cards from ten years back

continuing with my efforts to clear out the scanned folder, here are some cards from that year of years, 2003...

hey! do you recognize this card? 

i would guess not, as it is not a regular 2003 topps card of chad billingsley, but rather one of those 'factory set exclusive' cards that topps used to (they don't do this anymore, do they?) put out to get you to buy the factory set after you had put together a hand collated set by purchasing packs.  jonathan broxton got one in 2006 as well.  i have the bills and brox cards with my topps dodger teams sets, but not the five 2007 cards that came in the dodger factory set that year.  inconsistent much?

here is a regular 2003 topps card, and it is of andy ashby

good lord, that's mondesi's number!

2003 topps chrome dave roberts

best remembered for half a season (or just one postseason game, really) for the red sox in 2004, roberts wasn't a full-time player until he joined the dodgers at the age of 30.

rickey henderson didn't join the dodgers until the age of 44.  here's his 2003 topps traded card

rickey had spent the first part of the season in the independent atlantic league before finishing out his big league career in dodger blue.

2003 donruss signature series hong-chih kuo

kuo was hurt in 2003 and didn't debut in the big leagues until 2005.  we'll always have 2008 and 2010, though - those were some nice seasons.

2003 fleer ultra hideo nomo

nomo was coming off of a great rebound year when he won another 16 games in 2003.  he threw the last two shutouts of his career that season, a four-hitter in his first start of the year, and a two-hitter a couple months later.

2003 leaf certified materials cesar izturis

and joe thurston

the double play combo of the future!  izturis stuck around for a couple of solid years (before being dealt to the cubs in 2006 for greg maddux), but thurston spent most of his time in the minors and then bounced around the majors after the dodgers sent him to the yankees in 2005.

2003 upper deck edwin jackson

speaking of bouncing around, jackson might give mike morgan and octavio dotel a run for their money.  he's pitched for 8 teams in his 11 years in the big leagues.

last, but certainly not least, 2003 upper deck vintage adrian beltre

can't wait for next year's vintage!