double play turns continue

let's burn through some more double play cards.  i can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but there are still a few more posts queued up.  

here's a 1999 topps roger cedeno card

i believe that this is from may 6, 1998 - the only day game cedeno played in atlanta during the 1998 season.  and, that would mean that he broke up the double play as keith lockhart did not make the dp pivot successfully that day.

here's jose vizcaino's 1999 topps card

on which he appears to be more successful than lockhart.

here's a good progression of a double play turn - 1999 topps bret boone

the ball transfer.

1999 topps miguel cairo

ready to throw.

and 1999 topps ray durham

avoid the runner!

durham also has a dp turn on his 1996 upper deck collector's choice card

as do tim bogar

and jose hernandez

here's craig biggio's 1997 bowman card

just a little over a week until we find out if this is 'hall of famer' craig biggio

here's a 1997 pacific rene gonzales

and a randy velarde from the same set

nice to see walt weiss on a dp card other than one of his own.

now for some card backs, courtesy of 1997 upper deck.  here's alex gonzalez

mickey morandini

and rey sanchez

who also makes an appearance on liu rodriguez's 1999 fleer tradition update card

that's some instant karma for you.

the spirit of the trade

i'm trying to get into the habit of posting trades in more 'real time' which means within the same month.  maybe.  i still have a few trades from the past year whose scans have not yet cleared the scanned folder, but i am making progress.  these are some cards i received in mid-april, and are from the first of two recent trades i have completed with rhubarb runner.

i had initially sent him, admittedly, a fair amount of junky twins with a few cards with redeeming value tucked in.  i knew i could do better, especially since i live in the heart of twins territory. so, i wound up picking up some vintage and autos for him at a recent card show - thus the two trades.

anyhoo, first up is a 2004 donruss studio spirit of the game insert featuring hideo nomo

apparently, donruss decided that the spirit of the game is old, nostalgic looking equipment set on an american flag with a picture of a japanese player.  rr also included a 2002 donruss studio spirit of the game for comparative purposes.  this one features paul loduca

and a much more patriotic theme.  the names of various legends of the game at the bottom of the card is a nice touch, but it seems a bit contrived. i don't know how you convey friendly competition and fair play on a card, but to me that is the spirit of the game.  using a mitchell report subject doesn't seem quite right in hindsight.  in a related note, you knew it was a sad period for the blue when the dodger insert cards featured paul loduca.  thank goodness for matt kemp and clayton kershaw these days.

speaking of the mitchell report, here's eric gagne on a 2004 fleer tradition 'this day in history' insert

gagne recorded his 55th straight save on september 2, 2003 which broke the previous record set by tom gordon.  tom gordon was not named in the mitchell report.

there were a couple of adrian beltre cards in the package, including a 2004 upper deck jersey card

and a 1999 fleer ultra insert

it is crazy to think that since 1982, beltre is the longest tenured dodger third baseman.  which reminds me, i need to get back to my position evolution posts.

finally, it wouldn't be a package from rr if it didn't include some 2008 upper deck documentary cards.  sure enough, there was a healthy stack in there, including a nomar!

and three "different" matt kemp cards.

i have to admit, however, that three of these four cards actually mention the cover subject on the back.

thanks rr!

trading within the division

a while back, i asked if anyone wanted some diamondback cards. well, one person was brave enough to speak up, and we worked out a trade. this is one time when trading within the division paid off. here are some of the dodgers he sent my way in exchange for most of my travis lee, matt williams, and jay bell cards.

2007 upper deck spectrum nomar garciaparra. this is the first i have seen of 2007 spectrum. i'm glad i haven't seen it before. it's ugly. but, it's nomar!

1999 fleer update chance sanford. file this under who? sanford appeared in 5 games for the 1999 dodgers, after playing in 14 games for the pirates in 1998. curiously, all 5 of his games with the dodgers were against american league opponents.

2008 topps ring of honor duke snider. when i hear 'ring of honor' i think of the cowboys or redskins. i think that's what they call their players whose number have been retired. anyway, i finished reading 'boys of summer' and discovered that duke was a failed avocado farmer.

2000 upper deck mvp shawn green. i think this is his american league home run derby uniform. at any rate, this was one of the first cards to list green as a member of the dodgers. as much as i liked raul mondesi, i was really excited for green to be on the dodgers.

1993 fleer ultra raul mondesi.

speaking of raul, remember the time he went 30-30 to become the only dodger to achieve that feat? remember when he did it again? that was awesome.

1993 upper deck kids brett butler.with a dodger stadium background. walk softly and carry a big bat. butler didn't, although he knew how to bunt.

1990 topps rick dempsey. this set is a lot more tolerable now that it has been named 'the lichtenstein set.' thanks greg.

2007 upper deck masterpieces mike piazza this is kind of like the 1991 topps benito santiago card. except it's mike piazza, so that makes it better.

here's another piazza - a 1995 pinnacle checklist. classic fu-manchu.

thanks brian!