eight-pocket pages in the steve garvey binders hold some sweet cards from sweet spot

there are quite a few cards that are a bit too thick to fit into the standard 9-pocket pages in my steve garvey binders.  so, i've got them in 8-pocket pages where they fit pretty well.  here are the first two such pages:

those cards are:

1. 2002 upper deck sweet spot legendary signatures autograph - print run of 871
2. 2002 upper deck sweet spot legendary signatures autograph (with '6' inscription) - print run of 871
3. 2002 upper deck sweet spot classics signatures autograph
4. 2002 upper deck sweet spot classics signatures autograph (with '6' inscription)
5. 2003 upper deck sweet spot classic classic greats autograph black ink /174
6. 2003 upper deck sweet spot classic patch (los angeles dodgers)
7. 2003 upper deck sweet spot classic patch (san diego padres) /350
8. 2003 upper deck sweet spot classic patch relic /150 (red patch with white jersey)

sweet spot autos were pretty cool when they were first introduced.  heck, they are still cool today.  i'm glad that garvey or someone at upper deck had the good sense to use ballpoint pen on these cards back then instead of the disappearing ink that was used in 2007.  in 2003, upper deck brought us inserts that included manufactured patches along with game used patches.  you know i am a sucker for those red number patch cards!  so much so, we'll see another one in a bit.

here are the backs:

here's the next sheet:

those cards are:

1. 2003 upper deck sweet spot classic patch relic /150 (red patch)
2. 2003 upper deck sweet spot classic patch relic /150 (blue patch with white jersey)
3. 2003 upper deck sweet spot classic patch relic /150 (blue and white patch with gray jersey)
4. 2003 upper deck sweet spot classic patch 1977 world series /50
5. 2003 upper deck sweet spot classic patch 1981 world series /50
6. 2004 upper deck sp game used patch legendary fabrics autograph dual relic/auto (blue patches) /25
7. 2004 upper deck sp game uesd patch legendary fabrics autograph dual relic/auto (blue patch with white jersey)
8. 2005 leaf century collection pennant patches signature relic/auto /25

more game worn patches (including a nothing-but-the-red-number patch) and manupatches.  and then there are sticker autos.  on the bright side, that leaf century collection card is great, but would be better if it celebrated the 1974, 1977, 1978, or 1981 pennants that garvey helped win instead of the 1984 pennant.

here are the backs:

still more to come...

pennys (and other dodgers) from bob walk the plank

brad penny cards are not quite like bad pennies - they don't show up everywhere - but when they do show up in a trade package, i am thankful.  matthew from bob walk the plank recently sent some cards my way, and there were two brad pennys in the package.

2005 leaf century collection brad penny auto

and 2005 upper deck mlb artifacts brad penny relic

penny was a two-time all-star while with the dodgers, winning 16 games in both 2006 and 2007. he is the most recent dodger pitcher to start the all-star game, although that might change this year if greinke gets the nod.

penny was teammates with kaz ishii for a short time in 2004.  then, after just three seasons with the dodgers, ishii was traded to the mets prior to the 2005 season. however, the residue of nomomania meant that there was a glut of ishii cards on the market. matthew sent me a couple

2004 playoff prestige kaz ishii relic

2004 topps clubhouse collection kax ishii relic

for some reason i thought that the ishii relic from clubhouse collection was short printed, but i don't see that assumption validated anywhere.  at any rate, this relic is new to my collection.

matthew sent me my first certified john candelaria as a dodger auto card last time we traded, and now he has sent me my second.

2014 leaf memories 1991 leaf buyback john candelaria auto

and, going for three lefty dodger pitchers in a row, here's a 2005 donruss greats tommy lasorda relic card

donruss ripped off fleer with their greats of the game/dodger blues relic set, but i am not upset by it.  tommy is shown, of course, as the manager of the los angeles dodgers, but donruss also issued a card in this set with the die-cut relic reveal in the shape of the brooklyn 'b' in honor of his (short) stint as a pitcher for the bums.  they used the same photo, however.

the relic set also included burleigh grimes, sandy koufax, duke snider, don sutton, and orel hershiser - matthew sent the bulldog's card

like lasorda, i believe that koufax and snider each have brooklyn and los angeles versions of their cards.

not all of the cards matthew sent were autos or relics. no, there were also serial numbered die-cuts, like this 2003 donruss elite adrian beltre aspirations card

and there was a gold parallel insert - this 1998 donruss studo mike piazza studio proofs gold card

all of the cards were happily accepted and appreciated.  thanks matthew - i will have some cards out to you soon!

this is no time for jersey swatch measuring

i am well aware that the size of relic pieces embedded in cards, be they jerseys, pants, or bat chips, vary from set to set.  most recently, topps museum collection cards have featured pretty big pieces of bats.  i did find it interesting, however, that the three relics i received in the mail from matthew at bob walk the plank recently featured jersey swatches that got smaller with the newer releases. 

here's a 2002 upper deck sweet spot jersey swatch of kaz ishii

that's a good sized swatch, and a decent design.

in 2005, ishii was still getting relic cards produced, including this 2005 donruss leather & lumber card

but the piece of jersey is smaller.  gotta conserve that fabric for future releases back in japan, i guess.

moving on to 2008, upper deck gave us a tiny piece of fabric on this 2008 ud baseball heroes brad penny light blue parallel relic card

even though it would appear that penny's uniform is comprised of a large amount of fabric.

i'm not concerned about the size of the swatch; i just found it interesting that one might have assumed from this package that relic sizes over time have gone the opposite way of the regular sized soft drink at your local fast food joint.

there was a fourth card in the package, and it was the star.  it wasn't really a relic card - it was this 2007 upper deck sweet spot classic steve garvey 'bat' auto

the best thing about this card is not the garv or the dodger stadium background, it's that the auto won't fade since it's on a wood chip. i've got one in the garvey collection, but this will look nice in the dodger binder next to the don sutton auto.  i could use another one for the dodger stadium collection, too, but i don't want to be considered a hoarder.  would 3 be hoarding?

thanks for another great trade, matthew! i'm sure we'll swap again soon!