2014 topps update hanger pack - the first of three topps update purchases

last wednesday, i bought three packages of 2014 topps update at the local target store.  they were three different varieties of packages, and the first one i will share is the hanger pack.  here's what i found inside the 36-card pack.

dodgers  first:

adrian gonzalez power players insert

a nod to inserts of the late 1990's/early 2000's

scott van slyke

second straight year that van slyke gets the update treatment. i am quite disappointed that his card does not feature a photo of him standing for the national anthem in the 2013 nlcs.

non-dodger inserts:

nick castellanos the future is now

david wright 1989 mini die-cut

i pull a lot of david wright cards it seems.

giancarlo stanton all-star game access

surely there was a better photo of the home run derby champion available to topps.

base:

steven vogt

jd martinez

eduardo escobar

nick punto

chris denorfia

cole gillespie

jake odorizzi

jerome williams

chad qualls

mookie betts

brandon cumpton

eduardo nunez

justin masterson

kendrys morales

john lackey

maarcus stroman rookie debut

oscar taveras rookie debut

matt shoemaker

hector rondon

jon singleton

kyle seager asg

derek jeter asg

devin mesoraco asg

giancarlo stanton asg

ronald belisario

john baker

adrian beltre asg

adam jones asg

chris martin

jason hammel

glen perkins asg

the hometown closer closing out the all-star game was a nice story.  the twins needed a nice story in 2014.

up next, the value box.

2 twentytwos from 2x3 heroes

jeff at 2x3 heroes was at it again recently, sending a pwe my way.  oddly enough, there were a couple of ryan reynolds items.

can't wait for green lantern 2.

actually, those are two clayton kershaw items from 2012 panini triple play.  the top one is a sticker, and the second one is the regular ol' base card.

here's a beardless scott van slyke on his 2008 bowman prospects gold parallel card

at 6'-5", i'm going to guess that he's played some basketball and learned how to spin a helmet along the way.  unfortunately, van slyke is the team's fifth outfielder who also plays first, but adrian gonzalez doesn't really miss any games.  the team's fourth outfielder (or is he back in the top 3?) is carl crawford.  jeff sent this 2014 topps archives card of cc my way

this, of course, reminds me of paul from carl crawford cards, and i hope he's doing well.

jeff also sent me a couple of cards featuring memorial patches.  one of them, a 2014 bowman chris johnson card featuring the sandy hook patch, has been added to that particular post.  the other will be featured in an upcoming post.

thanks jeff!

better late than never with some 2013 dodger topps update cards

i am scheduling this post well in advance, so i don't know if 2014 topps is on the shelves yet.  i do know that i had some 2013 topps update cards scanned and unpublished on this site, and it's probably better to post them before the blogs get all filled up with 2014 stuff.

i am not really pursuing a full rainbow, but i did pick up a few parallels of nick punto's nice looking update card - black

gold

emerald

target red

and walmart blue

and, oh by the way, here's the plain old base

easily my favorite base card from update.

jose dominguez appeared in a handful of games during the summer

he made his debut in june (he struck out the first batter he ever faced) and stuck with the team into july. the dodgers were 8-1 in games in which he appeared.

clayton kershaw was the lone dodger representative at the 2013 all-star game

he could be a centaur, and we wouldn't know it thanks to the odd layout of that card.

here's a better one - his 1971 topps style mini parallel

and, better yet, a chasing history insert

sandy koufax was on the postseason heroes checklist

i think that's from the 1963 world series - koufax coming off the mound after a game 4 complete game to finish the sweep of the yankees.

here's another dodger postseason hero, but on a chasing history insert

johnny podres shut out the yankees in game 7 of the 1955 fall classic

jackie robinson's chasing history card

doesn't deal with the 1955 team.  instead, it marks his franchise record set in 1949 for most hits by a second baseman in a season.  and can i just say that i dislike insert sets that span multiple releases?

scott van slyke gets a non-bowman card

i am guessing his 2014 card (if there is one) will feature him standing for the national anthem in the nlcs.

topps didn't include managerial cards in the 2013 set, but dodger skipper don mattingly did get a card in the 1971 style mini insert set

i am disappointed that the manager cards seem to have migrated to heritage the last few years.  yes, that is in line with the topps sets from yesteryear (will there be a cubs' head coach variation in this year's heritage?) but i wouldn't mind having a flagship mattingly dodger card.

speaking of flagship, here's one more card from either series 1 or 2, i don't recall - a hanley ramirez chasing history foil insert

and with that, i'm almost ready for 2014 product.  almost.

death, taxes and more night owl cards

fitting that on this day, tax day, where one of the two certainties in life is dealt with, i am posting about a third certainty. great cards from night owl. just look at these things!

1995 leaf darren dreifort two photos. two colored backgrounds. text overlapping and in different fonts, colors and directions. if only there were more foil! so distracting that i forget about ranting about dreifort!

2008 bowman chrome prospects scott vanslyke.

when in trouble, when in doubt, spin your helmet when you make an out.

1990 fleer dave hansen.

i needed this card for my dodgers set, so i activated the owl signal. i sent out the call by taping an owl to my searchlight. greg knew what was needed.

1972 topps al downing.

terribly, horribly miscut. but beautiful. who knew there were stars over there? hopefully we'll see this beauty again!

1967 topps phil regan.

looks like the vulture is posing in front of his mom's colonial style home.

thanks again greg! more dodgers headed your way soon.