old friend todd zeile makes an appearance in a trade package

i was noticing the other day that i've only featured todd zeile dodger cards three times on this blog since its inception in the fall of 2008.  that's too bad, because i liked the guy.  he joined the dodgers for the 1997 season and promptly hit 31 home runs - more home runs than any other dodger third baseman except pedro guerrero (a teammate of zeile's with the 1990 cardinals) who hit 32 in 1983.  of course, adrian beltre came along and hit 48 in 2004, but that's beside the point.

i was lucky to have tj from the junior junkie include some cards of zeile in his recent trade package, so here's his 1998 fleer tradition card.

zeile was traded away in the mike piazza deal with the marlins, and so was replaced at third by bobby bonilla.  beltre came along in 1999, however, and held the spot until he bolted after his huge offensive year mentioned above.  zeile went on and eventually rejoined piazza in new york, helping the mets get to the world series.  he hit .368 with a series best 8 rbi in the nlcs, and then hit .400 against the yankees in a losing cause.  here's his 1998 topps finest card to boot.

somewhere i have a dodger scorecard that features a todd zeile autograph.  he was signing in the concourse at dodger stadium before a game in '97, and i partook.  i remember the lady in line in front of me asked him if he knew steve sax.  saxy hadn't been a dodger since 1988, and he hadn't played in the majors since 1994.  zeile was taken aback by the question, and i think he was still trying to wrap his head around it while he was signing my scorecard.  i was more impressed that he was a teammate of mike piazza's.

the strongest man in socal was also among the cards tj sent - here's a 1996 score select piazza lineup leaders card

this is not an insert, just another way to have more than one piazza card in the base set.

oddball time! this is a 1996 scoreboard all sport ppf (i don't know what ppf means) card of roger cedeno

there sure were a lot of roger cedeno cards in the late 1990's. he was traded to the mets in 1998 with charles johnson for todd hundley.

here's a 2000 upper deck ovation eric gagne card

it says 'world premiere' on the side of the card, in case you were wondering.  i don't think that really makes sense, just like the world series isn't really the world series, if you know what i mean.

relic time!  2003 leaf certified materials joe thurston mirror red game-worn jersey

thurston only played in 8 games during the 2002 season - all in september. i didn't think that the dodgers wore their blue alternates in an official major league game (as the back of the card attests) that late in the season, but i could be wrong.  or maybe a spring training game is considered an official major league game.

there were a few more non-dodger/double play cards that need to be shown in the package, such as this 2014 topps update chris taylor card

and two from 2015 topps - javier baez

and logan forsythe

great stuff from a very generous source. thanks tj!  keep an eye on your mailbox...

a value box of 2015 topps heritage is not what i thought it was

when i bought a blaster of 2015 topps series 1, i received a target coupon book with coupons for other 2015 topps products.  one of the coupons was for $5 off a 2015 topps heritage value box.  now, i refer to blasters as blasters and have thought value boxes were the smaller boxes that don't have individual packs, but rather a cellophane wrapped block of cards.

i had my coupon when i went to the local target on tuesday.  heritage was there, but it was still in the shipping boxes.  i went back to target on wednesday, and the boxes were still waiting to be opened and shelved.  finally, i went to a different target on thursday, and found a value box.  or, at least what i considered to be a value box priced at $9.99.  when i got to the cashier, i handed her my coupon, but it didn't work.  she said that she thought that the value box was bigger than the one i had grabbed (a 35-card box), but she forced the coupon through anyway.  so, i got 35 cards for $4.99.  not bad.  i did later confirm that topps calls blasters value boxes.

anyway, here are some of the cards that i found in my value-not value box.

fernando rodney

this was the first card on the stack.  it's not an action variation, in case you were wondering.

wil myers

card number 2 in my box. it's not a traded back variation.

on to the short print - cole hamels

number 490 in the set. it's got a different code on the back, so i know it's not a base card as if the card number wasn't already a giveaway.

