the bournigal supremacy

rafael bournigal was the victim of the changing expectations from the shortstop position.  his 1995 topps stadium club card

is fantastic, but good cardboard doesn't keep you in the big leagues.  bournigal was a good field/no hit shortstop which would have been ok prior to the 1990's when guys like cal ripken jr and barry larkin were winning mvp awards based on big offensive numbers. the dodgers had jose offerman at shortstop in the early 1990's when bournigal was ready to play in the bigs, and they apparently enjoyed e-fferman's slightly better offense over bournigal's better defense.

here's a 1993 fleer ultra bournigal card

and a 1993 score bournigal card

both of which carry a 'rookie' designation.  bournigal's topps card from 1993 had no such distinction, but there was a gold parallel version

which is nice.

bournigal was a september call-up in both 1992 and 1993, but saw more playing time during the summer of 1994. he appeared in 40 games that year and made only 3 errors compared to offerman who made 11 errors in 72 games.  dodger fans were rewarded with the nice stadium club shown up top in 1995.  here is that card again, with bournigal catching what i imagine to be a line drive with the dodger stadium bleachers in the background.

topps also liked the image, as they used it on one of the 1996 topps pre-production cards, although they cropped it slightly more tightly

here's the back of the pre-production card

which was somewhat elusive. the cards weren't in the 1995 factory set that i bought, which is where the pre-production cards had been in 1994, so i had to go the online marketplace route.  i think i finally found one on ebay, although it could have been comc.  in case you are wondering, there was no 1996 topps rafael bournigal card as he spent the entire 1995 season in the minor leagues, splitting time between the dodger and expo organizations (he was traded to montreal in june).

anyway, i recently sent some cards to bournigal through the mail, and he was kind enough to sign and return them to me.

1995 topps

1995 upper deck

1995 upper deck collector's choice

weird to see him without the goggles

and 1993 topps

looks like he got some sharpie on the table...

with bournigal's dodger career complete, he went on to resurface with the a's from 1996-1998, and then spent the 1999 season with the mariners.  pacific gave us one more card of bournigal in their 2000 pacific crown collection set, and it features a nice double play turn

the dodgers didn't really embrace the new shortstop prototype until they brought hanley ramirez on board, and that will continue with corey seager in a year or two. even when seager is hitting 20+ homers every year, i'll still have a soft spot for guys like bournigal and cesar izturis who can field like nobody's business.

empirically, these cards are fantastic

i recently had the opportunity to meet brian, he of everybody's favorite new blog highly subjective and completely arbitrary at the local monthly card show.  we had agreed to meet near one of the vintage bargain bin dealers that i have written about so frequently and swap some cards.  it turned out to be a fitting location, as one of the cards brian dropped on me was this one:

clemente, carty, and aaron.  card number 1 in the 1965 topps set - a set which i am making slow progress towards completing.  like i said in the title - fantastic.

there were a bunch of dodgers, too, like a 2015 topps clayton kershaw rainbow foil parallel

a 2014 topps stadium club clayton kershaw field access insert

(which uses a photo that very well could wind up on a panini release), and another kershaw - this time with sandy koufax, warren spahn, and steve carlton on a 2013 topps archives 1969 4-in-1 decal insert

that's heady company for the dodger ace, but he's deserving of it.  here's another dodger lefty who garnered some high praise early in his career, fernando valenzuela on a 2915 topps baseball history insert

among the things that brian and i discussed was the appeal of o-pee-chee.  brian already knew about my  opc blog, and is actually collecting the 1965 o-pee-chee set.  he included a 1979 opc burt hooton card in the trade

which was again, fantastic. 1979 may be my favorite o-pee-chee set because of the logo in the ball.  the logo appeared again in 1982, but i prefer '79 to that set.  the only drawback to the '79 set is that there is no french on the front.

here's a 1993 topps gold jay howell parallel

and a 2008 topps gold foil casey blake parallel

and a 2003 upper deck 40 man card of paul quantrill

that quantrill would fit nicely in brian's sunglasses mini collection, but i am happy to have one of the few cards of quantrill as a dodger.

