Night Owl Cards

Even with all of the acquisitions that the Dodgers have made in the last six months, everyone knows -- or should know -- that the core of the team is Kemp and Kershaw. The last two years have established that the Dodgers don't do a damn thing if those two don't do a damn thing. This is the main reason that I collect cards of both players. The other reason is I think they're decent folks. I don't take player collecting as seriously as I do set collecting or team collecting. But I do pay attention to how many cards I have of both of these players. In particular, I am interested in the Kershaw total. It is my goal to have more Kershaw cards than I have cards for any other player. I'm well on my way to doing that. Just last week I passed 250 unique Kershaw cards, which I think is pretty good for a guy who lists "player collecting" as priority three. Kershaw has appeared regularly on cards only since 2008. Outside of Hideo Nomo, Orel Hershiser, Mike ...

This is another "for posterity" post. I'm trying to determine which major league records are held by Dodgers. I've always had the feeling that they don't hold a lot of them. They seem to be held mostly by Yankees or bulbous-headed steroid users or other such nonsense. Or maybe it's just my inferiority complex. The Dodgers have gotten along pretty well without setting a lot of records, but I think I'm missing some. So that's the reason for the post. I'm going to list what I know here, and then add more as I stumble across them. As always, if you know of major league marks held by Dodgers, please let me know. Here is what I've got right now -- basically off the top of my head: Karl Spooner, starting pitcher, 1954-55 MLB record held: Most strikeouts, game, rookie (tie), 15 (Sept. 22, 1954 vs. Giants). Gil Hodges, first baseman, 1943, 1947-61 MLB record held: Most home runs, game (tie), four (Aug. 30, 1950 vs. Braves). Sandy Kouf...

I think it's fairly evident that I am a traditionalist in this hobby and a lot of other areas. I respect the ideals of hard work and fair play and believe the rewards are sweeter the greater the effort involved. This is why I dislike wild cards and expanded playoffs and a trophy for every youth baseball team who managed to run to first without tripping over the baseline. Work for it, sister, and maybe you'll enjoy it more. Incentive is a wonderful thing. But I see less and less evidence of "roll up your sleeves" behavior in everyday life. Thank God for the Navy Seals. Maybe that'll inspire a few folks to get off their fat ass. In the card world, we have the same thing. It's been going on for awhile now. Topps has been issuing reprints of its most famous and coveted sets for more than a decade now. It has done this repeatedly and so often that it's monumentally difficult to differentiate the reprint sets from each other. I don't know how many ver...

... I'll show Karl Spooner, the 1954 version of Stephen Strasburg. This is Spooner's 1956 card. It is the final card issued during his career. Spooner's major league career lasted two years, 1954 and 1955. If you have been following along with Strasburg the past week, then you have at least heard Spooner's name mentioned. Strasburg came within a strikeout of matching Spooner's record 15 strikeouts in a major league debut. Spooner struck out 15 Giants on Sept. 22, 1954, a 3-0 victory for the Dodgers. He also hit a double. In his second game, on Sept. 26, 1954, he struck out 12 Pirates in a 1-0 Brooklyn win. So, that's 27 strikeouts and two victories in two major league starts. It sounds quite Strasburgian. In fact, it's even more impressive. There you see Spooner's highlights in cartoon form on the back of his '56 card. Unfortunately, that card back sums up ALL of his career highlights. "King Karl" would suffer an injury in spring t...