feeling complete, except for some cards that should have been that i didn't make

i certainly didn't think this would happen, but i completed my 1955 topps brooklyn dodger team set recently by adding ed roebuck's card to my collection.

that means that my topps flagship/update dodger team sets are complete from 1954 through 2013, including variations (except for those super short printed 2012 topps update cards of the red sox three), and through 2015 if we are just considering the base cards.  add in a 1955 bowman team set, a 1963 fleer team set, and what i believe to be 1960 and 1961 fleer team sets, and i'm feeling pretty good about that part of my collection.

speaking of 1955 topps and completion, quite a while back i completed the 1995 topps archives brooklyn dodgers set, which includes some cards that should have been, including a 1955 topps tom lasorda card

topps created backs for these cards, too

because of this card, a 1955 topps lasorda card was never on my list of 'cards that should have been' to create, but 1956 and 1957 topps lasorda cards were.  bob lemke created a 1956 card, but i've never gotten around to a '57 lasorda.  speaking of '57's, jackie robinson was on my list of cards to create, since 1957 would have been a final tribute year with jackie's last season coming in 1956.  bob lemke has a '57 jackie, but he's in giants gear which is frankly disturbing.  still, i haven't made the time to finish that card that should have been, either.  other cards on my list were also final tributes that i haven't gotten around to, such as a 1980 topps willie davis card, and a 1995 topps steve sax card. some of the cards on that list, however, have been created by others.

for instance, here's a 1958 topps roy campanella

created by bob lemke

a 1959 topps pee wee reese

that would fit right in with the '59 set. unfortunately, i've misplaced the source for this card. if you know who created it, please let me know and i'll update the post.

a 1965 topps duke snider

created by cards that never were.  only slightly less disturbing than seeing jackie in giants gear.  and to think that the duke actually suited up for the nocals.

it's not just final tributes that were on my list - there are some cards just plain missing from history, like this 1977 topps reggie jackson

created by bob lemke, although i believe that there is a test/proof of this as an actual topps card out there (in keith olbermann's collection?).

still, most of the cards i wanted to create were final tributes, like this 1978 topps brooks robinson

created by uncle doc's card closet - when topps had (base)balls also created a final tribute for brooks, who was given the al kaline treatment and just had a season highlight card in what should have been his final tribute set.

in keeping with the oriole theme here at the bottom of the post, here are some cards that i made for ryan at o no another orioles blog a while back.  they are all of o's pitcher jamie walker.  i made a 2007 topps

a 2008 topps

and a 2009 topps

for ryan, who, like me, lamented the lack of cards given to non-closer relievers in sets these days.

as for all of the other cards i've created, i think there are some good ones in there, and certainly there are a lot of talented folks out there making their own cards that should have been, never were, or just need to be.  one of the best is travis from punk rock paint/the baseball card blog.  i still think that topps should pick up his 'pugilists & other pugnacious princes of play' idea and give us a real copy of this chan ho park card

made with a 2009 topps allen & ginter-ish feel.  come on, a set with that card, juan marichal wielding a bat, alex rodriguez getting punched by jason varitek, and aj pierzynski getting clocked by michael barrett among others? it's a no-brainer set that really ought to be made.  i'd collect the whole thing.

moving into the '10s in the steve garvey binders

sheet 66 of my steve garvey binders starts where sheet 65 left off, with cards from 2008 donruss threads, but we'll soon get to cards from the current decade.  have a look:

those cards are:

1. 2008 donruss threads jersey relic (white swatch) /150
2. 2008 donruss threads college greats insert
3. 2008 donruss threads century collection materials relic /100
4. 2008 donruss playoff prime cuts
5. 2008 topps triple threads
6. 2008 topps triple threads sepia parallel /525
7. 2008 topps triple threads emerald parallel /240
8. 2008 topps triple threads relics combos (with duke snider and russell martin) /36
9. 2008 topps triple threads relics combos (with reggie jackson and willie randolph) /36

the first donruss threads relic is from the same serial numbered run as the one i showed last time (with a yellow swatch), meaning there aren't two distinct 150-card runs for each color.  the century collection relic is a nice dodger card marred by the padres' yellow swatch.  i'm missing a few of the triple threads parallels - well, more than a few - but they are hard to come by especially now.

