len matuszek through the mail successes!

the dodgers have long had a history of employing some of the best pinch-hitters in the history of the game.  manny mota, of course.  also, vic davalillo, jose morales, lenny harris, and dave hansen (plus a dramatic pinch hitter, kirk gibson).  al oliver had still been a regular in the giants' and phillies' lineups in 1984, but the dodgers were hoping that he would be a potent left-handed bat off the bench when they acquired him prior to the 1985 season to be primarily a left-handed bat off the bench.  unfortunately, the dodgers were forced to use him as their regular left fielder to start the season despite the fact that oliver hadn't played there with any regularity since 1980.  after a dozen or so starts, oliver was moved back to the bench, but injuries, coupled with the inconsistencies of not playing every day led to struggles, and the dodgers wound up dealing him to toronto in july.  the guy they got in return had been the best pinch hitter in the national league in 1984, len matuszek.

matuszek signed some cards for me through the mail a couple of years ago.  here's his 1986 donruss card

and his 1986 topps card.

he must have shaved his mustache sometime in 1986 - here's his 1987 fleer card

and his 1987 topps card

i had to be careful back in 1987 - i recall almost discarding that topps card into my doubles pile when opening a pack because at a quick glance i thought it was greg brock's card, which i already had.

matuszek was just 2 for 17 as a pinch hitter for the dodgers in 1985, but he was also thrust into the left fielder's spot late in the season, and he hit much better when he was playing in the field.  he got only one official at bat in the 1985 nlcs, and it came as a pinch hitter in game 4 (he had been announced as a pinch hitter in game 3, but was called back to the dugout when the cardinals made a corresponding pitching change).  in his at bat, matuszek singled and later scored in the dodgers' 12-2 loss.  it was the only postseason at bat of his career, but not his final postseason appearance.  that came in game 5 of the series, when he was a defensive replacement in the bottom of the 9th inning.  with matuszek at first base, ozzie smith hit his one-out walk-off home run off of tom niedenfuer.  folks in saint louis went crazy.

meanwhile, al oliver was tearing it up for toronto in the alcs, including hitting a game winning pinch hit double to drive in two runs in game 4 against the royals.  oliver was done after the blue jays lost the series to the royals, but matuszek returned to the dodgers for the 1986 and 1987 seasons.  unfortunately, he never was able to duplicate the pinch hitting prowess he had shown with the phillies in 1984.

thanks for signing my cards len!

terry adams 'suttons' and signs

terry adams was the guy that the dodgers got from the cubs in exchange for ismael valdes and eric young prior to the 2000 season.  he had been the cubs' closer in 1999, and while the dodgers had jeff shaw at the back of the bullpen, adams was still a complement to the bullpen even if the main motivation behind the trade was for bob daly and the fox owned dodgers to dump salary.

the cool thing to me looking at it now is that we got this fantastic 2002 fleer tradition card of adams 'suttoning'!

he signed two copies of the card for me through the mail a couple of years ago.

actually, adams did pitch pretty well for the dodgers in 2000.  he appeared in 66 games (all in relief) and had a record of 6-9 with 2 saves and a 3.52 era.  here's his 2000 fleer tradition card, also signed, and featuring the o-pee-chee-ish 'traded' text

and here's his 2000 fleer tradition update card as well.

adams also signed his 2000 upper deck card for me

unfortunately, adams didn't have any major manufacturer cards in 2001 - just a couple of dodger sga cards and an mlb showdown issue.  setup guys didn't get much love from card companies back then.  speaking of 2001, adams started out once again as a reliever, but with injuries knocking kevin brown (and later darren dreifort) out of the rotation, jim tracy asked him to start.  adams wound up making 22 starts and was 10-6 in that role, and as a result of his performance, he returned to the major label sets in 2002.  here's his 2002 upper deck card that he signed for me

topps didn't issue a card for him until series 2, and by that time they were able to feature him as a phillie, as adams had parlayed his successful 2001 campaign into a free agent deal with philadelphia.

thanks terry, for signing my cards!

once again, i'm thankful for some 1978 topps through the mail successes (and other signed 1978 cards)!

well, happy thanksgiving to everybody out there.  i am thankful for a lot of things unrelated to this hobby, but i would be remiss if i didn't thank the players who sign cards through the mail in this forum. over the past 3 years i have sent out around 1000 requests, with about 700 coming back.  a large number of the requests have involved cards from my favorite set, 1978 topps.  here are some that i have received in the past year, including a couple that were part of a private signing.

