the collector who wanted a hill and wound up with three of them

when it rains, it pours, as another blogger recently opined.

the number one card on my nefarious 9 list for quite a while was a 2000 upper deck ultimate victory koyie hill card.  that's not a very common card to put on a list and hope that someone out in blog land happens to have a copy for trade, i admit.  the reason it was on the list to begin with is that i hadn't seen many ultimate victory cards around the lcs or card show dime boxes, and was in fact hoping that someone somewhere did have some to spare.

months passed, and i eventually picked up a copy of the card from comc.

rest assured, it is a dodger card.  see the dodger logo on the back?

not more than a couple of weeks later, i received a copy in the mail from kerry at cards on cards.  then, just a couple of weeks ago, a third copy showed up courtesy of dennis from too many verlanders.  so, i now have three of the 2000 upper deck ultimate victory koyie hill cards, each numbered to 2500

that's 0.12% of the print run!

similarly, not too long after i picked up a couple of copies of the 2004 upper deck matt kata card

(one for the double play binder, one for the dodger stadium binder, and one for the lurker binder - hello ron coomer!), i received more copies of the card from the junior junkie and then nick from dime boxes just yesterday.

and that one wasn't even on a want list!

i'll show more of the cards, including other nefarious 9 needs, that i received from kerry, dennis, tj, and nick in future posts.  thanks for thinking of me guys!

the topps dodger autograph project - 2002 through 2004

short and sweet today with the latest installment of the topps dodger autograph project.  that would be dodger ttm successes for each year of topps cards.  traded sets are not included in the completion of the project, but i will show them if i have them.  for this post, i am three for three with the traded sets.

2002 topps, andy ashby

ashby spent three years in la after pretty much owning the dodgers during his career with the padres and phillies.  he was 8-3 with a 2.22 era in 21 games (18 starts) against the blue.  as a dodger, ashby managed just a 14-23 record in 53 appearances.  he's a good signer with a nice autograph.  i also have had 2002 topps ttm successes with jim tracy, jeff shaw, and chad kreuter, plus i received a signed davey lopes card in a trade with padrographs.

2002 topps traded, joel hanrahan

hanrahan never pitched for the dodgers.  he left the organization as a free agent in 2006 and signed on with the nationals.  a trade with pittsburgh later, and he's a two-time all-star closer.  i have also had 2002 topps traded cards signed through the mail by steve garvey, koyie hill, and brian jordan (with fee).

2003 topps, jim tracy

tracy managed the dodgers from 2001 through 2005.  he was able to get them back to the postseason for the first time since 1996 in 2004, but he went kind of crazy with his lineups in 2005 and was relieved of his duties.  he has since managed the pirates and the rockies, with his best work probably coming in 2009 when he took over in colorado and had the team playing at a .638 clip over the last 116 games of the season.  other dodgers from the 2003 set who have signed their cards through the mail for me include franklin gutierrez, brian jordan (with fee), and dave roberts.

2003 topps traded, ron coomer

the coom dog lowered the boom for me at the twins autograph party one year, so this isn't a ttm success.  it's the only 2003 topps traded card that i have signed, however, so i'm going to show it anyway.

2004 topps, edwin jackson

i saw e-jack pitch in san francisco towards the end of the 2003 season.  he gave up only a couple of hits but allowed 8 walks in that game.  the dodgers still won the game, which is the only one i have seen in person at pacbell/at&t park.  i did see a 49ers game at candlestick about a year later and i have to say i am happy to have not seen a baseball game there.  as for jackson, he has bounced around a bit since then, but signed a couple cards for me on one of his stops.  chicago, i think.  the only other 2004 topps dodger success i have had was jim tracy.

2004 topps traded, milton bradley

bradley signed this card during the spring that he spent with the mariners.  it's the only card from the 2004 topps traded set that i have signed, and i really like it.  i rooted hard for bradley, not only when he was a dodger, but everywhere he went.  i hope he is doing well now, too.

