sunday morning target dodgers - one flap down edition

here's another sheet of cards from the 1990 target dodgers set.  let's get down to business.

george boehler

boehler didn't pitch for brooklyn until he joined the robins for the 1926 season - the last of his big league career that began in 1912.  he didn't spend all 15 years in between in the majors, however, as he spent a few full seasons in the minor leagues where he won over 20 games 7 times (including 38 in 1922). at any rate, he was 1-0 for the robins in 10 appearances in 1926.

jack burdock

burdock actually joined the brooklyn ballclub in 1888, a couple of years before they joined the national league.  he spent the next two years managing in the atlantic league, but returned to the grooms in 1891, their second year in the senior league.  he went 1 for 12 with a walk in three games, but earned a card in this set.

wes ferrell

ferrell was a two-time all-star who also finished second in the mvp voting in 1935 behind hank greenberg.  he was a good hitting pitcher (perhaps that's why a photo of him with a bat was used on his card) who retired with a .280 batting average.  ferrell signed with the dodgers as a free agent in 1940, but pitched in just one game for the team after which he was released. that followed his first appearance fot the dodgers in which he struck out as a pinch-hitter.

len gabrielson

gabrielson finished his major league career with 3-plus seasons as a dodger.  acquired in a trade with the angels during the 1967 season, gabrielson actually led the 1968 dodger team with 10 home runs.  year of the pitchers, indeed.

jack jenkins

jenkins grew up in virginia, so it must have been a thrill for him to break into the major leagues with the washington senators in 1962.  he was just 19 at the time, and the first team he faced was the other local squad - the baltimore orioles.  pitching in baltimore, jenkins struck out the first batter he faced, but later gave up a couple of home runs.  he relieved in another game at new york, and then got a start against the red sox in boston. he pitched a complete game, but it was of the 8.1 inning variety as the bosox walked off on a home run.  jenkins appeared in four games for the senators in 1963, and then didn't appear in the majors until 1969 when the dodgers purchased his contract and called him up.  he made just one appearance for the blue, pitching a perfect inning in relief against the astros on september 30.  the last batter he faced was hall of famer joe morgan, who was retired on a comebacker.  the following year, jenkins pitched in the dodgers' minor league system and he also found himself on a 1970 topps card, sharing space with bill buckner, but he never made it back to the big leagues.

lou johnson

sweet lou was acquired by the dodgers in 1964 from the tigers for larry sherry.  he didn't appear in the majors as a dodger until 1965, however, but helped the team win the world series by hitting .296 with a couple of home runs against the twins.  johnson also led all dodger regulars with four hits in the 1966 world series against the orioles.  he continues to be involved in the dodger community by making appearances for the team at various functions and signing autographs before select home games.

candy lachance

lachance was considered to be a good fielder, and was moved from catcher to first base after being called up by the grooms in 1893.  he played mostly first for brooklyn through 1898, amassing a .290 average in 559 games.  after one season with the cleveland blues in 1901, lachance played for the boston americans (later known as the red sox) and was a member of their 1903 team that won the first world series.

jeffrey leonard

leonard never got to trot around the bases with one flap down as a dodger.  the undrafted free agent was signed by the club in 1973 and made his debut as a dodger in september of 1977.  he was 3 for 10 with a triple and a walk in that time, but didn't hit a home run.  leonard was dealt to houston the following year for joe ferguson.

gus mancuso

mancuso began his career with the cardinals in 1928, and was the backup catcher on their pennant winning teams of 1930 and 1931 - they were world champs in the latter.  from there he went to the new york giants where he was the primary catcher on their 1933 world championship team, as well as their 1936 and 1937 pennant winning clubs, although he missed a fair amount of the '37 season due to injury.  the cubs traded for mancuso in december of 1938 and dealt him to the dodgers a year later.  in his one year in brooklyn, mancuso hit .229 in 60 games and the club decided they needed a different catcher.  so, in december of 1940, they sent mancuso to the cardinals in exchange for mickey owen.  sure, the dodgers would win the pennant in 1941, but owen would famously be unable to catch the third strike with two outs in the 9th inning of game 4 of the world series, allowing the yankees to rally and win a game that they should have lost.

jack perconte

perconte may be best known in these circles as the other guy on fernando valenzuela and mike scioscia's 1981 topps rookie card.  he had a couple callups with the dodgers, first in 1980 and again in 1981, but the team decided that steve sax was their second baseman of the future and so included perconte in the rick sutcliffe trade with the indians that followed the 1981 world series.

