steve finley dodger cards are in short supply

despite hitting one of the biggest home runs in dodger regular season history, steve finley did not appear  on too many cards as a dodger.  he was featured in the 2004 topps traded set after joining the dodgers in a deadline deal with the diamondbacks, but by the time the 2005 season rolled around, finley was playing for the angels in anaheim.  thankfully, there are a few dodger cards of finley (his 2005 fleer ultra card is one of the best, but i'll show it in a future post).  i recently picked up a couple - more specifically this 2005 donruss longball leaders insert

this 2004 donruss studio high numbered/update sort of thing

and his 2005 donruss diamond kings card

those are clearly dodger cards of the guy whose 2004 game 161 walk-off grand slam against the giants eliminated the no-cals and gave the dodgers the nl west crown.  these next few are not.

here's a 2005 fleer classic clippings card of finley

he's a dodger on the card, but it's actually a card that falls under the anaheim angels domain.  same goes for this 2005 upper deck espn card

and this 2005 upper deck mlb artifacts card

cards that show a dodger, but claim him as an angel. thank goodness for comc - i was able to search for 2005 steve finley cards and identify a bunch that featured dodger blue but were not on my radar due to the angel affiliation.  of course, i then went out and bought them from sportlots.

same goes for shawn green, who is a dodger on this diamondback card, also from 2005 upper deck mlb artifacts

as well as this 2005 upper deck pros & prospects

there are plenty of shawn green dodger cards, however, so my collection is not hurting in that regard.  any other team collectors look for these types of cards - the laundry is right, but the team affiliation is not?

phillie memorial patches for tug mcgraw and paul owens

the phillies wore a memorial patch for two of their own in 2004.  former reliever and 1980 world series hero tug mcgraw and former gm and manager paul "pope" owens both passed away between the 2003 and 2004 seasons.  the patch is visible on these three 2005 topps opening day cards - placido polanco (turning two)

mike lieberthal

and jimmy rollins

it's there on their right sleeves, and looks like this - a banner for owens and a shamrock for mcgraw

the best example i have in my collection is jim thome's 2005 donruss card

i appreciate the fact that this patch has some color, similar to the king clancy patch.

mcgraw is one of the few players to be memorialized by multiple teams (ralph kiner is being so honored this season by the mets and pirates), while owens was a lifelong phillie - from the minors through to his role as scout, gm, and ultimately manager of the big league club - and more than worthy of a memorial patch of his own.

too many double plays

dennis of too many verlanders recently sent me a package that featured a few new to me double play cards.  i would like to think that it is getting harder and harder to find dp cards that i don't already have, but there are many more than i ever imagined when i started collecting them.  and it's not going to stop - i noticed at least 2 double play turns on the uncut 2014 topps sheet image that's been posted recently.

so, onward and upward with some new double play cards, like this 1998 pacific paramount jeff kent

featuring a sliding kurt 'what's that man' waring

and this 2000 pacific miguel tejada

and this 2001 fleer premium miguel tejada

here's a 2002 topps total luis alicea

and a 2004 playoff honors luis castillo

another athletic, but not tejada - 2005 donruss bobby crosby

another 2005 donruss - alex gonzalez

caught in between montreal and san diego

last but not least, another jeff kent card.  this one comes from 2001 leaf rookies & stars

i already had one in the dp binder, but then i turned the card over and saw that this one was a sample version

donruss/leaf put sample cards in beckett magazines back in the early 2000's if i recall correctly.  i remember buying some issues and selling the cards on ebay a couple of times.  anyway, this is why you should always look at the back of the cards!

thanks dennis - i'll post the 'better' stuff from your trade package later today...

i am also thankful for cards that show the double play turn at second base

and i am especially thankful for cub season ticket holders that broke their sga sets and sold them as singles for low prices.  that's how i got this 2013 topps cubs season ticket holder giveaway glenn beckert card

thanks to wrigley wax for bringing this card to my attention.

also from 2013, but more widely available, is a 2013 topps allen & ginter dan uggla card

horizontal a&g isn't the best.

here's a 2012 topps jason kipnis.

i've shown a couple of other versions of this card, but never the regular ol' base. until today.

here's a 2012 topps pro debut jeremy patton card

i believe that the muckdogs are in the cardinal organization. i saw this one while digging through comc one day.  it was cheaper on sportlots, though.

how about a 2009 bowman draft picks & prospects brian dozier?

