the tommy lasorda managerial tree

with the brewers' firing of manager (and former dodger) ron roenicke the other day (he was replaced by another former dodger, craig counsell), i decided to finally finish pulling this post together.  in football, i used to hear a lot about the bill walsh coaching tree - all of the people who coached under bill walsh who went on to become head coaches themselves.  that tree is then expanded to include coaches under those head coaches who became head coaches, and so on.  my take on the tommy lasorda managerial tree is in regards to his players - not coaches, and this post will just look at the first tier of major league managers who spent some time playing under one thomas charles lasorda.

here's the man himself on a 2004 upper deck sp authentic card

that notes his managerial triumph in the 1982 all-star game in montreal while using a photo from about 20 years later.  incidentally, he had four future big league managers playing under him on that '82 all-star roster - dusty baker, tony pena, pete rose, and ray knight.

i'm focusing on his dodger players, however, and when tommy took over the dodgers late in the 1976 season, he had three future major league managers on his roster at that time:

dusty baker

davey lopes

and bill russell

who replaced lasorda during the 1996 season.

over the next 20-years, lasorda managed another 9 future managers.

johnny oates

ron washington

mike scioscia

ron roenicke

phil garner

 glenn hoffman

who took over for russell in 1998

kirk gibson

willie randolph

and juan samuel

this list does not include players such as bobby valentine, whom tommy managed in the minor leagues, nor does it include players such as joe ferguson, tommy john, gary carter, rick dempsey, mike marshall, or steve yeager who played in the majors under tommy and later managed in the minor leagues.

with the firings of kirk gibson last year and roenicke this year, scioscia is the only active manager to have played under lasorda. however, it is yet conceivable that this tree sprouts some new branches in the future, as such former "lasorda" dodgers and minor league managers bobby mitchell, brett butler, and tim wallach are currently working for big league teams as an instructor (mitchell) or big league coaches (butler and wallach).

and, in case you are wondering, bill russell's managerial tree's first tier consists solely of chip hale.

here's to more lasorda style hugs in the dugout!

the final active player pages from the steve garvey binders

twenty-five sheets are all i have in my steve garvey binders of cards from his playing days - excluding smaller and larger sized oddballs.  here is sheet 24:

those cards are:

1. 1987 m&m's
2. 1987 o-pee-chee
3. 1987 o-pee-chee stickers
4. 1987 ralston purina
5. 1987 ralston purina cookie crisp
6. 1987 sportflics
7. 1987 sportflics (factory set)
8. 1987 sportflics team preview
9. 1987 topps

the only difference between the 1987 sportflics card and the 1987 sportflics (factory set) card is that the factory set card has a copyright 1986 mark on the back, while the other card does not.

and, here are the backs

1987 sportflics was the first set to have color photos on the back. go figure.

and here is the last page of playing day cards of the garv - sheet 25

those cards are:

1. 1987 topps tiffany
2. 1988 score
3. 1988 score glossy

i recognize that garvey did not play in in 1988, but i include his final tribute card with the playing days cards.

here are the backs:

so, very soon we will start to see some of the way more than 25 sheets of steve garvey cards that have been issued after his retirement.  stay tuned.

a writer's perspective on cards i collect

i recently received some cards from jt at the writer's journey.  he was kind enough to help me understand exactly what he was sending.  have a look.

1987 topps tiffany dave lopes record breaker

not bad for an old guy.

there were a couple of double play cards (what else would there be?) in that sleeve, including this 2000 mlb showdown card of damian jackson (i think)

and then there was this...

so, we know it's an orel hershiser card, even though he didn't steal the 1988 nl cy young from danny jackson no matter what a particular reds' fan thinks.  the two had identical records, but only one of them pitched 59 consecutive scoreless innings that year.  anyway, it's a 2004 topps all-time fan favorites card of the bulldog

and, while cool in its own right, it is equally as cool due to the presence of roy campanella in the background.

thanks jt!

trader crack's traded crack

first the disclaimer - crack is, as you know, whack. but cards are not. i sent ryan at trader crack's a bunch of expos and 1978 opc and other goodies, and he fired back with a mess of stuff. including, but not limited to, the following.

he sent 16 dodgers, of which i have chosen these.

the (in)famous 1996 upper deck vj lovero insert mike piazza.

with karros and a cardboard tommy lurking about. karros is a well known lurker, and tommy has appeared uncredited in a few cards, too. eating generic cereal and donuts at home. i knew the guy who bought the place in manhattan beach after karros and piazza lived there. he would get mail, mostly for karros, and it was all from women who enclosed naked pictures of themselves. true story.

2006 upper deck odalis perez.i have a soft spot for perez, actually. acquired in the trade for gary sheffield (thank you very much) he tossed a ball our way at anaheim stadium in 2006, despite the guy next to me riding him the whole game. thanks odalis!

speaking of sheffield, here he is on a 2000 fleer impact card.

boo.

next up is a 2007 topps opening day 'just disabled' drew.

healthy enough to opt out of his contract, which has been a good thing, i think.

2006 upper deck rafael furcal.

you know i love these cards - they are reminiscent of the o-pee-chee variations of my youth. there was a 2007 jason schmidt with the same deal going on, but i didn't want to post a giant uni.

next, he sent five bryn smith expos cards. smith is from my neck of the woods, so i was glad to see these guys.

1990 donruss.

at dodger stadium. very nice.

1987 topps tiffany, i believe.glossy, with the brighter back. that's tiffany, right?

1983 donruss.

beardless.

finally, he sent 54 (54!) different vladimir guerrero cards, most of them from his expos days.

1996 topps. the classic prospect card - four to a card.

with andruw jones and two other guys. unfortunately for me, it was andruw and not vladdy who wound up with the dodgers.

2000 upper deck five-tool talent insert.

six tools, if you count hitting non-strikes for home runs.

2000 topps stars walk of fame insert.a walk of fame card for a guy who hates to walk.

2001 fleer ultra tomorrow's legends insert.

another burlap set!

2000 pacific invincible reyes del diamante insert.i love love loved this set. 2000 pacific invincible had some kick ass inserts, and this was one of them. there was also a similar diamond aces subset for pitchers and a bunch of other inserts. i remember this product being heavily delayed and i was so disappointed each time. but when it finally came out, it was worth it. awesome.

2001 donruss studio leather and lumber game used bat card.un-numbered. i don't care for these cards that are clearly designed for the full boat of multiple swatches that are only numbered to 10 or so. the other, more plentiful single-swatch cards have too much wasted space. the bat piece down at his feet is almost missed at first glance. still, i appreciate having it in my collection!

and a 2004 upper deck diamond collection dean's list game used jersey.

officially it's an angels' card though the swatch is from an expos jersey. now, vlad on a dean's list doesn't make sense. he's not a college player, after all. commissioner's list, yes (although now that sounds like a bad type of list). manager's list probably would have been more appropriate. why doesn't upper deck think of this stuff?

ryan, thank you so much for all the great cards!