some good things from topps (and panini) in 2015 and contest results

imagine opening a pack of cards in 2015 and finding a 1978 topps steve yeager card.

someone out there had that experience, and then decided to sell that card to me.  the only two buybacks i have ever pulled from a pack were a 1992 topps joel skinner card in (i think) 2001 topps, and a 1971 o-pee-chee bob lemon card from 2009 upper deck opc - neither of which had any stamp to distinguish it from a non-buyback card.

i also went out and bought a few other cards that struck my fancy from one of this year's releases - in this case 2015 topps archives.  i was happy to see that topps used the 1957 topps design, and that they did it better than they did in 2006 when they washed it out with heritage.  here's don sutton

clayton kershaw

and a nice surprise, vladimir guerrero.

it's good to see the expos logo on cardboard.

here's the last '57 i picked up from archives, yasiel puig

i wish they would have used photos from inside dodger stadium, however, as one of the best things about the '57 set is the stadium backgrounds on many of the cards.

topps did use dodger stadium in the background for this mlb the show puig insert

which is nice.

it's not dodger stadium on this robbed in right insert

but at least the effort behind the insert set is appreciated, unlike some of the series 2 inserts (hot streak, stepping up, etc).

i really like this 2015 panini diamond kings puig aficionado card

it's good enough to make me forget that it's an unlicensed card.

back to some 2015 topps stuff, here's a nondescript 2015 topps gypsy queen card of adrian gonzalez

i think gypsy queen has run its course.

topps heritage, however, has somehow made me appreciate the 1964 and 1966 sets more than i did in the past over the last three years. here's gonzalez on a 2015 heritage league leader card

he was the first dodger to lead the league in rbi since matt kemp in 2011.  not so long, but before that, you would have had to go back to 1962 and tommy davis.

one of my favorite insert sets this year was the jackie robinson story set.  i've picked up the last four that i needed to complete the set, including these two (the other two were sent to me by wes at jaybarkerfan's junk).

now when i see branch rickey, i think of han solo.

this may be my favorite insert of 2015, however. it's clayton kershaw on a team spirit card from 2015 topps opening day.

he's tipping his cap to the dodger stadium crowd just as i am tipping my cap to those of you who've been reading these posts of mine over the past not-quite seven years.  and to the two of you who took the time to enter my contest.  as you may recall, it consisted of identifying the 31 cards that have made up my header for the past six-plus years.

neither of you got them all, but alec got 29 out of 31 and john was not too far behind.  here are the answers:

this list might be easier to read:

1. 1987 topps fernando valenzuela

2. 1995 topps national packtime mike piazza

3. 2004 donruss team heroes rickey henderson

4. 1978 topps dodger team/checklist (graded)

5. 2005 topps all-time fan favorites pedro guerrero

6. 1989 upper deck orel hershiser

7. 2007 upper deck russell martin

8. 1971 topps jim lefebvre

9. 2004 upper deck legends timeless teams kirk gibson

10. 2004 upper deck sp legendary cuts jackie robinson

11. 2001 upper deck legends don drysdale/kevin brown reflections in time

12. 1978 o-pee-chee steve garvey

13. 2004 topps robin ventura

14. 2001 upper deck decade '70's ron cey

15. 2005 upper deck sweet spot classic maury wills jumbo patch

16. 1987 fleer bill russell

17. 2001 upper deck gold glove shawn green

18. 1974 topps dave lopes

19. 1992 topps darryl strawberry

20. 1981 topps jack perconte/mike scioscia/fernando valenzuela

21. 2003 topps all-time fan favorites steve yeager autograph

22. 2008 topps dodger factory set dodger stadium

23. 2002 topps american pie duke snider american sluggers blue

24. 1956 topps don zimmer

25. 2004 topps world series highlights kirk gibson

26. 2007 upper deck nomar garciaparra

27. 2001 upper deck legends of new york pee wee reese

28. 1989 fleer world series dodgers team/champions

29. 1997 bowman hideo nomo

30. 1962 topps nl strikeout leaders sandy koufax/stan williams/don drysdale

31. 1999 upper deck century legends mike piazza

i admit, the garvey was impossible to discern as o-pee-chee, and the 1995 piazza and the american pie snider were almost completely obscured (kudos to alec for identifying the snider, though).  thanks to both who took the time to give it a shot - since there were only two of you, i'll send more cards than i had previously advertised.

clearing out the scanned folder - dodger edition

scans of cards sometimes languish in my scanned folder. newly acquired cards or cards i've stumbled upon while going through my collection get scanned sometimes without a true purpose.  these are such cards.

