a black armband for cory lidle

in just a few days (five to be exact), it will be the 8th anniversary of yankee pitcher cory lidle's death.  lidle died on october 11, 2006 after the small plane he was co-piloting hit a building in new york city.  back then, topps' update set came out later in november (i believe that this year's release should show up in stores in about a week), and they were able to add an in memoriam card for lidle to the 2006 update & highlights checklist.

that is significant because i don't believe that topps had done this since a. bartlett giamatti died in 1989 and they included a card in the 1990 set, and not for a player since ken hubbs in 1964.  i realize that there was no update set in 1978 or 1979 when lyman bostock and thurman munson died, respectively, but topps didn't do one of these cards for them the following season, either.

anyway, the yankees honored lidle by wearing a black armband during the 2007 season.  this classic combo card from 2007 topps update & highlights shows jorge posada wearing the armband during the all-star game

and here's a card of chase wright from the same set, also displaying the armband

2007 bowman's best was released even later than update - coming out in january of 2008.  this alex rodriguez card from that set

shows the armband, but it kind of gets lost with all of his armor nearby.

obviously, most of the cards with this particular armband come from 2008.  like these 2008 bowman

and 2008 upper deck piece of history cards

of hideki matsui, and this 2008 topps kei igawa card

plus this 2008 topps opening day ross ohlendorf card

and these two cards from 2008 upper deck first edition - bobby abreu

and a really nice andy pettitte

and then there is this 2008 upper deck robinson cano card

featuring double play action!

since the cano is in my double play binder, and the armband on the pettitte card is just a bit too unpronounced, here's the card that represents the cory lidle armband in my collection - it's a 2008 upper deck alex rodriguez season highlight card

the card celebrates arod's 500th career home run, although the photo does not come from that game (that game was not on espn, and if you watch video of the home run, the armband is not this visible).  still, i know that the photo comes from 2007 since this was the first time the yankees had worn the armband since 2001 (when arod was on the rangers), and the 2008 version of the armband (worn for bobby murcer) would have been worn below the final season of yankee stadium patch.

lidle's last appearance came on october 7, 2006 in the final game of the alds series against the tigers.  the yankees were eliminated in that game, and lidle pitched 1.1 perfect innings in relief before failing to get an out in the 5th inning and ultimately allowing three runs to score.  lidle was 34 years old when he died.

a haphazard canada day post

july 1 snuck up on me this year - i blame the weather.  it doesn't seem like july here yet.  anyway, enjoy some cards featuring teams from north of the border.  like this 1998 fleer ultra orlando cabrera card

or this 1998 pacific crown collection mike lansing card

both of those feature double play turning expos, and the lansing also features british columbia native larry walker.  happy canada day guys!

here's a blue jay turning two (or at least trying to).  it's maicer izturis and his 2014 topps card

he's got lyle overbay bearing down on him in a game from may 2013.  izturis threw to first too late to get curtis granderson, but it still goes in my double play binder.

this 1989 upper deck neal heaton card is in my dodger stadium binder

that is most likely joey amalfitano in the background there.

i am running short of expo and blue jay cards in the scanned folder, but i did have this 1979 topps blue jays team card at the ready

it's actually the thin-stock send in version of the card.  roy hartsfield, as you might recall, was a dodger coach in the early 1970's.

eric gagne is one of two canadians to win a cy young award (fergie jenkins is the other).  here is the montreal native's 2002 upper deck superstars card

 and another one from 2004 upper deck

looks like it was game over there.

russell martin was born in toronto but grew up in quebec.  this canadian made his big league debut on cinco de mayo, as noted on this 2006 topps update & highlights rookie debut insert

 here's a crookedly scanned 2007 topps chrome refractor of the former dodger backstop

who is one of three canadians to win a gold glove (larry walker and joey votto are the others).

here's martin again on perhaps my least favorite dodger card of the last several years.  it's from 2010 topps, and it's his 'when they were young' insert

i'll take these types of cards if they show jim hunter with his dog, or sal bando in little league, but i don't need to see big leaguers in footsie pajamas.

take us home bc native and only canadian to win the american league mvp award, justin morneau.

happy canada day, eh?

jaybarkerfan's pwe bombs reach the midwest

10 pwe bombs greeted me in my mailbox on friday.

all chock full of dodger goodness.

here are the contents of the first five that i opened.

pwe #1:

1981 fleer dusty baker

2008 ud documentary matt kemp
1982 topps ron cey (in action)
2007 topps greg maddux (gold glove)
2009 ud icons clayton kershaw
1987 topps fernando valenzuela glossy all-star

pwe #2:

2010 upper deck andre ethier (biography)
2009 topps update & highlights orlando hudson (all-star)

2009 topps update & highlights jonathan broxton (all-star)
2012 topps chad billingsley
2009 topps update & highlights george sherrill

pwe #3:

1981 topps traded ken landreaux

1992 topps chris gwynn
2006 topps update & highlights derek lowe (league leader)

i wonder how topps determined who would get to be on the front of the card?  it's cool that lowe got the top spot, but it could have been one of six guys.  there could have been another dodger, too, as brad penny also had 16 wins.

