i still need more nomar

i was pretty excited to see that nomar garciaparra was featured as a dodger in the 2015 topps museum collection release - at least as far as the relic cards go.  i was so excited that i almost forgave him and topps for not being a part of the 2007, 2008, or 2009 sets.  almost.

i went out and found some relic cards from the museum collection set, and here they are:

jumbo (or momentous material)

quad jersey

and quad bat

i've eyed a couple of relic/autos, but haven't pulled the trigger yet.

i hope that this is a sign of things to come, with nomar dodger cards eventually showing up in archives or tribute or somewhere else.

until then, here are some cards that were made during his dodger tenure that i haven't shown before:

2006 bowman heritage

2006 topps turkey red (red parallel)

and 2007 upper deck

maybe my opinion will change should topps flood its products with nomar dodger cards, but i'm willing to take that chance.  please, topps - more nomar!

more non-dodger dodger cards

it's weird that i consider a card a dodger card if it includes the dodger team name on it, regardless of whether the player is wearing the dodger uniform or not. for me, this goes back to o-pee-chee cards from the 1979 set, which were the first ones i encountered that forced me to make this sort of determination.  no one was going to tell me that the 1979 opc andy messersmith wasn't a dodger card.  later on in my collecting endeavors, i saw that cards from the 1960's often showed players in outdated uniforms, and my approach to these cards was confirmed by official team checklists created by other collectors.

more recently, i've been paying more attention to the opposite types of cards - cards with dodger players in uniform, but with a different team affiliation.  like this 2000 pacific paramount raul mondesi card

that's dodger blue that he's wearing, but the card says that he is a blue jay now.

other examples in my collection include a few gary sheffield cards.  here are his 2002 fleer platinum,

2001 fleer premium,

2002 leaf (complete with 'traded to' text)

and his 2002 upper deck authentics (which also has the 'traded to') text

cards.

kevin brown has a ton of dodger cards - the benefit of being the best pitcher on some pretty non-descript dodger teams, but his 2004 upper deck diamond collection all-star lineup card

is actually a yankee card

adrian beltre famously left the dodgers after leading the league in home runs in 2004.  the result were some non-dodger dodger cards in 2005 fleer classic clippings

and 2005 fleer national pastime

these are things that i didn't really think twice about, but when topps issued this 2006 card of jose valentin

i was surprised.  i don't recall a card like this in the flagship set since the 1979 bump wills fiasco.  before that, there were the 1974 glenn beckert and jerry morales cards, and to a lesser extent, the 1973 topps bill north card.  i only wish that topps had done the reverse with nomar garciaparra's card in the 2006 flagship set.

here's a 2007 upper deck greg maddux card

on which the words say 'padres' but the photo says 'dodgers'.

the most unusual example of these cards may well be this 1995 score summit antonio osuna card

except that it's an error.  osuna did not pitch for the tigers, nor was he ever a part of the tiger organization.  weird.  let's cleanse the palette with an actual dodger card from the same set

that's better.

i doubt that we'll see any of these any time soon with just one manufacturer licensed to produce cards that feature actual team names.  still, as that 2006 valentin card shows, topps may yet surprise me once again.

the bob murphy memorial patch

bob murphy was one of the mets' broadcasters for over 50 years.  he had worked for the red sox and orioles prior to joining the expansion mets in 1962, and he broadcast games on tv (until 1982) and radio for the club from then through the 2003 season.  following his death in august of 2004, the club added a 'bob murphy' patch to their left sleeves for the remainder of the season.  you can see part of the patch on this 2007 upper deck steve trachsel card

by the way, trachsel is shown pitching in the september 11, 2004 game as evidenced by his new york fire department hat.  

the card that represents the bob murphy memorial in my collection is this 2005 upper deck origins mike piazza relic

murphy won the ford c. frick award from the hall of fame in 1994, and the radio booth at shea stadium (and later citi field) bore his name.  i did not realize until now that his brother was jack murphy, a san diego sportswriter who had a stadium named after him.  that's tough to top, but i'm sure bob murphy held his own at thanksgiving.

the elrod hendricks memorial patch

i've shown this 2007 upper deck chris britton card before, due to the '44' patch on his left sleeve worn in honor of elrod hendricks

but i wanted to do a more formal post focusing just on the hendricks memorial patch so you have to see it again.  actually, the card in my collection that represents this memorial is this 2006 fleer tradition melvin mora relic card

i never did find a card featuring the orange version of the patch, seen here in this photo from getty images

hendricks had three stints with the orioles as a player, but only wore 44 in his final turn - a turn that saw him appear in just 14 games between the 1978 and 1979 seasons.  however, he wore that number for another 28 years as the team's bullpen coach.  hendricks passed away in december of 2005, one day shy of his 65th birthday.

