the rest of 2005 brings the first steve garvey binder to an end

before i get to sheet 59 in the steve garvey binder, i want to note that i did receive the 2005 donruss greats card in the mail the other day, and so i now know that the first card on sheet 55 is not the base version, but rather the un-numbered silver holofoil.  what that means is that all of these cards are going to shift one spot in the binders when i insert the actual base card in that first slot on sheet 55.  i already have these next sheets scanned, so i'm just going to go with it.

here's sheet 59:

those cards are:

1. 2005 playoff absolute memorabilia team quads swatch double padres relic (with willie mccovey, tony gwynn, and rickey henderson) /75
2. 2005 playoff absolute memorabilia team quads swatch single spectrum prime black padres relic (with willie mccovey, tony gwynn, and rickey henderson) /10
3. 2005 playoff absolute memorabilia team six dodgers (with darryl strawberry, rickey henderson, kazuhisa ishii, paul loduca, and kevin brown) /100
4. 2005 playoff absolute memorabilia team six swatch single dodgers relic (with darryl strawberry, rickey henderson, kazuhisa ishii, paul loduca, and kevin brown) /150
5. 2005 playoff absolute memorabilia team six swatch single spectrum dodgers relic (with darryl strawberry, rickey henderson, kazuhisa ishii, paul loduca, and kevin brown) /100
6. 2005 playoff presitge
7. 2005 playoff prestige xtra bases red /150
8. 2005 playoff prestige xtra bases green /50
9. 2005 playoff prime cuts mlb icons /100

again - the padres team quad cards had garvey and mccovey on the back, but they are considered the front in the binder.  it's too bad that garvey has the most non-descript patch piece on the card.  there are many more parallel versions of both the padres team quad and the dodgers team six cards, as well as the playoff prestige cards.  i've only got a few, as you can see.

here are the backs:

there are two different ishii jerseys being cut up for these cards, and i'm guessing that the loduca jersey being used is actually a mets black alternate.  playoff could have left loduca off the card and put al oliver on instead, as they did have oliver relics in that set.

here's sheet 60:

those cards are:

1. 2005 playoff prime cuts mlb icons century silver /50
2. 2005 playoff prime cuts mlb icons material jersey relic /50
3. 2005 playoff prime cuts mlb icons material combo bat/jersey relic /10
4. 2005 playoff prime cuts mlb icons signature material trio mlb auto-bat/bat/jersey relic /10
5. 2005 topps all-time fan favorites
6. 2005 topps all-time fan favorites autograph
7. 2005 topps pristine legends
8. 2005 topps pristine legends gold die-cut refractor /65
9. 2005 topps pristine legends valuable performance relic

just like the previous page, this sheet holds only a fraction of the available parallels for the prime cuts card.  there are also a few more parallels for the fan favorites card, including a refractor that i am currently watching.

here are the backs:

sheet 61 is not full because it's the last sheet of this binder and i figured i should end the binder at the end of 2005, leaving some empty spaces for any additional cards i might obtain featuring the garv between 1989 and 2005.  i've already got the 2005 donruss greats card to add, so i can pick up 5 others without having to add a sheet.  anyway, here is sheet 61:

those cards are:

1. 2005 topps retired signature
2. 2005 topps retired signature gold parallel
3. 2005 upper deck ultimate signature signs of october dual auto (with ron guidry) /250

here are the backs:

yes, it used to be a sign of october when the dodgers and yankees would square off.  it's now been over thirty years since those two teams last met in the post season, and garvey was 2 for 6 against guidry in that most recent clash (1981 world series).

the next binder is on the clock - stay tuned...

i picked 'em poorly but came out ahead

i participated for the first time this past year in cards on cards' college bowl pick 'em league.  i wound up getting slightly less than half of the winners right, although i did get my highest confidence pick correct.  anyway, i was well out of the prize slot, but kerry sent me some cards anyway.  most of these come from his 2014 topps mini break, in which i took the dodgers and the mets.  i was hoping for a justin turner card as part of the mets team haul (he's turning two on the card), but it didn't pan out.  just like my picks.

