2002 has a good run in the steve garvey binders

sheets 36-40 of the steve garvey binders, like sheet 35 and most of sheet 34 before them, consist of nothing but cards from 2002.  there are lots of inserts and parallels and just good ol' garvey goodness.  have a look.

here's sheet 36:

those cards are:

1. 2002 fleer greats of the game
2. 2002 fleer greats of the game unredeemed autograph redemption card
3. 2002 fleer greats of the game certified auto
4. 2002 leaf clubhouse signatures (bronze)
5. 2002 leaf clubhouse signatures (silver)
6. 2002 leaf certified fabric of the game relic
7. 2002 leaf certified fabric of the game relic (debut year) with patch
8. 2002 leaf certified fabric of the game relic (debut year)
9. 2002 leaf certified fabric of the game relic (position)

true story: when i redeemed one of my 2002 fleer greats of the game autograph redemption cards (back then you had to mail them in), fleer sent back two copies of the certified auto card.  i picked up another redemption card later on and kept it to restore balance to the universe.

i am missing the gold version (numbered to 25) of the leaf clubhouse signatures card, but i have two versions of the leaf certified debut year relic, because one has a patch piece and the other doesn't.  i am weird like that when it comes to garvey relics as we have seen before and will see again later.

here are the backs:

i didn't mention that the debut year relics are numbered to 69 (garvey debuted in 1969), but i don't know why the position relic is numbered to 45.  seems random.

the fabric of the game parade continues on sheet 37:

those cards are:

1. 2002 leaf certified fabric of the game relic (jersey number)
2. 2002 topps archives
3. 2002 topps archives certified auto
4. 2002 topps archives relic
5. 2002 topps archives reserve
6. 2002 topps gold label mlb awards ceremony 1974 mvp relic (gold)
7. 2002 topps gold label mlb awards ceremony 1974 mvp relic (platinum)
8. 2002 topps gold label mlb awards ceremony 1974 mvp relic (titanium)
9. 2002 topps gold label mlb awards ceremony 1978 all-star mvp relic (gold)

the jersey number relic is a fairly new addition to my steve garvey collection (it's numbered to 6), and the archives certified auto was pulled from a pack by yours truly.  that was some good karma coming to fruition that day.

i appreciate the gold label cards, as the first three use the photo from garvey's 1978 topps card with his 1974 topps card there in the background. the next three (two of which are on the next sheet) use his 1971 topps card photo with the 1978 card in the background.

here are the backs:

not much variation to the backs of the cards on this sheet.

as i mentioned, the mlb awards ceremony bat relics continue on sheet 38:

those cards are:

1. 2002 topps gold label mlb awards ceremony 1978 all-star mvp relic (platinum)
2. 2002 topps gold label mlb awards ceremony 1978 all-star mvp relic (titanium)
3. 2002 topps traded who would have thought
4. 2002 topps traded who would have thought (gold)
5. 2002 topps chrome traded who would have thought
6. 2002 topps chrome traded who would have thought (refractor)
7. 2002 topps chrome traded who would have thought (black refractor)
8. 2002 topps tribute
9. 2002 topps tribute lasting impressions parallel

i was pretty excited to see that garvey was included in the 'who would have thought' subset in the 2002 topps traded set, but i was even happier that he was on the checklist for 2002 topps tribute after being left out of the inaugural 2001 release (even though his number was one of just two retired by the padres at the time).

here are the backs:

the lasting impressions parallel is numbered to 87, which was garvey's last season in the big leagues.

topps tribute spills over onto sheet 39:

those cards are:

1. 2002 topps tribute first impressions parallel
2. 2002 topps tribute matching marks dual relic with gil hodges
3. 2002 upper deck piece of history
4. 2002 upper deck piece of history mvp club insert
5. 2002 upper deck piece of history tape measure heroes insert
6. 2002 upper deck piece of history mvp club relic
7. 2002 upper deck piece of history tape measure heroes relic
8. 2002 upper deck piece of history tape measure heroes relic (with pinstripe)
9. 2002 upper deck sp legendary cuts

nice to see garvey and gil hodges on a card together. they are on that particular card because both drove in over 1250 runs in their respective careers. garvey got just past 1300, while hodges topped out at 1274.  here we see my need for relic variations again, but the next sheet is even worse.

here are the backs:

it's worth noting that, on this sheet and the next, there are 16 cards produced by upper deck from 4 different sets that use only six different photos (counting the backs).

sheet 40 is chock full of relics:

those cards are:

