even more cards from doc holoday

finishing up the trade posts for today with a few more from my trade with doc holoday.  he really did send a nice group of cards as part of a 'spring cleaning' on his part.  i am quite appreciative.

2007 topps jeff kent hit parade insert

kent was 7th on the active leader list for career rbi when this card came out.  he is currently 49th on the all-time leader list, but should be passed by albert pujols this season

1994 upper deck minors todd hollandsworth

one of holly's two cards in that set

2007 topps update & highlights brady clark

by the time this card was released, i believe clark was already an ex-dodger playing in san diego

2007 upper deck sp authentic rafael furcal authentic speed insert

i don't know if doc saw this post or not, but the furky was needed and is appreciated!

2008 upper deck x andruw jones xponential insert

he's an x-dodger, thankfully

2009 upper deck o-pee-chee mark loretta

still working on that set!

2011 bowman chrome justin sellers

and 2011 bowman chrome dee gordon

and 2012 bowman chrome clayton kershaw

both the gordon and the kershaw cards show the duke snider memorial patch, which i will address in a future post.

thanks again for the trade!

more tales from the trade super collider

here are some more cards i received from arpsmith recently

2009 topps walmart black casey blake

and chad billingsley

plus a 2012 topps heritage aaron harang

there were more cards, too, but one can only scan so many.  i picked the harang because who knows why.

brian at play at the plate included some chrome stuff from 2011 - andre ethier orange refractor

and jerry sands regular refractor.

i think the sands is a refractor, anyway.  sands is really struggling in aaa this year.  with mccutcheon, marte, and travis snider in the bigs, there isn't much room for sands.  add jose tabata to the mix, and it looks like it will be tough for sands to break through in pittsburgh.

here's a matt kemp 2012 bowman gold parallel

and a purple parallel(ogram) from 2012 bowman prospects of jt wise

wise is in aa this year, hitting .265 and playing first base.  his way also seems blocked.

a few more from brian - 2012 topps gypsy queen sandy koufax gold frame parallel

and some 2012 bowman platinum - andre ethier

and clatyon kershaw

if i recall correctly, those are just the base versions, not blue parallels.  they scan up real nice.  there are a few colored parallels, though - gold, emerald, and ruby

speaking of which, doc holoday sent me one of those

it's nice even in it's miscut glory.  i have to remember to stop putting shiny cards on the left part of my scanner.

finally (for this post) here is a 2012 topps jerry sands gold sparkle

thanks again guys!

when trades collide

i have had the pleasure recently of completing a number of great trades.  sometimes, when the trades are happening quickly and concurrently, overlap happens.  i probably should work harder to get my want lists under control (and updated), but i am in no way complaining.

here's a 2013 topps johnny podres auto from the chasing history insert set

i wish that there were base versions of all of the auto cards in this insert set.  there is a steve garvey auto in series 2, but no regular base.  i am guessing that the auto is short printed, too, based on the fact that only two have been up on ebay in the last week.

here are some true parallels from 2013 topps - brandon league

and his replacement at closer, kenley jansen

thanks arpsmith!

doc holoday got into the trade action, too, with some walmart blue borders of his own.  here's a 2012 topps aaron harang parallel

 and a 2012 topps kenley jansen as well

doc went to target for some 2012 topps update - here are the jerry hairston

 and aj ellis target parallels

hard to believe i haven't shown that card on here before.  i think there were a number of blogs that showcased that card, so that's probably why i didn't bother.  yup - i just checked my scanned folder and pretty much all of my 2012 update cards are still sitting there.  except for adam kennedy, of course.

moving on to 2013, here is aj ellis' walmart blue parallel from the flagship

again with a lurker

and here's chad billingsley, too

thanks doc!

here's bills

and aj again

courtesy of brian at play at the plate

he also sent the dee gordon walmart blue parallel

in all of its double play glory

plus paco rodriguez

jerry hairston

and a target red parallel of andre ethier

so, certainly some overlap there with the cards and players received in each package.  the big overlap, however, was that brian also sent this card

dos podres-es!

owning two sticker autos of a deceased world series mvp is not a bad problem to have.

thanks guys for the trades - i will be showing more of the loot from these deals later!

the 1984 topps dodgers who were also 1978 topps dodgers

let's continue this evolution of the 1978 topps dodgers with the guys who were featured as boys in blue in the 1984 topps set.  we'll start with dusty baker

who left the dodgers as a free agent after the 1983 season.  he signed a deal with the giants, following in reggie smith's footsteps, and was given a card in the 1984 topps traded set confirming his treachery

i say that in jest, of course, even though it is always strange to see former dodgers - smith, baker, orel hershiser, etc. - wearing the black and orange.  baker appeared in only 100 games for the giants, and hit just 3 home runs.  the giants would trade him to oakland during spring training the following year.

