empirically, these cards are fantastic

i recently had the opportunity to meet brian, he of everybody's favorite new blog highly subjective and completely arbitrary at the local monthly card show.  we had agreed to meet near one of the vintage bargain bin dealers that i have written about so frequently and swap some cards.  it turned out to be a fitting location, as one of the cards brian dropped on me was this one:

clemente, carty, and aaron.  card number 1 in the 1965 topps set - a set which i am making slow progress towards completing.  like i said in the title - fantastic.

there were a bunch of dodgers, too, like a 2015 topps clayton kershaw rainbow foil parallel

a 2014 topps stadium club clayton kershaw field access insert

(which uses a photo that very well could wind up on a panini release), and another kershaw - this time with sandy koufax, warren spahn, and steve carlton on a 2013 topps archives 1969 4-in-1 decal insert

that's heady company for the dodger ace, but he's deserving of it.  here's another dodger lefty who garnered some high praise early in his career, fernando valenzuela on a 2915 topps baseball history insert

among the things that brian and i discussed was the appeal of o-pee-chee.  brian already knew about my  opc blog, and is actually collecting the 1965 o-pee-chee set.  he included a 1979 opc burt hooton card in the trade

which was again, fantastic. 1979 may be my favorite o-pee-chee set because of the logo in the ball.  the logo appeared again in 1982, but i prefer '79 to that set.  the only drawback to the '79 set is that there is no french on the front.

here's a 1993 topps gold jay howell parallel

and a 2008 topps gold foil casey blake parallel

and a 2003 upper deck 40 man card of paul quantrill

that quantrill would fit nicely in brian's sunglasses mini collection, but i am happy to have one of the few cards of quantrill as a dodger.

this was the second blogger i've met in person (paul from carl crawford cards is the other), and it was fun to connect with another collector like that. especially when cards like these were exchanged.  thanks brian - looking forward to the show next month!

a helping of leftovers - more ttm successes to be thankful for

well, i hope the turkey and football and pie and gelatinous cranberry from a can has served you well today.  i am taking another moment to be thankful for some through the mail successes.  these are way down the list of things i am truly thankful for, but they rate fairly high in terms of collecting related things to be thankful for.  hopefully that makes sense.

here's a 1961 topps jim golden card

not sure why i hadn't sent a request to golden before a couple of weeks ago.  he may be best remembered for being one of the guys that the dodgers got from philadelphia in exchange for sparky anderson.  he was also traded for nellie fox later in his career.

thanks jim!

another former dodger, chad kreuter, signed a couple of cards for me a couple of years ago.  here's his 2001 topps card

and his 2002 topps card

kreuter may be best remembered for being the first dodgers since (i believe) reggie smith to go into the stands after a fan.  in kreuter's case, a fan in chicago stole his hat, and chad wanted it back.  it was the incident that led to kevin malone being referred to as 'the sheriff', as i recall.

thanks chad!

now for a 2005 topps update & highlights blake dewitt card

dewitt signed that one for me shortly after he left la for chicago.

thanks blake!

from one blake to another, here are a couple of casey blake cards that the former dodger signed for me through the mail.

2009 topps allen & ginter

looks nice!

2010 topps

thanks casey!

the last few are of the non-dodger variety, and are mostly due to my desire for more signed 1978 topps cards. first, though, there is this 1973 topps don kessinger card

followed, of course, by his 1978 topps card

love the lapels, by the way.  kessinger was named player-manager of the white sox for the 1979 season, and so he got two cards in the 1979 set, which i thought was pretty cool.  topps had done the same for frank robinson in 1975, but for some reason only gave him the team card in 1976 and 1977.  silly topps.

thanks don!

here's kessinger's teammate and subordinate, eric soderholm

soderholm was the first overall pick of the 1968 draft (january secondary) when he was taken by the twins.  appropriately, he also signed a 1976 topps card from his tenure in minnesota.

off the top of my head, i think this brings the number of former number 1 overall picks in my ttm autograph collection to 7 - soderholm, rick monday, tim foli, floyd bannister, bill almon, tim belcher, and josh hamilton - although i think most don't consider the secondary draft to be a true number 1 overall pick.  i think of that particular draft to be the one wherein the dodgers picked davey lopes in the 2nd round.  but i digress.

thanks eric!

back on topic - here's a 1978 topps bill castro card

and a 1978 topps card of his teammate, lary sorensen

thanks bill and lary!

the evolution of the dodger third baseman, part four - where do we go from here?

we left off the evolutionary chain of dodger third basemen last time with tim wallach, who manned the hot corner for the dodgers from 1993-95, and for the last part of the 1996 season as well.  he was re-acquired by the dodgers after their newly acquired third baseman went down with an injury.  still, mike blowers started 90 games at third for the dodgers in 1996, so he gets some attention here.