this was the second blogger i've met in person (paul from carl crawford cards is the other), and it was fun to connect with another collector like that. especially when cards like these were exchanged.  thanks brian - looking forward to the show next month!

cards that made the writer's journey

i received a surprise envelope from jt at the writer's journey recently.  it made sense that two of the cards in the envelope were of eric the red - a 1993 topps card

and a 1993 upper deck card.  that particular card is one of my favorites, thanks to the great shot from dodger stadium that adorns the front, but i'll show the back since it is reminiscent of the topps card above

both feature davis in the pullover warmup with the sleeves turned up for maximum tattoo display.  plus, personalized wristbands!

here's a card from a simpler time that also made the trip - a 1983 donruss mike scioscia

the most interesting item sent was this rafael furcal postcard

the back indicates that it was printed in support of the dodgers dream foundation (now simply known as the los angeles dodgers foundation).  jt said he received it in a fan pack a few years ago (all i received in my most recent dodger fan pack was a mini pennant), so i'm calling it a circa 2010 dodgers dream foundation postcard.

all of the cards were found folded inside this page from a 2015 hall of fame calendar

that's some pretty good stuff to find in an unexpected envelope.  thanks jt!

black diamond, silver diamond, white sox

for the 1992 season, the white sox added a diamond to the left sleeves of their jerseys to honor the passing of at least two members of their organization and family that occurred during the previous offseason.  the diamonds came in two different colors for their three different uniform schemes - black on the home pinstripes as seen on this 1993 o-pee-chee steve sax card

black on the away grays (as we will see in a bit), and silver on the alternate black tops as seen on saxy's 1993 leaf card

here are a couple more looks at the silver patch, courtesy of black jack mcdowell's 1993 topps stadium club murphy card

and dan pasqua's 1993 upper deck card

i've got three cards in the memorials binder for this one - robin ventura's 1993 topps black gold card represents the black diamond/white pinstripe combo

while frank thomas' 1993 fleer ultra card represents the black diamond/gray jersey set up i mentioned earlier

and it's the big hurt again, with his 1993 upper deck future heroes subset card that showcases the silver diamond/black jersey combination

one tidbit from a uniform source notes that the diamond is not a patch added to the jerseys, instead it is colored fabric woven into the uniform tops.

while i was researching this post, i noted that the hall of fame's website indicated that there were four people for whom the patch was worn.  some research online provided three names, and i decided to contact the hall of fame to see if they had any additional information.  i received a quick response from tom shieber, the senior curator, who referred back to the chisox media guide from 1992 and found that the diamond was being worn for two people - sheri berto (jerry reinsdorf's personal assistant) and maureen schueler (wife of general manager and former player and coach, ron schueler). it is possible that other personnel, possibly long time employee millie johnson (one of the three names i found online) who passed away in march of 1992 after working for the white sox for over 25 years, were "added" to the memorial, but the hall of fame has revised their website to acknowledge berto and schueler only. 

sheri berto died unexpectedly following an outpatient surgical procedure in november of 1991.  she was bulls and white sox owner jerry reinsdorf's assistant, and in addition to the uniform memorial worn by the sox, reinsdorf named the bulls' practice facility after her.  the bulls practiced at the berto center for over 20 years, but will soon be moving into a new facility near the united center.

maureen schueler died of leukemia in october of 1991.  her husband ron had been a pitcher with the white sox late in his career, retiring as a player in 1979 to become the team's pitching coach.  he also worked in the a's and pirates organizations before returning to chicago as the team's general manager in november of 1990.

the white sox have since been consistent in the use of a diamond when wearing memorial patches, although they have since added names or initials to the memorials, such as the one they are wearing this season for jerry reinsdorf's son david.  i will post about that after 2014 topps update is released, i am sure.

the 1978 topps dodgers in 1993 - the return of johnnie b. baker

none of the three 1978 topps dodgers who were featured in the 1992 set dropped out in 1993, and they were joined by another member of the club.

we'll start with the lone dodger of the bunch - tom lasorda

topps went to a dual manager format in 1993 for the first time.  it calls to mind the dual all-star player cards of 1973 and 1974.  anyway, hal mcrae joins tommy on his card and he brought the royals back to the right side of .500 in 1993 just like tommy (almost) did.  lasorda's dodgers, having lost 99 games in 1992, rebounded to finish an even .500 at 81-81 in 1993.  this was due in no small part to the arrival of mike piazza, who hit 35 homers with 112 rbi and a .318 batting average in his rookie season.

