one man carries the torch for both the penguin and davey lopes

the last pitcher ron cey faced as a major leaguer was juan nieves.  it was july 12, 1987, and cey was a member of the oakland a's at the time as his 1987 topps traded card attests.

nieves struck cey out in the 7th inning, and later in that game, the penguin was pinch-hit for, denying him one more big league at bat.  the player who hit in cey's place? none other than former nemesis reggie jackson.

juan nieves didn't last much longer than cey. as it turned out, nieves missed the entire 1989 season due to injury, so his last appearance came in 1988.  he still received a card in 1990 from topps, and from o-pee-chee, which is what is shown below.

nieves pitched in his final game on october 2, 1988, again facing the a's.  in that game, the last batter nieves faced was terry steinbach, who drew a walk.

now let's take a minute to see what was going on with davey lopes' torchbearers.  like cey, lopes last played in 1987.  he was with the astros - here's his 1987 fleer card -

when he pinch-hit for nolan ryan on october 4, 1987.  lopes flew out against the reds' tom browning, and that was it for his career.

tom browning finished his career in 1995 (this is his 1995 score card)

with two starts for the kansas city royals, the last of which came on may 19.  browning didn't make it out of the 5th inning that day, as he was removed from the game following an rbi single hit by terry steinbach.

so, steinbach had the honor of carrying the torch for both cey and lopes.  he wound up going home to minnesota to finish his career, and did so in october of 1999 (here's his 2000 topps card)

with a double off of james baldwin of the white sox.

baldwin, who pitched for the dodgers in 2001 after leaving chicago (this is his 2002 upper deck victory card)

bounced around a bit and eventually landed in baltimore in 2005.  actually, he began the season with the orioles, was picked up on waivers by the rangers, but then later returned to the orioles on another waiver claim.  the second time around with the orioles included his final big league appearance - a relief appearance against the yankees on september 29.  the last batter he faced was bernie williams who was retired on a comebacker.

williams, seen here on a 2007 topps hit parade insert

retired following the 2006 season, doubling off of scott downs in his final big league appearance (during the regular season, anyway).

scott downs, who was an angel on his 2013 topps card,

spent 2014 as a member of the kansas city royals.  he just became a free agent following the world series, and if he doesn't sign with anyone for next season, then the torch is passed to the last batter he faced in the bigs - cleveland's zach walters - but i won't count the loogy out just yet.

the 1978 topps dodgers in 1987 - the active pitchers (and the manager)

tom lasorda was one of just two 1978 topps dodgers still wearing the dodger blue in the 1987 topps set

lasorda's 11th full season as the dodgers manager ended with the same disappointing record (73-89) as his 10th campaign.  i seem to recall that there were many who thought that maybe a change was in order, and there were also rumors about lasorda perhaps heading to the yankees or phillies, but peter o'malley kept lasorda at the helm.

charlie hough

won 18 games (a career high) for the rangers in 1987.  he made 40 starts (also a career high) to lead the league, and threw 13 complete games.  he had a couple of 3-hitters, and struck out 13 royals in a game in august.  at some point in the season, hough notched his 1500th career strikeout.

tommy john

won 13 games for the yankees in 1987.  he threw three complete games, including a 2-hit shutout of the tigers in august.  all 33 of john's appearances came as a starter - the first time since 1983 that he hadn't made any relief appearances.

rick rhoden

was no longer with the pirates - he had been traded to the yankees in november of 1986 in the doug drabek deal.  he received a card in the 1987 topps traded set as a result

pitching in the american league for the first time, rhoden matched his career high with 16 victories.  he threw a 2-hitter against the white sox in may, and also made his first relief appearance since 1983 (and only the third since leaving the dodgers) against chicago in july.  unfortunately, rhoden didn't get to bat at all in 1987 thanks to the designated hitter.

don sutton

finished up his american league duty in 1987 with one final season as an angel.  in addition to his base card, he also received a box bottom card

highlighting his 300th career victory that came in 1986.  not much variety between the two photos there, topps.  i recall watching sutton's 300th win - it was a complete game victory with his signature fist shake/pump at the end.  that would have made for a better card than what topps put together. anyway, sutton was 11-11 in 1987 for the halos.  he struck out only 99 batters - the first time in his 22 year career that he failed to strike out at least 100 batters.  his lone complete game of the season (the last of his career) was unfortunately of the 8-inning variety.  sutton did pick up a win in relief, though - the first time he had done that since 1976.

next up - the four members of the 1978 topps dodgers that received their true final tributes in 1987...

the 1978 topps dodgers in 1987 - active fielders first

1987 was a big year as far as the 1978 topps dodgers were concerned.  five of them had their final cards issued that year (four were true final tributes), and another had their last topps card released.  in fact, 1987 was the final season for all of the remaining position players.  the one who was still playing in 1987 but didn't get a topps card in 1988 was steve garvey.