holy toledo! the bill king memorial patch

bill king began broadcasting a's games in 1981, coinciding with the beginning of 'billy ball' in oakland. he remained the voice of the team, with his signature exclamation 'holy toledo', for 25 years until his death in 2005.  the a's responded by wearing a patch featuring that phrase, a microphone, and king's last name on their right sleeves in his memory during the 2006 season.

it's there on huston street's 2007 fleer ultra card

as well as the big hurt's 2007 upper deck card

but bob geren's 2007 topps card is the one in my binder

i can't say that i heard or knew much about king at all, but it looks to me like he fit in with the a's very well with his handlebar mustache.  he was also the voice of the oakland/los angeles raiders (1966-1992) and the golden state warriors (1962-1983) and even broadcast san francisco giants games in the late 1950's.  as such, he would have called games for championship teams in each of those three major sports, and is one of only two broadcasters to have both a super bowl ring and a world series ring.  king has been a finalist for the ford c. frick award seven times, but unfortunately has not yet been selected.

hail the mail!

i enjoy getting mail.  i always have.  over the last few years, i have especially enjoyed seeing self addressed stamped envelopes in the mailbox.  that's because they usually contain autographed cards.  the most recent of these envelopes came from the twins' spring training home thanks to former dodger pitcher ricky nolasco.  i had sent a copy of his 2014 topps card

and his 2013 topps update card

to fort myers in the hopes that he would sign them, and he did!  what's even more awesome about this is that it fills the requirement of my topps dodger autograph project for 2014.  as you might recall, i tried to secure at least one signed dodger card (ideally freely obtained through the mail) for each topps flagship set, starting with the 1951 red/blue backs, without repeating a player.  now, i could count nolasco's 2013 topps update card as part of the project (i don't consider update series official requirements of the project, but note them if i have them), but i don't know if i will send out any other 2014 cards so i will skip the update set for now.

here's the updated tally of the project, by the way.

1951 topps - preacher roe (purchased)

1952 topps - rocky bridges

1953 topps - bobby morgan

1954 topps - billy herman (purchased)

1955 topps - don zimmer (purchased)

1956 topps - randy jackson

1957 topps - carl erskine

1958 topps - joe pignatano

1959 topps - fred kipp

1960 topps - chuck essegian

1961 topps - bob aspromonte

1962 topps - norm sherry

1963 topps - ed roebuck

1964 topps - ken mcmullen

1965 topps - dick tracewski

1966 topps - john kennedy

1967 topps - phil regan

1968 topps - jim campanis

1969 topps - jeff torborg

1970 topps - al mcbean

1971 topps - sandy vance

1972 topps - manny mota

1973 topps - wes parker

1974 topps - claude osteen

1974 topps traded - jim wynn

1975 topps - ron cey

1975 topps mini - joe ferguson

1976 topps - bill russell

1976 topps traded - dusty baker

1977 topps - steve garvey

1978 topps - dave lopes

1979 topps - charlie hough

1980 topps - jerry reuss

1981 topps - doug rau

1981 topps traded - ken landreaux

1982 topps - dave goltz

1982 topps traded - jose morales

1983 topps - ron roenicke

1983 topps traded - rafael landestoy

1984 topps - fernando valenzuela

1984 topps traded - mike vail

1985 topps - burt hooton

1985 topps traded - mariano duncan

1986 topps - enos cabell

1986 topps traded - franklin stubbs

1987 topps - steve sax

1987 topps traded - matt young

1988 topps - len matuszek

1989 topps - mickey hatcher

1990 topps - kal daniels

1990 topps traded - juan samuel

1991 topps - tim belcher

1992 topps - roger mcdowell

1993 topps - dave hansen

1993 topps traded - tim wallach

1994 topps - jody reed

1995 topps - chris gwynn

1996 topps - todd hollandsworth

1997 topps - brett butler

1998 topps - greg gagne

1999 topps - jose vizcaino

2000 topps - jeff shaw

2001 topps - chan ho park

2002 topps - andy ashby

2002 topps traded - joel hanrahan

2003 topps - jim tracy

2003 topps traded - ron coomer

2004 topps - edwin jackson

2004 topps traded - milton bradley

2005 topps - chad billingsley

2005 topps update & highlights - jason phillips

2006 topps - bill mueller

2007 topps - james loney

2007 topps update & highlights - andy laroche

2008 topps - delwyn young

2008 topps update & highlights - casey blake

2009 topps - matt kemp

2009 topps update & highlights - brad ausmus

2010 topps - juan pierre

2010 topps update & highlights - ronnie belliard

2011 topps - hong-chih kuo

2011 topps update & highlights - matt guerrier

2012 topps - nathan eovaldi

2012 topps update & highlights - matt treanor

2013 topps - randy choate

2014 topps - ricky nolasco

there was a similar pwe in my mailbox a few days prior to the nolasco envelope.  it contained a 1964 topps dick calmus card

signed by the former dodger pitcher and returned in just a few days.  unfortunately, there aren't any other topps cards of calmus (he has a card in the 1968 set, but is featured as a cub) so i just sent the one.  

