fun at the ballpark, indeed

it is odd to think that, after nearly seven years of posting, i have not yet featured this 1993 donruss triple play card of former dodger reliever roger mcdowell

so, when it arrived recently in a trade package from bo at baseball cards come to life, i figured that now was the time.  here's the back

 

mcdowell's teammates may have been amused by him wearing outrageous things, but i as a fan will just accept good baseball in a beautiful setting.  a setting like dodger stadium.  that's where this next card bo sent comes in.

that's a 1996 score select bret boone card, featuring a photo taken in dodger stadium.  the unnamed dodger in the scene is roberto kelly, who twice stole second against boone and the reds on july 30, 1995.  the wrist guard and red glove/sweat bands were a big clue as to the runner's identity, but really it was either him or chad fonville, and with kelly wearing number 21 it was fairly obvious.

this next one is easier.

that would be mitch webster sliding in while jose oquendo turns two in dodger stadium on his 1996 donruss card.

moving away from dodger stadium (to tatooine, in fact), we see rafael furcal sliding in front of freddy sanchez on sanchez's 2008 bowman card

as sanchez makes the double play pivot.

staying on tatooine, here's a 1993 score select joe girardi card

that would obviously fit into that particular mini collection of mine if it weren't already destined for the lurker collection thanks to dodger dave hansen making an appearance on the back

there are many more cards that bo sent that i'll be showing over the next few days - thanks for the cards bo!

random rules the day

here's a smattering of randomness from the scanned folder.  no rhyme or reason, just some dodger cards…

1980 topps ken brett

when ken brett joined the dodgers, it was the first time that i became aware of the 'wrong brother' syndrome. not that i wanted george brett to join the dodgers and mess up the infield thing they had going on, but i still recognized that the younger george was the better player.  that wasn't what was expected, however, as ken brett was thought to be the best athlete in the family when he joined the red sox in the late 1960's.  with the dodgers, brett pitched in 30 games during the 1979 season and was released during spring training the following year.

1983 dodgers police tom lasorda

i used this photo for one of lasorda's cards that should have been.  i still have a few of those to make.

1984 ralston purina pedro guerrero

i found it odd that the same company that made dog food also made cereal.  anyway, i had a bunch of these mail in sets. or were those the cereal series cards that were mail ins?  i don't remember.  we ate a lot of chex cereal in 1984.

1987 baseball's all-time greats carl erskine

erskine threw 2 no-hitters (one against the giants) and struck out 13 yankees in a single world series game.  that's my kind of dodger.

1989 upper deck juan bell

more 'wrong brother' syndrome here.  bell was the younger brother of blue jays' slugger george bell.  the younger bell didn't actually play for the dodgers - he was part of the 'haul' that the orioles received in the eddie murray trade.

1990 topps mike morgan (in dodger stadium)

and 1991 topps stadium club mike morgan

i'm working on a 'on the road with mike morgan' post.  stay tuned.

1990 upper deck lenny harris

i could do a similar post for harris, i think.  although he only played for 8 franchises (morgan wore 12 different uniforms), he made multiple stops in cincinnati and new york.  no player has been used as a pinch hitter more than harris, and no player has more pinch hits than harris.

1990 upper deck mike marshall

between this mike marshall (who was a met when this card was issued) and the other mike marshall, there was a mike marshall in the major leagues from 1967 through most of the 1991 season.  i guess that's not that impressive, since nolan ryan was in the bigs from 1966 through 1993.

1992 donruss triple play roger mcdowell

to me, the oddest thing about this card is mcdowell's hair - forget about the sandpaper sticking out of the bottom of his pantlegs, what is that thing on his head?

it's been 20 years for these cards

here i am in 2013 posting cards from 1993.  when i started collecting in earnest in 1978, 20-year old cards were things that i never considered to be within my reach.  if there is a kid who started collecting this year, these cards are as old to him as those 1958 topps cards were to me.  yikes.

1993 action packed reggie smith

there just aren't enough reggie smith cards printed after 1983.

1993 fleer flair jim gott

two photos on one card!  a floating head and torso card!  this makes me think of those bad two-in-one school portraits from the 80's.