1978 topps pete rose

the hit king signed for me through the mail a while back free of charge, but i paid for this one through hall of fame sports about a year ago.  same with this next card, a 1978 topps bill madlock

i like the 1978 topps set so much, i sent a giants card to be signed by the mad dog instead of a dodgers card featuring the multi-year batting champ.  i also turn a blind eye to the uniform when sending out good ol' freebie ttm requests.  here's giant marc hill

and another giant backstop, mike sadek

marc hill appears on steve garvey's 1979 topps card, but i didn't bother to include one of those.  these cards remind me of the days when we would get 3, maybe 4 catchers in a team set.  in 2012, i didn't get a card of the dodgers' starting catcher until update came out.

moving on, here's jerry mumphrey.

who played against the dodgers in the 1981 world series, and enos cabell

who played for the dodgers in the 1985 nlcs.  i have had the cabell card for a while.  it was one of two cards that he signed for me with the other being a 1986 topps card that i finally showed on the blog as an entry in the topps dodger autograph project.

clay carroll used a red pen on his card

vic correll used a blue pen

and greg gross used a black pen.

they are all signed and appreciated.

cliff johnson got the rare three position designation on his 1978 topps card

but he may be best remembered as a pinch hitter.

rance mulliniks

wound up playing third base for the blue jays during their run in the mid to late 1980's.  he was still with the club in 1992, but didn't play in the postseason.

craig swan

led the league in era in 1978 but was just 9-6 with 13 no-decisions for the last place mets.

andre thornton

and the indians finished in sixth place in the old al east in 1978, ahead of only the blue jays.  thornton hit 33 homer for the tribe, however, which was fourth best in the league.

here's bill nahorodny

who unfortunately had to share space with three other guys, so his signature is cramped.  i am left to wonder whether he would have dotted the 'i' in 'bill' with a baseball if he had more room to write.

rodney scott

is shown in yankee stadium on his card, while his manager bobby winkles

is at home in oakland's alameda county stadium.  winkles took over the club from jack mckeon during the 1977 season.  then, in 1978, winkles was replaced after 39 games by jack mckeon.  such were the ways of charlie finley.

this next one is actually a 1978 o-pee-chee card.  jim barr was nice enough to sign it.

i'll finish this post with some signed cards that i have straight out purchased.  first up is a 1978 topps dave lopes

i was lucky enough to have had a ttm success with lopes when i first started pursuing the 1978 topps dodgers.  since then, he has rebuffed my requests but i wanted another '78 to put into the binder featuring my other signed cards.  i also picked up a lot of four signed '78s, including ray knight

(the second signed copy of his 1978 topps card that i own), paul reuschel,

dan spillner,

and the whole reason i bought the lot - glenn burke

as with the lopes, this is my second burke card, but i couldn't resist.  i had long thought that a signed card from the former dodger and a's outfielder would be the white whale of my autographed card pursuit.  who knew that ed goodson would turn out to fill that role instead.

thanks to all the former (and current) players who sign through the mail, in person, and wherever else they may find themselves!  it is appreciated.

that's right neighborly

i'm a fan of david cross.  from his standup to his role on arrested development, i find him to be pretty darn funny.  i even accept his decision to do that alvin and the chipmunks movie because, well, sometimes you need to make the money grab.  anyway, he has a standup bit where he takes on the idea of the term 'friendly fire'.  that's what comes to mind when i see this 2012 topps heritage card featuring a giant and a dodger.

i'm sure this post has already been written by now, but i am compelled to do it anyway after finding some heritage in a dime box at one of the recent shows i attended.  i hadn't seen the cards until then.  obviously, i recognize that topps was emulating the 1963 set not just in design, but in content, and so they were recreating this card

however, the whole idea of duke snider and gil hodges being friendly foes was that they were teammates for a long time, and even won two championships together.  it's also interesting to note that snider and hodges were not actually foes in 1963, as the silver fox joined the ny metropolitans in time to  play alongside hodges in his final month as a player.

ethier and vogelsong, on the other hand, have never been teammates.  they are certainly foes, and they do look somewhat cordial on the card, but friendly?  well, maybe.  the oldtimers would have us think that all the ballplayers these days are too friendly with their opponents.  in ethier's case, he has a good reason, as he's hitting over .300 in his career against vogelsong.

the other dodger multi-player card from the 2012 heritage set is this one, featuring ethier, matt kemp, and clayton kershaw

the 1963 set featured all pitchers - johnny podres, don drysdale, and sandy koufax.

there's no arguing that topps chose the right 'big three' for 2012 - i don't think a card of ted lilly, chad billingsley, and kershaw would have been as nice.

