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...

this had seemed most improbable

following up on davey lopes' inclusion in the 2013 topps archives set with a short print and an auto, as well as steve garvey's autos in 2013 panini and topps, and the ron cey auto available from panini golden age that same year, 2014 has brought to me a 2014 topps archives bill russell on-card, certified autographed card.  unbelievable!

i did not consider this to be very likely given that topps has not once put russell in a fan favorites issue.  the last time topps issued a card featuring the shortstop of the team of my youth, it was 1987.  upper deck included him in a number of releases much to my enjoyment, but not topps.  we got the likes of tom niedenfuer in 2005 topps all-time fan favorites

 and 2005 topps retired

but never russell.  i was shocked when i first saw one of these cards show up on ebay.

here's the back

not sure how topps decided on truncating the stat rows, but they left out russell's final six seasons with the club.  the career totals are correct however, and so is the cartoon - russell played in 2181 games as a los angeles dodger, just about 230 more than the next player on the list, willie davis.  in fact, the only player to wear the franchise's uniform in more games than russell is hall of famer zach wheat.  wouldn't it be nice to see him in one of these sets sometime…

thanks, topps, for thinking of bill russell.  he definitely was one of this fan's favorites.

1978 topps redux

because it was the first set i collected, i think that the 1978 topps set design is great.  i plan on buying some heritage in 13 years due to that fact, and, i have completed my 1978 topps extended set by acquiring the variation and 'missing' cards that were included in the various 1978 burger king releases and 1978 topps zest.  heck, i even created a bunch of cards for the dodger players from 1977 and 1978 that weren't featured as dodgers or at all in the set.  i love this set.  

now, like many others, i can see a touch of the 1978 topps design in the 2014 donruss release.  it's really too bad that they also tried to incorporate 1987 donruss into it as well, because the borders are too wide as a result.  i am not a fan of 2014 donruss.  i am a fan, however, of topps archives and fan favorites releases that used the 1978 design for some of their cards.  like dusty baker here from 2005 topps all-time fan favorites

that card would have fit right in with the rest of the dodgers in the real 1978 set.

as would have this jack clark card from 2003 topps all-time fan favorites

and this mark fidrych card, also from 2003

i pulled an autographed version of this from one of the two boxes i broke back in '03.  i'm too lazy to go find it right now, however.

ron guidry's card is nice, but the black armband means it would be better as a card from 1980, 81, or 82.

still, i'll take it.

the last of the cards from the 2003 topps atff release that uses the 1978 topps design (as far as i know) is this jim rice

it's nice, but i like the laughing jim rice better on his official 1978 topps card

moving on to the 2005 topps all-time fan favorites set, and in addition to the johnnie b. baker card up top, we have a good looking bob boone card

and another dodger, rick monday

this card is much better than mo's actual card from 1978 upon which he is wiping mustard from his chin.  the back is nice - it keeps the 'home run' value that his original card had - but it adds a reference to his 1981 nlcs home run

rather than his 3-homer game in 1972, which is what his original 1978 card had.

when topps archives was released in 2012, i was curious if the 1978 design would be used.  it did wind up on a couple of autographed short prints, like this greg luzinski

and a george foster card that i have yet to obtain.  if anyone wants to pick a foster up for me, rest assured, you will be rewarded.

in 2013, there were two short prints from the topps archives set that used the 1978 design - larry bowa

and the cobra, dave parker

i'm not used to seeing parker look so happy on his cards, but i sure am glad to see this card design again.

a last bit of trade bait turned keepers

the most recent trade that i completed with oscar from all trade bait all the time occurred just last week.  these are some of the cards from that deal, with some from our previous couple of trades.  no surprise, i'll start with a steve garvey card.  this one is from 2005 topps all-time fan favorites

it's not a bad card, but the horizontal frame seems forced with that photo.  of course, garvey's 1974 topps card is so iconic to me, that anything else using that year's design for him will fall flat.

oscar sent me the penultimate card that i needed for my 1995 topps archives brooklyn dodgers set - the 1956 topps sandy koufax reprint

in truth, this may be the last card i needed for the set.  i am fairly certain that i have the roberto clemente card tucked away with my clemente pc, but i haven't bothered to go looking for it yet.  it's only been 4 or 5 years since i decided to complete the set - i'm not sure what's taking me so long to see if i have roberto or not.

here's another infielder from a topps all-time fan favorites set - it's dave lopes from the 2004 release

lopes is out of position according to the card, or perhaps he just went a long way to track down a popup.  lopes, of course, was a converted outfielder, and did play some outfield during his career with the dodgers.

double play time!  here's a 1993 topps gold parallel of eric young

play at the plate time!  here's a 1996 topps mike piazza card

silly gimmick time!  here's another piazza from 1996, but this one is from the topps laser set

it would have been more interesting if they changed the laser cut figure to coincide with the different positions, kind of like topps did in 1973 and 1976.  just not with lasers back then.

