one step closer (and one step back) to finishing off the garvey oddball binder

like many of you, i did some card shopping on black friday. i bought some cards on ebay and from check out my cards, and put in a sportlots order over the ensuing weekend.  one of the cards i bought from check out my cards was quickly inserted into the steve garvey oddball binder once it was delivered.  that would be this 1982 on deck disc

it looks a lot like the blank back msa discs from 1981 (which are actually the same thing as the peter pan/sunbeam discs i recently discovered), except these ones are not blank on the backs

there are still a number of garvey discs from the late 1970's that i don't own, and that's ok, although i currently have room for three more in my binder since this one is in a four-pocket page all by itself.  i'll probably do something about that eventually.

here's another sheet from the binder - it features a 1983 colorano silk cachet and a 1996 dodgers ticket

the cachet celebrates garvey tying billy williams for the national league consecutive games played record.  there's another one (that i could own for $1.98 right now on the bay if i really wanted it) that celebrates the next night's game (which i attended) when he broke williams' record.

the ticket stub comes from the 8/23/96 game against the mets.  i think these were the seats that my company had that i was able to use from time to time for free, usually on short notice.  there were four tickets, and sometimes only two or three of us would go to the game.  in this case, i decided to save the unused ticket that featured the first foursome to reach the 30 home run plateau in the same season.  the dodgers won the game 8-5, by the way.

the oddball binder is also home to the 1979 post raisin bran steve garvey's baseball tips set that i showed previously

it also contains the 1984 star set that reviews the garv's career through the 1983 season.  i've shown this set before, too, so it is featured here with no commentary.

what's left to show are non-certified autographs and cards that should have been.  here are a couple of oddball autographed items from a page in the binder

on the left is a 1983 padres postcard that i purchased in a lot of garvey stuff probably about 10 years ago, and on the first is a signed dodger sticker that is most likely from the late 1970's.  i got one as a kid that was signed by gerry hannahs, but i don't know where it is now.  the dodgers would have players sign these stickers at autograph stations before certain games.  these days, they have postcard type items printed up for the signers.

as for cards that should have been, here's one that bob lemke made - a 1955 topps football style card that features garvey in a michigan state spartan uniform.

that sits in an 8-pocket page all by itself.  we should get to the main garvey collection binders soon, unless i keep buying more oddballs to add (and post about) to the oddball binder.

get in shape with steve garvey's total conditioning program

this is it! the 12th and final installment of the 1979 post raisin bran steve garvey's baseball tips!  i've been doing a weekly countdown to spring training, and now that teams are reporting and working out, it's appropriate that the last of the 'cards' deals with conditioning.

i'm not sure if they do the tire runs in baseball.  they do a lot of stretching, though.  here's the garv himself on his 1987 topps card

although brett butler is a bit more limber, as seen on the back of his 1995 upper deck collector's choice se card

sometimes, it's easier to stretch in pairs, as jt snow and chili davis demonstrate on snow's 1993 upper deck card

once you're done stretching, you might do some running, like hal morris on his 1997 upper deck card

he's got the same idea as kenny lofton

while charles nagy hits the stairmaster

and don't forget the sliding drills! even pitchers like jeff suppan need to learn how to slide properly.

even though it doesn't look much like spring here in minny, i know that it's spring in florida and arizona, in part thanks to steve garvey and his baseball tips.

get your head in the game

here's the penultimate 1979 post raisin bran steve garvey's baseball tips card as we head into spring training.  this week, the garv extolls the virtues of mental preparation

what are the chances that franklin stubbs is going through the same mental checklist that garvey mentions as he awaits the outcome of the pitch on his 1986 donruss card?

or, maybe he's just thinking 'please don't hit a ground ball to sax'.

jim hughes is clearly not concerned with any game action

probably because there was no game action on 1953 topps cards

meanwhile, jose vizcaino 

has picked up the 'pull up your pants' sign from the third base coach on his 1998 upper deck card.  if only he were more focused on the game at hand, perhaps his pants wouldn't have needed a boost.

jerry reuss, shown here on his 1982 donruss card,

can't help but smile as he plans his next hot foot treatment instead of thinking about the next batter's tendencies against left-handed pranksters with a dutch boy haircut.

it's easy to let your mind wander while sitting on the bench, especially in spring training, as bill russell

demonstrates on his 1982 donruss card.  perhaps he is trying to think of something fun to do in vero beach later that evening, or maybe he is practicing giving the official scorer the evil eye.

i suppose the manager can at least try to play some role in helping the players maintain their focus during the game, although on his 1972 topps card, it appears that walter alston

has emerged from the dugout to see which way the wind is blowing as he has a golf game to get to as soon as the baseball game is over.

only one more tip to go, and pitchers and catchers report this week!

maybe dave parker should have handled this one

time for the next installment of steve garvey's baseball tips, courtesy of post raisin bran cereal boxes back in 1979.  these were not the boxes with 'two scoops of raisins' in every box.  i am guessing they had about the same number, however.    anyway, this week the garv is telling us how to throw from the outfield.

dave parker put on an outfield throwing clinic in the 1979 all-star game, so i think i would rather hear from him than from garvey, who played only nine games total in the outfield.  despite all that, his advice is decent, if generic.  the sketched player looks like he is having trouble and could probably use more help.

darryl strawberry is doing ok on this 1992 pinnacle rookies idols card, as donald harris looks on.

i thought that this type of card might have been from a rookie/traded set, but thanks to baseballcardpedia i know that these were inserts in series 2 packs of regular ol' 1992 pinnacle.

mitch webser demonstrates his throwing motion on this 1994 topps card

as does tony mota on this 2000 topps traded card

actually, neither one of them looks too different from the guy sketched on the tip 'card'.  and, garvey does have an outfield assist to his credit (he threw bob watson out at second base back in 1973).  maybe i should take his advice more seriously.

only a couple of weeks until spring training starts!

going oppo

here's the 9th installment in the countdown to spring training.  i'm using the 1979 post raisin bran steve garvey's baseball tips cards as a weekly windown to baseball.  this week, the garv waxes poetic about one of his favorite pastimes - hitting to the opposite field.

the cartoon sketch doesn't seem to match the text - that front foot looks like it is pointed directly up the middle.  anyway, i took a look through some of my collection to see if i could find examples of guys hitting to the opposite field.  i found tom candiotti possibly doing it on his 1995 ud collector's choice card

although he might have just swung late.  todd benzinger looks to be flailing at the outside pitch on his 1992 topps traded card

but john lindsey seems to have the 'inside-out' part of the swing down on his 2011 bowman card

here's a nice example of moving the runner over by going the opposite way, assuming the batter was right-handed.  it's bobby higginson's 2003 topps card

in which he is advancing to third base on a grounder to the second baseman.  i really like this card - it reminds me a bit of the 1995 topps raul mondesi card which is one of my all-time faves.

speaking of mondesi, the back of his 1996 pinnacle zenith card gives us a lesson in the opposite of going the opposite way

only 10% of mondy's hits in 1995 were to right field, and none of his home runs went that direction.  contrast that with mike piazza

who hit about one-third of his base hits to right, including the same number of home runs that he pulled to left.  that's some opposite field prowess right there.

i'll finish up with a 2012 topps gypsy queen matt kemp mini, upon which the bison is tracking a ball that he has just sent to the opposite field

only about 3 weeks left until spring training starts!