1997 cards that should have been for the 1978 topps dodgers

first of all, a heartfelt thank you to all of the veterans of our armed forces.  i'll be trying to meet up with one of my friends who served and buy him a beer.  in the meantime, let's take a look at some cards that topps failed to make in 1997.

i understand that they were printing smaller sets following the downturn in sales thanks to the players' strike a few years earlier, but i have to believe that most collectors would have preferred a 1997 topps tommy lasorda managerial final tribute card over a john mabry highlight.

to make matters worse, upper deck actually did give lasorda a card in their 1997 set, although it was a checklist

i went a step further and gave my lasorda card that should have been a back

with his complete major league managerial stats.  lasorda, of course resigned from managing during the 1996 season due to health concerns following a heart attack.  his replacement, bill russell, led the team to the wild card berth, although the dodgers were swept in the nlds for the second straight season.

speaking of russell, he too gets a card that should have been

as do johnny oates

and dusty baker

i used photos from each of their mother's cookies cards, by the way.

in his only full season as a manager, russell led the 1997 dodgers to a second place finish in the nl west with a 88-74 record.  the dodgers were 4 games out of the wild card (won by the eventual world champion florida marlins), but only 2 games behind baker's giants.  oates, meanwhile, had the rangers at 77-85, 13 games out in the american league west.