the rest of 2005 brings the first steve garvey binder to an end

before i get to sheet 59 in the steve garvey binder, i want to note that i did receive the 2005 donruss greats card in the mail the other day, and so i now know that the first card on sheet 55 is not the base version, but rather the un-numbered silver holofoil.  what that means is that all of these cards are going to shift one spot in the binders when i insert the actual base card in that first slot on sheet 55.  i already have these next sheets scanned, so i'm just going to go with it.

here's sheet 59:

those cards are:

1. 2005 playoff absolute memorabilia team quads swatch double padres relic (with willie mccovey, tony gwynn, and rickey henderson) /75
2. 2005 playoff absolute memorabilia team quads swatch single spectrum prime black padres relic (with willie mccovey, tony gwynn, and rickey henderson) /10
3. 2005 playoff absolute memorabilia team six dodgers (with darryl strawberry, rickey henderson, kazuhisa ishii, paul loduca, and kevin brown) /100
4. 2005 playoff absolute memorabilia team six swatch single dodgers relic (with darryl strawberry, rickey henderson, kazuhisa ishii, paul loduca, and kevin brown) /150
5. 2005 playoff absolute memorabilia team six swatch single spectrum dodgers relic (with darryl strawberry, rickey henderson, kazuhisa ishii, paul loduca, and kevin brown) /100
6. 2005 playoff presitge
7. 2005 playoff prestige xtra bases red /150
8. 2005 playoff prestige xtra bases green /50
9. 2005 playoff prime cuts mlb icons /100

again - the padres team quad cards had garvey and mccovey on the back, but they are considered the front in the binder.  it's too bad that garvey has the most non-descript patch piece on the card.  there are many more parallel versions of both the padres team quad and the dodgers team six cards, as well as the playoff prestige cards.  i've only got a few, as you can see.

here are the backs:

there are two different ishii jerseys being cut up for these cards, and i'm guessing that the loduca jersey being used is actually a mets black alternate.  playoff could have left loduca off the card and put al oliver on instead, as they did have oliver relics in that set.

here's sheet 60:

those cards are:

1. 2005 playoff prime cuts mlb icons century silver /50
2. 2005 playoff prime cuts mlb icons material jersey relic /50
3. 2005 playoff prime cuts mlb icons material combo bat/jersey relic /10
4. 2005 playoff prime cuts mlb icons signature material trio mlb auto-bat/bat/jersey relic /10
5. 2005 topps all-time fan favorites
6. 2005 topps all-time fan favorites autograph
7. 2005 topps pristine legends
8. 2005 topps pristine legends gold die-cut refractor /65
9. 2005 topps pristine legends valuable performance relic

just like the previous page, this sheet holds only a fraction of the available parallels for the prime cuts card.  there are also a few more parallels for the fan favorites card, including a refractor that i am currently watching.

here are the backs:

sheet 61 is not full because it's the last sheet of this binder and i figured i should end the binder at the end of 2005, leaving some empty spaces for any additional cards i might obtain featuring the garv between 1989 and 2005.  i've already got the 2005 donruss greats card to add, so i can pick up 5 others without having to add a sheet.  anyway, here is sheet 61:

those cards are:

1. 2005 topps retired signature
2. 2005 topps retired signature gold parallel
3. 2005 upper deck ultimate signature signs of october dual auto (with ron guidry) /250

here are the backs:

yes, it used to be a sign of october when the dodgers and yankees would square off.  it's now been over thirty years since those two teams last met in the post season, and garvey was 2 for 6 against guidry in that most recent clash (1981 world series).

the next binder is on the clock - stay tuned...

i would gladly partake of your rhubarb trade bait

living in twins' territory makes it easy for me to find cards that would fit better in the rhubarb runner's collection than in mine.  he keeps a running list of trade bait sorted by team which makes it easy for me to say yes, please.  we completed another trade a while back, and here is some of the former rhubarb runner trade bait.

2004 playoff honors duke snider

i am not putting the set together, but i see this set as one of the best of the 2000's.  there is a good mix of retired players on the checklist, as well as a smattering of sharp black and white cards like the one of the duke.

speaking of black and white, part of what i sent to missouri was a partial set of the 2005 donruss 1965 twins sga release.  i kept one of the cards, this one of former twin rookie sensation jimmie hall

but sent the rest.  it's too bad the dodgers didn't get with donruss to commemorate the team that actually won that 1965 series.  now back to the cards that i received in the trade.

2007 topps '52 delwyn young chrome insert

not to be confused with former twin delmon young.  the dodgers' young had a couple of big seasons in triple-a las vegas in the mid-2000's which made me think that he might be the team's second baseman in the same way that russell martin, matt kemp, and clayton kershaw would become fixtures in the lineup. instead, ned traded him to pittsburgh in 2009, and he is currently playing in an independent league.

