new release pack purchase brings mo final tributes, including a perfect one that just happens to be a short print

i treated myself to some packs of cards last friday.  i was looking for a heritage blaster, actually, as i have been vacillating about putting together a set this year due to the fact that the 1965 design is my favorite from that decade.  unfortunately, all i could find at the target i went to was packs.  so, in addition to a couple of packs of heritage, i bought a blaster of 2014 topps opening day.  it didn't suck.

one of the first packs i opened featured a mariano rivera card

which is cool because i collect final tributes.  this one was different than the one in the flagship release and it is pretty much perfect in that the photo with the tip of the cap is one of the best images to use for these types of cards.

two packs later, i found this blue parallel of the retired yankee closer

which matches the photo used in the flagship set for rivera's non-checklist card.  i flipped the card over and saw his career stats

 the weird thing was, when i flipped the other card over, i saw the same thing

that means mariano rivera final tribute photo variation short print!  i still think short prints in a low end product like opening day is dumb, but i am willing to admit that i am happy to have pulled that card.

i also picked up a couple packs of 2014 donruss and found another rivera final tribute

 with his career totals on the back

this is one of very few 2014 donruss cards that i will keep.

one card i will for sure not keep is this andrew mccutchen studio insert.

i guess the studio inserts are not too common.  i also pulled a giancarlo stanton diamond king if anyone is interested.  

i will be keeping this card of clayton kershaw

but i won't really be seeking out any more 2014 donruss (please note that i had already purchased a single at a card show the previous weekend that will be part of an upcoming post).

as for the rest of the opening day packs, the only dodgers found were this hanley ramirez

and this matt kemp 'fired up' insert

i found a couple of mascot cards, some superstar celebrations, and a couple of those lenticular cards, too.  plus some double plays - jose altuve

 jonathan schoop

 and kolten wong

as for the heritage packs, they didn't yield much.  one sp (wilin rosario), a couple of inserts (astrodome and michael wacha), a chrome parallel (francisco liriano), but just one dodger - this zack greinke red border parallel

the packs did help me decide that i am out as far as building the heritage set this year, but i am on the lookout for dodgers (especially more red bordered ones).

so, in a surprise twist, it's opening day that comes through with perfection and not heritage. donruss was never in the running.

a blue jays memorial patch for three franchise favorites

in 2005, the blue jays wore a memorial patch to honor former scout and manager bobby mattick, former pitcher and broadcaster john cerutti, and former player doug ault.  the patch is seen on the right sleeve of alex rios' jersey on his 2006 upper deck card

the patch featured their initials and the text 'teammates forever'.  here is a better look at the patch

mattick had been with the blue jays since the beginning, helping to scout and draft players for the team's inaugural season (he had been a big league scout since 1946) as the scouting supervisor and later the director of player development.  he took over as manager in 1980 and served in that role for two seasons before returning to the front office where he continued to help with scouting and played a big role in assembling the team that won world series titles in 1992 and 1993.  he passed away in december of 2004 at the age of 89.

doug ault was the blue jays first first baseman.  on opening day 1977, he was 3 for 4 with 2 home runs and 4 rbi as the blue jays won their inaugural game.  he finished the season with only 11 home runs and was relegated to back up status in 1978, but that opening day performance sealed his status as a team icon.  plus, his 1978 topps card is one of the best in the set.  after his playing career ended in 1980, ault managed in the blue jays' minor league system for a while and was named the 1985 international league manager of the year.  ault died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in december of 2004 at the age of 54.

john cerutti pitched for the blue jays from 1985 through 1990.  he was the team's first round draft pick in 1981, and became the first pitcher to win a game in the skydome on june 7, 1989.  overall, he posted a record of 46-37 for the blue jays over his six seasons with the club.  following a one year dalliance with the tigers in 1991, cerutti retired and went into broadcasting.  he worked as a blue jays broadcaster from 1997 until his death in 2004.  cerutti passed away from natural causes on the last day of the 2004 season.  he was just 44 years old.

is this a black armband for earl averill?

