these also came from outer space

here are some more cards from my 'team' in the 'tribe cards from outer space' pack opening extravaganza hosted by david from tribe cards.  i mentioned earlier that one of my strategies throughout the season was to pick up middle infielders in the hopes of getting some double play turns.  i was successful a few times, and wound up with this 1993 leaf mariano duncan card

and a 1997 fleer rex hudler card

that were new to me.

my other draft strategies included dodgers (of course) and members of the teams of my youth.  players like elias sosa, who showed up in a 1981 fleer pack (or was it a repack?).

overall, i received quite a few expos.  mitch webster (former dodger) was an expo on his 1988 o-pee-chee card

and tim wallach (another former dodger) showed up twice in a 1992 leaf pack - regular and black gold

those cards, plus a couple others of the current dodger bench coach have been shipped out to new mexico already.

another expo that fit into my former dodger and middle infielder strategy was delino deshields, seen here on his 1993 leaf card

but the most welcome expo of my 'team' was vladimir guerrero.  i wound up with a few vladdys, including this 2000 pacific crown collection card

i might like the red hats more than the red, white, and blue ones.

here's a 1995 topps cyber stats parallel of felix fermin

i drafted him in hopes of some double play cards.  this bunting card is on its way to 2x3 heroes.

howie kendrick was another middle infielder added to my team.  he delivered a 2013 topps a&g regular and mini combo

i beat david to the punch in adding former dodger (and indian) casey blake, and so i wound up with this 2004 fleer ultra card

which also features the mel harder and larry doby memorial patches.

there aren't too many cards of aaron harang as a dodger, but i was hoping for one or two when i added him to my player list.  instead, i received this 2011 topps gold parallel featuring him with the reds

i'm not complaining, though.

thanks david!

hey there delino

you know that you had better do what delino wants you to do and take note that i will be launching a side project: 'oh my o-pee-chee!' hey - if night owl is doing it, it must be all right.

the blog will celebrate the glory of o-pee-chee variations and exclusives, like this 1988 delino deshields card.

that is one sweet card, and it's only possible to enjoy because of o-pee-chee!  things should be up and running very soon. 

add a link, become a follower, and hype the site on your blog (and let me know about it) and i'll send you an o-pee-chee card from the team of your choice (although you can't choose any team that didn't exist before 1993).  that's right, we're not going to celebrate o-pee-chee premier or upper deck's lame 2009 offering (although i am still trying to complete that set), and i really won't spend much time with the sets after 1987 (the last year of what i consider the true team variations).  i know, that delino is from 1988, but he and i have an understanding.

looking forward to it!

reader mail - o-pee-chee style!

reader tony sent me some fantastic dodger o-pee-chee cards recently.

we'll start with a 1972 willie davis. hard to tell that it's not a topps card, although it is a different card stock. i should have scanned the backs. oh well. looks like willie's eyes are closed. i never noticed that before.

1977 steve garvey not a variation, per se, but it does lack the 'nl all star' banner at the bottom. it also lacks that annoying scratch or hair that most 1977 topps garveys seem to have on the left side.

1982 pedro guerrero here we get the bilingual-ality of o-pee-chee, plus the logo.

1983 fernando valenzuela

more bilingual-ness and the o-pee-chee moniker. i think this is a picture from candlestick.

1988 dave anderson

the only difference here is the o-pee-chee label in the lower left. did you know dave anderson is the rangers' third base coach? me neither.

1990 willie randolph

o-pee-chee was really lazy in 1990. they didn't even remove the topps text from the fronts of the cards. the cards are shinier though, kind of like topps traded.

1991 o-pee-chee premier eddie murray

here's a non-topps design issue. tommy lasorda lurking in the dugout, along with someone in mid-farmer blow.

1992 orel hershiser

back to using the o-pee-chee label.

just for fun, tony included a 1977 jerry reuss, suitable for a through the mail try.

coincidentally, i received a couple cards from mr. reuss in the mail today (will be featured another time), along with a sticker stating "coming soon, jerryreuss.com!"

thanks tony! glad you enjoyed the 78s i sent your way!

a light in winter

like a lot of other people, i received a nice christmas package from dayf. unlike a lot other people, i am just now getting around to posting about it.

the festively wrapped package arrived just before christmas, in the midst of cold cold cold cold cold weather. it's still cold, by the way, but at least now i have these cards.

let's start with masterpieces - i sent dayf a jake peavy for his set, and he sent these (and others):

chin lung hu

this guy had more cards this year than jr towles. two regrets about hu - first, that he doesn't play first base. second, that his first name isn't al. ed ott can rest easy.

james loney

will he evolve into more of a power hitter in 2009? someone needs to bring the offense next year.

then there was the 1988 donruss. both in regular and halloween style, as steve sax demonstrates.

here's the regular version.

now here's the baseball's best version.

i am a sucker for variations.

speaking of which, dayf added some o-pee-chee, by request. i love o-pee-chee variations, and 1986 had them in spades. here's joaquin andujar.

now with a's. awesome.

1988 also had variations, but they forgot to modify the team layout. here's the worst offensive shortstop to play for a world series champion, alfredo griffin.

now with dodgers. but still with a's, apparently.

thanks dayf. and merry belated christmas.