dodger stadium playing peek-a-boo

here are some cards that feature dodger stadium in the background.  please enjoy.

1999 topps gary sheffield

i am a fan of the low fence in the outfield corners, although i wish they had left it alone during the most recent renovations. now it's a solid structure as opposed to the way it used to be.  here it is again on chris stynes' 1999 topps card

and that of dmitri young as well.

2000 bowman kevin brown

and 1999 upper deck ultimate victory steve finley

with the outfield murals.  much better than the advertisements that adorn the outfield walls today.

1990 topps hills hit men kirk gibson

gibby is hitting in the same spot as reggie jackson did in the 1980 all-star game or 1981 world series.  either could be pictured on this 2011 topps marquee card

it's either 1980 or 1981 based on the black armband.

here's a 2000 upper deck card of bruce aven

showing the batter's box from a slightly different angle.  looks like angel pena lurking there in the background.

winter is in full force here in the north, so i am looking a bit more longingly at these images of sunny chavez ravine.  four more months...

why did i scan this card?

it's not shiny, so that's out.  it's a 2000 bowman bubba crosby card, and it has been in my scanned folder since march of 2009 (it's not alone in that regard).

let's make a list of possible reasons.  one of them is bound to be correct.  so, i scanned this card because...

1. i received it in a trade and was preparing a trade post, but it didn't make the final cut
2. it is a fine example of 2000 bowman
3. it is the first (and likely only) bubba crosby card to be featured on the blog
4. it was for an extensive robin ventura post that never (and may never) materialized (crosby was traded with scott proctor to the yankees for ventura)
5. crosby was the dodgers' 1st round pick in the 1998 draft and i had planned to someday do a post on their first rounders
6. i mistook him for todd hollandsworth, a personal favorite
7. he somehow failed to get much playing time even though he was with the big club during jim tracy's reign, but then i realized he was gone before tracy started playing the likes of jason grabowski
8. he got a hit (and an rbi) in his first big league at bat - a pinch hit single against the rockies' todd jones on may 29, 2003. [tangent alert!  now, granted this was a 'getaway' day game, but tracy's starting lineup included alex cora batting leadoff, adrian beltre batting second, mike kinkade (!) in left, jolbert cabrera in center, and david ross behind the plate.  jason romano even made an appearance in the game.  yikes.]
9. he made his only start as a dodger the next day and went 0 for 4 with 2 k's
10. he wore the knuckler's number - 49 - during his 12 game tenure with the dodgers
11. he was with the yankees in 2004, 2005 and 2006 and so didn't win a ring
12. exactly 25% of his career home runs were of the walk-off variety
13. he hit a home run in his first at bat as a yankee, and then
14. he hit a home run in his third at bat as a yankee which is about when a bunch of dodgers fans started getting really nervous
15. he collided with gary sheffield in the outfield during game 5 of the 2005 alds against the angels, allowing the angels to take the lead in the deciding game and i was going to do a post about all of the voodoo dolls sheffield must have at home of different players and executives who have slighted him during his career
16. he is nicknamed bubba
17. he was at one time a dodger, and that should be celebrated

i sure wish i could remember which one of these is correct...

you want a night card? i got a night card.

check out the shiznit that is this 2003 topps stadium club 'stadium shots' insert featuring shawn green and dodger stadium in its nocturnal glory.

awesome, isn't it?  i think it would pull in some votes in one of night owl's night card polls, don't you?  well, before anyone worries that i am taunting mr. owl, be assured that i am including this card in a box of dodger goodies that will be on its way to new york very soon.  in fact, there are some cards that the night owl sent me a while back that i have been meaning to show off, so here goes.

1966 topps bob miller

miller was a big part of the dodgers' bullpen in the mid-1960's, posting a sub-3.00 era from 1963-1966.  he had an off year in 1967 and was sent to the twinkies in the perranoski/roseboro for versailles/mudcat deal.

2009 topps chrome kenley jansen

i believe jansen was still a catcher when this card was issued.  now he's giving baby brox a run for his money at the back end of the bullpen.  27 innings, 41 strikeouts and an era of 0.67.  plus, he has a lifetime obp of 1.000 (a walk and a single in his only two at bats).

1998 bowman onan masaoka

i scanned this card because hawaii is seen in the background.  i guess you'll have to trust me.  what's with the dodgers and leftys from hawaii? masaoka, sid fernandez, carlos diaz.  ok, charlie hough wasn't left-handed, but still.  after pitching for the dodgers in 1999 and 2000, masaoka was traded to the white sox and was never heard from again.

2000 bowman jason repko

repko used to be a shortstop?  i suppose he switched to the outfield so that he would have more chances to collide into walls or other players.

1985 donruss highlights keith hernandez

hello, chavez ravine.  unlike the night owl, i am not a keith hernandez fan.  dodger stadium in the background makes it ok to show this card, though.

2001 upper deck legends of new york jackie robinson

fuzzy cards are nice.  i'm still waiting for upper deck to put out a legends of la set.  i'll be waiting quite a bit longer, even if upper deck were still in the baseball card business.

2010 topps allen & ginter tdih manny ramirez

2010 was a train wreck for manny, so noting a car accident on this card is a reasonable tie-in.

2010 topps 1951 topps jackie robinson inserts

more jackie.  a triple and a stolen base (home, of course) and the dodgers lead 1-0.

thanks greg.  be on the lookout for some stuff very shortly.

the missing pieces?

with expanded rosters, it's ok to carry a dh in the national league, i suppose. and they don't come any more 'dh' than jim thome. and, we'll see if the intra-division trading pays off with jon garland, too.

wow ned. wow.