charlie hough

hough had signed with the expansion marlins as a free agent following the 1992 season, and he wound up making the first start in franchise history.  as such, he recorded a lot of franchise firsts in that game against (who else?) the dodgers.  he was the first marlin starting pitcher, the first to strike a batter out, the first to issue a walk, the first to allow a home run, and the first to record a win (yes, the marlins beat the dodgers in their first ever game).  when the season ended, hough was 9-16 with a 4.27 era in 34 appearances, all of them starts.  he even recorded a couple of hits in his return to the national league, where he was the oldest player on any roster.

johnny oates

oates shares his 1993 topps card with hall of fame manager bobby cox, inducted to the hall just last weekend.  oates in 1993 led baltimore to their second straight winning season at 85 wins and 77 losses. that was four fewer wins than the team had posted in 1992, but the finish was the same:  3rd in the american league east.  oates' pitching staff in 1993 included fernando valenzuela, whom oates narrowly missed having as a teammate with the dodgers.  he did manage a former dodger teammate, however, as rick sutcliffe was a member of oates' starting rotation in both 1992 and 1993 for the orioles.

dusty baker

baker gets to share space with blue jays' manager cito gaston whose team won the world series for the second straight season in 1993.  baker meanwhile was brought in to replace roger craig as the giants' field leader following a 90-loss season and 5th place finish in 1992.  the giants turned things around for baker, winning 103 games in 1993.  in 1992, that would have been plenty of wins to garner the nl west title, but in 1993, it was one game short.  the braves, winners of 104 games in 1993, took the crown thanks to a dodger beatdown of the giants on the final day of the regular season.  i still recall baker choosing to start rookie salomon torres in game 162 and mike piazza hitting two home runs (including a grand slam) to end the giants' season.  i was happy to see dusty back on the diamond and back on cardboard, but also pleased that he wasn't taking the giants into the postseason.

unfortunately for me, topps would do away with the managerial cards in 1994 (and not bring them back  until 2001), so the coming years were going to be pretty lean when it came to the 1978 topps dodgers.  they weren't done yet, though - stay tuned...

here is the yearly tally of appearances to date:

baker 18 (1971-1987, 1993)
burke 2 (1978-1979)
cey 16 (1972-1987)
davalillo 14 (1963-1974, 1978-1979)
forster 16 (1972-1987)
garman 8 (1971-1973, 1975-1979)
garvey 17 (1971-1987)
goodson 6 (1973-1978)
grote 15 (1964-1976, 1978-1979)
hooton 15 (1972-1986)
hough 22 (1972-1993)
john 26 (1964-1989)
lacy 16 (1973-1988)
lasorda 19 (1954, 1973-1974, 1977-1981, 1983-1993)
lopes 16 (1973-1988)
martinez 9 (1971-1976, 1978-1980)
monday 18 (1967-1984)
mota 18 (1963-1980)
oates 13 (1972-1981, 1991-1993)
rau 9 (1973-1981)
rautzhan 2 (1978-1979)
rhoden 16 (1975-1990)
russell 18 (1970-1987)
smith 17 (1967-1983)
sosa 10 (1974-1984)
sutton 23 (1966-1988)
yeager 15 (1973-1987)

teams represented so far: 24 (dodgers, indians, colt .45's, pirates, white sox, astros, mets, a's, red sox, angels, expos, cardinals, braves, cubs, orioles, giants, phillies, yankees, rangers, tigers, padres, brewers, mariners, marlins)

the mets' william shea memorial

following the loss of the giants and dodgers, the mayor of new york asked attorney william shea to lead a group whose purpose was to bring national league baseball back to the city.  he explored luring an existing franchise to make the move and looked into expansion.  neither option seemed to go anywhere, so he joined with branch rickey to form the continental league in 1959.  major league baseball must have seen this new league as a threat and consented to expansion for the 1961 and 1962 seasons.

