more cards from across town

earlier today, i posted some of the cards that fellow twin-citian brian (he of the highly subjective and completely arbitrary blog) sent my way.  there are more to be shown and enjoyed.  like this 1998 upper deck collector's choice of raul mondesi signing autographs at dodger stadium on photo day.

photo day, which used to be called camera day back when i was a kid, is when fans can arrive early and go on to the field (stay behind the barriers, folks) as the players walk slowly by and stop to pose for a picture of sign an autograph or two.  the first time i ever went on the field at dodger stadium was on photo/camera day circa 1979.  i've been on the field once or twice since then, but only for concerts.

here's a 1995 topps stadium club card of delino deshields also signing autographs

but he's on the road somewhere, not at chavez ravine.

also from 1995 topps stadium club, here's a close up of a concerned looking eric karros

that is actually a virtual reality parallel.  perhaps karros is pondering the age old question, "what is real?"

or maybe he is trying to figure out who is on the front of this 1998 topps mystery interleague match-up card

it could be karros, it could be mike piazza, but it could also be an angel.  i haven't peeled off the front to find out.  i'll keep karros guessing.

brian included a few inserts from 2015 topps series 2, which is nice because i haven't bought much of that product.  here's melissa mccarthy getting ready to throw the first pitch at dodger stadium

i understand that the pitch came out of her hand "like lava".

2015 topps adrian gonzalez stepping up insert

2015 topps clayton kershaw hot streak insert

41 innings is impressive.  zack greinke is currently at 35.2 scoreless innings.  he still has 23.1 to go to catch orel hershiser.  incredible.

2015 topps yasiel puig hot streak insert

it would be nice for puig to get on a hot streak again sometime.

brian also hit a couple of peculiarities in my collection.  this is a non-dodger dodger card from 2005 donruss throwback threads of kazuhisa ishii

it's really a mets card, but it's got a dodger on it, so it belongs in my collection.

brian also sent along this 1995 topps stadium club carlos garcia card

featuring nothing but dirt - a tatooine card to end the trade post.

thanks brian! i'll get a return package out to you soon!

a new type collection?

i am not completely sure that i am going to add another mini collection, but i do know that i enjoy most cards that show players' names and numbers on their back.  it's fairly subjective - not as cut and dried as say, my dodger stadium in the background collection - as i don't like every card that features a players name/number on the back.  anyway, here are some cards that would definitely make the cut in my 'nob' collection. if i were to officially add it, that is.  

1999 topps gallery vladimir guerrero

1994 topps stadium club rickey henderson rainbow foil parallel

1998 topps paul molitor

1995 topps stadium club sandy alomar jr best seat in the house insert

2009 upper deck derek jeter

2011 topps marquee stan musial

so, the bulk of the cards would be like those above - action shots, and usually at the plate.  sometimes there are non-action shots that fit the bill as well.

1999 upper deck karim garcia

2012 topps kyle blanks

there are also those cards that meet the letter of the law regarding the collection, but just don't resonate with me for some reason.  here are two examples

2010 topps alex rios

2011 topps update jered weaver

luckily, that rios card fits in my tatooine mini collection, and i may make a spot for the weaver in my lurker collection, thanks to former dodger alfredo griffin hanging out in the background.

i think what i like about these cards is that they use images that are similar to what i see as a fan when i go to a game.  watching on tv, we get different camera angles that focus on the action from the front.  or, perhaps they are just cards featuring good action (for the most part) photography.

don sutton's career torchbearer is jose veras

don sutton began his major league career as a dodger in 1966.  his teammates at that time included hall of famers sandy koufax and don drysdale.  when sutton pitched in his last game in 1988, also as a dodger, his teammates included orel hershiser and fernando valenzuela.  here's a card of sutton from 2005 donruss throwback threads

even though it shows him in an angel uniform, it documents his travels, with his two dodger stints featured prominently along with the classic astros' logo.  not shown are his years with the brewers (1982-1984), a's (1985), and angels (1985-1987).

