quien es mas macho?

within the 1992 topps stadium club set, there exists both this todd benzinger card

and this goose gossage card

the balance of mustache power is maintained - as weak as benzinger's is, the goose's is strong.  el ganso es mas macho!

quien es mas macho?

i haven't done one of these for a while, but when i saw these two cards together in a trade package recently sent to me by spiegel of nomo's sushi platter, i knew a head-to-head matchup was in order.

what we have here are two cards from the 1995 upper deck collector's choice set.  they both feature young dodger outfielders with high expectations and a similar card pose.  which is the better card? you be the judge.

first up, it's karim garcia

garcia is sporting a jersey with ripped sleeves.  he is properly using his throwing hand to feel for the wall, but it looks like he might have his eyes closed while trying to make the fake catch.  i can't tell if he has a ball in his glove or not.  if not, his glove shouldn't be closed like that.

next up, it's todd hollandsworth

todd definitely has a ball in his glove, and his eyes are open.  however, the angle at which he is 'catching' the ball relative to the fence is not the way a fielder would do it unless the fence is parallel to the foul line.  in fact, this fence is almost certainly not in fair territory given its height and the screening attached to it to keep out prying eyes.  finally, holly's jersey does not appear to be torn, purposefully or otherwise.

so, what do you think - which card is better? 

quien es mas macho? or, may i tempt you with some vintage backstops?

i had limited time at the most recent local card show, so i went straight to the vintage bargain bins.  i was primarily looking for some non-dodgers vintage trade bait in response to a trade offer i had received, but i couldn't resist picking up this beauty - a 1955 bowman roy campanella

the 1955 nl mvp looks pretty happy, no?  somewhere underneath campy in the bin, was his rival backstop yogi berra.  in a moment of weakness, i grabbed his card, too

while the campy just shows some corner rounding and wear, the berra is in rougher shape, plus it is trimmed.  take a closer look - here's campy again with berra below so you can see how much narrower the berra card is

the text on the back is all there, though.  i am thinking that there is someone out there who might be ok with owning a 1955 bowman yogi berra even if it is trimmed.  i didn't pay much for it, so offers don't need to be too extravagant.  anyway, in a laugher, the 1955 bowman roy campanella is has macho.

i also picked up a 1961 topps campanella

which is also trade bait since i own this card already.  but it was sitting on top of the bin just looking at me with a $5 price tag and i couldn't leave campy behind.

i did pick up a 1951 bowman cal abrams that was on my want list

it looks like cal is standing in a men's room.  since this is the first time i have featured abrams on the blog, i figured i should learn a bit about him.  he started his career in brooklyn and played for the dodgers from 1949-1952, although he was traded to the reds in june of '52, so he didn't get a chance to appear in the world series that year.  an outfielder for the most part, abrams also played for the pirates, orioles, and white sox.  he passed away in 1997 and was buried in his dodger uniform - most likely bearing number 32.

on the way out, i dug through a dime box and grabbed a few dodgers from 2012 topps archives, like dee gordon

and clayton kershaw

they pale in comparison to the vintage, though.

let me know if you want the berra.  and the '61 campy as well.

quien es mas macho?

here we have the classic 1957 topps 'dodgers sluggers' card, featuring carl 'skoonj' furillo, gil hodges, roy campanella, and duke snider. i don't know why topps made the 2006 heritage set so washed out - these 57s have some great color. the color on this card is enhanced by the advertisements on the outfield fence, the grass, and, of course the dodgers uniforms. although the photographer is kind of off-center, and even though the silver fox is not looking at the camera, the card is perfect.

compare it to this upstart 1979 tcma the 50's card, ingeniously entitled 'dodger power' on the back.muted color (the dodgers aren't even wearing uniforms with the red numbers on them!), non-linear player placement, and off centering of the subject players, and you get a poor man's version of the 1957 masterpiece, even if everyone is looking at the camera.

game, set, match - 1957 topps.