here are the backs:

i don't believe there were any non-topps garvey cards in 2009.  i don't have any, anyway, as we'll see on sheet 67:

those cards are:

1. 2009 topps ring of honor insert
2. 2009 topps sterling /250
3. 2009 topps sterling framed white parallel /50
4. 2009 topps tribute
5. 2009 topps tribute blue parallel /219
6. 2009 topps tribute black parallel /99
7. 2010 topps cards your mom threw out insert
8. 2010 topps cards your mom threw out (original back) insert
9. 2011 in the game heroes and prospects heroes memorabilia jersey silver (print run 160)

there's a gold parallel numbered to 50 from 2009 topps tribute that i would like to find.  i don't really need any of the other sterling parallels, though.  there are 18 garvey cards from the 2011 in the game heroes and prospects release, and i have a couple more that will show up on the next sheet.  there are quite a few 1/1's that i will never see, let alone own, and that's ok.

here are the backs:

the 'original back' of the cymto is much brighter than the actual 1971 topps backs.  easier to read now, i suppose, but more likely a function of the cardstock used these days.

stay tuned for more goodness from the steve garvey binders!

los angeles dodger managerial autographs managed

the los angeles dodgers have had only 9 managers in their 58-year history. compare that to the marlins, who have employed 13 managers (including two interim guys with just one game apiece) in their 23 years of existence.  all but one of the la dodger managers are still with us, and so obtaining autographs from each is not too difficult.

i've finally found the final piece to this collection, and so i will now display a complete set of la dodger manager autographed dodger cards.

1968 topps team (walt alston)

smokey passed away in 1984, so this card is obviously one that i purchased.  he first started managing the dodgers in 1954, and he won a total of 7 pennants and 4 world series, with 5 of those pennants and 3 of the world series titles coming in los angeles.  alston was at the helm for 2040 dodger wins - most all-time - and is enshrined in the hall of fame.  he gave way at the end of the 1976 season to tommy lasorda.

1978 topps tom lasorda

tommy signed this card for me through the mail, which was fantastic.  from the last four games of the 1976 season until his heart attack during the 1996 season, lasorda's dodgers won 1599 games, 4 pennants, and two world series titles, and lasorda himself was twice named the national league manager of the year.  he is second behind alston on the franchise's all-time managerial wins list, and he, too, is in the baseball hall of fame.  following the aforementioned heart attack in 1996, lasorda retired and bill russell took over.

1987 topps bill russell

like lasorda, russell signed this card (a final tribute) through the mail.  there is one card of him as a manager, and it comes from the 1997 mother's dodgers set.  i will try to get that one signed, but i don't believe ropes is signing through the mail anymore.  anyway, russell took over for lasorda in 1996 and led the team to a wild card berth. they were swept in the nlds, and were out of the playoff picture the following year which was russell's only full season at the helm of the club.  after 74 games in 1998, russell was fired by the fox regime about a month after the mike piazza trade.  it was the first time since leo durocher was relieved of his duties in 1948 that a dodger manager was fired during the season.  russell's 173 wins as the dodger skipper puts him 17th on the franchise list, and his winning percentage of .537 is good enough for 9th all-time (7th if we ignore interim managers clyde sukeforth and ray blades who won all three games they managed).  russell was replaced by glenn hoffman

1988 topps glenn hoffman

hoffman is (currently) the last of the former dodger players to manage the club.  he signed his 1988 topps card for me through the mail, and i may try to get him to sign a 1998 mother's dodgers card as well - it's the only one of him as a big league manager.  hoffman's dodgers finished out the 1998 season with 47 wins in 88 games, and those wins are the 25th most (out of 31) among the franchise's managers.  his .534 winning percentage puts him at 11th (or 9th), just a tick ahead of joe torre.  after the 1998 season, the fox boys were looking for a name, and they hired davey johnson to be the dodger manager.