here are some of the dodgers from the 2014 topps mini set that kerry rescued from sealed packs for me:

clayton kershaw cy young

the now retired josh beckett

the now unsigned free agent chad billingsley

the now unsigned free agent brian wilson

the now red sox left fielder hanley ramirez

the now full-time dodger left fielder carl crawford

the now still a fourth outfielder andre ethier

the dodger right fielder yasiel puig (unless joc can't handle center)

plus a 'the future is now' puig insert

i should probably show some of the ny metropolitans that came my way, so here are bobby parnell

and ey jr

kerry also sent a few cards towards my 2001 topps heritage set, including former and current twin torii hunter

plus a nice 2004 donruss classics rickey henderson card

which counts as a final tribute since rickey didn't appear in the majors after his 2003 stint with the dodgers

no active player has more stolen bases that ichiro, who sits at 487.  rickey had 1406 in his career.  although barry bonds eventually passed rickey in career walks, he is still the career leader in runs scored, with the closest active player (alex rodriguez) over 350 runs behind.

last, and maybe least, here is a 1986 fleer update card of alex trevino

who played catch under the watchful eye of a stalker after joining the dodgers.

thanks kerry! i'll be sending some cards on cards your way soon!

telling the tale of a most bountiful repack

it had been awhile, so i went for a fairfield repack while at target the other day.  i chose one that had an unopened pack of 2012 topps and a 2001 topps heritage ray lankford

in the front windows.  i've been working on the 2001 heritage set since 2001, which is to say that i haven't been doing much with it since then.  i need to get my list posted, although it's a low priority set so i probably won't.

the two back windows of the package featured a 2010 topps tim lincecum card

and a 2010 topps brewers card of ryan braun and prince fielder.

based on that fact, my hopes were limited.

the 2012 topps pack netted the following:

jordan pacheco
mark kotsay
chris getz
jacoby ellsbury
st. louis cardinals
alfredo simon
andy pettitte/cliff lee timeless talents insert
ichiro golden moments insert

this is interesting because there was another 2012 topps chris getz card already among the loose cards.  speaking of which, here they are

1991 o-pee-chee premier carlton fisk
2014 topps john jaso - this is a series 2 card, so this was a very fresh repack
1990 topps ames all-stars keith hernandez

2011 topps jeremy jeffress
2009 topps allen & ginter james mcdonald - a dodger!
2007 tristar prospects plus trystan magnuson
1993 topps willie mcgee
2012 topps chris getz - told ya
this is where the repack gets streaky
1988 topps uk mini alvin davis
1988 topps uk mini mike schmidt

1988 topps uk mini eddie murray
1988 topps uk mini roger clemens
1988 topps uk mini wade boggs
1988 topps uk mini paul molitor
1988 topps uk mini nolan ryan
1988 topps uk mini dave winfield
1988 topps uk mini ozzie smith
1988 topps uk mini mike dunne
1988 topps uk mini mark mcgwire
2009 ud first edition vladimir guerrero

2009 ud first edition daisuke matsusaka
2009 ud first edition michael bourn
2009 ud first edition john smoltz
2009 ud first edition randy johnson
2009 ud first edition joey votto
2009 ud first edition stephen drew
2009 ud first edition mike aviles
2009 ud first edition randy johnson - second double of the repack
1991 upper deck steve bedrosian
1988 donruss ernie whitt
1988 score george bell
2009 ud first edition jorge posada
1989 topps glossy all-star rickey henderson
1987 topps rick reuschel
1991 topps glossy rookies todd zeile
1991 topps glossy rookies kevin tapani
1991 topps glossy rookies frank thomas

1991 topps glossy rookies robin ventura
1991 topps glossy rookies jose offerman - a dodger that i am pretty sure i need!

1987 topps roger clemens
1987 topps mike diaz
1987 topps mitch webster
2014 topps nl all-star team set clayton kershaw

a dodger that i know i need, and the star of the repack!  that card is worth the price of admission right there.

