some southpaw successes

might as well continue the ttm success theme for the rest of the week.  it makes the posting easy, and let's face it - there are not a lot of ways to be creative with cards signed through the mail by former dodger loogys.

here's ed vande berg on his very nice 1986 o-pee-chee team and text variation

vande berg spent just one season with the dodgers before moving on to cleveland.  this was not my only ttm success with vande berg - i just wanted to get that opc sucker signed.

i also had a couple of successes with former dodger reliever steve wilson.  here's his 1992 topps card:

 and his 1993 topps card

along with a 1994 topps card

i think wilson is a scout for the cubs these days.  he appeared in slightly more games as a cub (106) than a dodger (96) and was part of the 1989 cubs team that made the postseason. 

the second time i sent to wilson, i included a 1993 donruss card

 and another 1993 topps card

and even another 1994 topps card

this time,wilson added his number.  inscriptions are always nice, but i wonder if wilson adds a different number depending on the card. [edit - i answered my own question when i found the 1994 card in my scanned folder - i forgot to add it the first time around]. according to baseball reference, he wore 38 for the dodgers in 1991 and 1992, but was 50 in 1993.

dave walsh added bible verse inscriptions to both his 1991 score

 and 1991 topps cards

walsh was only in the big leagues for a couple of months in 1990 after spending 8 or so years in the minors.  he pitched in 20 games totaling 16.1 innings with 15 strikeouts.  he was 1-0 with a save and a 3.86 era, earning the win in what would be his final big league appearance.  he spent a bit of time back in aaa in 1991 and his numbers would indicate that he was effective, but he never got another call-up.

finally, here is george sherrill and his 2010 topps card

sherrill was lights out for the dodgers over the second half of the 2009 season (0.65 era) but struggled in 2010.  i sent this card to him last year when he was with atlanta.  he's with the mariners now, and i hope he rediscovers whatever it was that he had back in '09.

hey leftys - thanks for signing my cards!

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!