2001 topps davey johnson

once again, the dodger manager in question signed a card for me through the mail.  johnson's debut as the dodger manager was a game for the ages.  on opening day, raul mondesi hit a 3-0 pitch into the stands for a game-tying three-run homer with two outs in the 9th, and then hit a two-run homer to walk-off the diamondbacks in the bottom of the 11th.  good times.  johnson wound up managing the team for two years, and the dodgers were 163-161 during his tenure (163 wins puts johnson 19th among the franchise's managers).  in 2000, they finished well behind the giants for second place in the nl west, and were 8 behind the mets for the wild card, and so johnson was fired after the season ended.  jim tracy was hired to take over.

2002 topps jim tracy

this is another through the mail autograph success, by the way.  tracy managed to manage the dodgers for five seasons, with the team winning 93 games and the nl west in 2004. although they lost to the cardinals in the nlds that year, they did win their first postseason game since 1988 (thanks to lima time!).  overall, tracy's dodgers were 427-384, and if it weren't for an awful 2005 season (you'll not be able to convince me that tracy wasn't trying to get fired that year - the second worst season for any la dodger team), his winning percentage would have been better. tracy ranks 6th all-time in wins for the franchise, behind five hall of famers, but he will probably be passed by don mattingly later this season.  the dodgers hired grady little to replace tracy following the 2005 season.

2007 topps grady little

i had to purchase this signed card.  

*update* little returned my ttm request after a fair amount of time with both his 2007 topps card 

and 2006 upper deck card 

signed.  very happy to have this success! *end update*

little's 170 wins in his two seasons as the team's manager puts him right between bill russell and davey johnson on the franchise's all-time list.  the dodgers won the wild card in 2006, but were swept in the nlds, and then finished 3rd in 2007.  little resigned as the team's manager after the 2007 season as it seemed apparent that frank mccourt wanted to hire joe torre to take over.

2009 topps joe torre

hall of fame manager torre, who signed this card through the mail, came aboard and led the club to two straight nl west titles and national league championship series berths.  the team faltered in 2010, however, and torre retired after that season. his 259 wins are 12th best among the franchise's managers, and his winning percentage is sandwiched by hoffman's and little's on the leader board. torre's bench coach, don mattingly, was picked to be his successor.

2014 topps heritage don mattingly

this card was the final card i needed for this post.  i had previously received a couple of signed mattingly cards through the mail with some help from reader cory, but i wanted a card of mattingly in dodger gear signed as well.  turns out i had to buy one.  mattingly is the current dodger skipper, and he has the team in first place this year, his fifth at the helm.  the team has won the nl west and made the postseason each of the last two years under mattingly, and they made it to the nlcs in 2013.  mattingly currently ranks 7th in managerial wins and tenure for the franchise, but should pass jim tracy in both of those categories by game 2 of the 2016 season.  after that, he's looking up at five hall of famers - alston, lasorda, wilbert robinson, durocher, and ned hanlon.  that's not bad managerial company.

turning two in front of signs

here's former twin denny hocking turning two on his 1995 upper deck electric diamond parallel card

two things strike me on this card, aside from the pivot at second base.  first, that's the big hurt sliding in, and second, there is an ad for a florida (either fort myers or sarasota) liquor store on the outfield fence in the background.

likewise, there is a big ol' hot dog in the background of roberto alomar's 1997 upper deck collector's choice orioles team set card

that distracts from the play at hand.

the outfield wall at the oakland coliseum shows up on homer bush's 1998 pacific online card

the red ball and blue 's' is part of the sports channel ad in right-center.

nothing much to see in the background of this 2003 topps orlando cabrera card

so let's move on to michael young's 2005 upper deck first pitch card

sean casey is sliding in hard to break up the turn, which is nice to see.  the ad on the wall in the background here is for a wyler car dealership somewhere in the greater ohio area.