earl robinson

robinson played for the dodgers in his rookie year of 1958.  he appeared in 8 games and was 3 for 15 with a walk and then spent the next two seasons with the dodgers' triple-a affiliates.  after that, robinson had his contract purchased by the orioles, and he found some success at the big league level in baltimore during the early 1960's.

cotton tierney

tierney finished his 6-year major league career with a season in brooklyn in 1925.  previously a second baseman for the pirates, phillies, and braves, the robins used him mostly at third base.  he hit .257 in 93 games and was sent to minneapolis of the american association the following year. he must have kept in touch with former teammate zack wheat, because they opened a bowling alley together a few years later.  baseball reference also notes that tierney played in over 90 road games in 1923 as a result of being traded from the pirates to the phillies.

chris van cuyk

van cuyk pitched for the dodgers from 1950-52, the three seasons immediately following his brother johnny's three year run with the club.  chris was 7-11 with a 5.16 era in that time, although his career had begun with a complete game victory over stan musial and the cardinals in july of 1950.  thanks to the timing of his career, chris got a card in the 1952 topps set, and he seemed pretty happy about it.

ed vande berg

left-handed reliever vande berg was acquired by the dodgers after the 1985 season for the catcher of the team of my youth, steve yeager. straight up.  vande berg had been used by the mariners as a reliever (save for 17 starts in 1984), and he continued that role from the dodger bullpen in 1986.  pitching in 60 games, vande berg was 1-5 with a 3.41 era and was only given the opportunity to save a game once (he failed to hold the lead in an extra inning game against the reds).  after the season, vande berg was released by the dodgers and he signed with the indians as a free agent.  there wasn't much of a trade legacy for steve yeager, was there?

hack wilson

wilson was only one season removed from his record 191 rbi when the cardinals traded burleigh grimes to the cubs to acquire him.  however, before the 1932 season could begin, saint louis flipped wilson to the dodgers.  he did pretty well in '32, hitting .297 with 23 homers and 123 rbi, but his numbers slipped in 1933, and he was released by the team during another disappointing season in 1934.

see you next week (most likely) with another sheet...

dead end trade legacies for the team of my youth

generally speaking, when i refer to the team of my youth, i am referring to the 1977 and 1978 dodgers.  more specifically, i am referring to this lineup:

sp - don sutton

c - steve yeager

1b - steve garvey

2b - davey lopes

3b - ron cey

ss - bill russell

lf - dusty baker

cf - rick monday

rf - reggie smith

rp - charlie hough/terry forster

back then, the dodgers' general manager was al campanis.  he's one of the few baseball gm's to be featured on cardboard, by the way (this is a 2006 upper deck sp legendary cuts card)

campanis subscribed to branch rickey's theory that it is better to trade a player a year too early than a year too late, and thanks to the dodgers' bountiful farm system, there was usually someone ready to take up the slack once a player was dealt away should the return package have been lacking.  campanis also once traded away his own son!

anyway, wrigley wax recently ran a series of posts regarding the 'trade links' of several former cubs players, and i thought i would do what any self-respecting blogger would do and steal that idea for my own posts.  unfortunately, while campanis made a lot of deals, most of the team of my youth was kept until their usefulness in trades was diminished or free agency beckoned.  let's see about what i will call the 'trade legacies' of the team of my youth.

let's start with don sutton, seen here on a 1969 mlb photo stamp.

sutton was a product of the dodger farm system, and following the 1980 season (a season in which he led the national league in era) he signed a free agent deal with the astros.  dead end.

steve yeager was also a product of the dodger farm system.  he was traded to the seattle mariners in december of 1985 for ed vande berg, as hinted at on their respective 1986 o-pee-chee cards.

vande berg was released by the dodgers a year later.  not much of a legacy.

steve garvey, yet another dodger home grown talent, took his skills south to san diego as a free agent following the 1982 season. dead end.

davey lopes, still another dodger organization developed player, was traded after the 1981 world series to make room for steve sax.  here's his 1982 o-pee-chee card showing him 'traded to a's'.

however, the dodgers received a minor leaguer named kelvin hudson who was out of the organization by 1984 and not by trade as far as i can tell.

