los angeles dodger managerial autographs managed

the los angeles dodgers have had only 9 managers in their 58-year history. compare that to the marlins, who have employed 13 managers (including two interim guys with just one game apiece) in their 23 years of existence.  all but one of the la dodger managers are still with us, and so obtaining autographs from each is not too difficult.

i've finally found the final piece to this collection, and so i will now display a complete set of la dodger manager autographed dodger cards.

1968 topps team (walt alston)

smokey passed away in 1984, so this card is obviously one that i purchased.  he first started managing the dodgers in 1954, and he won a total of 7 pennants and 4 world series, with 5 of those pennants and 3 of the world series titles coming in los angeles.  alston was at the helm for 2040 dodger wins - most all-time - and is enshrined in the hall of fame.  he gave way at the end of the 1976 season to tommy lasorda.

1978 topps tom lasorda

tommy signed this card for me through the mail, which was fantastic.  from the last four games of the 1976 season until his heart attack during the 1996 season, lasorda's dodgers won 1599 games, 4 pennants, and two world series titles, and lasorda himself was twice named the national league manager of the year.  he is second behind alston on the franchise's all-time managerial wins list, and he, too, is in the baseball hall of fame.  following the aforementioned heart attack in 1996, lasorda retired and bill russell took over.

1987 topps bill russell

like lasorda, russell signed this card (a final tribute) through the mail.  there is one card of him as a manager, and it comes from the 1997 mother's dodgers set.  i will try to get that one signed, but i don't believe ropes is signing through the mail anymore.  anyway, russell took over for lasorda in 1996 and led the team to a wild card berth. they were swept in the nlds, and were out of the playoff picture the following year which was russell's only full season at the helm of the club.  after 74 games in 1998, russell was fired by the fox regime about a month after the mike piazza trade.  it was the first time since leo durocher was relieved of his duties in 1948 that a dodger manager was fired during the season.  russell's 173 wins as the dodger skipper puts him 17th on the franchise list, and his winning percentage of .537 is good enough for 9th all-time (7th if we ignore interim managers clyde sukeforth and ray blades who won all three games they managed).  russell was replaced by glenn hoffman

1988 topps glenn hoffman

hoffman is (currently) the last of the former dodger players to manage the club.  he signed his 1988 topps card for me through the mail, and i may try to get him to sign a 1998 mother's dodgers card as well - it's the only one of him as a big league manager.  hoffman's dodgers finished out the 1998 season with 47 wins in 88 games, and those wins are the 25th most (out of 31) among the franchise's managers.  his .534 winning percentage puts him at 11th (or 9th), just a tick ahead of joe torre.  after the 1998 season, the fox boys were looking for a name, and they hired davey johnson to be the dodger manager.

2001 topps davey johnson

once again, the dodger manager in question signed a card for me through the mail.  johnson's debut as the dodger manager was a game for the ages.  on opening day, raul mondesi hit a 3-0 pitch into the stands for a game-tying three-run homer with two outs in the 9th, and then hit a two-run homer to walk-off the diamondbacks in the bottom of the 11th.  good times.  johnson wound up managing the team for two years, and the dodgers were 163-161 during his tenure (163 wins puts johnson 19th among the franchise's managers).  in 2000, they finished well behind the giants for second place in the nl west, and were 8 behind the mets for the wild card, and so johnson was fired after the season ended.  jim tracy was hired to take over.

2002 topps jim tracy

this is another through the mail autograph success, by the way.  tracy managed to manage the dodgers for five seasons, with the team winning 93 games and the nl west in 2004. although they lost to the cardinals in the nlds that year, they did win their first postseason game since 1988 (thanks to lima time!).  overall, tracy's dodgers were 427-384, and if it weren't for an awful 2005 season (you'll not be able to convince me that tracy wasn't trying to get fired that year - the second worst season for any la dodger team), his winning percentage would have been better. tracy ranks 6th all-time in wins for the franchise, behind five hall of famers, but he will probably be passed by don mattingly later this season.  the dodgers hired grady little to replace tracy following the 2005 season.

2007 topps grady little

i had to purchase this signed card.  

