Night Owl Cards

I knew that when I compiled a list of the pitchers who had owned the Dodgers during their careers that I wouldn't be able to resist putting together a list of the pitchers who were tormented by the Dodgers. It was easy to do. Just turn the result that I found through baseball-reference on its head. Voila! Pitchers whose career was one big #fail when it came to throwing against the Dodgers. A lot of these pitchers that struggled against the Dodgers were a surprise. Unlike the last list, I don't spend a lot of time thinking about pitchers who bombed against L.A. I suppose it's just a natural part of my make-up -- or any fan's make-up -- to focus on the negative and not the positive. Again, I based this list on career earned-run average against L.A. And I limited it to pitchers with at least 100 innings pitched against the Dodgers. Unlike the last list, I expanded it from 30 pitchers to 40 pitchers. That's because I lot of the pitchers on this list are no-nam...

I received this card in a trade a little while back in my quiet quest to complete the 1981 Topps set (it's not on my want list. Maybe someday I'll get it on there). I knew nothing about Gordy Pladson when I received this card. In fact, I didn't even know he existed until I did inventory on my '81 set trying to figure out who I still needed. This happens to me quite a bit. If it wasn't for baseball cards, I wouldn't know half of the major league players that I do. Somehow, by obtaining a card, the knowledge of that player is catalogued into my brain in a way that doesn't happen if I merely see that player's name in an article or even watch him in a game. When you own the card, the moment is no longer fleeting. The card is there forever, and you have forever to learn about that player. Pladson was nothing special as far as his major league career is concerned (his wikipedia entry is exactly one sentence long, and they spell his name "Gordie.") C...