ron cey, like all the players discussed above, came up through the dodger organization, and like garvey, left after the 1982 season.  however, cey was traded to the cubs for a minor leaguers dan cataline and vance lovelace.  this is cey's 1983 o-pee-chee card showing the damage done to the dodgers' hot corner.

lovelace eventually made it to the majors with the angels, although they acquired him from the dodgers via the rule v draft, and cataline peaked a double-a and was not, as far as i can see, ever traded out of the dodger organization.  i believe lovelace is currently the dodgers' vp of player personnel.

bill russell was drafted by the dodgers, developed by the dodgers, and he retired as a dodger.  the dean of dead ends, as far as trade legacies go.

the outfield is a little more interesting even though none of the three primary outfielders were traded by campanis.

dusty baker was acquired via trade.  the dodgers sent lee lacy, tom paciorek, jerry royster, and jimmy wynn to the braves for baker and ed goodson in november of 1975.  unfortunately for the purposes of this post, baker left the dodgers via free agency prior to the 1984 season.  another dead end.

rick monday was also acquired via trade.  in january of 1977, the dodgers received monday and mike garman from the cubs in exchange for bill buckner, ivan dejesus, and minor leaguer jeff albert.  monday was released by the dodgers during the 1984 season, effectively ending his career.  dead end.

reggie smith came to the dodgers in a trade with the cardinals.  in june of 1976, the dodgers sent joe ferguson and two minor leaguers (bob detherage and freddie tisdale) to saint louis for smith, who remained with the dodgers until after the 1981 world series when he left as a free agent.  detherage is an interesting case, however.  if you will pardon the tangent, he was drafted by the dodgers in 1972.  after he was traded to the cardinals, the redbirds sent him (along with ferguson) to the astros in november of 1976 for larry dierker and jerry davanon.  in 1977, he was the player to be named later in a deal that the astros made with the dodgers late in the season involving danny walton and alex taveras.  detherage remained in the dodgers' system until sometime in the 1978 season when he was released.  he did all this without making it to the big leagues, although he finally received a call-up from the 1980 kansas city royals.

back to the trade legacy at hand, charlie hough was a dodger draftee who pitched his way up in the organization until he had his contract purchased by the rangers during the 1980 season.  as for terry forster, he signed with the dodgers as a free agent after the 1977 season, and left as a free agent five years later.  nothing to see here.

the most interesting trades involving members of the team of my youth might be the rick rhoden for jerry reuss deal, or the bob welch (and others) for jesse orosco, jay howell, and alfredo griffin, or even the glenn burke for bill north deal.  unfortunately, all of those players acquired by the dodgers were either released by the team or left via free agency.  yes, free agency killed the trade legacies!

so, this idea didn't really pan out for me.  i have a similar idea regarding legacies that won't dead end - i'll roll out one of those posts soon.  

six cards and a cloud of dust - how kirk gibson steered me wrong

i was wandering the aisles of one of the multitude of local pharmacies recently, waiting for a prescription to be filled.  on a shelf in the toy aisle sat a baseball card repack, looking out at me with its junk wax upper deck and pacific nolan ryan tribute thingy.  actually, one of the cards on top was this 1991 upper deck kirk gibson card

i figured that was a good sign, and i bought the pack.  i should have left it on the shelf.  not that i expected to get anything worthwhile, i just shouldn't have bothered.  at least i get a post out of it, i guess.  here's the breakdown of the 101 cards by team:

3 unknown teams (minor leagues)/checklists
2 diamondbacks
8 braves
3 cubs
2 reds
3 rockies
1 marlin
1 astro
3 brewers
6 expos
3 mets
5 phillies (including the oldest card in the pack - a 1981 donruss greg gross)
2 pirates
2 cardinals
3 padres
3 giants
2 angels
9 orioles
2 red sox
6 white sox
1 indian (with the newest card in the pack - a 2011 topps team card)
4 tigers
3 royals
3 twins
3 yankees
1 a's
4 mariners
0 rays
4 rangers
3 blue jays
plus, there were 6 dodgers.  here are the others

1987 topps ed vande berg

 1989 fleer franklin stubbs

1990 upper deck john wetteland

1993 upper deck sp eric davis

and 1997 topps todd worrell

there was one other card that came from the pack that i deem worthy of my gaze - a 1997 topps card of former dodger darrin fletcher

although he's obscured by fletcher's name (it's not fletch f. fletcher), dodger roger cedeno makes an appearance.

