maurice morning wills, dodger double dipper

as of june 24, 1962, dodger shortstop maury wills had 39 stolen bases on the season.  he went on to steal a then record 104 bags and win the mvp award in the process.  today, june 24, 2014, dee gordon has 39 stolen bases to his credit so far this season.  will dee steal 104 bases?  will he win the mvp award?  will he eventually leave the dodgers, only to return a few seasons later as wills did?  only time will tell.  in the meantime, here's a dodger double dipper post.

[this is the seventythird installment in the double dippers posts.  here are the previous posts - brett butler, omar daal, eric young, nick willhite, chris gwynn, mickey hatcher, dave anderson, don zimmer, rafael landestoy, dave hansen, jose vizcaino, hideo nomo, greg maddux, mike maddux, jon garland, chan ho park, vicente romo, gene mauch, denny lewallyn, von joshua, joe moeller, dioner navarro, rudy seanez, bart shirley, randy wolf, ismael valdes, bobby castillo, mike devereaux, pete richert, jay johnstone, jesse orosco, lee lacy, giovanni carrara, jeff weaver, ted sizemore,  orel hershiser, tom goodwin, joe ferguson, eddie murray, matt luke, ken mcmullen, tim wallach, jerry grote, don sutton, ralph branca, todd hundley, elmer dessens, guillermo mota, joe beckwith, jamie hoffmann, babe herman, joe medwick, juan castro, ron perranoski, clyde king, paul waner, hughie jennings, ron negray, broadway aleck smith, george smith, johnny cooney, jim fairey, frenchy bordagaray, doc casey, waite hoyt, luis olmo, clyde sukeforth, willie keeler,  harry howell, germany smith, johnny allen, marv rackley, and bobo newsom.]

maury wills debuted for the dodgers in 1959.  his first card is arguably the 1960 topps 1959 world series game 5 recap card 'luis swipes base', a card i addressed here.  he would have a few cards manufactured by other companies before appearing on a topps card again.  here's one of them - a 1962 post card

and another - a 1963 jello card

both cards note wills' prowess as a base stealer - he led the league in that category each season from 1960 through 1965.  the jello card references the old stolen base record set by ty cobb of 96 steals in 154 games.  actually, cobb played in 156 games during his record setting 1915 season, and although wills stole his 104 bags over a record 165 games, he made sure to steal two bags in game 156 to bring his running total to 97.  this was the year after roger maris broke babe ruth's single season home run record, and i would imagine that baseball purists and ty cobb fans would have demanded an asterisk had wills fallen short of 96 steals after 156 games.  i guess it's worth noting that wills had 100 steals after 162 games, but twelve and twenty years later, it wouldn't matter as lou brock had 118 steals in 1974 when the cardinals played only 161 games, and rickey henderson set his record 130 steals in 1982 when the a's also played 161 (henderson only appeared in 149 games that year!).

as for wills, he remained the dodgers' shortstop through the 1966 postseason, after which he was traded to the pirates to be their third baseman in 1967.  it was that year that he finally signed with topps and received a regular 1967 topps base card of his own, although it's a more scarce high number.  i showed my beat up copy in this post, along with a bunch of his cards that should have been that i created.

here's a 1969 topps deckle edge card of wills in a pirates uniform

although the 'p' on the hat has been removed because wills became a member of the expansion montreal expos following his two seasons in pittsburgh.  he has the distinction of being the expos' first shortstop and the first expo ever to bat.  really, the first expo ever to appear in a game, as montreal opened their inaugural season in new york against tom seaver and the mets.  he was also the first expo to strike out, the second one to double, the third one to score a run, the first to record a put out, the first to record an assist, and, fittingly, the first to steal a base.  wills only stole 15 bases for the expos in 1969, mostly because he was traded back to the dodgers in early june.

wills reclaimed his shortstop position upon his return to the dodgers, moving eventual rookie of the year ted sizemore to second base.  he eventually gave way to bill russell, and his career came to an end with the close of the 1972 season.  here's wills' 1972 o-pee-chee card

to document his second go-around with the dodgers at the major league level.  i state it like that because wills had actually left and returned to the dodger organization a couple of times before.  after signing with the club in 1951, he was claimed by the reds in the 1956 minor league draft and spent 1957 with their minor league affiliate in seattle.  wills was returned to the dodgers after the 1957 season, but then was sent to the tigers a year later.  they returned him to los angeles just before the 1959 season began, and the rest is dodger history.  to clarify, wills is still only a double dipper because i only consider those players who played as a dodger at the major league level before leaving the franchise and then eventually returned and played as a dodger in the big leagues again. sorry ted lilly, shane victorino, scott proctor, etc.