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 zimmer (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

1995 topps - chris gwynn

1996 topps - todd hollandsworth

1997 topps - brett butler

1998 topps - greg gagne

1999 topps - jose vizcaino

2000 topps - jeff shaw

2001 topps - chan ho park

2002 topps - andy ashby

2002 topps traded - joel hanrahan

2003 topps - jim tracy

2003 topps traded - ron coomer

2004 topps - edwin jackson

2004 topps traded - milton bradley

it's his party and he'll sign what he wants to...

despite the rain and the line jumpers, the twins' annual autograph party was a decent time.  there were fewer distractions (no card show or games for the kids) than the previous years when it was held on the metrodome plaza, and a little more spread out, too.  about a half hour before the current players began signing, the rain came.  that slowed things down a bit because everyone waited until they were under the tents to get their stuff out.

let it be known that i don't have an issue with the folks in wheelchairs going straight to the front of the line, but if you are in a motorized chair just due to sloth, i am opposed.  if you have more than one other person shuttling around with you in your motorized vehicle and they also get to cut in at the front, i am opposed.  if you happen to know someone who is walking by the line, and you invite them in to stand with you, i am opposed.  if you allow your entire family to cut in line with you after they arrived having gone through a different autograph station, i am opposed.  unfortunately, i don't have a good alternative system to prevent these types of things from happening, but it was so brazen this year that i would suspect something has to be done in the future.

enough of that, i'll show you the cards i got signed.  there were a few players that we had sign other stuff, so not all are represented here.

first up, 2004 topps ron gardenhire

gardy is a good guy - really personable with the fans.  he said he was a bit disappointed about texas moving to the pac-10. 

2009 topps update & highlights matt tolbert

tolbert didn't have much to say while signing from what i could tell, but that's ok.  with both hardy and hudson on the dl, and brendan harris  and nick punto struggling, tolbert has a huge opportunity to make his mark on a position with the twins.  time to put up.

2009 topps twins metrodome (signed by clay condrey)

i didn't have any cards of condrey with me so i pulled out this 2009 topps twins card.  not sure if he ever pitched in the metrodome, but if he did, it wasn't as a twin as this is his first year with the team.  he's currently on the dl, but heads to florida on a rehab trip this week.  speaking of the dl...

2010 topps heritage joe nathan 

since his injury, nathan has been all over the place making appearances and signing autographs.  he said he will start throwing next month and can't wait.

2010 topps twins jj hardy

hardy, on the other hand, has no idea as to the timetable on his return.  this card is from the 2010 topps twins team set, and is a bad airbrush job.  the twins don't have any uniforms that look like that.  their away grays say 'minnesota', not 'twins', on the front.

1975 topps rick stelmaszek

stelmaszek is the bullpen coach, i believe.  i think i have autographs from all of the coaches except pitching coach rick anderson.  he is usually paired with joe mauer at this event, so no dice there.  the mauer lines at twinsfest seem to be easier for me to handle than the ones here.

in the afternoon, the retired players came out, although juan berenguer and dan gladden were no-shows.  not sure why, since gladden had to be at the game anyway to do the radio broadcast.  anyway, i did come away with some cards that i have tried to get signed a few times.  like this 1978 topps bert blyleven

maybe next year he'll be able to add 'hof 2011' to his signature.

1978 topps roy smalley

i think smalley has a couple of these cards that i have sent to him in previous ttm attempts.  his dad is a good ttm signer, but that is irrelevant to the discussion.  smalley had two stints with the twins, including the 1987 world championship team.

1989 topps tim laudner

laudner was around in 87, too.  he didn't seem to be too engaged while he was signing, but that's his prerogative, i suppose.

1998 fleer sports illustrated world series fever jack morris

i wanted to get morris to sign a blue jays card since i already had him sign his 1978 topps rookie card and 2004 ud legends card.  i think this turned out really well.

believe it or not, this was one of the two guys i really wanted to get - 2003 topps traded ron coomer

coomer went to the twins in the kevin tapani deal, but returned to the dodgers later in his career.  he does some television analysis and post game wrap up stuff for the twins.  he was pretty funny - joking around with the fans and the other players he was stationed with.

2009 topps update & highlights orlando hudson

here's the second guy i really wanted (thome was another, but his line was ridiculously long).  notice there is no signature.  the o-dog informed me that he doesn't sign dodgers stuff.  thanks ned.  hudson was really nice about it, and i certainly understand.  he offered to sign something else, but i was unorganized and a bit flustered so i just passed. 

that's it for this year.  next year i am sure i will attend again since the money raised goes to the twins community fund, but i really hope something is done to limit the line jumping.