and now for the tale of disappointment that i expected from a repack

hot on the heels of the pleasant repack experience i had recently (and posted about earlier today), i found myself in target a few days later and bought another one.  i again chose one that showed tim lincecum in one of the windows.  i should not have done that.

here's what was inside, starting with that 2008 topps chrome target t205 lincecum

1989 upper deck ellis burks

1994 fleer ultra glenallen hill

1993 leaf kurt manwaring

1992 donruss triple play albert belle

1989 upper deck tim flannery

1981 donruss keith moreland

1990 donruss terry kennedy

2010 topps tyler flowers

1989 topps glossy all-stars mark mcgwire

1981 topps marty pattin

1996 fleer ultra curt schilling

1981 topps andy hassler

1998 fleer metal universe hideki irabu

1981 topps dick tidrow

1992 classic four sport phil nevin

1981 topps steve stone

1994 topps tony gwynn

1991 upper deck dave bergman

1988 fleer mike moore

1988 fleer mike moore

1992 fleer bj surhoff

1988 fleer earnie riles

1992 fleer eric king

1992 leaf kevin reimer

1985 topps whitey herzog

1987 topps bobby valentine

1989 donruss tom brunansky

1989 topps keith hernandez

1982 topps lee mazzilli

1991 leaf jack armstrong

1991 leaf dwight evans

1987 topps terry kennedy

1991 leaf gary gaetti

1991 leaf barry jones

2006 fleer ultra huston street

1991 leaf greg harris

1987 topps rob wilfong

1991 leaf randy milligan

1991 leaf howard johnson

1991 leaf darren daulton

2004 fleer hot prospects omar vizquel draft edition

2010 topps brett anderson

2010 topps cliff pennington

2010 topps angel pagan

2010 topps kansas city royals

2010 topps casey kotchman

2010 topps toronto blue jays

1989 topps glossy all-stars andre dawson

and the last card of the first pocket, 2003 upper deck sp legendary cuts luis aparicio

the other window had this 2012 topps heritage doug fister black border parallel showing

behind it were these cards

1989 topps glossy all-stars ryne sandberg

1991 topps andy hawkins

1991 topps joe boever

1988 score dave engle

1989 upper deck tony armas

1991 donruss jim clancy

1990 fleer award winners ozzie smith

1984 topps darrell brown

1989 donruss bill long

1984 topps rafael ramirez

1991 upper deck brian downing

1987 donruss john shelby

1987 donruss frank viola

1990 upper deck lance mccullers

1991 donruss wayne edwards

2000 ud victory ken griffey jr 

1990 donruss pascual perez

1987 donruss howard johnson

1991 score mike henneman

1990 upper deck bill swift

1989 fleer bob kipper

1991 upper deck norm charlton

1989 score scott terry

1989 upper deck gary green

1993 upper deck jose uribe

1994 topps jimmy key

1991 upper deck alex cole

1992 topps scott aldred

1987 topps pirates leaders

1988 topps john wathan

when's the last time you saw a manager wearing a helmet?

1990 topps traded bobby cox

very poor airbrush job

1995 ud collector's choice ray mcdavid

1989 topps bruce hurst

1991 upper deck brian barnes

1989 topps greg gross

1988 donruss bill buckner

1988 donruss gene garber

1987 donruss brian downing

1988 score mel hall

1988 topps jeff stone

2012 topps addison reed

1989 topps larry parrish

1990 donruss lance johnson

2009 upper deck first edition alex gordon

2009 upper deck first edition jeff samardzija

2009 upper deck first edition alex rodriguez

2009 upper deck first edition josh hamilton

2009 upper deck first edition jj putz

1989 topps glossy all-stars will clark

and the last card of the repack, to put me out of my misery, 1996 fleer ultra frank thomas checklist

i don't think there was even a sniff of a dodger in there.  this repack will probably sour me on buying any more for a few weeks, i would guess.

the topps dodger autograph project - 1990 through 1994

it's been a while since i last posted an entry in the topps dodger autograph project.  that's where i am highlighting one card from each topps flagship (and traded set, if i have one) that i have been able to get signed through the mail free of charge.  i had to purchase a couple of 1950's cards, but otherwise, these were all signed by the player gratis.

on with the show - 1990 topps, kal daniels

if only kal had better knees.  i was so excited when he joined the dodgers.  i have also had ttm successes with 1990 topps cards from dave anderson, rick dempsey, jay howell, mike marshall, and fernando valenzuela.  i've also picked up signed copies along the way from alejandro pena and lenny harris.

