on the road with octavio dotel

i realize that this is a topic that has been done before, but i've already done these types of posts for tommy davis, bob miller, and mike morgan, so i would feel remiss to leave out the most well-traveled player of all-time, octavio dotel.  especially since he was, for a short time like the others mentioned, a dodger.

dotel's big league career began with the mets (that's one team) in 1999 (here's a 2000 upper deck card)

even winning a game in the nlcs against the braves that year.  however, dotel was traded to the astros (two) in december of 1999 in the mike hampton deal, so he got an astros card in the later series of that same set

the astros converted dotel to a reliever, and he pitched for them for four-plus seasons before he was sent to the a's (three) during the 2004 campaign in the three-team deal that netted the 'stros carlos beltran.  this is a 2005 fleer tradition card

showing dotel in the green and gold.  from there, dotel became a free agent after the 2005 season and signed a one year deal with the yankees (four).  he signed another free agent deal after the 2006 season, this time with the royals (five).  topps issued a card of him wearing the kansas city uniform as part of the 2007 topps set

but he was again traded midseason, this time to the braves (six).  so, topps put him in the update & highlights set that year (this is the gold parallel)

and the photographer had him pose such that dotel has a light standard growing out of the side of his face.

after finishing out the 2007 season with the braves, dotel spent 2008 and 2009 with the white sox (seven) before joining the pirates (eight) for the start of the 2010 season.  at the trading deadline that year, the dodgers (nine) sent james mcdonald and andrew lambo to pittsburgh for dotel.  topps was kind enough to fake him into a dodger uniform for the 2010 update set (here's the walmart black parallel)

even though the dodgers traded dotel to the rockies (ten) in mid-september.  for the record, dotel pitched in 19 games as a dodger, going 1-1 with a save and a 3.38 era.

dotel began the 2011 season with the toronto blue jays (eleven). here's his 2011 topps card

once again, however, dotel was traded during the season.  this time, he was headed to the cardinals (twelve), and was included as such in the 2011 topps update set (this is a cognac parallel)

dotel won a world series ring as a member of the 2011 cardinals.  he pitched in all three postseason series, winning a game in both the nlds and nlcs, but losing one in the fall classic.

he was back in the world series again in 2012, but this time it was as a member of the detroit tigers (his thirteenth team - a major league record).  here's his 2012 topps update card showing him as a motor city kitty

the tigers lost that series, but brought dotel back for the 2013 season.  unfortunately, he remained unsigned after the season ended, and his big league career was over.

13 teams in 15 seasons is pretty impressive, and i'm glad dotel came through los angeles on his tour of duties, even if ned gave away mcdonald and lambo for six weeks of a replacement level reliever.

where's jamey wright's card?

my lone disappointment with 2014 topps update is that there was no card for dodger reliever jamey wright.  he last appeared in a baseball card set in 2012 topps update (here's his cognac or gold sparkle or whatever parallel from that set)

and that was from his first stint as a dodger.  yes, jamey wright is a dodger double dipper.

[this is the eighty-seventh installment in the double dippers posts.  here are the previous posts - brett butler, omar daal, eric young, nick willhite, chris gwynn, mickey hatcher, dave anderson, don zimmer, rafael landestoy, dave hansen, jose vizcaino, hideo nomo, greg maddux, mike maddux, jon garland, chan ho park, vicente romo, gene mauch, denny lewallyn, von joshua, joe moeller, dioner navarro, rudy seanez, bart shirley, randy wolf, ismael valdes, bobby castillo, mike devereaux, pete richert, jay johnstone, jesse orosco, lee lacy, giovanni carrara, jeff weaver, ted sizemore,  orel hershiser, tom goodwin, joe ferguson, eddie murray, matt luke, ken mcmullen, tim wallach, jerry grote, don sutton, ralph branca, todd hundley, elmer dessens, guillermo mota, joe beckwith, jamie hoffmann, babe herman, joe medwick, juan castro, ron perranoski, clyde king, paul waner, hughie jennings, ron negray, broadway aleck smith, george smith, johnny cooney, jim fairey, frenchy bordagaray, doc casey, waite hoyt, luis olmo, clyde sukeforth, willie keeler,  harry howell, germany smith, johnny allen, marv rackley, bobo newsom, maury wills, dazzy vance, ray hayworth, zack taylor, john cronin, art herring, brian falkenborg, bill reidy, john anderson, vito tamulis, wally hood, jim bruske, bill dahlen, and patsy donovan.]

following that one year with the dodgers, in which wright threw 67.2 innings and had an era of 3.72, the dodgers decided not to re-sign him, and he wound up pitching for the rays in 2013, as this photo from getty images will attest.

he did pretty well, too, posting an era of 3.09 in 70 innings of work.  he did so well, in fact, that the dodgers chose to bring him back for the 2014 season.  he threw 70.1 innings this time around, and even made a spot start.  his era jumped to 4.35, however, and he is currently a free agent.  the bullpen is a big piece of the dodgers' offseason puzzle, and i am guessing that not much attention will be paid to the veteran (soon to be 40 years old).  so, couldn't topps have at least made one last card for him? for me?  there were photos available through getty images, like this one:

i hope russell martin gets better treatment after the dodgers sign him this winter...

