some all-time double play heroes

all right! back to double plays.  i have quite a few cards showing the turn from the 1993 upper deck all-time heroes set, which mimicked the 1912 t202 hassan triple folder cards.  these are the cards that were released in association with the baseball assistance team to raise funds and/or awareness of the needs of former players and others associated with the game.

here we go, starting with alvin dark and a staged dp turn

i always think of dark as the manager of the padres since that's how he was portrayed in the 1978 topps set.  as a player, he bookended his career with stints as a brave - first in boston (where he was voted rookie of the year in 1946) and then in milwaukee (where he ended his career in 1960).  the middle panel features a photo of him during his milwaukee days.  as you can tell by the other photo, he also played for the phillies - also in 1960.  before that, he played for the new york baseball giants, the cardinals, and the cubs.

this next one is not a double play card, but it features a well-known double play turner, johnny evers

here's the back, which goes into more detail about the merkle boner and evers' role in it.

i previously posted the card from this set that features the entire cub double play threesome, and i was hoping that evers' individual card might show him making the turn.  i was wrong.

this next card does feature a double play turning cub - it's glenn beckert

kessinger to beckert to banks/hickman just isn't the same as tinker to evers to chance.

ray boone is shown here with the same photo that upper deck used for the 1994 all-time heroes set

but bill mazeroski's card is all different.

primarily due to the fact that he hit a home run in the 1960 world series of some importance.  it's nice to see a guy known for his glove shown in a defensive play.

buddy biancalana was known for his name, but it's nice to see a guy like him in a set like this

the back addresses his popularity with a certain late night talk show host

who also had an interest in a 1978 topps dodger - terry forster.

of course, no all-time hero type set would be complete without a boatload of yankees.  at least a number of the yankees in the set are turning a double play.  like bucky freakin' dent

and frankie crosetti

and gil mcdougald

and even billy martin

martin is also shown in double play mode on his 1956 topps card

although it looks like the pivot has been successfully interrupted by the player sliding in.  i believe that the martin card was the last of the 56's that i needed to complete the double play turns from that set.  it's a good thing that mickey mantle's card didn't show him sliding into second trying to break up two.

here's another yankee middle infielder apparently unsuccessfully turning two, phil rizzuto and his 2000 upper deck yankees legends card

that's a lot of yankees.  i better balance things out with some dodgers.  and an oriole?

tommy davis gets some time as both a dodger and an oriole on his card from the 1993 all-time heroes set.

i should have used this card in my travels of tommy davis post.  check out the back

there is no uniform or team confusion on wally moon's card

i'm sure cardinal fans are disappointed.

finally, here are a couple of dodger leftys shown pitching in dodger stadium - johnny podres

who gets both la and brooklyn dodger photos, and tommy john

who is mercifully not shown as a yankee in either of his photos.

there are some nice dp turns in these cards.  i think i like the alvin dark one the best, even though it's staged.  there's something about his glove and the lumpy base and the close proximity of the second baseman.  plus, it's not a yankee.

i think i have just one more double play post before all of my dp cards are posted.  then i'll get to ranking them and i won't have to worry about double plays for a while.  at least until the 2013 cards are released.

to be continued...

i have posted before about cards that have the same or similar photos, or even have sequential photos, but i don't think i have noted any two cards that each use one-half of the same photo.  that's the case on these 2000 upper deck yankees legends cards of lou gehrig

and babe ruth.

the photo shows a gracious gehrig congratulating ruth after a home run.  maybe it would be easier if the cards were side-by-side.  like this:

well, it's certainly not the same, but i saw a similar photo from the dodgers' series at citi field with jamey carroll and russell martin and decided to try my hand with their 2010 goose joak originals, even though i had already done cards for both of those guys.

here goes - jamey carroll

and russell martin

side-by-side

definitely not as iconic as gehrig and ruth, but at least it makes the cards more interesting. 

questions (belatedly) answered for dinged corners

i know - i am late to the party. but, i am a big fan of these types of questions, so thank you ladies for asking. here goes...

1-if i didn't collect baseball cards, i'd collect books. the "classics". i actually have a pretty good start on this - two bookcases filled with great literature (and other books), many of which i have actually read. currently reading 'lord jim' by joseph conrad.

2-my baseball heroes include one you probably wouldn't know from my blog or comments, and that person is jackie robinson.obviously well before my time, but still a man worthy of respect on and off the field.

3-every new years i resolve to refine my collection. focus on what i like most, eliminate the rest.

4-if i could spend a day with one person from baseball history, it would be babe ruth. come on, you know it would be a blast. as long as i weren't the sick kid begging for a home run...

round two...

1-what is your favorite kind of dog? for no reason, a chocolate lab. i have never had a dog and probably never will. when i was a kid i liked beagles because of snoopy.

2-who is your favorite baseball player? steve garvey. unless you mean current player, in which case it would be matt kemp. actually, my lineage of favorite current players goes from garvey to sax to hershiser to mondesi to green to nomarto kemp.

3-what is your favorite team? dodgers.

4-what is your favorite baseball movie? field of dreams. even though i always "played" catch with my dad - we didn't "have" a catch - it's still pretty dusty in my living room towards the end of this movie.

5-what is your favorite baseball book? i like "ball four", "moneyball", and "the boys of summer", but it has to be honig's "the image of their greatness".

6-what is your favorite card? 1978 topps steve garvey.it's perfect.