garvey did, of course, get a card in the 1988 score set but was left out of the topps set that year.  that's due to the fact that he played in his final game when the 1987 season was just 44 games old.  garvey pinch hit for lance mccullers in that game against the expos and flew out to center. it was just his 76th at bat of the season in his 27th appearance for the padres, and it would be the last of his career.  three days later, garvey was on the disabled list planning to undergo season ending shoulder surgery to replace a torn biceps tendon. for the season, garvey hit .211 with one home run and 9 rbi. his lone home run, the 272nd of his career, came against guy hoffman of the reds. 

ron cey was the lone active player in 1987 who wouldn't get a card of any sort in 1988.  topps did issue a bevy of cey cards in 1987, if that's any consolation.  there was his base card

the cubs leaders card

a box bottom card highlighting his 300th career home run which was hit in the 1986 season

and a topps traded card resulting from his being traded to oakland in january of 1987

the idea in oakland was for cey to be the right-handed dh as well as provide some relief for carney lansford at third, but cey also played a bit of first base for the first time in his career. at the plate, the penguin struggled, hitting just .221 in 45 games. he hit 4 home runs (including his final career homer off of ed correa of the rangers) and drove in just 11 runs.

cey made his final appearance on july 12, 1987. as the a's dh against milwaukee, cey went 0 for 3, striking out against juan nieves in his final plate appearance. in the 9th, cey was pinch hit for by none other than reggie jackson. mr. october struck out to end the game. three days later, cey was released by the a's.

davey lopes was active in 1987 and would get a topps card in 1988, too.  he had two cards in the 1987 set - his base

and a record breaker thanks to his 25 steals in 1986 at the age of 40

or was he 41?  the cards at the time had his birth year as 1946.  baseball reference lists 1945 as the year he was born.  if the website is correct, then lopes' 47 steals in 1985 would stand as the record for a 40-year old (or at least most of them, as lopes' birthday is in early may).  

no matter his age, lopes was back for more in 1987 as he made it through the entire season on the astros' roster. for the first time in his career, he played exclusively in the outfield, although he was primarily used as a pinch hitter. of his 47 games played, only 5 included time in left field, and all of those were in the month of july. as in 1986, lopes managed just one home run, a two-run shot off of the phillies' don carman that was also his first hit of the season. he stole just 2 bases and was caught one time. 

in his final big league appearance, lopes was called upon on the final day of the season to pinch hit for nolan ryan. with runners on first and second and nobody out, tom browning got lopes to fly out to center. still, he got the lead runner over to third. lopes was released by the astros in november of 1987.

like lopes, lee lacy's final topps card is not his 1987 issue

but his career did come to an end following the 1987 season. lacy played in 87 games, mostly as the orioles' right fielder, in 1987.  most of his starts (44 of 64) came against left handed pitchers, although he hit slightly better against rightys over the course of the season.  in total, lacy hit .244 with 7 homers and 28 rbi, with one of those home runs being his fourth and final career lead-off blast.  lacy's final career home run, a solo shot off of southpaw frank tanana in detroit, was the last hit of his career.

the pitchers are up next...

the evolution of the dodger third baseman, part three

the hot corner merry go round following the trade of ron cey really gets going now...

here's the story using baseball cards.

german rivera (1984 - second half)

rivera started 71 games for the dodgers at third base in 1984, and appeared there in another 19 contests. this was after pedro guerrero, who had started 72 games at third, was moved back to the outfield in what i believe was an attempt to kick start his offense.  it seemed to work, as petey hit 10 homers and raised his average from .277 to .303 after moving back to the grass.  as for rivera, he hit only 2 homers with 17 rbi, and was returned to the minors for the 1985 season before being traded to houston for enos cabell.  it's worth (to me) noting that rivera is in the ted lilly/scott proctor/shane victorino group of almost dodger double dippers.  he was signed by the dodgers, went to another organization, and later returned.  if only he had played for the dodgers before being drafted by oakland in the rule v draft...

other folks to try their hand at third in 1984 included bob bailor, rafael landestoy, candy maldonado, and this next guy - dave anderson.

dave anderson (1985)

39 starts, 36 complete games, 51 total appearances at third.  that's what anderson logged in 1985.  bob bailor had 18, 12, and 45 respectively.  enos cabell? 29, 15, 32.  bill madlock, a midseason acquisition had 32, 14, 32.  bill russell made 5 appearances at third, steve sax spent three innings there in a game, and even len matuszek manned the hot corner for the grand total of one inning in 1985 for the dodgers.  the person who logged the most starts and innings at third for the dodgers in 1985 was actually pedro guerrero, who had 44 starts, 42 complete games, and 44 total appearances.  i'll leave anderson there by virtue of his total number of games played at third, but know that 1985 was an unholy mess for the dodgers at third base.