sutton was released by the dodgers following a start in august of 1988 in which he allowed five earned runs in 7 innings of work.  the loss he took that day put his record for the season at 3-6 with a 3.92 era. the last batter he faced was eric davis, who struck out and became sutton's 3,574th strikeout victim.  i believe that sutton's total placed him fourth all-time when he retired.  anyway, eric the red went on to play for a few more seasons (including one-plus with the dodgers), and in 2001, he found himself playing in his final game, as a giant no less.  here's his 2001 topps traded card

davis hit a fly ball against the dodgers' dennis springer on the last day of the 2001 season in what turned out to be his final career at bat.

springer, seen here on a 1998 topps card from his time with the angels

only pitched for a short while longer, making his final big league appearance on may 26, 2002.  in that game, his only appearance in 2002 by the way, springer took the loss in what was a walk-off win by the diamondbacks in extra innings.  the arizona player that hit springer's final major league pitch for a game-winning double was david dellucci

dellucci bounced around a bit after leaving the diamondbacks, and eventually made his way to cleveland which is where he was when his 2009 topps card (this is the gold parallel)

was issued.  during the season, however, dellucci was released by the indians and signed by the blue jays.  he made his last big league appearance as a blue jay in july of 2009.  facing the indians' jose veras, dellucci walked and eventually scored.  he was replaced later in the game by jose bautista, and his career was over.

jose veras. meanwhile, has bounced around some himself after leaving the indians.  after stops in florida, pittsburgh, and milwaukee, he found some success with houston in 2013 and was traded to the tigers to bolster their bullpen for the postseason.  he signed with the cubs prior to the 2014 season (this is his 2014 topps card)

but finished the season back with the astros.  he's currently a free agent, but i imagine someone will sign him and he will continue to carry don sutton's torch in 2015.

topps cards that should have been for the 1978 topps dodgers in 1998 and 1999

topps didn't include managers in their 1998 or 1999 flagship sets, which means that it's up to me to make cards for dusty baker, johnny oates, and bill russell - the three members of the 1978 topps dodgers who were filling out lineup cards in 1998 - and for baker and oates who were the only ones who survived the 1998 season to manage in 1999.

i scanned some 1998 topps cards to work from - chan ho park for the dodgers,

mark gardner for the giants,

and bobby witt for the rangers

but then i decided that  the background behind the name would be too time consuming to replicate, so i scanned a prospects card instead

i changed "prospects" to "managers" and wound up with this 1998 topps card that should have been

i put oates up top because his team performed the best in 1998, in terms of division placement.  he led the rangers to a first place finish in the american league west with an 88-74 record.  it was the second postseason appearance for the franchise (both with oates at the helm), but they were swept in the alds for the second time.  baker's giants actually had the best record of the three teams managed by members of the 1978 topps dodgers; they finished at 89-74 but were 9.5 games behind the first place padres.  the giants' 'extra' game was a one-game playoff against the cubs to determine the wild card winner.  the cubbies won that game 5-3, ending the giants' season in game 163.  finally, bill russell had the dodgers at 36-38 and 12.5 games out of first when he was fired in late june.  the team played better (47-41) behind interim manager glenn hoffman, but they actually lost ground and finished in third place in the nl west with a 83-79 record and 15 games behind the padres.

for 1999, i didn't even bother to scan cards for the giants or rangers.  this 1999 topps raul mondesi card that was languishing in my scanned folder

reminded me that it would be easier to go the prospects card route again for the 1999 card that should have been.  so, i scanned one

and wound up with this

glenn hoffman makes an appearance, as he replaced bill russell during the 1998 season, but was himself replaced by davey johnson by the time the 1999 season started, let alone the time (2001) that topps got around to making manager cards again.  the only hoffman card that i know of featuring him as the team's manager comes from the 1998 mother's cookies (or was it keebler?) set, which is the photo i used.

as for baker and oates and their teams in 1999, the giants finished 86-76, a full 14 games behind the nl west champion arizona diamondbacks and 10.5 games behind the wild card champion mets, but 9 games ahead of the rival dodgers.  the rangers, on the other hand, won the american league west with a 95-67 record, but were swept in the alds by the eventual world champion new york yankees.

tatooine grab bag

i understand that filming of the next star wars movie is underway in the united kingdom and abu dhabi. that likely means more tatooine.  maybe the skywalkers will take in a ballgame together while they are there.  you know, because sometimes baseball cards make it look like the game is played in the desert sands of tatooine.  for example...

