more brown and yellow from the steve garvey binders

the 18th sheet of the steve garvey binders begins with a different former dodger wearing the san diego brown and yellow. i'll explain below.

so, those cards are:

1. 1985 topps dick williams
2. 1985 topps glossy all-star
3. 1985 topps pete rose #81
4. 1985 topps rubdown
5. 1985 topps stickers (foil top)
6. 1985 topps stickers (foil bottom)
7. 1985 topps stickers (nlcs - batting)
8. 1985 topps stickers (nlcs - posed)
9. 1985 topps stickers (foil)

the dick williams card is here because steve garvey is lurking in the background, signing autographs for his legion of fans.  two cards over is another card in which garvey is a background lurker.  it comes from a 1985 set produced by topps that features nothing but pete rose.  there are 120 cards in the set, which seems excessive, but i was happy to find card number 81 in the set that shows the scene at first base following hit number 4192.  i think that it's pretty cool that garvey was on the field for both babe ruth's career home run record being broken as well as the passing of ty cobb's career hit record (although some statistic scrubbing in the following years would show that rose actually passed cobb in an earlier game).

the rubdown 'card' is the same as the 1984 version with only the copyright date changing, but it gives bill russell another reason to be in the garvey collection.

here are the backs:

the back of the rose card shows how far they were reaching for content - hey mr. hit king! how important is batting practice?  jeez.  you can also see that i did not keep the rubdown instructions as i did with the 1984 version.

here's sheet 19, which transitions into 1986

the cards are:

1. 1985 topps stickers
2. 1985 topps tiffany (record breaker)
3. 1985 topps tiffany
4. 1986 burger king
5. 1986 cunningham
6. 1986 donruss
7. 1986 fleer
8. 1986 fleer (superstar special)
9. 1986 fleer league leaders

here are the backs

i think burger king confused baseball with football - there are no all-pros in baseball.  the fleer superstar special card features a photo from the 1985 all-star game (not all-pro game) in minneapolis.  garvey, dale murphy, and dave parker represented the national league in the home run derby that year, along with jack clark and ryne sandberg.  parker won.  and, if you're wondering, garvey led the league in games played in 1985 with 162 - i'm assuming that's why he was in the 1986 fleer league leaders set.

the steve garvey binder moves into 1985

sweet sheet 16 of the garvey binders is chock full of brown and gold.  take a look.

for the record, those cards are:

1. 1984 topps tiffany
2. 1985 armstrong ceramics
3. 1985 donruss
4. 1985 drake's
5. 1985 fleer
6. 1985 fleer (nl all-stars superstar special)
7. 1985 fleer (nl pennant clinchers superstar special)
8. 1985 fleer limited edition
9. 1985 leaf

here are the backs

the armstrong ceramic card is pretty weighty. it really is ceramic.  not much to say about the other cards except that i was really disappointed in the lack of attention paid to garvey's 1984 nlcs heroics by the major card companies as well as his return to the starting lineup for the national league in the all-star game. kudos to fleer for acknowledging both of those accomplishments.

here's sheet 17:

1. 1982-89 louisville slugger
2. 1985 mother's cookies padres
3. 1985 o-pee-chee
4. 1985 o-pee-chee stickers (nlcs - batting)
5. 1985 o-pee-chee stickers (nlcs - posed)
6. 1985 o-pee-chee stickers
7. 1985 pacific cramer spokane indians greats
8. 1985 topps (record breaker)
9. 1985 topps

i put the louisville slugger card here in 1985 because why not.  and, after lamenting the lack of attention paid to the 1984 nlcs, there's a sticker of the garv hitting his walk-off home run against lee smith.

the lone dodger (sort of) card here is the seventh one - a 1985 pacific cramer spokane indians greats card.  that set is chock full of great dodgers from the 1970's who spent time at the team's triple-a affiliate.  garvey spent just one season in spokane (1970) and hit .319 with 15 homers and 87 rbi.

here are the backs:

i am pretty sure that 1985 continues for at least one more sheet...

alejandro pena was known for a slow delivery

maybe relaxed is a better way to describe alejandro pena's presence on the mound, but the slow delivery thing came in to play last week when i opened my mailbox and found a sase with an atlanta postmark.  inside were four cards that i had sent to pena prior to 2013 spring training.

