the evolution of the dodgers' first baseman, part 2

in the first installment of the evolution of dodger first basemen, we ended with hall of famer eddie murray signing a free agent deal with the mets, making room for someone else on the evolutionary chain.  the dodgers acquired todd benzinger via trade shortly after losing murray, but a rookie ultimately won the job in spring training.

eric karros (1992-2002)

yes, for 11 seasons, karros was the dodgers' first baseman.  that is the longest tenure since gil hodges, who just happened to be karros' dad's favorite player.  karros (shown on his 1992 upper deck card) was never an all-star, but he put up solid numbers.  he won the 1992 nl rookie of the year award with 20 homers and 88 rbi, and had probably his best all-around season in 1995.  that year, he led the dodgers to the postseason for the first time since 1988 with a .298 average and 32 homers and 105 rbi - good enough to win the silver slugger and finish 5th in the mvp voting. he also hit 2 homers with a .500 average in the nlds against the reds, but the dodgers were swept.  following the 2002 season, karros was traded to the cubs, but his name remains at or near the top of many los angeles dodger leader boards today.  karros is the all-time la dodger leader in home runs (270), and he is fourth (behind bill russell, willie davis, and steve garvey) in games played.  he trails only davis and garvey in total bases and doubles, and only garvey in rbi.  karros is also currently the all-time la dodger leader in strikeouts, but matt kemp (should he remain a dodger next year) will pass him as soon as he k's 54 more times.

i suspect that the karros/mark grudzielanek for todd hundley/chad hermanson deal was a salary dump (the dodgers saved themselves over $10 million (if one assumes that karros' option would have kicked in) with the trade, even taking on hundley's salary.  the dodgers had paul loduca behind the plate, so they didn't need hundley, but they did need a first baseman to replace karros.  so, they took the guy who had been playing there for the cubs.

fred mcgriff (2003)

a couple of weeks after trading karros to the cubs, the dodgers signed former southsider first baseman fred mcgriff.  that's his 2003 playoff prestige card, giving a sort of o-pee-chee vibe.  the crime dog had joined the cubs during the 2001 season after it became apparent that the team had gotten rid of mark grace too soon - matt stairs wasn't cutting it as grace's replacement.  mcgriff, who had averaged 30 home runs a season in his previous 16 seasons, needed just 22 to reach 500 for his career, and i sure thought that he would do it with the dodgers.  unfortunately, mcgriff hit only 13 home runs while playing in only 86 games.  in fact, he started only 79 games at first base, with jim tracy using seven other players at first (including ron coomer, robin ventura, daryle ward, paul loduca, mike kinkade, larry barnes, and even jolbert cabrera).  mcgriff returned to the devil rays for the 2004 season, but still fell 7 homers shy of 500.

shawn green (2004)

green, shown playing first on his 2005 upper deck card, had moved to the infield following the team's acquisition of milton bradley just prior to the beginning of the 2004 season.  earlier in spring training, green had worked out at first, but jim tracy said that he would be playing right field once the season began.  so much for that.  2004 turned out to be green's swan song for the dodgers, and he hit 28 homers with 86 rbi and a .266 average.  he also hit 3 homers in the nlds against the cardinals that year.  i was a big shawn green fan even before he joined the dodgers, and i was sad to see him go.

hee-seop choi (2005)

that's a 2005 bowman sterling bat relic card of hee-seop choi, once thought to be the answer for the cubs at first base following the departure of the aforementioned fred mcgriff and some seasoning behind karros.  instead, the cubs dealt choi to the marlins for derrek lee (a good deal as it turned out), and the fish sent choi to the dodgers in the 2004 trade that broke jim tracy's heart.  ok, that might be a bit extreme, but tracy lamented the loss of paul loduca in that trade, and i'm not completely certain that he didn't take some of his frustration out on choi.  choi began the 2005 season as the team's first baseman, and wound up hitting 15 homers with 42 rbi in 133 games, only 78 of which were starts at first base.  choi participated in the home run derby during the all-star break (he had hit 3 homers in a game against the twins in june and 6 in the series against the twinkies) but was essentially just a pinch hitter for tracy following the break.  he lost most of his starts to olmedo saenz in the second half.

nomar garciaparra (2006)

nomah! that's nomar's 2006 upper deck sweet spot update card - not sure why upper deck issued an update to sweet spot, but i'll take it.  there are too few cards of nomar as a dodger.  nomar had never played first base in the major leagues before joining the dodgers, but that's all he played in 2006.  he appeared in 122 games for the dodgers that year, 117 of which were starts at first.  as the nl comeback player of the year, nomar hit .303 with 20 homers, 82 runs scored, and 93 runs driven in.  he made the all-star team and finished 13th in the mvp voting, while helping the dodgers reach the postseason.  despite a move to third in 2007, nomar still played more games at first base, but not as many as james loney, the next step on the evolutionary chain.