as an aside, i am really not looking forward to the 'sealing tigers' doom' card in next year's heritage.  stupid giants.

and just think, in 45 years, topps will be due to recreate some other combo cards, like these two from 2008 topps update & highlights

ugh.  luckily, i'll have my nuclear powered thought glasses to help me ignore those cards.

al downing's autograph attracts lurkers

the dodgers seem to have placed a high level of importance on staying connected to their former players, at least from my stunted vantage point.  yes, i know that the fox group somehow managed to irritate sandy koufax of all people to the point of him disassociating himself with the team, and that frank mccourt cast steve garvey out towards the end of his ownership tenure, but through it all the team maintains a healthy roster of former players who serve as ambassadors to the fans and the community at large.

the twins do it here, too, and i assume that it is happening in other major league cities, but even back in the 1970's i was aware of the dodger alumni speaker bureau which might have been one of the first baseball alumni groups of its time.  anyway,  one way the dodgers integrate alumni into the fan experience is to have former players sign autographs before games and on special occasions.  they have even printed up oversized cards for this purpose for the fans who don't bring anything specific to be signed.  for example, here is lee lacy's card that he signed for me at the dodger game i attended back in august.

not a bad card, with an image from the world series at home in dodger stadium.

in addition to the lacy card, i recently picked up one of al downing's team issued cards for a couple of reasons.

first of all, i have been a fan of downing's for a long time.  i don't really remember him pitching, as he finished his career early in the 1977 season, which was just when i was starting to pay attention to the game.  i do remember meeting him once in the early 80's at a hot stove dinner (or was it the don sutton celebrity golf tournament?) and being excited not because i met the guy who gave up hank aaron's 715th career home run, but rather because i met a guy who wore the dodger uniform.  downing signed my autograph book that night, telling me 'good luck'.  since then, i have added to my downing autograph collection with some through the mail successes and certified releases.

secondly, i wanted this card because of the photo.  we are treated to a nice image of downing pitching in dodger stadium during the 1976 season.  we know it is 1976 because of the patch on downing's sleeve.  we also know it is dodger stadium because of the home whites, the yellow field level seats, and the field level scoreboard, complete with the union 76 logo which is partially obscured.

the player partially obscuring the unocal logo is another reason why i wanted this card.  that is, of course, steve garvey lurking over there at first base, coming off the bag as the pitch is delivered.  it's always nice to find steve garvey lurking around, but he's not the only dodger lurker to join downing on an autographed card.

i mentioned a couple of paragraphs ago that i have picked up some certified downing autos. well, here's one of them - from 2003 upper deck yankees signature series

yes, it's another autograph series that panders to yankee fans.  and another card that i purchased because of the dodger connecton.  well, two dodger connections, actually.  the card, of course, features downing from his time with the bronx bombers.  and, even though the upper deck logo gives the dodger player some anonymity, i am pretty sure it's johnny podres.  this photo was likely taken during the 1963 world series, and downing and podres were the game 2 starters, with game 2 held at yankee stadium.  it all makes sense to me.  as does collecting al downing autographs.

the topps dodger autograph project - 1990 through 1994

it's been a while since i last posted an entry in the topps dodger autograph project.  that's where i am highlighting one card from each topps flagship (and traded set, if i have one) that i have been able to get signed through the mail free of charge.  i had to purchase a couple of 1950's cards, but otherwise, these were all signed by the player gratis.

on with the show - 1990 topps, kal daniels

if only kal had better knees.  i was so excited when he joined the dodgers.  i have also had ttm successes with 1990 topps cards from dave anderson, rick dempsey, jay howell, mike marshall, and fernando valenzuela.  i've also picked up signed copies along the way from alejandro pena and lenny harris.

1990 topps traded, juan samuel

samuel was part of the revolving door at second base after steve sax left.  he replaced willie randolph, who had replaced sax.  i also have a hubie brooks 1990 topps traded card that was signed through the mail.

1991 topps, tim belcher

as you can see, belcher signed this card for me in august of 2009.  it only took me three years to post it. i have had a few successes with former dodgers and their 1991 topps cards, including chris gwynn, hubie brooks, kal daniels, rick dempsey, jim gott, jay howell, juan samuel, fernando valenzuela, and dave walsh.

i don't have a 1991 topps traded card signed.  of the five dodgers that are included in the set, brett butler is probably my only possibility. the others are john candelaria, bob ojeda, darryl strawberry, and the late gary carter.

