60 years of topps in the garvey binders

the next sheet of cards from the steve garvey binders features some familiar images, along with some decent sized relic swatches.  here is sheet 68:

those cards are:

1. 2011 in the game heroes and prospects dual jerseys silver relics (with trayvon robinson) (print run of 49)
2. 2011 in the game heroes and prospects jersey autographs silver (print run of 9)
3. 2011 topps 60 relics
4. 2011 topps 60 years of topps 1982 in action reprint
5. 2011 topps 60 years of topps 1982 in action reprint original back
6. 2011 topps 60 years of topps 1985 reprint
7. 2011 topps 60 years of topps 1985 reprint original back
8. 2011 topps 60
9. 2011 topps marquee titanic threads relic /99

i've mentioned before that i think in the game should have serial numbered their cards, rather than just issue print run data, especially when there are only 9 of the auto/relic card.  the majority of the sheet belongs to topps, however, and i must say that i appreciated garvey being included in the 2011 topps flagship insert sets.  after using garvey's 1971 rookie card in the 2010 cards your mom threw out subset, topps came back with his 1982 in action card and his 1985 card.  the backs of those cards (the non-original backs, to be clear) have more to do with the topps set than the individual garvey card, although there is some garvey specific text.

speaking of which, here are the backs:

a few notes about those backs.  first, the topps 60 cards.  the relic card back notes that only ichiro, wade boggs, and derek jeter had more 200-hit seasons than garvey in the past 40 years.  garvey had more than tony gwynn! later, we see that garvey's highest hit total was 210, which places in a tie for 8th highest in dodger franchise history.  next, it is worth noting that the back of the 1982 in action reprint (non-original back) states that garvey had played in 8 straight all-star games heading into the 1982 season "a fact emphasized on the back".  however, thanks to the existence of the original back version of the insert right next to it, we see that there is no mention of his all-star streak.

here is sheet 69:

those cards are:

1. 2011 topps marquee titanic threads red relic /75
2. 2012 panini golden age
3. 2012 panini golden age mini broadleaf brown ink
4. 2012 panini national treasures treasure signature materials /25
5. 2012 topps golden moments
6. 2012 topps golden moments autograph
7. 2012 topps gypsy queen relic
8. 2012 topps gypsy queen framed mini relic
9. 2012 topps triple threads unity relic autograph /99

there are several other mini variations from the panini golden age set that i have avoided for some reason - the reason being i am no longer so enthusiastic about chasing all of the variations of garvey cards.  i am not entirely sure why there were two relics in the gypsy queen set and no regular base card, but again, i appreciate topps keeping garvey in mind when creating their checklists.

here are the backs:

you can see by the upside down panini treasures back that panini and i disagree on the proper orientation of the front of the card.  i learned from 1978 topps, thank you very much.

still more to come - stay tuned...

too many tigers sporting memorial patches

for quite a while now, i've been posting about memorial patches on mondays.  i still have quite a few to get to, but two of the patches i have already covered include the ernie harwell patch worn by the tigers in 2010, and the sparky anderson patch that the motor city kitties wore in 2011.  dennis from too many verlanders recently sent me a package that included a whole mess of tigers wearing these patches.  here are two cards of brennan boesch from 2010 topps update that show the harwell patch.

these cards are both great examples of the patch that i did not have in my collection previously.  i'll keep the valverde in the memorials binder, however.

dennis also included a whole mess of cards showing the sparky anderson patch.

there we have cards from 2011 topps and 2011 topps update, and here are a couple (plus a parallel) from 2012 topps

boesch is back with a 2012 topps allen & ginter card

while alex avila and miguel cabrera show the patch on their 2012 topps archives cards

boesch and miggy also show the patch on their 2012 topps gypsy queen cards

and then there are the 2012 bowman cards

the tigers' american league central division rival kansas city royals also wore a memorial patch in 2011 (for former pitcher paul splittorff), and dennis threw this 2012 bowman billy butler card in the package as well.

he added another memorial patch, too - the harry caray memorial patch can be seen on this 1999 ud choice kerry wood starquest insert

although this was included as part of the complete 30-card set in a separate package.  i had claimed some cards from dennis, and he included this set (which contained a single dodger - adrian beltre)

as well as a set of the 1990 fleer league standouts insert set, which included current dodger manager don mattingly wearing pinstripes

i'll show some of the cards that i claimed in a later post.

there was yet another package that dennis sent recently.  it contained one card that he picked up at a card show with me in mind - a 2005 topps pristine steve garvey uncirculated card

i've got one in the garvey collection already, but now i have one for the dodger binder, too.

thanks dennis!

a tiger memorial patch for sparky

sparky anderson wasn't out of a managerial job for long following his firing by the cincinnati reds after the 1978 season.  in june of 1979, he was hired to lead the detroit tigers, and he remained at the helm for 17 seasons.  in 1984, sparky's tigers went 35-5 to open the season and never looked back, winning a world series title for the first time since 1968.

