the next few sheets from the steve garvey binders are heavy with the padres, including the wizard of oz

this post will contain 3 sheets of cards from my steve garvey binders. all of the cards are from 2004, and 13 of them are dodger cards, with another 13 showing him as a member of the san diego padres.  just for fun, the other card is of a rockie.

here's sheet 50 

those cards are:

1. 2004 fleer ultra preston wilson (with garvey on the outfield mural)
2. 2004 leaf certified materials fabric of the game relic /100
3. 2004 leaf certified materials fabric of the game relic 'nl' /100
4. 2004 leaf certified materials fabric of the game relic position /100
5. 2004 leaf certified materials fabric of the game relic year /87
6. 2004 leaf certified materials fabric of the game relic award /50
7. 2004 leaf certified materials fabric of the game relic stats /21
8. 2004 leaf certified materials fabric of the game relic jersey number /6
9. 2004 leaf limited team trademarks /100

i showed that ultra card in this post (one of my favorite posts) about the various murals that the dodgers featured on their outfield wall in the late 90's/early 00's.  the entire run of garvey cards from the leaf certified materials set is represented except for the 1/1. i don't think leaf used any patches, which is unfortunate.  there's also a gold version (numbered to 10) of that team trademarks card that i don't have.

here are the backs:

here's sheet 51

those cards are:

1. 2004 leaf limited team trademarks auto /50
2. 2004 playoff absolute memorabilia absolutely ink auto /100
3. 2004 playoff absolute memorabilia absolutely ink auto (with "popeye" inscription) /100
4. 2004 playoff absolute memorabilia absolutely ink material bat/auto /100
5. 2004 playoff absolute memorabilia absolutely ink combo material bat/jersey/auto /100
6. 2004 playoff absolute memorabilia absolutely ink combo material prime jersey/auto /5
7. 2004 playoff honors tandem material jersey (with ozzie smith) /250
8. 2004 playoff honors tandem material combo bat/jersey (with ozzie smith) /25
9. 2004 topps series stitches bat relic

same goes for the auto from leaf limited - there's also a version numbered to 6 as well as a 1/1 that have eluded me, along with a jersey relic numbered to 6.  they are in good company, as there are a bunch of the playoff absolute cards that i am missing, too.  there is a jersey/auto card numbered to 5, as well as a spectrum auto parallel, also numbered to 5, plus the combo material prime jersey/auto numbered to 5 that i do have a copy of also includes at least one specimen with the coveted red number patch.  i'd love to have that one.

i mentioned in the title that the wizard of oz makes an appearance, and so he does, although it's on the back of the playoff honors cards.  and, with that, here are the backs:

usually, garvey the padre is teamed up with his onetime teammate tony gwynn, but it's nice to see ozzie in the brown and yellow, as opposed to the cardinal red.

here's the last sheet of this post, but not the last sheet to feature cards from 2004.  this is sheet 52

those cards are:

1. 2004 topps legends auto
2. 2004 topps all-time fan favorites
3. 2004 topps all-time fan favorites refractor
4. 2004 topps all-time fan favorites auto
5. 2004 topps retired signature
6. 2004 upper deck legends timeless teams (1974)
7. 2004 upper deck legends timeless teams (1977)
8. 2004 upper deck legends timeless teams (1978)
9. 2004 upper deck legends timeless teams (1981)

there is a black parallel for the retired signature card that i am missing, plus three of the four bronze parallels from the timeless teams set.  we'll see the one bronze parallel that i do have next time.

here are the backs:

we will also (finally) get into 2005 next time as well.  stay tuned...

more random cards from the scanned folder

i'm doing some spring cleaning (although it's still winter here) of my scanned folder.  enjoy the randomness.

1961 topps nl batting leaders

that's quite a collection of players - two hall of famers, plus dick groat and the dodgers' norm larker.  groat hit .300 or better a few other times, but 1960 was the only season that larker surpassed that mark, missing the league title by just one hit. still, to be featured on a card with willie mays and roberto clemente is a pretty good consolation.

