the old perfessor

i really don't know anything about casey stengel's playing days, other than he was an outfielder for the brooklyn dodgers.

i do know that he managed the dodgers before moving on to the yankees and mets. and that he had big ears.

this 1981 cramer card is from the first old-timey players set i ever saw and collected. i remember it was issued in 3 series over a period of time, and i bought each series as it was released. check that - twins cards is reporting that there were 4 series, plus 4 box bottom cards, issued over a 4 year period. i guess i am now looking for the 4th series.

anyway, here's casey stengel not sitting on the dugout steps for a change.

who's that other guy?

one of the fun things (i think) about cards is seeing players other than the main subject in the picture. i really hoped that topps would use that picture of pete rose with steve garvey in the background after getting hit number 4192 on a card, but they didn't.

anyway, you get a lot of other players pictured with the double play turns (shawn green)and plays at the plate (dave martinez),but sometimes you find them on other cards too.

sometimes they are hall of famers, sometimes they are rookies who will go on to be hall of famers, and sometimes they are camera whores who will shamelessly take up space on your rookie card.

here's to you, background lurker.

orioles turned into dodgers

so, i sent kevin a bunch of orioles he needed (and some he didn't) and he reciprocated with some dodgers (and twins).

such as, 1993 ted williams steve garvey.whoever wrote the ted williams copy was on the garvey train for sure, calling him "the most prolific and consistent run producer of the 1970's..." too bad ted williams won't be able to vote on the veteran's committee in a few years. cryogenics gets in the way.

1994 topps jody reed.jody is either calling his shot or putting his curse on the dodgers - "i will unwisely turn down your lucrative contract offer, forcing you to trade pedro martinez for a new second baseman, and then wind up in milwaukee playing for far less money!"

and some roy's - not campy, but these kind of roy's:

1989 donruss fernando valenzuela.

the 1981 nl rookie of the year (and cy young winner). started the 1981 season as a last minute replacement for jerry reuss, and went on a run - he went 9 innings in each of his first 8 starts (which included one game the dodgers won in the 10th). during this time, he had 7 complete games and 5 shutouts. finished 2nd in the 1986 cy young voting to mike scott, whom i begrudgingly admit deserved it that year.

1994 ud collector's choice eric karros.

the 1992 nl rookie of the year. fabio is shown accepting the plaque for the award, now named for jackie robinson the 1947 roy.

1995 topps stadium club todd hollandsworth.

the 1996 nl rookie of the year. i really liked holly. he was traded to colorado for tom goodwin, the same tom goodwin the dodgers gave up to waivers a few years earlier. todd won a world series ring with the marlins in 1993. i was shocked to see that he played as recently as 2006 for the indians and reds. where's the 2007 final tribute card?!?

not a roy, but a twinkie - 2007 topps turkey red joe mauer.

mauer was injured for most of his rookie year, otherwise i am sure he would have beat out bobby crosby for the award.

thanks kevin!

dodger cards from white sox cards

first, let me say i am way behind on these posts. i want to feature all the trades i have made, so bear with me.

steve over at white sox cards sent some good stuff. here are just a few of them.

1984 topps steve yeager.

yeager is the catcher i identify the dodgers of my youth with the most. he platooned with joe ferguson, and shared the duties with jerry grote and johnny oates, among others, but he was the guy as far as i was concerned. everything they say about chuck norris? i'm pretty sure it's true for steve yeager as well. the guy is tough.

1985 fleer ken howell.

with dodger stadium behind him, there's nothing he can't do. although i don't remember too much about him. nice card, though.

1990 classic kirk gibson.

the official card of zubaz. how many cards were made of kirk gibson in 89 and 90? a bunch. well, he deserved it. that chuck norris stuff is true for gibby, too.

1995 ud sp roger cedeno.

i couldn't find sp when it came out in 95, so this is great. cedeno is one of those guys that played better after leaving the dodgers. good for him.