1. 2002 upper deck sp legendary cuts relic (bat)
2. 2002 upper deck sp legendary cuts relic (jersey)
3. 2002 upper deck sweet spot classics
4. 2002 upper deck sweet spot classics relic (bat)
5. 2002 upper deck sweet spot classics relic (cream jersey)
6. 2002 upper deck sweet spot classics relic (cream/dirty jersey)
7. 2002 upper deck sweet spot classics relic (white jersey)
8. 2002 upper deck sweet spot classics relic (brown jersey)
9. 2002 upper deck world series heroes

in 2002, i actually called upper deck to find out how many different jerseys they used for garvey's sweet spot classics relics because it sure looked to me like there were three. they confirmed the use of a cream or off-white jersey which must have been from the minors unless the pads home whites were actually an off-white.  whatever. i was most happy that they used a photo of garvey from the 1978 world series with the jim gilliam memorial patch.

here are the backs:

and we aren't done with 2002 just yet.  stay tuned.

gathering garveys - real, recycled, and otherwise

i've been working on getting the contents of my steve garvey binders scanned, as i plan to show the entire garvey collection on the blog yet this year.  during that time, i've put some cards away that had been in boxes rather than the binder, and i've also picked up a few new cards for the collection.  some, as you will see, are real cards, one is a recycled card, and some don't really exist.

2006 upper deck legendary cuts legendary materials platinum /15

this is a newer pick up to go along with my 2006 upper deck sp legendary cuts legendary materials silver /199

and of course the 2006 upper deck sp legendary cuts legendary materials bronze /225

there is also a gold /99 version, but i don't have that one.  i do have garvey's base card from the set - he got a numbered short print

i think there is a /99 version of this card, too.  i've added the missing jersey card to the nefarious 9, by the way.  

here's the recycled card i mentioned.  it's a 1975 topps mvp subset card featuring jeff burroughs of the rangers along with the 1974 nl mvp steve garvey

that embossed logo in the upper right means that this card was re-issued in 2014 topps as part of the 75th anniversary buyback inserts

here are some oddballs that are somewhat new-ish to my collection - first up is a 1982 permagraphic card

these are reminiscent of credit cards, and i think were only produced in 1981 and 1982.

1987 ralston purina cookie crisp

i think these were only available on sheets.  they differ from the regular ralston purina cards in that they don't have any text there in the upper right corner.

1996 danbury mint 22k gold card

i took this guy out of it's plastic case.

garvey has been absent from the recent topps archives sets, but he was included in the past.  here's his 2002 topps archives reserve card

which is just a really shiny version of his 1977 topps card.  i preferred getting new garvey cards, like this 2003 topps retired black parallel

here's an on card auto from 2003 upper deck sp authentic.

this card was part of the sp chirography set, in which there was a 'dodger stars' subset.  lots of good autos for dodger collectors like me, and believe me, i collected them.

these next two cards fall into the 'otherwise' and 'don't really exist' categories i alluded to earlier.  they are both part of the digital app/game called 'bunt' that topps started last year.  i just pulled the images from the web.  this one is from 2013

here's the back

and this one is from 2014

with the back

according to topps, over half of garvey's hits were solo home runs.

thankfully, topps is also making real cards featuring the garv in 2014, even if this 2014 topps museum collection /25 bat relic

is pretty much identical to the 2013 version

and then there is the garvey card that panini released as part of the 2013 panini elite extra edition bloodlines insert set

steve is on the back, and his son ryan is on the front

steve garvey is his padre, after all.

get ready for garvey overload over the next few months.  the binders are coming...

recent card shop pick ups (and they're not all dodgers)

i don't know how often the 'baseball specials' bin gets updated at the quasi-card shop that is nearest to me, but i stop in maybe once every two or three months just to check. here are some goodies that i picked up for around 30 cents a pop.

2002 topps archives reserve don suttonthis is one shiny sob. works well with the psychedelic tombstone.

1992 kellogg's all stars bill madlocknot sure what was more surprising to me - kellogg's making a bill madlock card in 1992 or kellogg's making a bill madlock as a dodger card. either way, i'm glad they did.

2008 upper deck sp cory wadewere these rookie exclusives short prints or just available in blasters? i think i recall buying a blaster and getting a 5-pack of rookie exclusives. no dodgers though.

2006 bowman chrome brad pennybrad penny is like a bad penny - he keeps popping up everywhere. next season, it will be in saint louis, where he'll be a teammate of this guy's

2008 upper deck o-pee-chee insert albert pujolskinda sorta a ripoff of 1969 topps. the studio shot is a look at things to come with 2009 opc.

finally, the beautiful 1974 topps dave kingman card i've wanted this card for a while after seeing it on a few different blogs. it is the yang to the 1974 topps steve garvey's yin; the hell to garvey's heaven; the mr. glass to garvey's david dunn. you get the idea.