2008 donruss playoff prime cuts don sutton

aside from the infield, i think sutton might the guy that i am most pleased to see pop up in new releases.

1993 topps stadium club mitch webster

at one time, i thought about doing a full on mitch webster series.  for some reason, i consider him to be perhaps the most obscure dodger to be featured on the most number of cards.

2001 upper deck legends gary sheffield

sheff had some monster seasons for the dodgers

2000 topps gallery gary sheffield

this is a fantastic card. i love that topps kept the photo even though the netting is visible in the foreground.

1992 silver star hologram dodger stadium card (front)

and back

i believe it was night owl that brought this must-have for my dodger stadium card collection to my attention. it was a giveaway back in 1992 when i was busy studying for finals and getting ready to graduate from college instead of paying attention to promotions at chavez ravine.

2005 bowman brian sprout

2005 bowman brian sprout gold parallel

2005 bowman chrome brian sprout

sprout is the head coach at the local high school these days.  i've met him a couple of times, but never mentioned that i have some of his cards.

1996 pinnacle zenith mike piazza

and 1997 fleer circa mike piazza (back)

it sure looks to me that the back of the circa card is a reverse negative and not a purposefully done lefty switch that fleer did on some of their other cards.

2002 topps super teams 1955 brooklyn dodgers (duke snider, pee wee reese, and jackie robinson)

the red numbers are missing (they were added to the jerseys in 1952), and so is gil hodges.  this super teams set flew under the radar, and i don't know how i came across the few cards i have in my set from it.  anybody else recall this set?

the cuts are legendary in the next installment of sheets from the steve garvey binders

the first five cards of sheet 64 in the steve garvey binders feature a photo (well, two photos) of him wearing the dual-ear flap batting helmet.  if i were to ever have a conversation with garvey, i would ask him about wearing that type of helmet that was usually reserved for switch-hitters and amateurs.  here is sheet 64:

those cards are:

1. 2006 upper deck sp legendary cuts baseball chronology materials relic
2. 2006 upper deck sp legendary cuts legendary materials relic /225
3. 2006 upper deck sp legendary cuts legendary materials relic /199
4. 2006 upper deck sp legendary cuts legendary materials relic /99
5. 2006 upper deck sp legendary cuts legendary materials relic /15
6. 2006 upper deck sp legendary cuts memorable moments materials relic /225
7. 2006 upper deck sp legendary cuts when it was a game silver /550
8. 2006 upper deck ultimate collection ultimate ensemble signatures quad auto (with ron cey, don sutton, and dusty baker) /25
9. 2007 upper deck sp legendary cuts legendary materials relic /199

looks like padre relics on cards 1 and 6 (which are dodger cards), which always bugs me a bit.  there are a number of other parallels, and a relic version of card 7, that i am missing from the 2006 legendary cuts set.  the 2007 legendary cuts set has two versions of the legendary materials cards for garvey - one is a padres version and the other is the dodger version that i have.

here are the backs:

moving on to sheet 65:

those cards are:

1. 2007 upper deck sp legendary cuts legendary materials dual relic /125
2. 2007 upper deck sp legendary cuts masterful materials relic
3. 2007 upper deck sweet spot classic /575
4. 2007 upper deck sweet spot classic classic memorabilia relic
5. 2007 upper deck sweet spot classic classic memorabilia patch relic /55
6. 2008 dodger pocket schedules (with james loney)
7. 2008 donruss threads
8. 2008 donruss threads century proof silver parallel /100
9. 2008 donruss threads jerseys relic (yellow swatch) /150

so there is the padre version of the legendary materials card, although it is the dual relic version.  there are also quad relic versions of both the dodger and padre cards, but i don't have either.  i was disappointed back in 2007 to see garvey as a padre in the sweet spot classic base set and jersey insert checklist, but at least they got the relic swatches matched up with the team this time.  and, at least they had garvey as a dodger on the signature cards in the set (more on those in a future post).

i suppose that the pocket schedule really belongs in the oddball binder, but it fits nicely here in a 9-pocket page, so here it remains.  there are a number of versions of the schedules with then-current dodgers and past dodgers matched by position as is the case with loney.