2006 topps turkey red rafael furcal.

who ticked off the atlanta braves a couple of weeks ago? ok, raffy, put your hand down. glad to have him back. now just stay healthy.

and now for the former dodger - 2008 upper deck timeline (2004 timeless teams) pedro martinez.

i love this subset, which is probably why steve sent it. either that or he wants me to re-live the pain of the past. either way, i'm happy to have the card.

thanks steve. i will send out some more white sox when i get caught up.

mr. jones, we hardly knew you

but don't let the door hit you on the way out.

i hear the giants are looking for an outfielder - maybe you could "help" them out.

i am a bit disappointed that andruw didn't fare better, but i am more disappointed that ned thought he would fare better.

no hard feelings, though. for andruw, that is.

dinged corners sent me some cards!

i am not too creative with the post titles right now...

the ladies at dinged corners were nice enough to send me some fantastic cards of the big blue wrecking crew and other, lesser teams. they are much appreciated. here is a sampling:

2005 donruss team heroes steve garvey.

well, certainly my dodger team hero. mvp, 4 world series in 8 years, etc. in fact, the back of the card tells me that, had he had 8 more hits in 1977, he would have been the first modern day major leaguer with 7 straight seasons of 200 hits. i suspect ichiro has done it, but popeye could have been the first! too bad 1977 was the year he was swinging for the fences.

2008 bowman gold russell martin.

dumb topps/bowman with their 'russ' martin cards. if vin scully doesn't call him russ, why the heck does topps?

2008 upper deck timeline matt kemp.

in my last post, i indicated that matt kemp is my current favorite player. true, but he is more like my baseball salvation. i really hope ned doesn't sign 3 more outfielders to cut into the bison's playing time.

some twins were also provided, including this 1993 o-pee-chee.

even though i follow post-2000 twins, it's always nice to get a hall of famer like kirby, molly, or, in this case, dave winfield. 1993 was the first year o-pee-chee had it's own design - no longer using the topps base design. which makes sense, but i was a fan of the old o-pee-chee, so i don't like it. anyway, we see dave here sporting the rare full pant leg with stirrup look.

last(ings) but not least, they sent a few cards to go towards my quest to finish the allen & ginter set. i feel like i am the last guy chasing this thing.thank you ladies! like it or not, i have a few cards that will be heading out your way soon.

questions (belatedly) answered for dinged corners

i know - i am late to the party. but, i am a big fan of these types of questions, so thank you ladies for asking. here goes...

1-if i didn't collect baseball cards, i'd collect books. the "classics". i actually have a pretty good start on this - two bookcases filled with great literature (and other books), many of which i have actually read. currently reading 'lord jim' by joseph conrad.

2-my baseball heroes include one you probably wouldn't know from my blog or comments, and that person is jackie robinson.obviously well before my time, but still a man worthy of respect on and off the field.

3-every new years i resolve to refine my collection. focus on what i like most, eliminate the rest.

4-if i could spend a day with one person from baseball history, it would be babe ruth. come on, you know it would be a blast. as long as i weren't the sick kid begging for a home run...

round two...

1-what is your favorite kind of dog? for no reason, a chocolate lab. i have never had a dog and probably never will. when i was a kid i liked beagles because of snoopy.

2-who is your favorite baseball player? steve garvey. unless you mean current player, in which case it would be matt kemp. actually, my lineage of favorite current players goes from garvey to sax to hershiser to mondesi to green to nomarto kemp.

3-what is your favorite team? dodgers.

4-what is your favorite baseball movie? field of dreams. even though i always "played" catch with my dad - we didn't "have" a catch - it's still pretty dusty in my living room towards the end of this movie.

5-what is your favorite baseball book? i like "ball four", "moneyball", and "the boys of summer", but it has to be honig's "the image of their greatness".

6-what is your favorite card? 1978 topps steve garvey.it's perfect.