this 2008 upper deck brendan harris card

runs on dunkin'.

not sure who let this edgar renteria card, also from 2008 upper deck,

in this post with nothing but green growing things in the background.

here's a 2009 topps stephen drew card two ways - base

and gold parallel

with a scoreboard in the background

at least on troy tulowitzki's 2011 topps card

we have a partial ad (although not a static sign) to go along with a partial scoreboard.

i'm not sure if that's an ad or a partial logo on the wall behind sean coyle on his 2011 topps heritage minors card

but i am pretty sure it's a replica of the green monster that the thing is hanging on.  i believe most of the red sox minor league affiliates play in stadiums that replicate the fenway park experience.

meanwhile, though he's not in fenway, here's dustin pedroia turning two on his 2014 topps stadium club card

sportscenter may be up next, but i prefer mlb tonight on the mlb network.

the cardinals' josh hancock memorial patch

just a few hours after pitching three innings in an afternoon game on april 27, 2007, cardinals pitcher josh hancock was killed in an automobile accident.  the accident occurred just after midnight on april 28, and it was later determined that hancock's blood-alcohol content was about twice the legal limit.

after postponing their game that had been scheduled for the 28th, the cardinals added a memorial patch - hancock's number 32 in white within a black circle to the right sleeves of their home whites (as demonstrated by chris duncan's 2008 upper deck first edition card)

and the left sleeves of their away grays (as seen on this 2009 upper deck albert pujols starquest card)

i've got that pujols and this one - a 2009 topps card

in the memorials binder.

hancock had joined the cardinals for the 2006 season and was a part of their world championship club, although he did not pitch in the world series.  he pitched more innings in relief that year than any other member of the staff, and he had earned the chance to reprise that role in 2007.  sadly, his death came after his 8th appearance of the season at the age of 29.

it would be remiss of me not to mention the death this offseason of cardinal prospect oscar taveras under similar circumstance, as well as the fact that the team took much heat following hancock's death for not sending a strong enough message regarding drinking and driving following manager tony larussa's dui arrest earlier that spring.  as a result of hancock's death, many teams removed alcohol from their clubhouses, even though hancock had been drinking at a bar owned by former cardinal mike shannon, not at the stadium named for one of the biggest breweries in the country.

the 1978 topps dodgers in 2008 through 2010 - once again, there is only one

try as i might, i couldn't think of any reason that a member of the 1978 topps dodgers should have been included in the 2007 topps flagship set.  there were no 'turn back the clock' cards that year, and dusty baker wasn't managing, so there are no cards that should have been to showcase.  however, dusty was hired by the reds following the 2007 season to be their manager, so he returned to the flagship in 2008 and beyond.

2008 topps dusty baker

baker took over for interim manager pete mackanin, and led the reds to a 74-88 finish in 2008.  that was a 2 game improvement over 2007, but the team remained in fifth place in the nl central.

2009 topps dusty baker

the reds climbed to fourth place in the nl central in 2009 with a 78-84 record.  the club was one game over .500 and two games out of first place on july 4, but the bottom dropped out of their season soon after.

2010 topps cincinnati reds team card

with dusty baker on the back

i guess this qualifies as the manager's card from 2010 topps, although topps used to put the manager on the front of the team card.  anyway, walt jocketty's faith in dusty was rewarded in 2010 as the reds were 91-71 and claimed the central division title.  they finished five games ahead of the cardinals, but were swept by the phillies in the nlds.