*update* little returned my ttm request after a fair amount of time with both his 2007 topps card 

and 2006 upper deck card 

signed.  very happy to have this success! *end update*

little's 170 wins in his two seasons as the team's manager puts him right between bill russell and davey johnson on the franchise's all-time list.  the dodgers won the wild card in 2006, but were swept in the nlds, and then finished 3rd in 2007.  little resigned as the team's manager after the 2007 season as it seemed apparent that frank mccourt wanted to hire joe torre to take over.

2009 topps joe torre

hall of fame manager torre, who signed this card through the mail, came aboard and led the club to two straight nl west titles and national league championship series berths.  the team faltered in 2010, however, and torre retired after that season. his 259 wins are 12th best among the franchise's managers, and his winning percentage is sandwiched by hoffman's and little's on the leader board. torre's bench coach, don mattingly, was picked to be his successor.

2014 topps heritage don mattingly

this card was the final card i needed for this post.  i had previously received a couple of signed mattingly cards through the mail with some help from reader cory, but i wanted a card of mattingly in dodger gear signed as well.  turns out i had to buy one.  mattingly is the current dodger skipper, and he has the team in first place this year, his fifth at the helm.  the team has won the nl west and made the postseason each of the last two years under mattingly, and they made it to the nlcs in 2013.  mattingly currently ranks 7th in managerial wins and tenure for the franchise, but should pass jim tracy in both of those categories by game 2 of the 2016 season.  after that, he's looking up at five hall of famers - alston, lasorda, wilbert robinson, durocher, and ned hanlon.  that's not bad managerial company.

sunday morning target dodgers - one flap down edition

here's another sheet of cards from the 1990 target dodgers set.  let's get down to business.

george boehler

boehler didn't pitch for brooklyn until he joined the robins for the 1926 season - the last of his big league career that began in 1912.  he didn't spend all 15 years in between in the majors, however, as he spent a few full seasons in the minor leagues where he won over 20 games 7 times (including 38 in 1922). at any rate, he was 1-0 for the robins in 10 appearances in 1926.

jack burdock

burdock actually joined the brooklyn ballclub in 1888, a couple of years before they joined the national league.  he spent the next two years managing in the atlantic league, but returned to the grooms in 1891, their second year in the senior league.  he went 1 for 12 with a walk in three games, but earned a card in this set.

wes ferrell

ferrell was a two-time all-star who also finished second in the mvp voting in 1935 behind hank greenberg.  he was a good hitting pitcher (perhaps that's why a photo of him with a bat was used on his card) who retired with a .280 batting average.  ferrell signed with the dodgers as a free agent in 1940, but pitched in just one game for the team after which he was released. that followed his first appearance fot the dodgers in which he struck out as a pinch-hitter.

len gabrielson

gabrielson finished his major league career with 3-plus seasons as a dodger.  acquired in a trade with the angels during the 1967 season, gabrielson actually led the 1968 dodger team with 10 home runs.  year of the pitchers, indeed.

jack jenkins

jenkins grew up in virginia, so it must have been a thrill for him to break into the major leagues with the washington senators in 1962.  he was just 19 at the time, and the first team he faced was the other local squad - the baltimore orioles.  pitching in baltimore, jenkins struck out the first batter he faced, but later gave up a couple of home runs.  he relieved in another game at new york, and then got a start against the red sox in boston. he pitched a complete game, but it was of the 8.1 inning variety as the bosox walked off on a home run.  jenkins appeared in four games for the senators in 1963, and then didn't appear in the majors until 1969 when the dodgers purchased his contract and called him up.  he made just one appearance for the blue, pitching a perfect inning in relief against the astros on september 30.  the last batter he faced was hall of famer joe morgan, who was retired on a comebacker.  the following year, jenkins pitched in the dodgers' minor league system and he also found himself on a 1970 topps card, sharing space with bill buckner, but he never made it back to the big leagues.

lou johnson

sweet lou was acquired by the dodgers in 1964 from the tigers for larry sherry.  he didn't appear in the majors as a dodger until 1965, however, but helped the team win the world series by hitting .296 with a couple of home runs against the twins.  johnson also led all dodger regulars with four hits in the 1966 world series against the orioles.  he continues to be involved in the dodger community by making appearances for the team at various functions and signing autographs before select home games.

candy lachance

lachance was considered to be a good fielder, and was moved from catcher to first base after being called up by the grooms in 1893.  he played mostly first for brooklyn through 1898, amassing a .290 average in 559 games.  after one season with the cleveland blues in 1901, lachance played for the boston americans (later known as the red sox) and was a member of their 1903 team that won the first world series.