2011 topps phil coke
2011 topps doug fister
2011 topps carlos quentin
2011 topps paul maholm
2011 topps carlos pena
2011 topps john lannan
2011 topps jj putz
2011 topps leo nunez
2011 topps aaron rowand
2011 topps jonathan broxton
2005 fleer hot prospects alfonso soriano
1987 topps don carman
1987 fleer update john shelby
1984 topps jeff jones
1999 upper deck travis lee checklist
1990 donruss dave stewart diamond king
2000 bowman chrome jason romano
1986 topps rod scurry
2001 upper deck decade the '70s roberto clemente world series highlights
1989 topps terry puhl
1987 topps jorge orta
2014 topps yankees team set david phelps
2001 bowman luke lockwood
1997 fleer flair showcase charles nagy
2004 playoff absolute memorabilia rickey henderson

oh rickey!  how great to find a card of him as a dodger in a repack!

1986 fleer gary roenicke
1986 topps george bamberger
1995 score mark smith
2008 topps mark derosa
1990 donruss mel hall
2013 topps jeff francouer
1988 fleer mike schmidt
1984 topps mike schmidt

1991 fleer ultra robin yount
1991 leaf gary carter
1991 upper deck dennis eckersley
2007 topps update & highlights mickey mantle a life in baseball #4
1991 pacific nolan ryan fireball pitcher
1990 score bill kreuger
1985 topps glossy all-star rod carew
1989 topps david cone
2008 topps shane victorino
2013 topps jered weaver chasing history foil

2010 topps new york yankees 27 world series titles don larsen
2010 topps new york yankees 27 world series titles hank bauer
2010 topps new york yankees 27 world series titles yogi berra

i had not seen cards from this set before.

last, and probably least, there was a 1991 bowman norberto martin

i was really pleased with this repack.  that kershaw card representing some fine repack karma.  good times.  some of you might want to look for some of these cards in some upcoming trade packages...

the number in red

every once in a while, somebody will share a list ranking baseball uniforms.  the padres are usually last on those lists, and the yankees are usually first.  i, of course, believe that the dodgers' home ice whites are the best in baseball.  i once read an interview with tommy john in which he said something that i had thought to be true for years - that the thing that makes the dodger uniform is the red number on the jersey.  just ask kaz ishii's 2002 topps 206 card.

and, no matter what panini (or even topps sometimes) tries to make us believe, the little number on the front has never been blue.  the red not only completes the red, white, and blue theme (steve garvey famously noted that when he was a dodger, he resembled the american flag, but when he went to san diego, he looked like a taco), it also adds some visual flair that helps eric gagne stand out from the crowd on his 2005 upper deck card.

walter o'malley had added the red number to the jerseys for the 1951 world series.  however, bobby thomson got in the way, and so the dodgers didn't debut the new look unis until 1952.  since then, every dodger uniform (even the sacrilegious blue tops) have featured the number in red.

when card companies started putting jersey and patch pieces into cards, i was quite the sucker for pieces of the red number.  i have a fair number of cards featuring the red number patch - here are just a few.

2005 donruss prime patches adrian beltre

no red number on the mariners' jerseys!

2005 playoff absolute memorabilia kevin brown tools of the trade

a bat piece, a regular away jersey piece, and a red number piece.

2004 playoff prime cuts rickey henderson

i've got a couple of patch cards of rickey from this set, but this one is my favorite.

i think the player of whom i have the most red patch cards is shawn green, but i have three or four such cards of steve garvey.  i probably would have more had fleer not gone bankrupt and actually fulfilled the garvey and garvey/fernando valenzuela patch redemption cards i sent in back in the mid-2000's.  anyway, one of the red patch garvey cards i have is this 2002 fleer fall classic card

which also features a red patch from tony perez's jersey.  i've got all the variations of this card, as you will eventually see when i post the contents of my garvey binders over the next few months.  i know you can't wait.

the best garvey red patch card that i own is the 2001 leaf certified materials 6/6 card, but this one is nice, too.

it comes from the same set (2001 leaf certified materials), but is numbered to /21.  it's from an early garvey jersey, as the red patch is made of wool.