sadly, this is where the trail ends for members of the 1978 topps dodgers.  i'll have some cards that should have been of dusty chronicling his final few seasons as the reds' manager, but we may well have seen the last of the 1978 topps dodgers in the topps flaghsip sets.  if so, here's the final tally of appearances:

baker 27 (1971-1987, 1993, 2001-2006, 2008-2010)
burke 2 (1978-1979)
cey 16 (1972-1987)
davalillo 14 (1963-1974, 1978-1979)
forster 16 (1972-1987)
garman 8 (1971-1973, 1975-1979)
garvey 18 (1971-1987, 2002)
goodson 6 (1973-1978)
grote 15 (1964-1976, 1978-1979)
hooton 15 (1972-1986)
hough 23 (1972-1994)
john 26 (1964-1989)
lacy 16 (1973-1988)
lasorda 19 (1954, 1973-1974, 1977-1981, 1983-1993)
lopes 18 (1973-1988, 2001-2002)
martinez 9 (1971-1976, 1978-1980)
monday 18 (1967-1984)
mota 18 (1963-1980)
oates 14 (1972-1981, 1991-1993, 2001)
rau 9 (1973-1981)
rautzhan 2 (1978-1979)
rhoden 16 (1975-1990)
russell 18 (1970-1987)
smith 17 (1967-1983)
sosa 10 (1974-1984)
sutton 23 (1966-1988)
yeager 15 (1973-1987)

there were more dusty baker cards than tommy john cards, thanks to his managerial years.

teams represented: 25 (dodgers, indians, colt .45's, pirates, white sox, astros, mets, a's, red sox, angels, expos, cardinals, braves, cubs, orioles, giants, phillies, yankees, rangers, tigers, padres, brewers, mariners, marlins, reds)

the blue jays, devil rays/rays (although bill russell did coach for tampa bay after he was fired by the dodgers), royals, twins, rockies, and diamondbacks are the only six franchises not represented, although the nationals could be added to the list since i counted the colt .45's and astros separately.  davey lopes was a coach for the nats, but obviously didn't get a card during that time.  so, until dusty gets another managerial gig and topps starts making managerial cards again, it's been fun documenting the evolution of the 1978 topps dodgers!

don sutton's career torchbearer is jose veras

don sutton began his major league career as a dodger in 1966.  his teammates at that time included hall of famers sandy koufax and don drysdale.  when sutton pitched in his last game in 1988, also as a dodger, his teammates included orel hershiser and fernando valenzuela.  here's a card of sutton from 2005 donruss throwback threads

even though it shows him in an angel uniform, it documents his travels, with his two dodger stints featured prominently along with the classic astros' logo.  not shown are his years with the brewers (1982-1984), a's (1985), and angels (1985-1987).

sutton was released by the dodgers following a start in august of 1988 in which he allowed five earned runs in 7 innings of work.  the loss he took that day put his record for the season at 3-6 with a 3.92 era. the last batter he faced was eric davis, who struck out and became sutton's 3,574th strikeout victim.  i believe that sutton's total placed him fourth all-time when he retired.  anyway, eric the red went on to play for a few more seasons (including one-plus with the dodgers), and in 2001, he found himself playing in his final game, as a giant no less.  here's his 2001 topps traded card

davis hit a fly ball against the dodgers' dennis springer on the last day of the 2001 season in what turned out to be his final career at bat.

springer, seen here on a 1998 topps card from his time with the angels

only pitched for a short while longer, making his final big league appearance on may 26, 2002.  in that game, his only appearance in 2002 by the way, springer took the loss in what was a walk-off win by the diamondbacks in extra innings.  the arizona player that hit springer's final major league pitch for a game-winning double was david dellucci

dellucci bounced around a bit after leaving the diamondbacks, and eventually made his way to cleveland which is where he was when his 2009 topps card (this is the gold parallel)

was issued.  during the season, however, dellucci was released by the indians and signed by the blue jays.  he made his last big league appearance as a blue jay in july of 2009.  facing the indians' jose veras, dellucci walked and eventually scored.  he was replaced later in the game by jose bautista, and his career was over.

jose veras. meanwhile, has bounced around some himself after leaving the indians.  after stops in florida, pittsburgh, and milwaukee, he found some success with houston in 2013 and was traded to the tigers to bolster their bullpen for the postseason.  he signed with the cubs prior to the 2014 season (this is his 2014 topps card)

but finished the season back with the astros.  he's currently a free agent, but i imagine someone will sign him and he will continue to carry don sutton's torch in 2015.