luis aparicio flashback

aparicio is being celebrated for his 3-hit, 3-steal game against the angels in 1966.

willie mays/adrian gonzalez then and now

hank aaron led the majors in rbi in 1966 - i wonder if topps doesn't have a deal with hammerin' hank, so they put willie mays (7th overall in 1966 rbi) on the card instead?

holofoil inserts - matt kemp

yippee!

robinson cano

meh.

adam wainwright

boo!

corey kluber

there was one more of these in the box, but it will fit better in a future post.

here are some more of the regular ol' base cards.

dellin betances

true to form old school rookie cup

john gibbons

i am guessing not all of the managers are represented in the set.

emilio bonifacio

one of very few hatless shots that i saw

josh harrison

although here is another.  it's also good to see that topps used a different photo of harrison for the league leader card, of which there were two in my box

the morneau photo, i think, is the same as his base card

here's a checklist - it is sort of a team card

but not the team photo type team card that was in 1966 topps.  that's a busy card, by the way.

i also had a couple of rookie stars card, including this one that is split between the phillies and the giants.

i think i did ok for my small investment.  i don't think i'll buy anymore heritage this year, but please send me your dodger doubles.  you will be rewarded!

a word about memorial patches

in 2015, the cardinals (oscar taveras) and presumably the cubs (ernie banks) and white sox (minnie minoso) will be wearing memorial patches on their uniforms.  during the course of the season, other teams may add memorials to honor lost members of their organization.  in 2014, 10 teams wore patches to honor 12 different individuals, and umpires also wore a patch for one of their own.  i've posted about a few of those memorials already, but with the 2015 cards out on the shelves, i'm keeping an eye out for better examples of the patches.

as a result, i've gone back and updated the tampa bay rays' don zimmer memorial post to include this 2015 topps evan longoria card

and i've done the same for the post regarding the padres' jerry coleman memorial (adding this 2015 topps tommy medica card)

as the example of the patch worn with the camouflage jerseys.

that same post has also been updated to show the padres' team card from 2015 topps

as my chosen card to represent the tony gwynn memorial patch.

similarly, the stan musial memorial patch post has been updated to note that the memorial patch was worn on the right sleeve in at least some of the team's minor league games during the 2013 season, as evidenced by this 2013 bowman draft picks and prospects ricardo bautista card

the patch was worn only on the left sleeve in the big leagues.

i haven't yet posted about the memorials worn by the orioles, a's, brewers, or braves as i've been waiting for cards to show the patches.  there are some in 2015 topps for the o's and braves, like this james russell card

that shows portions of the pete van weiren patch, but i'll wait to see if a better example comes along.  please feel free to let me know if you come across any 2015 cards showing these patches as well - you will be rewarded.

the rays' don zimmer memorial patch

tampa bay rays advisor and baseball lifer don zimmer passed away in june of 2014, and the rays quickly added a 'zim' patch to their jerseys in tribute.  here's a look at the patch on kevin kiermaier's 2014 topps update card

is that (now) former manager joe maddon lurking in the background?

this 2015 topps evan longoria card is another good example

and it's the one in my memorials binder as a result.

zim had been a coach turned advisor for the rays since 2004, but that was just the last in a long string of baseball roles that he filled.  after signing with the dodgers as a player in 1949, zimmer made it to the big leagues in 1954 (after surviving a horrific beaning in the minor leagues in 1953).  in addition to the dodgers (twice), zimmer played for the cubs, reds, mets, and senators, and he also spent a season in japan.  following his playing days, he coached for the expos, padres, red sox (twice), yankees (three times), cubs, giants, rockies, and rays, and he also managed the padres, red sox, rangers, and cubs.

zimmer won two world series rings as a player with the dodgers (1955 and 1959), plus a few more as joe torre's bench coach with the yankees.  he was also named the national league manager of the year in 1989 when he led the cubbies to the nl east title.  zimmer was 83 when he died, having spent 65 of those years in professional baseball.

