harmon killebrew in person success!

the day after the autograph party, i headed to a local sporting goods store to get harmon killebrew's autograph.  i chose his 2004 upper deck legends card, and it turned out pretty nice, even though it's on the small side.

250 autograph tickets were passed out at 10am, although i didn't know that would be the case in advance.  killebrew was only signing for an hour, and he can be kind of chatty so i showed up early and wound up getting a ticket pretty easily.

i got there at about 7:45 am and was maybe 50 people back. there were probably about 10 people that jumped the line between 7:45 and 10, including 3 people who showed up at 9:55 but apparently knew someone a few people ahead of me and just cut in. i said something but they just looked at me and didn’t seem to care. killer was nice as always and signed beautifully.

harmon is great, line jumpers suck.

speaking of debuts...

with all of the attention that steven strasburg, mike stanton, carlos santana and others received this week regarding their debuts, i thought i would take a look at some dodger debuts courtesy of the 1991 topps debut '90 set.

we'll start with dave hansen, pinch hitter extraordinaire:

september 16, 1990 against the reds.  pinch hit for rick dempsey and went 0 for 1 with a strikeout against rob dibble.

yawn.  how about darren holmes?

september 1, 1990 against the expos.  relieved don aase and pitched 2 innings, giving up 1 hit, two walks with two strikeouts.  received no decision.  first batter faced was oil can boyd (he grounded out).  first strikeout victim was dave martinez.  not too bad.

luis lopez?

september 14, 1990 against the reds.  pinch hit for mike sharperson and went 0 for 1 against tim birtsas.  his fly ball was caught by glenn braggs who then threw home to get fernando valenzuela for a 9-2 double play.  alomst an rbi!

how about jim neidlinger?

august 1, 1990 against the giants.  started the game and went 6 innings, giving up 7 hits and one run (earned) with a walk and three strikeouts and was not involved in the decision.  first batter faced was brett butler (he grounded out) and first strikeout victim was jose uribe.  that's pretty good for a debut.

how did jose offerman fare?

august 19, 1990 against the expos.  started the game batting leadoff and playing shortstop and went 3 for 5 (3 for 4 against dennis martinez, 0 for 1 against steve frey).  hit a homerun in his first at bat, leading off the bottom of the first.  singled in the third and fifth innings, before grounding out in his final two at bats.  he also stole a base, turned a double play and didn't make an error.  well done, jose!

jim poole, olympian:

june 15, 1990 against the padres.  relieved jay howell in the 11th inning and struck out the first and only batter he faced - tony gwynn.  now that is making a debut!

brian traxler?

april 24, 1990 against the cardinals.  pinch hit for eddie murray and went 0 for 1 with a strikeout against bob tewksbury.  pretty memorable for traxler, i am sure, as he hit for a hall of famer.

dave walsh?

august 13, 1990 against the braves.  relieved fernando valenzuela and pitched 2 innings, giving up 2 runs (both earned).  gave up 3 hits, 2 walks and struck out 2 with no decision.  first batter faced was jeff blauser (he flew out) and first strikeout victim was john smoltz.  meh.

terry wells?

july 3, 1990 against the cubs.  started the game, going 6 innings and gave up 6 runs (4 earned) and 8 hits.  walked 1 and struck out 6 and got no decision.  first batter faced was doug dascenzo (he popped out) and first strikeout victim was the second batter he faced, ryne sandberg.  not a bad start to the game, but not a great overall debut.

carlos hernandez was also in this set, although i can't find his card to scan.  we'll assess his debut anyway: 

april 20, 1990 against the astros.  started the game at catcher and went 1 for 3 against jim deshaies.  flew out in his first at bat, doubled and scored his second time up, and grounded out his last time up.

i give the nod to offerman, although i contend that homering in his first at bat was the worst thing that could have happened as he seemed to fancy himself a power hitter after that and flew out all the time, rather than hit ground balls and use his speed.  regardless, no strasburg-esque debuts in this lot!

