the numbers don't add up to junk

it's not often that i receive a package of cards that contain no plain old base cards, but that's what happened a while back.  for some reason, i've been delinquent in posting about this particular trade package that i received from wes at jaybarkerfan's junk, but that doesn't reflect my level of appreciation for it.  there were 8 cards total, with all but one being serial numbered.  have a look.

2002 fleer tradition update eric gagne all-star glossy edition; numbered /200

the sport goggles! game over!

2003 donruss studio hong-chih kuo numbered /1500

that's a nice angle on the top deck and reserve sections of dodger stadium behind the giant kuo.  these days, those seats are baby blue or sea-foam blue or whatever it was that the o'malley's originally had installed in the stadium.  as for the card, this is kuo's base card, but he was a rookie, so his card in the set is serially numbered.

2003 topps kevin brown gold parallel numbered /2003

2003 was brown's bounce-back season for the dodgers as he returned to form with a 2.39 era and made the yankees want to trade for him despite his huge contract.

2003 topps chrome andy ashby gold refractor numbered /449

that is a nice shiny card.  unlike brown, ashby was 3-10 with an era over 5 in his final year with the dodgers.  still, he wasn't unwanted, as he returned to san diego as a free agent for the 2004 season.

2004 donruss classics edwin jackson numbered /1999

similar to the kuo card, this is jackson's base card - it's just numbered because he was a rookie.  i've mentioned seeing jackson's final 2003 start before - it was in san francisco, and he allowed 2 hits and no runs over 6 innings.  he struck out 7, but gave up 8 walks!  still, the dodgers were up 1-0 after 8 innings, barry bonds had struck out twice (and walked and was hit by a pitch), and i was looking forward to seeing eric gagne get a save.  the dodgers went and scored three times in the top of the 9th, so even though gagne pitched, he didn't get the save.  in fact, i think that the only game in which i saw gagne earn a save in person was the night before shawn green's 4-homer game in milwaukee.  that was in the early part of gagne's career as a closer, so it wasn't quite the event that a gagne save eventually became.

2006 topps finest jd drew xfractor numbered /250

moving on…

2007 bowman russell martin orange parallel numbered /250

martin has caught nine extra-inning complete games this season, including a 16-inning affair.  i don't know if that is abnormal or not, but it's a cool stat.  he's also hitting .292 on the season which would look nice for a catcher in a dodger box score these days.

so i noted that there was only one card in the package that wasn't serial numbered, and it was this 2014 topps ricky nolasco trajectory auto

topps went all out with nolasco in 2014, adding his sticker auto to cards in multiple sets, and then he went and signed with the twins.

thanks again for all the cards wes!

epic nomar and the (not really) team collector dilemma

there was a time when i considered becoming a nomar garciaparra supercollector.  i did have a pc going of his cards during the late 1990's and into the early 2000's, but those were mostly cards that i pulled from packs - i didn't go out and actively seek cards of his to add to my collection.  that all changed when he signed with the dodgers prior to the 2006 season.  i figured that i would go after all of his non-red sox cards.  that task was made easier by the fact that nomar didn't bother to re-up with topps after the 2006 season, but it turned out that there were still way too many releases and inserts and parallels for me to keep up with.

here are a few that i did track down, including an insert from 2006 upper deck epic that features him (mostly) as a red sox player.

there's a smaller picture of him as a dodger on the card so it's ok. there's really no team collector dilemma this time.  and, here's his completely dodger-iffic base card from the epic set

nomar didn't get a flagship dodger card from topps until the 2006 update set (i count update/traded sets as part of the flagship sets), but he did get a trading places insert in series 2 of their 2006 flagship release.  this one includes a bat relic

here are a couple of photoshopped cards from 2006 topps finest - base

and refractor

more shiny stuff from 2006 - bowman chrome

and topps chrome - this one a black bordered refractor

nomar also made it into the 2006 topps triple threads set - here's a green one

numbered to 99.  his 2006 upper deck ultimate collection card is also numbered, but to 799

this is what i was referring to when i suggested that all of the different issues and parallels and inserts and even the regular 'base' cards made it tough to become that nomar supercollector.