the rest of these guys were still with the dodgers in 1984.  here's burt hooton

yes, he was still with the dodgers in 1984, but it would be his final season in los angeles.  he was used out of the bullpen, with 6 spot starts out of 54 total appearances.  he had a record of 3-6 with 4 saves and a 3.44 era.  his best two outings of the season came in september in back-to-back appearances.  on the 7th, he started against the reds and allowed just 1 run on 2 hits over his 8 innings of work.  he took the loss, however, as the dodgers fell to cincy 1-0.  five days later, hooton was summoned from the bullpen to relieve rick honeycutt to start the second inning against the padres.  hooton went on to pitch 8 innings, allowing one run and striking out five to earn the win.  it was his last win as a dodger.

tom lasorda

lasorda's 1984 topps card features a photo that reminds me of the one that slimfast used in their ads as the 'before' photo.  it's not quite as unflattering, however.  in 1984, lasorda guided the disappointing dodgers to a 79-83 record - good for fourth in the nl west and good for tommy's worst finish as a manager up to that point in his career as the dodgers' field boss.  he would do better the following year.

rick monday

mo's playing career came to an end in 1984.  he appeared in just 31 games, mostly as a pinch hitter.  his lone home run came in that role - a go-ahead 3-run shot against the pirates in may.  monday made most of his field appearances as a first baseman, including the last start of his career in which he turned in all 14 innings at first on june 6.  about two weeks later, monday was released, following a stretch where he struck out in 6 straight plate appearances - the final 6 of his career.

bill russell

russell gave up his claim to the dodgers' shortstop job in 1984, moving over for dave anderson.  russell did appear in 65 games at short, however, but also played some center field and even a bit of second base.  in the 89 games in which he appeared, russell hit .267.

steve yeager

like russell, yeager's place among dodger primary position players was supplanted in 1984 - mike scioscia was yeager's dave anderson.  yeager did provide some relief for scioscia as he caught in 65 games.  at the plate, yeager hit .228 with four home runs - the last of which was his 100th career blast, and the last of his career as a dodger.  his biggest home run of the season, however, was his 99th career home run - a pinch-hit, go-ahead grand slam against the reds on june 21.

so, there you go - the dodgers who remained dodgers from the 1978 topps dodger lineup, as they were in 1984.  and now, since we've seen them and the non-dodgers (in two separate posts), i'll go ahead and update the evolutionary stats.  there were 16/27 members of the 1978 topps dodgers featured by topps in 1984. here's the tally to date:

baker 14 (1971-1984)
burke 2 (1978-1979)
cey 13 (1972-1984)
davalillo 14 (1963-1974, 1978-1979)
forster 13 (1972-1984)
garman 8 (1971-1973, 1975-1979)
garvey 14 (1971-1984)
goodson 6 (1973-1978)
grote 15 (1964-1976, 1978-1979)
hooton 13 (1972-1984)
hough 13 (1972-1984)
john 21 (1964-1984)
lacy 12 (1973-1984)
lasorda 10 (1954, 1973-1974, 1977-1981, 1983-1984)
lopes 12 (1973-1984)
martinez 9 (1971-1976, 1978-1980)
monday 18 (1967-1984)
mota 18 (1963-1980)
oates 10 (1972-1981)
rau 9 (1973-1981)
rautzhan 2 (1978-1979)
rhoden 10 (1975-1984)
russell 15 (1970-1984)
smith 17 (1967-1983)
sosa 10 (1974-1984)
sutton 19 (1966-1984)
yeager 12 (1973-1984)

teams represented so far: 22 (dodgers, indians, colt .45's, pirates, white sox, astros, mets, a's, red sox, angels, expos, cardinals, braves, cubs, orioles, giants, phillies, yankees, rangers, tigers, padres, brewers)

there is nothing to not like about this card

i suppose if you were the nitpicking type, you might say that this 2005 topps all-time fan favorites card of rodney cline carew 

might be better featured on, say, the 1973 topps design.

i might even grant you that point.  i would guess that this photo dates from the late 1960's/early 1970's - maybe even from the 1969 alcs that saw the twins lose to the orioles in three games.  still, that doesn't mean that the card is less likable.

it's got the double play turn, and it's got a hall of famer turning two over another hall of famer (brooks robinson).

that is plenty for me.  i would expect this card to do well in the 'greatest double play of all-time' tournament that will take place someday.

