heroes, legends, greats, and fan favorites in the steve garvey binders

sheet 41 of the steve garvey binders takes us from world series heroes in 2002 to donruss legends in 2003.  have a look.

those cards are:

1. 2002 upper deck world series heroes classic world series moments (with catfish hunter relic)
2. 2002 upper deck world series heroes classic world series moments (with thurman munson relic)
3. 2002 upper deck world series heroes classic world series moments gray relic (with dave winfield)
4. 2002 upper deck world series heroes classic world series moments white relic (with dave winfield)
5. 2003 donruss classics legend
6. 2003 donruss classics legend timeless tributes
7. 2003 donruss classics legend significant signatures auto
8. 2003 donruss signature series legends of summer
9. 2003 donruss signature series legends of summer auto (black ink)

more relic color variants, and now we'll see some signature variants as well.  the nine cards on that page feature only two different photos of the garv.

here are the backs:

sheet 42 also contains 9 cards with only two different photos:

those cards are:

1. 2003 donruss signature series legends of summer auto (blue ink)
2. 2003 donruss signature series legends of summer auto notations (81 ws)
3. 2003 donruss signature series legends of summer auto century notations (6)
4. 2003 donruss signature series legends of summer auto century notations (81 ws)
5. 2003 donruss team heroes
6. 2003 donruss team heroes glossy
7. 2003 donruss team heroes chicago collection
8. 2003 donruss team heroes master set
9. 2003 donruss team heroes statline

here are the backs:

while the second card on the sheet is numbered to 75, the century notation cards are numbered to 100, and donruss obviously had garvey go back and add different notations to his sticker sheets in order to produce planned notation variants.  why they varied the print run and type of cards with the same notation (81 ws) is beyond me, but at least the variations are documented.  there are also notations of his mvp year and one other i think.

sheet 43 brings the padres back to the collection:

those cards are:

1. 2003 donruss team heroes auto
2. 2003 fleer flair greats
3. 2003 fleer flair greats home team
4. 2003 fleer flair greats home team cuts relic
5. 2003 padres carl's jr.
6. 2003 playoff prestige signature impressions auto
7. 2003 topps all-time fan favorites
8. 2003 topps all-time fan favorites refractor
9. 2003 topps all-time fan favorites auto

a couple of notes worth making - the flair greats home team card was from a kind of extension to the regular flair greats set.  the dodgers, along with the giants and a couple of other teams had a few of these extra cards.  also, i recall the all-time fan favorite card being referenced in beckett's review of the product as one of the cards that misses the mark.  a photo of garvey from 1980 on the 1973 design does look odd, i will agree.

here are the backs:

good to see the carl's jr happy star on the back of the middle card.  western bacon cheeseburgers were a staple of my college days in socal.  i also find it interesting that the cartoon from garvey's original 1973 topps card was kept for the atff set,  still factual, but given the drama surrounding his relationship with cyndy, topps could have opted for something else since they had to update the stats on the back anyway.

plenty more garvey goodness to come - stay tuned...

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.

manupatches, man. manupatches.

when i started posting about memorials (armbands and patches) worn by teams to honor players and other people, i also considered starting a series on patches worn by the dodgers.  the first special patch i recall seeing on the dodger jerseys was the jim gilliam memorial patch, but i also remember noticing the 1980 all-star game patch the dodgers wore, as well as the 1981 city of los angeles bicentennial patch.  anyway, if i were to do a sort of dodger patch series, this one might be my favorite. 

that's the patch (a replica of it, actually) that the dodgers wore in 2012 for the 50th anniversary of dodger stadium.  it's featured on a 2013 topps manufactured patch card of adrian gonzalez, who wore the patch for about a month after he was acquired by the dodgers.

before i get started on the idea of manufactured patches, here's a manupatch card from 2010 topps that doesn't feature a dodger, but rather a memorial patch worn by the marlins in their inaugural season

in honor of their team president carl barger.  i don't know of any other memorial patches reproduced as manupatches by the card companies, but i'd be interested to find out if any others exist.