james loney (2007-2012)

after four 'one and done' first basemen, loney (shown on a 2008 upper deck baseball heroes relic card) brought some stability back to the position.  he hit .331 as a rookie in 2007 in 96 games (85 of which were starts at first) and also hit 15 home runs.  other than a dip in 2010, loney was pretty consistent in his first few seasons with the dodgers, driving in around 90 runs and hitting in the high .280's.  he was slumping in 2012, batting just .254 with 4 homers and 33 rbi after 114 games played, when he was traded to the red sox in the megadeal that landed the dodgers their current first baseman.

adrian gonzalez (2013-present)

that's gonzalez's 2013 topps finest card, by the way.  gonzalez hit .297 as a dodger during the 2012 season after the trade, and then hit .293 in his first full season with the club.  this year, he is batting just .276 (through this past sunday), but he has eclipsed last year's 22 homers and 100 rbi with 23 long balls and 103 runs driven in so far this year.  i am hoping that he eclipses his postseason numbers from last year as well, as he hit over .300 with 3 homers and 7 rbi in the 2013 playoffs.

and so we have reached the end of not only the dodgers' first baseman evolution, but the evolution of each position.  you can use the 'evolution' label to find the posts for all of the positions (some may be slightly outdated as i began this with a run through the managers over five years ago).  it's been fun tracking the history of the dodgers by position using baseball cards, which was one of the goals i had when i started this blog almost 6 years ago, although that also means i am getting closer to the end.

card games

i didn't realize until recently that there was an uno game licensed by mlb. 

it's not surprising given the history of playing card issues from the 90's and earlier, but i hadn't seen it anywhere before i purchased some oddball dodger items last month.  anyway, i was able to pick up the entire dodger team set

yes, apparently only eric gagne represents the boys in blue in the game.  at least he's not a 'draw 4' card.

another card game i didn't know about was mlb trade up

it was released in 2007, and was one of those interactive dvd board games.  thankfully, this guy broke up the game and offered me the rafael furcal card

i was aware, of course, of the better known mlb showdown game that has not only individual player cards that are easy to track and identify, but these other cards that may or may not feature players of one's favorite team.

this one features dodgers tom goodwin and angel pena with mark grudzielanek, a bat boy, and maybe even adrian beltre, but the image has nothing to do with the rally cap.  a tip of the rally cap, by the way, to all the people out there who catalog and list these types of cards by team.

also included in the lot were more of the 2005 topps hot button cards.  i picked up the jeff kent card a while back, but now he has some company.

jd drew

eric gagne

and hee seop choi

always a pleasure to find a hee seop choi dodger card.  and to find some oddballs that i didn't know existed.

another happy trade

it's been a while since i have picked up an autograph of burt 'happy' hooton's.  hooton was, of course, a member of the 1978 topps dodgers and the team of my youth, but he was also the 1981 nlcs mvp and a very solid pitcher who was often overshadowed by don sutton, bob welch, fernando and others.  i was happy myself to see this card, a 2005 upper deck mlb artifacts burt hooton autograph, in a trade package from robert at $30 a week habit

upper deck has issued a few autographed cards for hooton, and while i think i own most of them, i did not have this one in my collection.  very nice to have some variety in players featured - now if only there were some rick rhoden or bob welch cards coming out these days...

there were a number of other cool cards in the package from robert, like this 2000 fleer ultra card of mark grudzielanek

sliding home at dodger stadium.  this 2011 topps chrome orange refractor of matt kemp features an image taken from a similar angle

and you can see how much closer the seats are these days to home plate.  i really do miss the field level scoreboards and the union 76 signs.  i'll be getting back to the ravine in late august, and will take a moment to point out to my son how much less foul territory there is now compared to how it was just a few years ago.

i also got some numbered cards, like a matt kemp card from 2008 topps triple threads

a 2006 upper deck purple parallel looking card of hee seop choi

and a 2004 upper deck sweet spot classics roy campanella card

back in the early 2000's, we dodger fans were assured of two things when it came to card sets, no matter how large or how small.  those two things were cards of kevin brown (like this 2001 donruss)

and shawn green (like this 2001 fleer futures)

these days, it's kind of the same except it's kershaw and kemp who pop up in every set.  not that that's a problem, mind you.