1992 topps, roger mcdowell

i went with a nice card when i sent to mcdowell, rather than one of his goofy cards.  i've also had 1992 topps success with tim belcher, brett butler, chris gwynn, lenny harris, kal daniels, jim gott, alfredo griffin, kevin gross, jay howell, juan samuel, and steve wilson.

i tried to get carlos hernandez and todd benzinger to sign copies of their 1992 topps traded cards without success.  the other two dodgers in the set are tom candiotti and eric davis.

1993 topps, dave hansen

hansen is on his way to seattle, but he signed for me shortly after he became the dodgers' hitting coach.  i also have 1993 topps cards that were signed through the mail by brett butler, eric karros, billy ashley, tom goodwin, jim gott, kevin gross, jay howell, and steve wilson.  plus, charlie hough!

1993 topps traded, tim wallach

this card of the dodgers' third base coach is the only one from the set that i have received signed, and the only other dodger in the set is mike piazza.

1994 topps, jody reed

yes, jody reed.  i also have 1994 topps cards signed ttm by former dodgers billy ashley, jim gott, kevin gross, cory snyder, rick trlicek, tim wallach, and steve wilson.  the only dodgers in the 1994 topps traded set were chan ho park and paul konerko, and while i have sent to both of them, i have only had a ttm success with park, and it wasn't with his 1994 traded card.

thanks to all these players for signing my cards!  here's a running list of the topps dodger autograph project:

1951 topps - preacher roe (purchased)

1952 topps - rocky bridges

1953 topps - bobby morgan

1954 topps - billy herman (purchased)

1955 topps - don zimeer (purchased)

1956 topps - randy jackson

1957 topps - carl erskine

1958 topps - joe pignatano

1959 topps - fred kipp

1960 topps - chuck essegian

1961 topps - bob aspromonte

1962 topps - norm sherry

1963 topps - ed roebuck

1964 topps - ken mcmullen

1965 topps - dick tracewski

1966 topps - john kennedy

1967 topps - phil regan

1968 topps - jim campanis

1969 topps - jeff torborg

1970 topps - al mcbean

1971 topps - sandy vance

1972 topps - manny mota

1973 topps - wes parker

1974 topps - claude osteen

1974 topps traded - jim wynn

1975 topps - ron cey

1975 topps mini - joe ferguson

1976 topps - bill russell

1976 topps traded - dusty baker

1977 topps - steve garvey

1978 topps - dave lopes

1979 topps - charlie hough

1980 topps - jerry reuss

1981 topps - doug rau

1981 topps traded - ken landreaux

1982 topps - dave goltz

1982 topps traded - jose morales

1983 topps - ron roenicke

1983 topps traded - rafael landestoy

1984 topps - fernando valenzuela

1984 topps traded - mike vail

1985 topps - burt hooton

1986 topps - enos cabell

1987 topps - steve sax

1987 topps traded - matt young

1988 topps - len matuszek

1989 topps - mickey hatcher

1990 topps - kal daniels

1990 topps traded - juan samuel

1991 topps - tim belcher

1992 topps - roger mcdowell

1993 topps - dave hansen

1993 topps traded - tim wallach

1994 topps - jody reed

i'm shaking the stick, but there are just too many double play cards

i am still pulling double play cards from my collection and other sources as i try to set the field for the 'greatest double play card of all-time' tournament.  there are more than i realized.  i picked up these two 1956 topps red sox beauties at a recent card show

the facsimile autographs kind of get in the way, but they are still nice cards that show the turn.

i picked this one up out of a dime box - it's the 2012 topps archives jose oquendo short print

unfortunately for me, there is another photo of oquendo turning two that is used for one of his short print autos in the archives release.  good thing i'm not obsessive about collecting double play cards.  anyway, there's a good chance that we see osborne earl smith in the background there, which is nice.  ozzie is definitely featured on this 1991 score card that came out of the same dime box

and here's another dime box dp - 1990 leaf robby thompson

i didn't find this card, a 1992 leaf preview cal ripken jr

in the dime box, but there were a few of the iron man that i did grab for 10 cents.  this 1992 score card was one of them

as was this 1993 topps stadium club card

and this 1994 upper deck card

that leaf preview a few cards back is interesting as it features the same play but a slightly different photo as ripken's actual 1992 leaf card.

back to the dime box - here's a 1993 upper deck chuck knoblauch

and a 1996 topps stadium club carlos garcia

plus a 2005 fleer ultra michael young

with the last card i picked up being a 2009 topps update and highlights orlando cabrera

that's a lot of turning two, and i'm still finding more in the recesses of my collection and through trades, as well as in dime boxes and vintage bargain bins.