1990 topps traded, juan samuel

samuel was part of the revolving door at second base after steve sax left.  he replaced willie randolph, who had replaced sax.  i also have a hubie brooks 1990 topps traded card that was signed through the mail.

1991 topps, tim belcher

as you can see, belcher signed this card for me in august of 2009.  it only took me three years to post it. i have had a few successes with former dodgers and their 1991 topps cards, including chris gwynn, hubie brooks, kal daniels, rick dempsey, jim gott, jay howell, juan samuel, fernando valenzuela, and dave walsh.

i don't have a 1991 topps traded card signed.  of the five dodgers that are included in the set, brett butler is probably my only possibility. the others are john candelaria, bob ojeda, darryl strawberry, and the late gary carter.

1992 topps, roger mcdowell

i went with a nice card when i sent to mcdowell, rather than one of his goofy cards.  i've also had 1992 topps success with tim belcher, brett butler, chris gwynn, lenny harris, kal daniels, jim gott, alfredo griffin, kevin gross, jay howell, juan samuel, and steve wilson.

i tried to get carlos hernandez and todd benzinger to sign copies of their 1992 topps traded cards without success.  the other two dodgers in the set are tom candiotti and eric davis.

1993 topps, dave hansen

hansen is on his way to seattle, but he signed for me shortly after he became the dodgers' hitting coach.  i also have 1993 topps cards that were signed through the mail by brett butler, eric karros, billy ashley, tom goodwin, jim gott, kevin gross, jay howell, and steve wilson.  plus, charlie hough!

1993 topps traded, tim wallach

this card of the dodgers' third base coach is the only one from the set that i have received signed, and the only other dodger in the set is mike piazza.

1994 topps, jody reed

yes, jody reed.  i also have 1994 topps cards signed ttm by former dodgers billy ashley, jim gott, kevin gross, cory snyder, rick trlicek, tim wallach, and steve wilson.  the only dodgers in the 1994 topps traded set were chan ho park and paul konerko, and while i have sent to both of them, i have only had a ttm success with park, and it wasn't with his 1994 traded card.

thanks to all these players for signing my cards!  here's a running list of the topps dodger autograph project:

1951 topps - preacher roe (purchased)

1952 topps - rocky bridges

1953 topps - bobby morgan

1954 topps - billy herman (purchased)

1955 topps - don zimeer (purchased)

1956 topps - randy jackson

1957 topps - carl erskine

1958 topps - joe pignatano

1959 topps - fred kipp

1960 topps - chuck essegian

1961 topps - bob aspromonte

1962 topps - norm sherry

1963 topps - ed roebuck

1964 topps - ken mcmullen

1965 topps - dick tracewski

1966 topps - john kennedy

1967 topps - phil regan

1968 topps - jim campanis

1969 topps - jeff torborg

1970 topps - al mcbean

1971 topps - sandy vance

1972 topps - manny mota

1973 topps - wes parker

1974 topps - claude osteen

1974 topps traded - jim wynn

1975 topps - ron cey

1975 topps mini - joe ferguson

1976 topps - bill russell

1976 topps traded - dusty baker

1977 topps - steve garvey

1978 topps - dave lopes

1979 topps - charlie hough

1980 topps - jerry reuss

1981 topps - doug rau

1981 topps traded - ken landreaux

1982 topps - dave goltz

1982 topps traded - jose morales

1983 topps - ron roenicke

1983 topps traded - rafael landestoy

1984 topps - fernando valenzuela

1984 topps traded - mike vail

1985 topps - burt hooton

1986 topps - enos cabell

1987 topps - steve sax

1987 topps traded - matt young

1988 topps - len matuszek

1989 topps - mickey hatcher

1990 topps - kal daniels

1990 topps traded - juan samuel

1991 topps - tim belcher

1992 topps - roger mcdowell

1993 topps - dave hansen

1993 topps traded - tim wallach

1994 topps - jody reed

autos by brooks

i received a quick ttm return the other day from hubie brooks.  he signed a 1990 topps traded card