i'll finish off this post with another dodger who is well represented in today's sets, duke snider.  this is a 2003 topps heritage flashbacks insert

and it features a pose that i don't think i have seen a dozen times.  nice work topps.  and nice work to you, richard.  thanks for the trade!

the outfield wall in blue heaven

first things first - i have updated last week's post on the dodger stadium bullpens to correctly identify the back walls as plastic, not metal. thanks to speigel for reminding me.  i also

added a couple of cards showing the flora that currently adorns those blue walls.  go back and check it out.

now that that is out of the way, we'll visit another part of the stadium that has seen it's share of changes.  you all know i'm not referring to the bathrooms.  no, it's the outfield walls of which i speak.  for most of their existence, the walls were just blue.  a nice blue in contrast to the orange and yellow benches in the pavilions. 

 

(by the way, welcome to the blog, mr. bournigal.  sorry it's taken me so long to feature one of your cards).  see that 1995 topps stadium card?  nice colors make for a pretty card.

i began to notice in the early 90's, although it may have been happening for who knows how long before that, that the dodgers would adorn the outfield wall with championship banners on opening day.  if you look closely at the back of this 2004 upper deck legends timeless teams (shameless plug) card, you can see the big white banners.

there would be six in all - 1955, 1959, 1963, 1965, 1981, and 1988 - evenly spaced from left to right field. 

that was all temporary, though, and the walls would go back to being just blue.  then, in the late 1990's and early 2000's, the dodgers began to use the wall as a canvas for some really great murals.  murals that recognized dodger hall of famers one year, cy young award winners another year, or world championships another, as seen on devon white's 1999 fleer si card.  

the white sox and cardinals and braves have all done something similar.  i think it is permanent at the cell and new busch stadium.  i like that kind of nod to the past.  like a good rug, it can really pull the room together.

in 2003, out of town scoreboards were added to the walls near each bullpen.  here's hee seop choi's 2004 fleer ultra card to provide some proof.

2004, of course, is when frank mccourt got to town, and he had no use for wasting outfield wall space on murals celebrating the history of the franchise or even just providing a nice color backdrop.  no, he needed to sell advertising space, and he went full bore the following year.  right julio lugo?

right.  that reebok ad isn't too obnoxious, i guess.  except at night, when the signs are lit.  here's ryan theriot's 2011 topps card to show what i mean.

yes, that's dodger stadium with theriot airbrushed into cardinal red.  at least topps put him in away grays.

i know that revenue is important and that most, if not all, other teams sell space on their outfield walls.  maybe, just maybe, however, the new owner could tone it down a bit.  or at least roll out the banners for old time's sake.

dodgers, a cub, and an on card brewer from on card autos

i recently completed a trade with chris at on card autos - cubs for dodgers primarily.  he sent me some pretty cool cards.  here are a few of them:

2004 fleer ultra hee seop choi.

i was really hoping hee seop would break out with the dodgers.  he had too big of a swing, i think, and jim tracy didn't seem to care for him.  anyway, this is a nice card (hello dodger stadium!) of the big south korean whose presence forced mark grace out of chicago.

2006 upper deck eric gagne jersey

2006 was gagne's final year in la.  he pitched in just two games for the dodgers, having been injured for and out of action for about a year.  in those two games, he gave up no runs or hits and struck out 3 in 2 innings of work.  he also earned a save in his final dodger appearance.  unfortunately, that was june of 2006, and he went back on the dl and out of the dodgers' plans for 2007.

2004 fleer inscribed hideo nomo 

man, fleer had a lot of different sets in the early 2000's.  focus, authentic, tradition, ultra, box score, greats, platinum, genuine, and the list goes on.  i don't know that i had ever seen fleer inscribed before.

there were a bunch of 2007 upper deck cards, too.  i know night owl doesn't care for them, but i think they're pretty cool.  here's marlon anderson (one of the 4+1 home run guys) in a rare dodger card appearance.

another dodger backup - mike lieberthal

and a dodger i had never heard of - wilson valdez

he actually appeared in 41 games for the dodgers in 2007 and is currently with the phillies.

chris also got confused and included a cub - 2008 upper deck x geovany soto

and a brewer (at least according to the card) - 2007 upper deck elmer dessens

i am thankful for the dessens card seeing as how it is 99% a dodger card that would never have been on my radar.

thanks chris!

i am staggered and heartbroken and bipped all at once

although it's a mini-bip, courtesy of heartbreaking cards of staggering genius.

five 1994 donruss special edition ramon martinez cards.  i can deal with that.

there were many many more cards included, such as a 1986 topps carlos diaz

carlos was born in honolulu, which is fairly rare for a major leaguer - baseball reference shows only 35 hawaiians have played in the big leagues, and not all of them were from the capitol city.  of course, diaz is the second third dodger pitcher to be born there - charlie hough and sid fernandez are is the others.  here's some trivia - the dodgers traded fernandez to get diaz in 1983!