fire joe morgan. please.

i caught the last few innings of tonight's sunday night baseball game on espn.  cubs vs. white sox and dueling no-no's through 6+ innings.  the announcers (jon miller) eventually brought up sandy koufax's perfect game against the cubs on september 9, 1965 as it was the last time the cubs were no-hit, as well as the fewest total number of hits in a 9-inning game (1, as the cubs pitcher (bob hendley) threw a one-hitter but lost, 1-0).  joe morgan recounted how he was en route to los angeles to play the dodgers that evening and listened to the last two innings on radio.  he even mentioned that ernie banks was one of the last batters koufax faced.  'not the last maybe, but definitely one he faced in the last inning.'

think about that.  assuming that joe morgan knows what a perfect game is, he is saying, that in 1965, a year that saw ernie banks play in every game and hit 28 home runs, mr. cub was batting 7th or 8th in the lineup.  i am giving joe the benefit of the doubt that he knew lou klein had the sense to bat the pitcher last.  jon miller was quick to note that harvey kuenn was the last batter (as vinny said - '2 and 2 to harvey kuenn. one strike away. sandy into his windup - here' the pitch. swung on and missed! a perfect game!').  i will concede that morgan did hear banks come up to bat - he was in the 5th spot in the lineup and struck out with one out in the 8th inning.  but there's a big difference between 5th and 7th (or 8th) in the lineup, just as there's a big difference between a perfect game in the 8th and a perfect game in the 9th.  yes, memories fade, but disregard for the facts is most unbecoming of a baseball analyst.

i take solace that little joe went 1 for 12 in the series against the dodgers thanks to don drysdale, ron perranoski, claude osteen and johnny podres. sit down and shaddup!

it's his party and he'll sign what he wants to...

despite the rain and the line jumpers, the twins' annual autograph party was a decent time.  there were fewer distractions (no card show or games for the kids) than the previous years when it was held on the metrodome plaza, and a little more spread out, too.  about a half hour before the current players began signing, the rain came.  that slowed things down a bit because everyone waited until they were under the tents to get their stuff out.

let it be known that i don't have an issue with the folks in wheelchairs going straight to the front of the line, but if you are in a motorized chair just due to sloth, i am opposed.  if you have more than one other person shuttling around with you in your motorized vehicle and they also get to cut in at the front, i am opposed.  if you happen to know someone who is walking by the line, and you invite them in to stand with you, i am opposed.  if you allow your entire family to cut in line with you after they arrived having gone through a different autograph station, i am opposed.  unfortunately, i don't have a good alternative system to prevent these types of things from happening, but it was so brazen this year that i would suspect something has to be done in the future.

enough of that, i'll show you the cards i got signed.  there were a few players that we had sign other stuff, so not all are represented here.

first up, 2004 topps ron gardenhire

gardy is a good guy - really personable with the fans.  he said he was a bit disappointed about texas moving to the pac-10. 

2009 topps update & highlights matt tolbert

tolbert didn't have much to say while signing from what i could tell, but that's ok.  with both hardy and hudson on the dl, and brendan harris  and nick punto struggling, tolbert has a huge opportunity to make his mark on a position with the twins.  time to put up.

2009 topps twins metrodome (signed by clay condrey)

i didn't have any cards of condrey with me so i pulled out this 2009 topps twins card.  not sure if he ever pitched in the metrodome, but if he did, it wasn't as a twin as this is his first year with the team.  he's currently on the dl, but heads to florida on a rehab trip this week.  speaking of the dl...

2010 topps heritage joe nathan 

since his injury, nathan has been all over the place making appearances and signing autographs.  he said he will start throwing next month and can't wait.

2010 topps twins jj hardy

hardy, on the other hand, has no idea as to the timetable on his return.  this card is from the 2010 topps twins team set, and is a bad airbrush job.  the twins don't have any uniforms that look like that.  their away grays say 'minnesota', not 'twins', on the front.