a 1991 topps card

and a 1991 upper deck card

i always felt kind of badly for brooks.  first, he was traded to the expos by the mets for gary carter prior to the 1985 season, so he missed out on new york's 1986 world series victory.  then, he signed a three-year deal with the dodgers prior to the 1990 season, and he promptly went out and had one of his most productive years, setting or matching career highs in runs scored and home runs while driving in 91 runs.  yes, he struck out 108 times (the third year in a row that he had struck out exactly that number of times) but he was healthy and in the lineup for 153 games and helped the dodgers climb back over .500 and finish in second place.  in return, the dodgers went and signed darryl strawberry after the season ended and sent brooks back to the mets for bob ojeda with two years left on his deal.

thanks hubie for signing my cards!

another dodger lurker

i was recently looking through my 1991 o-pee-chee set when i came across this card of yankee backstop and recent a's manager bob geren

which features a photo from a spring training game with dodger juan samuel sliding in to home.  it's always nice to see dodgers lurking on other people's cards, especially when they can turn a yankees card into a keeper for me.

i have a soft spot for samuel because i followed his early years as a second baseman with the phillies pretty closely.  by the time he came into the league for good in 1984, i was playing pretty much nothing but second base.  so, i paid a lot of attention to samuel, ryne sandberg, and of course steve sax.  by the time the dodgers acquired samuel in a december 1989 trade for alejandro pena and mike marshall, he was playing center field.

the dodgers moved him back to second base and he even made the all-star team there in 1991.  after that season, the dodgers re-signed him to a big free agent deal but wound up releasing him halfway into the 1992 campaign.

samuel has recently been a coach with the orioles (and was their interim manager for a while before buck showalter was hired late last season), and that's where i sent him some cards to sign through the mail.  he came through a couple of times.  here's his 1990 topps traded card

and a 1991 donruss

here's samuel's 1991 topps card (his o-pee-chee card looks the same)

i'm glad there are no yankees on it.

his 1991 upper deck card may well be my favorite card of samuel's from his tenure as a dodger

it shows samuel breaking for second in dodger stadium.  samuel did steal 38 bases in 1990, but was caught 20 times.
i also like his 1992 pinnacle card

which again features a dodger stadium photo along with a double play turn

his 1992 card is pretty generic when compared to the pinnacle

i assume samuel wore number 10 instead of 8 (which he wore for most of his time in philadelphia) because joey amalfitano was wearing 8 for the dodgers and didn't feel like giving it up.  whatever the reason, samuel took over the penguin's number from dave anderson who left for san francisco.  when anderson returned to the dodgers in 1992, either he didn't ask for 10 back, or samuel refused to give it up so he wore 12.  it must not have meant too much to andy, since he kept number 12 even after samuel was released.

finally, i sent a 1988 topps all star card

because i couldn't find a 1984 fleer and i wanted something from his days as a phillie when he was one of the most exciting players in the league. just like back then, samuel didn't disappoint.

thanks juan!

like a punch to the stomach...

or, an arm to the groin.  i feel a bit like jose offerman on his 1994 upper deck collector's choice card.  or maybe like the lurking jody reed.

no, i'm not talking about the twins and their inability to beat the yankees, i'm referring to my hard drive issues.  if the mets player is the hard drive, then offerman would be the data and reed would be me.  and, since we know offerman never lived up to expectations, we can assume that the data is not all there either.

so, as a collaterally damaged jody reed, i attempted to salvage as much as i could, and wound up with the vast majority of my scans being lost or partially saved.  here's an example.

this is a 1990 topps traded juan samuel card that he signed for me.

but you knew that, right?

how about a 2001 topps tribute roy campanella scan 

sweet.  why campy is lost but the offerman was spared is beyond me.  i'll spend some time rebuilding my scanned folder (and backing it up more regularly) and get back to business as usual soon.

say goodnight, duke.

goodnight.