1984 topps greg brock
2006 topps update & highlights jd drew (classic duos)

2009 topps randy wolf
2012 topps hiroki kuroda

pwe #4:

2010 upper deck clayton kershaw

2010 upper deck jeff weaver
2010 upper deck hiroki kuroda
2010 upper deck james loney
2010 upper deck dodger stadium

pwe #5:

2009 topps update & highlights chad billingsley (all-star)

2002 upper deck vintage kevin brown
2003 topps paul loduca
2010 upper deck randy wolf

good stuff!

in this episode of turning two...

it's another turning two for tuesday post.  once again, thanks for the help in locating double play cards goes to those of you who post such things on your blogs or email me with new finds.

here's a 1992 fleer ultra william suero

and the back of a 1993 donruss harold reynolds card

bless those of you who turn the cards over.

this next one i am not completely sure about.  it's a 1994 topps craig shipley card

because of shipley's feet being at the front of the bag and not having slid over or past the base, i think this is probably not a double play.  plus, howard johnson looks like he is applying a tag and the umpire seems to be waddling over to get a closer look.  and, by the way, what is hojo doing at second?  still it's a nice play at second base.  just not a double play.  i don't think.

now is the time in the post that we look at 1995 leaf cards.  first, shawon dunston

followed by damion easley

with walt weiss, too.

plus a cameo from delino deshields!

here's a 1995 pinnacle gary disarcina

i like this card very much.  the yellow pinnacle triangle and green a's helmet bring some pops of color, and disarcina is also wearing the jimmie reese memorial armband.  i'll discuss that in a different post.

here's a 2005 topps placido polanco

i have received that polanco card from a couple of fellow bloggers because it is a dp turn, but also because it shows the memorial patches that the phillies wore for tug mcgraw and paul owens in 2004.  but, like the jimmie reese armband, i'll cover those memorials in a different post.

here's a 2006 topps update jerry hairston jr card

hairston won't get cards like that as a dodger, because he is too busy playing first base and the outfield

now for a dose of 2008 upper deck - chone figgins

aaron hill

mark loretta

kazuo matsui

and ryan theriot

i'll finish off with another jimmy rollins card, this one from 2010 topps

until next time, keep turning two!

now it's like i have my own matt kemp dealer

there was a second part to my trade with daniel from it's like having my own card shop.  he recently opened some 2012 topps heritage, and since i didn't buy any, i needed some dodgers.  he sent me more than just heritage, though, like this 2006 upper deck matt kemp star attractions insert

i was a fan of the nameless jersey backs, by the way.  and in a related way, i find it funny that mlb sells yankee jerseys with the names on the back.  my son had a gehrig jersey (the only yankee jersey i would approve of), but instead of just a number 4, there was 'gehrig' on the back.  dumb.

here's another kemp card; this one is from 2012 topps heritage with kemp sharing space with hammerin' hank.

it's nice to see dodgers on the 'now' part of these cards.  for a few years, that wasn't the case, and we would only see the likes of clem labine and johnny podres on the 'then and now' inserts.

here's another kemp from 2012 topps heritage, although i am not entirely certain whether this came from daniel or not - i did some organizing before i got to the scanner

topps really dropped the ball on the league leader cards. kemp should be hanging out in the colored diamond.

here's 'kid k' or 'the claw' or whatever else topps is trying to get us to call clayton kershaw

he was on a then and now card with sandy koufax - that's dodger domination!  speaking of koufax, here's his flashback card from last year's heritage release

for some reason, i scanned only the back of the 2010 topps 206 james loney mini that daniel sent

maybe it was because i couldn't stand another image of a hatless player standing in front of a circus tent or an insane asylum.

here's the front of another miniature card that was in the trade package - it's a 1992 donruss cracker jack eric davis card

and it's small.  it would definitely fit inside of a balloon.

thanks for the trade daniel!