doze made the move to second this past season and did alright.  2014 is his 'year 27' season, and i've got him on my sleeper list for my fantasy draft next year.

now is the time when we see some chone figgins cards - 2008 upper deck first edition

and 2005 donruss

here's fellow angel darin erstad, although he's on miguel tejada's 2007 upper deck team checklist card

and i will end the post with some phillies.  first, cole hamels on a 2008 topps stadium club card (a 1st day issue parallel)

next, a couple of jimmy rollins cards - 2005 upper deck first pitch

and 2004 upper deck

it seems like double play cards are cropping up at every turn.  i am thankful to the bloggers who send me new ones in trade packages (and emails with links to images of dp cards) - someday i will catch up and get my 'have' list to match my actual haves!

a post borne of necessity

these cards all came from arpsmith.  a while ago.  i've been remiss in showcasing them, and then i received another package in the mail from him yesterday.  i can't let a previous trade get lapped like that (although the same thing is happening with the junior junkie).  for better or for worse, here are some of the very nice cards i received from adam as part of a prize package/trade.

2002 topps chrome alex cora

my scanner did a nice thing here.  the scan of that card sings.  it's very nice.

1969 topps willie davis

three dog night with some vintage joy for the world.

2000 fleer greats of the game tommy john

i really liked this set when it was released.  i remember treating myself to some packs after a job interview.  lots of dodgers on the checklist, too.

1984 fleer derrel thomas

my second favorite fleer card of thomas.  i like how this one tells me that he plays infield and outfield.  what about catcher?  a true utility guy.

speaking of catchers, here's a 2001 upper deck todd hundley

and a 2004 upper deck paul loduca

the best thing about those cards is not the lurking kaz ishii behind loduca, but rather the little dodger stadium photo on the lower front of the loduca card.  i missed upper deck cards in 2004 (other than the legends set) so i don't think i knew chavez ravine was on the dodger flagship cards.  the photo, by the way, is the same one that's on the backs of the legends cards.

2005 donruss hong-chih kuo

channeling jerry reuss with that haircut

and finally, a 2002 donruss best of fan club chan ho park jersey relic

it's part of a 'league leaders' subset maybe?  park did lead the league in starts in 2001.

adam - thanks for these cards and thanks for the additional cards that i will try to post before we get into another trade.

cards from on card autos

chris at on card autos sent me some dodgers recently in exchange for some cubbies. he has already posted some of the stuff i sent, and i am just now getting to the bounty i received. such is my lot in life. anyway, here are some of the goodies.

2007 fleer ultra jeff kentfull extenson works best as a horizontal card.

2006 topps update & highlights elmer dessens

proof that a fifth starter is hard to find.

2004 fleer ultra brad penny

a really nice dodger stadium card. ultra had quite a few cards featuring chavez ravine. maybe that's why i liked ultra so much.

1990 topps debut '89 darrin fletcher

it must have been tough to be a catcher in the dodger organization. that had been one of the most stable positions they had, except from 1997 through 2001 or so. too bad fletch (6'-5" with the afro) came up when scioscia was still doing ok.

1992 score roger mcdowell

nice to see a card of roger where he is doing normal baseball stuff

2005 donruss shawn green

i feel as though i have been remiss in posting shawn green cards. i have a ton - he was my favorite non-dodger and then my favorite dodger. i also like that this card shows him out of position according to the position assigned to him on the card. listed as a firstbaseman, he is pictured in the outfield. usually it's catchers that you see out of position - they're shown playing first base (i am thinking of a gary carter card) but listed as a catcher. i'll have to look for more of those.

thanks chris!

the body politic

while jesse 'the body' ventura 'aint got time to bleed', he does have time to follow the minnesota twins, as evidenced by this 2005 donruss insert. i had been in minnesota for just over a year when ventura was voted in as governor. the campaign commercials he released leading up to the election were pretty entertaining, and his strategy of sitting back and watching the other two candidates bicker and turn off the voters during the debates helped him win.

one of his opponents in that election was (then) saint paul mayor norm coleman, who went on to win a senate seat by defeating walter mondale (after senator wellstone died in a plane crash) and then lose it to al franken. poor norm - beaten by a wrestler and a comedian.

anyway, i did see jesse at opening night in 1999, so he's at least been to a game. i'm not sure where he is these days - maybe on a beach in mexico - but wherever he is, you can be sure he's avoiding those media jackals.