like the reds, the tigers wore a memorial patch for sparky on their right sleeves during the 2011 season following his death in november of 2010.  you can see it on al alburquerque's 2011 topps update card

miguel cabrera's 2012 topps card

doug fister's 2012 topps opening day card

and alex avila's 2012 topps gypsy queen card

the card that gives the best look at it, however, is this 2012 topps heritage andy dirks card that i received from pat at hot corner cards

although the 1984 team was the only one of sparky's tiger squads to reach the world series, he also led the team to a playoff berth in 1987, winning manager of the year awards in both of those seasons.  his 2194 wins as a manager (863 with the reds and 1331 with the tigers) were the third most in history when he retired behind connie mack and john mcgraw (he has since been passed by tony larussa, joe torre, and bobby cox), and he was inducted into the baseball hall of fame in 2000.

running with rhubarb

it's been a while since i completed my latest trade with the rhubarb runner at e rayhan rayhahn. someday, i would like to have my want lists as complete and organized as rhubarb runner.  until that day, i will accept any smattering of dodger cards.  anyway, for some carefully culled twins cards, i received a very nice load of dodgers.

2013 topps triple threads sandy koufax

oh, so now we're just including triple threads koufax cards in our trade packages?  no big deal, i guess.  and, where there's koufax, there's likely duke snider

yes, of the 2012 topps gypsy queen variety.  but what about pee wee, you ask?  don't worry, he's here too.

2005 upper deck mvp batter up! insert

the package wasn't all brooklyn glory - here's a 2013 topps hanley ramirez emerald parallel

and a 2013 topps chrome matt kemp die cut insert

kemp was also represented by 2006 bowman draft

and a 2006 bowman draft gold parallel

here's a 2005 upper deck pros & prospects yhency brazoban card

yhency filled in for eric gagne as the team's closer for a while.  that was during the time that i was reading and commenting on jon weisman's 'dodger thoughts' blog.  someone over there coined the phrase 'ghame over' when yhency was pitching.  there were even t-shirts made.  good times.

not so much good times with nori nakamura.  he flamed out pretty quickly, but there are still a few cards of his to be had by dodger collectors.  this one is from 2005 leaf certified.

last, and actually probably least, is a 2005 donruss diamond kings paul loduca dual relic

thanks for the trade david!  i'll be checking your want lists again soon!

the phillies' 'b' memorial patch

two of the three buck brothers who purchased the phillies back in 1981 died during the 2010 offseason.  alexander 'whip' buck passed away in october 2010, while jim buck died in march of 2011.  as far as i can tell, the third brother - william - is still alive today.  they were the heirs to what is now known as the glaxosmithkline pharmaceutical company, and used a small amount of their fortunes to buy the phillies in 1981.

for the 2011 season, the phillies wore a circular patch with the letter 'b' inside to remember the two brothers.  the patch is visible on a whole mess of 2012 cards, including this 2012 topps heritage charlie manuel card

roy halladay is wearing it on this 2012 topps league leader card

clayton kershaw is also wearing a memorial patch - his is for duke snider.

here's a nice 2012 topps target red parallel of jose contreras with the patch

and a regular 2012 topps card of joe savery

i thought about using ryan howard's 2012 topps chrome card as the example in the memorial binder

but shane victorino's card from the same set is better

i'm not a victorino fan, so i kept looking.  here's a 2012 topps gypsy queen jimmy rollins card

and a couple of hunter pence cards - 2012 topps opening day

and 2012 topps archives

i probably like pence less than victorino, so i'll go with jimmy rollins' 2012 topps opening day card

as the representative card in the collection.

with all the talk about the new dodgers' ownership and the finances that the guggenheim group has, the buck brothers were also venture capitalists and have apparently set the phillies up with a vast amount of resources to remain competitive for a long time.

more tales from the trade super collider

here are some more cards i received from arpsmith recently

2009 topps walmart black casey blake

and chad billingsley

plus a 2012 topps heritage aaron harang

there were more cards, too, but one can only scan so many.  i picked the harang because who knows why.

brian at play at the plate included some chrome stuff from 2011 - andre ethier orange refractor

and jerry sands regular refractor.

i think the sands is a refractor, anyway.  sands is really struggling in aaa this year.  with mccutcheon, marte, and travis snider in the bigs, there isn't much room for sands.  add jose tabata to the mix, and it looks like it will be tough for sands to break through in pittsburgh.

here's a matt kemp 2012 bowman gold parallel

and a purple parallel(ogram) from 2012 bowman prospects of jt wise

wise is in aa this year, hitting .265 and playing first base.  his way also seems blocked.

a few more from brian - 2012 topps gypsy queen sandy koufax gold frame parallel

and some 2012 bowman platinum - andre ethier

and clatyon kershaw

if i recall correctly, those are just the base versions, not blue parallels.  they scan up real nice.  there are a few colored parallels, though - gold, emerald, and ruby

speaking of which, doc holoday sent me one of those

it's nice even in it's miscut glory.  i have to remember to stop putting shiny cards on the left part of my scanner.

finally (for this post) here is a 2012 topps jerry sands gold sparkle

thanks again guys!