more cards from night owl, plus a contest

there were too many good cards sent my way by night owl to be contained to a single post, so here are some more.

this 1996 select certified wilton guerrero card

actually shows roger cedeno

1994 topps traded chan ho park

this is park, obviously, and it looks like he's pitching in a high school stadium

speaking of high school, here's a 2012 panini triple play matt kemp when i was a kid card

the back is all about how basketball was kemp's primary sport until late in his high school years.  now, is this card better than the early 70's topps boyhood photos of the stars subsets?  maybe.  but then again, maybe a black and white picture of kemp posterizing some kid under the basket would have been ok, too.

2003 topps bazooka paul loduca relic

2004 topps clubhouse collection chin-feng chen relic

2004 topps traded edwin jackson relic

2007 bowman heritage jeff kent relic

and 2008 topps brad penny relic

night owl was purging his relics, and i was one of the beneficiaries.

like i said, a lot of good cards there.  speaking of good cards, i've been meaning to have another contest of sorts.  i have a lot of good cards to trade.  you may have some dodgers you want to get rid of.  and, there are a lot of good cards up in my header.  just in case you aren't looking at the web version of the blog, here's my header, or at least the cards:

and here's the contest.

i count 31 cards in my header.  all you have to do is identify them.  get it right, and i'll send you up to 9 pre-1980 cards from the team of your choice in a pwe.  you can send one or two dodger cards back, if you like, but it's not required. heck, i'll probably send cards just for trying since there are a couple of obscured cards, plus a tricky one in there.  to make things easier, i've set up a key for the header:

you should be able to click that to get a larger version, but let me know if you need me to email it to you.  speaking of email, you can send your list (and mailing address) to me at gcrlatcomcastdotnet, and please do so by noon pacific on saturday the 25th.  good luck.  and thanks for the cards, night owl!

they came from 2004...

today i'm showing some cards that were released in 2004.  the first few don't look like cards from 2004, however.  like this 2004 fleer platinum edwin jackson card

that was modeled after 1984 fleer cards.

and then there is this 2004 fleer tradition card

that brings to mind the 1990 fleer design although the banner here has more flow to it.

this 2004 topps all-time fan favorites brett butler card

uses the 1991 topps design.  unfortunately, topps kept the orange frame design of the giants cards. 1991 was butler's first year with the dodgers, and he led the league in runs scored and walks.  he was featured in the flagship set as a giant, receiving a dodger card (with the proper blue frame) in the traded set.

finally, there is this 2004 topps cracker jack card of adrian beltre

that is a play on the 1915 cracker jack design

don't worry - there were some original designs used in 2004 - like the design of the 2004 upper deck flagship set.  here's juan encarnacion's card from that set

i like the 2004 upper deck set because of the inset photo behind the players' names.  that's a dodger stadium scene, in case you can't tell (the same scene - differently cropped - that's on the back of dodger cards in the 2004 upper deck legends timeless teams set).  unfortunately, upper deck did not apply the photo consistently to cards in the set

it may just be that the horizontal cards in the set didn't get the inset photo, i don't know.  here are some landscape oriented cards for you to ponder - shawn green

is in pittsburgh, i believe

hideo nomo

is in the dodger stadium dugout

and robin ventura

is on the road somewhere - maybe san francisco - as that's where jeff weaver is on his card

which is vertical and features the stadium inset photo.

there's not much of a discernible background photo at all on this 2004 topps clubhouse collection eric gagne relic card

but i guess we are supposed to be focusing on the fabric and not the photo.

it would be interesting to know what sort of designs fleer and upper deck would have these days.  i am sure, like topps (heritage, archives, gypsy queen, allen & ginter), they would issue sets that incorporate some older set designs, but there would be some unique designs, too.

at least i hope there would be.

the numbers don't add up to junk

it's not often that i receive a package of cards that contain no plain old base cards, but that's what happened a while back.  for some reason, i've been delinquent in posting about this particular trade package that i received from wes at jaybarkerfan's junk, but that doesn't reflect my level of appreciation for it.  there were 8 cards total, with all but one being serial numbered.  have a look.

2002 fleer tradition update eric gagne all-star glossy edition; numbered /200

the sport goggles! game over!

2003 donruss studio hong-chih kuo numbered /1500

that's a nice angle on the top deck and reserve sections of dodger stadium behind the giant kuo.  these days, those seats are baby blue or sea-foam blue or whatever it was that the o'malley's originally had installed in the stadium.  as for the card, this is kuo's base card, but he was a rookie, so his card in the set is serially numbered.

2003 topps kevin brown gold parallel numbered /2003

2003 was brown's bounce-back season for the dodgers as he returned to form with a 2.39 era and made the yankees want to trade for him despite his huge contract.

2003 topps chrome andy ashby gold refractor numbered /449

that is a nice shiny card.  unlike brown, ashby was 3-10 with an era over 5 in his final year with the dodgers.  still, he wasn't unwanted, as he returned to san diego as a free agent for the 2004 season.