2005 playoff prestige pedro martinez changing stripes insert

when pedro enters the hall of fame, he will certainly be wearing a red sox cap, but let us not forget that he began his career as an undrafted free agent signed by the dodgers, and won his first cy young award with the expos.  unfortunately for dodger fans, pedro recorded over 3000 strikeouts after being traded away from the dodgers, which is a pain that the mets (nolan ryan), cardinals (steve carlton), expos (randy johnson), and orioles and astros (curt schilling) all share.

2005 bowman heritage matthew kemp

and 2014 topps matt kemp power players parallel

kind of a 'then and now' thing there.

2014 topps clayton kershaw saber stars insert

as i understand it, fip is kind of a measurement of the three true outcomes from the pitcher's perspective.

2014 topps hyun-jin ryu 1989 die-cut insert

i prefer the 1989 design to some (like 1988) but not too many of topps' other pre-2000 designs.  i wonder why they seem to be so eager to use it.

last but not least, 2014 topps alex guerrero gold parallel

turning two on tatooine.

thanks for the trade!

a red number day for me and for steve garvey

so not only is today steve garvey's 65th birthday, this post just so happens to be my 2000th post here on this blog.  i had made this milestone an unspoken stretch goal for 2014, and i have been able to post more than i had in any of my previous 4+ years.  i'm not completely sure what 2014 will bring, but i've enjoyed my time with the blog this year for certain.

i now the term is 'red letter day', but 'red number' fits better when you consider the dodger uniform and this 2011 topps marquee auto/dual relic 'acclaimed impressions' card

i really am a sucker for the red uniform number.  i have another card from this same set/print run, but it's got the blue jersey text patch

one of the things i am planning to do in 2014 is post my entire garvey card collection.  not all at once of course, but page by page perhaps.  when i do, you will see that for many releases, i have a number of the same card with different jersey/patch configurations.  it's a bit much i suppose, but this is pretty much my only vice.  so i justify it.

back to red stuff, here's a red parallel, also from 2011 topps marquee, of a garvey 'titanic threads' card

i like the big swatch, but not at the expense of a tiny photo.  i'm sure that there is a happy medium that could be achieved.

more red - this is a 2005 donruss team heroes showdown parallel

while this is a 2005 playoff prestige xtra bases parallel

unfortunately, the only red on this next card is in the background - no jersey number relics.  it's from 2005 playoff absolute memorabilia, and it features garvey along with darryl strawberry and rickey henderson

as well as kaz ishii, paul loduca, and kevin brown

not sure where loduca's jersey piece is coming from - florida or new york - but it sure isn't la.

post 2001 will be up shortly as i continue to celebrate garvey's birthday.  before then, a quick thank you to those of you who have bothered to read this stuff over the last 5+ years, and to those with whom i've successfully traded - it's appreciated.

it's not trade bait anymore

i've got more trade bounty to showcase today, courtesy of oscar at all trade bait all the time.  it's sometimes tough trading with fellow dodger collectors, but at the same time, you know they are pulling from a variety of card manufacturers and years.  that makes for some interesting trade packages.  here are some highlights from one of them.

1986 sportflics decade greats steve garvey

garvey certainly was a decade great, although his best decade was 1974-1983.

1978 o-pee-chee rick rhoden

always a joy to get an o-pee-chee card in a trade package.  how do i know it's o-pee-chee?  here's the back

rhoden was only 24 in 1977.  i was pretty excited at the time about the dodger rotation with him, don sutton, tommy john, burt hooton and doug rau.  only hooton was around for the 1981 world series title, however.

1988 topps uk mini pedro guerrero

from canada to the united kingdom.  not bad.

2005 playoff prestige ron cey

playoff put together some decent retired player/current player cards in the early 2000's.  i was happy to see some garvey cards included, although this is when the parallel ridiculousness really took off.

fleer greats of the game, however, were my favorite retired player sets from that timeframe.  topps all-time fan favorites was right there, too, but i slightly preferred fleer.  here's davey lopes' card from the 2004 greats release.

oscar included a couple of 2002 greats of the game, too - fernando

and maury wills

and you know it wouldn't be a dodger collector's trade package without a shawn green card.  here's a 2001 topps gallery card of green

if you think that there are a lot of matt kemp cards these days, well, shawn green had more ten years ago.  at least it seemed like it.

thanks oscar - more trade goodies coming up throughout the day.

hoo boy, jason schmidt is ticked

he sure is.  take a look.

