a new type collection?

i am not completely sure that i am going to add another mini collection, but i do know that i enjoy most cards that show players' names and numbers on their back.  it's fairly subjective - not as cut and dried as say, my dodger stadium in the background collection - as i don't like every card that features a players name/number on the back.  anyway, here are some cards that would definitely make the cut in my 'nob' collection. if i were to officially add it, that is.  

1999 topps gallery vladimir guerrero

1994 topps stadium club rickey henderson rainbow foil parallel

1998 topps paul molitor

1995 topps stadium club sandy alomar jr best seat in the house insert

2009 upper deck derek jeter

2011 topps marquee stan musial

so, the bulk of the cards would be like those above - action shots, and usually at the plate.  sometimes there are non-action shots that fit the bill as well.

1999 upper deck karim garcia

2012 topps kyle blanks

there are also those cards that meet the letter of the law regarding the collection, but just don't resonate with me for some reason.  here are two examples

2010 topps alex rios

2011 topps update jered weaver

luckily, that rios card fits in my tatooine mini collection, and i may make a spot for the weaver in my lurker collection, thanks to former dodger alfredo griffin hanging out in the background.

i think what i like about these cards is that they use images that are similar to what i see as a fan when i go to a game.  watching on tv, we get different camera angles that focus on the action from the front.  or, perhaps they are just cards featuring good action (for the most part) photography.

hey hey - the jack brickhouse memorial patch

the cubs had already lost one of their announcers, harry caray, prior to the 1998 season when jack brickhouse fell ill.  he had retired after the 1981 season, but was still around the cubs quite a bit.  his trademark call - 'hey hey' - was and still is a big part of the cubs' lexicon.

in august of 1998, brickhouse died of cardiac arrest, and the cubs added a 'hey hey' patch to their left sleeves (the harry caray memorial patch was on their right) for the remainder of the season.  there aren't a lot of cards showing the patch as it was late in the season when it was added to the uniforms, but you can see part of it on this 1998 pacific home run history card

it's there above the cub logo.  this is what it looks like.

it's there again on mark grace's 1999 fleer sports illustrated card

the best view of the patch, although not entirely accurate, comes via this 1999 topps gallery kerry wood card

the harry caray patch doesn't belong there, but i still have this card in my memorials binder as the jack brickhouse patch entry.

double plays turns for freedom

the 7th anniversary of the 4+1 game occurred the other day, giving me a chance to remember jeff kent, jd drew, russell martin, and the man who hit the game-tying home run in the ninth against trevor hoffman - it was his second homer of the game, by the way.  that person was marlon anderson.  here he is turning two over a blurry dude on a 2003 upper deck 40 man card

ray durham never played for the dodgers, but he still turns a good two.  here's his card from the same set.

i guess major league base runners don't get blurred out.

here's durham in more familiar duds on a 1997 fleer ultra card

here are some more double play turns

1994 topps stadium club doug strange

1994 upper deck collector's choice spike owen

1994 upper deck sp brent gates

1994 fleer ultra brent gates

1996 fleer ultra brent gates gold medallion edition

i need to compare brent gates to pat kelly and see who has the higher percentage of double play cards over their career.  gates has to be over 50%.

1998 pacific crown collection domingo cedeno

with bip!

1999 topps gallery todd walker

2011 topps update jeff keppinger

nice stirrups

2013 topps robert andino

with the slidin' hawaiian.

another couple of tc pwes, a bubble mailer bomb, and a ballsy package

i will admit, i fell for the april fools 'take my cards' post over at crackin' wax, but even though i didn't get any topps five star cards, i did receive cards from previous claims.  fellow twins territorian topher sent me a couple of pwe's recently.  they contained a 2013 topps heritage ted lilly

and a 2013 topps gypsy queen hanley ramirez mini

just because i asked for them.  not shown is the aj ellis (or was it mark ellis) heritage card that i also received.

topher's 'take my cards' is one of the best deals running.  follow him and check it out.  just don't claim my dodgers!

thanks topher!

usually when a fellow blogger sends me a pwe, it's wes from jaybarkerfan's junk.  this time, however, wes sent cards in a bubble mailer.

