2006 brings some epic cards in the steve garvey binders

my second primary steve garvey binder begins with cards from 2006.  here is the 62nd sheet of cards from the binders, but the first in binder number 2:

those cards are:

1. 2006 fleer greats of the game
2. 2006 fleer greats of the game pewter parallel
3. 2006 fleer greats of the game auto
4. 2006 fleer greats of the game autographics auto (print run of 50)
5. 2006 fleer greats of the game dodgers greats
6. 2006 fleer greats of the game dodgers greats memorabilia relic
7. 2006 topps triple threads relic /18
8. 2006 topps triple threads relic autograph /18
9. 2006 topps triple threads relic combos (with rickey henderson and tony gwynn) /18

so, upper deck bought the rights to fleer and issued the greats of the game set in 2006.  there are 26 different cards available for steve garvey from that issue (many of which are 1/1 printing plates), and i am missing most. some of those are also rare bat barrel cards, but others are a /299 copper parallel and /50 dodgers greats auto cards.  speaking of the dodgers greats cards, i appreciate the dodger stadium at sunset inset photo.

on to triple threads. garvey has two triple relic cards. the one i have the "base" version of spells out "mvp".  the other spells out "lad".  likewise, the relic/autograph cards have two versions (mvp and lad), and we'll see a version of the other on the next sheet.  as for the combos card with rickey and gwynn, beckett tells me that the rickey relic is from his cleats.  that beats the garvey bat and gwynn jersey pieces for sure.

here are the backs:

this is sheet 63:

those cards are:

1. 2006 topps triple threads relic autograph gold /9
2. 2006 topps triple threads relic combos autograph (with don mattingly and dan johnson) /18
3. 2006 upper deck artifacts awesome artifacts jumbo relic /45
4. 2006 upper deck epic epic endorsements auto /45
5. 2006 upper deck epic epic foursome fabrics relic (with gil hodges, pee wee reese, and jackie robinson) /10
6. 2006 upper deck epic epic triple materials relic (with eddie murray and don mattingly) /49
7. 2006 upper deck sp legendary cuts /550
8. 2006 upper deck sp legendary cuts bronze parallel /99
9. 2006 upper deck sp legendary cuts chronology gold /550

so here i have the gold version of the "lad" triple threads auto/relic, as well as the "base" version of the don mattingly/dan johnson auto/relic.  there was a bit of prospecting going on with these triple threads combo cards at the time, which was not the case with upper deck's epic release as they used steady eddie murray to take johnson's place on the sixth card of the sheet.  just next to that one is a pretty cool card.  i don't fully understand the use of garvey as a fourth to gil hodges, pee wee, and jackie, but i am not complaining.  and, for all the ebay 1/1 geeks, my version is 06/10 which is garvey's jersey number.  one card from that set that i would love to have is a true 1/1 bat barrel card featuring garvey, manny mota (!), steve yeager, steve sax. that would truly be epic for this dodger fan.

elsewhere on the sheet, i am a bit embarrassed that i only have one card from 2006 upper deck artifacts as there are a number of other garvey relic and auto cards out there from that set.

here are the backs:

the back of that artifacts jumbo relic that i do have, however, let's us know that the card features game worn pants, which is the bottom of the relic hierarchy.

still more to come - stay tuned!

the rest of the cards that should have been from the garvey binders

i am almost done with showing pages from my steve garvey oddball binder.  then it will be time to show the pages from the 'regular' collection binders.  get excited.  here are the rest of the cards that should have been that i've created or received or otherwise had to print myself over the last few years.

punkrockpaint is responsible for the 1988 topps card, while the writer's journey sent me the digital version of the gypsy queen card.  the last three are topps bunt 'cards' that i printed out.

happy birthday to steve garvey - the big six-five!

time waits for no man, and that includes the first baseman of the team of my youth, steve garvey.  the garv turns 65 today, and it's been over 26 years since he last suited up in a major league baseball game. time flies.  thankfully (most of the time), card companies have kept him in their sights as they compile checklists for sets featuring retired players.  you had better believe that today is going to be chock full of those, plus one or two from his actual playing days.  hopefully some other bloggers join in the fun of wishing number 6 a happy 65th.

on to the cards.  here's a 2009 topps sterling white parallel numbered to 50

i really like the red accents on this card, just like the red number on the dodger home whites.

here's a 2002 fleer greats of the game card

on which the nl iron man sports the dual earflap batting helmet.  not a good look.