1975 topps rick stelmaszek

stelmaszek is the bullpen coach, i believe.  i think i have autographs from all of the coaches except pitching coach rick anderson.  he is usually paired with joe mauer at this event, so no dice there.  the mauer lines at twinsfest seem to be easier for me to handle than the ones here.

in the afternoon, the retired players came out, although juan berenguer and dan gladden were no-shows.  not sure why, since gladden had to be at the game anyway to do the radio broadcast.  anyway, i did come away with some cards that i have tried to get signed a few times.  like this 1978 topps bert blyleven

maybe next year he'll be able to add 'hof 2011' to his signature.

1978 topps roy smalley

i think smalley has a couple of these cards that i have sent to him in previous ttm attempts.  his dad is a good ttm signer, but that is irrelevant to the discussion.  smalley had two stints with the twins, including the 1987 world championship team.

1989 topps tim laudner

laudner was around in 87, too.  he didn't seem to be too engaged while he was signing, but that's his prerogative, i suppose.

1998 fleer sports illustrated world series fever jack morris

i wanted to get morris to sign a blue jays card since i already had him sign his 1978 topps rookie card and 2004 ud legends card.  i think this turned out really well.

believe it or not, this was one of the two guys i really wanted to get - 2003 topps traded ron coomer

coomer went to the twins in the kevin tapani deal, but returned to the dodgers later in his career.  he does some television analysis and post game wrap up stuff for the twins.  he was pretty funny - joking around with the fans and the other players he was stationed with.

2009 topps update & highlights orlando hudson

here's the second guy i really wanted (thome was another, but his line was ridiculously long).  notice there is no signature.  the o-dog informed me that he doesn't sign dodgers stuff.  thanks ned.  hudson was really nice about it, and i certainly understand.  he offered to sign something else, but i was unorganized and a bit flustered so i just passed. 

that's it for this year.  next year i am sure i will attend again since the money raised goes to the twins community fund, but i really hope something is done to limit the line jumping.

off to the twins autograph party...

today is the twins' annual autograph party, and it's the first one to be held on the target plaza.  there's not as much room as there was around the metrodome, so it will be interesting how they place the big attractions (mauer and morneau).  me, i'm going for the easier bait.  while i'm standing in line, here are some recent twins through the mail successes for your perusal:

2004 upper deck legends timeless teams kent hrbek

herbie is scheduled to appear at the party, and i'll try to get his other card from this set signed.  he has recently been pretty accomodating through the mail, but this one came back a bit bent so i'll try the in person route.

2007 topps pat neshek

and 2010 topps pat neshek

neshek won't be there - he's rehabbing in florida, i believe.

1978 topps mike cubbage

a fairly recent ttm success, cubbage carried on the lee walls tradition of not looking like a ballplayer

1985 topps tom brunansky

and 1987 topps tom brunansky

tom is not scheduled to appear, and i wonder if it has anything to do with that crazy trade for tom herr.

1985 topps gary gaetti

and 1985 topps glossy send in gary gaetti

the rat is another one i would love to see at an event like this, but he is not on the list.  neither was dave goltz last year, so maybe there's hope...

1984 donruss juan berenguer

and 1992 upper deck juan berenguer (in dodger stadium)

senor smoke has a burrito stand in target field.  trenchcoat and briefcase optional.

1982 topps jeff reardon

1984 topps jeff reardon

1987 topps jeff reardon

1989 topps jeff reardon

1992 topps jeff reardon record breaker

and the 1992 topps base jeff reardon

the terminator delivered, although he won't be there today.  the vets that are on the list include hrbek, harmon killebrew, rod carew, jack morris, dan gladden, terry steinbach, john castino and others.  i'm hoping that bert blyleven and paul molitor show up, but we'll have to see.  wish me luck!

deciphering the 1978 topps dodger team card once and for all (i think)

when i received my cards signed by mark cresse a while back, i was a little bit disappointed that he didn't answer the question i had asked him.  i was really hoping that he would tell me who the two guys in front of him were, since they were the two non-uniformed guys i couldn't identify in my previous post about the 1978 topps dodger team card.