i think so.  the national baseball hall of fame's website that i used to first populate my list of memorial 'needs' does not list a memorial armband or patch worn by the cleveland indians in 1983, but this 1984 topps sticker of toby harrah

and this 1984 topps card of pat tabler

clearly show the black armband on the left sleeve.  harrah's almost looks like electrical tape.  anyway, a stroll through 1983 major leaguer deaths points to indians' hall of famer earl averill.

averill passed away on august 16, 1983.  a quick look at getty images shows no armband on august 4, but armbands are present in photos from september.  so, i'll conclude that the memorial is indeed for averill.  he spent 11 years with cleveland, playing in the first six all-star games and garnering mvp votes in 7 seasons.  averill is still the franchise's all-time leader in such categories as total bases, triples, rbi, and runs scored.  he was voted to the hall of fame by the veteran's committee in 1975.

sunday evening target dodgers

another sunday, another sheet of cards from the 1990 target set which celebrated the franchise's 100th anniversary.  there are only 13 cards in this post, because the other two cards on the sheet belonged to the double dippers showcased earlier today.

mark belanger

after 17 years in baltimore, the slick fielding belanger became a free agent and signed with the dodgers prior to the 1982 season.  his leaving baltimore opened up the shortstop position, and eventually cal ripken jr took over.  in los angeles, however, bill russell was still the dodgers' every day shortstop, so belanger was limited to 54 games, only 12 of which were starts. while he hit .240 on the season, he was 2 for 2 in his final two career plate appearances, with his final hit being an rbi single against scott garrelts of the giants.  that's the best way for even an out of place dodger to go out.

ralph branca

like frenchy bordagaray and doc casey (the two double dippers from this sheet not included in this post), branca was himself a dodger double dipper.  i enjoyed seeing him on the big screen in the recent billy crystal movie where crystal played a minor league baseball announcer.  i won't bring up bobby thomson.

jackie collum

collum joined the brooklyn dodgers in 1957 following a midseason trade with the cubs.  he only pitched in three games for the dodgers that season (the first of which was against his former team), but stayed with the club as they moved west to los angeles.  in 1958, collum pitched in two games for the dodgers.  he spent the next couple of seasons in the minor leagues before moving on to the minnesota twins in 1961.

bruce edwards

edwards was the dodger catcher in 1946 and 1947, putting up big numbers in the latter.  he hit .295 with 80 rbi that year, and finished 4th in the mvp voting.  in 1948, however, edwards lost his starting job midseason to roy campanella.  he stayed with the dodgers as the backup catcher and sometimes outfielder/third baseman until he was traded to the cubs in 1951.

ned hanlon

hanlon is enshrined in the hall of fame as a manager, and not as a grower of fantastic moustaches as you might have guessed.  he enjoyed prolonged success at the helm of the baltimore orioles in the late 19th century before taking over the reigns of the superbas in 1899.  hanlon managed the club for seven seasons, leading them to first place finishes in both 1899 (with 101 wins) and 1900.  by his final season in 1905, however, the team was in last place and lost 104 games, still the most losses in franchise history.

ken howell

howell was used primarily as a reliever (190 games in relief and 4 as a starter) during his dodger tenure which spanned from 1984 through the 1988 season.  he appeared in the 1985 playoffs, but not the 1988 postseason.  he was traded to the orioles in the eddie murray deal following the 1988 season, but was quickly dealt by baltimore to the phillies where he was used exclusively as a starter for two seasons.  i believe howell is still the dodger bullpen coach, a position he has held since 2008.

charlie manuel

chuck manuel as he was then known was traded by the twins to the dodgers after the 1973 season.  he appeared in 4 games for the dodgers in 1974 (none in the postseason) and 15 in 1975; all 19 appearances were as a pinch hitter.  manuel's final big league appearance came on september 21, 1975 when he ended the game with a strikeout at the hands of jr richard.  he went to japan the following season, and played there for six seasons before returning to the us to begin his managerial career.  manuel, of course, managed the phillies when they eliminated the dodgers in the 2008 and 2009 nlcs.

