topps was dynamite with a laser beam

hey! die cut cards are for wimps, right?  why not use a frickin' laser!?!?!  that's what topps was thinking in 1996, and the result was…meh.

here's a hideo nomo card

which is pretty much the same as ismael valdes' card

don't fret - not all the cards used the same template.  here's an eric karros card as proof

i appreciate the view from above, and the fact that karros is shown in his swing follow through, just like the laser batter guy.  in a way, i see a bit of a penrosian quality in this card although that doesn't really work in two dimensions, so never mind.

here are two more dodger cards from the set - raul mondesi

and mike piazza

both fielding their positions and with a fielder's pose cutout.  there was also a fourth template in the set - a baserunner - but there were no dodgers that i know of in that subset.

credit topps with trying something new, i guess, and definitely credit them for matching photos to the laser cutouts, but at the same time understand that there certainly was no clamor for a 1997 topps laser release.

a last bit of trade bait turned keepers

the most recent trade that i completed with oscar from all trade bait all the time occurred just last week.  these are some of the cards from that deal, with some from our previous couple of trades.  no surprise, i'll start with a steve garvey card.  this one is from 2005 topps all-time fan favorites

it's not a bad card, but the horizontal frame seems forced with that photo.  of course, garvey's 1974 topps card is so iconic to me, that anything else using that year's design for him will fall flat.

oscar sent me the penultimate card that i needed for my 1995 topps archives brooklyn dodgers set - the 1956 topps sandy koufax reprint

in truth, this may be the last card i needed for the set.  i am fairly certain that i have the roberto clemente card tucked away with my clemente pc, but i haven't bothered to go looking for it yet.  it's only been 4 or 5 years since i decided to complete the set - i'm not sure what's taking me so long to see if i have roberto or not.

here's another infielder from a topps all-time fan favorites set - it's dave lopes from the 2004 release

lopes is out of position according to the card, or perhaps he just went a long way to track down a popup.  lopes, of course, was a converted outfielder, and did play some outfield during his career with the dodgers.

double play time!  here's a 1993 topps gold parallel of eric young

play at the plate time!  here's a 1996 topps mike piazza card

silly gimmick time!  here's another piazza from 1996, but this one is from the topps laser set

it would have been more interesting if they changed the laser cut figure to coincide with the different positions, kind of like topps did in 1973 and 1976.  just not with lasers back then.

oscar recently won a bunch of cards from pat neshek, courtesy of crackin' wax.  he sent one of them along for my autograph collection.  this is a 2006 choice rochester red wings card of the former twins reliever

i'll finish up the trade posts, not with more shawn green cards, but with a couple of double play cards.  this 1994 pinnacle alex gonzalez

and this 2008 upper deck first edition yuniesky betancourt

were new to my collection.

thanks oscar for all the recent trades.  i hope you enjoyed the stuff you received in return!