red patch cards still pop up from time to time, usually in higher end product, and most certainly in lower print run varieties.  i'll make a run at some once in a while because i just can't resist having a piece of the best part of the dodger uniform.

rickey got some final tributes

today is many things - the last tuesday of the year, christmas, and rickey henderson's 55th birthday.  i'm sure rickey got shorted on gifts as a kid due to the dual birthday/christmas thing, but perhaps rickey used that as fuel to motivate rickey into becoming, as he said, the greatest.

back in 2003, rickey spent his last days in the major leagues with the dodgers who had plucked rickey out of the atlantic league in the hopes that rickey would jumpstart the team, or at least put some fans in the seats.

here's rickey's 2004 upper deck card

it doesn't look like there were too many fans coming out to see rickey.  that's too bad.  i remember the first time i saw rickey play - it was at the big a in anaheim and some youth group i was in took a trip to see some billy ball in 1982, the year rickey stole 130 bases.  it was great - rickey stole a couple of bases, billy martin came out to yell at an umpire, and we all went home happy.

as for that upper deck card, it features rickey's complete major league career stats on the back, as a true final tribute should.

those are some big numbers.  at the time of rickey's retirement (or at the end of the 2003 season, as rickey didn't officially retire), rickey was the all-time leader in stolen bases, walks (not shown), and runs scored.  rickey is still number one in steals and runs scored, but barry bonds wound up walking more times than rickey.

rickey had other cards in 2004 which, as a dodger collector, pleased me.  this is a 2004 playoff absolute memorabilia (retail version) card

here's the back

for the record, since it's not on the back of any of these cards, rickey walked 11 times as a dodger.  rickey was 20th on the all-time hit list after the 2003 season,  rickey has since been bumped to 22nd as craig biggio and derek jeter have both passed rickey in recent years.

here's a 2004 donruss team heroes card of rickey

here on the back, we can see that rickey had 3 of the dodgers' 80 team steals in 2003

a little bit fancier now, here's a 2004 donruss timeless treasures card of rickey

the back notes that rickey broke ty cobb's career runs record with a home run.

rickey slid into home plate to celebrate, just like yasiel puig did last year on his first walk-off homer.  admittedly, rickey had a few more years under rickey's belt when rickey did it.

not all of rickey's 2004 cards showed him as a dodger.  this is a 2004 donruss lumber & leather card featuring rickey as an athletic

rickey had four different stints with the a's.  the back of this card features a photo of a younger rickey

i am still of the mind that billy beane should have signed rickey to a contract in september of 2004.  the rosters were expanded, and rickey could still play (rickey was playing independent ball at the time).  yes, the a's were playing for a division title (they finished one game behind the angels), but rickey could have pulled some herb washington duty as a designated pinch runner.  plus, the a's were eliminated by the angels in game 161.  rickey could have suited up for game 162 at the coliseum and finished rickey's career in front of the home crowd.

unfortunately, rickey's last professional game was played in 2005 as a member of the san diego surf dogs dawgs in the golden baseball league.  strangely enough, billy beane did pluck a player off of the surf dawgs' roster in '05, but it was disappointing twins' prospect adam johnson, not rickey.  so that meant that, fortunately for me, rickey's last major league games were played as a member of the dodgers.  that means that rickey's 2004 upper deck vintage card (featuring a dodger usher appearing to be a first base coach) is also a final tribute card

it's too bad that upper deck didn't do rickey's full career stats on the back, though, as they did with rickey's flagship card shown up top.

and, while the text on the back notes that rickey homered in his second game as a dodger, rickey also homered in his fourth game as a dodger. the dodgers didn't win that game, but the home run was the last of rickey's career, and it was also (quite appropriately) a lead-off homer.  it is also worth noting that rickey stole for the last time in rickey's career in a game against the rockies with greg zaun as the catcher.  about three weeks later, in rickey's final big league plate appearance, rickey was hit by a pitch.  rickey took second on a sacrifice and then scored on a shawn green single.  and that was the end of rickey's major league career.

merry christmas everybody, and happy birthday rickey!