jeffrey leonard

leonard never got to trot around the bases with one flap down as a dodger.  the undrafted free agent was signed by the club in 1973 and made his debut as a dodger in september of 1977.  he was 3 for 10 with a triple and a walk in that time, but didn't hit a home run.  leonard was dealt to houston the following year for joe ferguson.

gus mancuso

mancuso began his career with the cardinals in 1928, and was the backup catcher on their pennant winning teams of 1930 and 1931 - they were world champs in the latter.  from there he went to the new york giants where he was the primary catcher on their 1933 world championship team, as well as their 1936 and 1937 pennant winning clubs, although he missed a fair amount of the '37 season due to injury.  the cubs traded for mancuso in december of 1938 and dealt him to the dodgers a year later.  in his one year in brooklyn, mancuso hit .229 in 60 games and the club decided they needed a different catcher.  so, in december of 1940, they sent mancuso to the cardinals in exchange for mickey owen.  sure, the dodgers would win the pennant in 1941, but owen would famously be unable to catch the third strike with two outs in the 9th inning of game 4 of the world series, allowing the yankees to rally and win a game that they should have lost.

jack perconte

perconte may be best known in these circles as the other guy on fernando valenzuela and mike scioscia's 1981 topps rookie card.  he had a couple callups with the dodgers, first in 1980 and again in 1981, but the team decided that steve sax was their second baseman of the future and so included perconte in the rick sutcliffe trade with the indians that followed the 1981 world series.

earl robinson

robinson played for the dodgers in his rookie year of 1958.  he appeared in 8 games and was 3 for 15 with a walk and then spent the next two seasons with the dodgers' triple-a affiliates.  after that, robinson had his contract purchased by the orioles, and he found some success at the big league level in baltimore during the early 1960's.

cotton tierney

tierney finished his 6-year major league career with a season in brooklyn in 1925.  previously a second baseman for the pirates, phillies, and braves, the robins used him mostly at third base.  he hit .257 in 93 games and was sent to minneapolis of the american association the following year. he must have kept in touch with former teammate zack wheat, because they opened a bowling alley together a few years later.  baseball reference also notes that tierney played in over 90 road games in 1923 as a result of being traded from the pirates to the phillies.

chris van cuyk

van cuyk pitched for the dodgers from 1950-52, the three seasons immediately following his brother johnny's three year run with the club.  chris was 7-11 with a 5.16 era in that time, although his career had begun with a complete game victory over stan musial and the cardinals in july of 1950.  thanks to the timing of his career, chris got a card in the 1952 topps set, and he seemed pretty happy about it.

ed vande berg

left-handed reliever vande berg was acquired by the dodgers after the 1985 season for the catcher of the team of my youth, steve yeager. straight up.  vande berg had been used by the mariners as a reliever (save for 17 starts in 1984), and he continued that role from the dodger bullpen in 1986.  pitching in 60 games, vande berg was 1-5 with a 3.41 era and was only given the opportunity to save a game once (he failed to hold the lead in an extra inning game against the reds).  after the season, vande berg was released by the dodgers and he signed with the indians as a free agent.  there wasn't much of a trade legacy for steve yeager, was there?

hack wilson

wilson was only one season removed from his record 191 rbi when the cardinals traded burleigh grimes to the cubs to acquire him.  however, before the 1932 season could begin, saint louis flipped wilson to the dodgers.  he did pretty well in '32, hitting .297 with 23 homers and 123 rbi, but his numbers slipped in 1933, and he was released by the team during another disappointing season in 1934.

see you next week (most likely) with another sheet...

i saw the saenz - a few more from the flea market

here are a few more cards i picked up at that flea market last weekend.  just dodgers this time.