mike blowers (1996)

blowers is wearing his seattle mariners uniform there on that 1996 upper deck collector's choice card.  he had three different stints in seattle, including 1997 - the year following his time in la.  the dodgers acquired blowers after the 1995 season in which he hit 23 homers and drove in 96 runs.  he was hitting .265 with 6 homers and 38 rbi after 92 games with the dodgers when his season ended thanks to an injury.  the dodgers replaced him with wallach, and blowers walked as a free agent after the season ended.

wallach was a stopgap, and he retired following the 1996 campaign.  so, the dodgers went out and got another third baseman to fill the void.

todd zeile (1997)

zeile's 1997 topps finest card tells the story, as he was a free agent acquisition prior to the 1997 season.  he played a whopping 160 games at third base for the dodgers, and hit 31 home runs with 90 rbi and a .268 batting average.  this was too good to be true, however, as he was traded away with mike piazza early in the 1998 season.

adrian beltre (1998-2004)

beltre was 19 when he took over the third base position for the dodgers.  bobby bonilla, who was acquired as part of the piazza/zeile trade bounty, was originally slotted at the hot corner, but beltre wound up making 74 appearances with 54 starts and 49 complete games compared to bonilla's 59, 57, and 34.  that's his 2000 fleer gamers card, by the way.  beltre provided some long lost stability at the position, playing a total of 957 games for the dodgers at third base from 1998 through 2004.  his tenure culminated with a 48 home run (to lead the league), 121 rbi, .334 batting average season that netted him a silver slugger and second place in the league mvp voting.  then it was off to seattle.

beltre's departure resulted in a rag-tag of players trying their hand at third base.  the dodgers signed a japanese player, norihiro nakamura, and gave him the keys, but he flamed out after just 14 games.  after that, there were many who tried.  i'll pick one.

oscar robles (2005)

mike edwards made 39 appearances at third for the dodgers in 2005, with 33 starts and 31 complete games for a total of 294.2 innings.  robles gets the nod from me here due to his 40 appearances at third, even though he started only 31 games there with 30 complete games and 292.1 innings.  that is partly due to the fact that i had a 2005 upper deck sweet spot card of robles already scanned as well as the idea that robles represents to me the fact that jim tracy lost his marbles in 2005.  maybe i should have used edwards, as robles played more short than third in 2005.  oh well, neither one factored into the equation for very long.

wilson betemit (2006-2007)

the dodgers acquired betemit near the 2006 trade deadline after the guy they intended to be their third baseman, bill mueller, was lost for the season due to injury.  betemit appeared as the dodgers' third baseman in 102 games over the 2006 and 2007 seasons.  he was traded at the 2007 deadline to the yankees for scott proctor, but he still made more appearances at third than any other dodger in '07.  nomar gets a nod here, though - he played third after betemit left.

blake dewitt (2008)

the dodgers gave 22-year old rookie dewitt the third baseman's job in 2008 (his '08 upper deck timeline card is appropriate here, don't you think)?  in all, he made 95 appearances and 77 starts there, but failed to convince the organization that he was the answer.  in fact, he found himself playing second base by the time the postseason rolled around as he started every playoff game at second for the dodgers in place of the injured jeff kent.

casey blake (2009-2010)

the dodgers acquired blake during the 2008 season, and he really took over the position then.  he re-signed with them for the 2009 season and turned in 131 starts at third that year.  in 2010, he started 134 games as the dodger third baseman.  in 2011, however, he was able to make only 45 starts.

juan uribe (2011, 2013)

uribe made 53 starts at third for the dodgers in 2011, so he gets the nod here over blake and aaron miles.  also, he's got the sweet brooklyn baby blues on that 2011 topps update card.  he kinda sorta lost the job to

luis cruz (2012)

but he's got it back in 2013.  until yasiel puig pulls a pedro guerrero and gets moved over to third.  seriously, though, who knows what the future will hold for the dodgers' hot corner.  hopefully something stable.

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!

the topps dodger autograph project - 2005 through 2008

time for the next installment of the topps dodger autograph project.  these cards were signed free of charge through the mail.

2005 topps, chad billingsley

bills has signed a few cards for me through the mail.  i've also received cards from this set signed by edwin jackson and milton bradley.  however, that billingsley card above (which also features the guy i thought was going to be my baseball jesus, joel guzman) was obtained in a 50/50 ttm/trade event i had with reader cory a couple of years ago.  there are more from that fantastic transaction to be showcased in this and the next post.

2005 topps update & highlights, jason phillips

phillips signed this card for me while he was serving on the mariners coaching staff.  he might still be there, i don't know for sure.  i've also had success with blake dewitt and jose valentin from this set

2006 topps, bill mueller

topps didn't photoshop mueller for the flagship set, but the team was changed to 'dodgers'.  jim tracy and jason phillips are the only other 2006 topps dodgers who have signed for me through the mail.  i recall seeing a mueller ttm success in which the sender asked him a question along the lines of 'what does it take to be a big leaguer?'  mueller's answer was 'you have to fall in love with preparation'.  i like that quote, and have actually used it a couple of times.

i don't have any cards from 2006 topps update & highlights signed

2007 topps, james loney

other ttm successes i have had from this set include chad billingsley, luis gonzalez, juan pierre, and delwyn young.  plus a i have a purchased grady little signed 2007 topps card.

