what a difference 25 years makes...or not

ron perranoski may be the only non-manager to appear in both the 1962 and 1987 topps sets. 

i am happy to report that the former dodger reliever and pitching coach took the time to sign and return my 1962

and 1987 cards

issued 25 years apart, both cards have the wooden look (paneling and laminate, right night owl?) so that's not too different.  as far as perranoski goes, there's gray hair where there used to be black, and instead of a teammate lurking in the background there are pupils (alex trevino, for one).  the uniform is roughly the same, although the earlier roadies say 'los angeles' on the fronts rather than 'dodgers', but at least the cap is unchanged.

i can only hope that perranoski is boring trevino and the pitcher (i can't tell who that is - maybe rick honeycutt?) about his first big league game when he struck out the first guy he ever faced, and then got the third guy (roberto clemente) to hit into a double play.  maybe that's what he's thinking about on the 1962 card, too.

while red adams was the pitching coach for the dodgers when i first became a fan in 1977, perranoski is the one whom i consider as the pitching coach of the lasorda era.  he took over from adams in 1981 and stayed with the team through 1994.  sadly, he then went to the giants where he remains to this day, now as a special assistant to the gm.

thanks ron!

the bill singer 1973 topps card that should have been!

when bill singer was traded from the dodgers to the angels in the andy messersmith deal, he deserved better than what he got from topps in terms of his 1973 card

terribly airbrushed with a yellow jersey?  blecch.  come on, topps.  singer was one of the dodgers better pitchers during the late 60's and into the 70's.  his 247 strikeouts in 1969 is the best by a los angeles dodger not named koufax or drysdale.  his k/9 ratio is 10th on the franchise all time list, and he threw more innings than anyone on that list except for koufax.

so, i took a shot.  here is the 1973 topps bill singer card that should have been

the photo (found at steve's baseball photography pages) fits with the rest of the 1973 set, i think.

so, here's to you bill singer! you've got the card that should have been (but we're not giving back the andy messersmith card)

more third base action

here's former dodger hubie brooks rounding third at shea, in a similar fashion to darryl strawberry.

i think it's from the same game.  the count on the scoreboard is 1 ball 2 strikes.  there are two outs.  in the bottom of the second inning, dwight gooden singled with runners on first (mark carreon) and second (brooks).  there were two outs, and the count was 1 and 2.  brooks scored, with carreon making it all the way to third.  sounds good, right?

well, there are a couple of problems.  first, it looks like the scoreboard shows the player 'ab' as number 2.  that's mackey sasser.  then, the player between first and second doesn't look like carreon, who wore number 45.  it looks like a single digit number (possibly number 2?).  then there is the fact that the second base umpire is in the photo.  eric gregg was the home plate umpire, not the second base umpire, in the july 21 game.  the rest of the crew was caucasian.

so, after a little digging, i found this.  june 30, 1991 against the phillies.  gooden pitching (which would explain the presence of photographers, perhaps).  mackey sasser batting with 2 outs, a 1 and 2 count, and runners on first (brooks) and second (kevin mcreynolds).  sasser doubles, with both mcreynolds and brooks scoring.  to top it off, eric gregg is the second base umpire.

case closed!

my obligatory 2010 topps heritage post

well, i figured i should post about the rack pack of heritage i bought.  i really haven't bought too much retail  this year, focusing instead on trades and team sets on ebay.  but, i wanted to open a pack so i found one with a dodger on top.  now, don't get upset with me - the wrappers on the rack packs are see through and i quickly saw the 'los angeles dodgers' text showing through.  here's what i wound up with:

jim thome

so happy that there are dodger cards being made of thome.  looking forward to the high numbers twins version of this, too.

james loney

two dodgers.  not bad. 

michael cuddyer

and joe nathan

it's too bad nathan is injured.  the whole state had high hopes for the first season in the new ballpark.

i also got a high number (carlos lee) and this shiny former twin, johan santana

along with a nice al kaline insert

i don't think 'claims back' is a proper phrase.  'reclaims', anyone? 

i was hoping to get a combo card just to see how they reworked some of those 1961 classics.  it's too bad there isn't a martin or ausmus brother that pitches for the dodgers.  it would have been nice to see a remake of this awesome 1961 card

here's where most people seem to mention the 'blah' design of 1961.  not me. i kinda like it, even though the rest of the pack has been emptied into my trade box as i am not going to collect this set.

i'm really not looking forward to 2017 though...

leron lee through the mail success!