joe mcginnity

hall of famer joe 'iron man' mcginnity spent one season with the brooklyn superbas - his sophomore season of 1900 - and went 28-8 (his 28 victories led the league for the second year in a row) with a 2.94 era in 44 games (37 starts).  he also threw 32 complete games and a league leading 343 innings, but his nickname originated from his offseason job in an iron foundry rather than his rubber arm.  mcginnity, of course, spent the majority of his career with john mcgraw and the new york giants, winning 30 games a couple of times, and the world series in 1905.  after his big league career ended with 246 wins, mcginnity continued to pitch in the minors, racking up another 200 or so victories.  he retired from playing at the age of 54 and later coached for the dodgers.

lance rautzhan

rautzhan was a member of the team of my youth, pitching for the dodgers in 1977 and 1978.  he pitched for them again in 1979, but had his contract purchased by the brewers in may of that year.  he is best remembered (by me at least) as the winning pitcher in game 3 of the 1977 nlcs - the 'black friday' game as it is known in philadelphia.

pete richert

imagine that - four double dippers on this sheet.  richert did indeed double dip with the dodgers, but i have told that story before, so he's here with the other guys from the sheet.  it is worth noting that richert  once struck out four batters in an inning while en route to striking out the first 6 batters he faced in the major leagues.

joe riggert

riggert was an outfielder who split the 1914 season between the brooklyn robins and saint louis cardinals (only one of those teams is named for a bird, by the way).  as a member of the robins, he hit .193 in 27 games.

ed roebuck

like collum, roebuck was a dodger pitcher who made the move with the team from brooklyn to los angeles.  roebuck, however, had more success with the dodgers than did collum.  he pitched in 7-plus seasons for the dodgers from 1955 to 1963 (he did not appear in the majors in 1959), making just one career start in 322 games with the club.  roebuck is also a member of the fraternity of pitchers who allowed a world series home run to mickey mantle, having joined the club in 1956.

fresco thompson

thompson joined the brooklyn franchise for the 1931 season following a four year stint with the phillies (he had been with pittsburgh and  the new york giants previously).  he appeared in 74 games for the robins, and then just three games for the re-named dodgers in 1932.  he resurfaced in the majors in 1934, back with the giants, but appeared in only one game before being released after declining bill terry's invitation to pinch run - 'i'd like to' said thompson, 'but i just had my shoes shined'.  thompson managed in the minor leagues following his playing days, including in the dodger organization.  in 1968, he became the dodgers' general manager succeeding buzzie bavasi, but passed away only 5 months into his tenure, with al campanis taking his place.

doc casey was a superba double dipper

james 'doc' casey was a third baseman who joined the brooklyn superbas in 1899 and rejoined them in 1906.  

[this is the sixtythird installment in the double dippers posts.  here are the previous posts - brett butler, omar daal, eric young, nick willhite, chris gwynn, mickey hatcher, dave anderson, don zimmer, rafael landestoy, dave hansen, jose vizcaino, hideo nomo, greg maddux, mike maddux, jon garland, chan ho park, vicente romo, gene mauch, denny lewallyn, von joshua, joe moeller, dioner navarro, rudy seanez, bart shirley, randy wolf, ismael valdes, bobby castillo, mike devereaux, pete richert, jay johnstone, jesse orosco, lee lacy, giovanni carrara, jeff weaver, ted sizemore,  orel hershiser, tom goodwin, joe ferguson, eddie murray, matt luke, ken mcmullen, tim wallach, jerry grote, don sutton, ralph branca, todd hundley, elmer dessens, guillermo mota, joe beckwith, jamie hoffmann, babe herman, joe medwick, juan castro, ron perranoski, clyde king, paul waner, hughie jennings, ron negray, broadway aleck smith, george smith, johnny cooney, jim fairey, and frenchy bordagaray.]

casey played in 134 games for brooklyn in 1899, but only appeared in a single game for them the following year, as he had decided to jump to the detroit tigers, who in 1900 were a minor league team.  casey stayed with detroit when they entered the major leagues in 1901, but after the 1902 season he left and joined the cubs.  after three seasons in chicago, casey was back with brooklyn, playing in a career high 149 games.  he closed out his big league career with brooklyn the following year.