garvey was featured in topps' 2011 update set with an insert in the '60' run of cards.

this year's update set included a manu-patch insert set featuring all-star game mvp's.  i thought for sure that garvey would be included - the man won two all-star game mvp awards - but no, he was not.  sportflics did give him a card in their 1986 set that recognized his status as a midsummer classic mvp, along with fellow two-timer gary carter, and singular winner fred lynn

here's a better look at garvey's image on the card

of course, both of garvey's all-star mvp's (1974 and 1978) were won as a dodger, yet he's a padre on the card.  in fact, none of the players featured are wearing the uniform of the team they won the award with.  lynn won as an angel, but was with baltimore by the time this card was released, and carter is wearing his mets uni rather than the expos gear that he wore when he won his awards.

here's another padre garvey card, this time from 2005 donruss diamond kings

garvey was one of the inaugural diamond kings way back in 1982.  unfortunately, he didn't achieve the same status when he went to san diego.  here are the padres who were diamond kings instead of garvey:  dave dravecky (1984), tony gwynn (1985), goose gossage (1986), and kevin mcreynolds (1987).  i don't know that he deserved the honor over any of those guys, but i don't think donruss repeated diamond kings until the early 90's anyway.  nope - that's not true.  i just checked and george brett was a dk in 1982 and 1987.

moving on, here's a 2006 fleer greats of the game autographics card

this is pretty much how i think of garvey - manning first base in dodger stadium with the home whites, tidy stirrups, and red white and blue wristband.  none of that brown pinstripe stuff with a mcdonald's wristband.  yuck.

cards and things from the diamond king

it's time to show some dodger goodies that came my way a while back as a result of a trade with the diamond king.  i sent some cards for his steroids/scam project, and he sent me cards of honest, hard working dodgers, like hall of famer don sutton on a 2006 fleer greats of the game insert card

i appreciate the inset photo of dodger stadium with the palm trees and the sunset.  unfortunately, the 'dodgers' script seems to be a bit off.  oh well, this is still a great insert set chock full of dodger greats.  obviously.

speaking of dodger greats, here is clayton kershaw on a 2012 bowman draft picks and prospects insert.

he shares space with a padres' southpaw, max fried, who was also a top ten draft pick.

here's a 2011 bowman platinum matt kemp ruby parallel

and a couple of josh beckett parallels from 2013 topps gypsy queen.  the first is the framed blue parallel numbered to 499

and the second is the framed white parallel that is not serial numbered

the dodgers will have beckett back in 2014 for one more season.  he was 0-5 in 2013 before his season was lost to injury.  hopefully he will bounce back in a big way.

another dodger who lost time to injury in 2013, and of whom i received multiple parallels, is andre ethier.  this is his 2013 topps heritage chrome parallel

and this is his 2013 topps heritage chrome refractor parallel

see the difference?

the diamond king sent a couple of double play cards along to keep the dodgers company, which was nice.  here's a 1995 score gold rush parallel of roberto alomar

and a 1999 topps stars card of miguel tejada

the most unusual (and unexpected) item in the package was a 8x10 giveaway sheet commemorating the 1972 oldtimers day at dodger stadium.

that was the day that the dodgers retired the jerseys of jackie robinson, roy campanella, and sandy koufax.  it also marked, i believe, the last time jackie appeared in public, or at least at dodger stadium.  he passed away in october of 1972, about four months after the ceremonies.

thanks for the trade!

i snoozed, losed, but wound up winning. sort of.

i was recently tipped off via a saved search to a listing on ebay of a 2006 fleer greats of the game steve garvey bat barrel autogreats card, numbered out of 4 copies

i didn't win it.  i added to to my watch list with the intent of submitting a best offer to the seller.  someone beat me to the punch, although their best offer of $225 was higher than mine would have been.  

small consolation, but the seller had some other dodger goodies listed, and i was able to get a few of them for my best offer amounts.

like this 2009 topps triple threads russell martin, manny ramirez, and matt kemp relic card

i like the card, but i do have a tinge of buyer's regret thanks to the well documented questions surrounding 'game used' jerseys, as well as the non-committal statements on the back.  for all we know, that could be a piece of maury wills' wool jersey under kemp's photo.

here's a card i didn't know existed before now - a 2011 topps black diamond wrapper redemption card of clayton kershaw

kershaw wasn't around in 2001 when topps heritage used the 1952 design, but i suppose this is what it might have looked like.

jim wynn wasn't around in los angeles for too long, so i love finding cards that show him during his brief stay.  here's the autographed companion to the 1999 fleer sports illustrated greats of the game card i showed a short while ago

it's nice.  as is this 2004 upper deck etchings dusty baker autographed card

and this steve sax auto from the same set.

i think the dusty baker photo was also used by upper deck in their 2004 legends timeless teams set.  speaking of which, the timeless teams blog gets an update in a couple of hours.  be sure to check it out, but make that best offer you've been putting off first.  just in case someone else is out there ready to beat you to the punch.

