non-dodger dodger cards

sometimes, dodger cards are harder to find than others.  specifically, dodger cards that show dodgers but list a different team on them.  online checklists that are built by team affiliation won't always tell the full story.  that's when you must rely on the kindness of strangers, the randomness of dime boxes, and the occasional lucky glimpse in an online card shop.  this post features cards from each of these sources.

1998 fleer tradition rick gorecki

gorecki was selected by the devil rays in the expansion draft following the 1997 season.  he appeared in 4 games for the dodgers in '97, finishing his dodger tenure with a 1-0 record despite a 15.00 era.  he wound up making 3 starts for tampa bay in 1998 and was 1-2 in those starts.  looks like he got injured and that was all she wrote.

1993 donruss jamie mcandrew

mcandrew was the dodgers' first round pick in 1989, but he never threw a pitch for them.  as the donruss card indicates, he was selected by the marlins in the expansion draft prior to the 1993 season.  however, he never pitched for them, either.  the fish traded him to milwaukee just before the season began.  mcandrew wound up appearing for the brewers in both the 1995 and 1997 seasons, but his career, like gorecki's, was cut short by injuries.

2000 fleer tradition raul mondesi

this mondesi card is pretty close to some classic o-pee-chee.  'traded to' text and the new team's logo (in this case the blue jays) brings back some good memories of o-pee-chee variations.  there are a few mondesi cards from 2000 that could fit into this post, actually.

2003 fleer platinum eric karros

karros and albert pujols on tatooine!  that's not the only karros card from 2003 that says cubs with a dodger photo - here's his 2003 leaf card

mark grudzielanek, who was traded with karros to the cubbies, also got the non-dodger dodger card treatment from leaf

last but not least, here's a 2005 upper deck pros and prospects koyie hill card

hill had three at bats as a dodger before they traded him to arizona in 2004.  this card is awesome because it's from 2005, and still features a photo of hill in dodger gear, even though all of his big league appearances in 2004 came as a member of the diamondbacks.

i know there are a lot more of these types of cards, and i will continue to enjoy stumbling across them any way i can.

1207 things i like about you

actually, these are 7 cards i like about 1207 consecutive games.  mainly because he sent them to me in a trade!  always nice to do business with a fellow garvey fan.

1985 leaf bill russell

leaf cards would have been better if they had given donruss the o-pee-chee treatment.  shameless plug.

1971 topps phil niekro

i received a few 1971 cards i needed, which is always an awesome thing. even moreso when it's a hofer.

1986 sportflics davey lopes

seeing davey at home in wrigley is weird.

1992 upper deck minors henry blanco

blanco must be playing for bakersfield if i know my dodger hats.  blanco debuted with the dodgers in 1997, playing third base.  he got a hit in his first major league at bat, and homered in his third.  he only had 5 at bats with the dodgers, and has played in colorado, atlanta, milwaukee, minnesota, chicago and san diego since then, mainly as a catcher.

1993 bowman omar daal

here i though daal was from venezuela, but he clearly hails from the black forest in germany.  daal went 4-0 in his third year in the bigs with the dodgers, although his era was over 7.  he was traded to the expos, but the dodgers got him back a few years later from the phillies.

1995 bowman rick gorecki

bowman must have liked (like me) the 1994 upper deck cards with the compressed photo on the left.  bowman, however, went one step further and reversed the negative!  i have to admit, this is a very strange card design.  it has a 'phantom zone' quality to it.  anyway, gorecki appeared in 4 games for the dodgers before being selected by the devil rays in the expansion draft.

finally, we have a 1991 jimmy dean darryl strawberry

i can't think of anything to say about darryl or jimmy dean, so i'll just say thanks rob!