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!

red hot blue

please don't judge me, but even though i am of the mind that there are way too many parallels of the topps flagship base cards, i am a fan of the red hot foil cards that were introduced in 2014.  hypocritical, perhaps, but i look at it as one or two parallel versions are ok, and i would choose red hot foil over any of the others.

i don't have the complete dodger team set from series 1 and 2, but i've got most of them.

clayton kershaw

matt kemp

carl crawford

zack greinke

kenley jansen

hyun-jin ryu

andre ethier

mark ellis

yasiel puig (highlight/checklist)

hanley ramirez

michael young

josh beckett

chad billingsley

brandon league

ricky nolasco

brian wilson

and adrian gonzalez

i also recently picked up a copy of gonzalez's other red parallel from the set.

the target red border parallels pale in comparison.  unfortunately, i only have the aj ellis target red parallel in my collection currently

in fact, by my count (i've shown some other red hot foil parallels previously), i am in need of not only aj's red hot foil parallel, but those of onelki garcia, juan uribe, clayton kershaw league leader (with jose fernandez and matt harvey), and clayton kershaw cy young.  i'll keep an eye out.

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...

sunday morning target dodgers - not sure how ted power wound up with this group, especially that merkle character

this week's sheet of 15 cards from the 1990 target dodger 100th anniversary giveaway set features a bunch of guys who played during the early years of the franchise.  and ted power.

doug baird

baird was picked up by the robins on waivers late in the 1919 season.  he appeared in 20 games and hit only .183, but they brought him back in 1920.  he was 2 for 6 in 6 games that year before his contract was purchased by the new york giants for whom he played out the remainder of the season.

glenn chapman

chapman spent one season in the major leagues, and that was 1934 with the dodgers.  he appeared in 67 games for casey stengel's squad, hitting .280 with a home run and 10 rbi.

fats dantonio

dantonio debuted in 1944 with the dodgers, and made it into 3 games, going 1 for 7 at the plate.  he was back with brooklyn in 1945, this time playing in 47 games and hitting .250.  in those 47 games, however, dantonio made enough errors (12) to lead the league in errors by a catcher.  he did not appear in the majors after the 1945 season, but he continued to play minor league ball and eventually retired with a .300 career batting average as a minor leaguer.

bil doak

doak was acquired by the robins during the 1924 season, and he posted a record of 11-5 in the 21 games in which he pitched for them that year.  it looks like he took a couple of years off before returning to the team in 1927 when he was 11-8 in 27 games, and his time with the franchise ended after the 1928 season in which he was 3-8 in 28 appearances.  doak was one of the spitballers who was allowed to continue throwing the pitch after it was outlawed in 1920.  doak may be best known, however, not as a pitcher who twice (1914 and 1921) led the league in era, but rather as the inventor of the modern fielder's glove as he worked with rawlings in 1919 to add a webbing to the gloves of his era.

gil hatfield

hatfield took some time out from his family's feud with the mccoy's to play for the 1893 brooklyn grooms.  no, that's not true - he had spent 1892 managing a minor league team in seattle following a decent few years playing for the giants and a couple of other clubs.  with brooklyn, hatfield was a .292 hitter in his 34 games played.  he returned to the minors in 1894, but finished his big league career in 1895 with the louisville colonels.

bob higgins

higgins was a backup catcher for the dodgers in 1911 and 1912.  he appeared in four games in 1911, hitting .300 (3 for 10), and then made a singular appearance in 1912, finishing his career with an 0 for 2 day.  he continued to play minor league ball into the 1920's and then managed for a couple of years as well.

george hunter

hunter was 4-10 with a 2.46 era in the 16 games in which he appeared as a pitcher for the 1909 superbas.  he also played a few games in the outfield that year, and overall hit .228 in 44 total games played.  he returned in 1910, but only appeared in one game (as a fielder) and did not have a plate appearance, although the timing of his short career was such that he was included in the 1909-11 t206 set.

fred merkle

boner.

all right, i won't let that be the only thing i say about merkle, especially since his famous baserunning mistake didn't occur during his short time with the brooklyn robins.  merkle was traded to the robins by the giants during the 1916 season, and then the cubs purchased his contract from brooklyn early in the 1917 campaign.  in between, merkle appeared in 25 games and hit .221 for uncle robbie's teams.

jimmy pattison

pattison pitched in 6 games for the 1929 brooklyn robins, and that was the sum of his major league career.  he was 0-1 in those games, all featuring pattison in relief, and the team was winless in those contests as well.

ed pipgras

pipgras' major league career spanned a month at the end of the 1932 season.  he first appeared in a game on august 25 against the cubs, pitching a third of an inning in relief while allowing a couple of runs to score.  pipgras pitched in a total of five games for the dodgers that season, including his final appearance on september 25 against the braves. that appearance came with pipgras as the starting pitcher for the only time in his career, and he took the loss with a 5 inning, 8 run (3 earned) performance.

norman plitt

plitt's first taste of major league baseball action came on april 26, 1918 when he pitched the last two innings of a game for the robins against the new york giants.  he allowed a run to score, but also got a hit and drove in a run in his lone at bat, so it wasn't necessarily a bad debut.  unfortunately for plitt, he would have to wait until the 1927 season to get another chance in a big league game.  in '27, the robins used him in 19 games (8 as a starter), and he posted a record of 2-6 with a complete game.  the giants wound up picking him up on waivers, and he finished the season (and his major league career) with john mcgraw's squad.

ted power

power was a hard throwing reliever who began his career with a call-up for the dodgers in september of 1981.  he threw three scoreless innings against the giants in his debut (he struck out jack clark in his last inning of work), and tommy lasorda used him in four other games down the stretch (including two starts).  power was 1-3 in those games, losing both of his starts, and he did not appear in the postseason as the dodgers won the world series.  he was back with the big club in 1982, however, and was 1-1 in 12 appearances, four of which were starts.  after the season ended, power was traded to the reds, and he went on to be a closer for a few different teams over the course of his career.

hap smith

smith was apparently happy to have been acquired by the superbas early in the 1910 season in a trade with the cubs, because the brooklyn team brought him to the big leagues for the first time.  he wound up playing in 35 games, hitting .237, and that was it for his major league career.  it was enough, however, for smith to be immortalized like george hunter in the t206 card set.

tommy tucker

this tucker has a better mustache than this tom tucker, let's get that straight at the start.  this tucker also spent 13 seasons at the major league level in the late 1800's, including a stint with the brooklyn bridegrooms.  tucker played for brooklyn for the first half of the 1898 season, batting .279 in 73 games, before joining the st. louis browns for the second half of the campaign.  he was adept at being hit by the pitch, still sitting third all-time in that category behind hughie jennings and craig biggio, and ahead of don baylor, ron hunt, and everyone else who ever played.

tex wilson

wilson's major league career consists of 3.2 innings pitched in 2 games for the 1924 brooklyn robins.  he allowed 6 earned runs, but did strike a guy out which is nice.  he pitched in the minors for a few more seasons after his time in the majors was over, and i'll assume that's where this photo was taken, if in fact it really is wilson.

i'll look for a sheet with more modern players next week...