Players who played for the Guardians and Phillies | Immaculate Grid Answers for Grid 120 July 31, 2023

Are you hooked on Immaculate Grid, the daily trivia game from Baseball Reference? We sure are! We’ll warn you right now—this blog post contains spoilers. But if you’re looking for a little help with today’s grid (or you already filled it out and want to know who else qualified) read on.

To fill out today’s grid, you need to choose a player who played for both the Guardians and Phillies. There were 196 players who played with both Cleveland and Philadelphia. Here are some examples:

Jim Thome

Jim Thome is one of the great sluggers in baseball history. When Thome was at bat, it was likely that he would either homer, strike out or walk. On August 15, 2011 he became the 8th player to hit 600 home runs. He has also led the league in walks three times with over 120 each. He retired with an amazing 40 percent career OBP, despite his propensity to stike out (182 times one season).

During high school in Bartonville, Illinois (not far from his birthplace, Peoria), Thome was all-state in baseball and basketball. He went on to play both sports at Illinois Central College. He was signed as a 13th round pick in the 1989 amateur draft by the Cleveland Indians and scout Tom Couston. Thome started his minor league career in the Gulf Coast League in 1989. He was not a particularly prolific home run hitter in the minors from 1989 to 1992, with a total of 26 in four seasons. Things turned around when his manager with the AAA Charlotte Knights in 1993, Charlie Manuel taught him to point his bat at the pitcher, in Roy Hobbs fashion, to remind himself to hit the ball up the middle. That helped to unleash his power, which was mainly up the middle, contrary to most power hitters, who tend to pull the ball. He hit 25 homers for Charlotte that year and another 7 in 47 games with Cleveland, and would neverlook back after that.

Asdrúbal Cabrera

Asdrúbal Cabrera is a two-time AL All-Star and former Silver Slugger who was a key contributor to the first Washington Nationals world championship.

Cabrera was signed by scout Emilio Carrasquel in August 2002 for the Seattle Mariners. He debuted professionally with the 2003 Aguirre team and hit .283/~.369/.384, making the Venezuelan Summer League All-Star team at shortstop. In 2004, he debuted in the US with the Everett AquaSox and batted .272/.330/.427 in 63 games, making the Northwest League All-Star team at shortstop. Baseball America ranked him the #8 prospect in the NWL, between Richie Robnett and Matt Macri. In 2005, Cabrera led Mariners farmhands with 10 triples. He played for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (.318/.407/.474 in 51 games, mostly at second base), Inland Empire 66ers (.284/.325/.418 in 55 games, mostly at shortstop) and the Triple A Tacoma Rainiers (.217/.250/.304), reaching the top rung of the minors at just 19. Baseball America rated him the best defensive second baseman in the Midwest League, the #19 prospect in the MWL and #12 in the California League, between John Danks and Chris Iannetta.

Grady Sizemore

Grady Sizemore was labelled a future star from the time he was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 3rd round of the 2000 amateur draft out of Cascade High School in Everett, WA. He was considered to be a first-round talent, but teams shied away from drafting him higher as he was expected to be headed for college.

He was traded to the Cleveland Indians on June 27, 2002 in what turned out to be a lopsided deal. With the Expos apparently headed for contraction, GM Omar Minaya took a gamble at making a heroic run for a pennant by trading away a number of prospects in return for established players who could give the team an immediate boost. Thus in one of a number of deals, Minaya sent three minor leaguers – Sizemore, pitcher Cliff Lee and infielder Brandon Phillips – to the Indians in return for P Bartolo Colon ( a couple of less important players were also involved in the trade). Colon did win 10 games over the second half of the year, but the Expos finished well out of the postseason and all three youngsters that the Indians acquired, including Sizemore, would develop into multiple-time All-Stars.

Carlos Santana

Carlos Santana is an infielder-catcher who made his major league debut with the Cleveland Indians in 2010.

Originally signed out of the Dominican Republic by scout Andres Lopez for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2004, Santana was traded to the Indians along with Jon Meloan on July 26, 2008 in return for 3B Casey Blake. While he had already been considered a prospect before that year, he took a huge step forward in 2008, hitting .326 in 130 games between three teams, playing almost exclusively in Class A ball. It was not an empty batting average, either, as he banged out 39 doubles and 21 homers, drove in 117 runs and drew 89 walks. He was named the California League MVP after the season.

José Cardenal

José Cardenal stole 329 bases during 18 seasons in the big leagues, split between 9 different teams.

The Cuban-born Cardenal was signed by the San Francisco Giants in 1960 and made his pro debut the following summer. He reached the majors with the Giants in 1963, going 1-for-5 in 9 games, but spent most of that year with the El Paso Sun Kings of the Texas League, hitting .312 with 36 home runs and 35 stolen bases. After spending most of 1964 with the Tacoma Rainiers, he was back in the big leagues with San Francisco that September, going hitless in 15 at-bats. Stuck behind Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Jesus Alou, and Matty Alou on the Giants depth chart, he was peddled to the California Angels for catcher Jack Hiatt that fall.

All 196 Players

You can see all 196 players who played with both Cleveland and Philadelphia on Baseball Reference. Good luck with your grid!

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