here are the backs:

you can see on the back of card 8 that i have the /100 version of the donruss threads parallel, and that i am still looking for the /250 version.  that card is target number 1 on the nefarious 9.

the hits keep coming in the steve garvey binders

we're up to sheet 55 in the steve garvey binders, and we're firmly entrenched in 2005.  have a look:

those cards are:

1. 2005 donruss greats (i think)
2. 2005 donruss greats platinum holofoil /50
3. 2005 donruss greats gold holofoil auto (print run 250)
4. 2005 donruss greats souvenirs
5. 2005 donruss greats souvenirs material bat relic
6. 2005 donruss greats souvenirs signature material bat relic/auto
7. 2005 donruss greats souvenirs signature material jersey relic/auto
8. 2005 donruss leather & lumber hitters inc. silver /200
9. 2005 donruss leather & lumber hitters inc. /2000

the reason that i am not sure about the donruss greats base card is that there is also a non-serial numbered holofoil parallel, and the scan of what i thought was the base seems to look like holofoil. i've ordered a base card from sportlots, and if they've cataloged that card correctly, i'll be able to compare the two in the next few days.

here are the backs:

donruss really went crazy with garvey cards in 2005, and the fun continues on sheet 56:

those cards are:

1. 2005 donruss leather & lumber hitters inc. bat relic /100
2. 2005 donruss leather & lumber hitters inc. jersey relic /100
3. 2005 donruss signature series signature club auto bat relic
4. 2005 donruss signature series inkredible combos (with don sutton)
5. 2005 donruss studio heritage /1000
6. 2005 donruss studio heritage die-cut /200
7. 2005 donruss studio heritage die-cut gold /50
8. 2005 donruss studio heritage jersey /250
9. 2005 donruss studio heritage bat relic /150

another combo auto with garvey's clubhouse scrapping partner, don sutton.  one studio die-cut is ok, but was there really a need for a gold die-cut parallel?  the answer is no, but i made room for it in the collection because it's got garvey's name and photo on it.

here are the backs:

sheet 57 features even more donruss parallel madness:

those cards are:

1. 2005 donruss studio portraits zenith white /70
2. 2005 donruss studio portraits red /50
3. 2005 donruss studio portraits blue black & white /40
4. 2005 donruss team heroes
5. 2005 donruss team heroes showdown blue parallel
6. 2005 donruss team heroes showdown red parallel
7. 2005 donruss team heroes showdown silver parallel /50
8. 2005 donruss throwback threads
9. 2005 donruss throwback threads century stars spectrum /100

so, there are 56 different versions of garvey cards in the studio portraits release, ranging in print runs from 5 to 70. i've got three. i'm also missing the bronze and gold showdown parallels from the team heroes set, and all four of the memorabilia cards from the throwback threads set.

here are the backs:

sheet 58 has some pretty decent jersey/patch relics: 

those cards are:

1. 2005 donruss timeless treasures milestone materials jersey relic (yellow) /10
2. 2005 donruss timeless treasures milestone materials jersey relic (brown) /10
3. 2005 donruss timeless treasures rookie year materials prime jersey relic /5
4. 2005 leaf certified materials fabric of the game stats jersey relic /25
5. 2005 playoff absolute memorabilia
6. 2005 playoff absolute memorabilia heroes /250
7. 2005 playoff absolute memorabilia heroes swatch double spectrum prime relic /25
8. 2005 playoff absolute memorabilia heroes swatch triple spectrum prime relic /15
9. 2005 playoff absolute memorabilia heroes team quads swatch single padres relic (with willie mccovey, tony gwynn, and rickey henderson) /100

the first two cards represent 20% of the milestone materials print run - i just wanted one of each color - and one of the cards happens to be the 6/10 card. yay.

here are the backs:

what i show as the back for the team quad is really the front, but garvey's side gets to be the front in the binder.  lots more cool stuff to come as 2005 continues - stay tuned...

seventy? seriously?

this is crazy, but don sutton - the lone hall of famer from the team of my youth - turns 70 years old today.  to celebrate, here are seven cards of his that i've not shown before.

