guess who sent me these cards...

i am guessing that nick at dime boxes kept a copy of this 1999 topps stadium club chan ho park card

for his collection before sending one to me.  it's the type of whimsical card that i would add to a trade package before sending it his way, if it weren't a dodger card that i needed.  shortly after he burst onto the scene, nick became one of my favorite trade partners largely because of how much fun it is to put a trade package together for him.  however, the stuff he sends in return is always great, too.

here's a 1999 skybox premium raul mondesi card

if you look at that card a certain way, it looks like rauuuuuuuuuuul is running backwards.  pick up your coach, raul - don't look at the ball.

before target red bordered parallels, there were still red bordered parallels.  this is a 2003 topps bazooka chad billingsley red bordered parallel.

this was before billingsley became seemingly susceptible to injury, and had all the promise in the world.  i am hoping for a big comeback from bills in 2015, but it doesn't look like it will be with the dodgers.

how about a 2004 topps cracker jack jose lima card?

the late jose lima was the only dodger between orel hershiser (in 1988) and derek lowe (in 2009) to win a postseason game.  he shut out the cardinals in the 2004 nlds to break an 0-8 postseason skid for the dodgers.

here's a 1996 topps stadium club antonio osuna card that i love for a couple of reasons.

first, it shows the license plate that osuna wore around his neck (it's askew on the left neckline of his jersey). i remember watching osuna pitch on tv in one of his first appearances and seeing that thing sway around like a tire swing.  you will have to remember that this is the mid 1990's, before there were a bunch of big pendants on chains worn by athletes during games.  the other reason that i really like this card is that i am pretty certain that padre first base coach davey lopes is lurking in the background.

here's the guy that lopes replaced as the dodgers' first base coach a few years ago on a 1986 fleer star sticker card.  it is, of course, mariano duncan

duncan was supposed to replace bill russell as the dodger shortstop when he came up in 1985.  while he was the team's primary shortstop that year, things didn't quite work out after that as tommy lasorda turned out to not be much of a fan.  duncan spent the entire 1988 championship season in the minors, but eventually won world series rings with the reds in 1990 and the yankees in 1996.

outfielder mike marshall, seen here on his 1989 topps uk mini card,

was a part of the dodgers' 1988 world championship team (he hit .231 with a homer in the fall classic against the a's), but his final postseason appearance came with the red sox in 1990.

here's the last card of this post, a 1977-84 renata gallaso carl furillo card

it was a great card to see in the trade package for many reasons - it's a carl furillo card, and there aren't too many of those; it's a card that i didn't previously have; and it features the right-handed furillo posing as a lefty.  it's the type of card that i would send to nick if i didn't need it for my collection.  thanks nick!

past a double play turning jeter

no, derek 'past a diving' jeter is not the greatest fielding shortstop around. nor was he the best shortstop on the yankees once they acquired alex rodriguez.  still, he is sometimes caught turning a double play on cardboard, and for that, i am thankful.  here are some examples.

1997 fleer ultra

here's his 1997 topps screen plays card

you get the idea, i hope.  the screen plays cards were much better than the sportflics cards, but they scan like crap.  so, for the first time on the blog, here's some video!

here's jeter's 1998 score rookies/traded card with what is obviously a spring training double play

and here is his 1998 topps card

jeter's 1999 pacific

and 1999 skybox premium cards

show the same play against the tigers.  nice glasses, mr. november.

this may look like jeter's 1997 topps card, but it's not

it's a reprint from 2005 topps rookie cup.

here's the last card of the post - a 2008 upper deck national baseball card day issue

it's not the most dynamic dp card, but it qualifies.

believe it or not, i've still got a few more double play cards to display, including some that just arrived by trade.  stay tuned!

this card almost made my header

when i was putting together the header for this blog just over 4 years and two months ago, i considered including a card of an expo.  specifically, this 2002 topps total orlando cabrera card.

that's why the first time i showed it, i used a photo (like the header) of it rather than a scan.  i considered using it in the header because i thought that it showed a couple other elements of my collection - cards featuring dodger stadium, and cards featuring the double play turn.  in the end, i decided against using it, mostly to keep the header free of non-dodgers.  besides, this version of the play, featured on cabrera's 2002 fleer premium card, 

shows dodger stadium better - that's sandy koufax's outfield wall retired number mural - but was strangely cropped and doesn't show the double play as well.

cabrera's 2002 topps gold label card is quite shiny and shows the same play as well

i know i have shown all three of those cards before, but i can't show one without the others.

here are some o-cab cards that haven't been featured here before.  like his 1999 skybox premium card

his 2003 donruss card

his 2003 topps opening day card

his 2006 topps card

and his 2008 topps chrome card

with refractor!

you may recall that cabrera was the guy who replaced nomar in 2004 and went on to win the world series as the red sox's starting shortstop.  that 'short stop' in boston kind of kickstarted the weary traveler stage of cabrera's career that saw him play for 7 franchises in the next 7 years.

another guy who bounced around a bit was roberto alomar, seen here on his 2003 topps traded card

here he is again on his 2003 fleer double header card

before he was traded to the white sox.  the first time.

cabrera is not alone in regards to his 2002 fleer premium card, either. here is rafael furcal's card from the set, which also has him turning two in dodger stadium

although he's turning two in philly on his 2001 upper deck card

other 2001 upper deck double plays include edgardo alfonzo

warren morris

and pokey reese

who also turns two on his 2001 fleer ultra card

that's not the last we'll see of pokey reese, either.  more double play cards coming tomorrow!

the a's have it

thanks to dick green and bert campaneris and walt weiss, i have a few great double play cards featuring oakland athletics.  they are certainly a team that is well represented in the binder.  here are several more oakland a's players turning two.

1995 topps brent gates

and 1996 upper deck brent gates

and 1997 fleer ultra brent gates

three years in a row for ol' cemetery gates, and that doesn't include his 1993 upper deck card that has a turn on the front and the back.

here are some 1997 pacific cards of tony batista

and mike bordick

they both have a lot of dp cards - in fact, here's another tony batista card.  it's from 1997 upper deck collector's choice

and here's a 1998 score rookies/traded card of scott spiezio

in recent years, the oakland a most often featured turning two has to be miguel tejada.  here is his 1999 fleer ultra card

and his 1999 skybox premium card

his 1999 topps card

i loved this play, by the way.  as a second baseman, being able to step on the bag and throw to first was more fun than just shoveling the ball to the shortstop.

here's tejada's 1999 upper deck card

i'll interrupt the tejada show again to feature this 2000 fleer tradition update card of a's second baseman randy velarde

like some of the other cards we've seen highlighting the triple play, this one seems to show him getting ready to make the pivot to first.  i'm not sure if this photo is from the actual play which occurred at yankee stadium, as velarde caught shane spencer's line drive, stepped on second base, and then tagged the runner coming from first base.  there was no throw involved.  it should be noted that velarde made an error earlier in the inning to set up first and second with no outs and make the triple play possible.

now, back to tejada.  here's a 2001 fleer triple crown card

and a 2002 fleer ultra card

and a 2002 topps stadium club card

pretty sure that they both feature the same play.  i like the kid in the background leaning over the wall as if he were trying to get closer to the action. or maybe he's just bored.

last tejada of this post comes from 2002 topps total

and features a completely different play than the previous two cards which is nice.

moving on, here's bobby crosby's 2006 topps card

and we'll finish with a couple of future dodgers - a 2009 topps update adam kennedy card

and a 2009 upper deck mark ellis card

ellis still has the ball which means that the tigers player was successful in breaking up the double play.  good for him.

more double plays with teams other than the a's coming shortly.