1993 fleer ultra eric karros ultra performers

fleer saw it's two photos on flair and raised itself to five photos on this card.  he hits! he runs! he looks to his right!

1993 ted williams jim gilliam goin' north

gilliam did go north - from spring training in florida all the way to montreal in 1951 and 1952.  then he went almost due south to brooklyn.

1993 topps kevin gross

and roger mcdowell

those two cards give us opposing views of dodger stadium

1993 topps stadium club mike scioscia

looks like scioscia has figured out that if you take selfies while looking up, your double chin goes away.

1993 upper deck darryl strawberry

the hero shot.  this card might make my top 20 dodger cards, if i ever were to make such a list.

1993 upper deck jody reed

and a signed version

reed signed the card for me through the mail about 18 years after the card was released.

it's probably a good bet that in a couple of months i will do another 20 years later post with some 1994 cards.

the topps dodger autograph project - 1990 through 1994

it's been a while since i last posted an entry in the topps dodger autograph project.  that's where i am highlighting one card from each topps flagship (and traded set, if i have one) that i have been able to get signed through the mail free of charge.  i had to purchase a couple of 1950's cards, but otherwise, these were all signed by the player gratis.

on with the show - 1990 topps, kal daniels

if only kal had better knees.  i was so excited when he joined the dodgers.  i have also had ttm successes with 1990 topps cards from dave anderson, rick dempsey, jay howell, mike marshall, and fernando valenzuela.  i've also picked up signed copies along the way from alejandro pena and lenny harris.

1990 topps traded, juan samuel

samuel was part of the revolving door at second base after steve sax left.  he replaced willie randolph, who had replaced sax.  i also have a hubie brooks 1990 topps traded card that was signed through the mail.

1991 topps, tim belcher

as you can see, belcher signed this card for me in august of 2009.  it only took me three years to post it. i have had a few successes with former dodgers and their 1991 topps cards, including chris gwynn, hubie brooks, kal daniels, rick dempsey, jim gott, jay howell, juan samuel, fernando valenzuela, and dave walsh.

i don't have a 1991 topps traded card signed.  of the five dodgers that are included in the set, brett butler is probably my only possibility. the others are john candelaria, bob ojeda, darryl strawberry, and the late gary carter.

1992 topps, roger mcdowell

i went with a nice card when i sent to mcdowell, rather than one of his goofy cards.  i've also had 1992 topps success with tim belcher, brett butler, chris gwynn, lenny harris, kal daniels, jim gott, alfredo griffin, kevin gross, jay howell, juan samuel, and steve wilson.

i tried to get carlos hernandez and todd benzinger to sign copies of their 1992 topps traded cards without success.  the other two dodgers in the set are tom candiotti and eric davis.

1993 topps, dave hansen

hansen is on his way to seattle, but he signed for me shortly after he became the dodgers' hitting coach.  i also have 1993 topps cards that were signed through the mail by brett butler, eric karros, billy ashley, tom goodwin, jim gott, kevin gross, jay howell, and steve wilson.  plus, charlie hough!

1993 topps traded, tim wallach

this card of the dodgers' third base coach is the only one from the set that i have received signed, and the only other dodger in the set is mike piazza.

1994 topps, jody reed

yes, jody reed.  i also have 1994 topps cards signed ttm by former dodgers billy ashley, jim gott, kevin gross, cory snyder, rick trlicek, tim wallach, and steve wilson.  the only dodgers in the 1994 topps traded set were chan ho park and paul konerko, and while i have sent to both of them, i have only had a ttm success with park, and it wasn't with his 1994 traded card.

thanks to all these players for signing my cards!  here's a running list of the topps dodger autograph project:

1951 topps - preacher roe (purchased)

1952 topps - rocky bridges

1953 topps - bobby morgan

1954 topps - billy herman (purchased)

1955 topps - don zimeer (purchased)