oscar recently won a bunch of cards from pat neshek, courtesy of crackin' wax.  he sent one of them along for my autograph collection.  this is a 2006 choice rochester red wings card of the former twins reliever

i'll finish up the trade posts, not with more shawn green cards, but with a couple of double play cards.  this 1994 pinnacle alex gonzalez

and this 2008 upper deck first edition yuniesky betancourt

were new to my collection.

thanks oscar for all the recent trades.  i hope you enjoyed the stuff you received in return!

there is nothing to not like about this card

i suppose if you were the nitpicking type, you might say that this 2005 topps all-time fan favorites card of rodney cline carew 

might be better featured on, say, the 1973 topps design.

i might even grant you that point.  i would guess that this photo dates from the late 1960's/early 1970's - maybe even from the 1969 alcs that saw the twins lose to the orioles in three games.  still, that doesn't mean that the card is less likable.

it's got the double play turn, and it's got a hall of famer turning two over another hall of famer (brooks robinson).

that is plenty for me.  i would expect this card to do well in the 'greatest double play of all-time' tournament that will take place someday.

this card is in my header

a couple of weeks ago, i started a post with a card that almost made my header.  well, this one is right up there at the top - between cey and russell and next to the bulldog.  it's a 2005 topps all-time fan favorites pedro guerrero card

it's hard for me to believe that i haven't featured this card in a post until today, despite having been posting here for almost four and a half years.  guerrero (along with reggie smith) was sometimes the dodgers' answer to oscar gamble as far as afros go, and this is probably the best example of that.  plus, petey was a heckuva ballplayer in the 1980's.  although i was a slightly bigger steve sax fan, guerrero was very close to being my favorite dodger after steve garvey left town.

that card, and the rest of the cards in this post, came my way from spiegel at nomo's sushi platter.  this is a 1973 topps al downing card featuring a through the mail success autograph.

i suppose it could be an in person success - spiegel didn't say - since he lives in socal and is able to attend dodger games, and downing is sometimes featured out in autograph alley.  someday soon i will show my very first al downing autograph which i obtained in 1981 or so.

another regular at dodger stadium is fernando valenzuela, seen here in dodger stadium on his 1983 fleer card

here's another card with a dodger stadium background - orel hershiser's 1989 score masters card

i'm not usually a fan of painted cards, but this is a pretty cool card, actually.

dave hansen is in vero beach on his 1994 topps stadium club card

but jose offerman is back at shortstop in chavez ravine on his

those are both the golden rainbow parallels.

spiegel also included a couple of jersey pieces - a 2009 upper deck andre ethier card

and a 2010 topps update rafael furcal card

thanks for the trade spiegel!

carl erskine through the mail success! again!

6 times i have sent a card (or two) to carl erskine, and 6 times he has signed and returned them.  here are some of the more recent ones that i have received.  this is a 2005 topps all-time fan favorites card

featuring the image topps  used to create oisk's 1953 topps archives card.  it looks better on a 1957 style card, although the painted effect is more 1953-ish.  of course, on the 1953 topps archives card, they didn't bother to give it a painted effect.  topps can sometimes be confusing.

here's his 1959 topps card

this card encourages me to save second base.

here's a 1993 ted williams card

(i'm pretty sure that's number 49 joe black lurking in the background photo) and a 2001 topps 1952 world series highlights insert

oisk did indeed earn the win in game 5, with an 11-inning complete game performance.  of course, he was the losing pitcher in game 2, and he finished up the series for the dodgers, pitching the last two innings of relief in their game 7 loss.

finally, i sent a copy of the 2010 topps dodgers franchise history card to him back when it first came out, with the idea that i would try to get a few brooklyn dodgers to sign it.  as always, he signed and returned it.  i then sent it on to duke snider, not knowing that he had stopped signing due to his illness.  anyway, erskine signed another copy for me

and i later got rocky bridges to add his signature to the card

i haven't tried anyone else, atlhough i've been thinking about going for a couple more.  maybe randy jackson or ed roebuck.  or maybe i'll just let it be.

thanks oisk!

joe pignatano through the mail success!

eighty-year old joe pignatano recently (and very kindly) signed and returned three cards i had sent him. they were his 1958 topps card, his 1961 topps card,

and his 2005 topps all time fan favorites card.

the brooklyn native signed with the hometown team in 1948 and made his debut for them in 1957, their final year in the borough. his last year in los angeles was 1960 as he was purchased by the kansas city athletics prior to the 1961 season. he finished his career as an original met in 1962.

i tried to trace joe's 'trade legacy' and wound up hitting a dead end in 1989. that's not too bad for a guy who last played in 1962. this is how it works:

in 1961, joe was traded for jose tartabull, who was traded in 1966 for ken sanders. sanders was traded for don mincher in 1970 and mincher was traded for lew krausse in 1971. krausse was traded for ken brett in 1971, who was then traded in 1975 for doc medich. medich was traded for phil garner in 1977, and garner was in turn traded for johnny ray in 1981. in 1987, johnny ray was traded for miguel garcia, who last played in 1989.

thanks baseball reference, and thanks joe!

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!