i included that link up above to the post featuring the 1959-1967 wills cards that i had created.  i should give credit to topps for creating the 1962 wills card that should have been.  they first used it in their 1975 sets as part of the mvp subset, the mini version of which i showed in this post.  it showed up again in the 1982 kmart set

and again in 1987 topps as part of the 'turn back the clock' subset.  the kmart set was released a year after there were some other maury wills cards issued by fleer and topps, except those showed him in a seattle mariners uniform. he managed the m's in the latter part of the 1980 season and also for a month or so to begin the 1981 campaign, becoming just the third african-american to manage in the major leagues.  since then, wills has been a coach or baserunning instructor for about half of the major league teams, although i am glad that the last few years seem to have been spent primarily with the dodgers and the likes of dee gordon.  let's see what dee can do this year!

here's to you maury, a dodger double dipper and maybe, just maybe, a hall of famer, too.

the evolution of the dodger second baseman, part 2

when we last saw the dodger second baseman, he (paul popovich) was on his way to the expansion montreal expos, so someone needed to step up in 1969.  that someone was…

ted sizemore (1969-1970)

sizemore (seen with his topps rookie team trophy on his 1970 topps card) actually started the season at shortstop (jim lefebvre was at second), but he moved to second when lefebvre got hurt in mid april.  even though he returned to short when lefebvre came back, walt alston eventually switched sizemore back to second when the club reacquired maury wills to play shortstop.  sizemore played 118 of his 159 games in 1969 as the dodgers' second baseman, and hit .271 as he was named the national league's rookie of the year.  in 1970, he appeared in only 96 games, but made 81 starts at second for the dodgers so he retains his title as their primary second baseman.  he hit .306 that year and was dealt following the season to the cardinals in the dick (rich) allen trade.

jim lefebvre (1971)

look who's back.  lefebvre, who had been the team's primary second baseman in 1965 and 1966 and is a former rookie of the year himself, was back at the position in 1971.  that's lefebvre's 1972 o-pee-chee card, by the way.  he played in 102 games as the dodger second baseman in '71 (98 starts) and hit .245 with 12 homers.

lee lacy (1972)

once again, lefebvre began the season as the team's second baseman, but hit a rough patch in early may and gave way to bobby valentine.  soon thereafter, lee lacy (shown on his 1973 o-pee-chee card) was called up from the minors, and he went on to lay claim to the position.  lacy made 58 starts at second - about a dozen more than valentine and 20 or so more than lefebvre.  he hit .259 and scored 34 runs, but didn't play much in september, as the dodgers called up another guy to play some second.

dave lopes (1973-1981)

lopes (shown on a very crooked 1979 kellogg's card) made 11 starts during the last month of the 1972 season, and i guess alston saw enough.  he handed the position over to lopes in 1973, giving him 133 starts that year.  he dabbled in the outfield from time to time, but otherwise held the position through the 1981 world series.  along the way, he led the league in steals twice, won a gold glove, made four all-star teams, and helped the dodgers to four pennants and a world series title.  he was the second baseman on the team of my youth.

steve sax (1982-1988)

like lopes, sax held the dodgers' second base position until they won a world series title.  lopes, however, was traded prior to the 1982 season while saxy left after the 1988 campaign as a free agent.  before that happened, he was the fourth dodger second baseman to win the rookie of the year award, and he made three all-star teams, including the 1983 squad as alluded to on the 1984 topps glossy all-star card above.  in 1986, sax finished second to tim raines in the batting title race, hitting a career high .332 (raines hit .334).  he twice led the national league in errors while with the dodgers and much was made about his difficulties throwing to first base, but he was still my favorite dodger after steve garvey left town.  besides, i don't think of him defensively - my lasting steve sax memory is of him hitting the first pitch of the 1988 season into the left field bleachers at dodger stadium.

willie randolph (1989)

the yankees and dodgers essentially traded second baseman for the 1989 season, although both signed with their new teams as free agents.  with sax gone to the bronx, the dodgers signed willie randolph (seen on a 1989 fleer update card).  randolph appeared in 145 games in 1989, including 139 starts at second.  he hit .282 and was selected to the all-star team.  however, the dodgers traded him to the a's early in the 1990 season for stan javier.

