remember when manny launched one 461 feet in houston?

it's been just over six years, so, no, i don't recall that particular home run.  however, thanks to bru at remember the astrodome who sent me this 2010 upper deck insert card

i can at least bluff my way through it and say "oh, yeah - that was the one he hit off of roy oswalt". while that particular manny home run didn't come in the astrodome, obviously, he did hit a couple there during his time with the indians during interleague play.  as an aside, wallet card and i agree that the astrodome is worth remembering.

back to the cards - here's another home run related card from the trade package, a 2015 topps mike piazza first home run insert

kudos to topps for using a photo of piazza from 1992 (note the uniform number is 25, not 31, and the presence of the 30th anniversary of dodger stadium commemorative patch).  piazza hit 7 homers in the astrodome during his career, by the way, but his first career big fly came at dodger stadium against the giants.

let's take a look at a few more cards from the package sent by marc. this is a 1978 tcma the 1960's card of jim gilliam

gilliam did not hit a home run in the astrodome, nor did he homer at colt stadium, the home of the colt .45's before they became the astros and moved into the astrodome when it opened in 1965.  gilliam did, however, hit .400 with 2 triples in his 8 games inside the 8th wonder of the world.

here's a 2014 topps hanley ramirez 1989 design die-cut mini

ramirez didn't debut in the majors until 2005, and by then, the 'stros were in enron/minute maid park.  so far, hanley has hit 3 homers in houston in his career.

like hanley, justin turner (seen here on his 2015 topps heritage card)

didn't make it to the big leagues until well after the astrodome was decommissioned. still, he hit the first of his (so far) 17 career major league home runs in houston during the 2011 season.  too bad he wasn't included in the 1st home run insert set.

here's another card from this year's heritage release - it's dodger manager don mattingly

i feel for the teams who don't get manager cards in heritage releases, and i would like topps to bring the skippers back to the flagship.  donnie baseball never played in houston since the astros were a national league team during his playing days, but as a manager, he's 9-6 against them overall, and i assume some of those wins have come in texas.

speaking of texas, here's a 2015 topps heritage league leader card featuring dallas' own clayton kershaw and a couple of other guys

kershaw's only career home run thus far was his opening day blast at home against the giants in 2013, but on the flip side, he's only allowed one homer at minute maid - to carlos lee in 2009.

i'll finish up this trade post with a card of a guy who hasn't pitched anywhere in the majors yet - julio urias and his 2014 bowman draft picks & prospects mini 'future of the franchise' refractor card

he's only 18, and his k/9 ratio so far as a professional pitcher is over 11.  i'll take that for this franchise's future for sure, just like i'll take great trades like these anytime.  thanks bru!

cards that should have been for cards that really were

a long time ago, reader jay answered my call for people wanting custom card images.  over the course of a few months, he requested a number of 1970 topps cards for players - mostly pirates.  in return, he sent me some real cards.  one of my favorite cards that were borne from the images he provided is this 1970 topps tommy davis card that should have been.

davis had a card in the 1970 set, but he was (correctly) listed as an astro (he finished the 1969 season in houston) and featured in an anonymous uniform.  his 1969 topps card listed him as a pilot, but his uniform was again, of course, anonymous.

here are some of the actual cards i received from jay.  from the 1978 tcma the 60's set, jay sent a bunch of dodgers, including sandy koufax

jim lefebvre

and maury wills

i had some of those cards as a kid, but i believe i traded them away for some 'real' topps cards.  jay also sent a 1982 tcma baseball's greatest sluggers card of duke snider that he had gotten signed by the silver fox

along with some other 'baseball's best' cards that were issued by donruss. here's a 1989 donruss baseball's best willie randolph

and a 1990 donruss baseball's best orel hershiser

that is a lot of blue on one card, but i like it.

here are some of the other images i created for jay - mostly pirates like frank bork

former dodger chris cannizzaro

john gelnar

alex grammas

barry houser

johnny jeter

lorenzo lanier

and a couple of george 'doc' medich

dave ricketts and his glasses

former dodger ted savage

'ball four' author jim bouton

and ron clark, who had a hatless card in the 1970 set as an oakland athletic.

thanks for the cards jay!