1984 topps

1985 topps

1986 topps

1987 topps

pena is a pitching coach in the dodgers' system, and he spent some time at camelback ranch during spring training back when i mailed the cards.  he lives in atlanta, which makes sense considering his two stints with the braves.

a few things that i recall about pena - first and foremost, he led the national league in era in 1984, but injuries pushed him to the bullpen. second, he was the winning pitcher in game 1 of the 1988 world series following kirk gibson's walk-off home run in his first world series appearance (pena had been on the dodgers' 1981 postseason staff for the nlcs but didn't pitch in the world series).  conversely, he was the losing pitcher in game 7 of the 1991 world series after allowing gene larkin's walk-off single.  pena did wind up winning a third ring in 1995 as he helped the braves beat the indians in the fall classic that year.

i am very happy to have these cards in my collection, and very thankful for forever stamps - thanks alejandro!

cards that should have been from the garvey binders

here are a couple more pages from my steve garvey oddball binder.  these two pages features cards that should have been of my favorite player. most i have created, but there are a couple that i have obtained from others - bob lemke and mrmopar.

the last 1969 topps card is the one that bob lemke made, while i lifted the first 1970 topps card from mrmopar.  i am partial to my 1970 topps card that should have been, as well as the 1978 topps record breaker.

who carries reggie smith's career torch?

reggie smith's signature is on my short list of favorites.  harmon killebrew used to preach the importance of a nice signature to young twins players, and i can see reggie doing the same to players for whom he served as a mentor.  i recently bought this 2004 upper deck usa baseball 25th anniversary signature card of reggie

for about $3.  money well spent as far as i am concerned.

reggie was a coach for team usa, and for the dodgers, too after his playing days were done.  i wonder which active major leaguer is carrying his career torch...

on october 3, 1982, reggie suited up for a major league game for the last time as a player. unfortunately, he suited up in a giants' uniform, as his 1983 fleer card attests.

smith ended his big league career that day against the dodgers with an 8th inning fly out against former teammate terry forster who, an inning earlier, had allowed a home run to joe morgan that effectively ended the dodgers' hopes of tying the braves atop the national league west to force a playoff.

terry forster pitched through the 1986 season, getting his last taste of big league action on october 2, 1986 as a member of the american league west champion angels.  here's his 1986 fleer update card.

forster pitched two innings that day, getting oddibe mcdowell to ground out to end the 7th and bring an end to his pitching career as well.

oddibe mcdowell, of course, was himself a member of team usa back in 1984 during the olympics held in los angeles.  here's his 1985 topps team usa subset card.

the olympic baseball games were played at dodger stadium (the dodgers wore an olympic patch in 1984), and team usa lost to japan in the final.  there were no medals given, however, as baseball was just a demonstration sport at that time.

one thing about that 1985 topps mcdowell card - when i first opened some packs in '85, i took a look at the couple of checklist cards i had pulled and reviewed the 'hero' numbers to see if steve garvey was given any respect from topps (his 1985 card is number 450, so yes, he was respected) and i saw that card number 400 was oddibe mcdowell.  i followed major league baseball pretty closely, but did not know who this guy was and actually freaked out a little bit that a player i did not know could command such a number on topps' checklist.

back to mdowell's career now.  mcdowell did not play in the majors for three years following the 1990 season, but he made his way back into the rangers' lineup in 1994.  on august 10 of that year, in what turned out to be the final game of the season due to the players' strike, mcdowell went 0 for 2 with a sacrifice.  that sac bunt, against the mariners' jim converse, was the last time mcdowell went to the plate in his big league career.