2007 topps update & highlights, andy laroche

i also have a 2007 topps u & h card signed by hong chi kuo from the 50/50 ttm/trade

2008 topps, delwyn young

in addition to delwyn (which was the result of a regular ol' ttm request), i also have a 2008 topps ramon troncoso autographed card from the 50/50 ttm/trade

2008 topps update & highlights, casey blake

although i have had a ttm success with blake directly, the card above came from the 50/50 ttm/trade deal.  in addition to blake, i have a card from this set signed by angel berroa that also came from that deal.  we'll see a couple more next time. 

thanks to all these players for signing my cards!  here's a running list of the topps dodger autograph project:

1951 topps - preacher roe (purchased)

1952 topps - rocky bridges

1953 topps - bobby morgan

1954 topps - billy herman (purchased)

1955 topps - don zimmer (purchased)

1956 topps - randy jackson

1957 topps - carl erskine

1958 topps - joe pignatano

1959 topps - fred kipp

1960 topps - chuck essegian

1961 topps - bob aspromonte

1962 topps - norm sherry

1963 topps - ed roebuck

1964 topps - ken mcmullen

1965 topps - dick tracewski

1966 topps - john kennedy

1967 topps - phil regan

1968 topps - jim campanis

1969 topps - jeff torborg

1970 topps - al mcbean

1971 topps - sandy vance

1972 topps - manny mota

1973 topps - wes parker

1974 topps - claude osteen

1974 topps traded - jim wynn

1975 topps - ron cey

1975 topps mini - joe ferguson

1976 topps - bill russell

1976 topps traded - dusty baker

1977 topps - steve garvey

1978 topps - dave lopes

1979 topps - charlie hough

1980 topps - jerry reuss

1981 topps - doug rau

1981 topps traded - ken landreaux

1982 topps - dave goltz

1982 topps traded - jose morales

1983 topps - ron roenicke

1983 topps traded - rafael landestoy

1984 topps - fernando valenzuela

1984 topps traded - mike vail

1985 topps - burt hooton

1986 topps - enos cabell

1987 topps - steve sax

1987 topps traded - matt young

1988 topps - len matuszek

1989 topps - mickey hatcher

1990 topps - kal daniels

1990 topps traded - juan samuel

1991 topps - tim belcher

1992 topps - roger mcdowell

1993 topps - dave hansen

1993 topps traded - tim wallach

1994 topps - jody reed

1995 topps - chris gwynn

1996 topps - todd hollandsworth

1997 topps - brett butler

1998 topps - greg gagne

1999 topps - jose vizcaino

2000 topps - jeff shaw

2001 topps - chan ho park

2002 topps - andy ashby

2002 topps traded - joel hanrahan

2003 topps - jim tracy

2003 topps traded - ron coomer

2004 topps - edwin jackson

2004 topps traded - milton bradley

2005 topps - chad billingsley

2005 topps update & highlights - jason phillips

2006 topps - bill mueller

2007 topps - james loney

2007 topps update & highlights - andy laroche

2008 topps - delwyn young

2008 topps update & highlights - casey blake

fear the non-beard?

before i get to that beard nonsense, here's a friendly reminder/shameless plug that things are winding down over at oh my o-pee-chee!  only a handful of cards left before i have exhausted the roster of o-pee-chee variations, and there are some awesome ones lined up for the last week of posts.  go check it out, and tell 'em (me) that this 1982 o-pee-chee ken landreaux card sent you.

the landreaux isn't a variation, but it's still a cool card because of dusty baker (get well, dusty!) lurking in the background at shea stadium.

now, here's the beard.  or, more accurately, the non-bearded casey blake.

this card, as well as the others in this post, came by way of one of thorzul's el cheapo breaks.  while it is a card from 2004 upper deck usa baseball, thorzul randomed it off using the different teams blake has played for, and the dodgers came out ahead of the indians, twins, and the other teams for whom the blake has toiled.

here's mickey hatcher on his 1981 topps card

hatcher is now back with the dodgers for the third (or is it fourth?) time, as some sort of special assistant.

here's the underappreciated 1990 bowman jose offerman card

not sure what the mvp signifies.  maybe this painting won an award in the 7th grade art class in which it was obviously prepared?

i really don't like this card at all - never have and probably never will.  it's a 2001 topps ismael valdes

it reminds me of the davey johnson era because of those bad blue jerseys.  they also had a hat with a shiny gray/silver logo that they wore sometimes.  terrible.

here's shawn green on his 2003 topps card

i liked the 2003 set thanks to the blue borders.

finally, a jordan pratt shiny 2003 bowman chrome card

there were some other cards, too.  thanks thorzul!