in that previous post, i identified all of the players, and left the two bat boys sitting in front remain anonymous.  the civilians on the left of the card were identified as general manager al campanis and trainer bill buhler, while the guys in streetclothes to the right were the ones in question.  it turns out, i think my al campanis assessment was incorrect.

instead, i turned to my handy dandy 1977 and 1978 dodger yearbooks, with a little assist from the future.  as in the 1980 topps dodger team card and the 1984 dodger yearbook.  i'll explain.

the 1980 topps card features a skinny, gray haired man with glasses and a long neck.

see him there on the left in the dark suit?  now, the guy to his left is the same guy i thought was al campanis on the 1978 card.  in fact, he may well be wearing the same outfit.  at any rate, even though campanis was still the gm in 1979, he had more hair than this guy, and even may have been using the grecian formula.  next, look to the far right of the card at the two guys out of uniform.  the one in the lighter shirt is bill buhler, no doubt.  he was featured enough on dodger telecasts that i would recognize him right away.  but, just for good measure, here's his entry in the 1978 yearbook. 

and look - the guy next to him on the 1980 card has got to be herb vike, assistant trainer based on that mustache.  armed with this knowledge (that buhler is standing next to the assistant trainer on the 1980 card), i can take a look at the staff photos from the 1977 yearbook

to find that jack homel was the assistant trainer that year.  so, i conclude that jack homel is on the 1978 card, except that he is not next to buhler - he is the guy in casual clothes at the far right end of that second row.  then, to take things one step further, buhler is standing next to the 'campanis' guy on the 1978 card who i now believe is the team doctor, robert woods.

with three down and one to go, i look through my yearbooks for the guy with glasses and a long neck and find that in 1984, bill delury was the dodgers' traveling secretary,

(nice hair, newk!) a position he assumed in 1979 after working his way up the ladder in the organization starting in 1950.  so, if the traveling secretary is on the 1980 card, then it stands to reason that the same position would be represented on the 1978 card, in which case the fourth non-uniformed person would be...

lee scott (seriously, nice hair newk!).  i originally thought that fred claire may have been featured on the 1978 card, but scott makes much more sense.

to prove my theory, i found an ebay auction for a team issue 1979 team photo, which actually provides the names of those pictured

it confirms that the non-uniformed personnel are woods, delury, vike, and buhler.  so, it stands to reason that woods, scott, homel and buhler would be in the 1977 photo and 1978 card.

so, to sum up, that middle row on the 1978 topps dodger team card consists of: dr. robert woods, bill buhler (trainer), reggie smith, ted martinez, lee lacy, dusty baker, bill russell, ron cey, dave lopes, rick monday, boog powell, lee scott (traveling secretary), jack homel (assistant trainer).

i was feeling good about all of the sleuthing i did, until i realized that i could have just gone to walteromalley.com and been done with it!  now i even know the name of the bat boys - dan ayers and walt luchinger!  oh well, at least my latest round of research has been vindicated.

cards from inside the locker room! now with mexican headwear!

even though it was steve garvey, i wasn't very excited when i pulled this card out of a pack of fleer back in 1983. 

i wanted an action shot or a nice dodger stadium background, but instead i got a shot from the visitor's clubhouse of some nameless stadium.  the only thing i would have been interested in seeing from the dodgers' locker room was the don sutton/steve garvey brawl (maybe then travis could have included it in his 'pugilists' set), but i take what i am given, and so i am left to marvel at the fact that major league baseball players used wire hangers and that garvey's entire wardrobe appears to consist of blue clothes. 

fast forward to the present day, and we find recently promoted dodger reliever standing similarly to the garv, in the visitors' locker room.

and, while there are still wire hangers and a lot of blue shirts, justin has a briefcase, a golf hat and a sombrero.  viva los doyers!