and his 2007 topps heritage card isn't even a short print.  perhaps jason is angry that dayf (the guy who sent all of these cards you are about to see, including that schmidt card you've already seen) has to resort to frankensetting topps heritage thanks to short prints and other silly topps' shenanigans.  looks like jason didn't make the cut and got shipped to me instead.  that's ok - i'll give him a good home with his dodger teammates, since i haven't thought about completing a heritage set since 2001.  that will change next year, though.

dayf sent a bunch of nice cards.  i didn't get a sketch of a pony, but i did get some fine dodger goodness.  and dodgers trump ponies.

here's a 1989 topps sticker back of steve sax, back from when steve went to extremes to try to fix his erratic throwing by amputating his right arm at the elbow.

it didn't help.

another '89 card - this one of orel hershiser from fleer

i would mention that franklin stubbs is lurking behind the bulldog, but then i would have to add a 'lurkers' label as well as one for 'stubbs', but blogger only allows me 20 labels per post and i have ocd when it comes to labels.  i plan to max out my label allowance with cards and not waste two on stubbs or his lurker status.  sorry franklin.  but, i will point out (and label) dodger stadium there in the background.

here's another 1989 fleer card.  sort of.  it's saxy again, but it's different from the hershiser card.  it's glossy.

here are the backs, which make the glossy cards easier to identify

i'll skip the 90's and go straight to the aughts.  here's a 2004 donruss studio card of hideo nomo

on clear nights, you can get a pretty good view of downtown los angeles from the first base side of dodger stadium.  only if you're outside the stadium or sitting in the top row, that is.  quick - name the tall building coming out of nomo's noggin.  it's only the tallest building west of the mississippi.  i don't know too many people outside of la that know its name, which is kind of weird and kind of not at the same time.  anyway, that would be library tower, which i knew as first interstate bank world center back in the day.  it's now us bank tower, although it was sold to an indonesian group a few days ago.

next up is dioner navarro and his 2005 playoff prestige card

one would think that navarro went from being a yankee to a dodger, but in doing so they would forget that for a few hours in between he belonged to the diamondbacks.  the yankees sent him to arizona as part of the package in exchange for randy johnson, and later that day the dodgers acquired him in the shawn green deal.  they sent him to tampa bay a few years later for toby hall and mark hendrickson.  this year, navarro will try to catch on (pun intended) with the cubbies.

here's a card that doesn't quite make sense to me.  it's a 2013 topps chasing history insert of hanley ramirez

ramirez reached the 400 extra base hit milestone in 2012.  i had not been aware that this was a milestone that was actively tracked.  anyway, he now sits at 429 extra base hits for his career, which includes 23 as a dodger.  so yes, ramirez achieved the milestone with the marlins.  why not show him a a marlin?  or, if you want to show him in dodger blue, why not use 150 home runs as the milestone, since he did reach that total as a dodger.  this card is like issuing a jim thome home run retrospective and using a photo of him in dodger blue.  thome hit exactly zero home runs as a dodger.  it would be nonsensical.  but i expect topps to do it once thome announces his retirement from the game.

there was another 2013 topps card that i am going to display in the package.  it's an andre ethier chasing history relic card

it appears to be free of spelling errors.

i'll wrap up this thinly disguised trade post with the antithesis of jason schmidt's card up top. it's a 1972 topps bill singer card

and looking at it makes me smile.

thanks for the cards and everything else dayf.  even the ponies.

nine from starting 9

you couldn't field a team with these 9, but they are a good representation of the cards i recently received from jacobmrley at starting 9.  you'll see what i mean right away when i show three cards featuring the penguin.  here's a 2005 playoff prestige card

and a 2003 upper deck sweet spot classic jersey card

plus his 2003 upper deck sweet spot classic base card

also from that set, here's a duke snider card

in which he is holding four bats.  not sure why.

i do know, however, why don drysdale is holding a ball with "#3" on it on his 2001 upper deck legends card

that's because it also has the date (10/5/63) on it, which was the day of game 3 of the 1963 world series.  in that game, big d shut out the yankees on three hits and beat them 1-0 thanks to a jim gilliam walk, a jim bouton wild pitch, and a tommy davis single in the first inning.  the dodgers went on to sweep the yankees in the series, thank you very much.

here's don sutton on a 2003 topps all-time fan favorite card

i enjoy this card even more now that 2012 topps archives has arrived with a thud.  

in 2002, donruss put out a set of its own, similar to archives i suppose.  they called it donruss originals, and this is one of the hideo nomo cards from the set

if i recall correctly, they used their 1982, 1984, 1986, and 1988 designs in the set with a repeating checklist.  they also made some retro 'what if' cards for 1978 and 1980.

here's a 1994 post canadian card of italian-american superstar slugger mike piazza

voici a vous!

finally, a 1981 fleer steve garvey "most hits nl" card

he'd be in my starting 9 everyday.

thanks max!