2005 topps total hee seop choi.

jim tracy's whipping boy manning first in dodger stadium.  i sure wish topps would bring total back.  where else am i going to get a brent leach card?

2007 upper deck mark hendrickson

i wish the dodgers would go ahead and retire maury wills' number already.  i know it's against their policy (other than the jim gilliam exception) but come on.  when dave roberts wore it, he had maury's blessing.  i doubt big bird did.

a couple of autographs - 2004 fleer greats jeff torborg

it's a sticker, but still...

and a 2004 upper deck legends timeless teams mickey hatcher

on card stunt man!  i wish mickey would sign ttm.  the only time i have met him (a couple years ago at spring training) i was unprepared.

finally, matt sent me my first 2010 card.  not just dodger, but card. 

it's true - i haven't bought any 2010 stuff. yet. i probably will, although i will likely just buy singles.  until i really feel the need to open packs.  which should be any day now.

thanks matt!

culling dodgers from capewood's collection, part two

the recent trade with cliff at capewood's collections was too much for just one post, so here's the second batch of cards i randomly selected from the dodger bounty.

2004 topps retired davey lopes.i like old school players on current card designs almost as much as i like current players on old card designs. unlike 2009, these cards were a whole separate set. well done, topps.

2006 topps matt kemp rookie debut

the bison's debut was less than memorable. he started his career by striking out in his first three at bats. he did single in his 4th at bat, though, and the next day went 2 for 3 with 2 rbi and a stolen base.

2005 topps all time fan favorites steve garvey

certainly my all time fan favorite. here they kept the horizontal layout of garvey's original 1974 card and used a photo that is probably pretty close to that year. unlike the 1973 design that used a 1980 photo in one of their other fan favorites releases.

2004 fleer jolbert cabrera

a true utility player, cabrera played every postion for the dodgers in 2003 except pitcher and catcher. i remember him as the first dodger to wear number 6 since garvey left. there's still hope, though - mitch webster wore number 20 prior to don sutton being voted into the hall of fame and getting the number retired. currently, joe torre is wearing garvey's number.

2004 topps bazooka eric gagne

i am disappointed that there is no appearance by bazooka joe.

2005 fleer showcase preacher roe

i had only seen cards from this set in repack boxes. elwin charles roe was 22-3 in 1951. he was traded to the orioles after the 1954 season and missed out on the 1955 world championship.

2002 bowman heritage duke snider

the duke was around for 1955, though.

2003 topps traded james loney

man, i dig james loney. hopefully the line drive doubles turn into home runs, but the guy is pretty clutch. i learned today that his nickname is 'geoffrey' as in the toys-r-us mascot. nice.

2002 fleer greats of the game hack wilson

one year after he drove in 191 runs, wilson was traded twice in the span of 2 months. first, the cubs sent him to the cardinals of all places, and the cardinals flipped him to the dodgers. in his first (of 3) seasons with the dodgers, hack drove in 123 runs and finished 13th in the mvp voting. not bad. still, this card would upset me if i were a cubs fan. it's kind of like all those upper deck sweet spot cards that show garvey with the padres. it just ain't right.

2004 bowman brian pilkington

pilkington had a pretty decent 2003 season splitting time between high-a and aa. he went a combined 13-6 with a 3.77 era. he didn't pitch at all in 2004 - i am guessing he was injured - and returned to high-a in 2005, his final season.

2005 topps update & highlights hee seop choi

man, i really rooted for this guy, partially because jim tracy seemed to despise him. he hit 5 home runs in the home run derby - this was the year it was the us vs the world - but was not a member of the all star team.

2002 topps total terry mulholland

a genuine loogy (lefty one out guy), mulholland pitched in 20 seasons for 11 different teams, including 2 stints with the giants and phillies. he was in la for part of the 2001 and 2002 seasons going 1-1 in 40 games, including 3 starts.

2003 bowman chrome edwin jackson

jackson made his debut in a much hyped 2003 game against randy johnson on his 20th birthday. he won, going 6 innings and giving up only one run on a sacrifice fly. i saw him pitch at san francisco in his 4th and final start that season. he gave up only 2 hits in 6 innings and struck out 7 (including bonds once), but walked 8. he was a bit wild, but clearly had potential. i guess that's why he was traded by ned to the devil rays for lance carter and danys baez. yikes.

thanks again cliff! i'll probably be sending you some more astros and phillies very soon!