a 2000 topps card that should have been for the 1978 topps dodgers

once again, there were no managerial cards in the topps flagship set, so i decided to make one featuring those members of the 1978 topps dodgers who managed in 2000.  that would be, of course, johnny oates, dusty baker, and davey lopes, who was hired by the brewers in november of 1999.

i scanned some cards from the set as seen below

but once again decided to take an easier route and use a prospects card

i modified it a bit, just so the text could be read, and came up with this card that should have been

dusty led the giants to the national league west title in 2000, with the no-cals winning 95 games and finishing 11 games ahead of the second place giants.  unfortunately (or, fortunately if you are a dodger fan) the giants lost in the nlds to the wild card champion (and eventual national league champion) mets. still, he won his third national league manager of the year award.

oates, on the other hand, had a rough go in 2000.  the rangers dropped from first to last place in the american league west in 2000, winning only 71 games. even so, oates was kept on the job and led the team into the 2001 season.

lopes was brought in to replace interim manager jim lefebvre following a 74-87 season in 1999 which saw the brew crew finish 5th in their second season in the nl central, just as they had in their first.  the good news is that lopes led them to a third place finish in 2000, however the team posted a record of 73-89.  not really an improvement at all.  however, like oates, lopes remained on the case for 2001, when topps decided to bring manager cards back for our enjoyment.