elias sosa final tributes

elias sosa got a final tribute from topps and fleer in 1984.  no donruss, unfortunately.  here is his 1984 topps card - front

and back, with complete career stats

here's his fleer card - front

 and back - also with complete career stats

including minor leagues, as fleer is wont to do.  sosa did pitch in the independent california league in 1987, but we won't let a brief return to the minors deter us from enjoying these final tributes.

sosa was the 11th member of the 1978 topps dodgers to retire (not counting tommy lasorda who will keep showing up on cardboard for awhile), and he went out a winner.  sort of.  the padres won the last game in which he pitched, although he did not figure in the decision.  he did single in his final big league at bat, however, which is probably almost as good as being an answer to a trivia question in a major motion picture featuring clint eastwood and justin timberlake.

here's to you elias sosa, even if you gave up one of reggie jackson's three home runs in game 6 of the 1977 world series.

the evolution of the 1978 topps dodgers continues - as those who were no longer dodgers were featured in 1984

1984.  big brother was watching us, van halen broke out the synthesizers, apple brought out the mac, and america voted for four more years of reaganomics.  also, three-quarters of the infield had at least a full season away from the dodgers under their belt.

ron cey

was in chicago, where he helped the cubs win the nl east for the first time since, well, ever.  it was their first trip back to the postseason since 1945 when they lost the world series to the detroit tigers in 7 games.  cey hit 25 home runs, drove in 97 runs, and batted .240 in 146 games.  he had a home run and a double, but hit only .158 in the nlcs against the padres.

the padres, conveniently enough, were led by cey's old teammate, steve garvey.

garvey played in all but one of the padres' games in 1984 after missing the last 62 games of the 1983 season due to injury.  he hit only 8 home runs, but had 86 rbi and a .284 average.  he was selected to start for the national league at first base in the all-star game, and went 1 for 3 with a run scored.  after leading the padres to their first postseason berth ever, he hit .400 in the nlcs against the cubs.  he was named the series mvp, largely because of the walk-off home run he hit off of lee smith in game 4 to force game 5.  in the world series against detroit, however, garvey was held to a .200 average with no home runs and just 2 rbi.

one other member of the infield made the postseason in 1984 - davey lopes

lopes began the seasons with the a's, who did not make the playoffs.  he was traded to the cubs late in the season, but was named to the postseason roster.  he appeared in two games against the padres - one as a late inning defensive replacement and the other as a pinch hitter.  although he had stolen a total of 15 bases without being caught during the regular season, he did not have an opportunity to attempt a steal in the nlcs.

lopes did get to appear on the al active career stolen base leaders card, however, along with a couple of yankees.

lopes did have 468 stolen bases heading into the 1984 season, but not all of them (only 50, in fact) were recorded in the american league.  what topps did here was different than what they did in 2012 - they based these cards on the league in which the player was affiliated with at the time, not the stats that active players accumulated in a respective league.  i'll post about it in more detail another time.

terry forster

spent his second season in atlanta, winning 2 games while losing none and saving 5 others.  he went 2 for 3 at the plate with an rbi and a run scored, getting the final hit of his big league career off of john franco.  at the end of the 1984 season, forster owned a .419 career batting average and a 3.28 era.

charlie hough

at 36, charlie hough was finding his groove.  he started 36 games (the most in the american league) and threw 266 innings.  he was 16-14 with a league-leading 17 complete games.

tommy john

john was still plugging along in 1984, although he did not have the success that hough was enjoying.  john was 7-13 in 29 starts for the angels with a shutout in one of those starts.  he relieved in three other games.

john did appear on the al active career victory leaders card

along with jim palmer and fellow 1978 topps dodger, don sutton.  palmer, who would only pitch in a few games during the 1984 season, would not add to his win total and would eventually be passed by both john and sutton.

lee lacy

lacy hit .321 in 138 games for the pirates, mostly as their right fielder.  he stole 21 bases and drove in 70 runs.  he set career highs in hits, rbi, and average that year, which was also his last in pittsburgh.

rick rhoden

was also with the pirates in 1984, when he won 14 games and had an era of 2.72.  that was an improvement of his 3.09 era in 1983 which was still good enough to lead the pirates' staff and earn rhoden a spot on the team leaders card

rhoden won the silver slugger award for the first time in 1984, batting .333 with 28 hits and 6 doubles.

don sutton

was 14-12 in 1984, and increased his career strikeout total to 3208.  before that, however, he got to headline the al active career strikeout leaders card

although bert blyleven would eventually pass him.

here's the al active career victory leaders card again, because sutton deserves a copy of his own in the binder

there was another featured in the 1984 set, but his card was a final tribute, so i'll give him the solo post that he deserves.  the 1978 topps dodgers that remained dodgers in 1984 will also get a post here shortly.  stay tuned.