i find it interesting that his 1990 target card lists him as an infielder

when he played third base exclusively for the superbas, at least according to baseball reference.

supposedly, casey earned his nickname by providing dental services to his teammates.  he may or may not have been a dentist following his baseball career, but did run a pharmacy in detroit until his death in 1936.

frenchy bordagaray, dodger double dipper

with a nickname like 'frenchy', one might think that stanley george bordagaray was from france or quebec or maybe even louisiana.  nope, he was from central california, although he did become a player-manager in quebec after his big league playing days were over.  before that, however, bordagaray played for the dodgers.  twice.

[this is the sixtysecond installment in the double dippers posts.  here are the previous posts - brett butler, omar daal, eric young, nick willhite, chris gwynn, mickey hatcher, dave anderson, don zimmer, rafael landestoy, dave hansen, jose vizcaino, hideo nomo, greg maddux, mike maddux, jon garland, chan ho park, vicente romo, gene mauch, denny lewallyn, von joshua, joe moeller, dioner navarro, rudy seanez, bart shirley, randy wolf, ismael valdes, bobby castillo, mike devereaux, pete richert, jay johnstone, jesse orosco, lee lacy, giovanni carrara, jeff weaver, ted sizemore,  orel hershiser, tom goodwin, joe ferguson, eddie murray, matt luke, ken mcmullen, tim wallach, jerry grote, don sutton, ralph branca, todd hundley, elmer dessens, guillermo mota, joe beckwith, jamie hoffmann, babe herman, joe medwick, juan castro, ron perranoski, clyde king, paul waner, hughie jennings, ron negray, broadway aleck smith, george smith, johnny cooney, and jim fairey.]

here's the only card i have of bordagaray in a dodger uniform - his 1990 target card

bordagaray made his big league debut as a member of the chicago white sox in 1934, but after the season was traded to the dodgers. he spent the next two seasons in the dodger outfield, playing in 120 and 125 games in those seasons, respectively.  in 1936, he posted a .315 batting average and a career high ops of .766.  bordagaray moved on to saint louis and then cincinnati, where he played against the yankees in the 1939 world series.

the reds couldn't beat the yankees, so bordagaray joined them the following season (although he was traded, so i don't think he had much say in the matter).  the first player that i knew of to make this sort of move was tommy john who went to the yankees prior to the 1979 season after losing two world series in a row to them with the dodgers.  anyway, bordagaray was with the yankees when they beat the dodgers in the 1941 world series and then the following spring had his contract purchased by the dodgers.  this scenario was repeated in my youth when gary thomasson helped the yankees beat the dodgers in the 1978 world series, and then joined the dodgers for the following season to rub it in.

in his second stint with the dodgers, which lasted four seasons, bordagaray hit .278 over 330 games.  he eventually returned to the central coast of california following his baseball career and turn as a developer of cemeteries in the midwest to work for the city of ventura parks department.  bordagaray passed away in 2000 at the age of 90.

ramon is nomar spelled backwards

happy 46th birthday to ramon martinez!  the pitcher, not the infielder, in case you were confused.  here are a bunch of ramon's cards that i have had scanned for a while.

first up, a trio of cards from sports collectors digest - from 1990 a 1957 style card

from 1991 a 1971 style card

and from 1992 a 1974 style card

fast forward to 1996 and here's a golden memories insert from fleer

ramon's golden memory is, of course, his no-hitter against the marlins on july 14, 1995.  here's the back of the card, complete with a photo of ramon wearing a batting helmet.

here's a die cut card from 1995 upper deck sp championship.

ramon made his first postseason appearance in 1995.  he also pitched for the dodgers in the 1996 nlds, but didn't get to a league championship series until he went to the red sox for the 1999 season.

last but not least, here's a 1989 topps rookie card of ramon

it's quite colorful, thanks to the dodger stadium backdrop.  i sent that particular card in to a signing a couple of years ago - i think through hall of fame sports.

happy birthday ramon!