there is a guy who posts his through the mail successes on startiger.com with the line '(player) and i must be related - he kicks ass just like me' or something to that effect.  leron lee was one of those players for whom he wrote that inscription, and i would agree that leron lee kicks ass.

i was really happy to get these cards - a 1976 topps

and a 1970 topps -

back.  the 76 card is the only card (other than the 1990 target) of lee in a dodger uniform.  he spent the latter part of the 1975 season and all of 1976 with the dodgers, but he wasn't included in the 1977 topps set. lee, whose nephew is derrek lee, had a couple of big hits for the dodgers, including a walk-off double against the reds in 1975.  he singled in his final big league at bat.

in a related story, a certain dodger broadcaster will be seeing this card very soon...

thanks leron!

1971 topps - with some almost dodgers and an edgar allan poe reference - from the phillies room

jim at the phillies room recently sent some fantastic 1971 cards that i needed in exchange for some phillies and other cards he needed. 

first up, fred norman

pretty sure that's the tip of the capital 'd' in dodgers barely showing on the front of norman's jersey.  he was picked up on waivers by the cardinals in september of 1970 after spending the season with the dodgers.  norman would eventually wind up in cincinnati where he would win two rings with the reds.

del unser

unser finished 2nd in the 1968 al roy voting (stan bahnsen won).  1971 was the last year for the senators cards.  in 1972 they became the rangers, but unser was traded during the offseason to cleveland, so he never appeared as a ranger. he was a member of the phillies 1980 world championship team.

jim perry

one of the best things about this card is the sleeve patch with the old 'minnie and paul' logo.  the twins have brought it back and are featuring it prominently at target field and in their commercials.  although their pants are kinda low.

dick schofield

here's the other near dodger.  not quite as close as fred norman, though.  schofield played for the dodgers in 1966 and 1967.  after that, he was with the cardinals and the red sox before returning to the cardinals for a third stint in 1971, so this may well be a cardinals jersey from his first (or second) go around.  interestingly enough, three generations of the schofield family have worn dodger blue - schofield, his son (dick schofield), and his grandson (jayson werth).

twins rookie stars (steve brye and cotton nash)

steve brye had a decent 8 year career, mostly with the twins.  he hit his first career home run on september 3, 1971 off of vida blue.  he hit his second the next day against jim hunter.  cotton nash, on the other hand, never did hit a big league home run, even though he hit over 30 in the minor leagues in 1970 and 1971.  in fact, he had only 3 career hits and didn't play in the majors after 1970.  nash, of course, is likely better known as the university of kentucky all american basketball player.  he played in the nba for the lakers and warriors prior to playing in the majors. 

ed kirkpatrick

the yankees, a's and royals have some of the best cards in the 1971 set. 

danny murtaugh

you'd be smiling too if you were a two-time world series winning manager (although murtaugh only had one when this photo was taken).

bobby wine

a former phillie, wine was an original expo.  seeing his last name, along with this next guy, made me think of edgar allan poe.

aurelio monteagudo

it's a stretch, but i can't help but think of 'the cask of amontillado'. 

thanks jim!

getting to third base is perfection

i haven't posted about any 'perfection on cardboard' in a while, so i'll hit two of my favorite cards in this post.  it just so happens that this 1992 topps darryl strawberry

and this 1992 upper deck chris gwynn

have more in common than just being two of my favorite cards.  i contend that they depict back-to-back plays.

why do i say this?  well, they both feature shea stadium as a backdrop.  and, you can see that the lurker in strawberry's card is gwynn pulling into second as strawberry rounds third.  note on the scoreboard that it's the 2nd inning, and the count is 3 balls 2 strikes.  then gwynn's card shows him being forced at third (notice that gregg jefferies' arm is cocked as if he were going to try for a double play).  so, i figured i would try to find a game that featured the dodgers at shea in 1991, with gwynn, strawberry and a force of gwynn at third.

how about july 21, 1991?  dodgers at mets.  strawberry singles off of dwight gooden to start the 2nd.  gwynn walks.  lenny harris singles on a 3-2 pitch, with strawberry scoring and gwynn stopping at second.  mike scioscia grounds to third, and jefferies forces gwynn but is unable to get either harris or the speedy scioscia at first.  i think we have a match.

for those of you expecting something along the lines of meat loaf, phil rizzuto, and ellen foley, go here instead.

here's to you, 1992 topps darryl strawberry and 1992 upper deck chris gwynn - 'on a hot summer night' you were perfect.