when a card featuring roger cedeno is the highlight, you know that the purchase was a bust.  if only it qualified for hsa reimbursement.

some southpaw successes

might as well continue the ttm success theme for the rest of the week.  it makes the posting easy, and let's face it - there are not a lot of ways to be creative with cards signed through the mail by former dodger loogys.

here's ed vande berg on his very nice 1986 o-pee-chee team and text variation

vande berg spent just one season with the dodgers before moving on to cleveland.  this was not my only ttm success with vande berg - i just wanted to get that opc sucker signed.

i also had a couple of successes with former dodger reliever steve wilson.  here's his 1992 topps card:

 and his 1993 topps card

along with a 1994 topps card

i think wilson is a scout for the cubs these days.  he appeared in slightly more games as a cub (106) than a dodger (96) and was part of the 1989 cubs team that made the postseason. 

the second time i sent to wilson, i included a 1993 donruss card

 and another 1993 topps card

and even another 1994 topps card

this time,wilson added his number.  inscriptions are always nice, but i wonder if wilson adds a different number depending on the card. [edit - i answered my own question when i found the 1994 card in my scanned folder - i forgot to add it the first time around]. according to baseball reference, he wore 38 for the dodgers in 1991 and 1992, but was 50 in 1993.

dave walsh added bible verse inscriptions to both his 1991 score

 and 1991 topps cards

walsh was only in the big leagues for a couple of months in 1990 after spending 8 or so years in the minors.  he pitched in 20 games totaling 16.1 innings with 15 strikeouts.  he was 1-0 with a save and a 3.86 era, earning the win in what would be his final big league appearance.  he spent a bit of time back in aaa in 1991 and his numbers would indicate that he was effective, but he never got another call-up.

finally, here is george sherrill and his 2010 topps card

sherrill was lights out for the dodgers over the second half of the 2009 season (0.65 era) but struggled in 2010.  i sent this card to him last year when he was with atlanta.  he's with the mariners now, and i hope he rediscovers whatever it was that he had back in '09.

hey leftys - thanks for signing my cards!

ed vande berg through the mail successes!

in honor of ed vande berg's fantastic 1986 o-pee-chee team and text variation which is on display today over at oh my o-pee-chee!, i bring you the cards that the lefty reliever has signed for me through the mail.  there wasn't much to vande berg's time with the dodgers, and i remember him most as the guy who was acquired for steve yeager as the team of my youth continued to be dismantled.  still, he had a few dodger cards and was kind enough to sign them for a dodger collector.

here's his 1987 donruss card

and 1987 fleer card

both of which pale in comparison to his 1987 topps card

the topps card has an o-pee-chee variation as does his 1986 card as vande berg spent just one year in la.  still, that was enough time to make a mark on my collection - both then and now.

thanks ed!

you know what this means...

yes, bipped again. 

beardy this time.  i got the mail yesterday and promptly opened the package.  no fear.  i knew what would likely lie within, but i took it like a man.  sure enough, he returned most of the cards i bipped him with,

and added a few of his own

of course, there were also some pretty cool dodgers along for the ride, like a 1989 topps bazooka tim belcher

number 1 in the set of 22.  not sure what they mean by 'starter set'.  were there more sets issued?  i pray not.

2006 upper deck lance carter

i like to feature cards of lesser known dodgers - who wants to see another manny ramirez card, right? anyway, lance is one-half of the bounty the dodgers received when ned decided to trade edwin jackson away.  the dodgers got exactly 11.2 innings out of carter, which came with a 8.49 era.  the other half, danys baez, did a little better but was traded (along with one of the aybars) to atlanta for wilson betemit.  he didn't work out, so the dodgers sent him to the yankees for scott proctor who was kind of like baez 2.0. nice work ned.

how about a 1987 topps ed vandeberg!

sorry, vande berg. his last name is split in two.  ed was the guy the dodgers received in exchange for steve yeager.  he's also a good ttm signer.

2004 topps finest kaz ishii jersey

this guy wreaked havoc on my hobby when he signed with the dodgers. he has a ton of short prints, jersey cards, bat cards and base cards.  safe to say he didn't live up to the hype.  he did start one of the best games i have ever attended, although it wasn't because of his pitching, it was because shawn green hit 4 home runs!

well done, beardy.  nomar salutes you with the slow clap.