his card in the flagship 2006 upper deck series 1 set was him in cubs gear listed as a dodger.  so, i was please to see that he was put on the team checklist in the upper deck update series in real dodger apparel

nomar had fewer cards in 2007 despite his big comeback season in '06.  here's his 2007 fleer ultra card

and some 2007 upper deck 'predictor' parallels - blue and green - on both the team checklist card

and his regular card

i'm not sure what was being predicted, but whatever the reason, upper deck made some parallels.  another ud parallel from 2007 were the red backs in their goudey release.  here's nomar's

at least there were no 2007 topps red letter backs of nomar to chase.  here are a few more - a 2007 upper deck spx die cut base card

a 2007 upper deck spectrum die cut parallel thingy

and a low-end retail 2007 upper deck first edition pennant chasers insert

nomar helped the dodgers get to the postseason in both 2006 and 2008, but never actually successfully caught the pennant.  that was too bad, but we'll always have the 4+1 game, and i'll always have my incomplete nomar non-red sox super collection.

the evolution of my favorite dodger

in honor of post #500, i figured i would pay tribute to my favorite dodgers over the years.  i have favored many, but there can only be one favorite at a time.  we'll count backwards, although there can hardly be any suspense as to who will be the first favorite.

here we go - from 2007 until now, my favorite dodger has been matt kemp.

.342 in 2007 and a 2009 season to confirm my beliefs!  the bison is my baseball salvation!

in 2006, my favorite dodger was nomar garciaparra. 

the harmonious conversion of my favorite non-dodger becoming a dodger.  his 2006 was just what i hoped for - a return to glory for nomar, along with some huge hits.  remember 4+1?  simply awesome.

in 2005, believe it or not, my favorite dodger was milton bradley. 

2005 was a tough year.  shawn green was gone. eric gagne was injured.  jim tracy was flailing with strange habits of playing folks like oscar robles and mike edwards and jason grabowski.  it's not like i could really get behind jd drew or jeff kent.  seriously, though, i did want bradley to succeed.  i was cheering for the name on the back of the jersey almost harder than i cheered for the name on the front.  i still wish him success, although i am not as optimistic as i was 5 years ago.

from 2000 to 2004, shawn green sat atop my dodger pedestal

even before seeing his 4-homer game in person.  having lived in orange county, i cheered for shawn as a blue jay, so, as with nomar, this was a time when my favorite dodger had previously been my favorite non-dodger.  and, it just so happens green was traded for one of my other favorite dodgers which made switching to him all the easier.

from mid 1994 to 1999, raul mondesi was the man.

even though he was moody and sometimes frustrating, i preferred him to mike piazza, eric karros, hideo nomo and the rest.  his 11th inning walk off on opening day in 1999 was unforgettable.  and he hit the game tying 3 run homer in the 9th with two outs to send the game to extras in the first place!
from 1989 until mondesi's 1994 debut, orel hershiser reigned supreme,

he had just done so much in 1988 that i had to stick with him through the injuries and down times, although i had a soft spot in 1992 for mike sharperson.

he was a super utility guy who represented the dodgers in the all star game that year.  1992 was one of the worst dodger seasons ever, and mike was an easy guy to cheer for.

from his sophomore season in 1983 until he left after the 1988 season, my favorite dodger was steve sax.

he led off the dodgers' 1988 season with a home run!  he almost made me forget about losing davey lopes, too.  i know jody reed gets the blame, but if sax had stayed, maybe there would not have been a revolving door at second, and maybe fred claire doesn't need to trade pedro for delino deshields because he could have protected eric young from the expansion draft as the heir apparent.  not sure if this theory holds water, but it makes me feel good.

steve garvey was my first favorite dodger,

and he held that title from it's 1977 inception until the dark day he signed with the padres after the 1982 season.  so, there you have it.  apologies to many great and even marginal players that i have cheered for over the years. 

here's to the next 500 posts (if i make it that far)!