bill madlock (1986)

yes, i know that's a card from 1987.  oh well.  madlock started and appeared in 101 games at third base for the dodgers in 1986.  he hit .280 with 10 homers and 60 rbi, but he was 35 and we knew it wouldn't last.  he was released by the dodgers in may of 1987 and finished his career that year with the detroit tigers.

mickey hatcher (1987)

hatcher had been released by the twins prior to the start of the 1987 season, and signed with the dodgers a week or so into the season.  he played third for the dodgers in 49 games in '87, 42 of which he started.  this made him a true dodger double dipper, by the way.  in addition to madlock and hatcher, the dodgers also had anderson (11 starts), sax, phil garner (29 starts), craig shipley, alex trevino (!), mike sharperson, brad wellman, tracy woodson (33 starts), and jeff hamilton (23 starts) spend time at third in 1987.

jeff hamilton (1988-1989)

even though that's a 1988 donruss card i used for hamilton, i like it.  the dodger stadium left field pavilion and diamondvision in the background, along with the 'mac' patch on his shoulder for coach don mcmahon means that it fits into a few different collections of mine.

as for hamilton the third baseman, he started 80 games there in 1988 and was the dodgers' third baseman in the world series that year.  he followed that championship season with a whopping 140 starts at third for the dodgers in 1989.  he also had the rare honor that year of suffering a loss as a pitcher.  hamilton took the loss in a 22-inning affair against the astros - a game that also featured fernando valenzuela at first base and eddie murray at third.

hamilton began the 1990 season as the dodgers' third baseman, but his bid to end the revolving door ended when he tore his rotator cuff just a few days into the season.

mike sharperson (1990)

sharperson took over for the injured hamilton, and made 75 starts at third over the course of the season, appearing there in a total of 106 games. sharpy was essentially part of a platoon with lenny harris, who started 74 games there that year, and took over the majority of the playing time in 1991.

lenny harris (1991)

harris claimed this spot in the evolutionary chain by starting 89 games at third in 1991.  he was just keeping the spot warm until the next guy came along.

dave hansen (1992)

yes, dave hansen (another double dipper) was the primary third baseman on the worst los angeles dodger team in history.  the team lost 99 games that year - the first time the franchise had lost 90 since 1944 - and finished 35 games behind the atlanta braves.  i'm not suggesting that it was hansen's fault.  he started 98 games at third that year, and hit .214, by the way.  there were plenty of underperformers on that team.  on a side note, i appreciate that, even early in his career, leaf was already recognizing hansen as a pinch hitter - something that he would excel at throughout his career.

tim wallach (1993-1995)

the dodgers acquired wallach from the expos in a trade prior to the 1993 season.  he started over 100 games at third for them in both 1993 and 1994, and then made 92 more starts there in 1995.  after a brief stint with the angels to start the 1996 season, he returned to the dodgers (yes, another double dipper), and reclaimed the position from the injured mike blowers.

i'll get into the blowers era next time.

holy schmidt! that's a nice ttm success!

not a bad way to perk up a monday - finding a ttm return from a hall of famer in the mailbox.  yes, mike schmidt signed and returned my 1978 topps card in about a week!

i had noticed a spate of successes with schmidt recently, so i figured i would try my luck.  i sent the card c/o the national baseball hall of fame in cooperstown, and it came back to me postmarked from philly.  very very nice.  

while schmidt was never my favorite third baseman, i did respect his talent.  besides, his was one of the first baseball cards i ever saw, and the very first baseball glove my dad bought for me was a michael jack schmidt model.  so what if it was as stiff (and thin) as cardboard?  

we all know who my favorite third baseman was, right?  he was a contemporary of schmidt's, and he suited up for the team of my youth.  he also signs stuff through the mail.

i am afraid that i have taken advantage of ron cey's ttm generosity over the last few years, having sent many cards to him many times.  here are a few i have not yet shared on the blog.

three of the penguin's cards from 2004 upper deck legends timeless teams

and a 2001 fleer greats of the game

so there, with the '78 topps schmidt, you have three of my favorite sets to get autographed.  i have an '01 fleer gog out to steve garvey as we speak - probably one of the last ttm requests i will ever send out.

here are a few more penguins - a 1987 topps traded card

and a couple of customs that i made to bookend his career - a 1971 topps style card

of which he also signed the back

and a 1988 topps card

both cards that definitely should have been.

thanks mike and ron for signing my cards, and for being a big part of my early fandom!