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...

2014 topps update value box - the second of three update purchases

here's what i found in a 72-card value box at target last wednesday.  i opened this after the hanger pack i featured earlier today.

dodgers first:

chone figgins

this is why i like update.  figgins didn't appear in a game after june 13, but he's in the update set.  i had figured the chances of a card featuring him in a dodger uni were slim to none, but here he is scoring the winning run against the tigers on april 8th.  mattingly doesn't seem to notice.

inserts:

david ross red hot foil

former dodger with a world series ring.

paul konerko fond farewells

former dodger with a world series ring

jose abreu power players

nick castellanos the future is now

seeing this card for the second time

steve carlton world series heroes

hector rondon target red parallel

matt shoemaker target red parallel

jake mcgee target red parallel

tony gwynn jr gold parallel

base cards:

luke gregerson
joaquin benoit
brandon maurer
jhonny peralta
reed johnson - former dodger; didn't know he was still in the league, but then again, he's a marlin
marc krauss
ian krol
david murphy
joakim soria
chris young - the pitcher
andrew romine
jarred cosart
mookie betts
miguel cabrera 2,000 hits
randy choate
tuffy gosewisch
anthony rizzo asg
grady sizemore
robinson chirinos
derek norris asg
josh donaldson asg
nick martinez
andrew heaney
stefen romero
neftali soto
brandon cumpton
kevin fransden
jake odorizzi
jerome williams
chad qualls
leury garcia
nyjer morgan
pat neshek asg
jacob degrom - short print photo varition!

mike olt
ubaldo jimenez
mark trumbo
corey dickerson
randy wolf
francisco rodriguez
omar quintanilla
jake marisnick
arismendy alcantara
chase whitley
josh tomlin
yoenis cespedes
hector rondon
jake mcgee
ramon santiago
huston street
gerald laird
george springer rookie debut
eugenio suarez
michael choice
juan perez
matt davidson
oscar tavarez
brandon moss asg
greg holland asg
paul goldschmidt asg
freddie freeman asg
hunter pence asg - at the bottom as it should be

next up is the blaster - i'll go through that tomorrow!

chrome blaster time

i didn't make it past the card aisle during a recent trip to target without grabbing some product.  in addition to the 2014 bowman platinum value pack i mentioned this morning, i grabbed a 2014 topps chrome blaster (with purple refractors) and a value pack (with orange refractors), too.  i had one of those topps coupons which took $3 off the blaster price.  good for me.  anyway, i came away with some dodgers

erisbel arruebarrena

welcome to the blog, erisbel.

kenley jansen

matt kemp

that was it for dodgers, unfortunaely.  no blue refractor parallels which are usually so nice.  i used to buy 2 boxes every year of flagship, plus one of chrome, and one of traded.  i haven't done that for a while, but i considered buying a full box of chrome this year.  i think i'll stick with the blaster.  here are some of the other cards i pulled.

a couple of joses - bautista

and fernandez

buster posey

if i don't pull a ryan braun card, i get a buster posey card.  or hunter pence.  i get way too many hunter pence cards.

oscar taveras

dude homered in his first big league game, but only has 2 since.

mike trout

trout's about the same age as taveras (22).  that's what a real phenom looks like.

enny romero refractor

one start in 2013 earned him a card in the set.  ponderous.

ivan nova orange refractor and regular refractor

if i had to get what essentially amounts to doubles of a yankee, i guess i'm glad it's not cc sabathia.

another yankee, jacoby ellsbury, for my die-cut insert

cj cron xfractor

with a phantom high-five

here's a grouping of other refractory things - kyle seager, matt adams xfractor, homer bailey, and jean segura orange refractor

and now the purple refractors from the blaster - hisashi iwakuma, christian yelich, jonathan lucroy, edwin encarnacion

last but not least, an orange refractor that fits into one of my mini collections - a double play turn by jurickson profar

now i'm just waiting for update...