...here's adrian beltre getting back to the bag on his 2004 upper deck card

while damion easley does the same on his 1998 topps card

as does bubba trammell on his 1998 upper deck card

roger cedeno got to second base while carrying his helmet like a football on his 1997 topps card

orlando hudson tries not to lose the pop up in the suns of tatooine on his 2004 topps card

while reed johnson launches one on his 2004 topps card

russell martin's 2008 topps stadium club card features a nice tatooine play at the plate

while joe mauer's 2010 bowman chrome card features an oddly cropped tatooine play at the plate

some more desert shots - 2008 upper deck jake peavy season highlights

1996 upper deck collector's choice jeff blauser (a double play turn aftermath)

and a lance parrish card, also from 1996 upper deck collector's choice.

it turns out, the parrish is a final tribute, as he did not return to the major leagues following the 1995 season. here are his career stats

not shown, his short stay (10 minor league games) in the dodger organization in 1993.

42

the dodgers retired jackie robinson's number 42 back in 1972 at the same ceremony in which roy campanella and sandy koufax had their numbers retired.  17 years ago today, all of baseball retired the number shown on the 2012 topps manufactured patch card shown above.

players in 1997 who were currently wearing the number - either by choice or assignment - were allowed to continue to wear it.  i went digging through my collection to see if i could find cards of these players wearing both the number 42 and the jackie robinson anniversary patch.  let's have a look.

angels - no player wore 42 in 1997, however mo vaughn wore the number when he joined the team in 1999.

a's - buddy groom wore 42 in 1997.  this 1998 pacific online red parallel lets us see the '4' in '42' plus the patch, although the sun is pretty bright on the patch

astros - jose lima wore 42 in 1997.  i have this 1998 pacific card of lima, but it unfortunately shows neither his number or the patch

blue jays - no player wore 42 in 1997.

braves - no player wore 42 in 1997.

brewers - scott karl wore 42 in 1997.  his 1998 pacific card shows both his number and the patch, which is awesome

cardinals - no player wore 42 in 1997.

cubs - no player wore 42 in 1997.

dodgers - no player wore 42 in 1997 (retired in 1972).

expos - no player wore 42 in 1997.

giants - kirk rueter wore 42 in 1997.  his 1998 upper deck card showcases the patch, plus we get just a part of the '2' in '42'

indians - mike jackson wore 42 in 1997.  like lima, his 1998 pacific card shows neither the patch nor the number, but it's all i've got.

mariners - no player wore 42 in 1997.

marlins - dennis cook wore 42 in 1997, but i unfortunately do not have a 1998 (or 1997) card showing him with the patch or the number.

mets - butch huskey wore 42 in 1997.  here's his 1998 topps stadium club card showing the patch

orioles - lenny webster wore 42 in 1997.  it's hard to see, but he is wearing the patch on this 1998 pacific invincible gems of the diamond card

padres - no player wore 42 in 1997.

phillies - no player wore 42 in 1997.

pirates - jason schmidt wore 42 in 1997.  here's his 1998 upper deck card with the patch and the '4' in '42' visible

rangers - marc sagmoen wore 42 in 1997, but i don't have a card to show.

red sox - mo vaughn wore 42 in 1997.  his 1998 donruss card provides a good view of the patch.

reds - no player wore 42 in 1997.  10 years later, ken griffey jr would ask the commissioner for permission to wear the number on april 15 leading the way for today's celebrations in which all field personnel wear the number.

rockies - no player wore 42 in 1997.

royals - tom goodwin wore 42 in 1997.  he was traded to the rangers in midseason, so i don't have a royals card to show.  i do have his 1998 topps card which shows the patch, and goodwin as a ranger

goodwin wore number 24 with the rangers, i assume due to the fact that sagmoen had 42.  i also assume that goodwin could have gone back to 42 later in his career (except for his second stint with the dodgers) but he didn't.

tigers - fernando hernandez wore 42 in 1997, but i don't have a card to show.

twins - no player wore 42 in 1997, but butch huskey wore the number when he joined the team in 2000.

white sox - no player wore 42 in 1997.

yankees - mariano rivera wore the number in 1997.  his 1998 topps card is a beauty, showing both the full number and the patch

rivera was, of course, the last active player to wear 42 exclusively, and i am sure will become the only player other than jackie robinson to have that number retired in his honor when the yankees get around to it.