juan samuel (1990-1991)

following the 1989 season, the dodgers traded mike marshall and alejandro pena to the mets for samuel.  they moved him back to his original position of second base (the mets were using him as their center fielder), and he made 101 starts there for the dodgers in 1990.  the following year, samuel started 150 games at second for the blue, and didn't sniff the outfield.  he made the all-star team that year as well, hitting .271 with 74 runs scored and 23 steals.  samuel began the 1992 season as the team's second baseman, but was released in july.  eric young was called up to take his roster spot, but there was another player who actually played second more than anyone else that year.

lenny harris (1992)

yes, i am using cards from 1992 fleer ultra for both samuel and harris in this post.  it's what i had handy.  deal with it.  the second baseman position in 1992 looked something like this:  samuel, 29 starts; mike sharperson, 33 starts; eric young, 35 starts; harris, 65 starts.  harris had been the team's primary third baseman in 1991, and he played some third as well as short and outfield in 1992 as well.  overall, harris hit .271 while fielding at a clip below league average for second basemen.  many thought that young would be the dodgers' second baseman of the future, but they weren't convinced as he was left unprotected in the 1993 expansion draft and was taken by colorado.  as a result, the dodgers worked out a deal with the rockies to acquire one of their later draft picks to fill the hole at second.  that set into motion events that would lead to one of the worst (thanks to hindsight) trades in dodger history.  stay tuned...

card show recap - dealers 3 and 4 and the assault on my 1974 topps want list

all right.  moving on to the meat of the card show from last week.

before i get there, however, remember to let me know what you think i spent on these cards in the comments.  whoever is closest (or first with a precise guess) gets some cards featuring a team of their choice.

now then.  my primary goal was to complete my 1974 topps set.  i would have gone to dealer 3 first, but he was still setting up shop when i arrived.  this is the guy with the vintage bargain bins.  i have been buying slightly-off vintage from him for 14 years or so.  he also has a half-price vintage box with cards in better shape marked at half off of what i assume to be book.  who knows the last time he updated the prices, though.

i took some cards from there, including a 1974 topps nolan ryan

1974 topps nolan ryan/tom seaver league leaders

1974 topps bobby murcer/pete rose all-stars

1974 topps hank aaron special #2

i didn't need the hank, but i picked it up for a certain calgarian.  the ryan was the most expensive card i bought at the show.

now for those true bargain bins

1961 post johnny podres

1967 topps stan bahnsen/bobby murcer rookie stars

1967 topps john werhas

1968 topps deckle edge frank howard

1969 o-pee-chee jim lonborg

1969 o-pee-chee rick monday
1971 o-pee-chee clete boyer - love the 71 opc backs!

1971 o-pee-chee lew krausse
1971 o-pee-chee rod gaspar
1971 o-pee-chee merv rettenmund
1971 topps willie smith

1972 o-pee-chee mets team - featuring gil hodges

1972 o-pee-chee vida blue in action - look at how often new york shows up on the back

1972 o-pee-chee 1971 nl playoffs bucs champs
1972 o-pee-chee 1971 world series game 1
1974 o-pee-chee ramon hernandez
1975 o-pee-chee yogi berra/roy campanella 1951 mvps

yes, it it miscut, but it is a campy o-pee-chee.  in the most bargainy of all of this guy's bargain bins.  here's the back for you frenchies

ptd in canada!
1975 o-pee-chee joe niekro
1975 o-pee-chee mickey rivers
2 1971-72 o-pee-chee hockey cards for $30 a week habit

yes, i found some vintage o-pee-chee.  that doesn't happen - ever - at these shows.  the podres is the second 1961 post card in my collection (both from this show) and the werhas, while creased, was worth picking up because it took me so long to find one for my collection that i thought there might be a dodger collector out there that would be ok with one that is creased in half.  the murcer rookie was an impulse buy, but the '71 willie smith goes in my set.  not completely sure what i will do with most of these cards, however.  i am not about to start building any more opc sets (i have from 1977 through 1992 and just the variations from prior to '77).