big in japan

saturday's mail brought another ttm request fulfilled.  this time, ralph bryant signed and returned his trio of 1987 rookie cards.  here's his fleer card, on which he shares space with jose gonzalez

here's his donruss card

and this is his 1987 topps traded card

bryant made his big league debut in 1985 and played in 6 games that year.  he earned his place on cardboard with his 1986 performance for the dodgers over 27 games - a performance which included 12 of his 19 hits going for extra bases, six of which were home runs.  he appeared in 46 games for the blue in 1987, but had just two home runs in about the same number of at bats.

when the dodgers brought in kirk gibson and mike davis for the 1988 season, there wasn't much room in the outfield for bryant, and he wound up heading to japan.  although originally signed by the chunichi dragons, bryant played for the kintetsu buffaloes and won the pacific league mvp award in 1989.  he led the league in home runs that year with 49 (only the seventh player in history and the second american to reach that total), and also sat atop the leader board in two other seasons.  in all, bryant hit 259 home runs in japan in just eight seasons. following his retirement in 1995, he returned to the states and played in aa for the angels' affiliate.

bryant signed and returned the cards in 12 days.  thanks ralph!

follow the leader

for a while back around 1979 and 1980, steve garvey and ron cey were running just about neck and neck in the bid to become the los angeles dodgers' all-time leader in home runs. cey led garvey by four home runs (163 to 159) after the 1979 season, both having passed the previous leader (willie davis) and his mark of 154 home runs during that campaign.  cey got there about a month before garvey, and the first baseman never could catch up to him.  when both players left after the 1982 season (cey by trade, garvey by free agency), the penguin sat atop the leader board with 228 roundtrippers to garvey's second place total of 211.  here's cey's o-pee-chee card from 1977, the year he hit a career high 30 home runs.

cey held on to his title for just about 18 years until eric karros hit his 229th career home run on june 13, 2000.  here is karros' topps card from that year

karros went on to hit 270 home runs as a member of the los angeles dodgers, putting him not only atop the la leader board, but landing him at third place in the all-time franchise history.  he trails only duke snider (389 total as a dodger, 73 in la) and gil hodges (361, 63), and sits above roy campanella (242 all as a brooklyn dodger) with cey rounding out the top 5.  the rest of the franchise leader board sits as follows - garvey in 6th place, followed by carl furillo (192, 18), mike piazza (177), pedro guerrero (171), raul mondesi (163), and shawn green (162) all ahead of davis.  matt kemp (151) is next on the list, which is good for 9th place in la dodger history, and 13th in franchise history.

so what becomes of the la dodger career home run leader in the era of free agency?  starting with cey, he gets dealt to the cubs and gets a card showing him in transition - his 1983 o-pee-chee card.

and, in the case of eric karros, he gets the same thing - although his transition card is a 2003 leaf issue

they each also have full blown cubs cards.  here is cey's 1987 fleer

and this is karros' card from 2003 upper deck sp authentic

cey wound up spending four years in chicago, and hit 84 home runs as a cub, including his lone career inside the park job.  karros was in chicago for just one season, and hit 12 homers, a total that included one of my favorite karros home runs.  do you remember it, too?

on june 7, 2003, the yankees were visiting wrigley field and roger clemens was on the mound looking for career win number 300.  the game was televised, and the cubs had hee seop choi at first base and kerry wood on the mound.  in the fourth inning with the score still 0-0, jason giambi hit an infield pop up that resulted in choi making the catch while colliding with wood and then hitting his head on the ground.  choi left the game on a stretcher, and karros replaced him in the field.  the yankees took the lead the following inning on a solo home run by hideki matsui, and clemens was cruising.  in the 7th inning, however, clemens allowed a one out single to moises alou followed by a walk to sammy sosa.  joe torre replaced clemens with juan acevedo, and karros greeted him with a 3-run home run on acevedo's first pitch to ruin any chance clemens had at the milestone victory.  yes, clemens got his 300th win soon thereafter, but karros made him wait and i for one was thankful.

from chicago, both cey and karros returned to california, although they went to oakland rather than los angeles.  here's cey's 1987 topps traded card

and karros' 2004 topps card

each player finished their careers in oakland, and so hit their final career home runs in the green and gold.  cey hit four home runs as a member of the a's to bring his career total to 316, while karros managed only two homers in oakland to finish his career with 284 long balls.

so, with karros following in his predecessor's footsteps so closely, what does this mean?  matt kemp should break into the dodger franchise top 10 in 2013, and has a good chance to pass pedro and piazza to finish the year fourth on the los angeles leader board with karros' mark certainly attainable.  does that mean he will wind up in cubs and a's apparel towards the end of the decade?  i hope not, but the precedent has been set!