like nolasco, some of the players noted above as part of the topps dodger autograph project signed more than one card, and i realized that i have not shown some of them.

edwin jackson is part of the project thanks to his 2004 topps card, but he also signed a 2005 card for me.

likewise, delwyn young is up there for his 2008 topps card, but he also signed a 2003 topps 206

and a 2007 topps card

as did juan pierre, who made the project thanks to a 2010 topps ttm success.

pierre also signed one of his 2008 upper deck cards

probably my favorite card of his, as well as his 2009 topps card

not all dodger ttm successes made the project, obviously, and here is one that fell short - a 2007 topps luis gonzalez

last, but not least, is a card that is ineligible for the project (it's not a topps card), but is a cool ttm success nonetheless - a 2007 upper deck mike lieberthal card

thanks to all for signing my cards! and thanks also to the mailman for delivering the mail!

a mayoral memorial patch

bob o'connor was the 58th mayor of pittsburgh.  he began his term in january of 2006, and just a few months later was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer.  he passed away on september 1, 2006.  for the remainder of the season, the pirates wore a 'bob' patch on their jerseys.  you can see it on brian rogers' 2007 upper deck card

along with the all-star game patch.  sadly, o'connor was diagnosed just a day before his city hosted the midsummer classic.  o'connor had mentioned the all-star game in his inaugural address as a motivator to 'redd up' the city, but he was unable to attend the game due to his illness.

this 2007 upper deck ultimate collection ian snell card

will represent the bob o'connor memorial patch in the collection.

more cards rescued from the lcs

these cards all came from a dime box at one of the two local card shops in the twin cities.  i spent a few minutes digging through the boxes in the front of the store and found some cards for some of my collections.

this 1998 donruss preferred rickey henderson

doesn't really fit any of my current collections (although i used to have a pc of rickey), but i couldn't pass up a rickey card showing him in an angels uni.  besides, it has that o-pee-chee-esque text on the back

i did pick up a few vladdys for my neglected pc - 1999 upper deck

2005 fleer ultra - base

and insert

2007 upper deck

2009 upper deck team leaders

and a 2010 upper deck biography card

you would think that the card is all about matt garza.  it's not too often that you see the pitcher in focus while the batter trots around the bases on a baseball card.  i like it.

i grabbed another angel card from the box, thinking it might be a double play.  upon further inspection, this 2010 topps brandon wood card is not a dp turn

on this particular play, there were two outs with michael young on first.  wood fielded the grounder hit by marlon byrd and threw to first to end the inning (thanks baseball reference - also confirmed by getty images).  the card does show the nick adenhart memorial patch, but i've got vladdy representing that in the binder.

most of my other sub-collections were added to - here's a 1992 fleer kenny lofton card featuring an image from dodger stadium

and here's a lurking mike scioscia on a 2004 upper deck sweet spot classic card of gary carter

it's a very similar image to that which was used on carter's fantastic final tribute from 1993 score select. speaking of 1993 score select, here's brian harper's card from that set, featuring a lurking mark mcgwire

but the best play at the plate card i found was this 1992 upper deck johnny bench baseball heroes card

those are all good cards, but i don't think they are enough to lure me back to this particular lcs.  you see, when i asked to look through some non-dime boxes that were held behind the counter, i was instead pointed to a desktop computer that they had set up.  i was welcome to check their inventory online, and if they had the card i was looking for, they would be happy to pull it for me.  well, i was just wanting to browse through some mid-2000's ultra looking for dodger stadium shots or double plays.  their online database couldn't help me there.  besides, there was already a frustrated patron trying to use the computer at the time.  i did ask for a 1974 topps card that i needed at the time to complete my set - they looked it up, but didn't have it.

i understand that online sales are a big part of the card business - i do most of my shopping and all of my selling online - but it was a turnoff for me to experience that in a brick and mortar lcs.  i may purchase cards from this shop in the future, but if i do, it will be through sportlots.