my favorite cards of the year - 2012 edition

i recently introduced my mini collection focusing on my favorite cards from each year that i've been a collector. the basic gist is that i wanted to create a space for the cards that i most appreciated having in my collection in the year that they were released. these were cards that i acquired in the year that they were issued, and that i considered to be my favorites at the time. i have disallowed (most) cards that are already in other mini collections in order to avoid having a mini collection consisting of more steve garvey, double plays, and dodger stadium cards.

2012 is the last time that the dodgers finished lower than first place in the national league west (knock on wood). they were 8 games behind the eventual world champion san francisco giants and 2 games out of a wild card spot. it's also the last time i saw a game in dodger stadium as i attended the game that took place the night before the big trade with the red sox was finalized.  fast forward to late in the year when topps update was released and i was super pissed about the super short printing of the dodger cards of adrian gonzalez, nick punto, carl crawford, and josh beckett. that put an end to my annual completion of topps flagship and update dodger team sets which from 2009 through 2011 had included the legends short prints. it also left a bad taste in my mouth, although i was right back in it in 2013 chasing all of the yasiel puig short prints in that year's update set. shame on me.  to this day, i have only acquired the beckett card from 2012 update and i don't even look for the others any more.  now, on to my favorite cards from that year.

favorite non-dodger card: topps andrew mccutchen

i am sure it is not intentional, but there is a lot of symbolism present in the photo chosen for this card. as you probably know if you are a regular reader of my blogs, i spend a lot of time looking at the backgrounds of cards and i have a thing for retired numbers on display in stadiums. i decided against a retired numbers mini-collection (i only collect those cards that show jackie robinson's (and bruce sutter's) 42), but i recognized this card as a favorite worthy of keeping due in part to roberto clemente's number 21 on display behind mccutchen. combine the fact that cutch is in the foreground and that number is in the background with cutch wearing number 22 and there is a lot of "next" on this card. the pirates' home field makes for a great background on cards, and i can't wait to get out to pnc park and see it for myself.

favorite dodger card: topps update adam kennedy

speaking of stadiums, the star of this card is dodger stadium - no offense meant to adam kennedy.  i typically disallow cards like this from consideration, but it was so far and away my favorite card that year that i made an exception (for the record, the runner-up was matt kemp's faces of the franchise insert from 2012 topps finest). this card was one that i chased the rainbow for, thanks to it's wonderful aesthetic. i never did find a printing plate, though.

up next, 1996. stay tuned!

some favorite cards by the decade

so i'm continuing my multi-day assault on the 30-day baseball card challenge.  this post will cover days 9 through 15, which all had a similar theme.

day 9 was supposed to feature one of your favorite cards from the 1950s. there are many to choose from, but i'll go with my 1952 topps jackie robinson card.

it's free from its psa case, but i know that it's real and it's spectacular.

day 10 was supposed to feature one of your favorite cards from the 1960s.  again, there are many to choose from, but i'll pick sandy koufax's 1965 topps card

this was my favorite card design from the 60's, and so it was the koufax i most coveted.  i still am in a bit of disbelief that i have all of koufax's topps and fleer cards from his active career.

day 11 was supposed to feature one of your favorite cards from the 1970s

ok, you know that my favorite card of all time is the 1978 topps steve garvey card, so i didn't feel the need to show that one again.  instead, i went with the 1978 topps nlcs card that features davey lopes and tim mccarver.  i was pretty happy as a first-year collector and dodger fan to find a 'bonus' dodger card in the 1978 topps set. add in the fact that i had watched some of the postseason action in 1977 and you have a card that i felt somewhat of a connection with.

day 12 was supposed to feature one of your favorite cards from the 1980s

i wasn't buying many cards in 1989, and what i was buying was made by topps, so this card became a favorite three years later when i made up for some lost time.  it's obvious why i like this card so much, i think, but it is made even more awesome because it is one of the rare times that i know a card features a photo from a game that i attended.

day 13 was supposed to feature one of your favorite cards from the 1990s

there's a lot of dodger stadium goodness to enjoy on eric davis' 1993 upper deck card.  his white uniform is so bright, the grass so green, the warning track so burnt sienna, and then there are the yellow seats and the low railing and the wall adjacent to the visitor bullpen.  it's a great card that reminds me of many dodger games i attended sitting in the corner, but on the left field side instead.

day 14 was supposed to feature one of your favorite cards from the 2000s

one of my favorite sets ever is upper deck's 1999 century legends.  unfortunately, there are a few gaps in that set due to the fact that they weren't allowed to make cards of pete rose, joe dimaggio, or sandy koufax.  in 2000, however, koufax was on board, and he was included in their 2000 legends set with the above card.  i was pretty happy to have new koufax cards to obtain, as cards like the '65 up above were still not something i was actively seeking out.

day 15 was supposed to feature one of your favorite cards from the 2010s

much like the eric davis card above, this 2012 topps update adam kennedy card brings a lot of dodger stadium goodness to the table.  some folks might look at this card and think that it is a photo from spring training in florida, but no, that's just southern california, and it looks great on cardboard.