2005 topps total olmedo saenz

i think this is a silver parallel.  i couldn't leave olmedo the tomato in the dime box.  in fact, i would guess that this is one of about three olmedo saenz as a dodger cards i have in my collection.

here's a 2010 topps card your mom threw out 1956 jackie robinson.

original back, to boot!

even though i already have at least two copies of this card, i couldn't leave o-pee-chee behind.   i only wish there were more than just this 1985 o-pee-chee rick honeycutt.

here's a nice orel hershiser card from 1993 score.

and a 1996 ud collector's choice chad fonville arizona fall league card

i probably have about a dozen of the chan ho park afl card, but i don't think i had a chad until now.

here are a couple of 1999 ud collector's choice (or is it just ud choice?) - charles johnson

and ellis burks

the reason i bought a giant card is that i am pretty sure that cj is making an appearance there in the upper left hand corner.  giant cards are better when dodgers are present.

i like this 2004 upper deck sp authentic shawn green card

because of the dodger stadium image in the background.

that works for me better than upper deck's use of a '3' in place of a 'g' on this 2005 ud trilogy card

still, i always enjoy adding a jeff kent card to the collection.  especially for a dime.  from a flea market that i didn't know existed. that i only noticed because i was driving by at the right time.  or is that the ri3ht time.

even andruw jones looks better in dodger stadium

i hadn't noticed this until a few months ago, but in 2008, upper deck took andruw jones out of spring training and put him in chavez ravine.  they even moved the third base bag.  take a look at his 2008 upper deck first edition card side by side with his 2008 upper deck masterpieces card

pretty soon it will be revealed that all games are actually played in front of the giant green screen at universal studios hollywood.

the masterpieces background includes the low railing that wraps (or used to wrap) into fair territory until it hit the bullpens.  it is also visible on chris speier's 1988 topps card

denny martinez's 1991 topps card

and jeff treadway's 1992 topps card

i am 99% sure that this 1998 steve kline card from fleer ultra also features dodger stadium in the background

thanks to the roof and light stanchion, plus the blue in the dugout.

curt schilling's card from the same set is definitely sporting a dodger stadium shot

it could well be from opening day 1997 when schilling shut the dodgers down.  that was the last opening day i attended prior to my move to the midwest.

the phillies also had some players captured in dodger stadium in the 2011 bowman set, like roy oswalt

jimmy rollins

with a lurking rod barajas, and jayson werth

who was airbrushed into a nationals uniform.  pretty sure these photos came from the september 1, 2010 game (a 12:10 local start) in which oswalt started, rollins scored 3 times (including on a home run off of clayton kershaw), and werth hit a dribbler down the first base line.  barajas, who had recently joined the dodgers, caught the whole game.

no airbrushing was needed for the 1999 fleer ultra set.   that set had some gorgeous photography and features some great dodger stadium scenes.  here's charles johnson on his way from the dugout to the plate

and gary sheffield standing in almost the same spot, with the 'three ladies' palm trees behind the bullpen mostly visible

it's hard not to look good when you have that for a background.

world series fever - catch it!

i bought into thorzul's recent el cheapo group break and, in a flashback to my youth when they were battling it out in the old nl west, i was randomly assigned the reds as a companion to my dodgers.  here's some of what i received.

first up is a 2005 upper deck milton bradley 'color variation'

i had no idea what this was and why there was blue ivy instead of green.  i own the regular version of this card, so i knew something was up.  turns out that there are similar variations to every base card in the set as far as i can tell from the internets.  just another upper deck gimmick.

from blue to red - here's a 1980 topps card that was included in my bounty

the reds didn't have a nice stadium to use as a backdrop like the dodgers did, nor did they have a world class zoo to use as the padres did.  just astroturf and an outfield wall.

there were also a bunch of cards from the 1998 fleer sports illustrated world series fever set, including one of the few charles johnson as a dodger cards

johnson certainly had world series fever in 1997 as part of the world champion marlins.  eric karros, however, did not

karros only got as far as the nlds with the dodgers, and then was a member of the 2003 cubs that lost to the marlins in the nlcs thanks to the fact that they are the cubs.

paul konerko

who also appears in the set on andres galarraga's card, got his world series fever in 2005 with the world champion white sox.

raul mondesi

never got out of the division series - twice with the dodgers and once with the yankees.

chan ho park, on the other hand,

made it all the way to the world series with the phillies in 2009.  he pitched well, too, but the phils could not defeat the yankees.  nice shot of the visitor's bullpen, by the way.

gary sheffield

was part of the 1997 world champion marlins, but then had the misfortune to be on the yankees teams of the mid-2000's that couldn't quite make it to the world series.  misfortune, yeah that's not really the right word.

finally, there is no greater world series fever than when the dodgers are represented, as they were in 1988.

a magnificent moment indeed.

thanks thorzul.