one of the new franchises in 1962 was the new york metropolitans, and two years after their debut, the mets were playing in their new stadium, named for the man who helped make the franchise a reality.  shea died in october of 1991 at the age of 84, and the mets decided to wear a memorial patch in his honor the following season.

you can see the 's' patch on the left sleeve of eddie murray's jersey on this multiple exposure 1992 upper deck card commemorating murray's 400th career home run

it's also visible on jeff kent's 1993 leaf card

dick schofield's 1993 topps card

and the front

and back

of todd hundley's 1993 upper deck card

the card that represents the memorial in my collection is this 1992 o-pee-chee premier howard johnson card

love the turtleneck.

this memorial is one of those relatively rare cases in which the honoree was neither a player nor an employee of the team (nor a relative of a high ranking employee).  shea was just a guy who helped bring the national league back to new york.  the team has also honored him by adding his name to the retired numbers display, as well as by naming the pedestrian bridge at citi field after him.  i guess it's the least they could do after leaving the stadium that bore his name.

revisiting the initials memorial for deron johnson

in a post earlier today, i updated the status of the cards representing the august a. busch memorial armband and patch.  i had used a couple of cards as examples in the very first memorial-centered post here on the blog.  in that same post, i showed this 1993 topps scott lewis card

as an example of the memorial that the angels wore following the death of their coach and former major leaguer deron 'dj' johnson in april of 1992.

since then, i've come across this 1993 topps stadium club murphy mark langston card that shows the initials a bit better

johnson ended his big league career in 1976.  although he had never played for the angels, he was hired to manage their triple-a club in salt lake city for the 1978 season.  he joined the major league coaching staff in 1979, just in time for their first trip to the postseason, and remained with the club through the 1980 season.  he then moved around the majors, coaching for the mets, phillies, and padres, and working for the mariners and white sox, too, before returning to california in 1989 as the team's hitting coach - a position he held through the 1991 season.  with rod carew joining the staff as the angels' hitting coach, johnson was to become buck rodgers' bench coach in 1992.  sadly, he was too ill to attend spring training and passed away on april 23, 1992.

bert, be home blyleven for some final tributes.

bert blyleven - excuse me, hall of famer bert blyleven - attempted to extend his career with the minnesota twins in 1993, but did not make the team out of spring training.  that means that his 1993 cards are true final tributes, and there are a fair number of them.  these are the ones in my collection.

1993 fleer

you can see the deron johnson memorial (post coming soon) on blyleven's right sleeve.  here's the back of the card

which has 10 years of stats, including a portion of his 1992 minor league stats - the first time he had been in the minors since 1970.

1993 pinnacle

the tongue is out!  before michael jordan, there was bert blyleven.

the backs of the pinnacle cards just give the single season stats

so we'll move on to 1993 score

a photo almost certainly from the same game as the pinnacle card's image which makes sense because these cards were both made by score.  here's the back

those are bert's complete big league career stats.  score kind of missed with the text, however, by suggesting that the 42-year old had a 'good shot' at 13 more wins.

here's his 1993 score select card with another very similar photo

and again with the single year stat line, but some interesting text

he 'held' opponents to a .285 batting average?  'amazing durability' yet missed all of 1991 due to injury?  granted, he hadn't missed a full season prior to that rotator cuff injury, although he had missed some time with a broken foot during his cleveland days.  i just found it odd that score used that phrase right before noting that he came back from injury.

no surprise, here's my favorite of bert's final tributes - 1993 topps

good photo for a tribute.  and, of course, topps has the entire career stats on the back

although it gets tough to read with the inset photo.  

one other blyleven card i have in my collection is a 1990 topps card that he signed for a friend of mine back during his time with the angels.

i have come to be quite a fan of bert's since moving to minnesota.  he's reduced his workload on twins broadcasts since being voted to the hall of fame, but that's ok - he's earned the break.  i always thought blyleven should have been voted into the hall sooner than he was.  sure, he fell short of 300 wins, but he pitched for some bad teams and had ridiculously low run support at times.  his 3701 strikeouts were the third highest total of all-time when he retired (now 5th best in big league history) and even though they were a result of his durability (right, score?), they still amounted to a hall of fame worthy total.

here's to you, bert - circle yourself for a change!