on to dealer 4

i don't recall exactly when it was that i last attended this show, but whenever it was, i talked to this guy about my need for a few 1974 topps washington nat'l variations.  he emailed me later to let me know that he had the ones i needed and that he would bring them to the next show i attended.  i emailed him last week to let him know i was coming, and he brought the cards i needed.  unfortunately, i had already obtained a copy of one of the cards since our last meeting.  that would be the glenn beckert variation

here are the ones that are new to me - nate colbert

cito gaston

dave roberts

and the whole darn 'nat'l lea' team.

i became so so close to finishing that set after these two guys helped me out.

let me know how much you think i spent with dealer 3 and dealer 4 in the comments.  i am looking for individual amounts, not total.  next post coming later this pm.

an armband for gil hodges

gil hodges passed away of a heart attack while golfing towards the end of spring training, 1972.  his wonderful 1972 o-pee-chee card gives us the hard facts about the manager of the mets.

to honor hodges, the mets retired his number and wore black armbands during the 1972 season.  i don't believe that the dodgers wore any memorial for their former first baseman, and number 14 is still available to be worn by any tom, dick, or mark ellis, as the case may be.  anyway, here is a 1973 o-pee-chee card of jerry grote with the armband present

and 1973 topps cards of willie mays

and ted martinez

but it's ken boswell who gets to represent this memorial in my binder

thanks to the faraway look in his eyes and the prime location of the armband in the photo.

all hands on deck

this week's installment of the 1979 post raisin bran steve garvey's baseball tips is a little 'pie in the sky' if you ask me.  i never had a whole lot of time in the on deck circle to make a lot of observations.  guys i hit behind went up there hacking.  things must be different in the pros, i guess.

on deck images of players are fairly boring, so there aren't too many that i am aware of.  usually when you see someone on deck, it's because they are in the background of someone at the plate, like on this 1998 upper deck bobby bonilla card

 or this 1999 pacific matt luke card

but there are some on deck cards nonetheless. perhaps the best example is the 1972 topps/o-pee-chee willie davis card (this is the o-pee-chee version)

although willie doesn't seem to be following the game too intently.  to me, it looks like he's enjoying some down time in the sun.

here's mike piazza's 1998 topps gallery card

piazza is getting his bat ready as the garv suggests, but will he have time to study the pitcher?  well, in 1997 i remember he was hitting behind raul mondesi who wasn't the most patient hitter, so i will guess that the answer is 'no'.

only about 5 weeks until spring training!

happy birthday dr. lonborg!

jim lonborg turns 68 years old today.  or is it 69?  the back of his 1972 o-pee-chee card (which is partially featured on my header for the oh my o-pee-chee blog)

lists his birth year as 1943, while baseball reference says 1942.  no matter - i still want to wish the 1967 cy young award winner a happy bday.

although his career was winding down when i first became aware of baseball (and baseball cards), i was immediately a fan of jim lonborg's.  that's because he was from the same town as me and was a friend of a friend of my dad's.  that was cool to me back then.  now he's a dentist living near boston, and i am also displaced, but there's still a common bond.  not that any of this matters to him - i've never met the man. 

i have had a pc of lonborg since i started collecting and decided to send a few cards his way over the last couple of years.  he had already signed a 1978 topps card for me

(awesome) and a couple others, but here are a few more.

the aforementioned 1972 o-pee-chee

lonborg spent one seasons in milwaukee.  he was traded by the red sox along with ken brett and some others before the 1972 season.  a year later, the brew crew traded him, again sending ken brett with him, to the phillies, with whom he finished his career while appearing on a few more cards.  such as, his 1976 topps

and 1979 topps cards

sweet mustache.  lonborg was released during the 1979 season, so didn't get a proper final tribute card in 1980.  hmm.

he has been featured in a few 'legends' type sets, like 1994 upper deck all time heroes

2001 fleer red sox 100th anniversary

and my favorite legends set - 2004 upper deck legends timeless teams.

i was pretty pleased to see that he added the 'cy young' inscription.   lonborg led the al in wins, starts and strikeouts in 1967, and then went on to win 2 games in the world series, including a game 2 one-hit shutout and a complete game victory in game 5.  unfortunately, the cardinals got to him in game 7, winning the series.  i believe it was that offseason that lonborg hurt his knee skiing, and was never quite the same pitcher as a result.  i'm sure he's a fine dentist, though.

thank you dr. lonborg, and a very happy birthday to you from one native central coaster to another!