here's a 1995 signature rookies old judge card of wilton guerrero

i believed in wilton guerrero, but no matter what the dodgers were going to get the short end of that brother stick.  speaking of which, i see vladdy has signed with the long island ducks.  it's not supposed to end like that for him.  can't the astros take a flyer on him?

the second of the three cards that i requested from wes is this 2004 donruss shawn green relic card

and the final card is this 2006 fleer flair showcase jeff kent, numbered to 150

because, why not?

thanks for the cards wes.  i sent a return package out to you yesterday.

and then there is arno from i'm ballsy.  he posted a card at the blog of trade bait blog and i bit.  it's a 1999 topps gallery adrian beltre auto

it's a very nice card, and the first beltre auto in my collection.  stoked.  arno also threw in a few dodger cards just because dodger collectors are cool like that.  although i have to admit that i did not add any cards to the package that i sent him.  i have rectified that, however, and no longer have to hold my head in shame.  anyway, there was this 1996 pinnacle aficionado card of hideo nomo that i hadn't seen before

as well as a couple of other nomos that i will feature tomorrow.  there were also two cards from 2005 topps chrome update in the package, including this heath totten card

totten seems to have been a pretty good aa pitcher, but never advanced beyond aaa although he did pitch there for the dodgers, phillies and twins organizations.

thanks arno - your 'extra' cards are in the mail.

in fact, i mailed out 14 trade packages and 1 pwe yesterday.  anybody else want to trade?

because no double play collection is complete without johnny evers

ah yes, the chicago second sacker johnny evers, seen here on a 1994 upper deck american epic card

with (who else?) joe tinker in the background (not shown: frank chance), became synonymous with the 6-4-3 double play turn thanks to four pennants in five years, and two world series titles back in the early 1900's (not to mention a certain poem).  if only jim murray had written a poem about russell to lopes to garvey...

gagne to deshields to karros was neither as catchy nor as successful as tinker to evers to chance.  here's greg gagne on his 1997 topps stadium club card

all three of the chicago players are in the hall of fame, and there are plenty of other hall of famers who could turn a mean two as well.  here's roberto alomar on a 1993 score select stars insert

with another hall of famer sliding in.

here's alomar again on a 1993 upper deck future heroes insert card

and phil rizzuto on a 2003 fleer flair card

plus ryne sandberg on a diamond parallel card from 2011 topps lineage

and the cloth parallel from the same set.

i think that nomar could have been a hall of famer if he had stayed healthy.  here's his 1998 pacific paramount card

you don't have to be a hall of famer (or even a hall of very good player) to have some nice double play cards.  case in point - kevin polcovich.  we've seen his 1998 topps card before,

but i am showing it again because it features a play that continues on his 1998 topps stadium club card

and that's not the only 'same play' double play that polcovich participated in.  take a look at greg maddux's 1999 topps stadium club card

followed by his 1999 topps gallery card

well done, kevin polcovich.  not bad for a guy who played a total of 165 career games.

hello larry! to both of you!

reader larry offered to help with my 2009 topps needs and to also send along some dodgers in a trade recently. he came through big-time!

here's a sampling of what i received:

we'll start with a different larry - larry burright and his 1962 topps card.a quick check of baseball reference shows that larry played for the dodgers in 1962 before going to the mets in 1963. he played a handful of games in 1964 and was done. he hit all four of his career home runs, including one inside the park job, as a dodger.

here's one of the 2009 topps - a david murphy.with a josh hamilton sighting!

a 2007 upper deck ramon martinez (ii).his bat looks to be defective.

1985 leaf orel hershiser.you can't have too many green leafy cards.

1997 pinnacle denny's jackie robinson.and a 2009 topps career best jackie robinson.i've seen some of the 1959 topps style 'jackie as a giant' cards from the national up on ebay. i have no desire to buy one though.

1967 topps world series game 4.this is how sandy koufax's career ended. with brooks robinson several feet in the air.

1999 topps gallery raul mondesi.i didn't realize that ra-uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuul put his number on the tongue of his shoes. kind of like grrranimals, but with numbers, i guess.

thanks again larry! let's do it again.