converse (seen here on a 1995 topps stadium club card)

returned after the strike, and continued to pitch into the 1997 season.  on may 15, 1997, he was with the kansas city royals and relieved jeff montgomery in a game against the tigers.  converse faced four batters that day, the last of which was jody reed who drew a walk.  converse was pulled from the game and did not pitch in the majors again.

jody reed, the man who spurned the dodgers' free agent offer which led to the pedro martinez/delino deshields trade, saw his career end on august 22, 1997 in a laugher against the brewers.  he's a padre (and turning two) on his 1997 topps card

but he was with detroit when he saw the last of his big league action.  the tigers won the game 16-1, but reed was 0 for 2 including a strikeout in the 9th inning against alberto reyes that turned out to be his final big league at bat.

alberto reyes last pitched in the majors in 2008.  i don't think he had too many cards over the years, so here's a 1996 upper deck collector's choice card from early in his career.

he was with the devil rays when he finished a game against the indians on august 5 of that year.  he faced four batters, the last of which was andy marte who struck out to end the game.  he did not appear in any games after that, and about a week later, reyes was granted free agency.  he signed with the mets, but did not make any appearances for them, either.

andy marte stuck with cleveland through the 2010 season (this is his 2007 topps heritage card),

but hadn't played in the majors since that season until he surfaced with the diamondbacks earlier this year.  he hit a pinch-hit home run in his first big league at bat in almost 4 years, but a few days later on august 6, 2014, he struck out against the royals' greg holland to end the game.  marte became a free agent shortly before the end of the season, so  that may well have been his final big league at bat.  if so, then greg holland (seen here on his 2014 topps update card)

will carry the torch for reggie smith (and terry forster).  i'd say his signature has potential.

a mcmemorial mcpatch for ray a kroc

raymond albert kroc was, among other things in his lifetime, a milkshake mixer salesman when in 1954 he met the mcdonald's brothers and recognized the potential for expansion that their hamburger business offered.  kroc eventually bought the brothers out of the business and took the restaurant worldwide.  in 1974, he used some of the money he had made from his mcdonald's empire and bought the san diego padres.  after he died of heart disease in january of 1984, the team added his initials to their left sleeves in tribute.

here's a 1985 topps steve garvey card that shows the memorial worn in 1984, the first year the padres appeared in the postseason

and it shows up on garvey's 1985 topps record breaker, too.

it's there on eric show's 1985 topps card, too

and carmelo anthony's 1985 donruss card offers a really good look at it

but i've got this 1984 star steve garvey card in the memorial binder as the 1984 example of the memorial

thanks to the fact that it's garvey and he's wearing a mcdonald's wristband.

the padres wore the memorial again in 1985, perhaps inspired by the chicago bears who had begun wearing george halas' initial on their uniforms following his death in october of 1983 and continued to do so the following year.  in fact, the 'gsh' on the bears jerseys has never been removed since it was first added over 30 years ago.  anyway, here are some examples of the memorial from the 1985 season.

1986 leaf dave dravecky

and 1986 topps mario ramirez

the ramirez card is in the binder, too.

the pads wore the memorial in 1986 as well, and there are some 1987 cards that show it fairly well.

1987 fleer garvey

1987 topps tony gwynn

with dodger catcher alex trevino lurking

1987 topps carmelo martinez

1987 donruss garry templeton

1987 donruss randy asadoor

and 1987 donruss ed wojna

those last two cards feature a nice dodger stadium, so they are both in that binder, but i have the wojna card in the memorial binder, too.