the idea of manufactured or commemorative patches first came to my attention in the early 2000's with upper deck. i was on the lookout for patch cards featuring dodger blue or red, and began to see cards that were touted as patch cards, but not of the game used variety.  although these were not the first i encountered, here are a couple of good examples from 2004 upper deck sweet spot classic - leo durocher

and jackie robinson

the logo on the jackie patch is obviously the dodgers' brooklyn logo, but the durocher patch features a design created by upper deck.  the 1936 all-star game was played in boston at the braves' home stadium, and durocher was the starting shortstop for the national league.  of course, he was on the cardinals at the time.  anyway, at least the 'b' in the logo matches the braves' boston 'b', and not the dodgers' brooklyn 'b'.

i briefly considered collecting the 2012 topps commemorative patch set that focused on retired numbers, but settled for the three dodgers in the set - jackie robinson (42), sandy koufax (32), and tommy lasorda (2)

that set was, to me, an improvement on the 2011 topps commemorative patch effort that included putting modern players, such as matt kemp, on cards with old logos

i don't believe the dodgers ever wore a 'brooklyn' sleeve patch

before all that, however, there were these sorts of patches that were part of upper deck's 2003 sweet spot classic release, in addition to the game used variety.  steve garvey was featured as both a dodger

and a padre

on the logo manupatches, with the san diego version being hand numbered.  these were made to look like they were taken from the team hats, but they were not.  the garvey dodger card, by the way, features the 1981 la bicentennial patch i mentioned earlier.

in addition to the hat logos, garvey had two more manupatches in the set - this 1977 themed patch

and this 1981 patch

neither one is close to the official mlb world series logo from either year, although anything would be an improvement on the 1977 logo.

the 1981 world series patch upper deck created was first seen in the 2002 upper deck world series heroes set as part of the patch collection inserts - some of which were signed, like this one featuring the autograph of steven patrick garvey, who happened to turn 66 years old yesterday.  

here, you can see that the 2003 garvey manupatch card above actually has a condensed version of the patch.  the back of this card confirmed that the patch was 'specially created for the upper deck company'

i know manupatches are loathed by some, but obviously, i've got a few in my collection, and i am ok with that.  maybe someday topps will make a series featuring the dodger hero patches from 1999. i'd be all-in for that.

postcards (mostly) from the steve garvey oddball binder

i'm still working my way through the steve garvey oddball binder, although we are getting close to finishing up.  then, it will be on to the card binders.  i've got a few postcard type things lined up for this post, as well as some other, well, oddballs.

this page includes two actual postcards - starting at the top left, there is a 1971 dodgers postcard (sometimes referred to as a 'dexter' postcard), a 1972 jd mccarthy postcard, a 1975 mengler baseball's best 'card', and a 1975 sspc puzzle back

i wrote a little bit about the mengler card here, which is to say i provided a link to a different source.

here are the backs, although they are reversed.  that's the back of the jd mccarthy card in the upper left.  the puzzle back piece is of nolan ryan's torso.

this next sheet is chock full of actual postcards, all issued by the dodgers.  based on what i've been able to find on the internet, i believe they are (starting in the upper left) 1975, 1981, 1977, and 1976 issues.

here are the backs.  again, they are reversed because i just flipped the sheet to scan it, and i didn't rearrange the backs to line up

i've got  a whole mess of other dodger postcards that i should post for posterity.  i'll work on that.

in the meantime, here's another sheet from the binder.  this one includes a 1987 jiffy pop disc, a 1987 m&m's star lineup uncut panel with fernando valenzuela, a 1979 metallic creations card, and a 1979 baseball patches patch of the garv

and the backs

the metallic creations card is sometimes referred to as a 'signature miniature'.