so, i sought out a repack

this 1992 bowman vaughn eshelman card means business.

i found it in a repack that i sought out after finding (both surprisingly and somewhat disappointingly) only current cards at one of the local walgreens.  i had my mind set on a repack, so a couple of days later i picked up a hanger of recycled cards at target.

here's the oldest card from the pack - a 1985 topps bryn smith

that's nice - i'm kind of a bryn smith fan.  i met his dad when i was in high school is how that came about.

this 2012 topps update ra dickey card is the newest card from the repack

nice shot of the knuckle grip, but why isn't he wearing number 49 like a good knuckler?

as always, there were some 1987 topps cards included, such as this tony gwynn all-star subset card

and there was also some 1988 fleer, including this tim wallach card

the card design works well with the expos' unis, although the blues don't quite match.  that card will be heading to new mexico at some point.

there was actually a 1989 fleer card that i am going to keep in the repack - this checklist card that features the dodgers and red sox

there are your defending world champions, from dave anderson to tracy woodson.  i don't know about you other set collectors, but i always included the fleer checklists with my team sets, probably because in 1983 and 1984 (and possibly other years) they featured a photo of the manager on them.

here's a 1990 topps willie stargell glossy all-star card

pops was the honorary captain of the national league squad in 1988 as he was voted into the hall of fame that year.

there was a complete 14-card factory set of the 2008 topps yankees in the repack

joba looks like he's relieving himself on the lawn outside a kegger somewhere.

i beat the odds and picked a repack that included an autographed card.  it's a 2006 topps '52 matt albers card

i would have preferred another auto card of a different matt from that same set, but repack purchasers can't be choosers.  not in that way, anyway.

a memorial patch for gary carter

after gary carter passed away in february of 2012, the mets added a patch to their jerseys in his honor.  the plate shaped patch with his nickname (kid) and number 8 can be seen on kirk nieuwenhuis' 2012 bowman platinum card

sometimes, the patch was worn on the upper right chest, as seen on josh edgin's 2012 topps update card

and during the 2012 all-star game, the patch was worn by the met representatives on the upper left chest, as evidenced by david wright's 2012 topps update card

usually, however, it was on the right sleeve as demonstrated by the nieuwenhuis card up top, and by this 2013 topps archives johan santana card

which edged out the nieuwenhuis for a spot in the binder.

carter played only five seasons with the mets (1985-89), but he drove in over 100 runs twice in that time, and finished third in the mvp voting in 1986.  of course, carter's leadership of the club played a big role in their world championship that year, and he probably deserved the series mvp award more than ray knight.  it was carter who tied the score in game 6 with an rbi single, forcing extra innings, and it was carter who started the improbably rally in the 10th inning with a 2-out single.  he also drove in the tying run in game 7.  creach the hall of fame, but montreal had lost their franchise to washington dc, and the nationals did not wear a patch similar to the mets.

carter was diagnosed with brain tumors in 2011, and despite treatment, new tumors were found in 2012 shortly before his death. he was just 57 years old.  it is worth noting that carter's number had been retired by the expos following his retirement in 1993, and he was the first expo to reach the hall of fame, but montreal had lost their franchise to washington dc, and the nationals did not wear a patch similar to the mets.

the mike flanagan memorial patch

mike flanagan, the 1979 american league cy young award winner who won 141 games for the orioles in 15 seasons with them, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in august of 2011.  the team, for which flanagan had also been a broadcaster, coach, and executive, wore a memorial patch in his honor for the remainder of the season.

manager buck showalter wore the patch on his pullover windbreaker as shown on his 2012 topps heritage card

and here it is on the actual uniform jersey of troy patton on a 2012 topps update card

the orioles wore a slightly different version of the patch when their black jerseys were in play.  i don't have a card showing that version, but here's a photo of jj hardy that shows the patch outlined in white.

flanagan was a member of the 1979 pennant winning orioles, as well as the 1983 world champion team, but was traded to the blue jays during the 1987 season.  flanagan returned to the orioles in 1991 and finished his playing career with them in 1992.  he was the last orioles' pitcher in the history of memorial stadium, and also got to pitch in camden yards.  following his retirement, he joined the orioles as a broadcaster and then served two stints as a pitching coach before joining the front office as the executive vice president of baseball operations - a position he held from 2002 to 2008.

i did not realize that it was flanagan who gave don stanhouse the nickname 'stan the man unusual', nor did i know that his nicknaming abilities may have been what inspired chris berman.  i did realize early on in my baseball fandom, however, that flanagan was a good pitcher, winning 19 games in 1978 and then his career-high and league-leading 23 in 1979.  later, i learned that wins weren't the best barometer, but i still knew that flanagan could pitch as i rooted for the blue jays as my american league team in 1987 and flanagan threw 11 innings in game 161, trying to stave off the tigers.