1956 topps - randy jackson

1957 topps - carl erskine

1958 topps - joe pignatano

1959 topps - fred kipp

1960 topps - chuck essegian

1961 topps - bob aspromonte

1962 topps - norm sherry

1963 topps - ed roebuck

1964 topps - ken mcmullen

1965 topps - dick tracewski

1966 topps - john kennedy

1967 topps - phil regan

1968 topps - jim campanis

1969 topps - jeff torborg

1970 topps - al mcbean

1971 topps - sandy vance

1972 topps - manny mota

1973 topps - wes parker

1974 topps - claude osteen

1974 topps traded - jim wynn

1975 topps - ron cey

1975 topps mini - joe ferguson

1976 topps - bill russell

1976 topps traded - dusty baker

1977 topps - steve garvey

1978 topps - dave lopes

1979 topps - charlie hough

1980 topps - jerry reuss

1981 topps - doug rau

1981 topps traded - ken landreaux

1982 topps - dave goltz

1982 topps traded - jose morales

1983 topps - ron roenicke

1983 topps traded - rafael landestoy

1984 topps - fernando valenzuela

1984 topps traded - mike vail

1985 topps - burt hooton

1986 topps - enos cabell

1987 topps - steve sax

1987 topps traded - matt young

1988 topps - len matuszek

1989 topps - mickey hatcher

1990 topps - kal daniels

1990 topps traded - juan samuel

1991 topps - tim belcher

1992 topps - roger mcdowell

1993 topps - dave hansen

1993 topps traded - tim wallach

1994 topps - jody reed

that lurking lasorda

sometimes, tommy lasorda shows up where you would least expect him.  like fielding grounders behind a rookie first baseman on eric karros' 1993 upper deck sp card.

other times, he's congratulating players as heroes returning to the dugout like tim wallach on wallach's 1994 upper deck card

or trying to impart some knowledge to bob ojeda on his 1992 upper deck card

although, if i were ojeda, i'm not sure i would take the advice of a guy who was 0-4 on his career.  other times, he appears in name only, like on roger mcdowell's 1993 upper deck card.

of course, he also fills out cards all on his own as seen on this 2003 upper deck vintage card.

hopefully there are some card photographers getting ready to head to spring training.  i'd take a boring posed photo with tommy lurking in the background any day.

the evolution of the closer, part 3

here are parts 1 and 2 if you care to refresh your memory of the long and winding road the dodgers have used to close out games.

ready for part 3?  ok.

roger mcdowell (1992)
mcdowell took over closing duties for the worst dodger team of my lifetime.  the 1992 squad lost 99 games and had just 29 saves as a team.  mcdowell had 14 of them.  he appeared in 65 games and finished 39 of them.  he also won 6 and lost 10.

jim gott (1993)
even though the dodgers signed todd worrell prior to the 1993 season, gott was the one who claimed the closer role.  he saved 25 games with a 2.32 era.  worrell managed 5 saves but had an era of over 6.

todd worrell (1994-1997)
worrell began to regain his status as an elite closer in the strike shortened 1994 season.  he had 11 saves to lead the dodgers when the season ended in august.  his era was still over 4, but his strikeouts were up to over 1 per inning pitched.  in 1995, worrell had 32 of the dodgers 35 saves, with a 2.02 era to boot.  it was the first time in franchise history that a pitcher saved over 30 games.  the following year, worrell saved 44 games as the dodgers made a postseason appearance in back-to-back years for the first time since 1977/78.  of course, there were no saves to be had as they were swept in the nlds both years.  worrell saved 35 games in 1997, but his era was pretty high - 5.28 - and he retired after the season ended.  worrell sits in third place in the dodgers' career saves leaders with 127, just ahead of jim brewer at 125.
scott radinsky (1998)

scott radinsky began the 1998 season as the dodgers' closer, and posted 12 saves (and 7 blown saves) by the all start break, which is when the dodgers traded for jeff shaw.

jeff shaw (1998-2001)
shaw made his first appearance as a dodger in the 1998 all-star game, giving up a run on 3 hits.  he had 23 saves for the reds going into the break, and posted another 25 as a dodger.  in 1999, he had 34 saves, followed by 27 in 2000.  his final season in the majors was 2001 when he saved 43 games and returned to the all-star game, this time pitching just one-third of an inning in a national league loss.  with 129 saves, shaw ranks second all-time for the dodgers.