time for one more page.  this one features a really cool 2003 donruss card that was only available when you subscribed to the dodgers' magazine and a manufactured patch/auto card issued by upper deck as part of the 2002 world series heroes set

upper deck identified it as a 'souvenir' patch card, and it was one of the first manufactured patches i remember seeing.  i recall being confused as to why they didn't just use the actual 1981 world series logo, although i did appreciate them recognizing the dodgers as the world champs.  here are the backs, with the authentication of the upper deck card and all the info you could want about the garv courtesy of donruss

in fact, here's a better look at the back of that card

i was so pleased to have found out about this card when it was being offered that i even let my fellow garvey collector/ebay nemesis mrmopar know about it.  it's one of my favorite oddballs for sure.

if you can't beat 'em, join 'em

back in 1974, the dodgers faced off against the oakland a's in the world series.  james augustus hunter, better known as 'catfish' made two appearances in the series - he earned the save in game 1 by striking out the only batter he faced (joe ferguson) and then got the win in game 3 after starting and going 8 innings.  in that game, bill buckner took him deep for a solo home run - the only run the dodgers would score against him.  also in that game, davey lopes was 2 for 3 with a walk and 2 steals against hunter, which qualifies as a classic world series matchup according to the 2002 upper deck world series heroes set.  here's a davey lopes jersey relic from that set that p-town tom of the blog waiting 'til next year sent me a while back

i do so appreciate relics of ron cey, lopes and bill russell, since they are not as plentiful as those of steve garvey.  i think cey is the only one without a jersey card in this particular set.  anyway, lopes later went and joined the a's following the dodgers' world series victory in 1981.  he was traded to the cubs late in the 1984 season, but topps still showed him in a's gear in 1985.  here's his 1985 topps tiffany card as proof

tom also sent an autographed card of one of the other dodger infielders - ron cey signed a copy of one of his cards from the 2004 upper deck legends timeless teams set

cey is a great ttm signer, so i would imagine that's how this one got signed.  i do plan to finish the timeless teams blog, by the way.  this year for sure.

not all of the cards in the trade package were of the infield - there were lots of other dodger goodies.  here's a 1982 tcma baseball's greatest pitchers card of don newcombe

and even a 1989 score jay howell card

can be appreciated for the unocal logo and old field level scoreboard from dodger stadium in the background.

dodger stadium is in the background of mark ellis' 2013 topps walmart blue parallel as well

but seeing part of a bud light sign is not as nice as that scoreboard on howell's card.

tom sent another relic card, too.  from 2013 topps archives, it's andre ethier giving up the shirt on his back

speaking of archives, i understand that the 2014 set will use the 1973, 1986, 1989 and 1980 set designs.  why use 1980 again? it was just used in 2012 archives.  i'm guessing that there will be one or two short prints (again) that use the 1978 design, but it would be nice if topps used it for the base set sometime.  of course, if they have bill russell on the auto checklist this year, i might give them a pass.

thanks for the trade tom!  and it looks like, once again, you will be waiting until at least next year for your cubs.

the september 11th black armband and memorial patch

after the terrorist attacks that took place on september 11, 2001, major league baseball suspended the season for several days before resuming games.  when play did resume, there were a number of tributes to the victims of the attacks.  the new york teams wore hats honoring the various emergency response organizations during their first series.  the mets were playing in pittsburgh against the pirates, and mike piazza wore a nypd hat as seen on this 2002 topps subset card

later, all teams added american flags on their caps (as evidenced by cc sabathia's 2002 upper deck vintage card

and terry mulholland's 2002 topps card),

and on the backs of their jerseys (as seen on eric karros's 2002 fleer triple crown card)

in support of the troops deployed to iraq and afghanistan.  

as far as memorial patches, however, only the new york teams added those to their uniforms.  the mets added a '9-11-01' patch on their right sleeves, below their 40th anniversary patch, as seen on this 2002 donruss originals mike piazza card

the september 11th patch is a bit tough to make out, but it has american flags on either end with '9-11-01' in between them.

and the yankees added the black armband to their left sleeves for the remainder of the season (and the postseason) as seen on this derek jeter card from 2002 upper deck vintage

and this andy pettitte card from 2002 upper deck world series heroes

easily, the best card to represent the armband memorial in the binder is jorge posada's 2002 upper deck vintage card.

we will never forget.