting Lineup Talking Baseball electronic tabletop game, personally autographed by the eight-time Major League All-Star.

Parker Brothers released Starting Lineup Talking Baseball in 1988 as an electronic baseball game that allowed players to construct lineups using real Major League players and statistics. The game featured electronic play-by-play and programmable lineups, an unusually sophisticated concept for a late-1980s tabletop sports game. The original game included 40 All-Star player cards, but collectors could expand it with separately sold team cartridges and corresponding team card sets.

Parrish's card comes from the Philadelphia Phillies team set, rather than the 40-card All-Star group packaged with the base game. The Phillies were included on Cartridge #4006 along with the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Mets. Each team cartridge expansion included cards corresponding to the players that could be programmed into the game.

That distinction is important for collectors because the expansion cards are quite different from the photographic All-Star cards included with the original game. The team cards use player illustrations rather than photographs and measure approximately 2" x 3", giving them an unusual size and appearance compared with conventional baseball cards. The entire team-cartridge series totaled 546 cards20 players plus a checklist for each of the 26 MLB teams of the era.

Parrish is correctly cataloged as #11 in the Philadelphia Phillies set. The Phillies checklist also includes Darren Daulton #12, Von Hayes #13, Juan Samuel #14, Mike Schmidt #15, Steve Jeltz #16, Milt Thompson #19, Steve Bedrosian #28 and others.

The #11 is actually more accurately described as Parrish's player number within the Talking Baseball system rather than a conventional sequential baseball-card number. These numbers were used in conjunction with the electronic game to identify players when setting lineups.

The card represents Parrish during his second and final season with Philadelphia. He was the Phillies' Opening Day catcher in both 1987 and 1988, and his 1988 campaign produced his eighth and final career All-Star selection.

Parrish ultimately completed a 19-year Major League career with 324 home runs and 1,070 RBI, earning eight All-Star selections, three Gold Gloves and six Silver Slugger Awards while also playing a key role on the 1984 World Series Champion Detroit Tigers.

Card Details:

• Player: Lance Parrish
• Team: Philadelphia Phillies
• Year: 1988
• Manufacturer: Parker Brothers
• Set: Starting Lineup Talking Baseball Philadelphia Phillies
• Player Number: #11
• Special electronic tabletop game card
• Issued with the Phillies/Pirates/Mets Cartridge #4006 expansion
• Phillies team-set issue rather than the All-Star cards packaged with the base game
• Approximately 2" x 3"
• Features an illustration rather than conventional player photography
• Player number was used in conjunction with the electronic game
• Distinctive late-1980s oddball baseball issue
• 1988 National League All-Star
• Eight-time MLB All-Star
• Three-time Gold Glove Award winner
• Six-time Silver Slugger Award winner
• 1984 World Series Champion
• Personally autographed
• Condition: NM-MT or better

Authentication: Signature obtained through a private signing conducted by Under the Radar Sports Promotions and guaranteed to pass any third-party authentication service.

This is exactly the type of obscure issue that makes a deep Parrish autograph run interesting. It combines baseball cards, electronic gaming and the Starting Lineup brand in a release that was distributed completely differently from conventional Topps, Donruss and Fleer cards. An excellent addition for collectors of Lance Parrish autographs, Philadelphia Phillies memorabilia, Starting Lineup Talking Baseball cards, Parker Brothers baseball cards, 1980s oddball issues, or comprehensive signed player collections.