trades in spades

the tail end of 2014 was fairly productive for me in terms of trades initiated and completed.  just check out the trade tracker to the right if you don't believe me!  here are some of the cards that i've reecently received from some great trading partners:

from tom at the angels in order, i received (by request) a 1990 fleer league leaders tim belcher card

and a forlorn looking steve sax to boot

i kind of collect all steve sax cards. sort of.  not officially or anything, but if i see one, i will usually pick it up or ask for it, as was the case here.

thanks tom!

now on to a trade i made with zippy zappy.  you know what that means - i now own a 2013 sega card gen card!  so what if mine is a ronald belisario card?

sure, he's stinking it up with the chisox now, but beggars can't be choosers when it comes to these hard to find cards.

belisario was joined by some stateside manufactured dodger cards, like this 2011 topps jackie robinson prime 9 insert

and a 2005 topps update & highlights russell martin card

i had hoped that the dodgers would reacquire martin for 2015, but i guess yasmani grandal will have to do.

here are a couple more from zippy zappy - a 1990 topps fernando valenzuela

featuring the always fantastic shot from the first base side photographer's well at dodger stadium, and a 1989 topps traded eddie murray card

i had high hopes for the dodgers in 1989 after they acquired murray, but there were just too many injuries. i couldn't and didn't complain, though - 1988 got me through even the terrible 1992 season.

thanks kenny - i hope you enjoyed our first trade as much as i did!

one more trade to show - this one comes from dennis at too many verlanders.  he found a davey lopes card and thought of me for some reason.  it's a 2001 upper deck prospect premieres lopes heroes of baseball relic card

with a photo taken from that same photographer's well as the fernando card.  very nice - thanks dennis!

i'm prepping a few packages that will go out shortly to the likes of catching up with collecting, the angels in order, too many verlanders, cards on cards, night owl, and am holding some cards for a couple of others.  let me know if you want in on the trading in 2015!

1989 topps cards that should have been of 1978 topps dodgers - don sutton gets a final tribute

it has been a while since i last updated the evolution of the players who were featured as dodgers in the 1978 topps set.  in that most recent post, i mentioned some cards that should have been from 1989.  here's what i was talking about.

1989 topps don sutton

sutton got a box bottom card from topps, but not a true final tribute.  this takes care of that.  here's the back

this was why i went so long between posts - i finally sat down and spent the time needed to get all those numbers on there.  i'm not looking forward to the tommy john final tribute back, i can tell you that.

score was the only card company to give sutton a regular card in 1989, since he was released by the dodgers in august.  it was curious that score didn't include him in their 1988 rookie/traded set, but put him in the flagship.  whatever, i'm just happy that for the second year in a row (they also made the only steve garvey final tribute in 1988), score came through for me

here's the back

there were only two seasons in sutton's career in which he didn't win at least 11 games, and his truncated 1988 final season was one of them.

here's the other card missing from topps in 1989 - the 1989 topps traded rick rhoden card

rhoden was traded from the yankees to the astros prior to the 1989 season, but didn't fit onto topps' traded set checklist.  i'm sure if it had been the other way around, topps would have been able to find room for another yankee in the set.

well, there you have it - two cards that should have been in 1989.  stay tuned for the 1978 topps dodgers as they were in 1990...

not the drape-like decorations that get hung on opening day

it's time for round two of steve garvey's baseball tips, courtesy of post raisin bran back in 1979.  this means there are only about 11 weeks until spring training kicks off!  tip number two is all about bunting (not that the dodgers have any bunters anymore).

the garv used to bunt a fair amount back in the day - usually as a way to break out of a slump.  when he  bunted, he looked less like the guy on the tip panel, and more like willie randolph on his 1989 topps traded card

that's bunting for a base hit, y'all!

believe it or not, this is not the only bunting 101 card in my collection.  i also have this 1993 upper deck fun pack brett butler card

with the 'all-star advice' continuing on the back

butler also teaches us a lesson on this 1992 pinnacle card

which also has some bunting technique text on the back, but i didn't scan the back.  i did scan another copy of the card that butler was kind enough to sign for me a while ago.

butler is a good ttm signer, and i have hit him up a few times over the last few years.  he has a number of great cards, so it was tough to choose just one or two to send him.  let's have him walk us through the bunt with some of his cards, all signed ttm.

1998 upper deck

1994 pinnacle

1995 upper deck collector's choice se

1994 upper deck

1992 topps

1993 topps stadium club

1993 donruss

1996 topps

and, he's on base.

that would be his 1995 topps card, one of my favorite dodger cards.  i think the image from the 1993 donruss and 1993 topps stadium club cards might be the same play, but it's tough to tell as butler bunted a lot.  obviously.

next week, garvey gets into baserunning.  brett butler will make another appearance.  stay tuned.