dave anderson, double dipper

[this is the seventh installment in the double dippers posts.  here are the previous posts - brett butler, omar daal, eric young, nick willhite, chris gwynn, and mickey hatcher.]

dave anderson made his big league debut in 1983 for the dodgers, at a time when the long running infield had largely been replaced.  as a shortstop, he was the first apparant successor to bill russell to emerge from the farm system. here's anderson's 1986 topps card.

in 1984, anderson did, in fact, become the dodgers' primary shortstop.  he played in a career high 121 games, and set personal bests pretty much across the board.  the following year, anderson was part of a 'third base by committee' platoon while mariano duncan took over primary shortstop duties.  in all, anderson spent the first 7 seasons of his career with the dodgers, hitting .232 over 662 games.  he may be best remembered for being the on deck decoy for kirk gibson in game 1 of the 1988 world series.

anderson became a free agent after the 1989 season, and he wound up signing with the giants.  he played in san francisco for two seasons, primarily as a super utility guy as he spent time at each infield position.  here's his 1991 leaf studio card

anderson hit .350 in 1990 with an ops of .819 in the 60 games he appeared.  as a result, he was used more often in 1991, but his average slipped to .248 over 100 games.  in total, anderson hit .279 as a giant.  he became a free agent once again after the 1991 season, and decided to return to los angeles.

here he is on one of his last cards, his 1992 score rookies and traded card:

1992 was anderson's final year in the majors, and he spent it making spot starts and late inning substitutions at short and third for the dodgers, along with occasional pinch running or hitting duties.  on the season, he hit .286 in 51 games, and managed to hit 3 home runs, all of which came in a one week stretch on the road.

here's to you dave anderson, double dipper!

cards with pictures on the front from stats on the back

i just discovered a group of scans from some trades completed quite a while back.  just when i thought i was getting caught up.  anyway, expect a smattering of trade posts as we head towards opening day.  today, i apologize for my tardiness in showing off some of the bounty i received from stats on the back.  they've been waiting patiently in digital purgatory, so let's get to it.

1909-1911 t206 dover reprint nap rucker

now, depending on which year this card came out, rucker could be representing either the brooklyn superbas (1909-1910) or the brooklyn dodgers (1911).  he also stuck around in brooklyn long enough to pitch for the robins.  let's go with the superbas.  after all, he did throw a no-hitter for them in 1908.  on the other hand, he appeared in the 1916 world series for the robins.  he is the brooklyn franchise all time leader in shutouts (38) and strikeouts in a 9 inning game (16).  he wound up with an even win-loss record for his career with 134 in each category.

1981 rick sutcliffe

i wonder who sut is cheering for on dwts...not that i watch that or anything.  did you know that the 1979 nl roy made his ml debut in 1976?  he pitched in one game that year, going 5 innings, allowing just 2 hits and no runs for a no-decision.

1985 fleer star sticker ron cey

the penguin stands alone, two empty folding chairs behind him, vacated like the hearts of those who always considered him to be a dodger only to see him get traded to the cubs.

1985 german rivera

rivera was the dodgers' opening day third baseman in 1984.  he had a good september in 1983, and an ok 1984 season, but was sent back to the minors to start the 1985 season before being traded to the astros for enos cabell later that year.  i remember my local card shop charging a whole quarter for this card when it came out just because it was a dodger rookie.  that's what winning all those roys will do for you, i guess.

1991 fleer ultra alfredo griffin

what an awkward swing.  ironically, griffin's worst year offensively for the dodgers was 1988 (he hit .199), the year they won the world series.

1991 leaf studio bert blyleven

having been in orange county during his stint with the angels, and now being in minny where he is the cable color guy on twins broadcasts, i have really grown to like bert.  he's worked his way into my top 10 favorite retired players that were not at one time my favorite dodgers or non-dodgers.  i'll have to do a post.

1998 upper deck hideo nomo history in the making insert

i think this is all about the game where nomo and shigetoshi hasegawa pitched against each other in the same game.  pretty sure i was there, although it occurred at dodger stadium so nomo should be in the home whites.  whatever, upper deck.

thanks mark! sorry it took so long to post. 

bob vila builds collections

mark at stats on the back recently held a contest, or a poll i suppose, regarding the age old question of veale vs. vila. my response was deemed worthy of a bob vila card, along with some other goodies:

1991 leaf studio mike scioscia it's hard to believe mark still has some scioscia cards after the great card giveaway of 2008...

1991 leaf studio tommy lasorda checklist

tommy's trying to decide between the red sauce and the white sauce.

1982 donruss steve yeager

i love this card. it gives a great shot of steve's neck, and i always wonder if that mark below his jawline is scarring from his perforated windpipe incident.

1991 upper deck final roger mcdowell

the second spitter. i don't think mcdowell has any cards where he is doing anything normally seen on a baseball card.

1933 delong (dover reprint) lefty o'doul

a scene straight out of gulliver's travels. i have a bunch of the dover reprints still in sheets because i am too lazy to take them apart. i once took the t206 wagner and roughed it up a bit in an attempt to convince my neighbor it was real. he didn't fall for it.

1986 fleer update alex trevino

alex is playing it cool, making the lady wait.

thanks mark. and if anyone wants a bob vila card, let me know.