a memorial patch for darryl kile

tomorrow would have been darryl kile's 46th birthday, but the right-handed pitcher passed away during the 2002 season while a member of the saint louis cardinals.  the team was in chicago facing the cubs when kile was found in his hotel room, dead of a heart attack.  the game that was scheduled for that day, june 22, was postponed.  soon thereafter, the cardinals added a "dk 57" patch to their left sleeves in kile's memory.

here's the patch on jim edmonds' 2003 upper deck sp authentic card

edmonds has also written "57" (kile's uniform number) on his hat, just as some of kile's former astro teammates had done.

the patch is also visible on scott rolen's 2003 donruss estrellas card

and this albert pujols mini poster from the same release

the patch also shows up on pujols' 2004 topps card

with the jack buck memorial patch visible on his right sleeve.  

the card that i keep in my memorials binder is this 2003 donruss scott rolen card

it's the home whites.

kile spent several seasons with the astros before signing with the rockies as a free agent following a 19-7 season in which he posted a career best era of 2.57 - third best in the league in 1997.  still, kile was well thought of in houston, and his initials are part of a permanent memorial to him in left field at minute maid park.

after two years in colorado, he was traded to the cardinals where he had his best season in 2000.  he was 20-7 that year, finishing 5th in the cy young award voting just as he had in '97. he was a 3-time all-star who also threw a no-hitter for the astros in 1993, and had a career record of 133-119.  kile was 33 years old when he died.

never look a gift horse in the mouth

a while back, baseball dad was giving away cards on his site.  i don't recall exactly how it worked, but i know that i claimed a jim abbott card.  some time later, i received a package in the mail which included this card - a 1989 bowman abbott.

now, i recall claiming a card, but couldn't quite recall why i asked for this particular card.  turns out, after consulting my email, i had claimed abbott's 1991 upper deck card.  that's ok for a couple of reasons.  first, baseball dad also threw in a pack of 2003 donruss estrellas.  

here's a look at what the pack included - jim edmonds

hideki matsui

mike piazza

cc sabathia

hideki matsui naciones de origines insert

looks like japan must be close to south or central america according to donruss.  keep studying geography kids!  there was also a scott rolen card in the pack that i will show another time.  the big, and i mean big, pull of the pack was this vladimir guerrero mini poster

sweet.

i think i mentioned a few weeks ago that i broke up my 1991 upper deck set in order to take out all the double play and memorial cards that exist within.  i also pulled out this card for my dodger stadium collection.  it's the 1991 upper deck jim abbott card that i had wanted.

abbott is shown batting, and then on the basepaths, at dodger stadium

during the annual freeway series that was held between the dodgers and angels just prior to opening day.

thanks baseball dad for sending the cards - especially the bonus pack!

where's ethel?

this 1991 topps stadium club card of eddie murray reminds me of lucille ball and a classic episode of 'i love lucy'.

he's got a ball in his hand with another one about to be fielded by his glove.  pretty soon he will have to stuff balls in his hat and elsewhere, because joey amalfitano is going to keep hitting fungoes at him like the conveyor belt in that chocolate factory kept bringing the candy.  all that's missing is todd benzinger standing next to steady eddie suffering the same fate.

a long while back, i won a contest at 'all trade bait all the time', and along with my winnings, oscar sent along some dodgers, including that steady eddie up top.  here are some more that came along for the ride.

2003 donruss estrellas shawn green

apparently shawn green is a gardener.  at least, that's what i thought jardinero meant.  i guess it also means outfielder.  which is the same as voltigeur, if you are speaking french, which also means tumbler or refers to napoleonic infantry units.

i have looked at this 1970 topps dodgers rookie stars card hundreds of times over the years.  well, not this copy, but one just like it.  it features ray lamb and bob stinson

i have often wondered why steve garvey wasn't chosen to be featured instead of one of those guys.  after all, stinson had only appeared in 4 games in 1969 (garvey played in 3).  it might have been as simple as that - if the garv had made into a couple more games, maybe he would have had a card in the gray border set.  anyway, even with all that wistful gazing at that card, i have never really looked closely at the guy lurking over stinson's shoulder until now.  could it be bill russell?

it's hard to say - if i squint enough i think i see the number 18 there in red which would mean that it is russell.  doesn't really matter, though, since russell got a card of his own in the set.  as did bill buckner, although this is from the 2003 topps shoe box collection

gone is buckner's card partner from the 1970 card, jack jenkins.  jenkins was a curious case - he had appeared in the big leagues in 1962 and 1963 with the washington senators, but didn't surface again until he was with the dodgers in 1969.  that year he appeared in...one game?!?  same with billy buck - one game in 1969 and he gets some card time from topps.  garvey was robbed, i tells ya!

garvey did get a card in 1971, however, and that card was reprinted in 2010 topps update as one of the cards your mom threw out

my mom knew better.  that's the back of the card, just because i figure we all know what his 1971 topps card looks like.

here's steve yeager's 1982 donruss card

in which we are offered a good look at his thighs and buttocks, which is not too strange when you consider that this card came out around the time that yeager posed for playgirl magazine.

another donruss card, sans the tight pants. this one is the duke snider hall of fame diamond king from 1984 donruss

this was one of the very first cards i ever sent out in a ttm attempt.  it turned out to be successful, which was pretty awesome.

last, but not least, we have this 1996 fleer insert (were there even base cards in 1996 fleer?) of raul mondesi

it celebrates mondesi's gold glove earned in 1995, when he led the league in outfield assists for the second year in a row.

always nice to add a card of rauuuuuuul to the collection.  thanks for the cards, oscar!