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...

patience is a virtue

i had just recently agreed to a trade with dan from it's like having my own card shop in which he offered a dave lopes auto as the centerpiece of the deal. a couple of days later, i wandered into the local card shop and came across that very card being offered for the low price of six bucks.  i actually considered buying it, but told myself to wait.  wait i did, and a short time later it showed up in my mailbox.

that's a nice card - a 2004 topps retired signature.  i'm glad i waited and essentially used the six bucks i saved to pick up some vintage at the recent card show.  certified lopes autos are the best because he uses a sharpie.

by way of comparison, here's a regular 2004 topps card that was also in the package - it's alex cora turning two

i was a fan of topps' 2004 release (i bought a ton of it) as i appreciated their effort to get full body photos of most players on the cards (although eric gagne's photo should have been more closely cropped) as well as their nod to 1973 and 1976 with the inset player outline in the lower left corner.

i was not aware that adrian beltre had a card featuring him as a dodger in last year's gypsy queen, but he did, and dan included it in the trade

i find it odd, then, that topps would put prince fielder in a tigers' uni in this year's gypsy queen homerun based subset.  oh well, it is not for me to understand the whims of topps, only to appreciate dodger cards, especially when they come in return for diamondbacks.

dan also included a bunch of cards from upper deck's 1993 sp set.  i am guessing he sent the entire dodgers team set.  here's brett butler

with a nice view of the old dugout seats.  and, as a bonus, butler is not bunting in the photo.

jose offerman's card is visited upon by former dodger (and dodger double dipper) jose vizcaino

while i contend that the back of darryl strawberry's sp card

is a continuation of strawberry's 1993 upper deck fold out.  pretty sure.

there were also a couple of cards from a set i had never seen - 2003 upper deck classic portraits.  both shawn green and kazuhisa ishii were included, and for some reason i chose to scan the ishii.

not really a portrait shot, if the intent was to do a leaf studio sort of thing.

thanks for the trade dan!

culling dodgers from capewood's collection, part two

the recent trade with cliff at capewood's collections was too much for just one post, so here's the second batch of cards i randomly selected from the dodger bounty.

2004 topps retired davey lopes.i like old school players on current card designs almost as much as i like current players on old card designs. unlike 2009, these cards were a whole separate set. well done, topps.

2006 topps matt kemp rookie debut

the bison's debut was less than memorable. he started his career by striking out in his first three at bats. he did single in his 4th at bat, though, and the next day went 2 for 3 with 2 rbi and a stolen base.

2005 topps all time fan favorites steve garvey

certainly my all time fan favorite. here they kept the horizontal layout of garvey's original 1974 card and used a photo that is probably pretty close to that year. unlike the 1973 design that used a 1980 photo in one of their other fan favorites releases.

2004 fleer jolbert cabrera

a true utility player, cabrera played every postion for the dodgers in 2003 except pitcher and catcher. i remember him as the first dodger to wear number 6 since garvey left. there's still hope, though - mitch webster wore number 20 prior to don sutton being voted into the hall of fame and getting the number retired. currently, joe torre is wearing garvey's number.

2004 topps bazooka eric gagne

i am disappointed that there is no appearance by bazooka joe.

2005 fleer showcase preacher roe

i had only seen cards from this set in repack boxes. elwin charles roe was 22-3 in 1951. he was traded to the orioles after the 1954 season and missed out on the 1955 world championship.

2002 bowman heritage duke snider

the duke was around for 1955, though.

2003 topps traded james loney

man, i dig james loney. hopefully the line drive doubles turn into home runs, but the guy is pretty clutch. i learned today that his nickname is 'geoffrey' as in the toys-r-us mascot. nice.

2002 fleer greats of the game hack wilson

one year after he drove in 191 runs, wilson was traded twice in the span of 2 months. first, the cubs sent him to the cardinals of all places, and the cardinals flipped him to the dodgers. in his first (of 3) seasons with the dodgers, hack drove in 123 runs and finished 13th in the mvp voting. not bad. still, this card would upset me if i were a cubs fan. it's kind of like all those upper deck sweet spot cards that show garvey with the padres. it just ain't right.

2004 bowman brian pilkington

pilkington had a pretty decent 2003 season splitting time between high-a and aa. he went a combined 13-6 with a 3.77 era. he didn't pitch at all in 2004 - i am guessing he was injured - and returned to high-a in 2005, his final season.

2005 topps update & highlights hee seop choi

man, i really rooted for this guy, partially because jim tracy seemed to despise him. he hit 5 home runs in the home run derby - this was the year it was the us vs the world - but was not a member of the all star team.

2002 topps total terry mulholland

a genuine loogy (lefty one out guy), mulholland pitched in 20 seasons for 11 different teams, including 2 stints with the giants and phillies. he was in la for part of the 2001 and 2002 seasons going 1-1 in 40 games, including 3 starts.

2003 bowman chrome edwin jackson

jackson made his debut in a much hyped 2003 game against randy johnson on his 20th birthday. he won, going 6 innings and giving up only one run on a sacrifice fly. i saw him pitch at san francisco in his 4th and final start that season. he gave up only 2 hits in 6 innings and struck out 7 (including bonds once), but walked 8. he was a bit wild, but clearly had potential. i guess that's why he was traded by ned to the devil rays for lance carter and danys baez. yikes.

thanks again cliff! i'll probably be sending you some more astros and phillies very soon!