flanagan's suicide has been attributed to despression, which he struggled with for a long time, according to his widow.  he was 59 years old.

random cards from the scanned folder are like a box of chocolates

look deep into scott erickson's eyes on his 2005 topps total card

he'll make you forget that this is a post of cards thrown together with little to no thought or common theme.  just a bunch of cards i have scanned over the years, but not posted for one reason or another.  as an aside, i forgot all about this card when i went to a signing that erickson attended three years ago when the twins celebrated the 1991 world series team.  that's ok - his wife was there, and i forgot all about baseball cards for a moment.

now it's time for some edwin jackson.  this is a 2005 topps turkey red card

and this is a 2005 upper deck all-star classics

jackson made his big league debut on his 20th birthday (9/9/03), squaring off against randy johnson and the diamondbacks.  the dodgers made him a winner that day, and again a couple of weeks later in san francisco (a game that i attended).  jackson was wild in that game, walking 8, but he struck out barry bonds and allowed no runs and only 2 hits in his 6 innings of work.  jackson was back with the dodgers for a handful of games in 2004 and 2005, but was traded to the devil rays prior to the 2006 season.  in his 12-year career (so far), jackson has pitched for 8 teams.

2005 upper deck espn cesar izturis web gems

izturis won a gold glove in 2004 which largely explains his appearance in an insert set

2011 panini playoff contenders chris reed

reed was the dodgers' first round pick in 2011.  he was born in london, but attended high school in socal and went to stanford after that.  he's currently a double-a chattanooga. 

2011 bowman andre ethier gold parallel

and 2011 bowman ted lilly gold parallel

ethier only gets one parallel in this post, but lilly gets three.

2011 topps ted lilly diamond anniversary platinum parallel

and 2011 topps update ted lilly cognac parallel

i still prefer lilly's 2013 topps card.

here's a few more from 2011 topps update.  remember javy guerra?

who comes in cognac form

and platinum parallel fashion as well

guerra was picked up on waivers by the white sox earlier this year, so he and ronald belisario are making it deja vu all over again in the chisox bullpen.

one more from 2011 topps update - it's matt guerrier

guerrier was dealt to the cubs last year for carlos marmol, but signed with the twins prior to this season. he was just recently dfa'd by the club, although aside from his last outing he hadn't pitched that poorly.  i was a fan - as much as one can be of a non-closer reliever.

in other news, chris capuano is now a yankee.  here's his 2012 topps update card

and his 2013 topps gypsy queen white framed parallel

he had started the season with the red sox after two years with the dodgers, but was released on july 1. after a short stint with the rockies' organization, capuano had his contract purchased by the yankees and made a start for them just the other day.  he turned in a quality start, but didn't get a decision.

through the mail thursday - a jerry hairston jr ttm success!

former dodger and current dodger network analyst jerry hairston jr signed and returned a couple of cards for me last week.  he signed and returned his fantastic 2012 topps update card

and his 2013 topps card

in about a week.

hairston is now part of the dodgers' pre and postgame broadcast team at sportsnet la, their new network that came from the $7 billion deal that allowed the team to have the league's highest payroll.  i don't live in southern california, so i can't see the network, but then again, neither can most southern californians at the moment.

thanks for signing my cards jerry!

memorial patches for kevin hickey and moose

bill 'moose' skowron passed away in late april, 2012, and fellow white sox alum kevin hickey died a couple of weeks later.  the white sox honored both former players with diamond memorial patches on their 2012 jerseys.  the top one read 'hic man' for hickey, and the bottom patch had 'bms' for bill 'moose' skowron.

you can see both patches on the road grays thanks to francisco liriano's 2012 topps update card

as well as on the home pinstripes courtesy of adam dunn's 2013 topps

and 2013 topps opening day cards

and even on the throwbacks thanks to alex rios' 2013 topps archives card

but the card that gives us the best view of the patches is this 2012 topps heritage high numbers francisco liriano card. it's the one that goes in the memorials binder

one thing i like about this relatively new collection of mine is that i get to learn about players that i might not have known much about otherwise.  i did not know that kevin hickey's story rivals that of 'the rookie' jim morris or that philadelphia eagle player that disney made a movie about.

hickey was a steelworker who played softball and went to a tryout held by the white sox in the late 1970's.  he did well enough that he wound up getting to play in the minor leagues.  he eventually earned a call up and pitched in the majors for parts of six seasons - three with the white sox and three with the orioles.  even after his playing career was over, he remained close to the white sox, and was the team's bp pitcher from 2004 up until his death.

skowron i knew more about, largely because of his role in the dodgers' 1963 world series sweep of the yankees.  it was his lone season as a dodger, but he hit .385 in the fall classic with a home run to help defeat his former team, which he was not too thrilled about.  beginning the following year (after a short stint with the senators), skowron played for the white sox for a few seasons.  after retiring, he returned to chicago and served as an ambassador for the team as a member of their community relations department.  skowron appeared in 7 world series as a member of the yankees to go along with his one as a dodger, but the yankees did not wear armbands in 2012.