roberto alomar and the art of the double play

yes, it's double play dump time, but this post is different.  these are all roberto alomar double play turns that i welcomed into my collection over the past few months.

this 1994 fleer card

might look familiar, as it features the same play shown on his 1994 topps card.  if you ask me, sandy could have slid harder.

here's a 1993 score select card

with george brett sliding in.

i contend that this 1992 fleer ultra alomar award winners (gold glove) insert is, in fact, a double play turn

i base this on the fact that the umpire seems to be looking intently to make sure that roberto has touched second base.  that means that i believe alomar to be airborne on the card, even though it's tough to tell.

this one is much easier - 1992 topps stadium club

as is this 1992 score impact player insert

here we have a couple of cards from 1994 sportflics - first alomar's base card

and second, a starflics subset card

i have no idea whose glove that would be in the foreground.  it's not a second baseman since alomar played second base exclusively as a blue jay.  it's not a first baseman's glove, and if it were the pitcher covering first, i doubt that they would be wearing a batting glove.  very strange.

here's alomar's 1995 sportflix card (i don't know why the went to the 'flix' instead of the 'flics'in '95)

it's nice when these things scan well enough to see what it is that i want to see.  in this case, the double play turn.

this next card is from 1994 upper deck sp.  it's a holo view insert or something like that.

i am guessing that alomar made the pivot before landing on scott cooper on this 1995 bowman card

that's the thing about a lot of dp turns - what goes up must come down.

getting tired of seeing alomar yet?  let's mix things up with a card of alomar turning two as a member of the baltimore orioles.  this is a 1997 score hobby reserve card

it's almost a tatooine card too, if it weren't for that grass in the lower right corner.

this 1997 topps stadium club may not be a dp turn since kenny lofton is sliding headfirst

in fact, based on the game logs i found from '96 when the indians hosted the orioles, i am pretty well convinced that this is not a dp turn.

this one is, though.  from 1999 fleer ultra

as is this 2000 fleer ultra

and this 2001 fleer ultra

good on fleer to produce dp cards three years in a row for collectors like me.  you probably noticed that alomar moved to the indians during that timeframe, essentially replacing carlos baerga (although he was traded from cleveland to the mets in 1996) as omar vizquel's dp partner.  alomar and vizquel made some pretty incredible plays together.

alomar followed in baerga's footsteps once again when the indians dealt him to the mets after the 2001 season.  here's a 2003 fleer focus jersey edition card of alomar turning two in mets gear.

i probably have a few more alomar dp cards yet to share, but that's all the alomar i can handle in one sitting.

my gift to you

i've finished going through all of the double play cards in my collection, and over the next week or so, i will be showing off the ones that have not been featured on the blog before.  it will be a week long double play dump.  there are a lot of them, so i have many many posts scheduled.

it all leads up to the 'greatest double play card of all time tournament' which now might just be a top 50 countdown. i haven't decided.  but there will be a contest of sorts - i have to figure out a way to thin the herd that is my collection.

so, here we go.  let the double play displays begin.

2001 upper deck alex rodriguez

i like this card.

1997 pinnacle zenith

this card is not my favorite

1992 topps ryne sandberg all-star

1994 score ryne sandberg gold rush

1997 score hobby reserve ryne sandberg

2011 topps marquee ryne sandberg

ryno's dp form is pretty consistent when he doesn't have to leave the ground.

2002 fleer premium jimmy rollins

i like the look of this set.  there are a few dp cards in it which is always nice.

1994 fleer ultra barry larkin

it's a card of two barrys.

2010 topps chrome derek jeter

leapin' jeter batman! topps forgot to put the glossy coat on this chrome card!

2011 topps tsuyoshi nishioka

this might be the play in which nishi had his leg broken.  no, that happened in new york after the toronto series.

2011 topps opening day rafael furcal

this is a nice card.  some teams, like the a's, seem to have a lot of double play cards.  the dodgers - not so much.

get ready for an avalanche of double play cards - they're coming and there is nothing you can do to stop them.