1966 topps derrell griffith

a young robin williams makes an appearance.  or, if you prefer, glenn quamire.  giggity.  griffith played in parts of four seasons for the dodgers, who won the pennant in three of those years, but he did not appear in any postseason games.

1979 hostess burt hooton

hooton was coming off a 19-win season and a second place finish in the cy young voting when this card came out.  still, i was paying more attention to tommy john, don sutton, and bobby welch fan at the time.

1981 topps steve garvey (back)

i'm not sure why i scanned the back of this card, but look at that run of hit totals from 1974 through 1980!

1985 topps mike scioscia

bracing for impact, no doubt.

1995 score cory snyder

technically, this card is a final tribute, although the corndog did spend some time in the minors with the red sox and padre organizations after the strike ended in 1995.  1994 was the last time he saw big league action, however, and he did it as a dodger.  the highlight of his final season was easily his 3-home run/7 rbi game against the pirates in april.

2004 leaf certified materials don sutton 'k force'

i used to watch 'battle of the planets' which had g-force protecting us from the evil of zoltar and planet spectra. too bad this wasn't a 'g force' card - sutton is currently 7th all-time in k's, but 3rd all-time in g's (games started, that is).

2005 fleer ultra eric gagne

gagne broke the dodgers' cy young drought in 2003 - they hadn't had a winner since 1988, which was the longest drought in franchise history.  they had been the only team to have a cy young award winner in each decade until they were shut out in the 1990's.  just like they were shut out in world series appearances that decade for the first time since the 1930's.

2005 fleer ultra milton bradley gold medal edition

that's one heckuva rounded corner!

the evolution of the right fielder, part 3

we pick up with the departure of raul mondesi and the arrival of shawn green

shawn green (2000-2003)

green had put up big numbers for the blue jays in 1999 (42/123/.309) so i was a bit disappointed when he played in all 162 games for the dodgers in 2000, but did just 24/99/.269.  it reminded me of darryl strawberry's first (and, as it turned out, only decent year in la), but i shouldn't have worried.  green posted back-to-back years of over 40 home runs in 2001 and 2002.  his power numbers were down in 2003 - i believe he had injured his shoulder - but he still played in 160 games. take that, mike marshall!  i should mention that green and i have something in common - we both were in attendance at game 1 of the 1988 world series, but, unlike him, i didn't leave early.

the dodgers moved greenie to first base in 2004 and juan encarnacion turned up in right.

juan encarnacion (2004)

encarnacion was acquired by the dodgers via a trade with the marlins in december of 2003.  he started 77 games for the dodgers in right before he was traded back to the marlins in july of 2004.  that was the deal that jim tracy openly lamented, as the dodgers gave up encarnacion, guillermo mota, and paul lo duca for brad penny and hee-seop choi.  encarnacion was hitting only .235 at the time with 13 home runs, so i think tracy was more upset at losing his starting catcher.

drew (2005-2006)

encarnacion's departure and the failure of any interim right fielder to claim the job opened up the spot for free agent jd drew.  drew came aboard after a lone season in atlanta in which he finished 6th in the mvp voting.  his first year in la was forgettable as he played in only 72 games for the blue, and hit only 15 home runs.  manager jim tracy deployed his crew of 'ja(y)sons' (repko, werth, and grabowski) to fill in for the missing drew.  jd rebounded nicely in 2006, playing in 146 games, hitting 20 home runs, and driving in 100 for the only time in his career.  he also hit one of the back-to-back-to-back-to-back home runs in that late season game against the padres.  of course, scott boras had negotiated an out clause in his contract after two years, and drew took it and headed to the red sox.

andre ethier (2007-2011)

with drew gone, the dodgers simply moved andre ethier over from left field, and he's been there ever since.  in his 5 years as the dodgers' rightfielder, ethier has averaged 146 games, 35 doubles, 20 home runs, and .288 at the plate.  his home run numbers are lower than expected over that span because of his 2011 season when injury hampered his power.

so, there you have it.  in three parts, the dodger rightfielder has evolved from carl furillo to andre ethier.  here's hoping it doesn't evolve any further for a while.