eric gagne (2002-2005)
gagne moved to the bullpen in 2002 and became 'game over' as he promptly blew most dodger relief records away.  he saved 52 games and posted 114 strikeouts in 82.1 innings - a 12.5 k/9 ratio - and finished 4th in the cy young voting.  he ended the season with 8 straight saves, carrying that streak into 2003.  in 2004, gagne saved 55 games, breaking his own dodger record set the previous year and coming within 2 of the all-time record (which has since been broken).  of course, gagne saved all 55 without blowing a single one (unless you count the all-star game) meaning he set a record with 63 consecutive saves (passing tom gordon who had 54 in a row).  he also won the cy young award that year, the second time a dodger reliever had won.  he again pitched in 82.1 innings, but this time, he struck out 137 batters for a closer record k/9 ratio of 15.  2004 was more of the same, with gagne saving 21 games in a row to bring his streak to 84 before blowing a save in july.  once again, he pitched in exactly 82.1 innings, and he struck out 114 just as he did in 2002.  he finished the season with 45 saves, and while the dodgers were back in the postseason, there were no saves to be had in the nlds.  gagne missed the first month of the season in 2005, but returned to save 8 games in 8 chances before his season ending injury in june.

yhency brazoban (2005)
brazoban stepped into the closer's role in gagne's absence and posted 21 saves on the year.  he also blew 6 save opportunities and lost 10 games in relief.  still, he was pegged as 'ghame over' at the dodger thoughts forum.

takashi saito (2006-2008)
the dodgers weren't frightened by the nori nakamura disaster of 2005 and signed japanese pitcher saito to a contract for 2006.  saito responded with 24 saves and 107 strikeouts in 78.1 innings as the dodgers won the wild card.  they were swept by the mets, though, so there were no postseason saves.  saito saved 39 games in 2007 and pitched a scoreless inning in the all-star game.  he started the 2008 season as the closer, and had 17 saves through mid-july, but jonathan broxton was ready to take over.  saito finished the season with 18 saves and left as a free agent after the season ended.

jonathan broxton (2008-present)
broxton saved 14 games for the dodgers in the second half of the 2008 season, and he saved the game 3 clincher against the cubs in the nlds.  in 2009, broxton had 36 saves and two more in the postseason - 1 against the cardinals in the nlds and one against the phillies in the league championship series.  although he earned the save in the 2010 all-star game, broxton struggled last year and was temporarily replaced as closer by hong-chih kuo.  we'll see how long the leash is that don mattingly gives broxton in 2011.

so, from joe black to jonathan broxton, there you have the evolution of the dodgers' closer.

cards from on card autos

chris at on card autos sent me some dodgers recently in exchange for some cubbies. he has already posted some of the stuff i sent, and i am just now getting to the bounty i received. such is my lot in life. anyway, here are some of the goodies.

2007 fleer ultra jeff kentfull extenson works best as a horizontal card.

2006 topps update & highlights elmer dessens

proof that a fifth starter is hard to find.

2004 fleer ultra brad penny

a really nice dodger stadium card. ultra had quite a few cards featuring chavez ravine. maybe that's why i liked ultra so much.

1990 topps debut '89 darrin fletcher

it must have been tough to be a catcher in the dodger organization. that had been one of the most stable positions they had, except from 1997 through 2001 or so. too bad fletch (6'-5" with the afro) came up when scioscia was still doing ok.

1992 score roger mcdowell

nice to see a card of roger where he is doing normal baseball stuff

2005 donruss shawn green

i feel as though i have been remiss in posting shawn green cards. i have a ton - he was my favorite non-dodger and then my favorite dodger. i also like that this card shows him out of position according to the position assigned to him on the card. listed as a firstbaseman, he is pictured in the outfield. usually it's catchers that you see out of position - they're shown playing first base (i am thinking of a gary carter card) but listed as a catcher. i'll have to look for more of those.

thanks chris!