10/10/14?

i suppose it would have made sense to show a couple of ron cey cards followed by a dusty baker card today (10/10/12), but i'm not going to do that.  instead, i have 14 ron cey cards that i have been lucky enough to have signed by the penguin himself through the mail over the last few years to showcase.  i have been kind of lax in posting my ttm successes (obviously); most likely because a ttm success post is not the most interesting type of post.  today i don't care - get ready for a cavalcade of cey.

1975 topps mini

scuffed up, but still nice.  dodger stadium works well with the two-toned border, i think.

1976 topps

hatless penguin

1981 donruss

wrigley foreshadowing

1981 fleer

doing the hokey-pokey?

1982 fleer

back to dodger stadium, finally without a bat

1982 o-pee-chee

back with a bat.  and, the facsimile autograph doesn't match

1982 topps (in action)

with actual action.  hello, mo.

1983 donruss

another bat photo.

1983 fleer

back at wrigley.  still with a bat.

1983 o-pee-chee

i was curious to see whether he put the '10' inside the 'r' on this one.  he did, which makes sense since it's a dodger photo.

1984 o-pee-chee

no '10' on this one, of course.  he wore 11 with the cubs.

2001 ud decade 1970's

at dodger stadium

and at bat.

2006 fleer greats of the game (nickname greats)

thanks ron!

what is a nickname?

according to thomas paine, 'titles are but nicknames, and every nickname is a title'.  fair enough.  i do know that there is something great about baseball and its propensity for great nicknames.  i think i have mentioned previously how much i like the 2006 fleer greats 'nickname greats' insert set, and i know i have posted about (the guy that is supposed to be) jay 'moon man' johnstone and jim 'the toy cannon' wynn before, but here are a few more from my collection that are worthy of high titular praise:

ron 'the penguin' cey

this could quite possibly be the best nickname ever.  it's not a 'berman-ism' like john 'tonight, let it be' lowenstein or bert 'be home' blyleven (both of which i absolutely love), but rather a reference to ron cey's gait.  maybe mordecai '3 finger' brown comes close.  i'll stick with the penguin, though.

here's burt 'happy' hooton.

i guess the man doesn't smile.  josh wilker kills anything i would have to say about hooton, so i'm not going to write anything more.

how about john 't-bone' shelby?

shelby's middle name starts with a 't', or maybe it's just 't', and that's where i thought the nickname came from, but always trustworthy wikipedia says it's due to his 'slight frame'.  whatever the reason, it's a good badass nickname.  shelby was a member of the 1983 and 1988 world champions.  everyone talks about mike davis' walk in game 1 of the 1988 series, but let's not forget that shelby drew a walk off of dwight gooden in the nlcs to set up mike scioscia's unlikely game-tying 9th inning home run.

tim 'rock' raines

as in 'solid as a...'.  i guess he got this nickname early on in his career, but it seems to me it didn't get mainstream attention until 1990 or so.

there are so many other great cards in the checklist (like rusty 'le grand orange' staub), and i may try at some point to complete this set.  until then, i created a few that should have been included.  here then are the 2006 fleer greats of the game nickname greats that should have been:

orel 'bulldog' hershiser

this should have been a no-brainer for the set.

mickey 'stunt man' hatcher

i think the entire 1988 dodger bench was nicknamed the stunt men, but i'll let mickey hold the name on his own.  he certainly responds to it in person.  plus, we need more mickey hatcher cards where he's not doing something goofy. 

you knew i would include a steve 'popeye' garvey card, didn't you?

i don't recall garvey being called popeye too much, actually, even though he did have large forearms.  i remember 'senator' or 'mr. clean', but he has signed several cards with this nickname so i guess it's legit.  don zimmer is a better popeye though, at least facially if not in the forearm department.

who else has a good nickname, worthy to be included in this set.  how about a certain blogger?

much better than the last names of four infielders, even if they were the infield of my youth.

if you, or anyone you know, happen to have any real nickname great cards lying around - i want 'em!