double your play-sure

lordy, i had no idea that i had, or that there existed, so many cards that feature a double play turn until i started trying to catalog them all for a 'greatest double play card of all-time' tournament.  here are some of the cards i haven't shown before, including a few that i admittedly forgot existed.  like this 1982 donruss lenny randle card.

it's been a long time since i leafed through any 1982 donruss cards that didn't have dodgers on them.  glad i did.  then, as part of my oh my o-pee-chee blog, i saw the back of phil roof's 1977 topps (and o-pee-chee) card(s):

double play cartoon!  awesome.

 

the back of tom hutton's 1977 topps card also shows a double play, sort of.

it might not be a dp turn at second, but it still counts.

i am also counting this card as a double play card, since it's a double play record breaker from 1979 topps

kind of a lame record breaker - edwards broke the american league record for the number of unassisted double plays in one game

but it still gets a spot in the double play binder.  as does this card of edwards' teammate, mario guerrero, on his 1980 topps card

that might be alan trammell sliding in, but i am too lazy to try to figure it out.  or, maybe not.  hold on. it's more likely mark wagner, at least if this photo is from the game played on june 3, 1979.  that's the only dp that i found turned by guerrero at oakland against the tigers in 1979.  let's move on.  here's a mike phillips card from the 1980 topps set.

that's definitely garry maddox sliding in.

and that's definitely garry templeton trying to break up the dp on tom foley's 1985 fleer card

i have a bad feeling that steve garvey was the one with the gidp.  actually, that's unlikely because a quick look at bbref shows me that templeton no longer hit near the top of the order in 1984.  more likely, it's a padres pitcher grounding into the 4-6-3.

speaking of padres, here's a 1990 upper deck roberto alomar card.

followed by his 1991 upper deck final card

and his 1993 topps card.

it's not difficult to pinpoint the photo on the 1991 upper deck card - that would be from the 1991 all-star game in toronto.  bobby bonilla wasn't able to break up the dp in the first inning as andre dawson hit into a 5-4-3 twin killing.

there were more double play turns caught in 1991 sets, like omar vizquel's 1991 topps card

and lou whitaker's card from that same set

(i see you, steve finley)

as well as mariano duncan's 1991 topps card

that's a lot of red on one card.  plus, we get the wizard of oz on the other side of a double play for a change.  here's ozzie turning two on his 1992 upper deck card

and a 1996 upper deck collector's choice card - one of those checklists that double as a highlight/record breaker card

i wonder if there are any luis aparicio double play cards...