2004 donruss classics edwin jackson numbered /1999

similar to the kuo card, this is jackson's base card - it's just numbered because he was a rookie.  i've mentioned seeing jackson's final 2003 start before - it was in san francisco, and he allowed 2 hits and no runs over 6 innings.  he struck out 7, but gave up 8 walks!  still, the dodgers were up 1-0 after 8 innings, barry bonds had struck out twice (and walked and was hit by a pitch), and i was looking forward to seeing eric gagne get a save.  the dodgers went and scored three times in the top of the 9th, so even though gagne pitched, he didn't get the save.  in fact, i think that the only game in which i saw gagne earn a save in person was the night before shawn green's 4-homer game in milwaukee.  that was in the early part of gagne's career as a closer, so it wasn't quite the event that a gagne save eventually became.

2006 topps finest jd drew xfractor numbered /250

moving on…

2007 bowman russell martin orange parallel numbered /250

martin has caught nine extra-inning complete games this season, including a 16-inning affair.  i don't know if that is abnormal or not, but it's a cool stat.  he's also hitting .292 on the season which would look nice for a catcher in a dodger box score these days.

so i noted that there was only one card in the package that wasn't serial numbered, and it was this 2014 topps ricky nolasco trajectory auto

topps went all out with nolasco in 2014, adding his sticker auto to cards in multiple sets, and then he went and signed with the twins.

thanks again for all the cards wes!

random cards from the scanned folder are like a box of chocolates

look deep into scott erickson's eyes on his 2005 topps total card

he'll make you forget that this is a post of cards thrown together with little to no thought or common theme.  just a bunch of cards i have scanned over the years, but not posted for one reason or another.  as an aside, i forgot all about this card when i went to a signing that erickson attended three years ago when the twins celebrated the 1991 world series team.  that's ok - his wife was there, and i forgot all about baseball cards for a moment.

now it's time for some edwin jackson.  this is a 2005 topps turkey red card

and this is a 2005 upper deck all-star classics

jackson made his big league debut on his 20th birthday (9/9/03), squaring off against randy johnson and the diamondbacks.  the dodgers made him a winner that day, and again a couple of weeks later in san francisco (a game that i attended).  jackson was wild in that game, walking 8, but he struck out barry bonds and allowed no runs and only 2 hits in his 6 innings of work.  jackson was back with the dodgers for a handful of games in 2004 and 2005, but was traded to the devil rays prior to the 2006 season.  in his 12-year career (so far), jackson has pitched for 8 teams.

2005 upper deck espn cesar izturis web gems

izturis won a gold glove in 2004 which largely explains his appearance in an insert set

2011 panini playoff contenders chris reed

reed was the dodgers' first round pick in 2011.  he was born in london, but attended high school in socal and went to stanford after that.  he's currently a double-a chattanooga. 

2011 bowman andre ethier gold parallel

and 2011 bowman ted lilly gold parallel

ethier only gets one parallel in this post, but lilly gets three.

2011 topps ted lilly diamond anniversary platinum parallel

and 2011 topps update ted lilly cognac parallel

i still prefer lilly's 2013 topps card.

here's a few more from 2011 topps update.  remember javy guerra?

who comes in cognac form

and platinum parallel fashion as well

guerra was picked up on waivers by the white sox earlier this year, so he and ronald belisario are making it deja vu all over again in the chisox bullpen.

one more from 2011 topps update - it's matt guerrier

guerrier was dealt to the cubs last year for carlos marmol, but signed with the twins prior to this season. he was just recently dfa'd by the club, although aside from his last outing he hadn't pitched that poorly.  i was a fan - as much as one can be of a non-closer reliever.

in other news, chris capuano is now a yankee.  here's his 2012 topps update card

and his 2013 topps gypsy queen white framed parallel

he had started the season with the red sox after two years with the dodgers, but was released on july 1. after a short stint with the rockies' organization, capuano had his contract purchased by the yankees and made a start for them just the other day.  he turned in a quality start, but didn't get a decision.

sunday morning target dodgers - a garvey, a heinie, and a black eye

i'm back with more cards - 15 to be exact - from one of the sheets in the 1990 target dodger 100th anniversary set.  things get started with my baseball hero, steve garvey.

interesting that his position is identified as 'inf'.  true, he did start out at third (he also played one inning of second base and a handful of games in the outfield), but pretty much everyone remembers garvey as a first baseman.  he was the dodgers' first baseman, just about every day, for over 9 seasons.  four gold gloves, an mvp award, 1968 hits, 211 homers, and a .301 average are what he earned as a dodger.  greg brock never had a chance.

randy jackson

a two-time all-star with the cubs before joining the dodgers, 'handsome ransom' played for the dodgers in 1956, '57, and some of '58.  he replaced don hoak as the team's third baseman, splitting time with jackie robinson as hoak had done during the 1955 season, although jackie got all of the playing time there in the 1956 world series.  he was neither a judge on american idol, nor a member of the jackson 5.