2007 upper deck sp legendary cuts

2005 donruss throwback threads

2005 upper deck sp legendary cuts

2013 panini hometown heroes rivalry

1987 o-pee-chee box card

2007 upper deck sweet spot classic relic

2012 panini cooperstown credentials

as you can see, i don't discriminate when it comes to sutton - i'll take angels, a's, brewers, and even astro cards featuring the curly haired hof'er.

if it's sutton's 70th birthday, that means that it is also reggie smith's 70th birthday.  unfortunately, i am ill prepared with reggie's cards as he doesn't appear in many modern sets like sutton does.  i'll have to make it up to the right fielder of the team of my youth another time.

happy birthday to two of my favorite dodgers!

be still my hearts, it's pretty much the team of my youth

this is the third suit of cards from the dodger playing card set known as the 2005 baseball hero deck. it features mostly members of the 1981 and 1988 world championship teams, with most of the players being from the 1970's teams of my youth.

here are the cards:

if you moved don sutton from the queen of hearts to the ace, and put rick monday in the set at number 8 instead of claude osteen, it would be the team of my youth from ace to 9.  as it is, orel hershiser is the ace with steve yeager catching, the infield of garvey, lopes, cey, and russell (yes, it was difficult for me to put them in that order), and the outfield of dusty baker and reggie smith, with starting pitcher osteen thrown in between them.  burt hooton, fernando valenzuela, sutton, and 1988 mvp kirk gibson round out the subset.

it would have made sense to switch osteen (a member of the 1965 world championship team) with bill buckner (a member of the 1974 pennant winning team) who was featured in the diamond suit, but no big deal.  any of the pitchers featured in this suit could have been considered the ace of the team at one point or another.

read any good books lately?

how's that winter reading list coming along?  personally, i've yet to finish a book this year, but i'm working on 'east of eden'.  i took a break from some steinbeck goodness to pick up a couple other books recently.  here's the cover of one of them.

that's a 2013 panini america's pastime 'hitters ink' book, numbered to 25.  it only has two pages, and it's a picture book to boot.

so, this is my first tony gwynn auto.  it's nice to see garvey paired with mr. padre.  he's previously been featured on relic cards with ozzie smith in the brown and mustard, and with gwynn, willie mccovey, and rickey henderson, too.  i just hadn't seen an auto pairing between these two, who have 5,740 hits between them.

here is the back of the book (and the binding and front)

the other book i picked up was also a quick read.

it comes from 2009 topps sterling, and is a 'seasons' auto-relic card of steve garvey as a dodger, numbered to 10. you can tell from the back of the book that the 'season' being celebrated here is garvey's 1978 campaign. it's even more clear inside.

the book came at a steep price, but anytime '1978' and 'steve garvey' are put together, i'll probably make it happen for my collection.  now, this card/book was advertised as a patch card, but in reality the jersey pieces used come from a dodger away jersey that had the blue and white striping on the sleeves.  just like the one he is wearing in the photo used for this 2003 upper deck sp authentic dodger stars chirography auto card

the seller of the book/card noted that he had some other limited run garvey cards available.  i inquired and picked up a few, including two versions of the chirography card.  that first one is the 'base' (numbered to 320), and this one is the 'bronze' (numbered to 100)

it has the inscription 'dodgers', and the lower print run versions have different inscriptions such as '1981 ws champs'.  i already had those two cards, but they're in the garvey binder and i wanted duplicates to put with the other dodgers featured in the set.

i did pick up from the seller a few other auto cards that were new to my collection, however.  here's a 2004 upper deck legends timeless teams legendary combo triple signatures card featuring garvey, dusty baker, and ron cey

and here's one from the same set (although just a combo dual signatures card) featuring the penguin and garvey

the triple auto card has a reported print run of 50, while 150 copies of the dual were produced.  i already have the garvey/davey lopes dual, but there are some other dodgers (like don sutton and tommy john) that have eluded me.

speaking of sutton, he's on the next card i picked up.  it's a 2006 upper deck ultimate signatures card numbered to 25.

and there we have 4 of the starting 9 from the team of my youth.  fantastic.

the last card is kind of a letdown.  it's from the no photo sticker auto dump that was 2012 upper deck sp signature edition

i have a dodger quad signature from the set, but i didn't have the supposedly easier to obtain garvey solo card.  go figure.  i'm not sure why this particular garvey collector was moving his collection, but i was happy to have the opportunity to add some of the lower print run cards to my collection.

now i need to get back to seeing how things are going for adam trask and family in salinas...