although the padres did not wear the memorial beyond the 1986 season, it has shown up on a few cards since then, like this 1992 fleer ultra tony gwynn commemorative series card

and this 2013 topps archives gwynn card

and, when the padres wear their 1984 throwbacks, the memorial makes a return as well, as evidenced by yorvit toerralba's 2010 topps update card

kroc, who once apologized to fans over the stadium loudspeaker for the padres' poor play, was a benefactor to many charities, including those involved in the research and treatment of various diseases, including alcoholism.  he also oversaw the development of the ronald mcdonald house charities and was a member of the inaugural class in the san diego padres hall of fame.

so, i sought out a repack

this 1992 bowman vaughn eshelman card means business.

i found it in a repack that i sought out after finding (both surprisingly and somewhat disappointingly) only current cards at one of the local walgreens.  i had my mind set on a repack, so a couple of days later i picked up a hanger of recycled cards at target.

here's the oldest card from the pack - a 1985 topps bryn smith

that's nice - i'm kind of a bryn smith fan.  i met his dad when i was in high school is how that came about.

this 2012 topps update ra dickey card is the newest card from the repack

nice shot of the knuckle grip, but why isn't he wearing number 49 like a good knuckler?

as always, there were some 1987 topps cards included, such as this tony gwynn all-star subset card

and there was also some 1988 fleer, including this tim wallach card

the card design works well with the expos' unis, although the blues don't quite match.  that card will be heading to new mexico at some point.

there was actually a 1989 fleer card that i am going to keep in the repack - this checklist card that features the dodgers and red sox

there are your defending world champions, from dave anderson to tracy woodson.  i don't know about you other set collectors, but i always included the fleer checklists with my team sets, probably because in 1983 and 1984 (and possibly other years) they featured a photo of the manager on them.

here's a 1990 topps willie stargell glossy all-star card

pops was the honorary captain of the national league squad in 1988 as he was voted into the hall of fame that year.

there was a complete 14-card factory set of the 2008 topps yankees in the repack

joba looks like he's relieving himself on the lawn outside a kegger somewhere.

i beat the odds and picked a repack that included an autographed card.  it's a 2006 topps '52 matt albers card

i would have preferred another auto card of a different matt from that same set, but repack purchasers can't be choosers.  not in that way, anyway.

35 gone at 57

i couldn't believe what i was reading yesterday afternoon.  bobby welch, the rookie pitcher from the team of my youth, had passed away at the age of 57.  definitely a need for black mourning crepe here on the blog.

there is no doubt that welch closing out game 2 of the 1978 world series was a huge moment for all dodger fans, but for me it represented the point of no return in my fandom, which at that time was barely a year old.  i had to wait until 1979 to get a card of welch, but once the packs hit the streets, i didn't wait long.  i remember opening about a dozen packs purchased at the 7-11 for a quarter apiece, and somewhere around the 6th pack, there was this card

let's take a stroll through welch's dodger career.

1980 topps

he suttons.

1981 fleer

my neighbor across the street was a yankee fan, and pulled this card from a pack.  i reminded him of how welch struck reggie jackson out to end the aforementioned game 2 of the 1978 fall classic, and he quickly handed the card over to me.

1981 topps

hatless and morose.

1982 topps

 1983 donruss

bad mustache.

1984 topps team leaders

welch is currently 9th on the dodgers all-time strikeout list, but is about to be passed by clayton kershaw.

1984 topps

similar to 1982 topps

1985 topps

similar to 1984 topps

1986 topps

what's with all the road uni photos?

1987 donruss

that's better - the ice white uniform with a dodger stadium backdrop

1987 fleer

back on the road

1987 topps

he was 15-9 in 1987, his final season with the dodgers, and he led the league with 4 shutouts.

1988 donruss diamond king

1988 donruss

1988 score

the yellow border fit in 1988, as he joined the a's as a free agent.

welch was 115-86 with a 3.14 era as a dodger, and 96-60 with a 3.94 era as an athletic, but 27 wins in 1990 means most will remember him as a member of the a's.  i'll remember him as the guy who made a young fan believe that the dodgers could beat the yankees, even if they didn't really get it done until 1981.