george jeffcoat

jeffcoat, the older brother of hal jeffcoat, pitched for the dodgers in 1936, '37, and '39.  he was 6-9 with a 4.68 era in 62 games for brooklyn, and was the last dodger to wear number 42 prior to jackie robinson.

tito landrum

prior to landrum, i think that the only other tito i was aware of was tito jackson, michael's brother, and that was only because eddie murphy had a bit in his 'delirious' special where he is portraying michael and asks tito to get him some tissue.  anyway, this tito hit .429 against the dodgers in the 1985 nlcs, so when he was released by the cardinals in 1987, they signed him right away.  he was used mostly as a pinch-hitter, and it was in that role that he hit his only home run as a dodger - off of phillie pitcher michael jackson.  and that is how you bring something full circle.

billy loes

loes was 50-25 for the dodgers from 1952 through 1955 with a 3.70 era.  he had also pitched for the club in 1950, but earned no decisions, and appeared in one game as a dodger in 1956 before having his contract purchased by the orioles.  he appeared in three world series (1952, '53, and '55), pitching in four games.  he took the loss in game 2 of the 1955 fall classic, but still earned a ring.

heinie manush

manush's given name was henry, and i suppose i see how 'heinie' might have come about.  still, the first time i read his name in lawrence ritter's 'the image of their greatness' i laughed.  manush had the last laugh, though, as he began his career playing alongside ty cobb in detroit and eventually finding his way to the dodgers for the 1937 season.  he hit .333 that year in 132 games, but lasted just 17 games for the dodgers in 1938 before he was lost to the pirates.  manush retired a year later with a batting average of .330, and was inducted into the hall of fame in 1964 by the veteran's committee.

jack mccarthy

mccarthy finished his career that began with the reds in 1893 as a member of the brooklyn superbas in 1906 and 1907.  he hit .304 in '06, but just .220 in 25 games in '07.

bill mcgunnigle

mcgunnigle was the manager of the brooklyn bridegrooms in 1890 when they joined the national league.  he promptly led them to the nl pennant (just as he had led them to the american association title in 1899), but there was of course no world series back then.  for some reason, he was replaced as manager prior to the 1891 season, but returned to the majors as the manager of the pirates later that season.

wally millies

millies' first taste of the big leagues came with the dodgers in 1934.  he was 0 for 7 while appearing in two games for the club that year, and never got another chance as a dodger.  two years later, millies hit .312 in 74 games for the senators.  he also played for the senators, and was a longtime scout for the mets, expos, and astros following his playing days.

johnny morrison

morrison pitched for the robins in 1929 and '30 at the tail end of a ten year career spent primarily with the pirates.  he was 14-9 with 9 'saves' over those two seasons with brooklyn.

tom niedenfuer

target really screwed up niedenfuer's last name there.  mixing up 'i before e' and adding a random d is pretty inexcusable when you consider that he had been with the team as recently as 1987 and had some decent years out of the 'pen.  of course, giving up a home run to a left-handed hitting ozzie smith and pitching to jack clark with first base open in the 1985 nlcs is also inexcusable although only one of those things is really his fault.

irv noren

noren is shown here from his coaching days with the oakland a's.  more specifically, he is shown following a brawl between the tigers and a's on august 22, 1972 when the two teams were in the heat of the pennant race.  noren was punched by a tigers player following a couple of high and tight pitches thrown at a's batters, the second of which resulted in angel manual charging the mound.  you can get all the details here, just scroll down about half way.  anyway, noren actually began his professional career with the brooklyn dodgers in 1946, but was purchased by the senators before he could reach the big leagues.  he faced the dodgers as a yankee in three world series (1952, 1953, and 1955) and eventually joined the club in 1960, his final big league season.  he appeared in 26 games for the blue, all as a pinch hitter, and was 5 for 25 with a walk.

frank o'rourke

o'rourke played for the robins in 1917 and '18, hitting .233 over that span.  he broke into the big leagues in 1912 and played into the 1931 season, after which he managed in the minors and then became a scout.  he worked for the yankees in that capacity for about 50 years, retiring in 1985.  he passed away a year later at the age of 92.  a native of ontario, he is enshrined in the canadian baseball hall of fame.

don padgett

padgett began his career as an outfielder with the cardinals in 1937.  the cardinals converted him to catcher due to enos slaughter's arrival in 1939, and he wound up hitting .399 in 92 games during that season.  he played a total of five seasons in saint louis, and after missing four seasons due to military service in world war ii, padgett joined the dodgers and returned to the majors in 1946.  with brooklyn, he hit .167 in 19 games and had his contract purchased by the braves in june of that year.

charley smith

smith was a third baseman who entered the major leagues with the dodgers in 1960.  he was traded to the phillies early in the 1961 season, and had a total of 91 at bats in 27 games as a dodger.  he is probably best known as the player that the yankees acquired when they traded roger maris to the cardinals following the 1966 season.