bringing team sets into focus

long gone are the days where it was possible to collect all of the cards of any given player, let alone team. and, while i've tried to finish off a dodger junk wax year (1989) there are still a few oddballs that i haven't tracked down yet - partially due to a lack of focus - and there are probably other dodger cards from that year that i don't know about.

over the last year, i've tried to be a bit more focused when looking back and picking up dodger cards from past years and i've had some success doing so. whether it's targeting a specific team set, insert set, parallel, or something that spans both of the latter, i've been able to fill some holes in my collection that are more meaningful to me than random cards here and there. 

to illustrate that point, here is the first 1952 topps card i have purchased in a long time.

phil haugstad's card gets me one closer to that dodger team set, although i know i will never complete it. i only have one of the high numbers (at least it's jackie robinson) and i still need seven from the lower series. by the way, when it comes to topps flagship sets, only the 1952 and 1953 dodger team sets are incomplete in my collection, but the remaining 1953 cards (jim gilliam, johnny podres, and even dixie howell and bill antonello) are daunting.

as for my full set builds, i only have high numbers to go when it comes to the 1952 homage that is 2001 topps heritage. i finished the low numbers a couple of years ago or so, and the only card i've added since is old friend ramon martinez's

with 85 high numbers still missing, i doubt i will ever finish this set, either.

insert team sets are far easier to complete, and this 2024 topps update sandy koufax autumn tales card

finished off my 4-card dodger team set.

there were only three cards in the 2024 topps around the horn insert team sets, and mookie betts'

was the last one i needed.

as for actual team set base cards, one of the more recent ones i completed was 2001 topps fusion

those two cards were the last ones i needed and i don't know what took me so long to pick them up. it helps to focus, i suppose.

i even went and tracked down the last three cards i needed to complete the 2013 topps target red border parallel dodger team set. the zack greinke and carl crawford cards

came quickly, but the luis cruz card

had me at the mercy of a saved ebay search for several months. finally someone posted a bunch of these parallels for all sorts of players and i was able to finish the set. i still have several missing from the 2013 topps update release, but having this (and the walmart blue border) team sets for the flagship cards is still something.

even better, this 2013 topps update yasiel puig card

was the final emerald parallel i needed to complete my full run - flagship and update - of dodger cards of that particular parallel. puig is as excited as i am to have this completed.

bonds. barry bonds.

i haven't seen the latest james bond movie. i guess i've become used to new movies being available for streaming right away and haven't made the effort to get out to an actual movie theater. i hear good things, but am not sure that i will see it on the big screen.

i have, however, added a few cards of another bonds - barry - to some of my mini-collections over the last several months. let's start with this 2001 topps fusion card

that features bonds in front of a dodger stadium wall mural. i believe the mural says "dodgers shock yanks" in reference to the 1963 world series. remember, 2000 was the year that the murals celebrated the greatest moments in dodger stadium history.

this 1994 upper deck collector's choice card

goes in the tatooine mini-collection, while this 1993 upper deck card

featuring bonds and teammates matt williams and will clark goes in my "names/numbers on the back" mini-collection. 

i also added this 1996 upper deck sp card

and this 1999 topps stars card

to that collection. i have another post with a bunch more of these cards that will feature a better explanation of it, including the origins of the mini-collection. i've mentioned it a bunch of times on the blogs but haven't really given it its due. stay tuned.

bonds also showed up on other players' cards a few times, and i've added some of those cards to my lurkers collection. cases in point - 1991 score rookies and traded tim teufel

with teufel's arm looking almost as awkward as joel youngblood's on a card of another tim.

1993 score mickey morandini highlight

where bonds was the third out in moranidini's unassisted triple play

1996 ud collector's choice cal ripken jr collection

showing off his popularity in the all-star voting which was second only to ripken in 1995

2000 topps barry larkin

a card that is only barry, barry good, as the giant player sliding in is not, in fact, barry bonds (thanks laurens)!

and last but not least, 1999 upper deck mo vaughn

my what large pectoral muscles you have, mr. bonds!